METAL PANEL FENCING SYSTEM
A fencing system is constructed with thin-walled generally rectangular tubing. The large cross-section of the rectangular tubing provides significant structural strength. The posts can also be formed into rectangular cross-sections to achieve similar cross-sectional strength. The posts are provided with openings for the rails to be inserted. A compliant grommet is provided in each opening and allows for articulation in any direction, isolates the rail from the post to prevent metal-on-metal contact, provides cushioning to the rails upon impact, silences the rails in heavy wind, electrically isolates each fence section and centers the rail in the post opening. A system of clips or spring loaded lock pins attach to the ends of the rails allow the rails to be easily inserted into the posts, but prevents their removal. Alternatively, lock spacers may be inserted into each post systematically to limit the rail movement independently between any two posts to assure retention of the rails and to allow easy rail removal upon removal of the lock spacers.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/150,194, filed Feb. 5, 2009, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fencing system. More particularly, the invention relates to a thin-walled, tubular metal panel fencing system. In addition, the invention relates to a method of installing and maintaining the fencing system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Traditional horse farm and some residential fencing have been constructed from planks of wood nailed to wooden posts. Typically, these wooden fencing systems utilize 4 inch or 6 inch square posts with 0.75 inch thick by 5.5 inch wide panels. The posts are installed 3 to 4 feet deep in the ground and are typically surrounded by a concrete footing. The panels are then nailed to one of the faces of the posts and the fencing system is then hand painted. The drawbacks with this fencing system are high maintenance costs and short cosmetic and structural life spans. Painted wood requires frequent painting due to the tendency of wood to absorb moisture, expand and contract with temperature changes, attract chewing by horses, and build up mold and mildew. Posts can be quickly rotted by moist ground and are expensive to replace. The typical life span of a wooden fencing system is 7 to 10 years and can be far less in humid climates. This system also provides health concerns to animals due to cracking, splintering, loose nails, cribbing or chewing damage. In addition, because the system is easily broken, animal escapes occur far too often.
In response to problems posed by wood fencing systems, vinyl panel fencing systems were developed. Vinyl fencing systems provided lower maintenance and longer life spans at a small price premium over wood fencing systems. However, vinyl fencing systems have their own drawbacks. Vinyl fencing systems loose their gloss and their surfaces chalks much faster than modern paints due to exposure to the weather, resulting in a limited color selection. In addition, the surfaces cannot be repainted in the field. The panels also become brittle from age or exposure to the weather, making them susceptible to breakage by large animals. Further, the panels could drop out because of thermal expansion and contraction of the rails and posts. Similar to wood systems, these vinyl fences are easily broken and can shard to impale the animal or allow easy escape upon breakage. Additionally the production of vinyl (poly vinyl chloride) is highly detrimental to the environment and these materials are not recycled.
More recently, galvanized and powder-coated round steel pipe tubing fencing systems have been developed. These fencing systems solve many of the problems associated with wood and vinyl fencing systems; however, the pipe tubing systems lack aesthetic value. In particular, pipe tubing fencing systems do not have the panel look that the market is used to and desires to maintain.
The need therefore has arisen to provide a structurally sound fencing system that could be maintenance free for many years. The fencing system preferably maintains the traditional panel fence appearance and utilizes modern paints to maintain color and resist weathering. The system should match or exceed the steel round pipe style strength which greatly surpasses that of the wood and vinyl. The system should be animal friendly thus eliminating the many health issues associated with the wood and vinyl products. In order to create a panel system in a material such as coated steel or aluminum with hollow posts and rails there needed to be a system for protection of the coated surfaces at the post to rail interface while still allowing articulation in the up and down, as well as the left and right, directions to allow for installation over varying terrain. Finally, the fencing system should preferably be easily installed with standard tools and be cost competitive with existing fencing systems. Fence panels should be replaceable in the event of damage such as by falling trees.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with a first aspect of the invention, at least some of the above-identified needs are met by providing a fencing system constructed with thin-walled non-circular, preferably at least generally rectangular tubing. The tubing can be formed to provide rails in the form of rectangular panels to provide the desired aesthetic look. The large cross-section of the rectangular panels provides significant structural strength. The posts can also be formed into rectangular cross-sections to achieve similar cross-sectional strength.
