WO2006005163A1

WO2006005163A1 - Floating post

Info

Publication number: WO2006005163A1
Application number: PCT/CA2005/001054
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kevin D. Schlosser; Douglas B. Schlosser; Daniel A. Schlosser
Original assignee: Jaddak Creations Inc.
Priority date: 2004-07-08
Filing date: 2005-07-07
Publication date: 2006-01-19
Also published as: CA2490156A1

Abstract

A floating post includes an elongate post member supported in an upright orientation on a body of water by a body formed of buoyant material. The buoyant material is supported in fixed relationship on the bottom end of the post member. In one application, the post member supports fencing material spanning across a body of water. The post member may support a warning flag thereon and the post mount may include an anchor for use of the floating post as a buoy.

Description

F LOATI N G POST

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a post supported for floatation on a body of water for use as a buoy or in fencing applications and more particularly relates to livestock containment devices and fencing attachment devices for livestock. BACKGROUND

For the containment of cattle, sheep and other livestock typically fencing strung between fence posts is used. The fence posts are secured in the ground surface at regular intervals and then the fencing is strung between and attached to the fence posts. The fencing can be a number of different types of fencing including wire, barbwire, ribbon, electrical or other types of fencing which can be attached to the fence posts.

This system of fencing works sufficiently when the fencing is strung over dry land, however, it is not ideal when it has to cross over bodies of waters, such as rivers, creeks, sloughs, dugouts, small lakes, etc., that can occur on land used to keep livestock. In order to fence across bodies of water that are fairly narrow, a commonly used method is to secure fence posts in the ground surface on either side of the body of water and try to string a longer run of the fence over the water from the fence post on one side of the body of water to the fence post on the other side. Alternatively, if the body of water is too wide to do this, the prior art method is to wade out or travel out into the body of waver and install fence posts into the bed of the body of water, so that the fence post is planted in the ground beneath the water and the fencing can be attached to the portion of the fence post that is sticking out of the water. This involves either wadihg out into the water or even going out in a boat and inserting the fence posts down through the water to the ground below and planting the fence post into the ground beneath the water. These prior art methods are faced with many disadvantages. As a result of changing seasons, i.e. snow melting in spring and changes in weather, the level of water in a body of water tends to fluctuate. For some bodies of water such as small depressions where runoff flows in the spring, the fluctuation can be quite drastic: from dry ground at some times to several feet of water or more at others. Because the wires or other fencings is fixed at a certain height on the fence posts, the water can rise into contact with the fencing which can increase the rusting of the fencing if it is made from a metal material and eventually cause the wire to break. If the water rises high enough it may submerge the fence to the point where an animal can get over the partly submerged fence. Alternatively, if the water drops too low the fencing might be attached to the fence posts too high allowing enough clearance below the fencing for an animal to get under the fencing.

This fluctuation of the body of water can also cause the water to rise to the point that it surrounds the fence posts that were formerly secured in relatively dry ground around the body of water. This can cause the ground holding the fence posts in place to soften to the point where the fence post can come loose or even fall out. This is especially disadvantageous when the fencing is strung across a narrow body of wafer, with no fence posts in between, because the fence post at the edge of the body of water will be subjected to greater forces as a result of the longer than usual run of fencing between the fence posts on either side of the water. This is also a common problem in small depressions in the ground surface that serve as channels for runoff water in the spring because when runoff occurs it will fill the depression or channel and can submerge the base of the fence post. Sometimes a fence post in a depression will be secured into the ground using a concrete pile to secure the fence post against runoff water flowing through the depression. In addition to the problems of the fluctuating water levels, there are other problems with these methods. Fence posts are commonly made from wood.

When these wooden fence posts are exposed to water, the water can cause the wooden fence posts to deteriorate or weaken when compared to ones that are kept dry.

Additionally, in areas where temperatures can get low enough for bodies of water to freeze, fence posts placed in bodies of water will get frozen in the ice and get loosened or broken when the ice shifts or begins to break up which can necessitate the almost yearly replacement of fence posts secured in bodies of water.

The installation of the fence posts in the body of water can also be quite complicated. At best it can require wading into the water to install the fence posts. If the water is deep enough a boat might have to be used to plant the fence posts. Also, because of varying depths of the water, different lengths of fence post must be used to try to keep the fence at a level height.

It is also desirable in certain bodies of water to mark objects below the water using a visible buoy. Typical buoys for this purpose are intended solely for use as a buoy and are not readily applicable to other tasks. SUMMARY The invention in one embodiment is floating post for use as a buoy.

A post mount permits a commercially available post, for example a fence post, to be supported therein in an upright orientation for marking a location in a body of water. By providing a post mount, the post can be used for other applications, including supporting fencing and the like. The flat bottom of the post mount permits the post supported thereon to remain supported in an upright orientation even if the body of water were to dry up and the resulting floating post mount was supported directly on the ground. - A -

In an alternative application, the floating post comprises a fence post member (or fencing support) supported on the buoyant post mount (or base). The fencing support is operative to attach fencing to it and hold the fencing in place and is attached to the base, The base is made of a buoyant material and its width is substantially greater than its height and so that the fencing support will remain substantially upright as the floating post floats on a surface of a body of water.

In operation, the floating post can be used to string fencing in places where the fencing must cross a body of water or on a ground surface where a person believes will either become soggy with water or may flood with water during runoff, times of heavy rain or any other reason. The fencing is attached to fence posts as known in the prior art when the fence crosses solid ground. When the fencing gets to the body of water, the floating posts are placed on the surface of the water at regular intervals and the fencing is secured to these floating posts.

When the fencing reaches the other side of the body of water, the fencing can once again be attached to fence posts that are secured in the ground surface as known in the prior art.

Because the floating post is floating on the surface of the body of water if the water level fluctuates the floating post (and the fencing attached to the floating post) will rise and fall in relation to the surface of the water. According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a post mount for a post member, the mount comprising: a sleeve for receiving an end of the post member therein; a body formed of buoyant material surrounding the sleeve and spanning radially outward from the sleeve transversely to an axial direction of the sleeve; a retaining mechanism for securing the post member in the sleeve in fixed relation to the body formed of buoyant material. According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a floating post comprising: an elongate post member; a sleeve receiving an end of the post member therein; a body formed of buoyant material surrounding the sleeve and spanning radially outward from the post transversely to an axial direction of the sleeve; and a retaining mechanism securing the post member in the sleeve in fixed relation to the body formed of buoyant material. Preferably the body includes a broad flat bottom surface oriented perpendicularly to the axial direction of the sleeve.

The sleeve preferably has an internal diameter which is suitably sized for slidably receiving the post member therein. The sleeve is preferably formed of rigid material with the body formed of buoyant material being adhered to the sleeve.

The post member is preferably formed of a conventional fibreglass material which is lightweight so as not to interfere with the buoyancy of the floating post, however any other type of post member may be used.

The retaining^, mechanism may comprise co-operating apertures in the sleeve and the post member for receiving a locking member therethrough.

There may be provided a flag mounted on a top end of the post member, the flag being formed of high visibility material. In this instance, the body may also be covered with a high visibility material.

There may be provided a flexible anchor member secured to a bottom side of the body for connection to a ground anchor which is especially desirable when using the floating post as a buoy. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of supporting fencing material of a fence to span a body of water, the method comprising: providing a plurality of fence post members; inserting a pair of the fence post members into the ground at opposing sides of the body of water; supporting at least one of the fence post members on the body of water by: providing a post mount comprising a sleeve and a body formed of buoyant material surrounding the sleeve; inserting an end of said at least one of the fence post members in the sleeve; and retaining said at least one of the fence post members in the sleeve in fixed relation to the body formed of buoyant material such that the body formed of buoyant material spans radially outward from the sleeve transversely to an axial direction of the sleeve; and supporting the fencing material to span across the plurality of fence post members.

Each fence post member may comprise a conventional commercially available fence post member formed of fibreglass material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred embodiments are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood in conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the several diagram are labelled with like numbers, and where:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a floating post in accordance with the present invention, shown used as a fence post; Figure 2 is an elevational view of a portion of a fence line using floating posts to string the fence across a body of water;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the floating post;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a lower portion of the floating post along the line 4-4 of Figure 1 ; and

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the floating post, shown used as a warning buoy. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the accompanying figures there is illustrated a floating post generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The floating post 10 is particularly suited for supporting fencing material to span across a body of water or for supporting a high visibility indicator thereon for use as a warning buoy.

The floating post 10 includes a post mount 12 which supports an elongate post member 14 in an upright orientation on the body of water. The post member 14 comprises a commercially available fencing support in the form an elongate fibreglass pole. The post member 14 includes a mounting aperture 18 extending diametrically therethrough adjacent the bottom end 20 of the post member for attachment to the post mount 12.

When used for supporting fencing, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the post member 14 has mounting clips 16 secured thereto at spaced positions in the longitudinal direction of the pole. The mounting clips 16 are suitably arranged for securing fencing material which spans across the post member to adjacent post members 14 spaced along a fence.

An indicator or warning flag 22 is provided for mounting adjacent a top end 24 of the post member. The flag is formed of a high visibility material having a bright colour and/or reflective properties. Flag mounting clips 26 are provided for attaching the flag to the top end of the post member. When using the floating post for supporting fencing, the flag is not required for short runs of fencing across the body of water as the fencing is typically clearly visible by itself. When using the floating post as a buoy as shown in Figure 5, the flag 22 is desirable for visibility.

In all embodiments, the post mount 12 generally comprises a base for supporting the post member 14 to extend upwardly therefrom. The post mount includes a sleeve 28 formed of rigid plastic material having an internal diameter which fits the bottom end 20 of the post member slidably therein. The sleeve 28 is enclosed at its bottom end 30 while being open at the top end for receiving the post member through the top end for abutment against the bottom end thereof. A mounting aperture 32 extends diametrically through the sleeve 28 adjacent the open top end thereof for alignment with the mounting aperture 18 in the bottom end the post member. The two mounting apertures cooperate with one another for receiving a locking member 34 therethrough transversely to the longitudinal direction of the post. The locking member 34 comprises a conventional pin which acts as a retaining mechanism to secure the post member within the sleeve.

The post mount further includes a body 36 formed of buoyant material which surrounds the sleeve 28 to span radially outwardly therefrom perpendicularly to an axial direction of the sleeve and the post member received therein. The body 36 is round when viewed from above, having a top side 38 which is generally conical in shape, tapering upwardly and inwardly to a central apex within which the sleeve 28 is mounted.

The sleeve is supported within the surrounding body 36 so that a top end of the sleeve locating the mounting aperture 32 therein projects upwardly beyond the apex at the top side of the body 36 of buoyant material. The body of buoyant material is formed about the sleeve so that the body is adhered to the sleeve in fixed relationship therewith. Lugs or screws 37 are affixed to the sleeve with the body 36 being molded thereabout so that the screws 37 provide some mechanical resistance to removal of the sleeve from the body 36 in addition to adhesion of the buoyant material as it is moulded.

Accordingly when the locking member 34 secures the post member within the sleeve a resulting retaining mechanism includes the locking member which fixes the post member relative to the sleeve and adherence of the sleeve to the body in fixed relationship, assisted by mechanical retention provided by the screws 37. The bottom side 40 of the body 36 is flat and spans radially greater than a height of the body between the top and bottom sides thereof. The flat bottom is oriented perpendicularly to the sleeve and accordingly perpendicularly to the post member received therein.

A mooring anchor 42 is coupled to the body 36 at the bottom side 40 thereof to permit anchoring of the post within the body of water. The mooring anchor 42 comprises a flexible loop to which a tether can be attached for connection to a suitable ground anchor or any object sufficient to anchor the floating post member in a manner so as to prevent it from drifting away across the body of water. The mooring anchor 42 is typically not required in shorter runs of fencing as the fencing will be sufficient to maintain the desired position of the floating post. When using the floating post as a buoy as shown in Figure 5, the mooring anchor 42 is required for anchoring the floating post relative to the object 43 being located by the buoy. The mooring anchor 42 is also desirable in longer runs of several floating posts across a body of water in a fence construction to maintain the proper alignment of the fencing.

