GB2576530A

GB2576530A - Gravel board

Info

Publication number: GB2576530A
Application number: GB1813687.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: T Kinahan Paul
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-08-22
Filing date: 2018-08-22
Publication date: 2020-02-26
Also published as: GB201813687D0

Abstract

The gravel board for use with a panel fence having vertical columns 104 with slots 114 for receiving and retaining conventional fence panels, the gravel board being a planar panel member 102, at least one aperture 108a-108c and at least one reinforcing member 110a, 110b, 112a, 112d. There may be multiple apertures, holes or openings for allowing the passage of small animals such as hedgehogs, frogs etc. through a fence. There may be a grid of vertical and horizontal reinforcing members embedded within the material of the panel, which may be formed of recycled concrete or plastic material. There may be multiple apertures of the same or different shape, which may be circular, elliptical triangular, square etc.

Description

GRAVEL BOARD

The present invention relates to gravel boards, and in particular to a gravel board comprising reinforcing members to provide improved strength and comprising apertures to allow ingress and egress of wildlife.

A wide variety of gravel boards is known and, in general, they are formed from a single block of concrete or a single panel of wood. Gravel boards are common in modern fencing assemblies as a means for ensuring that upright wooden fence panels do not rest on the ground, in order to prevent damage or rotting of the wooden panels.

In general, the gravel boards are formed in a single, solid piece and provide no means for wildlife to pass through from one side to another.

Existing gravel boards are generally only provided with aesthetic markings, and an example of a standard decorative gravel board is found in GB 2392927. This document describes a fencing assembly wherein the gravel boards are provided with a moulded pattern and wherein the fencing assembly is dimensioned such that the pattern may be continued across the entire length of a fence.

However, the gravel board disclosed in GB 2392927 is not ideal for use in gardens, since the lack of any aperture or through passage will lead to restriction in the habitat of local fauna, as small animals such as frogs, hedgehogs, mice and insects are either not permitted to travel from one garden to another, or such travel is rendered extremely difficult. Gravel boards similar to these standard designs have proliferated throughout gardens, leading to a noticeable decline in the numbers of frogs and other wildlife in household gardens. The installation of a standard gravel board may trap animals and prevent them from accessing ponds or food sources in adjacent gardens.

In addition, the standard gravel boards such as those disclosed in GB 2392927, GB 1248237 and GB 2319789 are not well suited to user modification. If a user was interested in modifying said gravel boards to provide apertures, there is a serious risk of failure in the gravel board and collapse of the overall fence structure. The weight of the fence panels acting upon a compromised gravel board may cause collapse of the structure, at a significant cost and inconvenience for the user.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved gravel board comprising at least one aperture to allow ingress and egress of wildlife, wherein the gravel board further comprises a support structure to prevent failure and collapse of the fence system.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a gravel board for use with a fence comprises:

a generally planar panel member;

at least one aperture provided in the panel member, wherein the at least one aperture is dimensioned to allow ingress and egress of wildlife;

at least one reinforcing member which reinforces the panel member.

An advantage of the present invention is that the at least one aperture provided allows movement of wildlife through the fence boundary, encouraging the maintenance and growth of eco-systems and habitats for a variety of species.

Additionally, the present invention allows for an improved durability of the fencing assembly via the at least one reinforcing member. The at least one reinforcing member ensures that collapse or failure of the gravel board is avoided.

Preferably, the at least one reinforcing member is located within the material of the panel member.

Preferably, the at least one reinforcing member is embedded in the panel member.

Further preferably, the at least one reinforcing member is moulded into the panel member.

Preferably, the gravel board comprises a plurality of reinforcing members.

Preferably, the gravel board comprises at least one horizontal reinforcing member.

Preferably, the gravel board comprises at least one vertical reinforcing member.

Preferably, the at least one reinforcing member comprises a plurality of horizontal reinforcing members and a plurality of vertical reinforcing members.

Further preferably, the reinforcing members are mechanically linked.

Preferably, the panel is formed from a recycled material.

Preferably, the panel is formed from concrete or plastic material.

Preferably, the panel is dimensioned and shaped to be received between conventional fence posts.

Preferably, the gravel board comprises a plurality of apertures in the panel member.

Preferably, the gravel board comprises one or more apertures of a first shape.

Preferably, the gravel board comprises one or more apertures of a second shape which is different to the first shape.

Preferably, the at least one aperture is circular, elliptical, triangular, quadrilateral or polygonal.

By way of example only, specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1A is a front view of a first embodiment of gravel board in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 1B is a vertical cross-section through the gravel board of Figure 1A.

Figure 2A is a front view of a second embodiment of gravel board in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2B is a cross-sectional view from the front of the gravel board of Figure 2A

Figure 3A is a front view of a fencing assembly which incorporates a gravel board of Figure

1.

Figure 3B is a cross-sectional view from the front of the fencing assembly of Figure 3A.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the gravel board of Figure 1, wherein the gravel board is secured in place with a fence post.

Figure 5A is a perspective view of the fencing assembly of Figure 3A.

Figure 5B is a perspective view of the fencing assembly of Figure 3A, wherein the fencing panels that rest above the gravel board are shown.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the fencing assembly of Figure 3A.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 3 to 6, a gravel board 100 comprises an elongate, generally rectangular, planar base panel 102 with rounded corners, dimensioned to be received between conventional fence posts 104a, 104b. In use, a fence panel 106 is positioned above and rests upon the upper edge of the base panel 102. The base panel is formed from recycled plastics, although other materials may be used, if desired.

The base panel 102 is provided with three identical circular apertures 108a - 108c, the apertures 108a - 108c being spaced at substantially equal distances along the length of the base panel 102 to allow ingress and egress of wildlife.

The base panel 102 is also provided with an interior internal metal reinforcing frame embedded in the base panel 102, comprising two identical horizontally extending elongate reinforcing members 110a, 110b and four identical vertically extending elongate reinforcing members 112a, 112b, 112c, 112d extending perpendicularly to, and secured to, the horizontal reinforcing members 110a, 110b. Figure 1B shows an interior reinforcing frame with two horizontally extending reinforcing members and four vertically extending reinforcing members, although in practice, any suitable number of reinforcing members may be used, and the exact number may vary based on the dimensions of the gravel board and the number and size of apertures provided.

The horizontally extending reinforcing members 110a, 110b are mechanically linked to the vertically extending reinforcing members 112a - 112d at various points along their length, where the mechanical link may be formed in any number of conventional ways (e.g., via welding, screws or rivets).

Figure 1B shows an upper horizontal reinforcing member 110a positioned above the apertures 108a - 108c and a lower horizontal reinforcing member 110b positioned beneath the apertures 108a - 108c. Additionally, vertical reinforcing members 112a - 112d are positioned between the apertures 108a - 108c and are mechanically linked at each end to the horizontal reinforcing members 110a, 110b. The mechanically linked reinforcing members provide reinforcement to the base panel 102, minimising the risk of collapse or deformation of the apertures 108a - 108c

Figure 2A shows a second embodiment of gravel board in accordance with the present invention, comprising an elongate, generally rectangular, planar base panel 202 with rounded corners provided with apertures 204a - 204e. In this embodiment, the apertures 204a - 204e have different diameters in order to allow ingress and egress of varied wildlife of different sizes. As for the first embodiment, the base panel is moulded from recycled plastics, but other suitable materials may be used, if desired.

In this embodiment, the base panel 202 is provided with five apertures, wherein the centremost aperture 204c has the largest diameter, apertures 204b and 204d have a smaller diameter than aperture 204c, and the outermost apertures 204a and 204e have an even smaller diameter than apertures 204b and 204d, respectively.

In a similar manner to the first embodiment, and as shown in Figure 2B, vertical reinforcing members 208a - 208f are embedded in the base panel 202 between each of the apertures 204a - 204c. The vertical reinforcing members 208a - 208f are mechanically linked at one end to an upper horizontal reinforcing member 206a and at another end to a lower horizontal reinforcing member 206b, in order to provide structural reinforcement to the base panel 202.

Figures 3A and 3B show how the gravel board of Figures 1A and 1B is positioned between fence posts, in use. The base panel 102 is dimensioned to securely fit to a standard Ή shaped” fence post 104a, 104b, wherein each end of the base panel is positioned within a recess 114 in the fence post 104a, 104b, so that each end of the base panel 102 is received within the recessed portion of the fence post, providing a secure fit.

Similarly, a conventional fence panel 106 is also dimensioned to be received between the recesses 114 of spaced-apart fence posts 104a, 104b, when positioned on top of the base panel 102. This configuration is shown in Figure 5B.

Although the specific description refers to base panels with a given amount of apertures and reinforcing members, it is envisaged that any number of apertures could instead be chosen, as desired by the designer or consumer. Additionally, the number of reinforcing members can be selected as appropriate, in order to provide the base panel with the necessary structural reinforcement to alleviate the risk of collapse/failure.

In further alternative embodiments, which are not shown herein for reasons of conciseness, a base panel may be provided with any suitable number of apertures. These apertures may each have an individual shape with different dimensions.

The base panel may be provided with any suitable number of apertures, wherein one subset of the total set of apertures comprises at least one aperture, where the at least one aperture of this first subset is dimensioned to form a first shape. Similarly, a second subset of the total set of apertures again comprises at least one aperture, where the at least one aperture of this second subset is dimensioned to form a second shape that is non-identical to the first shape. The base panel may comprise any suitable number of subsets (i.e. third, fourth, fifth subsets) of the total set of apertures, wherein each individual subset comprises apertures of a shape that is non-identical to the shape of the apertures of any other subset.

The elongate reinforcement members of the embodiment described are formed from a suitable metallic material having the desired properties of high compressive strength and resilience to maintain the required structural support for the gravel board. However, other reinforcing materials may be used.

It is also envisaged that diagonally-extending and/or non-linear reinforcing members could be used in addition to, or instead of, the horizontally and vertically extending elongate reinforcing members described herein. These further reinforcing members may be required to provide the required structural reinforcement to the gravel board, based on the size, dimensions, or number of apertures of the gravel board, for example.

In general, the base panel 102, 202 of the gravel board of the present invention would preferably be formed from a recycled, environmentally-friendly plastic material. The use of recycled plastic material, whilst evidently being beneficial to the environment, would provide a further benefit of increased longevity of the gravel board, when compared with existing concrete or wood panels. The existing panels are prone to failure and generally have a short lifespan, as a result of damage caused by wet conditions, for example.

By way of example, the gravel boards of the present invention may be produced in a conventional manner by moulding the base panel around a pre-constructed reinforcing frame comprising at least one reinforcing member. However, the gravel boards of the present invention may be formed by any suitable method.

The gravel boards of the present invention may alternatively be used with standard fence posts that require gravel board clips. In this case, the gravel board would be suitably positioned to abut the clip provided, with screws, nails or rivets to secure the gravel board in position between the standard fence posts.

Various alterations and modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A gravel board for use with a fence, comprising:

a generally planar panel member;

at least one reinforcing member which reinforces the panel member.

2. A gravel board as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one reinforcing member is located within the material of the panel member.

3. A gravel board as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one reinforcing member is embedded in the panel member.

4. A gravel board as claimed in claim 3, wherein the at least one reinforcing member is moulded into the panel member.

5. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of reinforcing members.

6. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising at least one horizontal reinforcing member.

7. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising at least one vertical reinforcing member.

8. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one reinforcing member comprises a plurality of horizontal reinforcing members and a plurality of vertical reinforcing members.

9. A gravel board as claimed in claim 8, wherein the reinforcing members are mechanically linked.

10. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the panel is formed from a recycled material.

11. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the panel is formed from concrete or plastic material.

12. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the panel is dimensioned and shaped to be received between conventional fence posts.

13. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of apertures in the panel member.

14. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising one or more apertures of a first shape.

15. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising one or more apertures of a second shape which is different to the first shape.

16. A gravel board as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one aperture is circular, elliptical, triangular, quadrilateral or polygonal.