The posts are provided with openings for the rails to be inserted. A compliant material, preferably an elastomeric grommet, may be provided in each opening. The compliant material allows for articulation in any direction, isolates the rail from the post to prevent metal-on-metal contact, and centers the rail in the post opening. This compliant material will also provide a cushioning of the rail in the event of animal impact to reduce the potential for injury. The grommet also reduces or eliminates any potential for noise due to movement of the rails in the wind.
Additionally, a fastening system, made up of clips attaching to the ends of the rails, is provided that allows the rails to be easily inserted into the posts without the use of specialized tools, but prevents their removal. This fastening system simplifies and speeds up fence installation. Further, the rail clips allow for independent thermal expansion and contraction of each rail, eliminating the potential of rails falling out or putting pressure on subsequent posts. A similar system of rail retention spring loaded latch pins can provide similar benefits.
An alternative or supplemental rail retention method provides lock spacers insertable into the hollow posts. The lock spacers limit longitudinal or in-line rail movement, thus assuring their secure mounting in the post. They also facilitate rail removal for maintenance or repair. These and other aspects, advantages, and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and accompanying drawings, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. It is hereby disclosed that the invention include all such modifications.
These systems are compatible with round rails as shown in the illustrations for areas where this aesthetic is preferred.
Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout, and in which:
Referring to
Referring to
The rails 20 can be formed into a rounded-corner, preferably at least generally rectangular shape in order to reproduce the wood panel look. As best seen in
Referring to
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As seen in
In the exemplary embodiment, at least one rail retaining clip 40 is attached to each end of the rail 20. Preferably, one retaining clip 40 is attached to the end of each of the upper wall 26 and lower wall 28 of the rail 20, as shown in
Referring to
The alternate spring loaded rail pin system shown in
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The upper stop 94 extends from the upper end portion of the spar 90 so as, in use, to rest on top of the uppermost rail 20 in the fencing system 10, hence properly locating the lock spacer assembly 90 in the post 30 as best seen in
The spiders 95 are positioned in each rail opening 32 when the lock spacer assembly 90 is inserted into the post 30 with the upper stop 94 resting on top of the uppermost rail. Each spider 95 has first and second opposed sections 104, 106 each of which is engaged by the end of a respective rail section 20. Each section 104, 106 includes a curved inner section 108 that is engaged by the end of the associated rail section 20 and first and second arms 110, 112 that extend outwardly from the curved section 108 and that flank the sides 24, 26 of the rail 20 with a substantial gap therebetween. The arms 110, 112 extend outwardly from the spar 92 toward the inner surface of the post 30 such that, upon system assembly, the ends of the arms 110, 112 of one of the sections 104 or 106 are jammed against the inner surface of the associated end wall 36 of the post 30, hence locking the spider 95 and the lock spacer assembly 90 as a whole in position and, therefore, limiting the rail movement and preventing the rail from being removed with the lock spacer in place. The curvature of the inner section 108 accommodates side-to-side articulation of the rail 20 while assuring that each rail section extends the same distance out of the post 30 regardless of its degree of articulation.
To assemble a fencing system using the lock spacer assemblies 90, the posts 30 with integral rail openings 32 and pre-inserted grommets 80 are inserted into the ground. Next, a first set of rails 20 is inserted into first and second adjacent posts. A first lock spacer assembly 90 is inserted into the first post 30 in the line, and each rail is pulled up tightly to the first lock spacer assembly 90. More specifically, upon being inserted into the opening 32, the end of the rail 20 engages the curved section 108 of one section 104 of one of the spiders 95 and drives the end of the arms 110 and 112 of the opposite section 106 against the inner surface of the post 30. A second lock spacer assembly 90 is dropped into the second post up the line, and a set of rails second rail 20 is installed by inserting it fully into the opening 32 in the third post 30 in the line, swinging it inline with the second post, and inserting it into the lock spacer assembly 90 of the second post. The process is then repeated down the line. Once the rails are assembled they have clearance to the lock spacers to accommodate thermal expansion within each section independently.
Once fully assembled, the fencing system 10 is extremely strong, highly durable, and virtually unbreakable—at least when subjected to stresses typically imposed on it by horses and other animals. However, the thin metal panels forming the rails 20 are relatively flexible due to their long length and section shape, and that flexibility is enhanced by the cushioning effects of grommets 80. A fence section therefore will flex several inches and spring back if an animal falls on or runs into it—drastically reducing the chances of animal injury when compared to rigid fences.
Maintenance is very easy with this system. All a worker need do is to remove two sequential lock spacer assemblies 90 in a line to provide room for rail movement relative to the posts 30. The worker then pulls the rail 20 fully into the first post 30 in line, allowing the opposite end of the rail to be removed from the next post 30. He then articulates the rail 20 to clear the second post 30 and pulls the rail 20 out from the first post 30.
The lock spacer assembly 90 described above is optimized for use with in-line posts. The spiders 95 of the lock spacer assemblies 90 are optimized for three way and four way corner posts would have different geometries but utilize the same principal as described above. Specifically, the spiders 95 of the lock spacer assemblies allow each rail section to be independently secured from rail movement or removal. Removal of any particular rail section does not compromise any other section of the fence. There thus can be no accumulated tolerance due to erroneous post spacing from one post to the next. This greatly eases the precision requirements when building the fence system.
It can thus be seen that the system of rail clips 40 or rail spring pins and/or the system of lock spacer assemblies 90 both work and are even usable together, but either system can be used alone. Use of the lock spacer system facilitates system disassembly. It is also easier to transport without damaging the paint on the system components.
Although the best modes contemplated by the inventors of carrying out the present invention is disclosed above, practice of the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be manifest that various additions, modifications, and rearrangements of the features of the present invention may be made in addition to those described above without deviating from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept. The scope of some of these changes is discussed above. The scope of other changes to the described embodiments that fall within the present invention but that are not specifically discussed above will become apparent from the appended claims and other attachments.
Claims
1. A fencing system comprising:
- a plurality of at least generally horizontal rails that have opposed ends;
- a plurality of vertical posts that each have at least one aperture, the ends of the rails being retained in the apertures in the posts;
- a plurality of compliant structures, each of which is located in a respective aperture between a respective rail and a respective post, wherein the compliant structures permit articulation of the rails relative to the posts while sealing rail-to-post interfaces and preventing metal to metal contact between posts and rails.
2. The fencing system of claim 1, wherein the compliant interfaces are elastomeric grommets.
3. The fencing system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the rails and the posts are made from one of coated galvanized steel, aluminum, or steel reinforced aluminum.
4. The fencing system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of rail retaining clips, wherein each clip is connected to an end of one of the rails and fixedly connects the rail allocated to the associated post.
5. The fencing system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the rails and the posts are formed from thin-walled tubing.
6. The fencing system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the rails and the posts have a non-circular profile.
7. The fencing system of claim 6, wherein the rails and posts have a rectangular profile with rounded corners.
8. The fencing system of claim 1, wherein the rails are made from galvanized steel of 1.2 mm thickness or less.
9. The fencing system of claim 6, wherein the posts are made from galvanized steel of 1.4 mm thickness or less.
10. The fencing system of claim 1, wherein the rails are retained in the posts by lock spacer assemblies, each of which is inserted into a central portion of respective posts and which is engaged by and limits in line movement of at least one rail.
11. A fencing system comprising:
- a plurality of at least generally horizontal rails that have opposed ends;
- a plurality of vertical posts that each have at least one aperture, the ends of the rails being retained in the apertures in the posts;
- a plurality of lock spacer assemblies, each of which is inserted into a central portion of respective posts and which is engaged by and limits in-line movement of at least one rail.
12. A method of installing a fencing system, comprising:
- inserting a plurality of posts into the ground, wherein each post contains at least one aperture;
- inserting the first end of each of the plurality of rails into a first aperture on a first post;
- inserting the second end of each of the plurality of rails into a second aperture on a second post; and
- centering the ends of the rails in the apertures while allowing articulation of the rails relative to the posts by providing a compliant interface into each aperture between the rail and the post.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising limiting in-line movement of the rails by abutting the opposed ends of each rail against lock spacer assemblies located inside the respective posts.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the use of round rails and or round posts.
15. The method of claim 12, further comprising utilizing rails and or posts made of plastic, wood or composite materials.
16. The method of claim 12, further comprising retaining the rails to the posts uses preinstalled spring loaded buttons that protrude out of opposed sides of the rails to lock the rails in place without the need for lock spacers or other retainers.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 5, 2010
Publication Date: Aug 5, 2010
Applicant: Buckley Fence, LLC (Milwaukee, WI)
Inventor: James A. Buckley (Mequon, WI)
Application Number: 12/701,082
International Classification: E04H 17/00 (20060101);