A FENCE SYSTEM

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fence and a method for installation of the fence. The fence finds application in many and varied situations, including, but not exclusively, for enclosing an area, providing a barrier and/or restricting access to an area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modular fences with metal posts, rails and infill panel sections are commercially available, examples of which include the Lysaght Neetascreen ^® fencing system. In this system, the top and bottom sides of the infill panel sections are received in the channel of corresponding top and bottom rails. Typically, a number of infill panel sections are arranged between consecutive posts of the fence, one end of the leading infill panel section being received within a longitudinal channel of one post and the opposite end of the final infill panel section being received within a longitudinal channel of the next post. The posts are embedded in concrete such that the fence is held rigidly in an upright position. Added strength to the fence is provided by vertical spaced apart ribs defined on the infill panel sections. These fences are commonly used in both domestic situations such as for garden fencing between adjacent dwellings and in commercial settings where more robust and durable fencing is required. The rails, posts and infill panel sections are protected from corrosion by a paint finish over an anti-corrosion protective coating.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention there is provided a fence having a plurality of spaced apart posts and at least one rail extending between adjacent of the posts, the fence comprising support means for supporting the at least one rail, the support means being received m a longitudinal channel of at least one of the posts and the at least one rail is supported by respective of the support means.

The rail can comprise a plurality of rail members longitudinally aligned with adjacent ends of the rail members being in abutment.

Respective of the rail members and the posts can be m the form of channel sections, each having a longitudinally extending opening to a channel defined between opposed side walls interconnected by a web portion Preferably, the openings of the rail members are aligned and face downwardly.

The posts and the rail members will normally have essentially the same channel cross-section profile and cross-section dimensions.

The adjacent abutting rail members can be held in abutment by means of a joiner extending through and fitting snugly within the abutting ends of the rail members. Fasteners in the form of screws extending through a side wall of the rail members and into the joiner can be employed.

Preferably, a joint between abutting rail members is located m proximity to a corresponding one of the posts for support of the joint. The at least one rail may be fastened to the support means by means of fasteners extending through the opposite side walls of the rail members.

Alternatively, the rail can be fastened to the support means by means of saddle connectors.

In at least some forms, the openings of respective of the posts face the rail, and the rail is fastened to the support means in alignment with respective of the openings

The support means can comprise a support member received in a bottom region of the channel such that the post is held upright by the support member, wherein a rail of the fence is fastened to the support member.

The support means can also, or alternatively, comprise a bracket received in an upper region of the channel, wherein a rail of the fence is fastened to the bracket.

Preferably, the brackets are received m the posts in a snug fit, and may be secured thereto by fasteners. Similarly, the support members are preferably received in the channels of the posts in a snug fit, and may also be secured thereto by fasteners.

In addition, the fence can comprise a plurality of panels arranged one after the other along the fence and which are fixed to the at least one rail on an opposite side to the posts. Typically, the fence will have at least a bottom rail and an upper rail and the panels are fixed to the respective rails.

Hence, in another aspect of the invention there is provided a fence having a plurality of spaced apart posts arranged in alignment and linked together by rails, and comprising: a support member for each post, the posts each having a longitudinal channel and the support members being received in a bottom region of the channel of respective of the posts such that the posts are held substantially upright by the support members; a bracket positioned within an upper region of the channel of respective of the posts; an upper rail supported by the brackets; and a bottom rail supported by the support members.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for installing a fence having a plurality of spaced apart posts arranged in alignment and linked together by at least one rail, comprising: providing support means for supporting the rails, each of the posts having a longitudinal channel; locating the support means in the longitudinal channels of the posts; and fastening rail members one after another to the support means to form the at least one said rail.

The provision of support means comprising snug fitting brackets and/or support members enables an installer to attach rail members thereto on adjacent posts allowing levelling of the rails prior to securing the brackets and/or support members to the posts. This can facilitate installation, potentially saving time and enabling the use of less than highly skilled tradesmen.

