GB2291081A - Paling fence - Google Patents

Abstract

A fencing system comprising a series of vertical pales 2 with apertures 12 which are threaded onto rails 4 supported by fixed vertical posts, and secured to the rails by concealed bolts. <IMAGE>

Description

FENCING SYSTEM This invention relates to a fencing system.

Fencing has been used for defence or protection since man started forming boundaries, and many varieties are in use today. One of the most successful of these is the system known as palisade fencing. Types of fencing being used at present all have similar inherent disadvantages.

All palisade fencing is fitted the same way in that the upright pales which make up the fence are bolted to the outside face of angle rails. These rails are suspended between posts and bolted to cleats passing through the posts. All the bolts are conspicuous.

The problem with this system is that the upright pales rely solely on the single bolt fixing on the top and bottom rail to secure them in position, and the pales can be manipulated by would-be intruders or vandals.

It is not unusual to see the upright pales of this type of fencing disconnected at the bottom and moved to one side to form a gap large enough for a person to squeeze through. In other instances pales have been disconnected and removed altogether, due either to corrosion or vandalism.

According to the present invention there is provided a fencing system comprising a plurality of pales and a rail, each pale having an aperture through which the rail passes.

Preferably there are two rails disposed at approximately right angles to the pales. Preferably the rails are supported by posts.

Preferably the aperture has two parallel slots joined by an orthogonal slot.

Preferably each pale has two parallel sides. Each side having corresponding apertures.

The pales may be positioned by securing means on the rails. Spacer units may be provided between the pales, the spacer units being located on the rails.

Preferably the rails are secured to a fixing unit, the fixing unit being inserted through an aperture in the post. Preferably the securement of the rails to the post is from the rear of the fencing system.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig la is a front view of a pale of a fencing system in accordance with the present invention; Fig 1b is a plan of the pale of Fig la; Fig ic and Fig id are alternative tops to the pale of Fig la; Fig 2a and Fig 2b are rear and plan views of the pale of Fig la; Fig 3a and Fig 3b are side and plan views of the pale of Fig la; Fig 4 is a perspective, part transparent view of a pale attached to a rail of a fencing system in accordance with the present invention; Fig 5 and Fig 6 are perspective, part transparent views of alternative embodiments of a post and a rail of a fencing system in accordance with the present invention; and Fig 7 is a front view of a fencing system in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawings a fencing system 1 has a number of vertical pales 2. Each vertical pale 2 is formed with an angled front formed of two flat surfaces 40, 42. Each pale 2 has two parallel side portions 14, 16 one attached to each of the flat front surfaces 40, 42. The pales 2 may have spiked, rounded or flat tops 10 or other styles of tops 10 which can be changed for cosmetic reasons. The two parallel side portions 14, 16 of the pales 2 each have adjacent apertures 12. Each aperture 12 is formed with a main slot 32 with two orthogonal slots 34, 36 at each end of the main slot 32.

Two rails 4 are provided a top rail and a bottom rail each of which pass through some of the apertures 12 in the pales 2. A series of pales 2 are threaded onto the rails 4.

A spacer unit 6 can be threaded onto the rails 4 between each pale 2 such that the pales 2 are equally spaced apart and cannot be moved along the rails 4 once in position. Alternatively, the pales 2 can be arranged along the rails 4 such that a solid fence is provided with each pale 2 touching its adjacent pale 2.

Bolt fixings 18 are provided to secure the pales 2 in position on the rails 4. The bolt fixings 18 are attached from the rear 44 of the fencing system 1 and cannot therefore be seen from the front 46 of the fencing system 1.

The rails 4 are attached to vertical posts 8 which are secured onto or into the ground. Each post 8 is formed in the shape of an I with its central portion having an aperture 26 through which a fixing unit 30 is disposed.

The aperture 26 has a vertical slot with two parallel horizontal slots on each end of the vertical slot in an opposite orientation to the slots 12 on each of the pales 2. The fixing unit 30 has a vertical side 48 with two horizontal sides 50, 52 disposed on each end of the vertical side 48 and also has a joining portion 28 joining the two horizontal sides 50, 52 to form a complete hollow rectangle. The joining portion 28 is attached after location of the fixing unit 30 through the aperture 26. The end of the rail 4 can then be slotted within the rectangle of the fixing unit 30 and a slot 54 in the rail 4 corresponds to a bolt receiving slot 56 in the joining portion 28 such that the rail 4 can be bolted to the fixing unit 30. A further rail 4 is attached to the other side of the fixing unit 30 on the other side of the post 8. This is shown in Fig 5.

Alternatively, referring to Fig 6, the fixing unit 30 has two vertical sides 48,49 joining the two horizontal sides 50,52 to form a complete rectangle. The end of the rail 4 can be fitted over the rectangle of the fixing unit 30, and the slot 54 in the rail 4 corresponds to a bolt receiving slot 57 in the vertical side 49, such that the rail 4 can be bolted to the fixing unit 30. Again, a further rail 4 is attached to the other side of the fixing unit 30 on the other side of the post 8.

When assembling the fencing system 1, a number of pales 2 are threaded onto two rails 4 with or without spacer units 6 between the pales 2. The pales 2 are bolted to the rails 4 for positioning purposes. The rails 4 are then fixed at each end to the fixing unit 30 attached to the posts 8 and thereafter the pales 2 cannot be removed from the rails 4. Due to the fixing unit 30, no fixing bolts are visible from the front 46 of the fencing system 1. The side walls 14, 16 of the pales 2 add to the strength of each pale 2 as well as allowing the rails 4 to pass through the pales 2.

Once assembled the fencing system 1 is secure due to the fact that the pales 2 cannot be moved along the rails 4 or away from the rails 4 due to their attachment. The fixing unit 30 fixing the rails 4 to the posts 8 are also secure with no visible fixing at the front of the fencing system 1.

Improvements and modifications can be made to the aforementioned without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. A fencing system comprising a plurality of pales and at least one rail, each pale having an aperture through which a rail passes.

2. A fencing system as claimed in Claim 1 which has two rails disposed approximately at right angles to the pales.

3. A fencing system as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the rails are supported by posts.

4. A fencing system as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the aperture of each pale has two parallel slots joined by an orthogonal slot.

5. A fencing system as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein each pale has two parallel sides.

6. A fencing system as claimed in Claim 5 wherein each side has corresponding apertures.

7. A fencing system as claim in any preceding Claim wherein the pales are positioned on the rails by securing means.

8. A fencing system as claimed in Claim 7 wherein spacer units are located on the rails between pales.

9. A fencing system as claim in any of Claims 3 - 8 wherein the rails are secured to a fixing unit, said fixing unit being inserted through apertures in the posts.

10. A fencing system as claimed in any of Claims 3 -9 wherein securement of the rails to the posts is at the rear of the system.

11. A fencing system substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.