AU2004100561A4 - Demountable Fence - Google Patents

Description

DEMOUNTABLE FENCE FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to fence assemblies in particular but not exclusively to a demountable temporary or short-term fence for the enclosure of swimming pools while they are being built.

BACKGROUND ART Temporary pool fences are known prior art. In most cases, the pool fences are specifically designed to provide a barrier to young children as a safety precaution. Although mandatory and governed pursuant to municipal by-laws in many jurisdictions, there is in existence a proliferation of poorly assembled fences, which in some cases, are held together by unsuitable methods in the pretense of offering adequate child protection.

Among the problems associated with such fences is that access to the internal area of the pool is often necessary for finishing the building of the pool, such as the application of coping etc. This is often inappropriately accomplished by disassembling a selected fencing panel and then reassembling the same panel upon completion of the relevant work. This of course, inevitably lends itself to the possible accidental forgetfulness by a contractor or workmen to replace the said panel and as such, constitutes a disaster waiting to happen. Another problem presently in existence is where there is insufficient working space available around the pool as a result of skimping on the required number of panels to avoid having to include a gate unit to the enclosure.

Current solutions to such temporary fencing concerns include the assembling of as many panels as is required to fully enclose the area of interest and then to remove one or so panels as required to facilitate an entry and exit for workers building the swimming pool.

2 In affect there has been no prior art, which has been identified which addresses this problem and there does not appear to be the necessary level of awareness and policing required for the rectification of this extremely important problem with potentially serious consequences.

Some of the other disadvantages of the prior art specifically relate to the need to physically disassemble the fence panel itself to provide access to tradepersons to the pool area in order to complete work on the pool. Although gate panels can be supplied upon request, and usually at extra cost, it is not deemed compulsory by suppliers to have such openings for the purpose of providing access to the pool area. The concern relating to the lack of a suitable gate is that a complete fencing structure does not comply with Australian safety standards 1926.1 1993) without suitable access and therefore such fence assemblies are in a lot of cases, illegal. More importantly, the lack of access in the form of a specifically designed and.dedicated gate to a temporary fenced enclosure does not afford a necessary level of safety to children especially where panels are removed and are not replaced.

OBJECT OF INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to seek to ameliorate or to alleviate some of the disadvantages of prior art temporary or short-term fence assemblies or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the invention resides in an improved demountable fence assembly including in combination: a plurality of fence panels having each a.pair of opposed posts supporting a wall there between, a plurality of foot members having each first post engaging means adapted to engage the lower ends of posts of adjacent fence panels, post clamp members associated with each foot member, the post clamp members having second post engaging means adapted to engage the upper ends of said adjacent posts, elongate tie members extending between the foot members and their associated clamp members, the tie members adapt to tie together said foot and said clamp members thereby captively locating the lower and upper ends of said adjacent posts in the first and second post engaging means, respectively.

Preferably the foot and clamp members and their respective first and second post engaging means each comprise a base plate with sockets to engage the respective lower and upper ends of the adjacent posts.

Preferably there is releasable locking means associated with the tie members wherein the clamp and post members can be releasably locked together.

Preferably the releasable locking means comprises a spring-loaded detent mechanism operating between the clamp members and the tie members or between the foot members and the tie members.

Alternatively the releasable locking means can include a bolt and a nut arrangement or a key operated locking mechanism to lock the tie member to the associated foot or clamp member.

In a preferred version, the tie members are preferably permanently joined to the foot members and the clamp members engage and can be locked to the free ends of the tie members.

Preferably, one of the fence panels incorporates a gate assembly to provide access to and from an area enclosed by the fence assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In orderthat the invention be better understood than put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing wherein: Figure 1 shows a preferred fence panel according to the invention, Figure 2 shows a preferred foot member according to the invention, Figure 3 shows a preferred post clamp member according to the invention, Figure 4 shows a an integrated gate and fence panel according to the invention, and Figure 5 is an exploded view of a preferred fence assembly in situ.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a preferred fence panel 10 according to the invention. The fence panel preferably comprises a pair of posts 12, 14 supporting a wall between the posts. The fence panels are preferably made of two horizontal or aluminum steel rails, 16, 18 of no less than 1100 mm apart in compliance with A.S. 1926.1-1993 section 2.3. The rails support a plurality of spaced vertical tubing members 20, 22, 24 made of aluminum or steel, between them as per A.S.1926.1-1993 s 2.10.

At either end of the rails are vertical posts preferably of aluminum or steel box section, which extend above 12a, 14a and below 12b, 14b the horizontal rail members for the purpose of being located in the first and second posting engaging means of the foot and clamp members respectively.

Referring now to Figure 2 there is shown a preferred foot member 30 according.

to the invention. The foot member comprises a base plate 32 or panel stabilizer plate preferably comprising an aluminum or steel platform of no less that 600 square centimeters in surface area. The base plate or supporting platform 32 preferably has an elongated aluminum or steel box section comprising the tie member 34 attached perpendicularly and centrally to the platform 32.

Adjacent on either side of the tie member 34 are the first post engaging means 36, 38 in the form of sockets or collars preferably comprising cylindrical steel or aluminum tubes.

The length of the tie member 34 which is preferably an elongate box section is of sufficient length to accommodate post clamp members (refer Figure 3) and the adjacent post members of separate fence panels (refer to Figure 1) or an integrated fence panel with a gate assembly (refer Figure 4).

Referring now to Figure 3, there is shown a preferred post clamp member according to the invention.