It has also been found that fastening rail(s) with longitudinal channels to the support means with the use of a fastener driven through opposed sides of the channel of the rail(s) can be achieved essentially without any substantial deformation of the channel cross-sectional profile. Moreover, fastening the rail(s) to support means as described herein allows for the use of lengths of the same commercially available channel sections for both the posts and the rails of the fence, reducing inventory and costs associated with the provision of the fence. Hence, in one or more embodiments, the present invention can also provide a relatively inexpensive fencing system.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations thereof such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated

element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application

The features and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments taken together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fence structure embodied by the invention illustrating the arrangement of the posts and rails;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of rail members of the upper rail and the bottom rail fastened to a bracket and a support member arranged m the longitudinal channel of a fence post;

Figure 3 is a front view of the bracket arranged in the post of Fig. 3; Figure 4 is an end view of a rail member of Fig. 2 fastened to the bracket of the fence post;

Figure 5 is a partial view of a bottom rail of a further fence embodied by the invention fastened to support means of a post by a saddle connector;

Figure 6 is perspective view of the saddle connector of Fig. 5, and Figure 7 shows a rail fastened to bracket using a wafer head screw in another fence embodied by the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The fence structure 2 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a plurality of aligned, spaced apart posts 4 linked together by a top rail 6 and a bottom rail 8. Each post 4 is held in an upright position by a respective support member 10 embedded in a concrete footing 12 and received in a snug fit within a longitudinal channel of the post. The post m this

embodiment is of channel cross section, having opposed side walls that terminate in opposite inwardly directed longitudinal flanges and which are interconnected by a web portion An opening 14 of the channel of the post is defined between the edges of the flanges The support member 10 consists of a metal section projecting approximately 400 mm from its concrete footing 12 and which provides an anchorage point for the bottom rail 8 as described further below. A bracket 16 to which the top rail 6 is fastened is received in a snug fit in an upper end region of each respective post. The bracket is screw fixed to the post As will be understood, the support members 10 and brackets 16 comprise support means for the top and bottom rails. During installation, the post 4 can be raised and lowered along the support member 10 to assist in levelling the fence prior to final securing of the post 4 to the support member 10 Similarly, each respective bracket 16 can be raised and lowered within the channel 14 of the corresponding post to assist in levelling the top rail, prior to final securing of the bracket to the post and securing the top rail to the bracket. Fastening screws, used to secure the bracket to the post, are located so that they are in line with and behind the top rail without interfering with face to face contact between the bracket and the rail flanges as shown more clearly in Figure 4.

The top rail 6 and the bottom rail 8 are each formed from a plurality of rail members 18 of channel cross-section that are fastened one after another to respective of the brackets 16 or support members 10. The rail members are connected end to end in longitudinal axial alignment by the use of joiners 22. Upon securing one rail member to the posts, the next rail member is brought into longitudinal axial alignment therewith by driving a snug fitting joiner 22 into an end of the channel of the fitted rail member and securing them together with a fastener, then passing the next rail member over the jomer to drive the joiner into the end of the channel of the next rail member and securing that rail member to the joiner with a further fastener. Hence, the adjacent abutting rail members are held in abutment by means of the joiner extending through and fitting snugly within the abutting ends of the rail members whereby the rail member joint so formed is substantially rigid. The joints between the rail members are located proximal to the posts to provide support for the joints as shown more clearly in Fig. 2.

The posts 4 and the rail members of the top rail 6 and bottom rail 8 are formed from lengths of thin walled cold roll-formed steel having the same channel cross-section

profile and dimensions. The thickness of the wall of the steel section used is typically about 0.80 mm although, it will be understood steel section of different thickness can be used.

As shown in Fig. 2, the longitudinal openings 20 of the channels of the top rail 6 and bottom rail 8 face downwardly such that a side wall of the rail members 18 forming the top and bottom rails lies flushly across the opening 14 of the posts 4 facilitating the fastening of the rails 6 and 8 to the posts As described above, to form the top and bottom rails, rail members 18 are firstly fastened to the brackets 16 and support members 10 of consecutive posts. A joiner 22 is then inserted into the open end of each rail member 18, and a further rail member 18 is slid onto each respective joiner forming a joint and held together by fasteners. These rail members are then fastened to the bracket 16 or support member 10 of subsequent consecutive posts 4. This process is repeated until the fence structure is formed.

In the embodiment shown, brackets 16 are also used as the joiner 22. To facilitate sliding of a rail member 18 into position on a joiner element, the rail member 18 is pivoted upwardly and downwardly as the rail member is driven along the joiner into abutment with the previous rail member to thereby form the joint.

The positioning of a bracket 16 within the post 4 is illustrated m Fig 3. The upper end of the bracket 16 is disposed below the top end of the post to form a recess 24 corresponding with a recess 26 formed in the opposite wall of the post, to provide for the fitting of a plastic post cap (not shown) to the post. As also indicated, the bracket is arranged within the post so as to close the opening 14 of the post. The bracket 16 is driven through the top of the post so as to be slid in a snug fit into position within the channel 14 of the post. To fix the bracket in position, fasteners in the form of screws 30 (see Fig. 4) are driven through opposite side walls 32 of respective of the posts into the bracket. Similarly, screw fasteners are used to secure the posts to respective of the support members 10 in the same way.

