US3411754A

US3411754A - Fence post wire fastener

Info

Publication number: US3411754A
Application number: US600130A
Authority: US
Inventors: Martin H Fahrenholz
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-12-08
Filing date: 1966-12-08
Publication date: 1968-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 1985-11-19

Description

. 1968. M. H. FAHRENH'OLZ 3,411,754

FENCE POST WIRE FASTENER Filed Dec. 8, 1966 Martin H. Fahren/ra/z l N VEN TOR.

United States Patent 3,411,754 FENCE POST WIRE FASTENER Martin H. Fahrenholz, Bassett, Nebr. 68714 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 440,673, Mar. 10, 1965. This application Dec. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 600,130

4 Claims. (Cl. 256-48) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Means for attaching an elongated flexible member, such as a strand of wire, to a fence post or the like, including horizontally spaced apart clips defining generally vertically disposed oppositely opening slots, the slots in the clips having closed ends in substantial horizontal alignment and vertically spaced entrance passages, the entrance passages being disposed in vertically spaced relation so that one of said clips holds the wire up in a locking position and the other of the clips holds the wire down in a locking position against accidental dislodgment.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Ser. No. 440,673, filed Mar. 10, 1965, now abandoned.

The fastener of the instant invention is in the form of a plate-like member bent into generally U-shaped construction including a pair of generally parallel upstanding flanges interconnected by means of an upstanding bight portion extending therebetween and the bight portion of the fastener includes structural features thereof adapting the fastener to be secured to the vertical front face of a fence post or the like with the outer surface of the bight portion opposing the face of the fence post and the flanges of the fastener projecting outwardly from the fence post. The flanges each includes a vertical slot formed therethrough with the slot in one flange being closed at its upper end and the slot in the other flange closed at its lower end. The closed ends of the slots are in substantial horizontal alignment and each of the slots includes an entrance passage extending between the end of the corresponding slot remote from the closed end thereof and a marginal edge portion of the corresponding flange.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide means whereby an elongated flexible member, such as a strand of wire, can be securely attached to a fence post or the like, without fear of accidental dislodgmeint thereof from the fence post with such means functioning to hold the wire up in a locking position while holding the wire down in a locking position and thereby preventing accidental dislodgment thereof while permitting easy manually deliberate installation or removal of the flexible member.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive, simple, effective and efficient means whereby wire may be strung along fence posts, irrespective of the nature or configuration of the fence posts, without the use of any tools or manual dexterity and whereby the strands of wire will lie in positive lines and be securely locked against upward or downward movement relative to the fence posts.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form of post wire fastener unit, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of another form of 3,411,754 Patented Nov. 19, 1968 ice fence wire fastener unit, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a further form of fence wire fastener unit, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a still further form of fence post wire fastener unit, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a still further form of fence post wire fastener unit, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a still further form of fence post wire fastener unit, constructed in accord-- ance with the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of a unit, similar to, for example, FIGURE 5 or 6, showing the same mounted on a round wooden fence post or the like, and,

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially on line 8-8 of FIGURE 4 and showing the means for attaching the unit to the particular fence post.

Referring now more to the accompanying drawings, and initially to FIGURE 1, the numeral 10 generally designates a conventional T-shaped fence post, which has a front flange 12 provided with a flat front face 14. The means for attaching the strand of wire 16, which is merely representative, since any elongated flexible member can be attached to the fence post, is generally designated by the reference numeral 18. The wire fastener unit 18, in the instance of FIGURE 1, includes a pair of

clips

20 and 200, which are of identical construction but are in different structural positioning with respect to the face 14 of the fence post.

The clip 20 and the clip 20a have flat

thin body portions

22 and 24 which are vertically orientated with respect to the flat face 14 and have their inner vertical straight edges welded, as at 26, to the flat face 14 of the flange 12. Thus, the

body portions

22 and 24 outstand perpendicularly from the flat face 14 and are arranged vertically or axially of the vertical axis of the post. The body portion 22 is formed with a downwardly and inwardly, substantially vertically disposed slot 28, while the body portion 24 is formed with an upwardly and inwardly, substantially vertically disposed slot 30. The

slots

28 and 30 have closed

inner ends

32 and 34 which are substantially horizontally aligned.

The slot 28 has an entrance 34, so that the strand of wire 16 may be moved downwardly into the slot 28 and rest on the inner closed end32the reo f,whilethe slot 30 has an entrance 36 so that the strand may be moved into the slot and upwardly in the slot to engage and rest against the inner end 34 of the slot 30. Since the closed

inner ends

32 and 34 are substantially horizontally aligned, it can be appreciated that the strand 16 will extend substantially straight across the face 14 of the flange 12 and will be held up in horizontal position and will be held down in horizontal position.

