Background to the invention It is common practice to use brackets to attach horizontal fencing members and panels to fence posts. Such brackets are usually attached to a fence by screws and the like however these have the disadvantage that corrosion can causes them to fail such that, consequently, the bracket becomes detached from the post.

This is a particular problem where a fence is required for security reasons, such as a swimming pool fence, as such a failure then permits passage through the fence and may well occur without the fence owners's knowledge.

Outline of the Invention It is an object of this invention to provide a fence post bracket for holding horizontal fencing members which bracket can remain in contact with a fence post in the event of failure of the means of attachment of it to a post.

The invention in one aspect is a fencing bracket which may be used in association with a fence post for supporting substantially horizontal fencing members, said bracket including a socket member which is adapted to receive a fencing member and having a base provided with at least one substantially orthogonal connection member with at least one aperture therethrough to receive means for attaching the bracket to a face of the post; the socket is further provided at its base with lateral members which extend in close abutment at least partially around sides of the post adjacent to the face upon which the bracket is attached, the arrangement being such that, in the event of failure of the bracket attachment means, the bracket is restrained against lateral movement to the post.

The invention in another aspect is a fencing system including fence posts having caps, each fence post being adapted to engage with a base member through an aperture therethrough, and having horizontal fencing members which engage with fencing brackets, each bracket including a socket member which is adapted to receive a fencing member and having a base provided with at least one substantially orthogonal connection member with at least one aperture therethrough to receive means for attaching the bracket to a face of the post; the socket is further provided at its base with lateral members which extend in close abuttment at least partially around sides of the post adjacent to the face upon which the bracket is attached. It is preferred that the bracket be of metal and be used in association with substantially metal fencing however, in practice, such a bracket could be used in association with any kind of fence post.

It is further preferred that the bracket be provided with two orthogonal connection members on opposing sides of the socket base and having means by which the bracket can be attached to a post. This means can be a screw device passing through an aperture in the orthogonal members however it is envisaged that any means of attachment may be used.

Where the bracket is to be used in association with metal fence posts it is preferred that the face of the post to which the bracket is attached be provided internally with a thicker strengthening member into which a screw or other such connection device may be affixed.

It is further preferred that the fence post base members and fence posts be dimensioned so that the posts may only be received in the base members in an orientation which directs the bracket connecting faces in the same plane.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood we shall describe by way of non limiting example a specific embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawing Figures Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the bracket of the invention; Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of a fence post for use with the bracket of the invention; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a base for use with the fence post described herein; Fig. 4 shows an upper plan view of a cap for the fence post described; Fig. 5 shows a plan view of the under side of the post cap shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the combined elements of the fencing system; In one embodiment of the invention a metal fencing system is used which is both inherently safe, in that, in the event of corrosive connection failure, horizontal fence members remain in situ, and in that the fencing system is simple and efficient to construct.

Figure 1 shows the bracket 10 of the invention which in this embodiment is of metal and is for attaching horizontal fencing members to a metal fence. The bracket 10 includes a socket 11 extending across the width of the face of the fence post to which it is to be attached which socket is shaped to receive a substantially horizontal fencing member 60 of a complementary shape.

The socket 11 is provided at two sides of its base with substantially triangular members 12 which are coplanar with the attachment face 21 of the fence post 20. These triangular members are provided with apertures 22 through which screws may pass to affix the bracket to the post. This embodiment of the invention uses triangular connection members however any shape considered appropriate may be used. In addition it is envisaged that any shaped socket could be used to accept any desired shape of fencing member 60.

The lateral sides of the socket are provided with side members 15 which are parallel to, and in close contact with in use, the sides 23 of the post adjacent the attachment face 21 for the bracket. By this means the bracket is essentially self locating on a fence post and, when a horizontal fencing member 60 is located in the bracket, the side members 15 will hold the bracket in position on a post even if the screws should become corroded and fail.

If this were to occur there may well be some movement of the bracket in the vertical on the fence post however the substantially horizontal fence member would still be held to the fence post and it is probable that the deviation of its orientation from horizontal would alert an owner to the failure of the attachment means.

In this embodiment of the invention the fence post which is used in association with the bracket is provided internally along its length with thicker metal 25 where the screws penetrate 26. This acts both to provide a better grip for the screw as well as acting as a strengthening device for the post.

The fence posts are capped in a conventional fashion with caps 30 as shown in Figures 4 and 5 which will be discussed subsequently. The fence posts 20 in this embodiment of the invention are supported by a base member 50 (Figure 3 and Figure 6) affixed to the ground through apertures 51 by bolt means or the like. The means of attachment of the fence post to the ground is however not an essential feature of this invention.

The invention could be manufactured of any appropriate material and be used in association with any type of fence post or any shaped horizontal fencing member provided that the socket was correspondingly shaped. It is unique however in that the bracket passes at least partially around a fence post and is both self locating for application to a post and is held in place when in use even in the absence of attachment means to the post.

Another feature of the fencing system is that it can be easily assembled. This ease of assembly is facilitated by the fence posts and base, while being substantially rectangular, not being precisely square. As a result the posts can only enter the bases in one orientation enabling the brackets of the invention to only be attachable to the inner faces of the fence posts once the posts are erected. The fencing is completed by the provision of caps 30 for the posts as shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 shows the under side of a post cap which is dimensioned to receive the top of a post. The precise design of the caps 30 is immaterial however their interior dimensions must accord with the dimensions of the fence post. It is also envisaged that any shape post, such as a round post, could be used provided that suitably shaped bases and caps were provided for the fencing system.

Whilst we have described herein one specific embodiment of the bracket and fencing system of the invention it is to be understood that variations and modifications in this can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.