A FENCE OR SCREEN AND A POLE OR POST THEREFOR

Abstract: A fence or screen has a number of plate elements (11, 12) arranged in end-to-end relationship and mounted on poles or posts (10). Each of the plate elements (11, 12) are hinge connected to the adjacent posts or poles (10) so that successive plate elements may be made to define any desired angle. Each post or pole is formed by two parallely extending, mutually spaced rods (16), and these rods are interconnected by one or more connecting members on which hinge lugs may be mounted at the desired levels. The effect of this special structure of the poles or posts (10) is that the part of each pole or post which is visible from either side of the fence or screen, becomes reasonably independent of the angle which adjacent plate elements (11, 12) define with each other.

Description: A FENCE OR SCREEN AND A POLE OR POST THEREFOR The invention relates to a fence or screen comprising at least two plate elements ar¬ ranged in end-to-end relationship and mounted on poles or posts in such a manner that each plate element is connected to a successive pair of said posts or poles at opposite side edges of the plate element. In such fences or screens, such as frontage screens, both the plate elements and the poles or posts are produced as standard elements rendering it possible to erect fences 10 or screens defining a single plane surface or more plane surfaces_at right angles to each other. However, it is far from always the case that a site to be surrounded by a fence has straight sides intersecting each other at right angles. This also applies to frontage screens to be arranged along the front of a building to form surfaces for ad¬ vertisements or other notices and/or decorations, for example to give the building a 15 distinctive appearance which is characteristic of the firm housed in the building. By increasing the number of standard elements forming part of such a fence or screen, it is, of course, possible to increase its flexibility and applicability, in that several dif¬ ferent poles or posts may be used which make it possible to erect fence or screen 20 surfaces at angles which are not right " angles. However, the number of angles will al¬ ways be restricted so that the practical needs cannot be fully satisfied. The invention provides a fence or screen of the type mentioned above which may be erected with the use of very few standard elements in a manner so that the fence or 25 screen closely follows a desired contour. The fence or screen according to the inven¬ tion is characterized in that at the said opposite side edges each plate element is swingably connected to the adjacent poles or posts about substantially vertical axes by means of a link or hinge connections. The fence or screen may then be made to follow any broken line, the segments of which have lengths corresponding to the lengths of n the plate elements, and a pole or post may then be arranged at each vertex of the broken line. _/ The plate elements may be of any type and need not necessarily form an unbroken * ? surface, but may, for example, have a grid-like or net-like structure. Alternatively, the plate elements may be in the form of wood plates or metal plates, or they may be 35 laminated and consist of several different materials, for example having outer layers of wood, metal or plastic, and an inner layer of foamed plastic. The opposite side edges of these plate elements may then, for example, be provided with projecting parts which form part of the hinge connection. These parts may be fastened to the plate elements KWF/KWF/39/PA25538C/01.05.87 in any suitable manner or be integrally formed therewith when they are made of metal or plastic. However, in a preferred embodiment, each of said opposite side edges of the plate elements is embraced or surrounded by a hinge member having projecting ears or lugs forming part of the hinge connection. When the plate elements are made of wood or plastic or a laminated material, these hinge members may be fastened to the plate elements by means of screws, nails, rivets, or they may be glued to the plate elements. Each of the poles or posts forming part of the fence or screen may be composed of two transversely spaced, . substantially parallelly extending rod members which are interconnected by means of one or more connecting members. These rod members preferably have a circular cross-section, but there is nothing to prevent the cross- section from being rectangular or shaped like another polygon, for example a regular polygon. However, the cross-section may also be elliptical or have another oblong shape. The two rod members in the same post or pole preferably have the same cross- section, but there is nothing to prevent not only the cross-sectional shape, but also the cross-sectional dimensions from being different. When poles or posts of the said struc¬ ture are used in the fence or screen according to the invention, and the plate elements are connected to the connecting members arranged between the rod members, the part of the pole or post which is visible from one and the same side of the fence or screen will be substantially independent of the question whether the plate elements connected to each other by the pole or post are in a common plane or define a small or large angle with each other. The said structure of the pole or post will thus con¬ tribute to giving the fence or screen an improved aesthetical appearance. The two rod members in a pole or post may be interconnected by a single flat connect¬ ing member extending substantially in the full axial length of the pole or post, and hinge parts forming part of the said hinge connection may then be fastened to this connecting member at suitable places. The hinge connection may thus comprise second hinge lugs each of which is formed on or fastened to at least one of the con¬ necting members. The second hinge lugs may, for example, be fastened to the con¬ necting member or members by means of releasable fastening means, such as screws or bolts. In a preferred embodiment the two rod members in a pole or post are interconnected by means of a plurality of uniform, axially uniformly spaced flat connecting members. The same pole or post may then be used for plate elements with different widths or for two or more plate elements mounted one above the other(s), as long as the distance KWF/KWF/39/PA25538C/01.05.87 between the hinge parts or hinge lugs of the plate elements is a multiple of the con¬ necting members of the pole or post. A hinge pivot of the hinge connection may have any conventional form. However, the hinge connection is preferably formed so that the plate elements mounted on the poles or posts may be locked in the desired angular position. To obtain this, the hinge pivot of the hinge connection, such as a screw or bolt, may extend through registering holes defined in adjacent first and second hinge lugs. When the plate elements have the desired mutual angular position, the bolt may then be tightened and thus, the plate elements may be retained in this angular position. The invention also relates to a pole or post for a fence or screen according to any of the claims 3-7, and the pole or post according to the invention is characterized in com¬ prising two transversely spaced, substantially parallelly extending rod members which are interconnected by means of one or more connecting members. The invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a fence or screen according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a pole or post according to the invention, Fig. 3 is a hinge member for a plate element, Fig. 4 is a top view of the post shown in Fig. 2 provided with hinge members and in a larger scale, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view along the line V-V in Fig. 4 ( . Fig. 1 shows a fence or screen comprising a plurality of identical posts or poles 10, which may, for example, be made of metal or plastic, and of two different types of plate elements or panels 11 and 12, respectively. On one of the posts or poles 10 a lighting fitting 13 has been mounted. Each of the posts or poles 10 has a baseplate 14 with holes 15 for screws, nails or other fastening means, and two parallelly extending, trans- versely spaced rods 16, which preferably have a circular cross-section, are fastened to this baseplate. The rods are interconnected by means of a plurality of identical flat or plate-shaped connecting members 17 arranged uniformly spaced and substantially along a plane defined by the parallel axes of the rods 16. A hole 18 for a bolt or screw has been formed centrally in each of the connecting members 17. Opposite ends of the plate elements 11 and 12 are embraced or surrounded by a fitting or hinge member 19 as that shown in Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3 the hinge member 19 has a pair of parallel side strips 20 having a transverse spacing corresponding to the thickness of the plate element in question. The side strips 20 are interconnected by end ' members 21 having a hinge lug 22 projecting therefrom. Coaxial holes 23 have been formed in the hinge lugs of the hinge member. Further, a plurality of holes 24 for screws, nails or similar fastening means for fastening the hinge member or fitting to the plate element are formed in the side strips 20. Angle bracket members 25 are releasably fastened to the connecting members 17 of each pole or post 10 at one side or at opposite sides thereof by means of screws or bolts 27. Each bracket member has a flange forming a horizontally extending hinge lug 26 in which an oblong opening 28 is formed as shown in Fig. 4. The bracket members 0 25 are mounted so that their hinge lugs 26 are arranged with a mutual distance cor¬ responding to the distance between the hinge lugs 22 of the fitting or hinge member 19, whereby the hinge lugs 22 and 26 may be arranged in abutting relationship by means of a hinge bolt (not shown) which is passed through the aligned holes 23 and 28. The lugs 22 and 26 and the associated hinge bolt form a hinge connection between 5 the plate element 11 or 12 and the pole or post 10 so that adjacent plate elements may be made to define any desired angle with each other as shown in Fig. 1. The desired angle may be fixed by tightening of the hinge bolt. It should be understood that various amendments and modifications of the embodi- Q ment shown in the drawing may be made within the scope of the invention. Thus, the rod members 16 in each post or pole need not necessarily have the same cross- sectional shape, and the mutually spaced connecting members 17 may be replaced by a continuous connecting member which may be provided with a number of equidistant holes arranged vertically above each other. 5 0 5 KWF/KWF/39/PA25538C/Q1.05.87

