Fence system

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to fences, and in particular, relates to a modular fencing system for corner and stretch fence components to which fencing wire may be attached.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are a wide variety of fencing assemblies, including the patents referred to herein, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. One goal of many such assemblies is to maintain the wire that forms the horizontal fence barrier, such as barbed wire, stretched tightly along the fence line over an extended period of time, and to prevent sagging of the wire by providing corner posts and intermediate posts that are more securely placed than the average posts in the fence line. Such corner and intermediate posts are often braced to augment their resistance against the pull of the fence wire. Pipe is often used for these assemblies, and the various lengths and dimensions of pipe are typically cut and welded together as needed in the field.

The inventions of Collins (U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,598 and U.S. 2003/0066995) utilizes a diagonal stabilizing post between a vertical post, such as a prior T-post, and a shorter stabilizing vertical post connected together by means of a closure member or connector having spaced arms, together with a wire looped over the stabilizing post, which allows tightening of the fence wires.

Other patents utilize T-posts or other shapes of posts with lugs or with slots for which specialized connectors are provided to enable attachment to the posts. Eades (U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,508) provides C-shaped posts with slot-type openings, and various connectors, including a self-tightening connector plate and other connectors with projections to slide into the openings on the posts, to connect the posts to rails. Wagner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,3322 and Williams (U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,724) both have a hollow collar member which slides over T-posts and a wedge to secure the collar between adjacent lugs on the post by tightly wedging the collar and post together, while Wasicek et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,879) has an apertured collar and a wedge-shaped connector for mounting braces to a T-shaped post.

The posts of Smith (U.S. Pat. No. 814,403) are wider at the bottom than the top. Diagonal brace-bars have end hinges so that they may be bolted to the posts.

One means of attaching iron rails to iron posts is found in the patent of Stewart (U.S. Pat. No. 1,656,024), which uses connecting plates having a rectangular slot for the post and a downwardly U-shape for receiving the horizontal rails.

The corner brace of Verner (U.S. Pat. No. 2,445,545) utilizes a telescoping horizontal top rail having a vertical hanger, angled braces, relatively rotatable disks suspended from the vertical hanger to hold the angled braces together between vertical posts. Braces for vertical posts or columns also include those of Pyanowski et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2003/0015633) (rotatable about a kicker plate), Hutchinson (U.S. Pat. No. 769,479) (metal base of intersecting arms with inclined braces going up toward the top of the post from the base), Hanneken (U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,761)(inclined braces slidingly attach to guides that extend through the lower part of vertical posts, and extend up to the center of an upper horizontal brace), Miller (U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,109)(tubing braces with flexible U-shaped or hooked ends to bolt to a T-post), and Griggs et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,055)(ground engaging and brace members clamped to post by means of angular bracket assemblies).

Other fencing patents provide mechanisms for custom building a fence, such as on uneven ground or on corners. The patent of Webb (U.S. Pat. No. 6,779,782) has connecting rods between three different types of fence posts, having pairs of ears on a first side only, on two opposite sites, or a rind with pairs of ears on only a first side, which together enable pivoting of the rod horizontally and upward and downward.

Most of these patented fence assemblies do not have a moment connection (a rigid connection between structural members which transfers moment from one member to the other and thus resists the moment force), but rather may be classified as having “pinned” connections, which are designed to transfer axial and shear forces. An invention that does have a moment connection is that of Doyle (U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,256 and U.S. Publication No. 2002/0027223) in which pairs of threaded studs are attached to vertical posts, channel segments are attached to horizontal members, and holes in the channel segments are placed upon the threaded studs to lock the channel segments on to the vertical posts.

Many prior fence systems are not sufficiently versatile so that they may be placed in situation of uneven terrain, or may be used at gate openings or multiple directions from corner posts. Fence corners and H-braces for stabilizing fences, as well as a variety of variations in fence structure, which provide a secure anchor for attached wire are often made of vertical and horizontal pipe sections, braced by angled pipe sections, but attaching these pipe sections together must be done in the field after anchoring the posts in the soil. This requires welding on site, so that the connection is secure, which is often difficult to accomplish, due to the need to get the welding equipment and power source to the site, particularly with fences that extend for long distances.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a versatile fence system that enables assembly of fence corners, H-braces, gate attachment posts as well as a variety of structural fence variations in the field, without requiring welding on-site. It is a further object of the invention to provide a sturdy, attractive, easy to assemble, economical fence system that can be used in many different fencing situations and is maintenance-free.

Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention herein is a fence system having multiple components enabling assembly of corner and other fence components to which fencing wire may be attached. The primary components are a vertical post with at least one post flange, lateral and angle braces having end-flanges, extension flanges with end-flanges, gate flanges with end-flanges, angle flanges, end-caps, and fasteners for attaching end-flanges to the post flanges.