The post clamp member 40 (Figure 3A) is of a similar construction to the foot member 30 of Figure 2. The post clamps member preferably comprises a plate of sufficient size as to accommodate the upper ends of adjacent post members of the fence panel in the sockets 44, 46 comprising a pair of cylindrical steel or aluminum tubes. Between the sockets is located a box section 48 adapted to engage and encapsulate the upper end of the tie member of the preferred foot member of Figure 2.

Figure 3B shows a cross-section of the clamp member 40 of Figure 3A engaging the upper portion of the tie member 34. Preferably the detent mechanism 50 comprises an arcuate stainless spring steel strip or wire with a terminal push button 50b. The tie member houses a steel spring detent button, which engages a hole 48a in the box section 48 of the clamp member.

It will be evident that pushing the detent button in will allow the clamp member to be lifted off the tie member.

Figure 3C shows an alternative method of locking the post clamp 40 onto the upper tie member 34 wherein a stainless steel bolt 60 with a stainless lock nut 62 is used to lock the box section 48 of the clamp member onto the tie member.

Figure 3D shows a further alternative method of locking the post clamp member onto the upper section of the tie member 34 by means of a key lock device 70. The key lock device is attached to the tie member by means of stainless steel bolts or screws 72, 74 and the locking mechanism activates a retractable pin 70a, which passes through a hole in the box section of the clamp member, which engaged a hole in the tie member 34.

Cross section detail of the locking mechanism is shown in Figure 3E wherein the retractable pin 70a is shown to pass through the box section of the clamp member 40 and into a hole 34a in the upper portion of the tie member 34.

Referring now to Figure 4 there is shown a preferred integrated gate and fence panel assembly 80 according to the invention. The panel portion 80a of the assembly is of a matching design to the ordinary fence panel previously described for Figure 1.

In this version, the gate section 80b is also of a fence panel design, which is hinged from one of the vertical gate post members 90, which are structurally stabilized by a base plate 94 and an upper lintel 96. Also shown is an approved childproof locking mechanism 100 comprising an elevated lifting bolt 100a and catch 100b.

The upper 102a, 104a and lower ends 102b, 104b of the posts 102, 104 of the integrated fence and gate assembly are adapted to engage the first and second post engaging means of the foot and clamp members respectively.

Preferably the gate section is of a sufficient width to allow a builders wheelbarrow or other building equipment to have access to and from the pool area.

Figure 5 shows the preferred demountable fence assembly of the invention located in situ.

As shown the posts of the fence panels are located in the first 44, 46 and second post engaging means of the foot 30 and clamp members respectively. Also shown is the integrated gate and fence panel 20, which is of a single fence width similarly located by the first 36, 38 and second 44, 46 post engaging means of the relevant foot 30 and clamp 40 members respectively.

The gate 80b in this embodiment is shown to preferably swing outwards from the area containing the swimming pool (not shown) and the gate is preferably of sufficient width to allow access to and from the enclosed pool area of building equipment, wide wheelbarrows and the like.

The preferred method of assembly of the demountable fence as herein described specifically involves interconnecting the fence assembly by first placing the integrated gate and panel unit as specified in Figure 4 at a location required for access to the proposed area to be enclosed.

On locating the integrated gate and panel unit on the ground, a foot member is placed on either side with the base plate for supporting platform perpendicular to the fence panel (Figure 1) and then the lower ends of the integrated gate and panel unit are located into the cylindrical sockets of the foot members. A fence panel is now positioned on either side of the integrated gate and panel assembly and the lower ends of the fence panels are located into the other cylindrical sockets of the relevant foot members. Next, the post clamp members are positioned so that the box sections of the clamps engage the free ends of the tie members of the relevant foot members and the upper ends of the posts of the fence panels, are located into the other cylindrical sockets of the post clamp members.

The rest of the fence panels are then erected in similar fashion. With each foot member located between two fence panels, the lower ends of the posts of the fence panels are located into the cylindrical sockets of the foot members. The post clamp members are then installed onto the free ends of the tie members and the upper-ends of the posts (of the fence panels) are located into the cylindrical sockets of the post clamp members.

By the use of appropriate releasable locking means such as the detent mechanism described for Figure 3, each of the posts of the fence panels and the posts of the integrated gate and panel unit can be locked securely between each foot and associated clamp member through the tie member.

9 The assembly process as described herein is continued with the required number of fence panels as is necessary to completely enclose the intended area to be protected.

VARIATIONS

It will of course be realised that while the foregoing has been given by way of illustrative example of this invention, all such and other modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is herein set forth.

Throughout the description and claims this specification the word "comprise" and variations of that word such as "comprises" and "comprising", are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Claims (4)

1. A demountable fence assembly including in combination: a plurality of fence panels having each a pair of opposed posts supporting a wall there between, a plurality of foot members each having first post engaging means adapted to engage the lower ends of posts of adjacent fence panels, post clamp members associated with each foot member, the post clamp members having second post engaging means adapted to engage the upper ends of said adjacent posts, elongate tie members extending between the foot members and their associated clamp members, the tie members adapted to tie together said foot and said clamp members thereby captively locating the lower and upper ends of said adjacent posts in the first and second post engaging means, respectively.

2. A demountable fence assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the foot and clamp members and their respective first and second post engaging means each comprise a base plate with sockets to engage the respective lower and upper ends of the adjacent posts.

3. A demountable fence assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein there is releasable locking means associated with the tie members wherein the clamp and post members can be releasably locked together. 12

4. A demountable fence assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein the releasable locking means comprises a spring-loaded detent mechanism operating between the clamp members and the tie members or between the foot members and the tie members. A demountable fence assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein one of the fence panels incorporates a gate assembly to provide access to and from an area enclosed by the fence assembly.