This invention relates to temporary fencing and in particular crowd control fencing and in ameliorating labour costs and safety issues associated with installing and removing temporary and crowd control fences.

Background to the invention

Temporary and crowd control fences are widely used in a variety of situations. For outdoor sporting events such as street races and road cycling the temporary fences may be kilometres in length. The modular panels may each weigh up to 23Kg and extra weights are sometimes added. Each panel is placed in position manually. This is all very tiring and leads to occupational health and safety issues. Placement of panels and their removal is one of the major time consuming operations at many events. The installation and removal constitutes a large labour component to install, often using up to 8 staff per truck. Usually the workers are working on and around a moving truck. Haste often leads to safety issues and many serious injuries occur. A crowd control fence is disclosed in USA patent 5779227 but there is no discussion of the problem of transporting and assembling the fence. Similar patents for barrier fencing are US5609327, US7172176 and US7874545, but they do not discuss the problem of labour in the assembly and disassembly.

Temporary farm fencing has addressed this problem. USA patent 4356999 discloses a trailer mounted fence that is stored on a trailer in a stacked formation and unfolded concertina like (when the trailer is driven forward ) to erect a self- supporting V shape on the ground. The construction also allows for the fence to be folded up (with the aid of a vehicle) for transport on the trailer.

It is an object of this invention to provide a crowd control barrier system that reduces the labour content of installation and de-installation and ameliorates safety issues as well as enabling the process to be carried out in a timely manner. Brief description of the invention

To this end the present invention provides a modular temporary fence consisting of a plurality of interconnected modular panels in which individual panels are connected with hinge stands that enable individual panels to pivot relative to each other and the end panels of each plurality of panels have fork lift brackets that are aligned when the panels concertina together into a stack that is able to be lifted and manoeuvred using a fork lift.

The concertina crowd control barrier of this invention is a unique system for controlling pedestrian movement. It is designed to be deployed and picked up using a forklift or similar type of lifting machine.

The design utilises fence panels which may be based on current crowd control dimensions and weight. Such panels are generally 2500mm wide by 1100mm high, constructed of 20mm nominal bore mild steel pipe, then galvanised.

The end panels are preferably one third to half the length of the individual panels and the end stanchions (which incorporate the fork lift brackets) are attached to the end panels.

The system of this invention is adaptable to any modular panel type and may utilise sheet steel with laser cut or stamped designs. Alternatively, plastic, timber or even cardboard may be utilised and these may have patterns/logos, etc designed into them, or marked onto them. The size of the panels may also be varied. With temporary fencing the height of the panels may be higher for example: in enclosing work sites. The hinge and end stanchion components are able to be used with any modular panel design. With taller temporary fencing the stanchion will be lifted from the top by a fork lift.

Using one person to position the panels and the other to operate the fork lift the panels in a set can be pulled apart concertina fashion to provide a section of fence or pushed together concertina fashion when the fence is folded for transport.

Detailed description of the invention

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings in which

Figure 1 is an illustration of a set of panels in accordance with this invention; Figure 2 illustrates a preferred hinge unit of this invention;

Figure 3 illustrates a preferred end stanchion of this invention;

Figure 4 illustrates a partly folded set of panels;

Figure 5 illustrates a fully folded set of panels;

Figure 6 illustrates an alternative form of end stanchion;

As shown in figure 1 the modular system of this invention consists of modular panels 10. Pairs of panels 10 are joined by hinge units 20 which allow the panels to pivot about the hinge units for folding of a set of panels.. At each end of each set of panels are an end stanchion 30 and an end panel 15.

The end panels are one third panels, so that the end stanchions are aligned towards the middle of a folded stack as shown in figure 5. The hinge units 20 consist of an upright post 21 mounted on a base plate 24. The post may have a handle at its top and bracket holders 22 on its sides to receive the brackets on the ends of the panels.

The end panels 15 are pivotally connected to the stanchions 30 by being mountable in the bracket holders 33 of the end stanchions 30. The end stanchions 30 as illustrated in figure 3 consist of an upright 31 joined at the base by the lift base 34 which is adapted to receive the tines of a fork lift. This embodiment of the end stanchion is adapted to support vertical stacking if desired.

Figure 5 illustrates a folded set using the end stanchion of figure 3 and the hinge unit of figure 2.

In figure 6 an alternative stanchion is illustrated which has two uprights 31 and a top plate 36. This alternative stanchion is designed to be lifted by a fork lift from the top, enabling the movement of alternative panel designs.

The preferred hinge allows for depth control of each hinge section, providing better stability on undulating ground and over obstacles. It uses a centre vertical piece of 20mm NB pipe, to which 2 pieces of 100mm 20mm NB are attached (welded) to both the top and bottom. These attached pieces are used to create a hinge with a same sized pipe on the ends of the fence panel, in whatever configuration they are supplied, through which a rod or telescoping pipe may be inserted, thereby joining the two components (hinge and panel). Through the middle pipe section is another rod (or telescoping pipe) which extends another 150mm below to the foot plate. The rod may joined to the foot plate by means of welding or alternatively by a bolt, thereby enabling the foot plate to both swivel to the angle of the ground it sits on, and to be removed enabling that centre rod to be removed.

An alternative to using 20mm pipe with rod for the middle piece is to use 30mm SHS with a 20mm SHS internal telescoping section. Whatever arrangement the hinge is made in, each manufactured component is preferably fully galvanised.

The uprights or end stanchions of figure 3 are also manufactured using mild steel and fully galvanised. The stanchions, when fitted into the system, are designed to provide the main stabilising force for the system. They are constructed using a heavy mild steel foot plate 32, a vertical RHS post 31 and a mild steel top plate 36. Also welded onto the base plate are two pieces of 20mm nominal bore pipe 33 to match the pipe of which the panels are manufactured. The panels which are connected to the stanchions are connected using a long piece of rod slotted through the top plate, through the pipe of the panel piece and into the pipe attached to the base plate, effectively creating another simple hinge system.

An alternative upright or end stanchion (figure 6) is constructed using a heavy mild steel foot plate, two vertical RHS posts and a mild steel top plate 36. Also welded onto the base plate are two pieces of 20mm nominal bore pipe 33 to match the pipe of which the panels are manufactured.

AS shown in figure 4 the set of panels will fold or unfold concertina like about the hinge units 20 once the end panels are pulled away from each other in the folded position shown in figure 5. By manipulating alternate hinge units the extended set shown in figure 1 can be compressed, concertina like, into the folded set of figure 5.

The system uses a forklift to set up and pack up. A customised set of fork lift tines is preferably used: one, to provide the necessary length required to pick up a full run of panels; and two, to provide a slight raised section near the end of the tines which will be used to grip the stanchion section, thereby allowing each section of panels to be pulled straight or to tension before the next stanchion is lowered and released.

A fork lift driver and an assistant to position the hinge units are all the full labour complement for a crew.

From the above it can be seen that the improved temporary fence of this invention provides improved safety and a marked reduction in the labour force required for installing and demounting the fence. Those skilled in the art will realise that this invention may be implemented in embodiments other than those described without departing from the core teachings of the invention.