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A fence or screen comprising at least two plate elements (11 , 12) arranged in end-to- end relationship and mounted on poles or posts (10) in such a manner that each plate element is connected to a successive pair of said posts or poles at opposite side edges of the plate element, characterized in that at the said opposite side edges each plate element (11 , 12) is swingably connected to the adjacent poles or posts (10) about substantially vertical Q axes by means of a link or hinge connections (22, 26). 2. A fence or screen according to claim 1 , characterized in that each of said opposite side edges of the plate elements (11 , 12) is embraced or surrounded by a hinge member (19) having projecting first ears or lugs (22) forming part of the hinge connection. 5 3. A fence or screen according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the poles or posts (10) are composed of two transversely spaced, substantially parallelly extending rod members (16) which are interconnected by means of one or more connecting members (17). 0 4. A fence or screen according to claim 3, characterized in that the hinge connection (22, 26) further comprises second hinge lugs (26) each of which are formed on or fastened to at least one of the connecting mem¬ bers (17). 5 5. A fence or screen according to claim 4, characterized in that each of said second hinge lugs (26) is fastened to the connecting member or members (17) by means of releasable fastening means, such as screws or bolts (27). 0 6. A fence or screen according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that a hinge pivot of the hinge connection, such as a screw or bolt, extends through registering holes (23, 28) defined in adjacent first and second hinge lugs (22, 26). 5 7. A fence or screen according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that each of said second hinge lugs (26) is formed by one flange of an angle bracket member (25), another flange of the bracket members being releasably fastened to the connecting members (17) of the post. KWF KWF/39/PA25538C/01.05.87 8. A pole or post for a fence or screen acording to any of the claims 3-7, characterized in comprising two transversely spaced, substantially parallelly extending rod members (16) which are interconnected by means of one or more connecting members (17). 9. A pole or post according to claim 8, characterized in that the rod members are interconnected by means of a plurality of uniform, axially uniformly spaced flat connecting members (17). Q 10. A pole or post according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the connecting members (17) extend substantially in a common plane passing through the centre axes of the two rod members (16). 5 KWF/KWF/39/PA25538C/01.05.87

Inventors: SPRINGBORG JOHN BERTRAM, SPRINGBORG, JOHN, BERTRAM
Applicants: PLAN DESIGN AS, PLAN DESIGN A/S
Application year: 1987
Main classification: E04H17
IPC codes: E04H17