GB2035409A - Improvements in or relating to fencing - Google Patents

Abstract

A fence panel comprises two uprights (10) and at least two transverse rails (13) which are adapted to link together to form a generally rectangular frame. The uprights and transverse rails are arranged to link together by means of interlocking sockets and engagement portions one of which is provided on the uprights and the other of which is provided at the ends of the transverse rails. The transverse rails can have a number of apertures or grooves adapted to retain one or more screening elements which can take the form of panels, slats or rods. Filler strips of T<16> sections are provided to blank of unused slots 11 and short sections thereof are used to space rails. The aperture 12 receives a stub on the base of a cap. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to fencing This invention relates to fencing.

According to the invention there is provided a fence panel comprising two uprights and two transverse rails adapted to link together to form a generally rectangular frame.

Preferably the transverse members have one or more apertures or grooves to retain an array of screening elements. The screening elements may comprise slats or rods. The uprights and transverse rails are preferably arranged to link together by means of interlocking sockets and engagement portions provided one on the upright and one on the ends of the transverse rails.

The uprights may be provided with socket or engagement portions, for linking with uprights extending in one or more directions and in the case of a rectangular post the socket or engagement portions may be provided on one or more sides.

The uprights may be provided with one or more sockets each comprising a longitudinally extending groove and the ends of the transverse rails may be shaped to provide an engagement portion which permits entry from one end of the groove but prevents removal in a direction transversely of the groove to effect said linking together. Alternatively, the upright may be provided with one or more engagement portions each formed by a longitudinally extending projection and the ends of the transverse rails may be provided with a groove extending transversely of the end, the projection and grooves being shaped to permitslidable engagement of the grooves with the projection(s) from one end but to prevent removal by movement in a direction transversely of the projection(s).

The projections and grooves may be of complementary configuration and may be of, for example, "T" shape in cross section.

A filler strip may be provided which is engageable on the longitudinally extending projection or in the longitudinally extending groove.

The aperture(s) and/or grooves may be continuous or discontinuous along the rails. The slats or rods may be in edge-to-edge abutment or may be arranged to overlap, eg. by arranging slats in slightly angled relative dispositions.

It is preferred that the material employed for construction of the various parts is plastics, for example ABS, or plastics impregnated wood although wood, metal eg. aluminium, or concrete are examples of other suitable materials.

In order that the invention and its various other preferred features are understood more easily, an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which Figure lisa plan view of part of a fence constructed with fence panels formed in accordance with the invention showing an upright and the ends of two transverse rails with slats mounted therein, Figure 2 is a plan view showing one end of an alternative construction of transverse rail, Figure 3 is a plan view of one end of another alternative construction of transverse rail, Figure 4 is a plan view of one end of yet another alternative construction of transverse rail, Figure 5 is a plan view of one end of a further alternative construction of transverse rail, Figure 6 is an elevational view of a cap for an upright as shown in Figure 1, Figures 7a to 7d show stages in construction of one type of fence panel in accordance with the invention, Figure 8 is a front elevational view of a fence panel constructed in accordance with the invention and employing transverse rails such as are shown in FigureS, Figure 9 is a front elevational view of a fence panel constructed in accordance with the invention and employing transverse rails such as are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 10 shows a possible accessory useable with the uprights.

Figures ii & 12 show another possible configuration.

Figure 13 shows a support for an upright.

Figure 14 shows part of a "snap off" filler strip.

The drawing of Figure 1 shows an upright 10 of basically rectangular cross-section provided in each of its faces with a groove 11 which extends longitudinally of the face and which is of substantially "T" shape in cross-section. The upright is provided with a central hole 12 which may extend for the length of the post and which serves to receive a spigot of a cap.

The "T" shape grooves 11 serve to receive a correspondingly "T" shaped end of transverse rails 13 and normally an upper and lower rail would be employed to support an array of vertically disposed screening elements. The rails in Figure 1 are provided with a longitudinally extending slot 14 which supports screening elements in the form of slats 15 in side by side abutting disposition.

In Figure 1 only two opposite grooves 11 are employed to support transverse rails 13 and the other two grooves are provided with a filler strip 16 of conforming "T" shape in cross-section. The rails 13 are supported at required heights on the uprights by means of spacers formed by portions of filler strip as will be described later.

The alternative construction of transverse rail 13 shown in Figure 2 has a slot 17 with opposite sides having an offset zig-zag formation which serves to receive slats 18 in an overlapping offset relationship.

The alternative construction of transverse rail 13 shown in Figure 3 has two lines of spaced rectangular slots 19 extending longitudinally therealong. The slots in one line are staggered relative to the slots in the other line and serve to receive slats such that when viewed from one side the slats appear to overlap thereby providing a complete screen but the spacing therebetween enables passage of wind and consequently a reduction in wind resistance of the panel.

The alternative construction of transverse rail 13 shown in Figure 4 has two lines of spaced circular through holes 21. The holes in one line are staggered relative to the holes in the other line and serve to receive screening elements formed by circular rods or tubes.

The alternative construction of transverse rail 13 shown in Figure 5 has no slots and is narrower than the other rails. In front view it is of plank like appearance and serves to provide a fence panel of style type configuration.

Figure 6 shows a cap 22 for the uprights 10 which is of basically pyramidal shape and which has a spigot 23 of circular cross-section extending centrally from its base. The spigot is sized to enable press fitting into the hole 12 in the upright.

Figure 7 shows a preferred way of positioning a transverse rail at a desired height on the uprights and shows a sequence of operations Figures 7a to 7d. A filler strip 16 of length equal to the length of the upright and of "T" shape cross-section of complementary shape to the groove is inserted in the groove as far as it will go. A mark is made on the strip at the desired height for the transverse rail.

(Figure 7a). The strip is partially withdrawn to permit cutting therethrough at the marked position (Figure 7b). The strip portion in the groove is slid back into the groove and the "T" shaped end section of a transverse rail is inserted in the groove and lowered to abut the cut end of the strip 16. (Figure 7c). The removed portion 25 of filler strip is now inserted in the groove and slid into abutment with the rail 13.

The portion 25 is marked at the level of the top of the upright with a mark 26 and is cut through at this position. A cap 22 is then fitted to the hole 12 in the upright. It will be appreciated that any desired number of spaced transverse rails can be fitted to the uprights in this manner and can be spaced apart by portions of filler strip. Any other suitable means may be employed to retain the rails at the desired heights, eg. pegs insertible into holes in the uprights.

Figure 8 shows a fence panel constructed in accordance with the invention of the style configuration and employs two uprights 10 and three transverse rails 13 of the type illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 9 shows another fence panel constructed in accordance with the invention of the abutting slat type and employs two uprights 10 and two transverse rails of the type shown in Figure 1 provided with abutting slats 27 fitted in their longitudinally extending slots.

The uprights, transverse rails, screening elements and filler strip can all be manufactured from plastics material by for example, extrusion.

As will be appreciated, uprights, transverse rails and screening elements may be of any required length. Any suitable means may be employed, if desired, to more permanently fix the various parts of the fence together, for example, adhesives, nails or screws.

It is envisaged that fencing will normally be formed by sections in alignment one with another.

By section it is intended to mean a single post and set of transverse rails and optionally vertical screening slats. As it will be appreciated that starting with a single fence panel formed by two uprights joined by transverse rails and provided with optional screening slats, a fence can be built up by adding one or more sections at a time interlocking with an existing part of the fence and extending either in alignment or at right angles to the previous section. In this way a fence can be built up to enclose a desired area and subdividing fences interlocking with uprights of the main fence can be added.

Although the groove 11 and the end of the transverse rails in this emobodiment are "T" shaped it is understood that any other suitable interlocking configuration of groove and end formation can be employed eg. a groove of circular cross-section and rail ends of complementary circular form. The ends of the rails need not be of complementary shape to the shape of the groove provided they are mutually engageable in an interlocking configuration.

Although the embodiments described have the groove 11 provided in the uprights and the rails are provided with end portions of complementary configuration, the opposite configuration is possible in which the uprights are provided with a longitudinally extending projection on the upright and complementary interlocking groove formations on the end of the transverse rails.

The construction of fencing described herein lends itself to securement of a range of accessories which can be secured to the uprights at suitably selected heights by means of groove or projection formations for engagement on/in the projections or grooves in the uprights. One such accessory is shown in Figure 10 and comprises an annular flower pot holder provided with a "T" shaped projection 29 for engagement with the groove 11 of an upright 10.

Examples of some other possible accessories are nesting boxes, bird baths, light fittings and shelving.

Figure 11 and 12 show the use of a furtherfence panel in accordance with the invention as a support for climbing plants e.g. runner beans. In this embodiment the transverse rails are provided with rows of holes 31, each row having adjacent pairs of holes, the holes in one row being staggered relative to the holes in the other row and serving to enable threading of a support string or wire 32 on which the beans can grow. The threading will be apparent from the drawings.

Figure 13 shows an extruded plastics support 33, for receiving the upright 10 shown in Figure 1. The support is elongate and has a channel 34 extending therethrough which is of the same cross-sectional shape and size as the cross-sectional shape of the upright 10 and permits slidable engagement of the upright therein. The support is effectively a socket and is intended to be sunk into the ground at a desired position and thereby enable the post to be subsequently inserted and supported. The outer dimensions of this support can be of increased size to enhance the support and provide a wider surround to the channel 34. This surround can be recessed or provided with a surrounding channel for receiving concrete thereby providing extra weight to support the uprights.

Figure 14 shows part a filler strip 35 which is provided at intervals with score marks 36 extending across the side which faces inwardly of the upright in use. The score marks are arranged either at regular intervals or at some predetermined positions and

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (1)

1. **WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **.