Patent Publication Number: US-6209853-B1

Title: Electric wire insulator and support bracket for metal fence posts

Description:
This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60/068,437, filed Dec. 22, 1997. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a support bracket for attaching an electric fence wire to metal posts such as in garden, yard or field fencing. More specifically the bracket constitutes an electric insulator for supporting the electric wire spaced from the metal fence posts and cooperates with a flange on the metal fence posts for supporting the bracket and electrical wire. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     It has become common practice in ranch, farm and orchard fencing to utilize some form of electrically charged wire to discourage and/or restrain livestock or game from access to certain areas or to protect vegetation. The electrically charged wire system may be utilized either as the sole barrier or, quite commonly, in combination with non-charged barriers such as field fencing. In most instances steel fence posts are the most economical means of fence support because of their indestructibility and because they are easily installed, removed and are reusable. The following are examples of insulator support brackets of various designs which have been utilized in conjunction with the steel fence posts to support electric wires. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 U.S. Pat. No. 
                 Patentee 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 2,429,857 
                 Verner 
               
               
                   
                 2,445,009 
                 Strauss et al 
               
               
                   
                 3,572,639 
                 Shettif 
               
               
                   
                 3,652,780 
                 Wilson 
               
               
                   
                 3,908,964 
                 Leiblich 
               
               
                   
                 4,905,968 
                 Eby et al 
               
               
                   
                 5,085,409 
                 Teixeira 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Most of these brackets are made of dielectric materials such as rubber or plastic with the bracket being attachable directly to the fence post or to some appendage attached to the post to provide support. Some problems encountered with prior art support brackets include the close proximity with which the electric wire is held to the steel post. The electrical system is subjected to arcing and grounding under severe field conditions such as the accumulation of debris or extremely wet or moist atmospheric conditions. Brackets made of lightweight plastics which “snap” on to the posts are especially vulnerable because of material fatigue and deterioration causing the brackets to dislodge from the post or to be broken by contact with animals. Other drawbacks such as the complexity and expense of an intricately designed bracket which may be either difficult to install and/or not reusable. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The electric fence wire post-mounting bracket arm of the present invention comprises an elongated arm fabricated from a non-conducting material such as plastic. In the preferred embodiment of the bracket arm, the bracket arm is fabricated as plastic tubular cylinder. The preferred embodiment of the bracket arm is designed for attachment to metal fence posts of a standard configuration such as a modified T-shaped cross-section (having two “wings” and “T-leg” segments as viewed in cross section). More broadly, the bracket arm is capable of being adapted for cooperation with any steel post configuration having longitudinally extending flanges such as commonly used steel angle iron posts. With the novel cooperation between the tubular support bracket and the metal post, a system of parallel wires running on both sides of the posts and/or field fence is made possible. The bracket arm comprises a simplistic structure which is adaptable for either single or double wire support and is versatile in its positioning on the flanges of the metal post and has the ability to cooperate with like brackets to form corner configurations at different angles. 
     Embodiments of the bracket arm may be designed for attachment to either a metal fence post or a wood fence post. The versatility of the bracket may be broadened by varying the hanger or attachment means, however, the configuration of the bracket arm for attaching and supporting electric fence wires may be the same. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the insulator bracket arm of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the bracket arm; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the bracket arm; 
     FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the bracket arm; 
     FIG. 5 is a partially sectioned perspective view of the bracket arm; 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the FIG. 5 bracket arm as it would appear when attached to a metal fence line post and strung with two electric fence wires; 
     FIG. 7 is top plan view illustrating one method of forming a right angle corner in a double wire system; 
     FIG. 7A is a top plan view illustration of the formation of an outside corner with a single wire system; 
     FIG. 7B is a top plan view showing the formation of an inside corner configuration utilizing a single wire system; 
     FIG. 8 is perspective view of the FIG. 6 brackets attached to metal fence line posts and strung with two electric fence wires; 
     FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a segment of an alternate bracket arm fabricated with an integral metal fence post attachment clip, illustrating the bracket arm attached to a metal fence post so that the bracket arm is oriented perpendicularly to the fence line; 
     FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a segment of an alternate bracket arm fabricated with an integral metal fence post attachment clip, illustrating the bracket arm attached to a metal fence post so that the bracket arm is oriented askew to the fence line; 
     FIG. 11 is a top plan view of segments of two alternate bracket arms, each fabricated with an integral metal fence post attachment clip, illustrating the bracket arm attached to a metal fence post so that the two bracket arms are oriented askew to the fence line and at an acute angle to one another; 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of still another alternate bracket arm fabricated with an integral metal fence post attachment clip and with a concave wood post attachment plate; and 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a corner configuration for a double wire system of the type shown in FIG. 7 in combination with a standard field fence and the use of a vertically mounted bracket arm for carrying a single top wire. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The bracket arm  10  shown in FIGS. 1-5 is a hollow plastic cylinder that may be injection molded or fabricated from PVC or other rigid plastic tubing. The cylinder is slotted at each end, with the slots  11  and  12  being diametrically located and coplaner along the central axes of the tube. The midpoint of cylinder  10  is slotted at right angles to its longitudinal axis to provide a metal fence post engaging slot  13 . The slot  13  is perpendicular to the plane of the wire slots  11  and  12 . Wire retaining holes  14  and  16  are provided at each cylinder end, perpendicular to and intersecting the wire slots  11  and  12 , respectively for receiving pin retainers  17  and  18 . The pin retainers are installed to retain electric fence wires  19  and  21  in place within the wire slots  11  and  12  respectively as shown in FIG.  6 . 
     The mid-section of cylinder  10  is provided with longitudinally spaced wire-tie holes  22  and  23  located on opposite sides of the slot  13 . The wire tie holes provide a mounting for a wire tie  24  which may be threaded through the holes  22 - 23  and around a metal fence post  26  to secure the flange of the post within the post slot  13  as shown in FIG.  6 . The wire ties may be made from well known plastic locking strips or bands or from ordinary wire or any other suitable tieing material. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates the cylinder  10  attached to a metal fence post  26  with the electric wires installed and FIG. 8 is a perspective illustration of a running fence line with two bracket arms installed. Each bracket arm is installed on a metal fence post  26 , with two electric fence wires  19  and  21  being carried by the two bracket arms. When the bracket arm is installed on a fence post, the wire slots  11  and  12  provide horizontal passages to receive the fence wires. The retainer pin holes  14  and  16  are perpendicular to the slots for receiving the retainer pins  17  and  18  which may be retained by gravity. Alternately, the retainer pins  17  and  18  could be retained by screw threaded means, bent end portions, a friction fit with the retainer holes  14 ,  16  or any other convenient means. 
     The arrangement of the bracket arm cylinder  10  with end slots  11  and  12  enables the attachment of two electric fence line wires as shown in FIG.  6 . The bracket arm has a length sufficient to space the two wires  19  and  21  at a desired distance apart. A typical cylinder length would be 12-18 inches for use with field fencing presently to be described or the bracket may be lengthened for use to protect plants, vines or bushes. 
     The cross-slot  13  for receiving the metal fence post web or cross-flange segment is wide enough so that the metal fence post  26  can be secured in place as shown in FIG. 6 by the wire-tie  24  extending through the holes  22  and  23 . When secured in the position shown in FIG. 6, the bracket arm would extend slightly askew to the fence line unless the metal post was installed slightly askew as illustrated. In general, metal fence posts are seldom installed with their fence-engaging faces perfectly parallel to the fence line. Therefore, the orientation of the bracket arms with respect to the run of the fence line will be variable but more or less perpendicular to the fence line run. Although the illustrated embodiment depicts a conventional steel post having a web with a cross-flange forming a T-configuration, it will be understood that other post configurations which include longitudinal flanges or webs or an angle iron configuration will work equally well. 
     FIGS. 7 and 13 illustrate an embodiment of a double wire system according to the present invention which may be utilized with ordinary field fencing  27 . The insulator brackets may be used in this instance for keeping animals away from the fence, as for example where male and female animals are pastured on opposite sides of the fence. Although the present embodiment illustrates the double-wire runs of electrical wire at a particular level, it will be understood that, one or more such runs may be used at various levels, dependent upon the types of animals that are being restrained. FIGS. 7 and 13 in particular illustrate the arrangement wherein two bracket arms are utilized in combination to turn a right angle corner, with the two-wire system. The two bracket arms  10   a  and  10   b  will be initially attached to the corner post  26  with ties  24  in the manner previously described. The brackets  10   a  and  10   b  will be mounted one immediately on top of the other with the respective post engaging slots being fitted onto adjacent flanges of the steel post. As illustrated, the bottom bracket arm, in this case bracket  10   b , will be located at either a right angle or askew to the direction of the incoming wires  19  and  21 , i.e. wires coming into the corner in the direction of the arrows. The second bracket arm  10   a  will be likewise located at right angles or askew to the outgoing runs of the wires  19  and  21  as indicated by the arrows. The incoming outside wire  19  (i.e. on the outside of the fence  27 ) will pass through the slot  11   b  in the bracket  10   b  and from there will pass through the slot  12   a  in the bracket  10   a  and from thence along the outgoing outside run of the fence. The incoming run of the wire  21  on the inside of the fence will go first to the slot  12   b  and around the retainer pin  18   b  in the bracket  10   b , from thenceback to the slot  11   a , around the pin  17   a  and from thence along the outgoing run on the inside of the fence parallel to the electric wire  19 . It will be understood, of course, that a plurality of such arrangements may be set up for any corner situation. Also, it would be possible to switch the order of the brackets  10   a  and  10   b  from upper to lower without affecting the operation. 
     In addition to the protection of the lower portion of the fence  27 , the present bracket arm may be utilized to support a top electric wire such as the wire  28  shown in FIG. 13, spaced above the top level of the fence. Such an arrangement is valuable when restraining larger animals such as horses and cattle that have a tendency to break down the top wires of the fence. For this purpose, the tubular bracket arm  10  will be made with an inside diameter sufficient to accommodate the insertion of the top end of the fence post  26 . In this position, as shown in FIG. 13, either of the end slots  11  or  12  may be utilized to contain the electric wire  28  with the cross pin  17  in place to ensure against removal of the wire. The tie holes  22  and  23  may be utilized to secure any form of tie members  29  and  31  to securely hold the bracket arm to the top end of the post. 
     As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, two bracket arms may be installed on a single metal post  26  with one arm overlaying the other but in close proximity so that a single electric fence wire  32  may be strung through adjacent ends of the two bracket arms in order to form a corner. Each bracket arm may be attached to the post  26  by a wire tie,  24 . The arrangements shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate the application of the bracket arms to form an outside and an inside corner respectively. In the FIG. 7A arrangement, the inside ends of the two bracket arms  10   c  and  10   d  may be tied together with a suitable wire tie  33  that extends through the respective wire slots and around the exteriors of the adjacent ends. In the FIG. 7B arrangement, the outside ends of the two bracket arms  10   e  and  10   f  may be tied together with a wire tie  34  that extends through the respective wire slots in the outside ends and around their exteriors. In the FIG. 7A arrangement, retainer pins  18   c  and  18   d  are installed in the retainer holes to retain the fence wire  32  in place. In the FIG. 7B arrangement, retainer pins  17   e  and  17   f  would be installed in the retainer holes to retain the fence wire  32  in place. 
     As an alternative to using a slotted bracket arm with a wire tie to hold the bracket arm to the fence post, the bracket arm cylinder  10  may be fabricated with an integral metal fence post clip  36 , as shown in FIG.  9 . It will be understood, of course, that the additional support and rigidity provided by the slotted engagement will be sacrificed. In FIG. 9 the post clip  36  is configured to be attached across the wire-engaging face of the metal fence post  26  by engaging the two wings of the post as shown. In FIG. 10 the post clip  37  is configured to be attached across the side of the metal fence post  26  by engaging one wing and the T-leg of the post as shown. The FIG. 10 arrangement of the post clip  37  would be particularly useful for attaching two bracket arms  10   g ,  10   h  to the metal fence post  26  as shown in FIG. 11 when the metal post is a corner post. 
     As still another alternate to the use of a slotted bracket arm and wire tie to attached the bracket to a fence post, the cylinder  10  may be provided with both an integral metal fence post clip and a concave plate for attachment to a wood post. FIG. 12 illustrates this embodiment wherein metal fence post clip  36  of the FIG. 9 embodiment is depicted, although clip  37  of the FIG. 10 embodiment could be used instead. FIG. 12 also illustrates an integral concave plate  38  for attachment to a cylindrical wood post. Plate  38  could easily be fabricated to provide a right angle for instance, rather than an arcuate configuration for attachment to a rectangular cross sectional wood post. FIG. 12 also depicts a solid cylinder or rod, rather than a tubular cylinder. 
     It is to be understood that the foregoing description and accompanying drawings have been given by way of illustration and example. It is also to be understood that changes in form of the several parts, substitution of equivalent elements and arrangement of parts which will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention, which is limited only by the claims which follow.