The post mount 14 may be available to customers either by itself, in which case a customer may supply there own commercially available fence post member, or as a kit to be assembled in which the post member is already provided with the post mount. In either instance the floating post 10 can be assembled using the locking member 34 so that the body of buoyant materiel is mounted in fixed relationship to the post member 14, but remains selectively separable for later storage if desired.

In alternative embodiments, the post member may be fixed in relationship to the body of buoyant material by any suitable retaining mechanism including adhesive, a threaded connection or other suitable fasteners. Accordingly the floating post 10 may be available to customers in an already assembled configuration as well.

In further embodiments, the configuration of the post mount may be varied so that the sleeve is integrally formed with the surrounding body of buoyant material. The post may then be secured in fixed relationship within the sleeve integrally formed in the body of buoyant material by adhesive or various types of mechanical fasteners.

As described herein, Figure 1 illustrates one application of the floating post 10. The floating post 10 in this instance comprises: a post member 14 (or fencing support), a number of fencing attachment clips 16 and the post mount 12 (or base).

The fencing support is operative to support fencing attached to it. Typically, the fencing support will comprise a conventional standard sized, commercially available fibreglass pole for better weather resistance; however, someone skilled in the art will understand that any type post or pole of any suitable material can be used. In Figure 1 , the floating post is illustrated as having fencing support clips 16 fixed to the fencing support at regular intervals.

Fencing 52 can be attached to the fencing attachment clips where the fencing will be secured in place against the fencing support. Although the floating post is illustrated as having fencing attachment clips operative to attach fencing to the fencing support, it will be understood by someone skilled in the art that there are numerous ways to attach fencing to the fencing support, such as: alternative types of clips; notches in the fencing support in conjunction with clips; and simply nailing or clipping it to the fencing support if the fencing support is wood.

The post mount or base is attached to a bottom end of the fencing support. The base is made from a buoyant material such as Styrofoam and the width of the base is substantially greater than the height of the base so that the base will hold the fencing support substantially upright when fencing is attached to the floating post and the floating post is placed in water.

When used for supporting fencing, the body 36 is preferably painted a dark color in climates where water can freeze so that the dark color of the base can absorb excess heat from the sun and aid the melting of any ice that freezes around the base.

When using the floating post 10 as a buoy, the body 36 is preferably painted a bright and visible colour. Reflective material can also be used to increase visibility. Also as noted above, Figure 2 is an illustration of the floating posts in operation for supporting fencing. One of the floating posts is shown with the optional flag 22 and mooring anchor 42 and one of the floating posts is shown without. Fence post members 44 are fence posts as known in the prior art that are planted in a ground surface 46, which secures the fence post members 44 in place. Typically fence post members 44 for insertion into the ground would correspond to the same commercially available post members 14 used in the floating posts 10. The floating posts 10 are placed on a water surface 48 of the body of water 50.

The fencing material 52 is strung to span across and between the fence post members 44 in the ground and the post members 14 of the floating posts 10. Although the fencing 52 is shown as three separate strands of wire, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that fencing 52 could be replaced with wire mesh or weave fencing, ribbon fencing or any other suitable type of fencing. The fencing 52 is attached to the fence post members 44 on either side of the body of water 50 and where the fencing 52 is strung across the body of water 50, the fencing is attached using the fencing attachment clips of the fence support of the floating posts. If the body of water 50 fluctuates such that the surface 48 of the body of water 50 moves up and down, the floating posts 10 will float on the surface 48 of the body of water and move up and down in relation to the surrounding ground. Additionally, fence post members 44 could be moved further away from the body of water 50 and two additional floating posts 10 could be placed where fence post members 44 are illustrated in Figure 2 in case the body of water 50 rises to the point where it makes the ground surface 46 too soggy to secure the fence post members 44 firmly.

