FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a clip (which term is intended to include any mechanical fastening means) for attaching, either directly or indirectly, a generally transverse wire to a supporting post or other upright (herein referred to simply as a post) therefor and to installations of such clips on cooperating posts. Still more particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a clip for attaching fence or trellis wires to supporting posts therefor as well as to the attachment of electrically conductive or operatively charged wires of an electric fence that need to be electrically insulated from a supporting post or the like.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Numerous different clips have been used for attaching wires to fence or trellis support posts, depending, to large extent, on the nature, and particularly the cross-sectional configuration, of the post.

In the case of traditional wooden posts, the most common form of clip is a simple arch shaped nail that is percussively driven into the wooden post with its two limbs straddling the wire. This arrangement is inexpensive and operates reasonably effectively. However, such nails tend to become loose over a period of time and thus ineffective, thereby leading to maintenance being necessary.

Wooden posts are becoming increasingly expensive, prone to rotting and are sometimes in short supply. As a result, other materials of construction for use as fence and, in particular, trellis posts are gaining in popularity and cost

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effectiveness. Metal posts that may be tubular in construction, but more typically assume the form of a rolled section, are of particular significance in this regard. However, accompanying the use of such metal posts is the question of clips to be used to attach wire strands to the posts at the required positions up the height thereof. Numerous different clips have therefore been proposed for this purpose.

Most relevant to the present invention are the clips described in United States patents numbers 1 ,214,749 and 5,547,322.

In the case of the former US patent there is described a clip made from a bent piece of wire so as to have two divergent feet from which protrude a pair of oppositely directed hook shaped portions located generally in a plane at right angles to the feet for cooperating with a wire. The feet form an elongate composite attachment formation that passes through a vertically orientated elongate aperture in a post of angle iron in a generally vertical orientation and is held captive in this position by rotating it through 90 degrees so that the feet extend transverse to the elongate aperture. In the latter position the two hook formations form a composite eye having a generally horizontal axis for holding a transverse wire captive relative to the post.

A clip of this nature is difficult, and accordingly costly, to form, and the resultant clip is operatively in fairly loose association with the post. The result is that movement and consequent abrasion may be occasioned by the wind, particularly in the case of trellis wires where wind resistance of the plant attached to the wires is significant. Also, with the wire, post and clip generally all being made of different metals, the likelihood of electrolytic corrosion is considerable.

In the case of US patent 5,547,322, a plastics injection moulding is provided with two feet that have catch formations for engaging behind two opposite edges of an elongate aperture in a vertical post. The difficulty with this

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arrangement is that the tolerances are crucial to the effective latching of the catch formations behind edges of the aperture with the attachment of the clip to the post being loose if the thickness of the metal post is rather thin relative to the location of the catch formation. On the other hand, if the thickness of the metal post is rather thick relative to the location of the catch formation, it will fail to properly clip behind the edge of the aperture. In any event, applicant believes that such a clip will have a tendency to pull out of the aperture under many different conditions.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide a clip that can be used effectively on a metal or like post to support a transverse strand of wire relative thereto. It is another object of the invention to provide a combination of a metal post and such clips.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of this invention there is provided a clip for attaching a wire to a post having elongate apertures formed through a wall thereof, the clip being injection moulded from a suitable plastics material and having one or more formations associated with it for holding, directly or indirectly, a wire extending transversely to a post, the clip being characterized in that it comprises a generally planar base and a generally planar foot attached to the base by an integral connecting neck, the planar base and foot being orientated in generally parallel planes and being configured such that the foot is elongate and shaped to pass through a cooperant elongate aperture in a post whereas the base is configured to engage an area surrounding such aperture with the neck being configured to enable the clip to be rotated through at least about 90 degrees after insertion of the foot through an aperture to cause the foot to extend across the

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elongate aperture and hold the clip captive by cooperation with a rear face of the post whilst the base cooperates with a front face of a post.

A further feature of the invention provide for the base to be provided with a slightly raised zone that operatively snaps into cooperation with the edges of the elongate slot when the foot extends transversely across the aperture to effectively provide a click stop in the operative position of the clip.

In a first variation of the invention said one or more formations is a pair of retaining hooks directed inwardly towards each other and terminating short of each other to define an entrance slot between their spaced free edges. Preferably each of the hooks is configured so that one of them is on each of two opposite sides of the foot, in plan view, and the free end of each is shaped such that a wire will snap past it into a cavity provided by that hook.

In a second variation of the invention said one or more formations is a slot open at one end and passing through the clip at generally right angles to the planes of the base and foot for receiving a transverse cantilever wire support passing through the post for supporting transverse trellis wires at the free ends thereof that are operatively spaced outwards of the post itself. In this variation the clip would, in use, generally be arranged opposite another clip on an opposite side of the post so that a single composite cantilever wire support operatively extends through two spaced clips and the entire cross- sectional dimension of the post to project outwards at each end and provide a pair of outwardly spaced support hooks for two trellis wires on opposite sides of the post.

In a third variation of the invention said one or more formations is a pair of oppositely and inwardly directed hooks typically moulded integral with the base and that overlap each other in side view but are laterally spaced in elevation to enable a wire that is to be supported thereby to be introduced between them followed by rotation of the clip relative to the wire to locate

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both hooks over the wire from opposite directions and hold it captive. In this instance the hooks are preferably configured to snap firmly onto the wire to hold it relative to the clip. This variation, it is envisaged, when made of a suitably electrically conductive material, may be particularly useful in supporting electric fence wires of an electric fence.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is provided a combination of a plurality of clips as defined above and a fence or trellis post formed of a rolled or otherwise formed metal section that has a generally channel shape in cross-section with a pair of opposite flanges interconnected by a web of the channel and wherein the web of the channel and each flange is interconnected by arcuate corner sections and the free edge of each flange is formed into an arcuate inwardly directed lip, and wherein further, each of the flanges has a flat section between its arcuate section connecting it to the web and its associated arcuate inwardly directed lip with a series of spaced apertures therethrough for cooperating with clips for holding transverse wires relative to the post.

In order that the above and other features of the invention may be more fully understood various embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is an isometric exploded view of a part of a vine trellis post with the web foremost showing clips of the first and second variations in exploded relationship relative thereto;

Figure 2 is an isometric view similar to Figure 1 with the web rearmost and the clips in the assembled positions;

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Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of an embodiment of the first variation of clip according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a front perspective thereof;

Figure 5 is an rear view thereof;

Figure 6 is a side thereof;

Figure 7 is a front view thereof;

Figure 8 is a section taken along line VIII to VIII in Figure 6;

Figure 9 is an end view of the clip with respect to Figure 6;

Figure 10 is a section taken along line X to X in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a front view of an embodiment of the third variation of the invention;

Figure 12 is a side view thereof (direction of arrow "A" in Figure 11);

Figure 13 is a plan view thereof (direction of arrow "B" in Figure 11);

Figure 14 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the second variation of the invention in its installed, operative orientation;

Figure 15 is an elevation of a wire support for use in association with the embodiment of clip illustrated in Figure 14;

Figure 16 is a plan view thereof; CT 2006/02/06

Figure 17 is an isometric view of a length of a section used to form a post; and,

Figure 18 is a cross-section taken through the section of the post.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

In order that the various features of the clips and other components provided by the invention may be more fully understood applicant considers it appropriate to briefly describe a preferred form of post in relation to which the clips and other components of the invention are to be employed.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 , 2, 18 and 19, a post, generally indicated by numeral (1) has a web composed of a central flat section (2) interconnected by arcuate corner sections (3) that form part of, and connect each side of, the central flat web section with a flat section (4) of each flange. The free edge of each flange is formed into an arcuate inwardly directed lip (5).

The flat section (4) of each flange is provided with a series of spaced longitudinally elongate apertures (6) for cooperation with clips for holding transverse wires relative to the post. Of course, the flat section of the web could also be provided with elongate apertures for cooperation with clips of the type described below.

Clearly the spacing of the elongate apertures is selected for the particular application and, in this case, the spacing is appropriate to supporting grape vine trellis wires.

An embodiment of the first variation of clip according to the invention will now be described with reference to Figures 3 to 10 of the drawings. The clip, generally indicated by numeral (7), comprises a plastics injection moulding of a plastic material selected to provide desirable durability and physical

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properties. The plastic material at present preferred is a suitable grade of nylon but plastics technology may well provide superior or more desirable alternatives, at least from one or other point of view.

The clip comprises a base (8) having a flat rear surface (9) that has a central elongate slightly raised relief zone (10). The outer periphery of the relief zone conforms approximately to, but is somewhat smaller than, the peripheral shape of an elongate aperture through a flange of the post section. The function of this relief zone will be described below.

A squat integral connecting neck (11) connects the relief zone (10) with a transverse foot (12) that extends, in rear elevation (see Figure 5), at right angles to the relief zone. The foot extends in a plane parallel to that of the base and the length of the base extends at right angles to the length of the foot. The peripheral shape of the foot conforms generally to the shape of an elongate aperture through the post section whilst being somewhat smaller so as to enable it to pass through such aperture.

This arrangement is such that the foot can be passed through an elongate aperture in the post section and the clip may then be rotated through 90 degrees so that the foot extends transverse to the elongate aperture. In the final orientation the relief zone comes into registration with the aperture to effectively provide a click stop in the final position of the clip. In this final position the foot firmly clamps the base to the flange of the section.

In this variation of the invention the base has an integral pair of retaining hooks (13) directed outwards from each end of the base and inwardly towards each other. The two hooks terminate short of each other to define an entrance slot (14) between their spaced free edges (15). The free end of each hook is shaped, as indicated by numeral (16) in Figure 6, such that a wire indicated by numeral (17) will snap past it into a cavity (18) provided by that hook.

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It will be quite apparent that, in use, clips (7) as described above can be installed in a series of spaced apertures up the height of a post as described, and wires can be introduced into the clips to hold them captive and support them on the post. It is to be noted that this particular arrangement enables wires extending at an incline to be accommodated effectively as the wire can move between the two interconnected cavities.

Turning now to an embodiment of the third variation of the invention that is illustrated in Figures 11 to 13, the hooks (20) could be configured differently and could overlap each other in elevational view (see Figures 11 and 13) whilst being laterally spaced to enable a wire (21 ) to be introduced through a gap (22) between them. After introduction of a wire, typically a trellis wire, the clip may be rotated relative to the wire firstly, to fix it to a supporting post as described above, and secondly to locate the hooks over the wire from opposite directions and hold it captive.

In this variation both hooks are configured to snap firmly onto the wire to hold it positively relative to the clip. This variation, it is envisaged, may be particularly suitable in application to electrically conductive wires of an electric fence. In such an application, of course, the post could be replaced by a support that is quite different. Such a support could typically be a simple angle iron support mounted on top of a wall or fence post.

An embodiment of the second variation of the invention that is particularly aimed at supporting trellis wires in laterally spaced positions relative to a supporting post is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 and in more detail in Figures 14 to 16.

In this instance, the clip (30) has a similar base (31) and foot (32) with a deep open ended slot (33) extending inwardly from one end of a body (34). The slot thus extends at generally right angles to the planes of the base and foot and is configured to receive a transverse cantilever wire support (35) passing

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operatively through the post for supporting transverse trellis wires (36) at the free ends (37) thereof that are operatively spaced outwards of the post itself, as shown in Figure 2.

The outer ends of the cantilever wire support are bent to form an open helix so that wires can be introduced laterally into what are effectively eyes formed at the ends of the cantilever wire support. These helical formations are configured so that they can pass through an elongate aperture in the support post described above. The clips are clearly associated with the cantilever wire only once it has been passed through the elongate apertures. This is achieved by introducing the cantilever wire into the inner end of the slot (33), in the case of each clip; installing the clip on a post by passing its foot through an elongate aperture; and rotating the body through 90 degrees as described above. Thus, one clip would, in use, be arranged opposite another clip on an opposite side of the post so that a single composite wire cantilever support operatively extends through two spaced clips and the entire cross- sectional dimension of the post to project outwards at each end.

Of course, the latter embodiment of the invention can be varied in many different ways and, in particular, it may be found to be more suitable to have the slot entering the side of the body and base rather than at the end of the foot.

Numerous other variations are possible within the scope of this invention without departing from the scope hereof.

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