Post

Abstract

 The invention relates to a post (1) consisting of a longitudinally bent plate, whereby the two opposed longitudinal edges (5) of the post thus formed are joined together with a longitudinal connecting piece (4), whereby said longitudinal connecting piece is provided with recesses (6) for the reception therein of fastening means (3) for the attachment of wires (2) or mesh to the post.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a post consisting of a longitudinally bent plate, whereby the two opposed longitudinal edges of the post thus formed are joined together with a longitudinal connecting piece.

[0002] Such a post is known from the British patent 984.504. In this British patent 984.504 a post construction method is described, said post being formed starting with a steel strip, said strip being bent so that the strip substantially takes the form of a post and the opposed longitudinal edges of the post thus formed then being joined together by means of a C-shaped, longitudinal connecting piece.

[0003] A disadvantage of this known post is that the fastening means for the attachment of the wires or the mesh to the fence post consist of clamps or clips, and that the fastening of these clamps or clips to the post is a time-consuming and expensive operation.

[0004] It is a first object of the present invention to provide a new type of post, whereby the fixing of the fastening means to the post can be done quickly and inexpensively.

[0005] The invention provides for the post as described above, that this longitudinal connecting piece is provided with recesses for the reception therein of fastening means for the attachment of wires or mesh to the post. This longitudinal connecting piece is preferably provided with a longitudinal slot for the reception therein of the fastening means.

[0006] It is already known from the Dutch patent application No. 7211652 to extrude posts or sections, whereby these extruded sections are provided with a longitudinal slot for the reception therein of the fastening means for the wires or the mesh.

[0007] A disadvantage of these posts or of these sections that are completely extruded from plastic or aluminium is the high cost price of these sections. These sections are moreover very difficult to extrude for thin-walled posts with a large inner diameter.

[0008] A second object of the present invention is therefore to provide a new type of post which is inexpensive to manufacture and which furthermore is very strong, even in the case of thin-walled posts or tubes with a large inner diameter.

[0009] To this end the post consists of at least two parts ; namely a first part, that is made up of a longitudinally bent plate so as to form substantially the actual fence post, and a second part that forms the connecting piece between the two opposed longitudinal edges for the post thus formed. This longitudinal connecting piece is preferably an extruded section made of plastic or another extrudable material.

[0010] The longitudinal edges of the first part or the longitudinally bent plate are preferably hooked into the second part or the longitudinal connecting piece.

[0011] The post thus formed from the longitudinally bent plate is preferably completely coated with a thin layer of the same extrudable material of the longitudinal connecting piece. This coating forms a good corrosion-resistant coating.

[0012] An important advantage of the post according to the present invention is that it is now possible to manufacture inexpensive, thin-walled tubes with a large diameter. This advantage will be explained further in the description on the basis of some numerical examples.

[0013] The post according to the present invention is particularly characterized by the fact that the fastening means are substantially U-shaped, the legs of the U-shaped fastening means being provided with tapering barbs that work in concert with corresponding grooves in the side walls of the recesses or the longitudinal slot of the connecting piece. These tapering barbs can be in phase with each other and with the grooves in the recesses or the longitudinal slot. However, these tapering barbs are preferably dephased relative to one another and relative to the grooves in the recesses or the longitudinal slot, so that a better fine adjustment of the fastening means is obtained when fixing the wires or the mesh to the post. This advantage will also be further explained in the description below.

[0014] In addition, the present invention particularly relates to a method for manufacturing a post, whereby a longitudinal strip or plate is bent so as to form substantially a fence post and whereby a connecting piece is also extruded, while the opposed longitudinal edges of the post thus formed are incorporated in the extruded connecting piece.

[0015] An important advantage of the construction method according to the present invention is that it is now possible to make fence posts quickly and inexpensively.

[0016] The invention will be further explained in the description below on the basis of the corresponding drawing. Shown in the drawings are :

Figure 1,

a front perspective view of part of a fence, whereby fence posts according to the present invention are employed to fix the mesh to the posts.

Figure 2,

a front perspective view of part of a fence according to the present invention with a fastening means before the pressing down in the longitudinal slot.

Figure 3a up to and including 3f,

cross-sections of a number of envisaged embodiments of a post according to the present invention.

Figures 4 and 5,

cross-sections taken through a part of a post according to the present invention and taken through the associated fastening means.

Figures 6a and 6b,

a cross-section of a further embodiment, respectively a longitudinal section through a part of this further embodiment.

[0017] Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of a part of a fence. The posts 1 according to the present invention are used for fixing a mesh 2 to the posts. It is evident that wires 2 can also be fixed to the posts in place of the mesh 2. The attachment of the wires 2 or mesh 2 to the posts 1 is carried out with the help of fastening means 3.

[0018] Figure 2 shows a front perspective view of a part of a post 1 according to the present invention with an associated fastening means 3. The post 1 according to the present invention consists on the one hand of a longitudinally bent plate or strip, for example a steel strip, and on the other hand of a longitudinal connecting piece 4 for joining together the two opposed longitudinal edges 5 of the strip thus bent or formed into a fence post. The bending or transforming of the plate or strip to form a substantially closed tube is carried out with known machines. The longitudinal connecting piece 4 is provided with recesses 6 for the reception therein or taking up of fastening means 3. These recesses 6 can extend over the full length of the connecting piece 4 so as to form a longitudinal slot 6.

[0019] The longitudinal connecting piece 4 is preferably an extruded section made of plastic or another extrudable material, such as aluminium or an aluminium alloy. As is clear from figure 2, the opposed longitudinal edges 5 of the plate are incorporated in connecting piece 4. The incorporation of the longitudinal edges 5 into the connecting piece 4 can take place during the extrusion of the connecting piece 4 around the opposed edges 5. It is also possible to extrude the connecting piece 4 separately, said piece 4 then being provided with longitudinal slits for the reception therein of the longitudinal edges 5. The attachment of these longitudinal edges 5 into the longitudinal slits can be done with the help of suitable adhesives. The longitudinal edges 5 of the post 1 thus formed are preferably locked with hooked ends or mechanically fastened in the long connecting piece 4. This is clearly shown in figures 3b, 3d and 3e.

[0020] As is clearly shown in figure 2, the fastening means 3 substantially shows a U-shape. The legs 7 of the U-shaped fastening means 3 are provided with tapering barbs 8. These tapering barbs 8 can grip into the associated or corresponding grooves 9 in the side walls of the longitudinal slot 6 of the connecting piece 4. The big advantage of these tapering fastening means 3 is that these means can be locked into the associated grooves 9 with very ordinary tools, e.g. a hammer, very quickly and inexpensively. By striking on the head 10 of the means 3 with a hammer, said legs 7 lock into the grooves 9 and the mesh 2 or the fencing wire 2 is clamped between the post 1 and the legs 7 of fastening means 3.

[0021] Figures 4 and 5 show in detail a cross-section through two possible embodiments of the tapering barbs 8 and the associated or corresponding grooves 9 in the side walls of the longitudinal slot 6. In figure 4 the tapering barbs 8 on both sides of each leg 7 are in phase with one another and with the grooves 9 in the longitudinal slot 6. Owing to this fact, for the means 3 only a fine adjustment can be obtained that is equal to the length or the step between two barbs. In figure 5 the tapering barbs 8 on both sides of each leg 7 are displaced one half of a step or the interval between two barbs relative to one another, or it means that the tapering barbs are dephased relative to one another, while the grooves 9 in both side walls of the longitudinal slot 6 are still in phase with one another. The big advantage of this fact is that during the attachment of the wires 2 or the mesh 2 a fine adjustment of the means 3 can be obtained that is equal to half of the step or the interval between two barbs 8.

[0022] Figure 6a shows a cross-section through a further embodiment of a post 1 according to the invention. This post 1 again consists on the one hand of a longitudinally bent plate or strip, for example a steel strip, and on the other hand of a longitudinal connecting piece 4 of an extrudable material for joining together the two opposed longitudinal edges 5 of the strip thus formed or bent into a post 1. As is clear from figure 6a, the opposed longitudinal edges 5 of steel strip or post 1 are incorporated into the connecting piece 4. The incorporation of the longitudinal edges 5 into the connecting piece 4 has taken place during the extrusion of the material of the connecting piece 4 around the opposed edges 5. The steel strip or the formed post 1 is now completely coated by a thin layer 11 of the same material of the connecting piece 4. This coating 11 and the connecting piece 4 are preferably applied during the same extrusion process. This coating 11 forms a good corrosion-resistant coating for the post 1.

[0023] Figure 6b shows a longitudinal section through a part of the post 1 according to the invention. As can be seen from these figures 6a and 6b, the edges 5 are provided with openings 12 for improving the attachment of these longitudinal edges 5 into the longitudinal connecting piece 4.

[0024] As already stated, an important advantage of the fence post according to the present invention is that it is now possible to manufacture inexpensive, thin-walled tubes with a large diameter. This advantage will be explained below on the basis of some numerical examples.

[0025] The figures shown in table I concern, on the one hand, well-known round fence posts made of steel plate and, on the other hand, round posts according to the present invention or posts 1 with a connecting piece 4. An important advantage of the posts according to the present invention is that it is now possible to make a major saving (see table I : return) of material, despite the fact that the moment of resistance (strength) I/v of these posts according to the present invention remains almost equal and that the diameter of these posts even increases considerably. This is a consequence of the fact that it is now possible to make thin-walled posts.

[0026] With the known steel posts the longitudinal edges 5 are welded to each other. In order to be able to weld these longitudinal edges 5 to each other with a diameter of 32 mm (38 mm, 48 mm, 60 mm resp.), it is necessary that the wall thickness of the steel plate used is about 1,5 mm (1,5 mm ; 1,5 mm ; 2 mm resp.). For the posts according to the present invention the longitudinal edges 5 are joined together with the connecting piece 4, as a result of which the welding operation is eliminated and thanks to which it is now possible to use strips or plates with a smaller thickness.

Claims

1. Post (1) consisting of a longitudinally bent plate, whereby the two opposed longitudinal edges (5) of the post thus formed (1) are joined together with a longitudinal connecting piece (4), characterized in that said longitudinal connecting piece (4) is provided with recesses (6) for the reception therein of fastening means (3) for the attachment of wires (2) or mesh (2) to the post (1).

2. Post according to claim 1, characterized in that said longitudinal connecting piece (4) is provided with a longitudinal slot (6) for the reception therein of said fastening means (3).

3. Post according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that said longitudinal connecting piece (4) is an extruded section of an extrudable material.

4. Post according to one or more of the claims 1 - 3, characterized in that said longitudinal edges (5) of the post thus formed (1) are hooked into the longitudinal connecting piece (4).

5. Post according to one or more of the claims 1 - 4, characterized in that the post thus formed (1) is completely coated with a thin layer (11) of the same material of the longitudinal connecting piece (4).

6. Post according to one or more of the claims 1 - 5, characterized in that said fastening means (3) show a substantially U-shape.

7. Post according to claim 6, characterized in that the legs (7) of the U-shaped fastening means (3) are provided with tapering barbs (8), which work in concert with corresponding grooves (9) in the side walls of the recesses (6) or the longitudinal slot (6) of the connecting piece (4).

8. Post according to claim 7, characterized in that the barbs (8) of the tapering barbs are in phase with one another and with the associated grooves (9) in the recesses (6) or longitudinal slot (6).

9. Post according to claim 7, characterized in that the barbs (8) of the tapering barbs are dephased relative to one another and relative to the associated grooves (9) in the recesses (6) or longitudinal slot (6).

10. Method for manufacturing a post according to one or more of the claims 1 - 9, characterized in that a longitudinal plate (1) is bent so as to substantially form a fence post, and that a longitudinal connecting piece (4) is extruded, whereby the opposed longitudinal edges (5) of the post thus formed (1) are incorporated in the extruded connecting piece (4).

11. Method according to claim 10, characterized in that during the extrusion process of the connecting piece (4) a thin coating (11) is extruded around the post thus formed (1).

12. Method according to claim 10, characterized in that the longitudinal edges (5) of the post (2) are fixed in the connecting piece (4) by means of suitable adhesives.

Drawing