US2401978A - Fence post - Google Patents

Description

Patented June 11, 1946 UNITED. STATE s PATENT oFFicE This invention relates to improvements in fence posts for wire fences.

vThe primary object of the invention is to provide a fence post, the fence supporting portion of which is made of metal and` provided with fence attaching means of comparatively simple construction which will permit the cross wires y of a fence to be readily attached to or removed from the post.

Another object is to provide a metal fence post to which the cross wires of a fence can be securely attached quite expeditiously and, at the same time, the cross wires can be readily detached notwithstanding the degree of security with which said wires are attached to the post.

Another object is to provide a metal fence supporting post to which the cross wires of the fence can be attached and from which they can be detached without the use of any special tools or fastening elements in the form of staples and the like. f

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sectional fence post comprising an upper portion to which the fence-wiresv are attached and a base which may be made either of wood or metal whereby the-upper sections of such sectional posts can be interchangeably used with post bases'anchored in the ground at different Another object of the invention is to provide 30 a sectional post vformed of a base and upper section with the upper section mounted in the base by means that can be readily applied but which can also be' readily removed to permit detachment o! the upper post section from the base.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain details oi' construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will hereinafter be more fully described and the novel features thereof particularly point- 40 Fig.v 4 is a plan view of the blankV from which the upper or fence supporting section of the is formed; f

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the fence post base; Fig. 8 is a top plan view of said base.

post

2 Claims. (Cl. 256-48) scribed as comprising essentially an upper fence supporting portion indicated at A` and a base portion B. In the construction illustrated. in Figs. 1 to 6 these two portions A and B are made of separate pieces of metal.

In the two-piece post the upper portion A is preferably made from a blank such as illustrated in Fig. 4, which is adapted to be bent/along its longitudinal center indicated by the line 20 to assume a V-shape cross-section. This blank for the upper portion is also formed withv a 'series of vertically spaced slits 2| extending transversely -of lits longitudinal center. One end, the lower end 22 of the blank lwhich constitutes the lower end ofthe upper section when the latter is assembled in the base may be square or at right angles to the longitudinal center, while the opposite or upper end thereof is pointed, as ,at 23,

in order that this upper portion may, at times,

be. used independently of the'base portion. In

other words, it is contemplated that by inverting this upper portion the pointed end 23 may be driven into the ground so that the upper portion 'can be used alone as a fence post, particularly where it is desired to erect a temporary fence. After this blank for the upper portion of the post has been bent along the line 20 into V-shape, fence wire receiving notches or openings are formed by bending or osetting alternate strips of metal between the slits 2| inwardly, forinstance, as shown in Fig, 2, where the oiset portions, indicated at 2l, span the space betweenl the dii/erging wall areas of the V-shaped post. These inwardly oiiset strips 24 provide a series of vertically spaced openings 25 in the front or angle of the post for the reception of transverse wires ofthe fence as will be later described.

One end of the base blank is pointed, as at 6. The otherwise free edges of the metal blank-v in this tubular portion ofthe base are secured together by the interlocking dovetailportionssz at Aeach lside edge of the blank. This seam or interlocking connection is preferably located centrally of what night be termed the base of the The present fence post may be generally detriangular tubular portion although, of course,

this seam need not necessarily be located at this particular point. From the tubular-portion of thebase the side edges of theblank converge downwardly, as indicated at 33, and merge in to extended anges 34 which extend substantially parallel to what has been termed the base of the' tubular portion, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 6. In other words, the base member B consists essentially of the upper tubular portion of substantially triangular cross-sectional shape while the remainder of the base is substantially V-shape in cross-section and has wings or ilanges 34 which aid in anchoring it in the ground and is provided with a lower pointed end 21 to facilitate its being driven into the ground. These anges 34 may be made integral, as shown, or from separate pieces of metal and attached to the post.

