US948367A - Clamp for stretching wire fences. - Google Patents

Description

S. W. BERRY.

CLAMP FoR- STRETGHING WIRE FENGES.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 24, 1903.`

Patnted Feb. 8, 1910.

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WHA/f5 STEPHEN W. BERRY, OF BELLMORE, INDIANA.

CLAMP FOR STRETCHING WIRE FENCES.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 24, 1908.

Patented Feb. 8, 1910. serial No. 450,079.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN IV. BERRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bellmore, in the county of Parke and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clamps for Stretching Tire Fences, of which the following is a specification.

vThis invention relates to improvements in clamps to engage woven wire fencing whereby a power to longitudinally stretch the fence before the fastening of the fence to its supporting posts, may be conveniently and etliciently applied.

y The object of my invention is to provide a clamp which will simultaneously grasp the entire width of the woven fence fabric; which will be simple and inexpensive in construction and quickly and easily applied and removed, and in which the pull or force applied toward stretching the fence will correspondingly tighten the clamp upon the material which is being stretched.

I accomplish the objects of my invention by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a fence in the process of construction with my invention in operative position thereon. Fig. 2 is a cross section of my improved clamp on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking upwardly in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 3 is a view of the two plates of my clamp, apart from each other, the view showing the inner sides of said plates, and Fig. 4 is a detail showing the hooks and chains which are used with the clamping plates but in this ligure the clamping plates are not shown.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout. the several views of the drawing.

5 represents the woven wire material of any usual and well known pattern for the construction of fences and 6 one of the supporting posts to which the material 5 will be fastened by staples in the usual manner after a preliminary stretching of the woven material by drawing it longitudinally in the direction of arrow A, see Fig. 1. A proper stretching of the fence is essential to keep it from sagging and to make it etlicient for the purpose of turning stock. The difiiculty heretofore has been to provide a satisfactory means for applying the stretching power to the fence-fabric, as all of the several horizontal strands of the fabric should be simultaneously and equally tightened.

In carrying out my invention I employ a pair of plates, preferably of metal such as iron or steel. 7 represents one of these plates and S the other. The plate 7 has a series of l perforations 9 along one of its longitudinal edges, and the plate 8 has a correspondingly opposite series of tongues 10 along one of its longitudinal edges. The tongues 10 are adapted to be passed through the perforations 9 to removably hinge the two plates together in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 2. By thus removably securing the plat-es to each other they are adapted to be separated and placed on opposite sides of the woven material 5 and then united with the horizontal strands of the material 5 passing between the plates. The inner or adjacent faces of plates 7 and 8 are longitudinally ribbed or corrugated for the purpose of bending kinks or corrugations in the horizontal wires of the material 5 by the closing together of the said plates 7 and 8. The tongues 10 passing through perforations 9 act as hinges in opening and closing the two plates.

In the construction shown in the drawing the plate S is provided with a corrugation or rib 11 extending longitudinally of the plate along' that edge which is opposite the tongues l0, and it also has a second corrugatio-n or rib 12, parallel with rib 11 and located adjacent the opposite edge of plate 8. Theplate 7 is provided with the longitudinal corrugation or rib 13 so located that when the plates 7 and 8 are folded together the rib 13 will lie between ribs 11 and 12. This will put a crimp or corrugation in the wires of the fence material 5 which will prevent the longitudinal movement of the clamping plates upon the horizontal fence wires while the plates 7 and 8 are in their closed position. In order to facilitate the engagement and hinging together of the plates 7 and 8, the edge of plate 7 containing perforations 9, will be bent to an oblique position toward the inner side of the plate or that side bearing the corrugation 13, and the tongues 10 will be bent to 0blique positions inwardly or toward the side of plate 8 bearing the corrugations 11 and 12. To make the engagement of tongues l0 with plate 7 more positive I provide a reverse bend near the ends of tongues 10 to form a species of hook upon the ends of said tongues. Fig. 2 fully illustrates this construction.

The plates 7 and 8 are forced together so as to clamp the fence wires between them by means of hooks 14. There are four of these hooks and they are used in pairs in the manner shown in the drawings in which it will be seen that the hooks embrace those edges of the two plates 7 and 8 which are hinged together. The hooks of each pair are turned in opposite directions which presents their stems in contact with the outer sides of said plates 7 and 8. The stems of the hooks terminate with eyes 15 to which are attached chains 16 and the chains connected with each pair of hooks are connected with a single chain 17 and these chains 17, there being two of them, one for each pair of hooks, are connected with a single chain 18. The stretching power from any suitable source (not shown) is applied to the chain 18.

The two pairs of hooks are applied to the clamping plates at points adjacent to the ends of said plates, as shown in Fig. 1, in order to equally distribute the stretching` force along the clamp. The positions of the hooks are retained by lugs or pins 2O projecting outwardly from the sides of plate T. These pins 20 keep the hooks, which are placed between the pins and the respective adjacent ends of the plate, from being drawn toward each other and toward the middles of the clamping plates, by the stretching pull on chain 18. It will be seen that the stem-side of a hook is placed against pin 2O and the other hook of the pair is placed against the first hook and between it and the adjacent ends of the clamping plates. As the pull imparted through the chains to the eyes of the hooks tends to force the hookeyes together, the tendency will also be to force the outer edges of the clamping plates together, and therefore the greater the stretching force applied the greater will be the grip which the clamp obtains upon the horizontal fence wires.

Tn the drawing I have shown the longitudinal projections 11, 12 and 13 to be solid ribs of metal but obviously these could be bent out of the normal thickness of the plates 7 and 8.

Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim as new, and wish to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

Tn a wire fence stretching clamp, a pair of clamping plates one of which has a longitudinal edge bent oblique to the body of the plate and provided with a series of perforations and the other plate of the pair having a corresponding series of tongues projecting from one edge and oblique to the body of the plate and adapted to be inserted through the perforations of the other plate to removably hinge the plates together, the adjacent or inner faces of said plates having alternate longitudinal projections, one of said plates having a pin adjacent each of its ends, in combination with chains to which stretching power is applied, and hooks in pairs attached to said chains and removably embracing said plates, said pairs being separated and held apart by bearing against the pins on said plates.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Greencastle, Indiana, this fifteenth day of August, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and eight.

CHARLES T. SoU'rI-IARD, WILLIAM W. JONES.

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