IE20220159U1 - Fence Tester - Google Patents

Abstract

A fence tester comprising a handle member coupled with a blade member by a pivoting member which is configured to cause the blade member to move between an open position in which the blade member is extended from the handle member and a closed position in which the blade member is folded into a central recess in the handle member, wherein a closeable housing configured to accommodate an electronic circuit is formed in each of the opposing sides of the handle member and the fence tester comprises a further closeable housing configured to house a power means; characterised in that the fence tester comprises a watertight channel formed in the handle member and the pivot member and containing an electrical coupling means to permit the coupling of the power means with the electronic circuit without exposure to the elements.

Description

Fence Tester Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fence tester and more specifically a fence tester configured to permit the detection and measurement of a voltage of an electrical fence.

Background of the Invention An electrical fence is a barrier that uses electric shocks to deter animals from crossing a boundary. A power energizer converts power into a brief high voltage pulse which the energizer releases along the electrical fencing wire. The energizer is also connected to a ground/earth rod implanted in the earth. An animal touching both the wire and the earth during a pulse will complete an electrical circuit and will conduct the pulse and receive an electric shock. The effects of the shock at least partially depend upon the voltage of the pulse.

An adequately designed and constructed electrical fence works by the combination of a weak physical barrier (the fence) and a strong psychological imprint created in the mind of the animal (from the sting of the electric shock). An electrical fence is designed to use the electricity in the fence as the deterrent. In the absence of electricity, the fence is useless and will not fulfill its function.

When properly installed and insulated from the ground an electrical fence should produce at least 3 kV, although the minimum EU levels for different types of animals are as follows: ° Horses and cattle = 1.5kV - Calves = 2kV - Sheep (have a natural insulation through their wool) = 3 kV Electrical fences may be used to create boundaries for very large territories which may include rough terrain. Similarly, electrical fences can be damaged by high winds, falling trees etc. This can break the electrical connection between the fence and the energizer so that the electrical fence no longer carries the electrical pulses.

Similarly, overgrown vegetation touching the fence line can "load" the fence (touching it, causing voltage to leak to ground, reducing the voltage on the fence line). Thus, when an electrical fence is built, monitoring its voltage regularly is a basic management practice.

In view of the potentially large areas bounded by the electrical fencing, farmers may also have to trudge across large distances on foot to reach off-road electrical fences.

Similarly, in the interests of time-efficiency it is desirable to repair a damaged electrical fence as soon as it is detected. To do this, electrical fence repair tools are needed. But this adds to the weight and number of tools a farmer may have to carry with them when walking across potentially large distances; and is especially inconvenient under inclement weather conditions.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention there is provided a fence tester comprising a handle member coupled with a blade member by a pivoting member which is configured to cause the blade member to move between an open position in which the blade member is extended from the handle member and a closed position in which the blade member is folded into a central recess in the handle member, wherein a closeable housing configured to accommodate an electronic circuit is formed in each of the opposing sides of the handle member and the fence tester comprises a further closeable housing configured to house a power supply; characterised in that the fence tester comprises a watertight channel formed in the handle member and the pivot member and containing an electrical coupling means to permit the coupling of the power supply with the electronic circuit without exposure to the elements.

Preferably, the watertight channel is formed in the pivoting member and in the handle member and is configured to permit the daisy chaining of a first electronic circuit to a second electronic circuit and the second electronic circuit to the power supply.

Preferably, the housing for the power means is formed in a first side of the pivoting member and comprises a slot to permit access to the power supply by a probe inserted through the pivoting member to the other side thereof to make contact with the second electronic circuit; and the handle member comprises a water tight channel formed between both housings at an end of the handle member distanced from the pivoting member, the said channel comprising a wire electrically coupling the second electronic circuit to the first electronic circuit.

Preferably, the second electronic circuit is a voltage detector circuit comprising an antenna.

Desirably, the handle member comprises a hooking member configured to hold an electrical fencing wire and the hooking member is distanced from the antenna to permit accurate measurement of a voltage of the electrical fencing wire by the voltage detection circuit.

