GB2620671A - A rural fencing method and fence - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of extending the height of a fence having a plurality of lower picket posts 14 spaced apart along the line of the fence by adding a further plurality of additional picket posts 114 above each lower picket post, said method comprising the steps of connecting a picket post interconnection sleeve 10 to either the top of each lower picket post or the base of each additional picket post, positioning each additional picket post adjacent each corresponding lower picket post, at least part of each additional picket post touching the ground, stringing on, or otherwise attaching to, said additional picket posts at least one fence wire31, 32, 33, 34 intended to be installed above the height of the lower picket posts, sequentially lifting each additional picket post and inter-engaging each said additional picket post, the corresponding said sleeve, and the corresponding said lower picket post to thereby locate said strung or attached wire(s) above the height of said lower picket posts, and tensioning said strung or attached wire(s). The fence may be used in rural areas and be exclusion fencing for keeping out feral animals like dingos, kangaroos, deer. The wires may be barbed.

Description

A Rural Fencing Method and Fence

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to rural fencing.

Background Art

Traditionally rural fencing has been involved with keeping domestic animals within a paddock or other area and this is generally termed inclusion fencing. Such inclusion fencing is approximately waist high. In recent years a new form of fencing has evolved termed exclusion fencing which is intended to keep out feral animals such as dingos, kangaroos, deer, etc. Such exclusion fencing is approximately head high and typically has a height of about 1.8 m.

The post required for waist high fencing is typically 1.8 in long and is driven into the ground 600 mm so as to leave a post portion 1.2 m high extending from the ground. The post required for exclusion fencing is typically 2.4 m long and is again driven into the ground 600 mm so as to leave a post portion approximately 1.8 m high extending from the ground. It is possible for a fencer of average height to raise his hands above his head and reach a height of 1.8 m.

So for an exclusion fence, the attachment of an uppermost strand of wire, typically a barbed wire, to the erected posts is basically no different to the attachment of an uppermost strand of wire to inclusion fence posts, the fencer merely works with his hands held above his head at each post, rather than held at about waist height for an inclusion fence. Thus, for both inclusion and exclusion fences, the posts are erected first and the wires are erected thereafter. There are some fencing machines which utilise a carousel of fence posts in which the wire and the fence posts are already interconnected. Utilising such a device means the fence posts and wires are erected simultaneously, not sequentially.

Australian Patent Application No 2022 901 679 by the present applicant and filed simultaneously herewith, the contents of which are hereby incorporated into the present application for all purposes, and now PCT/AU2023/050403, discloses a method of coaxially joining two fence posts so as to abut same longitudinally. In particular, a reason for providing such a fence post is that a fence height of 3 m can be achieved without the need for 3.6 rn long fence posts.

The reason a fence height of 3 m is desirable is that it has been found that, in practice, both kangaroos and deer can jump over a fence which is 1.8 m high. Accordingly, there are circumstances in which it is necessary to exclude such athletic feral animals from grazing on particular pastures in particular paddocks. An example of such a situation is the growing of lucerne for the purposes of commercial hay making in a paddock alongside a National Park.

Genesis of the Invention The Genesis of the present invention is a desire to provide a method of fence erection, and the fence thereby erected, which generally avoids the need for a fencer to be raised above the ground.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of extending the height of a rural fence having a plurality of approximately waist high lower picket posts spaced apart along the line of the fence by adding a further plurality of additional picket posts above each lower picket post, said method comprising the steps of: connecting a picket post interconnection sleeve to either the top of each lower picket post or the base of each additional picket post, positioning each additional picket post adjacent each corresponding lower picket post, at least part of each additional picket post touching the ground, stringing on, or otherwise attaching to, said additional picket posts at least one fence wire intended to be installed above the height of the lower picket posts, sequentially lifting each additional picket post and inter-engaging each said additional picket post, the corresponding said sleeve, and the corresponding said lower picket post to thereby locate said strung or attached wire(s) above the height of said lower picket posts, and straining said strung or attached wire(s) to an appropriate tension.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a fence constructed by the above method.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a conventional waist high inclusion fence of the prior art, Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating the first step in converting to a high exclusion fence, Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating the next step of laying out the additional posts on the ground, Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating the loose stringing of the wires on the additional posts on the ground, Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but illustrating the progressive raising of the additional posts above the ground and their connection with the existing fence posts, Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig.5 and illustrating all the additional posts raised above the ground and the wires passing therethrough being in a slack state, and Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating the completed high exclusion fence with the wires tensioned.

Detailed Description

As seen in Fig. 1, a conventional inclusion fence 10 of the prior art extends between a pair of wooden strainer posts 11 each of which includes a stay 12. Extending along the fence line are a plurality of star pickets 14. There may be no other intermediate posts in the fence 10 or there may be a number of wooden or concrete intermediate posts (not illustrated) positioned so that 4 or 5 star pickets 14 are located between each pair of intermediate posts. A barbed wire 16 is normally the uppermost wire of the fence 10. Below the barbed wire 16 is a prefabricated mesh 17 such as those referred to as hinge lock or ring lock. There may be one or more plain wires (not illustrated) located intermediate the barbed wire 16 and the mesh 17. The height above the ground of such a fence is typically 1.2 m and the wooden strainer posts are typically approximately 1.3 m above the ground. The star pickets 14 are 1.8 m in length and are driven into the ground 600 mm so as to extend 1.2 m above the ground.

A fence of this height is adequate for domestic animals but is clearly inadequate for climbing orjumping feral animals including deer and kangaroo.

Turning now to Fig. 2, the first step of the preferred embodiment in converting the fence 10 into a high exclusion fence is to locate a sleeve 19, such as one of the sleeves described in the above-mentioned patent specification, on the top of each of the star pickets 14. This will enable each of the star pickets 14 to be longitudinally abutted with a like star picket 114 (Fig. 3). In. addition, two star pickets 24 of maximum length such as 2.4 m are joined to the strainer posts 11 with an approximate gap of 600 mm between the bottom of the star pickets 24 and the ground. This places the top of the star pickets 24 at a height of approximately 3 m above the ground. The star pickets 24 are attached to the strainer posts 11 by means of fasteners such as TEK screws, or by means of lashing with plain wire, or metal straps for example.

Alternatively, the procedure described and illustrated in Figs 48-50 of the above mentioned PCT specification can be used.

The next step in the process is to place the additional star pickets 114 along the fence line as illustrated in Fig. 3. This can be done by either leaning the star pickets 114 up against the fence 10 as illustrated in solid lines in Fig. 3, or by lying the star pickets 114 on the ground as illustrated by broken lines in Fig. 3. Preferably this is done so that the star pickets 114 are "upside down" in that the normal top of the star picket 114 is located below the normal bottom tip 26 of the star picket 114. Several brands of star pickets 114 have a hole 27 immediately adjacent the bottom tip 26. This hole 27 is used to secure a bundle of star pickets 114 so as to be transportable by a forklift, utility, or like vehicle. That is, the hole 27 is not normally used to receive any wire and is normally buried in the ground.

Turning now to Fig. 4, the next step is to string plain wires 31-34 through the star pickets 114. In this connection, the top plain wire 31 is strung through the holes 27. The remaining wires 32-34 are strung through normal wire receiving apertures in the star pickets 114. How many such wires are used, and their spacing is a matter of individual choice. The important thing is that the star pickets 114 are able to be easily accessed by a fencer standing on the ground. An alternative to using apertures in the star pickets 114 is to connect the wires 31-34 to the star pickets 14 by alternative means such as a short length of tie wire or the clip described and illustrated in Figs 51-62 of the above mentioned PCT specification.

As seen in Fig. 5, working along the fence line, the star pickets 114 are progressively raised above ground level and have their lower end (preferably the normal top of the star picket 114) inserted into the corresponding sleeve 19. Because the wires 31-34 are loose, these wires can run through the apertures in the star pickets 114 and so adjust their position to enable each of the star pickets 114 to be sequentially lifted in turn and placed into their final position on the corresponding sleeve 19. This procedure as illustrated in Fig. 5 is continued along the fence line until the situation is reached as illustrated in Fig. 6 where all the star pickets 114 are now elevated and longitudinally joined to their corresponding star picket 14 by means of the sleeves 19. At this stage the wires 31-34 are still slack or loose.

Fig. 5 illustrates an advantageous arrangement for coaxially connecting two conventional star pickets 14, 114. In this arrangement, the lower star picket 14 is inserted into the ground in the normal manner. The coupling tube 19 is slid into position and the upper conventional star picket 114 is inverted before being slid into the coupling tube 19. This has the consequence that the "upper" end of each of the star pickets 14, 114 are adjacent each other. This has the advantage that a tie wire can be passed through the two "uppermost" apertures of the adjacent posts 14, 114 thereby tying the two posts together. This resists upward movement of the upper post 114 as, for example, happens when the coaxially aligned posts are located in a dip or other undulation in the ground surface and the tension in the fencing wires 31-34 tends to pull the upper post 114 upwardly. In this configuration, the aperture 27 adjacent the point 26 of the upper post 114 is available for a top wire 31 to be strung on the fence 100 are.

Next the wires 31-34 are strained using a conventional wire strainer and the ends of the wires are made fast to the star pickets 24. Only this action may necessitate the fencer standing on a strainer post 11, a ladder or the tray of a utility vehicle. The tension in the wires 31-34 need not be very high since these wires will not normally be rubbed by domestic stock. The final position is as illustrated in Fig. 7 which shows the completed fence 100.

It will be appreciated that the tip 26 of the star pickets 114 is essentially 3m above the ground. This 3 m is made up by the 1.8 m length of the star picket 114 and the 1.2 m length of the star picket which extends above the ground. Since kangaroos and deer can only jump in an upright manner, it becomes very difficult for them to force their way between the wires 31-34 which represent a substantially vertical trampoline which bounces the animals back towards their] umping off point.

Furthermore, a substantial benefit of stringing the wires 31-34 through the star pickets 114 whilst they are on the ground, or at ground level, is that is not necessary for the fencer to stand on the back of a utility vehicle, or stand on a ladder, etc. in order to reach the height of the wires and, in particular, the top wire 31. Thus, an extensive workplace health and safety hazard is avoided The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the agricultural fencing arts, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the drawings the star picket 14 and the star picket 114 are the same being the smaller of the two commercial star picket sizes. However, it is possible for the lower star picket 14 to be a BEEFY or MAXY style star picket of increased thickness. In this case, the sleeve 19 is suitably adapted as explained in the above-mentioned provisional and PCT patent applications.

It is desirable for the star picket 114 to be erected "upside down" because the hole spacings immediately above the barbed wire 16 are then relatively closely spaced apart. If the star picket 114 is erected "normal way up" then the hole 27 would be immediately adjacent the barbed wire 16 and the next hole or aperture would be approximately 600 mm away. This would therefore leave a substantial gap above the barbed wire 16 through which animals such as kangaroos may attempt to pass through the completed fence 100.

Furthermore, although the above description describes the conversion of an existing rural fence 10 into a high exclusion fence 100, it is not necessary that the 3 m height of the fence 100 be reached in that manner. It is also possible for the fence 100 to be constructed from scratch by first installing the star pickets 14, distributing the additional star pickets 114, stringing the wires 31-34 through the star pickets 114, and then sequentially raising the star pickets 114. The mesh 17 and barbed wire 16 can be added before, during, or after this activity. This avoids the need to drive very long star pickets into the ground from an elevated position.

Still further, if desired, the sleeve 19 can be added to the lower end of the star pickets 114 rather than the upper end of the star pickets 14 The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "including" or "having" and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of'

Claims (5)

1. CLAIMSI. A method of extending the height of a rural fence having a plurality of approximately waist high lower picket posts spaced apart along the line of the fence by adding a further plurality of additional picket posts above each lower picket post, said method comprising the steps of: connecting a picket post interconnection sleeve to either the top of each lower picket post or the base of each additional picket post, positioning each additional picket post adjacent each corresponding lower picket post, at least part of each additional picket post touching the ground, stringing on, or otherwise attaching to, said additional picket posts at least one fence wire intended to be installed above the height of the lower picket posts, sequentially lifting each additional picket post and inter-engaging each said additional picket post, the corresponding said sleeve, and the corresponding said lower picket post to thereby locate said strung or attached wire(s) above the height of said lower picket posts, and straining said strung or attached wire(s) to an appropriate tension.
2. 2. The method as defined in claim I wherein each said additional picket post is installed above its corresponding lower picket post in an inverted configuration whereby said posts are longitudinally abutted top to top.
3. 3 The method as defined in claims 1 or 2 wherein said additional picket posts are leant against an existing fence in a generally vertical orientation.
4. 4. The method as defined in claims 1 or 2 wherein said additional picket posts are located on the ground adjacent the existing fence in a generally horizontal orientation.
5. 5. A fence constructed by the method as defined in any one of claims 1-4.