US3606259A

US3606259A - Fence posts

Info

Publication number: US3606259A
Application number: US831155A
Authority: US
Inventors: James Michael Farrell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-06-06
Filing date: 1969-06-06
Publication date: 1971-09-20
Anticipated expiration: 1988-09-20

Abstract

A FENCE POST HAVING A SLOT OR RECESS IN ONE EDGE WITH A KEEPER TO ENABLE EASY INSERTION OF THE FENCE WIRE BUT RESILIENTLY BIASED TO PREVENT WITHDRAWAL THEREOF. THE KEEPER IS A U-SHAPED PIECE OF WIRE WITH ARMS OF UNEQUAL LENGTH. EACH ARM HAS AN END PORTION WHICH IS BENT OVER

TOWARD THE OTHER ARM AND THESE END PORTIONS ARE INSERTED INTO TWO HOLES WHICH ARE DRILLED THROUGH THE POST.

Description

J. M. FARRELL FENCE POSTS Filed June 1969 s pt. 26(1971 Fly. 1.

United States Patent 3,606,259 FENCE POSTS James Michael Farrell, Walcha, New South Wales, Australia, assignor to Bessie May Larter, Northbridge, New South Wales, Annie Maude Taylor, Leichhardt, New South Wales, and Mabel Margaret Wise, Paddington, New South Wales, Australia, fractional part interest to each Filed June 6, 1969, Ser. No. 831,155 Int. Cl. E04h 17/24 US. Cl. 25648 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fence post having a slot or recess in one edge with a keeper to enable easy insertion of the fence wire but resiliently biased to prevent withdrawal thereof. The keeper is a U-shaped piece of wire with arms of unequal length. Each arm has an end portion which is bent over toward the other arm and these end portions are inserted into two holes which are drilled through the post.

This invention relates to post and wire fences.

More particularly, the invention relates to fences in which the post is a metal strip either alone, or as is more usual, as one flange of a Y angle, or other sectioned post.

Hitherto, the wires have been secured to such metal posts by clips, tie-wires, or other means which have usu ally called for time consuming fixing operations by a person erecting the fence.

With the foregoing in mind, the present invention was devised to provide a fence post which provides for simple and quick aflixture of the wire to the post.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved keeper over the open end of a recess in a metal fence post; that keeper being a U-shaped body having arms of unequal length which are secured in two holes in the metal post adjacent the recess.

The invention consists in the provision in a fence post of the kind comprising a metal strip, of fence wire retaining means comprising a recess formed in one edge of said strip and a resilient keeper fixed to said strip and extending across the mouth of the recess; the arrangement being such that the fence wire may be forced into said recess b-y deforming said keeper and thereafter is retained in the recess by the keeper.

By way of example, an embodiment of the above described invention is described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a fence post including wire retaining means in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the fence post portion of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the fence post portion of FIG. 1.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a Y sectioned metal post 4 of which one flange 5 constitutes the metal strip of the post at that term is used herein.

A recess 6 (FIG. 2) is formed in the free edge of the flange 5. The recess 6 is in the nature of a slot extending inwardly and downwardly from the edge of the flange 5,

3,606,259 Patented Sept. 20, 1971 "ice thus, the mouth of the recess 6 is disposed above an upwardly directed prong 7, being a portion of the flange 5 defining the outer edge of the lower part of the recess 6.

A resilient wire keeper 8 is provided in the shape of a letter U of which one arm 9 is longer than the other arm 10 and each of which terminates in an inwardly directed end portion (9A and 10A respectively) disposed in the plane of the U-shaped clip. Thus the end portion 10A of the shorter arm 10 of the U is directed towards and may contact the longer arm 9 of the U intermediate its ends; whereas the end portion 9A of the longer arm 9 of the U projects in the opposite direction and is parallel to the end portion 10A of the shorter arm 10.

The keeper 8 is secured to the fence post 4 by means of two holes 11 and 12 respectively piercing the flange 5 disposed one above the other and both above the recess 6.

The keeper 8 is disposed so that the end portion 9A of the longer arm 9 extends through the upper hole 11 from one side of the flange '5 and the end portion 10A of the other arm 10 extends through the lower hole 12 from the other side of the flange 5 and the bight portion of the U extends downwardly across the mouth of the recess 6 to make contact with the upper edge of the prong 7.

For preference, the upper edge of the prong 7 is inclined so that its tip engages the bight portion of the keeper 8 positively to prevent the keeper 8' moving outwardly of the recess 6 but permitting the bight to move inwardly of the mouth of the recess 6 (as shown in broken lines in FIG. 2) due to resilient deformation of the arms 9 and .10.

When a fence wire is to be secured to the above described fence post it is simply thrust laterally through the mouth of the recess 6 to force the keeper 8 inwardly until the wire may move downwardly into the bottom of the recess 6 clear of the keeper 8 which then returns to its former position and positively traps the wire.

The illustrated U-shaped wire retainer and its mode of affixture to the post constitutes a preferred form of the invention. However, it will be appreciated that other resilient retainers may be used. For example, a resilient metal leaf may be spot welded or otherwise secured to the fence post so as to extend as a retainer across the mouth of a recess therein.

It is desirable to have the top wire of a fence as close to the top of the posts as possible, therefore, the recess of the retaining means for the topmost wire may be similar to the recess 6 illustrated in the drawings but inverted so that the portion of the slot extending longitudinally of the post extends upwardly rather than downwardly. In this instance, if a keeper similar to keeper 8 is used it also would be inverted so as to extend upwardly across the mouth of the recess.

I claim:

1. In a fence post having a projecting flange, fence wire retaining means comprising a recess opening from one edge of said flange, a resilient keeper carried by said flange, said keeper being a U-shaped piece of wire with arms of unequal length, each arm having an end portion directed toward the other arm, said keeper being secured to said flange by locating said end portions in two holes in said flange which are longitudinally spaced unequal dis tances from said recess so that the keeper extends across the mouth of the recess and is biassed to normally close said mouth.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said recess is a slot 805,785 extending inwardly from and thereafter longitudinally of 5 851,445 the edge of said flange. 5

3. The device of claim 1 having a prong along the 1,050,539 outer edge of the recess with the b ight of said keeper contacting the inner edge of said prong.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said bight is resil- 10 iently biased against said prong.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Engesetter 25648 Seymour 25648 Saunders l 25648 Young 25648 Rohe 25648 Brown 25648 DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner