A MODULAR FENCING SYSTEM

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to security partition assemblies, and more particularly it concerns a novel post with attaching means for securing fences thereon and related modular fencing system.

Background of the Invention

Fencing systems are widely used techniques for restricting entry to a piece of land, for providing privacy and/or decorative landscape. Said fencing systems typically include a series of posts set in ground, cement, a concrete slab, or the like, with essentially planar/flat fence panel spanning between the posts where the fence panels are often joined to fence posts by welding. Although using welding process for joining a fence panel to a post is an economical option, it requires considerable operator skill and it is impossible to disassemble the welded joints without destroying detail parts. For eliminating said and further disadvantages of welding and also for obtaining a modular fencing system, WO 2014/040091 (Al) discloses a fencing system that includes a first profile comprising a web and a flange that extends transversely from one end of the web in a first direction. A second connecting means secures the first profile to an adjacent profile in back-to-back arrangement. A bracket is securable to the web via a first connecting means. The bracket is shaped to extend towards the flange and defines an edge extending substantially along the flange, which edge defines at least two teeth for capturing at least one elongate segment of a fence panel between the teeth and the flange and/or web to secure the fence panel in place relative to the first profile. As disclosed, a plurality of different type connecting means are needed for joining a fence panel to a profile and hence said fencing system is complex to install and requires the operation of more than one person for its installation.

On the other hand, WO 2010/121789 (A2) discloses a fence comprising a fence post having two front flanges extending from a core, a fence panel, a clamp fixed to a flank of the core and holding at least one vertical edge wire of the fence panel, and as the clamp is fixed to the flank by attachment means such that it is movable from a holding position wherein it is exercising a clamping force, to a non-holding position, and vice versa, only in a direction towards the flank or away from it. However, said post flanks comprise holes for receiving clamps and fixing the fences thereon. Accordingly, using of said fencing system has disadvantage of need for using special dimensioned posts and fences for each type of land, i.e. sloping lands having different inclination angles since holes for mounting the clips provide a limited installation opportunity the user.

Also, it is important to provide a fence post that has minimized weak points in terms of mechanical strength against impacts from the hostile side (H). The fence posts and the fence panels employing such fencing systems are expected to maintain their original form and function even after severe impacts and stresses are applied thereon.

From the aspect of economic feasibility in terms of labor costs and production costs, it is also desired that a fence post is easy to produce and enables easy, flexible and rapid installation.

The present invention provides a novel fence post comprising at least one longitudinal channel for securing at least one fence panel and or at least one hinge fitting of a door onto said fence post by mounting suitable attaching means together with a horizontal/vertical wire of said fence. Thanks to said longitudinal channels, fencing system of the present invention is obtained which is modular, extremely simple to manufacture and easy to install even in sloping lands that have different inclination angles.

Objects of the Invention

Primary object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned shortcomings in the present state of the art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a strengthened fence post and a fencing system including said fence post.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fence post comprising at least one vertical longitudinal channel for submitting a modular fencing system. Another object of the present invention is to provide a fence post and fencing system with enhanced security against unauthorized manipulation thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide to fence post and fencing system required a low labor and production cost.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fence post and fencing system that is extremely simple to manufacture and easy to takedown or install even on sloping lands.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a fence post mainly comprising a vertically elongated center portion, a vertically elongated outer portion connected with said center portion and at least one attaching means for securing at least a fence panel or a hinge fitting of a door on said fence post. Here, the outer portion of the fence post has an outer face, a rear face, and at least one longitudinal channel forming an inner aperture constituted between the outer face and the rear face as to extend along the entire length (L) the outer portion. Also, at least one longitudinal opening is located on the rear face of said outer portion that extends along the entire length of the outer portion for providing an access to the inner aperture of said longitudinal channel, where said at least one attaching means is movably attached on said longitudinal opening.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, cross sectional view of said center portion of the fence post taken along the W direction is one of the following; ellipse, triangle, rectangle, square, pentagonal or hexagonal. Said center portion is preferably formed up in the shape of a hollow tubular body and an ellipse or a rectangle in cross section.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, said fence post further comprises a bridging portion positioned between the center portion and the outer portion, for enhancing mechanical strength of the fence post.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, said fence post further comprises at least one additional longitudinal channel which is contiguous to a lateral side of said bridging portion in (+W, -W) direction and said additional longitudinal channel further includes at least one additional longitudinal opening extending along the entire length of said bridging portion for providing an access to the inner aperture of said additional longitudinal channel.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, said fence post further comprises a support portion positioned on the center portion for enhancing mechanical strength. Also said supporting portion may be constituted as to extend from the center portion as an integral part of the center portion.

According to the present invention, said attaching means may have at least one grasping element for securing a wire of the fence panel or a hinge fitting of a door. Said grasping element optionally may have an "L" shaped cross-section or a sloping rod extending from a surface of the attaching means for holding at least a wire of the fence panel or a hinge fitting of a door. Also, said grasping element may be a clamp. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said grasping element is constituted as an integral part of the attaching means.

Furthermore, the present invention discloses a modular fencing system comprising a fence post as disclosed above.

Brief Description of the Figures

The figures whose brief explanations are herewith provided are solely intended for providing a better understanding of the present invention and are as such not intended to define the scope of protection or the context in which said scope is interpreted in the absence of the present description.

Fig. 1 demonstrates a general perspective view of the fence post according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 demonstrates a cross-sectional view of the fence post according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 demonstrates a cross-sectional view of the fencing system according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 demonstrates a back (friendly) side perspective view of the fencing system according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 demonstrates a front (hostile) side perspective view of the fencing system according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 demonstrates (a) front (hostile) view, (b) upper view and (c) side view of the fencing system according to the present invention, wherein the system is installed onto an inclined basis.

Fig. 7 demonstrates perspective view of the fence post with a fence panel and attaching means according to the present invention.

Figs. 7a and 7b demonstrate perspective views of the attaching means with grasping elements according to the present invention.

Fig. 8 demonstrates (a) a fence panel with tilted wires relative to the axis of width (W) of the fence post, (b) alternative relative position between the fence panel and the fence post.

Fig. 9 demonstrates back (friendly side) view of the fencing system according to the present invention, wherein the system is installed onto an inclined basis.

Fig. 10 demonstrates a perspective view of the fence post with attaching means according to the present invention.

Fig. 11 demonstrates a cross-sectional view of the fence post according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12 demonstrates a cross-sectional view of the fencing system including a door hinge according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 13 demonstrates a cross-sectional view of the fencing system including a door hinge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 14 demonstrates a back (friendly) side perspective view of the fence post according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention provides a fence post (1) comprising a vertically elongated center portion (13) and a vertically elongated outer portion (11) connected with said center portion (13). Said outer portion (11) comprises an outer face (111), a rear face (112) and at least one longitudinal channel (15) forming an inner aperture constituted between the outer face (111) and the rear face (112) that extends along the entire length (L) of the outer portion (11). Furthermore, the rear face (112) of said outer portion (11) includes at least one longitudinal opening (16) extending along the entire length (L) thereof. Thanks to this opening (16), a structure suitable for use in accessing the inner aperture of said longitudinal channel (15) is provided as shown in Figures 2 and 14. Said longitudinal channel (15) is adapted to receive at least one attaching means (3) through said opening (16) which is fixable at any required location on said longitudinal channel (15) for securing at least a fence panel (2) or a hinge fitting (4) of a door on said fence post (1) and also movable along the entire length (L) of said longitudinal channel (15).

