FENCING SUPPORT BASE

Abstract

This invention relates to a support base for a fencing panel, comprising: a base portion 12 arranged to be located on the ground; and at least one support portion 20, 30 coupled to the base portion 12 and arranged to be coupled to the fencing panel. The support portion 20, 30 is moveable with respect to the base portion 12 between a stored position and a raised position in which it is capable of being coupled to the fencing panel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of United Kingdom Application GB 0902842.4 filed on Feb. 19, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a support base, in particular, a support base for a fencing panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Temporary fencing is widely used to cordon off areas temporarily. Temporary fencing usually comprises a number of fencing panels that are joined to one another to form a length of fencing. Fencing panels include wood panels, hoarding panels and mesh panels. Each panel usually comprises two uprights between which an infill panel is held.

The fencing panels must be supported in order to keep them upright. There are currently a number of known ways of doing this.

In a first known example a reinforced concrete support base is used which comprises a block of reinforced concrete having two holes therein for receiving uprights of adjacent panels so as to join the panels together. Each fencing panel is supported by two concrete support bases by locating each upright in a hole in a respective one of the support bases. Whilst this works satisfactorily, the concrete support bases are very heavy and are therefore difficult to manually move safely. They are also expensive to transport because of their weight.

In a second known example a metal support base is used which comprises a flat steel plate having two steel tubes extending from the plate in a perpendicular direction. Each fencing panel is supported by two metal support bases by locating each upright over a steel tube of one of the support bases. This also works satisfactorily and the metal support bases are lighter than the concrete support bases. However, because of the protruding steel tubes, the metal support bases do not stack well and therefore take up a lot of space to both store and transport. This increases the cost of both storage and transportation.

It is therefore desirable to provide a support base for a fencing panel which addresses at least some of the above problems to some extent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a support base for a fencing panel, comprising: a base portion arranged to be located on the ground; and at least one support portion coupled to the base portion and arranged to be coupled to the fencing panel; wherein the support portion is moveable with respect to the base portion between a stored position and a raised position in which it is capable of being coupled to the fencing panel. This means that the support base takes up less space when not in use and therefore makes storing and transportation easier and cheaper.

The base portion may be planar and in the stored position the support portion may be located in the said plane of the base portion and in the raised position the support portion may be located substantially perpendicular to the said plane. This provides a particularly compact arrangement.

The support portion may be pivotally attached to the base portion. The support portion may comprise a support member attached to an axial member which is rotationally coupled to the base portion such that it can rotate about its axis. If the base portion comprises a substantially rectangular frame having an opening, the axial member may be located within the frame and extend between opposite ends of the frame.

Each end of the axial member may be located within a collar that is attached to the base portion. Alternatively, each end of the axial member may be located within an opening in the base portion. In a further alternative, each end of the axial member has a spigot that is located within an opening in the base portion.

The support base may comprise a stop for limiting the movement of the support portion. This can prevent the support portion from moving out of position.

In one embodiment the base portion comprises a frame having an opening and in the stored position, the support portion is located within the opening.

The support portion may be arranged to be located within a hollow member of a fencing panel.

Preferably there are two support portions per support base, to allow two fencing panels to be joined together.

The invention is also concerned with a fence comprising a fencing panel coupled to a support base according to any statement herein.

The invention may comprise any combination of the features and/or limitations referred to herein, except combinations of such features as are mutually exclusive.

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be understood with reference to the drawing figures and detailed description herein, and will be realized by means of the various elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following brief description of the drawings and detailed description of the invention are exemplary and explanatory of preferred embodiments of the invention, and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a plan view of a support base in a stored position according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 schematically shows the views A-A and B-B of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 schematically shows a plan view of a support base in a raised position according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 schematically shows the views C-C and D-D of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 schematically shows a two fencing panels supported by a support base according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 schematically shows a plan view of a support base in a stored position according to a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 schematically shows a plan view of a support base in a stored position according to a third embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Any and all patents and other publications identified in this specification are incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

Also, as used in the specification including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to “about” or “approximately” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.

With reference now to the drawing figures, wherein like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows the support base 10 comprising a base portion 12 and two support portions 20, 30. The base portion 12 comprises a planar rectangular tubular steel frame defining an opening 14. The two support portions 20, 30 are identical and each comprise a support member 22, 32 that attached substantially perpendicularly to the mid-point of an axial member 24, 34. Each support portion 20, 30 is located within the opening 14 of the base frame 12 and is pivotally attached to the base portion 12. Each of the ends of the axial members 24, 34 are located within a collar 50 which is fixedly attached to the base portion 12. This allows each support portion 20, 30 to pivot about the axis of its respective axial member 24, 34.

Each support portion 20, 30 is capable of pivoting about its axial member 24, 34 between a stored position and a raised position. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, in the stored position the support member 22, 32 is located in the plane of the base portion 12 and within the opening 14 of the base portion 12. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, in the raised position the support member 22, 32 is orientated substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the base portion 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the support portions 20, 30 are located in the stored position, the support base 10 is substantially planar. This enables a number of support bases 10 to be stacked efficiently which makes them easier and cheaper to store and transport.

Referring now to FIG. 4, in use the base frame 12 is located on the ground and the support portions 20, 30 are pivoted from the stored position to the raised position. The support members 22, 32 are therefore substantially perpendicular to the base portion 12 (and hence the ground).

The support base 10 may comprise one or more stops 60. In this embodiment the base portion 12 is provided with two stops 60. These prevent the support portions 20, 30 from rotating from the stored position in a direction away from the raised position.

In other embodiments the support base 12 may be provided with locks to lock the support portions 20, 30 in a desired position or with further stops to limit the movement of the support portions 20, 36.

FIG. 5 shows two fencing panels 100 supported by three support bases 10. Each fencing panel 100 comprises a frame 120 and a mesh 130. The frame 120 is rectangular and comprises two vertical hollow frame members (uprights) 122, 124 and two horizontal hollow frame members 126, 128 that are welded together. Each fencing panel 100 is supported by coupling each vertical member 122, 124 to a support portion 20, 30 of a support base 10. In this embodiment this is done by locating the support member 22, 32 of the support portion 20, 30 within the hollow vertical member 122, 124 of the fencing panel 100. This is possible since the external diameter of the support member 22, 32 is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the vertical hollow member 122, 124.

As will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, there are other ways of coupling a fencing panel 100 to the support portion. For example, a vertical member 122, 124 may be located within a support member 22, 32 or a vertical member 122, 124 may be located within a retaining sleeve attached to the support member 22, 32. In another embodiment the support members 22, 32 may slot together with the vertical members 122, 124.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except that there are no collars 50. Instead, each end of each axial member 24, 34 is located within a hole 54 in the tubular steel frame of the base portion 12. This allows each support portion 20, 30 to pivot about its axial member 24, 34 between a stored position and a raised position.

FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except that there are no collars. Instead, each end of each axial member is provided with a spigot 56 (or pin) which is located in a hole 58 in the tubular steel frame of the base portion 12. This allows each support portion 20, 30 to pivot between about its axial member 24, 34 between a stored position and a raised position.

While the invention has been described with reference to preferred and example embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications, additions and deletions are within the scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A support base for a fencing panel, comprising:

a base portion arranged to be located on the ground; and

at least one support portion coupled to the base portion and arranged to be coupled to the fencing panel;

wherein the support portion is moveable with respect to the base portion between a stored position and a raised position in which it is capable of being coupled to the fencing panel.

2. A support base according to claim 1, wherein the base portion is planar and in the stored position the support portion is located in the plane of the base portion.

3. A support base according to claim 2, wherein the base portion is located in a plane and in the raised position the support portion is located substantially perpendicular to the said plane.

4. A support base according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is pivotally attached to the base portion.

5. A support base according to claim 4, wherein the support portion comprises a support member attached to an axial member which is rotationally coupled to the base portion such that it can rotate about its longitudinal axis.

6. A support base according to claim 5, wherein each end of the axial member is located within a respective collar that is attached to the base portion.

7. A support base according to claim 5, wherein each end of the axial member is located within a respective hole in the base portion.

8. A support base according to claim 5, wherein each end of the axial member has a spigot that is located within a respective hole in the base portion.

9. A support base according to claim 1, further comprising a stop for limiting the movement of the support portion.

10. A support base according to claim 1, wherein the base portion comprises a frame having an opening and in the stored position, the support portion is located within the opening.

11. A support base according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is arranged to be located within a hollow member of a fencing panel.

12. A support base according to claim 1, wherein there are two support portions.

13. A fence comprising a fencing panel coupled to the support base according to claim 1.