Desirably, the antenna is coupled with a peak-detector circuit comprising a capacitor which is chargeable by a voltage induced in the antenna by a voltage pulse issued by an electrified electrical fencing wire held in the hooking member, and a corresponding voltage of the capacitor is drainable therefrom to a ground voltage by a bleed-off resistor sandwiched therebetween at sufficient rate to cause the capacitor to be discharged before the issuance of a next voltage pulse by the electrical fencing wire.

Desirably, the capacitor is coupled with a microcontroller unit which is configured to be activated from a low current consumption sleep mode in the event the voltage of the capacitor exceeds a pre-defined reference voltage, to convert the value of the voltage of the capacitor to a value corresponding with the voltage of the pulse issued by the electrified electrical fencing wire.

Preferably, the microcontroller unit is coupled with a plurality of illumination means and is configured to activate one of the illumination means according to the voltage of the pulse issued by the electrified electrical fencing wire.

Preferably, the first electronic circuit is a user activatable alert issuing circuit.

Preferably, the alert issuing circuit comprises a microcontroller unit coupled with a user activatable switch and a transmitter unit to cause an alert signal to be transmitted therefrom, and the alert signal comprises the geographic co—ordinates of the location of the fence tester.

Desirably, the microcontroller unit is configured to be activated from a low current consumption sleep mode on activation of the switch to assemble an alert signal O comprising an identifier of the fence tester, a value of the charge of the power supply and the GPS co-ordinates of the fence tester; and to communicate the alert signal to the transmitter unit for transmission therefrom.

Desirably, the microcontroller unit is configured to return to a low current consumption sleep mode on receipt of an acknowledgement that the alert signal has been received by a remote receiver and otherwise cause the transmitter unit to retransmit the alert signal.

Desirably, the alert issuing circuit employs the Sigfox communications network.

Preferably, the fence tester is configured to undertake checks of the performance of the components of its electronic circuits and to issue reports of the outcome of the tests to a remote computing device for subsequent analysis and actions.

Preferably, the handle member and closure means for the housings and the pivoting member are each formed from a waterproof plastics material.

Description and Drawings An embodiment of the invention is herein described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation view of an upper half of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment in an open state; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a lower half of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment in the open state; Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the upper half of the fence tester of Figure 1 with a cover removed therefrom; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the partly disassembled lower half of the fence tester of Figure 2 with a cover removed therefrom; Figure 6 is an exploded view of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment; Figure 7 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment in the open state; Figure 8 is a side elevation view of a blade member of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment; O Figure 9 is a side elevation view of a spring member of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment; Figure 10 is a side elevation view of an assembly of the blade member of Figure 8 and the spring member of Figure 9 with the blade member in an open state; Figure 11 is a perspective view of an assembly comprising the assembly of Figure 10 with the spring member coupled with an unlocking button; Figure 12 is a perspective view of the assembly of Figure 11 with the blade member freed for rotation relative to the spring member; Figure 13 is a side elevation view of an assembly of the blade member of Figure 8 and the spring member of Figure 9 with the blade member in a closed or folded state; Figure 14 is a perspective cut-away view of a pivotable coupling mechanism of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment; Figure 15 is a front elevation view of an upper half of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment in a closed state; Figure 16 is a back elevation view of a lower half of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment in the closed state; Figure 17 is a transverse cross sectional view of a bulbous pivoting section of a handle member of the fence tester showing a fence detector circuit housed within the upper half of the handle member; Figure 18 is a block diagram of an alert issuing circuit of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment; Figure 19 is a circuit diagram of a mechanical switch interrupt pin interface of the alert issuing circuit of Figure 14; and Figure 20 is a flow chart of an algorithm implemented in the alert issuing circuit of the fence tester of the preferred embodiment.

Detailed Description While certain specific features are illustrated in the above figures, those skilled in the art will appreciate from the present disclosure that various other features have not been illustrated for the sake of brevity and so as not to obscure more pertinent aspects of the implementations disclosed herein.

Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2, the fence tester 10 comprises a handle member 12 pivotally coupled with a blade member 14. The handle member 12 may be configured to be held by the hand of a user (not shown) and may comprise a gripping surface (not shown) to assist the user in holding the handle member 12.

The handle member 12 may comprise a bulbous hollow pivoting section 16 disposed at one end thereof. The pivoting section 16 comprises an interior cavity (not shown) extending laterally therethrough and configured to house a pivotable coupling mechanism (not shown) for the handle member 12 to the blade member 14. The pivotable coupling mechanism (not shown) will be described in more detail later.

The handle member 12 may also comprise an unlocking button 18 mounted on a side of the handle member 12 and disposed within easy reach of the user of the fence tester 10. The unlocking button 18 is coupled with a spring member (not shown) of the fence tester 10 to cause the blade member 14 to be folded into the handle member 12 as will be discussed later.

Referring to Figure 3, the handle member 12 may comprise an upper half 20 and a lower half 22, which are at least partly separated from each other by an elongated slot-shaped first recess 24. Adjoining the interior cavity 25 of the pivoting section 16 and extending from the interior cavity 25 into the body of the handle member 12, the first recess 24 may be disposed substantially in the centre of the handle member 12 and may be arranged so that its longitudinal axis is co-axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the handle member 12. The first recess 24 may be further dimensioned to accommodate the length of the blade member 14 and at least some of the width of the blade member 14.

Referring to Figure 4, Figure 6 and Figure 7, the upper half 20 of the handle member 12 may comprise a second recess 26 configured to house a voltage detection circuit 28. The fence tester 10 may further comprise a first cover member dimensioned to cover the opening of the second recess 26, thereby protecting the voltage detection circuit 28; and to extend beyond the second recess 26 to cover the pivoting section 16 of the upper half 20 of the handle member 12. The fence tester may further comprise a first seal member 32 dimensioned to match the edges of the upper half 20 of the handle member 12. The first seal member 32 may comprise a silicone foam cord with a round cross section. The first seal member 32 may be

Claims (1)

Claims

1. . A fence tester 10 comprising a handle member 12 coupled with a blade member 14 by a pivoting member 16 which is configured to cause the blade member 14 to move between an open position in which the blade member 14 is extended from the handle member 12 and a closed position in which the blade member 14 is folded into a central recess 24 in the handle member 12, wherein a closeable housing 20, 4O configured to accommodate an electronic circuit 28, 42 is formed in each of the opposing sides of the handle member 12 and the fence tester 10 comprises a further closeable housing 73 configured to house a power supply 74; characterised in that the fence tester 10 comprises a watertight channel formed in the handle member 12 and the pivot member 16 and containing an electrical coupling means to permit the coupling of the power supply 74 with the electronic circuit 28, 42 without exposure to the elements. The fence tester 10 as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the watertight channel is formed in the pivoting member 16 and in the handle member 12 and is configured to permit the daisy chaining of a first electronic circuit 42 to a second electronic circuit 28 and the second electronic circuit 28 to the power supply 74. The fence tester 10 as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the housing for the power supply 74 is formed in a first side of the pivoting member 16 and comprises a slot to permit access to the power supply 74 by a probe 78, 80 inserted through the pivoting member 16 to the other side thereof to make contact with the second electronic circuit 28; and the handle member 12 comprises a water tight channel formed between both housings 20, 40 at an end of the handle member 12 distanced from the pivoting member 16, the said channel comprising a wire electrically coupling the second electronic circuit 28 to the first electronic circuit. The fence tester 10 as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the second electronic circuit 28 is a voltage detection circuit comprising an antenna. The fence tester 10 as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the handle member 12 comprises a hooking member 112 configured to hold an electrical fencing wire and the hooking member 112 is distanced from the antenna to permit accurate measurement of a voltage of the electrical fencing wire by the voltage detection circuit 28.