GB2416549A

GB2416549A - Fence panel clamp

Info

Publication number: GB2416549A
Application number: GB0416367A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Glen Simister
Original assignee: TRACEY CAREY
Current assignee: TRACEY CAREY
Priority date: 2004-07-22
Filing date: 2004-07-22
Publication date: 2006-02-01
Also published as: GB0416367D0

Abstract

A clamp for securing a fence panel 8 in a slotted post 4, the clamp comprising a pair of longitudinal arms 12, 14 each adapted to fit into a respective slot 6 in the post 4, the arms 12 and 14 being interconnected together by a u-shaped bracket 16, 18 which fits about the periphery of the post 4, the arm 12, 14 having a u-shaped shoulder 22, 24 which extends over the top of the panel 8, the clamp having fastening means 20, 26 to secure the post 4 and fence 8 to the clamp 10.

Description

241 6549

I FENCE PANEL CLAMP

The present invention relates to a clamp for securing fence panels.

Fences provide screening and security. A known fence comprises a line of spaced, sloped, concrete posts and a plurality of ready made board, fence panels each mounted between a pair of respective posts. This type of fence, however, has the drawback that since opposite, vertical edges of the fence panel are mounted within longitudinal slots in the posts that they are prone to rattle in the wind leading to noise pollution and potential damage to the panel and post. Furthermore, in a strong wind the panel can be lifted upwards by that wind from its mounting and come crashing to the ground causing not only damage to the panel, but damage to plants and property, and injury to people and animals. Also, it is relatively easy for a thief to obtain access to a property or to steal the fence panel by simply lifting such a fence panel from its mounting.

In order to overcome the above drawbacks it is known to use a wedge, which is also inserted into the longitudinal slot of the post to clamp the panel more securely therein. However, over a period of time such wedges can be squeezed out of their position by the gentle nudging of the fence panel as it blows in the wind. This leads to frequent need to reinsert the wedge.

Furthermore, the panel is still not adequately secured against its removal by strong winds or thieves.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a fence panel clamp which more securely retains the panel in its mounting in the slotted posts.

ice; ë elle In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a fence panel clamp for retaining a fence panel relative to a supporting post, comprising a longitudinal post engaging arm with at least one post fastening means and a top of fence panel retaining means extending substantially perpendicular to said arm. This has the advantage of providing a relatively simple and inexpensive means for fixing the panel relative to the post. The elongate arm also having the advantage of distributing the action of its fixing to the post such that it is not centred at just one point on the post thereby preventing the fixing from being easily detached.

The retaining means may be in the form of a u-shaped shoulder adapted to fit around the top of a fence panel.

The retaining means may carry a fence panel fastening means.

In a preferred embodiment there are two such elongate post engaging arms spaced apart by at least one post engaging bracket. This has the advantage that the clamp can be used to secure two fence panels to a post.

At least one of the arms is longitudinally extendable. This has the advantage that two fence panels can be secured to a post when the panels are disposed at different heights. The or each extendable arm may have locking means to secure it in a required position.

The bracket may carry additional fixture mounting means. This has the advantage that items such as hanging baskets, trellises etc. can be mounted to the fence more securely due to the distribution of its mounting on the body of the clamp.

l A: .:e:. :: .

. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a fencing system comprising at least one post having a longitudinal slot, at least one fence panel mounted in said slot, a fence panel clamp having longitudinal arm extending down the post, the longitudinal arm having a substantially perpendicularly disposed panel retaining means extending over the top of the fence panel, and fastening means securing the clamp to the post.

The post may comprise two oppositely disposed longitudinal slots and a respective fence panel mounted in each slot, the clamp may comprise two of said arms which extend within a respective slot and are interconnected by a substantially u-shaped bracket which extends about the periphery of the post.

This has the advantage that the longitudinal arm is substantially shielded from being seen by the post.

The fence panels may have different heights and at least one arm of the clamp may be lockably adjustable in height.

The post may be a corner post with at least two longitudinal slots with a respective fence panel mounted at an angle to each other therein, the arm of the clamp having a profiled surface to fit to the post and two panel retaining means each extending over a respective fence panel. The panel retaining means may be adjustable.

By way of example only specific embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing the use of a fence panel clamp constructed in accordance with a first embodiment c. . ëee ..

of the invention to secure adjacent fence panels to a sloped post.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the line A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fence panel clamp of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a side view of the fence panel clamp of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a fence panel clamp constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the clamp of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the adjustment of the clamp; Fig. 8 is a schematic view showing the use of the clamp of Fig. to secure to adjacent panels to a sloped post; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a fence panel clamp constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 10 is a top plan view showing use of the clamp of Fig. 9 to secure two adjacent fence panels to a corner sloped post.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 there is shown a section of fencing 2 comprising a post 4 having a pair of oppositely disposed longitudinal slots 6 in each of which is located an end edge of a respective fencing panel 8, the opposite end edge of each panel 8 is likewise disposed within a slot of respective posts (not illustrated). A fence panel clamp 10 is disposed about the post 4 to retain the panels therein. The fence panel clamp 10, as best - : e e e ë illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 comprises a pair of parallel disposed planar arms 12 and 14 each adapted to fit into a respective longitudinal slot 6, located at either side of the post 4, that is between the fence panel 8 and the post 4.

The arms 12 and 14 are connected together by a pair of spaced substantially u-shaped brackets 16 and 18 which depend outwardly from the arms 12 and 14 and in use fit over the outer periphery of the post 4. The ends of each bracket 16, 18 are connected to the outer peripheral edge of the arms 12, 14.

Each bracket 12, 14 carries an aperture 20 which enables the clamp 10 to be fixed to the post by insertion of suitable fastening means or to enable additional fixtures to be connected to the clamp 10, such as hanging baskets, trellises etc. The end of each arm 12, 14 remote from the bracket 16, 18 carry a substantially u-shaped shoulder 22, 24 adapted to fit over the top of a respective fence panel 8. The arms 12, 14 have further apertures 26 which enable the top of the arms 12, 14 to be fixed to the respective fence panel 8 by suitable fixing means and/or to provide a further mounting point for additional fixtures.

In order to fit the clamp to a fence, the clamp is simply placed over the post and moved downwards until the shoulders 22, 24 come into engagement with the top of the panels. The clamp can be fixed in place by suitable fastening means.

Although a clamp with two arms has been described it is to be understood that one of the arms could be omitted in order to enable the clamp to fix a panel to an end post.

ë ee In a second embodiment as illustrated in figs. 5 to 8 the fence panel clamp 10 is modified in order to restrain two adjacent fence panels which are positioned at different heights. To this end arm 12 forms a guide rail on which is mounted a complementary runner 12a which is slidable up and down arm 12. The connection of the brackets 16, 18 to the arm 12, which links arm 12 to arm 14, are in this instance connected to the runner 12a rather than to the main portion of the arm 12. By this means arm 14 and brackets 18, 20 can be moved up and down relative to arm 12. Arm 12 has a longitudinal slot 28 within which a locking nut 30 mounted on arm 12a can travel and which nut 30 can be selectively tightened to fix the height of arm 14 relative to that of arm 12. As best illustrated in Fig. 8. In use, the clamp 10 is slid over the fence post 4 such that the arms 12 and 14 come to lie within the longitudinal slots 6 of the post 4 and the brackets 16, 18 slide over the outer surface of the post 4. Once shoulder 22 of arm 12 hooks over the top of panel 8a arm 14 can be moved down along arm 12 until its shoulder 24 hooks over the top of panel fib. The locking nut 30 is then tightened to fix the clamp 10 into this position. As in the previous embodiment the clamp can be fixed to the fence panels and/or post with suitable fasteners and/or provide a mounting means for additional fixtures.

It is to be understood that although it has been described that arm 14 can slide relative to arm 12, the reverse could be true in that the clamp could be adapted such that arm 12 is moveable up and down relative to arm 14, or both arms could be adapted to be moveable. .

ë eee ëc .e In the embodiment of Figs. 9 to 10 a further variant of the fence panel clamp 10 is illustrated, in this instance the clamp has been modified to restrain two fence panels 8c, ad which are disposed at rightangles to one another.

This clamp comprises a single arm 12b with a chamfered profile adapted to fit over the surface of a corner post 4a which carries longitudinal slots 6 in adjacent surfaces thereof. The arm 12b has apertures to enable it to be fastened to the post 4a by suitable fastening and/or to enable the connection of additional fixtures. The arm 12b carries at right-angles to one another two substantially u-shaped shoulders 22, 24, which as in previous embodiments are adapted to hook over the top of a respective fence panel 8c, 8d. In use the arm 12b is fitted flush to the surface of the corner post 4a with shoulders 22, 24 hooking over the top of the respective fence panels 8a, 8b and is then fastened to the post and/or fence using apertures 20, 26.

Although two shoulders have been described in this embodiment it is to be understood that one of these could be omitted to enable the clamp to fix a panel to an end post.

Also, the heights of at least one of the shoulders could be adjustable to enable the restraint of two corner fence panels disposed at different heights.

Additionally the arms 12b could have an adjustable profile or the shoulders could be adjustable to enable its fixing to corner fence panels which are not disposed at right angles.

The clamps described herein may be made from any suitable material for example they could be stamped from sheet metal, moulded from plastics, or fashioned from wood.

I cee I Although two brackets have been described it is to be understood that one of these could be omitted or additional brackets could be provided.

Although wooden fence panels and concrete posts have been described it is to be understood that the clamp can be used with fences constructed from different materials for example wooden, plastics or metallic posts, and plastics or metallic fencing pencils.

Claims

1. A fence panel clamp for retaining a fence panel relative to a supporting post, comprising a longitudinal post engaging arm with at least one post fastening means and a top of fence panel retaining means extending substantially perpendicular to said arm.

2. A fence panel clamp according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the retaining means is a u-shaped shoulder adapted to fit around the top of a fence panel.

3. A fence panel clamp according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the retaining means has a fence panel fastening means.

4. A fence panel clamp according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein there are two such elongate post engaging arms spaced apart by at least one post engaging bracket.

5. A fence panel clamp according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the arms is longitudinally extendable.

6. A fence panel clamp according to claim 5, wherein the or each extendable arm has locking means to secure it in a required position.

7. A fence panel clamp as claimed in any one of the preceding claims having additional fixture mounting means.

8. A fencing system comprising at least one post having a longitudinal slot, at least one fence panel mounted in said slot, a fence panel clamp having longitudinal arm extending down the post, the longitudinal arm having a substantially perpendicularly disposed panel retaining means extending over the top of the fence panel, and fastening means securing the clamp to the post. 1O l

9. A fencing system according to claim 8, wherein the post comprises two oppositely disposed longitudinal slots and a respective fence panel mounted in each slot, and wherein the clamp comprises two of said arms which extend within a respective slot and are interconnected by a substantially u-shaped bracket which extends about the periphery of the post.

10. A fencing system according to claim 9, wherein the fence panels have different effective heights and at least one arm of the clamp is lockably adjustable in height.

11. A fencing system according to claim 8, 9 or 10, wherein at least one post is a corner post with at least two longitudinal slots with a respective fence panel mounted at an angle to each other therein, the arm of the clamp having a profiled surface to fit to the post and two panel retaining means each extending over a respective fence panel.

12. A fencing system according to claim 10, wherein the panel retaining means is adjustable.

13. A fence panel clamp constructed and adapted to operate substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

14. A fencing system constructed and adapted to operate substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.