It can be appreciated that the

body portions

22 and 24 are identical but the result is achieved because the body portions are vertically staggered and the slots have their

entrances

34 and 36 at the top and at the bottom.

Thus, the locking of the stuand of wire 16 in a horizontal position so that it cannot be moved accidentally out of the wire fastener 18, which is composed of the two clips that comprise similar thin body portions, which may be easily stamped from sheet metal or the like or which may be easily fabricated from plastic or similar inexpensive material, is realized by the reverse positioning of the body portions and the fact that they are vertically spaced.

A further form of wire fastener unit, generally designated by the reference numeral 38, is shown in FIGURE 2. In this instance, the wire fastener includes a pair of similar clips and 42, which have thin, flat

narrow body portions

44 and 46 that are vertically orientated and which have rear edges that are welded to the face 14 of the post so that the clips are in vertically spaced relationship and are in laterally spaced cooperative relationship. The

body portions

44 and 46 are formed with

vertical slots

48 and 50, the slots terminating in closed inner ends 52 and 54 which are horizontally aligned for the reception of the strand of wire 16. The slots 46 and 48- are vertically or perpendicularly disposed and the outer edges of the body portions are formed with lateral entrance openings for the slots, with the entrance opening 56 for the slot 48 being at the top of the body member 44 and the entrance opening 58 for the slot being at the bottom of the body portion '46. Consequently, as in the ease of the wire fastener unit of FIGURE 1, the clips of FIGURE 2 are of identical construction but are attached to the face 14 in vertically reversed and vertically spaced relationship so that the inner ends of the vertical slots are in horizontal alignment while the

entrance openings

56 and 58 are vertically spaced apart, whereby the wire strand 16 is held up in horizontal position and held down in horizontal position.

With reference to FIGURE 3, the clips 42' and 44' are formed integrally in an integral unit 60 by virtue of a bridge plate 62, which has its flat rear face welded or othenwise fixedly superimposed on the flat front face 14 of the flange 12 of the post. The unit 60 of FIGURE 3 is obviously easier to attach to the face 14 since it is not necessary to solder, weld, braze or otherwise affix the rear edges of the individual clips, as in the instance of FIGURES 1 and 2, to the face 14, so that the closed inner ends of the upwardly and downwardly extending locking slots are in substantially horizontal alignment. With the unit 60 of FIGURE 3, it is only necessary to secure the plate 62 and, furthermore, it can be appreciated that the entire unit can be stamped or molded in one piece with the clips bent outwardly from the bridging plate 62 so as to assume their lateral substantially parallel relationship.

In FIGURE 4, the wire fastener unit 64 possesses further advantages, even though it is similar to the unit 60 and to the individual clips 40 and 42 of the form 38 of FIGURE 2. In FIGURE 4, a single blank 66 is formed and includes a web or bridge portion 68 which extends transversely of the face 14 of the post, straight across or normal to the vertical axis thereof, which is an advantage over the inclined bridge plate 60 of the form of FIGURE 3. The plate 66 is provided with

outstruck end portions

70 and 72 and the web 68 includes center concave portion 73, the end portion 70 being formed with a vertical slot 74 having a top lateral entrance 76 and the end portion 72 being formed with a similar vertical slot but has a lower or downwardly space-d lateral entrance 78, the vertical slots having horizontally aligned closed inner ends 80, which lockinlgly seat the wire strand 16 and restrain it from upward or downward movement.

In the form of FIGURE 4, instead of welding the web portion or bridging plate 68 to the face 14, the same is formed with outwardly struck

tongues

82 and 84 which are bent around the flange 12, as shown in FIGURE 8, so as to lock the wire fastener unit in place without the necessity of welding or otherwise fastening the same in a somewhat semi-permanent fashion to the face 14 of the post.

In FIGURE 5, a wire fastener unit 86 is disclosed for use with a rather conventional T-shaped post wherein the front face 14 is formed with a center, axially ex tending rib 88 that is provided at vertically spaced points with outwardly extending lugs 90. The wire fastener unit 86 is formed in one piece, similar to the

units

62 and 64 and is substantially channel-shaped, having a web portion 92 which has an axially extending center concave portion 94 to accommodate the rib 88 and which is formed with a slot or cutout portion 96 to lockingly receive the lug so as to secure the unit 86 in place. The

opposing leg portions

98 and 100 are formed with locking slot means 102 and 104 that are similar to the arrangement of the locking slots for the unit 64, in that they are substantially L-shaped with the entrances for the Wire receiving slots being vertically spaced so as to lock the wire strand against upward or downward movement.