Other objects and features of the inventions will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fence corner assembled from some of the components of the fence system of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side-perspective view of a vertical post of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a side-perspective view of a lateral brace of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a side-perspective view of an angle brace of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an extension flange of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of an extension flange fastening a lateral brace to a vertical post of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a gate flange of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of a lateral brace mounted to a vertical post using an angle flange of the invention herein.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an angle flange of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an end-cap placed on the top of a vertical post of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS THEREOF

The present invention is an engineered fence system that includes multiple components that may be assembled in a variety of ways and modules as appropriate for the location to be fenced and type of fencing components needed. An example of an assembled fence corner 20 using multiple components of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The components include a vertical post with at least one post flange, and a variety of other components having flanges, including lateral and angle braces having end-flanges, extension flanges with end-flanges, gate flanges with end-flanges, angle flanges, end-caps and fasteners. All flanges, end-flanges and angle flanges are preferably square making the orientation immaterial.

Preferably all of the component parts of the invention are made of hot dip galvanized steel, which gives more coating and lasts longer than electro galvanizing and is therefore preferable, so that the components will not rust, but the components may also be made of other sturdy steel, aluminum pipe, or other metals if desired.

Referring now in more detail to the invention shown in the figures, the heart of the invention is a vertical post 22 having at least one post flange 24A,B attached, and preferably four post flanges as discussed below, permanently attached to the vertical post 22 by means known in the art such as by welding as shown in FIG. 2, to accept a variety of modular options. The post flange(s) 22 are wider than the diameter of the vertical post so that each post flange extends to each side of the vertical post. Preferably the post and other flanges are 5×5 inches in size, and ¼ inch thick. The post flanges 22 may have eased or rounded edges or corners, as may the end-flanges discussed below if desired.

Preferably, to optimize flexibility of use, the vertical post 22 has two post flanges 24A permanently attached parallel to each other on opposite sides of the vertical post at an upper location on the vertical post and a lower pair of vertical post flanges 24B permanently attached parallel to each other on opposite sides of the vertical post at a lower location on the vertical post 22, as shown in FIG. 2. The vertical posts 22 may be manufactured with additional post flanges if deemed appropriate for particular types of fencing.

The vertical posts 22 are preferably 2½-inch (2.875 OD) schedule 10 pipe, and may be any length as a standard pipe fencing post, for example, eight feet long with a steel pipe, to allow three feet to be buried in the ground and preferably placed in concrete and five feet above ground. If the pipe is made of another material, such as aluminum, the size and type of pipe might be varied as needed to have the requisite characteristics such as strength for the desired use. The posts may also be any length desired for other types of fence. While the vertical posts 22 may be manufactured to have the post flanges 24 at any desired location, it is preferred to place the upper post flanges 24A about eight inches from the top of the vertical post 22, and to place the lower post flanges 24B about 46 inches from the bottom of the vertical post 22, so that the lower post flanges 24B are about ten inches above the surface of the ground in the assembled fence.

The post flanges 24A,B permanently attached to the vertical posts 22 preferably each have four holes 26 spaced as shown in FIG. 2 so that any one of a variety of end-flanges, as discussed below, may be attached to a post flange 24A,B using nuts and bolts 28. Preferably these are hot dip galvanized bolts (e.g., a structural bolt such as A325) that are ½ inch in diameter and 1 ¼ inches long for the preferred dimensions of the other components discussed herein. While the preferred fasteners for attaching end-flanges to the post flanges are nuts and bolts, other fasteners that may exist may be used without departing from the invention herein, or if there is some reason to do so the fastening may be made permanent using welding.

In the most basic module of the invention, one or more braces having end-flanges 30, 34 are attached to the post flange(s) 24A,B of the vertical post 22 to form a fence structure to which barbed or smooth wire may be attached and held taut. The end-flanges 30,34 are preferably the same size as the post flange 24A,B with corresponding holes (32, 36, respectively), but may be made any other size so long as they are attachable to the post flange. The two basic braces of the invention having end-flanges are the lateral brace 38 (FIG. 3) and the angle brace 40 (FIG. 4).

The lateral brace 38 of the invention as shown in FIG. 3 is preferably about seven feet in length, but may be shorter or longer as desired. It has a permanently attached flat end-flange 30 perpendicularly attached to each end of a pipe 42 (also preferably 2 ½ inch schedule 10 pipe) so that each end of the pipe 42 may be attached to an upper post flange 24A or lower post flange 24B of a vertical post 22 so that the lateral brace 38 spans the distance between two vertical posts 22 as shown in FIG. 1. This allows formation of an H-shaped fence structure having an upper lateral brace alone, or for most stability, both an upper and a lower lateral brace. The H-shaped fence structure may be used as is known in the art of fencing at fence corners, ends of fence lines, or along a long expanse of fencing.

The angle brace 40 of the invention as shown in FIG. 4 is made of pipe and has an upper portion 44 at an obtuse angle to a lower portion 46 as shown. For the standard vertical post 22 discussed above, the preferred angle brace 40 has an upper portion 44 that is 73 inches long and a lower portion 46 that is 24 inches long. The upper portion 44 has an upper angled end 48 to which is permanently mounted an angled end-flange 34 that is oriented parallel to the lower portion 46 of the angle brace 40. When the lower portion 46 is placed vertically in the ground in concrete, the upper portion 44 angles upward from the ground at a preferred 45 degrees, and forms a 45 degree angle with the vertical post 22 to which it is attached (FIG. 1). Other angles may be used if desired, but the preferred angles maximize stability of the assembled fence structure. The angle brace 40 may be attached to any vertical post 22 to provide additional stability.