Said center portion (13) serves the purpose of supporting and keeping the fence post integral in erected form. According to an embodiment of the present invention (Fig. 1), said center portion (13) of the fence post (1) may be formed up in the shape of a hollow tubular body. Also said center portion (13) is preferably an ellipse or a rectangle in cross sectional view, taken along the (+W, -W) direction, as shown in Figure 2 or Figure 11. However, it is not an essential feature to use an ellipse or a rectangle, and any other various shapes (e.g., triangle, square, pentagonal, hexagonal or other polygonal shapes) may be utilized for providing the required support.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, said fence post (1) further comprises a bridging portion (12) positioned between the center portion (13) and the outer portion (11). Preferably, the bridging portion (12) forms an area between said portions (11, 13) for receiving at least one fence panel (2) as shown in Figure 3 and Figure 12. Due to the obtained area between the center portion (13) and the outer portion (11), the mounting process can be carried out easily, even just by one worker, during the installation. Additionally, said bridging portion (12) ensures the fence post (1) to have a more robust structure.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said bridging portion (12) of the fence post (1) further comprises at least one additional longitudinal channel (15') that is contiguous to a lateral side of said bridging portion (12) in (+W, - W) direction and said additional longitudinal channel (15 further includes at least one additional longitudinal opening (16') extending along the entire length of the bridging portion (12) and providing access to the inner aperture of said additional longitudinal channel (15') as shown in Figures 11-14. Furthermore, Figure 12 shows the fence post (1) according to the disclosed embodiment where extension of a hinge fitting (4) are secured on said fence post (1) through a plurality of attaching means (3) which are positioned into two adjacent longitudinal channels (15, 15 ⁷ ) for providing support to the hinge fitting (4), and thus to relevant door, from both the outer portion (11) through the longitudinal channel (15) and the bridging portion (12) through the additional longitudinal channel (Id ⁷ ). On the other hand, the fence panel (2) may be secured on said fence post (1) as shown in Fig. 12 and 13, through at least one attaching means (3) which is positioned on a longitudinal channel (15, 15') that is located within the outer portion (11) or contiguous to a side of the bridging portion (12).

The vertically elongated outer portion (11) of the fence post (1) is designed to be positioned as encountered part of said fence post (1) from the hostile side (H) of a fencing system (100). Thus, it has an outer face (111) which is preferably reinforced for providing strength and also has an aesthetic exterior view. Said outer portion (11) also has said rear face (112) that can only be seen from the friendly side (F) of the fencing system (100) and also faces the center portion (13) of the fence post (1). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rear face (112) of said outer portion (11) is either directly mounted to the center portion (13) of the fence post (1) or manufactured integrally with the center portion (13).

By using said longitudinal channel (15) during the securing of the fence panels (2), there is no need to drill hole(s) on the fence post (1) during installation. Accordingly, the need for workload required to drill a hole on the post (1) is advantageously eliminated, and the mounting process is carried out easily, even just by one worker, during the installation. The fence post (1) of the present invention also comprises at least one attaching means (3) for securing one or more fence panels (2) or one or more hinge fitting (4) of a door on said fence post (1). Said attaching means (3) are designed to have a structure suitable for being moved inside the longitudinal channel (15, 15') and also for being detachably fixed onto the longitudinal channel (15, 15 ⁷ ) of the rear face (112) through the opening (16, 16'). Said attaching means (3) are fixed onto the longitudinal channel (15, 15') through at least one fixing means (32), preferably with a screw.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, said attaching means (3) also comprises at least one grasping element (31) for securing a wire of the fence panel (2). According to an embodiment of the present invention, said grasping element (31) has an "L" shaped cross-section for holding at least a wire (21, 22) of the fence panel (2). Also said grasping element (31) may be constituted as an integral part of the attaching means (3). According to an another embodiment, as shown in Figures 7a and 7b, said grasping element (31) is mainly formed as ear portions, i.e., a sloping rod, extending from a surface of the attaching means (3) as to hold at least a part of the vertical wire (22) or the horizontal wire (21) of the fence panel (2). Thus, disclosed grasping element (31) is shaped and dimensioned as to engage and fit snugly on a corresponding wire of the fence panel (2) or a hinge fitting (4) of a door. According to an embodiment of the present invention, said grasping element (31) is a clamp. Figure 4 shows the fence post (1) and a fence panel (2) where the grasping element (31) of the attaching means (3) secures a horizontal wire (21) of a fence panel (2).

Disclosed attaching means (3) can detachably be fixed to any location on longitudinal channel (15, 15') of the rear face (112) through the opening (16, 16'). As shown in figure 3, securing of the fence panel (2) to the fence post (1) does not require any modification on the outer face (111), and therefore the outer face (111) of the outer portion (11) can be kept intact at the installation, when observed from the hostile side (H). The attaching means (3) and the fixing means (32), such as screw, remain behind the outer face (111) relative the hostile side (H) and they are thus protected against any intervention from the hostile side (H). The attaching means (3), the fixing means (32) and the longitudinal openings (16), in other words parts which enable fixation of the securing means onto the fence post (1) are thus also visually undetectable at an aspect from the hostile side (H) towards the outer portion (11). The above disclosed form of the fence post (1) enables installation without requiring any manipulation of the outer face (111). Installation process is also managed only by operating on the rear face (112) and/or optionally on the bridging portion (12) of the fence post (1). Thus, the installation of the fence post (1) can be performed by operating only at the friendly side (F) of the fence post (1). Thereby, installation and removal of the fence post (1) can be handled without requiring a worker to step onto the hostile side (H).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said fence post (1) further comprises at least a support portion (14) which is mounted onto the center portion (13) of said fence post (1) or constituted as an integral part of the center portion (13) as to extend outwardly from the center portion (13) as shown in figure 2. Said support portion (14) is preferably positioned on the center portion (13) to a location that is opposite to the outer portion. Said support portion (14) improves the mechanical strength of the fence post (1) against impacts from the hostile side (H). The fence post (1) together with a support portion (14) as disclosed, maintains its original form and function even after severe impacts and stresses are applied thereon.

Figures 6a, 6b and 6c demonstrate perspective views of a fencing system (100) of the present invention, from different directions, where said fencing system (100) comprises a fence post (1) and at least one attaching means (3) according to the present invention. Said fencing system (100) further comprises a plurality of fence panels (2) having horizontal and vertical wires (21, 22) and optionally a door with at least one hinge fitting (4). Said fencing system (100) can be installed onto an inclined basis as shown in figure 6a, 8a, 8b or 9, since said fencing system (100) has a modular structure. Here the attaching means (3) are designed to have a structure suitable for being moved within the longitudinal channel (15, 15') of the fence post (1) and also for being detachably fixed thereon (15, 15') through its opening (16, 16'). By means of this modular system, one or more attaching means (3) are moved within the longitudinal channel (15) to a height appropriate for said attaching means (3) for holding and optionally for grasping one or more of the vertical wires (22) and/or the horizontal wires (21) of the fence panel (2), and after the wire(s) are being held by attaching means (3), they (3) are fixed on the post with the help of the fixing means (32). Thus, said fencing system (100) can be installed on any area without being affected by the inclination of the ground.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the longitudinal openings (16) of the rear face (112) and the attaching means (3) enable fixation of the fence panel (2) on said fence post (1) with optionally various angles (a) as shown in figures 8(a) and Fig. 8(b). Figure 8(a) shows alternative relative position/angle (a) between the fence panel (2) and the fence post (1). In case an installation on an inclined ground is desired, the fence panel (2) is needed to be positioned in an inclined manner with respect to the two adjacent fence posts (1), wherein said fence panel (2) will be detachably fixed thereon. For enabling said fence panel (2) to be fixed on the fence post (1) in an inclined manner as disclosed, according to an exemplary embodiment, one attaching means (3) fixed on a location in +L direction of the longitudinal opening (16) of the fence post (1) secures/holds the first vertical/horizontal wire of the fence panel (2), while another attaching means (3) fixed on a location in -L direction of the longitudinal opening (16) of the same fence post (1) secures/holds the second -respectively- vertical/horizontal wire of the fence panel (2). In that case, a similar connection process is also performed when mounting the other end of the same fence panel (2) to said adjacent fence post (1). Consequently, the angle (a) shown in the figure 8a is provided between the fence panel (2) and the fence post (1) for eliminating the inclination angle of the ground. This is achieved by the fact that the attaching means (3) can be positioned on the longitudinal opening of the rear face such that it can be turned to the desired position and the desired direction for grasping the wires (21, 22) of the fence panel (2). This feature enables quick installation of the fence post (1) and thus enables installation of the fencing system

(100) even on difficult grounds with inclined bases.

As shown in figures 4, 5 and 13, said fencing system (100) of the present invention is preferably suitable for securing two pieces of fence panels (2) or one piece of fence panels and a door on a fence post (1). In this way, the fixing means (32) of the attaching means (3) are arranged on a location which is not visible from the hostile side (H) of the fencing system (100). Thus, the risk of disassembling of the fencing system's (100) elements, particularly the fixing means (32), from the hostile side (H) is eliminated.