IE20040702A1 - A protective fence guard - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is concerned with a fence guard which may be applied to a fence, in particular a horse jumping fence, in order to provide a shock absorbing barrier to reduce or prevent injury to both horses and jockeys in the event of a collision with said fence.

Description

A Protective Fence Guard AS j LODGED j The present invention is concerned with a fence guard for a fence or hurdle, in particular fences or hurdles used in horse racing, and is designed to lessen or avoid injury to a horse or jockey upon impact with the fence or hurdle.

Horse racing, throughout the world, is an extremely popular sport, attracting huge numbers of spectators, the vast proportion of which enjoy betting on the various races at any given event. Horse racing as a sport is consequently a very lucrative business, and thus demands the highest levels of skill from the jockeys involved, in addition to thoroughbred race horses of the highest calibre.

It will therefore be appreciated that the employers of jockeys, and the owners of race horses, take every practical measure possible to ensure the safety and well-being of same. An injury to a jockey or horse can mean large losses of revenue, and certain injuries sustained by a horse may require the retirement or slaughter of the horse. However, even with the most experienced pairing of jockey and horse, accidents invariably occur on the racetrack, in particular during races involving jumps over fences or the like. Even a moderate impact with such a fence or hurdle may result in significant injury to either the jockey or the horse .

OPEN TO PUBLIC INSPECTION UNDER SECTION 28 AND RULE 23 JNL No^Z?^^..... of IE 04 07 02 It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce or eliminate the occurrence of injuries resulting from an impact with such a fence or hurdle.

The present invention therefore provides a fence guard comprising a core of resiliently deformable material; and a wear resistant outer layer.

Preferably, the fence guard comprises a pair of lateral members and a transverse member extending therebetween.

Preferably, the fence guard comprises a base member located, in use, below the transverse member, the base member extending between the pair of lateral members.

Preferably, the fence guard is of modular construction, in order to enable the guard to be fitted to fences of different size.

Preferably, each lateral member is substantially L shaped in order to be capable of covering, in use, a respective edge of a fence.

Preferably, at least the core is formed from a foamed polymer.

Preferably, at least the core is formed from EVA plastic .

Preferably, the outer layer is formed from EVA plastic. •Ε 0 4 0 7 0 2 Preferably, each lateral member comprises at least one rounded outwardly facing edge.

Preferably, the transverse member comprises a rounded upper edge .

Preferably, the base member comprises at least one rounded outwardly facing edge.

Preferably, the outer layer is bright in colour.

As used herein, the term layer is intended to mean a sheet or coating of material, which may be formed integrally with a substrate, or may be formed separately, and subsequently secured or applied to a suitable carrier or substrate.

As used herein, the term rounded is intended to refer to the curving or smoothing off of an edge defining the transition from one surface to another, and is not intended to mean that the rounded area has an actual radius .

As used herein, the term foamed is intended to refer to a characteristic of a material, in particular a polymer, resulting from a process of introducing a gas, preferably carbon dioxide or air, into a polymer before or during the curing thereof, in order to generate a highly porous or honeycomb consistency which substantially increased the shock absorbing qualities of the polymer. •Ε 0 4 η 7 ο 2 As used herein, the term bright is intended to signify a colour or appearance which enables the ready recognition of the object in question, in particular from a distance, and may be achieved by a number of means, whether by contrast with the colours of surrounding objects/surfaces, or by luminescence, or by any other suitable means.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a protective fence guard according to the present invention, affixed to a horse jumping fence; and Figure 2 illustrates a sectioned side elevation of the protective fence guard and fence of figure 1.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a fence guard, generally indicated as 10, for application to horse jumping fences, hurdles or the like, an exemplary fence 12 being illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The fence guard 10 is modular in form, in order to enable the guard 10 to be adapted or sized for use with fences (not shown) of different size and configuration. Thus it will be appreciated from the following description of the configuration of the fence guard 10 that one or more of the components IE 0 4 0 7 Ο 2 forming a part thereof may be altered or omitted to suit a particular fence (not shown) in question.

Thus, in the embodiment illustrated, the fence guard 10 comprises a pair of lateral members 14 to be secured, in use, to a pair of side posts 20 which form part of the fence 12. The fence guard 10 further comprises a transverse member 16 to be secured to a top rail 22 of the fence 12, and a base member 18 to be secured to a toe board 24 of the fence 12.