The wire fastener unit 106 of FIGURE 6 is identical to that of FIGURE 5, except that the leg portions 108 and .110 are formed with a slightly different variation of locking means for the wire strand 16. In this respect, the leg portion 108 has a bottom edge 112 which is formed with an entrance 114 for the vertical locking slot 116, while the leg portion has an upper edge portion 118 that is formed therethrough with an entrance 120 for the vertical locking slot 122.

In FIGURE 7, the wire fastener unit 86 is illustrated but any of the one piece units can be substituted since it is desired to show that the openings in the web portions can be utilized to accommodate the shank 124 of a bolt 126 which can be passed through an ordinary wooden post 128 whereby the locking unit may be fixed on a selected portion or face of the ordinary wooden fence post 128.

In all of the forms, it can be seen that there is a dominant theme and that is that a pair of clips, whether individually mounted or in integral association for common mounting, are provided and are formed with identical but reverse slots, one extending upwardly and the other downwardly, so to speak, with the slots having inner closed ends that are in substantial horizontal alignment for the reception of the wire strand 16 or similar elongated flexible member and that the wire strand 16 or similar member is locked against upward and downward movement and held against the inner ends by virtue of the fact that the slots are vertically spaced in that, while their inner ends are in horizontal alignment, the entrance passages are disposed in vertically spaced relation.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with an upright post having a front face to which an elongated horizontal member such as a strand of taut wire is to be secured, a pair of clips arranged in paired side-by-side laterally spaced relation,

means mounting said clips in such paired arrangement on said front face of said post with the clips horizontally outstanding forwardly from said face, each of said clips defining a plate-like body portion arranged substantially axially of the vertical axis of said post, an upstanding integral plate-like web portion including front and rear faces extending between and interconnecting said body portions and supported from said upright post with the rear face of said web portion overlying said front face of said post and said body portions projecting outwardly from the front face of said web portion, said web portion including a central portion thereof extending between its upper and lower edges displaced forwardly from the medial plane of said web portion and defining an upstanding rearwardly opening channel adapted to embracingly receive therein a forwardly projecting upstanding rib supported from said post and projecting outwardly from the front face of said post, said web portion also having an opening formed therethrough intermediate the upper and lower edges thereof in the area of said central portion and opening rearwardly into said channel adapted to receive therethrough a projection carried by said upright rib and projecting forwardly from said rib, the body portion of each clip being formed with a slot arranged generally vertically therein for the reception of a flexible member extending transversely of the vertical axis of said post, the slot in the body portion of one clip having a closed upper end and the slot in the body portion of the other clip having a closed lower end, said closed ends being substantially in horizontal alignment and said slots having entrance passages, said entrance passages being disposed in vertically spaced relation.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said post includes an upstanding forwardly projecting rib projecting outwardly from the front face of said post and snugly received in said channel, and vertically spaced projections carried by said rib and projecting forwardly from the latter, one of said projections being snugly received through said opening, said body portions being provided with outer vertical edges, said passages being formed through said edges into said slots and being formed in the body portion of one clip at the top thereof and in the body portion of the other clip at the bottom thereof.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said post includes an upstanding forwardly projecting rib projecting outwardly from said front face of said post and snugly received in said channel, and vertically spaced projections carried by said rib and projecting forwardly from the latter, one of said projections being snugly received through said opening, said slots opening downwardly through the lower edge of one of said body portions and the other of said slots opening upwardly through the upper edge of the other of said body portions.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said post includes a forward upstanding flange Whose forward surface defines said front face and including opposite side plate-like marginal edge portions, said bight portion including horizontally elongated opposite end laterally rearwardly struck tongues projecting toward each other and whose remote ends define the opposite side limits of said opening, the free end portions of said tongues being disposed behind said opposite side marginal edge portions and functioning with the rear face portions of said Web portion opposing said front face of said post to clamp said web portion to said forward upstanding flange of said post.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 319,277 6/1885 Lesher 25653 X 413,088 10/1889 Payne 25653 589,538 9/1897 Stockman et a1. 759,488 5/1904 Van Meter 256-53 X 774,295 11/ 1904 Wheeler 25653 905,090 11/ 1908 McClure. 1,030,131 6/1912 Schultz 256-48 1,499,933 7/1924 Jones 256-48 FOREIGN PATENTS 52,973 4/ 1937 Denmark.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner.