US370027A - Fence - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

J. W. TRINKLE.

FENCE.

No. 370,027. Patented Sept. 18, 1887.

l vitwe emery UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J OHN IV. TRINKLE, OF KENT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO IVILLIAM M. COPELAND, OF MADISON, INDIANA.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 370,027, dated September 13, 1887.

Application filed April 1'1, 1886. Serial No. 199,207.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN IV. TRINKLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kent, in the county ofJefferson and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to farm-fences, and has for its object the provision of a cheap, simple, and effective structure for this purpose which shall be easy to set up, firm and durable when erected, but readily taken down when required.

My invention contemplates the production of aloose rail fence which can be made ofotherwise worthless railsrails which have had their ends worn off, or rotted at the end, or splintered and shattered so as to be unfit for use in the ordinary fence. The fence is set upon the surface of the ground without having any planted posts or other parts, and yet is so con structed and the weight so disposed as to render the fence firm and reliable. The body of the fence is swung upon inclined stakes which merely rest upon the soil at their lower ends without entering it, and the said body or main portion of the fence does not rest upon the earth or any foundation and is supported solely by the inclined and crossed stakes. The body or main portion of the fence is formed of side battens or uprights, which are swung to the crossed stakes by wires, which are applied in a peculiar manner and perform important functionsthereby. Thewirewhichisattached to the side batten on one side is crossed over to the inclined stake on the opposite side, and the wire which is attached to the opposite side batten is crossed and attached to the other side stake. Thus it will be seen that the weight of the fence coming upon the wires and tending to cause the battens to settle toward the soil will have the effect of tightening or drawing the side battens together, which will lock the rails securely in place. At the same time (No model.)

the gravity of the fence tends to keep it in a true vertical position, owingto the crossing of the wires. The stakes and battens are bound together at the point where the stakes cross, or just above this point, by a loop or band of wire, the end of a rail being preferably laid over the crossed stakes and the wire applied above it. I

Riders or top rails laid diagonally across the fence, resting at one end in the angle made by the stake and a batten on one side and at the other end in the angle made by the opposite stake and batten at the next panel end,

complete the structure and give it very much increased stability and lateral strength.

The rails forming the body or main portion of the fence lie between the battens on the side and the crossed stakes and supporting wires at top and bottom, respectively.

The following detailed description will more fully point out the nature of my improvement and the manner in which I proceed to construct and use the same.

The accompanying drawings illustrate what I consider the best means for carrying my invention into practice.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of several panels of my fence. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same,taken through the panel close to the end thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they occur.

A A are the rails of the body or main portion of the fence, which are laid one above the other at the ends of the panels, alternating with the rails of the next panel. These rails may be either sawed fencing or split rails or poles, and, as already indicated, I am enabled by the peculiar way in which my fence is supported to use refuse material for these and the other rails of the fence, as will be understood from the opening paragraphs of this specification and from the detailed description of the supporting means which will follow.

A are inclined rails, whose use will presently appear, and A are the diagonallydisposed riders.

The fence, as already stated, is sustained by two cross-stakes at the end of each panel,

. bound together at a point near the top by means of a wire band or loop, D, encircling all four of the pieces'or parts B, B, G, and O. The bottom ends of the battens O O are sharpened or reduced, and looped wires E E are set over or secured to these reduced portions and extend across to the stake on the opposite side, to which they are secured or tied at a point some distance from the surface of the ground, so as to cause the wires to assume an inclined line or position, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawings, the battens are placed on the same transverse line at right angles to the line of the fence, and stake B is on one side of them and stake B on the other. In disposing the wires E E, I run them in such manner as that one shall brace and stay the other, not only laterally but also longitudinally of the fence. For this purpose I attach the looped end of wireE to the base of batten G, 'carry it back, as shown in Fig. 2, of batten G, and then bring it forward and secure it to stake B, while the wire E is looped over base of batten 0, passed in front of batten O, and then carried back and secured to stake B, thus giving not only alateral brace to the battens, but also bracing or holding them longitudinally in the fence. The wires themselves are also crossed upon each other in such a way as to bind and brace the fence.

The rails'A are laid upon the wires E E between the battens O G on the sides, and the cross stakes B B on top. They are clamped or tightened in their place by aid of the inclined rails A, one only of which is employed upon each panel. ,The inclined rail is run under the point or angle of the crossed stakes at one end, anditsinclined position thus causes it to press upon the rails A and tighten them, and at its other end the inclined rail is laid over the crossed stakes, as shown in both figures of the drawings, at the opposite end 'of the panel, and at this end serves the purpose of supporting the loop or band D, preventing it from slipping down and loosening its hold upon stakes B B.

The riders A are laid diagonally across the fence from panel to panel, occupying the angle formed by batten C and stake B at one end and the angle formed by batten G and stake B at the other, as seen in the perspective View. These riders serve to lock the panels together and cause a lateral force or strain upon the fence at one panel to exert an opposing force or strain upon the adjacent panel, thereby rendering it all but impossible for the fence to be broken or knocked down by the attacks of stock or by force of ordinary winds.

None of the parts of the fence being let into the ground, the fenceis of course readily portable or movable, and can be taken down or set up with very little labor ,or lossof time.

The advantagesof my device have been setout in the opening paragraphs of this specification and need not be repeated here.

Modifications within the range of my improvement may be made without departing from the spirit of or sacrificing the advantages of my invention. 1 7

If desired, I may nail the rails A to the battens; but I prefer to lay the rails in loosely and bind them in the manner set forth.

If the nature of the soil should require it, in order to keep the fence from sinking into it, I may place anchors on or blocks or stones under the ends of stakes B B; but in ordinary soils this will-be unnecessary.

Having thus described my invention,what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent A fence consisting of the inclined crossstakes resting upon the ground, the upright battens arranged in pairs, and the rails composing the body o'f the fencelaidbetween them,- said battens and body-rails being held above the ground, a loop uniting the battens and cross-stakes at the point where they cross each other, and cords or wires on which the bodyrails are laid, said cords or wires being fastened to the bottom of the battens, one to each batten, and run in oppositedirections across the space between the battens, and secured to the cross-stakes on opposite sides, respectively, at about mid-height of the fence,whereby'the entire weight of the body of the fence is utilized to hold the crossstakes from spreading at the bottom and to cause the battens to be compressed tightly upon the body-rails, substan-

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