The lateral members 14, transverse member 16, and base member 18 are preferably L shaped in profile, in order to cover, respectively, a front and inner face of each side post 20, a front and bottom face of the top rail 22, and a front and top face of the board 24, as it is these surfaces which are most likely to be contacted upon an impact between a horse/jockey (not shown) and the fence 12. This shape also ensures that the respective leading edges of the side posts 20, top rail 22 and toe board 24 are covered. As a further measure, both free ends, in addition to the outer corner, of each of the lateral members 14, transverse member 16 and base member 18 are rounded in profile, in order to eliminate any sharp edges, and therefore reduce the likelihood or severity of any injury resulting from contact with such edges.

Each component of the fence guard 10 may be secured in place by any suitable means, for example using cable ties (not shown) or the like, or alternatively using an IE 0 4 0 7 0 2 adhesive or the like. The fence guard 10 could also be secured in place using mechanical fixing means such as screws (not shown) or the like. It is however preferable that the fence guard 10 is releasably secured to the fence 12, in order to allow the removal and replacement of same, whether due to damage, or for any other reason.

In this regard, it will be appreciated that the fence guard 10 will be subject to wear due to impact therewith, in addition to being exposed to the environment for prolonged periods of time. It is therefore preferable that the fence guard 10 is formed from a material which can withstand such abuse, while still providing suitable cushioning or shock absorption upon impact therewith. The fence guard 10 is therefore preferably formed having a resiliently deformable core 26 with a protective or hardened outer skin or layer 28 .

Any suitable material may be chosen having the requisite properties, although it has been found by the applicant that ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) embodies the requisite properties. EVA is a closed cell foamed polymer which does not loose its resilience over time like other foamed products, and has excellent split tear resistance. The various components of the fence guard 10 are formed in a mould, and by leaving the fence guard 10 for a prolonged period within the mould (not shown), the hardened outer skin 28 is formed. EVA IE 0 4 0 7 0 2 is also impervious to moisture, and can therefore be exposed to the elements without adverse affects.

It will however be appreciated that the core 26 could be formed from a first material having the requisite shock absorbing characteristics, while the outer layer 28 could be formed from a second material having the requisite wear resistance, and the outer layer 28 then fixed to the core 26. This could be achieved by any number of suitable means, and may depend on the materials chosen to form the core 26 and the outer layer 28. If suitable, an adhesive could be used to bond the core 26 and outer layer 28 together, although any other suitable mechanical fixing means (not shown) could be employed.

The fence guard 10 is also preferably manufactured to have a highly visible or bright colour or appearance, for example by colouring the outer layer 28 bright orange or the like. This will therefore render the fence guard 10 highly visible to a jockey, thereby clearly defining the boundaries of the fence 12, and therefore further decreasing the risk of a collision with same. Coloration of the fence guard 10 may be easily achieved by the addition of a suitable pigment to the EVA polymer during the production of same. As an alternative, the outer skin 28 could simply be painted with a highly visible coating, although this is likely to wear over time, thus reducing the effectiveness of same.

IE 0 4 07 02 The base member 18 is also preferably relatively wide, and therefore highly visible, and may thus be used for advertising purposes or the like.

It will also be appreciated that the fence guard 10 may be adapted to be mounted to any other form of jump (not shown) for example hedge jumps, or any other obstacle to be jumped.

Claims (14)

Claims :

1. A fence guard comprising a core of resiliently deformable material; and a wear resistant outer layer.

2. A fence guard according to claim 1 comprising a pair of lateral members and a transverse member extending therebetween.

3. A fence guard according to claim 1 or 2 comprising a base member located, in use, below the transverse member, the base member extending between the pair of lateral members.

4. A fence guard according to any preceding claim in which the fence guard is of modular construction, in order to enable the guard to be fitted to fences of different size.

5. A fence guard according to any of claims 2 to 4 in which each lateral member is substantially L shaped in order to be capable of covering, in use, a respective edge of a fence.

6. A fence guard according to any preceding claim in which at least the core is formed from a foamed polymer.

7. A fence guard according to any preceding claim in which at least the core is formed from EVA plastic. IE 0 4 0 7 0 2

8. A fence guard according to claim 7 in which the outer layer is formed from EVA plastic.

9. A fence guard according to any of claims 2 to 8 in which each lateral member comprises at least one rounded outwardly facing edge.

10. A fence guard according to any of claims 2 to 9 in which the transverse member comprises a rounded upper edge .

11. A fence guard according to any of claims 3 to 10 in which the base member comprises at least one rounded outwardly facing edge.

12. A fence guard according to any preceding claim in which the outer layer is liquid impermeable.

13. A fence guard according to any preceding claim in which the outer layer is bright in colour.

14. A fence guard substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.