In order to form 90°-corners on a fence, the invention includes an extension flange 52 as shown in FIG. 5. The extension flange 52 comprises a flat extension end-flange 54 having two parallel plate extensions 56 perpendicular to the flat extension end-flange 54, with the two plate extensions 56 being at a distance apart that corresponds to the width of the vertical post 22 so that the plate extensions 56 may be inserted and fastened through holes 51 between two vertical post flanges 24A or 24B and so that the flat extension end-flange 54 may be fastened through holes 50 to an end-flange, such as the end-flange 30 of a lateral brace as shown in FIG. 6, or fastened to the end-flange 34 of an angle brace (not shown). An example of a corner having a lateral brace attached to a vertical post at a 90°-angle using an extension flange is also shown in FIG. 1.

The invention herein also provides a mechanism for attachment of a prior gate to a vertical post. A gate flange 58 is used for this purpose and comprises an end-flange 60 that may be fastened to a vertical post flange 24A,B and a swing gate hinge 62 perpendicularly attached to the flat gate end-flange 60 through holes 59 for attachment to a gate 64 (FIG. 7). A gate is shown attached to a vertical post using gate flanges 58 in FIG. 1.

While an entire fence may be made of the components set forth herein, it is contemplated that most persons wishing to fence an area will generally use standard barbed or smooth wire and standard posts for most of the fence, and the components of the invention for areas requiring particular stability such as corners. If some type of wire is used for the rest of the fence, the wire may be attached to the vertical posts and braces by means known in the art for attaching wire to pipe. To assist in this, a standard tool for attaching wire to fence structures, such as a post tiewire or clip and post tiewire tool or fence post drill clip chuck (Stay-Tite Fence Mfg. Inc. New Braunfels, Tex.), is preferably provided to purchasers for use with the invention.

In many instances, fencing must be placed where the ground is not level, and in some cases fence corners must be constructed at angles other than 90°. The invention herein includes an angle flange 66 for attaching an end-flange at a non-parallel angle to a vertical post flange 22. As shown in use in FIG. 8 for the mounting of a lateral brace in other than a horizontal orientation and in FIG. 9, the angle flange 66 of the invention comprises a first flange plate 68 having a perpendicular portion 70 having a proximal end 72 centrally attached to one side of the first flange plate 68 and a distal end 74. A second flange plate 76 of the angle flange 66 has two perpendicular portions 78 each of which has a proximal end 80 attached centrally attached to one side of the second flange plate 76 and a distal end 82. The two perpendicular portions 78 of the second flange plate 76 are spaced at a distance apart so that the distal end 74 of the first flange plate perpendicular portion 70 may be inserted between the distal ends 82 of the second flange plate perpendicular portions 78 and joined to form a revolute joint 84. This allows one of the flange plates to be mounted to an end-flange that is not vertical, and the other flange plate to be mounted to a vertical post flange as shown in FIG. 8. Once the perpendicular portions are locked in place about the revolute joint 84, the two flange plates 68,76 are fixed in non-parallel orientation to each other, and the attached lateral brace 38 or angle brace 40 will then extend away from the vertical post 22 at the angle mandated by the orientation of the angle flange 66. If the angle flange is rotated 90° from that shown, an attached lateral brace is horizontal but extends at an angle other than 90° from the fence line enabling corners that are not 90° corners.

In order to make a more attractive post and keep water out of the hollow pipe vertical post, a post end-cap 86 (FIG. 10) as is known in the art may be placed on the vertical posts.

It is clear from the description and figures herein that the invention herein provides a very versatile, useful fencing system, and that any fence assembly having an overall shape as is known in the art or as may be devised for particular purposes may be made from the fence components and fence system set forth above. Thus, two vertical posts may be fastened together by one or two lateral braces, assembled in an H-form, and one or more angle braces may be attached to one or more vertical posts, which may in turn be assembled in an H-form. To make complex fence structures with non-horizontal lateral braces, or with corners that are not at 90°-angles, angle flanges may be used. Any vertical post 22 may have lateral or angle braces attached to the vertical post in a variety of patterns. For example, a vertical post 22 may just have an angle brace attached thereto, may have a single lateral brace, two lateral braces at an angle of 180° from each other (a straight line) or at 90° from each other (a standard corner for a single field), may have three lateral braces forming a “T” when viewed from above, or four lateral braces forming a cross when viewed from above. In addition, each such lateral brace at its other end may be part of any type of simple or complex attachment to another vertical post, and so on. One or more angle flanges may be used to change the angle of each lateral brace with respect to a vertical post or other lateral braces and fencing, and gates may be inserted as desired.

While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that numerous variations, modifications, and embodiments are possible, and accordingly, all such variations, modifications, and embodiments are to be regarded as being within the spirit and scope of the invention.