This tubular portion of the base is adapted to receive the lower end of the substantially V- shaped upper fence supporting portion of the post, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4.' In order that cross wires of the fence may be strung close to the ground the tubular portion is also formed with openings 35 but there are no cross strips such as the strips 24 in this tubular portion of the base in order that the upper portion A mayl freely enter and form a comparatively close f1tin the correspondingly V-shaped walls of the tubular portion of the base. As illustrated in Fig. l, the openings 26 of upper portion A are adapted to register with the openings 35 in the tubular portion of the base and for this purpose the base is provided with a shoulder 36 immediately below the tubular portion for supporting the upper portion A in its proper relative position vertically of the base. This shoulder 36 may also serve as a support for a plug v(not shown) which is used in driving the post base in the ground in order to avoid hitting andpossibly deforming the upper end of the tubular portion ofthe base. In order to securely anchor or fasten upper portion A in the base B two reversely tapered wedge members 31, 38, are adapted to be inserted in the base in the clearance provided by the straight wall portions 3i of the tubular portion of the base. In other words, by reason of theprovision of the straight walls 3| the edges of the two legs of the V-shaped upper post portion A are spaced from what-Ras been termed the base of the tubular portion ofthe base and these wedges are inserted in this space. Wedge 31 preferably tapers upwardly and is provided at its upper end with laterally extending lugs 39 which overhang the straight walls 3| and the wedge 38 is tapered downwardly and is provided at its upper end with a transverse flange 40 which provides an enlarged area for driving the wedge into place. As the width of this ange 40 is greater than the thickness of the material from which the base B is made, the under surface of said flange likewise constitutes a striking surface whenit is desired to dislodge the wedges for the purpose of removing the upper post portion A. VWedge 33 is dished transversely and is inserted in the base vwith its convex side disposed toward wedge 3l. Thus, only the side edge portions of wedge 38 engage against what has been termed the base ofthe tubular portion so as to minimize the strain placed on the seam formed by the interlocking portions 32.

In the use of this style ofpost the base is iirst driven into the ground, preferably using a striking -plug resting on shoulder 36 as previously described, and the upper portion A is then inserted in the tubular portion of the base and anchored or secured therein with the use of the wedges 3l, 36. The cross wires W ofthe fence are' then placed inthe openings 26 and 35, after which a locking rod 4l is inserted from the upper end of the post in front of the fence-wires or between the fence-wires and the wall surfaces of the post formed by the strips of metal remaining between the openings l26. The locking rod 4I may be provided with a hooked end by which it can be suspended from the upper end of the post. As will be apparent, the simple insertion of this rod in a post locks all thecross wires securely to the post although, any time it is desired to remove those wires it is likewise an easy matter to simply withdraw the locking rod 4l and release them.

The present post may be made from a minimum amount of metal and is of such durability that it can be used over long periods of time in' the building of successive fences. the central portion of the blanks where the oifset strips24 and openings 26 and 35 are formed may be madeA thinner than the edge portions of said blanks. The post is of simple inexpensive construction in which the fence-wires can be attached with greater security, and in less time, than if staples or other 'forms of fastening elements which are applied individually to each attached wire, were used. Again, no special tools are required for attaching or detaching the fencewires and, as just stated, all of those wires are, nevertheless, securely attached to the post. Also, as described, all of the cross wires of a fence can be more or less simultaneously locked in the coniining recesses of the post by the locking rod and. likewise, they can all be simultaneously released merely by withdrawing the locking rod. This greatly reduces the time and labor involved in Stringing a Wire fence and permits a wire fence to be securely erected by anchoring all of its wires in a minimum time period.

What I claim is:

1. A metal fence post' base adapted to telescopically receive an upper post section having transverse fence-wire receiving openings therein, said b ase having a tubular upper end adapted to receive said upper section, said tubular portion,

plate interposed between one side wall of the triangular portion of the base and the edges of said V-shaped upper section, and a transversely dished wedge member interposed between said plate and said base wall.

JOSEPH E. SMITH.

If desired

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