In areas where it gets cold enough for the body of water 50 to freeze in winter, the fencing 52 can easily be strung over the frozen body of water. Fence post members 44 can be secured in the ground surface 46 and then a person can simply carry the floating posts 10 across the frozen surface 48 of the body of water and place the floating posts 10 on the frozen surface of the body of water at the desired intervals. The flat perpendicular bottom 40 of the post mount permits the post member to remain supported in an upright orientation both on water and a solid, generally horizontal surface. The fencing 52 can then be attached to a fence post member 44 on one side of the body of water 50 strung over the frozen surface of the body of water 50 and attached to the fence post member 14 each of the floating posts 10 and then the fence post member 44 on the other side of the frozen body of water 60. When the weather warms and the surface 48 of the body of water melts, the floating post 10 will settle down onto the unfrozen surface of the body of water and begin to float.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous changes and modifications 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 such suitable changes or modifications in structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention.

Claims

CLAlMS:

1. A post mount for a post member, the mount comprising: a sleeve for receiving an end of the post member therein; a body formed of buoyant material surrounding the sleeve and spanning radially outward from the sleeve transversely to an axial direction of the sleeve; a retaining mechanism for securing the post member in the sleeve in fixed relation to the body formed of buoyant material.

2. The post mount according to Claim 1 wherein the body includes a broad flat bottom surface oriented perpendicularly to the axial direction of the sleeve.

3. The post mount according to Claim 1 in combination with a conventional commercially available fence post member wherein the sleeve has an internal diameter which is suitably sized for slidably receiving the fence post member therein.

4. The post mount according to Claim 1 in combination with a conventional commercially available fence post member formed of fibreglass material wherein the fence post member supports mounting clips thereon for supporting fencing material spanning thereacross.

5. The post mount according to Claim 1 wherein the sleeve is formed of rigid material and the body formed of buoyant material moulded about the sleeve.

6. The post mount according to Claim 1 wherein the retaining mechanism comprises co-operating apertures in the sleeve and the post member for receiving a locking member therethrough.

7. The post mount according to Claim 1 wherein an outer surface of the body formed of buoyant material is dark in colour.

8. The post mount according to Claim 1 in combination with a fence post member having a bottom end received in the sleeve wherein there is provided a flag mounted on a top end of the post member, the flag being formed of a highly visible material.

9. The post mount according to Claim 1 wherein there is provided a flexible anchor member secured to a bottom side of the body for connection to a ground anchor.

10. A floating post comprising: an elongate post member; a sleeve receiving an end of the post member therein; a body formed of buoyant material surrounding the sleeve and spanning radially outward from the post transversely to an axial direction of the sleeve; and a retaining mechanism securing the post member in the sleeve in fixed relation to the body formed of buoyant material.

11. The floating post according to Claim 10 wherein the body includes a broad flat bottom surface oriented perpendicularly to the axial direction of the sleeve.

12. The floating post according to Claim 10 wherein the sleeve has an internal diameter which is suitably sized for slidably receiving the post member therein.

13. The floating post according to Claim 10 wherein the post member is formed of fibreglass material and supports mounting clips thereon for supporting fencing material spanning across the post member to adjacent post members of similar configuration.

14. The floating post according to Claim 10 wherein the sleeve is formed of rigid material and wherein the body formed of buoyant material is adhered to the sleeve.

15. The floating post according to Claim 10 wherein the retaining mechanism comprises co-operating apertures in the sleeve and the post member for receiving a locking member therethrough.

16. The floating post according to Claim 10 wherein an outer surface of the body is dark in colour.

17. The floating post according to Claim 10 wherein there is provided a flag mounted on a top end of the post member, the flag being formed of high visibility material.

18. The fence post according to Claim 10 wherein there is provided a flexible anchor member secured to a bottom side of the body for connection to a ground anchor.

19. A method of supporting fencing material of a fence to span a body of water, the method comprising: providing a plurality of fence post members; inserting a pair of the fence post members into the ground at opposing sides of the body of water; supporting at least one of the fence post members on the body of water by: providing a post mount comprising a sleeve and a body formed of buoyant material surrounding the sleeve; inserting an end of said at least one of the fence post members in the sleeve; and retaining said at least one of the fence post members in the sleeve in fixed relation to the body formed of buoyant material such that the body formed of buoyant material spans radially outward from the sleeve transversely to an axial direction of the sleeve; and supporting the fencing material to span across the plurality of fence post members.

20. The method according to Claim 19 wherein each fence post member comprises a conventional commercially available fence post member formed of fibreglass material.