As further shown in Fig. 4, the rail members 18 of the top rail are fastened across the opening of the post to respective of the brackets 16 by further fasteners in the form of elongate screws 34 that are driven through the rail members from an outer side thereof. More particularly, to form the top rail 6, an initial rail member 18 is fastened to consecutive posts 4 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4. In particularly preferred embodiments of the invention, the support members 10 and brackets 16 are marked to

indicate correct positioning of the rail members, such as by score or ink lines across the face of the support members and brackets. To reduce the risk of deformation of the rail member, a joiner 22 can be inserted into the rail member as described above prior to driving screws 34 through the rail member into a corresponding bracket 16. As will be understood, the rail member is also secured m this way to an intermediate post 4 located between the opposite ends of the rail member. The rail 6 is then extended by jointing a further rail member 18 to the initial rail member utilising a joiner 22 as described above, and secured to the brackets 16 of consecutive posts 4 with the use of further screws 34. The bottom rail 8 is formed by consecutively fastening rail members 18 one after the other to respective support members 10 by driving screws 34 across the rail members into the respective support members 10 m the same way as for the top rail 6. As further indicated m Fig 4, the longitudinal opening of the top and bottom rails 6 and 8 are arranged so as to face downwardly.

To complete the fence, sheet steel in-fill panels (not shown) are fastened one after the other to the top and bottom rails with the use of screw fasteners 34. The in-fill panels are typically provided with spaced apart vertically orientated ribs to reinforce the walling panel sections and thereby strengthen the fence, the panels being arranged such that ones of the outwardly directed ribs of the panel sections overlie the heads 36 of the screws 34 used to secure the rails to the posts 4. For example, the in-fill panels can be corrugated panels or have other ribbed profiles.

In other embodiments (not illustrated) the screw heads may have relatively flat heads and as such no alignment is required. As the panel sections are secured to an opposite side of the rails to the posts, screws 30 fastening the support members 10 and brackets 16 to the posts are also obscured from view. In particularly preferred embodiments, the screws 34 fastening the top rail 6 and bottom rail 8 to the support members 10 and brackets 16 have flattened or "wafer type" heads allowing the panel sections to be fastened to the top and bottom rails substantially without deformation of the panel sections. An embodiment of a fence 2 with a top rail fastened to a bracket 16 of a post by a wafer head screw is illustrated in Fig. 7. An example of an in-fill panel 40 secured to the rail is also shown.

An alternative method of fastening the rail members 18 of top rail 6 and/or bottom rail 8 to the support means is illustrated m Fig. 5. In this embodiment, the bottom rail is fastened to the support member 10 of the support means by a saddle

connector 38 of steel. The saddle connector 38 is fitted around the rail and fixed to the support member m alignment with the longitudinal opening of the post by fasteners in the form of screws 40. The saddle connector has a profile corresponding with, or at least compliant with, the cross-sectional profile of the rail members 18. A perspective view of the rail bracket is shown in Fig. 6

To inhibit corrosion, the screws 34 are galvanised as are the support members 10 and brackets 16 The rail members 18 and posts 4 are also corrosion protected with an outer paint finish as are the in-fill panel sections. The in-fill panel sections and lengths of channel sections suitable for use as the posts 4 and rail members 18 of embodiments of the invention are commercially available under the trademarks Colorbond ^® and Lysaght Neetascreen ^® from BlueScope Steel Limited, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In particularly preferred embodiments, the screws 30 and 36 are paint coated and match the paint colouring of the in-fill panels, rails 6, 8, and posts 4.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as illustrated by the above embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. For example, rather than support means in the form of a separate support member and separate bracket, embodiments may be provided wherein the support member and the bracket are integrally formed. For example, a support means may comprises a single galvanised steel element to which both the top and bottom rails are fastened. That is, support means is embedded in a corresponding footing 16 and is of a length such that the stake extends substantially to the top of the posts to enable attachment of the top rail thereto. To install the fence, the posts may be slid onto the support means after the support means are placed and fixed in position by footings 16. Alternatively, the posts can be partially slid onto the support means and fixed in position by footings 16, prior to the posts being driven downwardly into their final position. In this instance, the snugness of the support means within the posts retains the posts at an elevated position up the posts while the footings set.