GB2402681A - A bracket for attaching a fence panel to a fence pole - Google Patents

Abstract

A bracket (1) comprises a body (4) having a bore (6) to receive a, preferably circular cross section, fence pole (7), and clamping means (8, 9) for clamping the body with respect to the pole, the body having one or more lugs (5) each provided with a through hole for attachment to a fence panel. Two lugs (13, Figures 2a,b) may be provided diametrically opposed to each other, or alternatively, at substantially 90 degrees to each other (14, Figures 3a,b). Each lug may include up to three threaded holes. A fence comprising a number of said brackets, a pole and panels is also claimed.

Description

a' 2402681

BRACKET AND FENCE CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM

This invention relates to a bracket and in particular relates to a bracket useful in a universal fence construction system.

If a section of fencing incorporates radiuses, angled turns or gradients then a number of different pole and panel configurations may be required or these components may be special one-off items specific to that location. This occurs because the typically welded construction restricts the flexibility of the system and creates a need to carefully plan the components required for that specific section of fencing. The greater the number of 0 components the more complex become the tasks of planning and stock control, and repair may suffer delays whilst special replacements are manufactured.

Once assembled these traditional construction systems perform their function well.

However, in situations where the fence becomes damaged, repair involves a significant amount of planning, effort and cost.

is The traditional method of embedding poles in concrete provides a firm foundation for the pole but represents considerable work effort when the pole has to be replaced. The time taken to dig out concrete, replace it and wait for the concrete to cure to an acceptable level, can be measured in days. In instances where the fence represents a guard rail, at the herb edge of a public road, it will be necessary to cone off part of the road whilst work is carried out. The cost and inconvenience caused by several days of this type of repair are significant.

UK Patent Application No. 0216513.2 describes a post mounting system which involves provdmg a special housing embedded into a concrete foundation. The post mounting accepts a specific pole size and cross sectional shape and is constructed in such a way that if a pole is damaged it will fail without damage occurring in the post mounting. The damaged pole can then be removed and a new pole replaced in a matter of minutes, and the task of digging out and replacing the concrete is eliminated. Each post mounting system is specific to a post size and in order to remove complexity it is preferred that a single pole size is used for the majority of fences.

The present invention seeks to reduce the complexity, time and cost involved in both the initial assembly of a fence and particularly the repair of the fence. It is a further objective of this invention to provide a universal fence construction system that can fully exploit the advantages of the above mentioned post mounting system whilst providing a bracket based on a pole of circular cross section and involving only three configurations of a single bracket design. The bracket design is preferably able to accommodate the demands of fencing systems which must turn corners, match various curves and adjust to gradients.

lo According to the present invention there is provided a bracket for attaching a fence panel to a pole which comprises a main body having a bore to receive a fence pole and clamping means for clamping the body with respect to the fence pole, the main body being further provided with one or more lugs, each lug being provided with one or more holes for attachment to a fence panel.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bracket can be clamped to a pole of circular cross section. The clamping arrangement allows infinite incremental adjustment along the pole axis and radial adjustment through 360 degrees.

In a first version of the bracket a single lug is provided which can incorporate a threaded hole in one of three locations. The lug would typically be provided with one threaded hole to ensure lowest possible cost but could be provided with two or three if the particular fencing system demanded. The bracket is typically used where a single fence panel terminates at a pole or where there is an acute change of direction of the fence such as a right angle. The bracket may also be used where adjacent fence panels are set at different heights which is a typical method of compensating for gradients.

In a section version of the bracket two lugs are provided diametrically opposite each other, both having threaded holes as described for the first version. This version is used where there arc panels on both sides of the pole and, dependent on the panel design, an angular variation of about 20 degrees from a straight line can be accommodated for each panel.

The design permits, continuous runs of fencing to follow curves but does not allow compensation for gradients, which can be adjusted for by the first version.

In a third version of the bracket two lugs are provided at substantially 90 degrees to each other. This bracket is used when a right angle turn or similar acute angle occurs in the fence. Although the first version of the bracket can achieve the same result this version represents a less expensive solution.

The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the lo accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 (a) is a side view and Figure 1 (b) is a plan view of a bracket according to the invention having a single attachment lug; Figure 2(a) is a side view and Figure 2(b) is a plan view of a bracket according to the invention having two attachment lugs diametrically opposite to each other; Figure 3(a) is a side view and Figure 3(b) is a plan view of a bracket according to the invention having two lugs arranged at right angles to each other; Figure 4(a) -(c) shows the bracket of Figure 1 with the inclusion of three threaded holes in the attachment lug; Figure 5 is a partial elevational view of the bracket of Figure 1 terminating a fence panel at a pole; Figure 6 is a similar view to Figure 5 showing the bracket of Figure 2 allowing the attachment of two fence panels, which form part of a continuous length of fencing, to a single pole; Figure 7(a) is a similar view to Figure 5 showing the bracket of Figure 3 being used to attach two fence panels, at right angles to each other, to a single pole, and Figure 7(b) is a corresponding plan view; Figure 8(a) and (b) are similar views to Figure 7 showing the attachment of three fence panels to a single pole using the bracket of Figure I in conjunction with the bracket of Figure 2; Figure 9 is an elevational view of a fence where the bracket of Figure 1 is used to stagger the attachment of the fence panels to the pole in a situation where there is a gradient; and Figure 10 (a) and (b) are elevational and plan detail views corresponding to Figure s 6 showing an angular variation of up to approximately 20 degrees.

Referring to the drawings, and in particular Figure I, there is shown a first version I of the bracket of the invention comprising of a main body 4 which is made by slicing a length from an aluminium extrusion, machining the holes and anodising to provide corrosion resistance. The bracket could also be cast from a variety of metals or injection moulded lo from a glass reinforced plastic such as nylon 66. A single lug 5 is provided for the purpose of attaching a fence panel. A central bore 6 is slightly larger in diameter than fence pole 7 to aid ease of assembly. A gap 8 allows the bracket body to be drawn together by screw 9 thus closing down and clamping on the pole 7. To aid deflection of the bracket body 4 when the screw 9 is tightened material 10 is removed from the bracket body 4.

s The pole 7 is typically made of steel and hot dip galvanised although it could be made of aluminium or be a glass fibre pultrusion. The top of the pole would be typically fitted with a finial 11 made of plastic material (Figure 5).

A second version 2 of the bracket, shown in Figure 2, has a main body 4 which has two lugs 13 and in all other respects is the same as body 4 of the bracket I. A third version 3 of the bracket, shown in Figure 3, has a main body 4 which has two lugs 14 positioned at 90 degrees to each other and m all other respects is the same as body 4 of bracket of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 4, the lug 5 can be provided with a threaded hole 15 which has its axis parallel to the axis of pole 7. Alternatvcly a threaded hole 16 can be provided which has its axis at right angles to the axis of pole 7. A third option is to provide a threaded hole 17 which has its axis radial to the axis of pole 7. The lug 5 can be provided with any combination of these three threaded holes and the holes could be clear (i.e. unthreaded or c

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slotted) holes if the fence panel design required an alternative fastening method. The most common type of connection would utilise threaded hole 15.

Referring to Figure 5, a fence panel 18 is shown terminating at pole 7 where it is fastened to the pole 7 by a bracket. 1.

s Referring to Figure 6, two fence panels 18, which form part of a continuous length of fencing, are attached to a pole 7 by a bracket 2. Although the attachment could be made by a bracket I this would require four brackets in total compared to the two shown and this is therefore a more cost effective solution.

Referring to Figure 7, two fence panels 18 terminate at a pole 7 and are at right angles to lo each other. The fence panels 18 are fastened by a bracket 3 and are arranged so as to permit both fence panels to be at the same level. The attachment could be made using brackets I and if the fence panels were required to be at different levels this would be the preferred method. The use of bracket 3 is the most cost effective solution.

l 5 Referring to Figure 8, three fence panels 18 are shown terminating at pole 7. This is not a common arrangement and could be achieved with a bracket having three lugs which is the maximum number a bracket could normally be made with. Alternatively, and in keeping with the objective of restricting the number of components to a minimum, the same result can be achieved by using a first version bracket 1 and second version bracket 2 in conjunction with each other. Although the fence panel 18 attached to bracket 1 is shown at right angles to the main run of fencing, it is possible, owing to the radial adjustment permitted by the bracket design, to change this angle.

Referring to Figure 9, three fencing panels l 8 are shown fastened to two poles 7 in a location where there is a gradient. The end of each fence panel 18 is attached to pole 7 with a bracket 1. The ability of the bracket to be adjusted to any position on the axis of pole 7 allows the height to be adjusted to accommodate the particular gradcnt relevant to each fence panel 18.

Referring to Figure 10, a fence panel 19, which has square ends 20 and is fastened to threaded hole 15, of bracket 2 can achieve an angular variation from a straight line of about of 20 degrees. Angular movement of the fence panels permits a complete fence assembly 21 to follow a curve. An example would be if poles 7 were set at a pitch of 2 metres and each panel were to be offset at 20 degrees they would form a curve of 2.92 metres radius.

More acute angles are accommodated by using the first version bracket I as shown in Figure 7.

The bracket system of this mventon is simple and yet very adaptable and offers the following advantages: 0 1. Only three bracket configurations are required to accommodate all fence panel combinations. These include provision to cate for turning corners, gradients, curvature and being able to connect to a single pole a combination of 1, 2, 3 or 4 panels.

2. A single pole size can be used for a wide variety of fence panel designs and fence configurations.

3. A single design of pole mounting system can be used that mates with the single pole size.

4. A wide variety of fence panel designs can be used with the single pole/bracket system.

5. The fence pole system, including the pole mounting, consists of only six components reducing problems associated with stock control and distribution. The need for special variations is eliminated.

6. The time taken to repair damaged fences, particularly guard rails along the kerb edges of roads, will be sigmficantly reduced when the bracket system is used in conjunction to a pole mounting system.

Claims (8)

1. A bracket for attaching a fence panel to a pole which comprises a main body having a bore to receive a fence pole and clamping means for clamping the body with respect to the fence pole, the main body being further provided with one or more lugs, each lug being provided with one or more holes for attachment to a fence panel.

2. A bracket as claimed in claim 1 bracket wherein the bore is of circular cross section.

3. A bracket as claimed in either of claims 1 or 2 wherein a single lug is provided which can incorporate a threaded hole in one or more of three locations.

4. A bracket as claimed in either of claims I or 2 wherein two lugs are provided diametrically lo opposite each other, both having one or more threaded holes.

5. A bracket as claimed in either of claims I or 2 wherein two lugs are provided at substantially 90 degrees to each other, both having one or more holes.

6. A bracket as claimed in any of claims I to 5 formed by slicing a length from an aluminium extrusion, machining the hole or holes, and anodising to provide corrosion resistance.

7. A bracket according to claim I and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

8. A fence which comprises one or more brackets according to any preceding claim,. at least one panel and at least two poles.