Improvements in Metallic Fences
Year: 1886

page_text: Improvements in Metallic Fences.
JAMES ATEN COOPER, gentleman, a citizen of the United States of America,
residing in the City of Lima, in the County of Allen, and State of Ohio, does
hereby declare the nature of bis invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC
FENCES, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
This invention relates to improvements in metallic fences, the object of the
invention being to provide a fence which shall be cheap and simple in construction:
easily set up: adaptable to adjustment to conform to different grades, and to so
construct and arrange the component parts that the pickets and ornaments may be
secured to the rail without punching said rails for the reception of the pickets, as
in fences of ordinary construction.
With these objects in view, the invention consists, primarily in a fence comprised
of an unpunched picket supporting rail, of any suitable shape: a picket located at
one side of the rail, and ornament having eyes to engage the picket and having a
circular central portion or arms to lie in front of the rail and in a vertical plane
the centre of the circle from which said arms is described being central with
relation to the centre of the rail and pickets, and ornamental clips to engage the
said circular portion of the ornament and the rail to secure them together, all
constructed and arranged substantially as hereinafter fully described.'
It also consists in certain details of construction of the several parts of the fence,
and their relative arrangement substantially as hereinafter described.
Reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1, represents in front elevation a portion of the top rail of a metallic
fence as embodying my improvements, a portion of two pickets, two ornaments,
and fastening clips being shown.
Figure 2, a side elevation of the same the ornament being shown in section:
Figure 3, a front view of a portion of one of the fence-rails, picket, ornament
and fastening clips, the rail being shown as inclined as it will be when the fence is
adjusted to grades, and
Figure 4, illustrates rear and end views, of the clip by which the ornament and
picket are fastened to the rail.
In the drawing A represents the picket holding rail which rail will be of any
desired or suitable construction, it being preferable to use a ↑ rail, or a rail having

page_text: two flanges one projecting upwardly and one downwardly, a flat bar-rail might
however be used with equally good results.
This rail when set up in a fence will be exactly as it came from the rolls at the
mill, it having no picket or other openings formed therein, B, represents the picket
which will also be of any suitable or desired shape, a picket which is square in
cross-section being shown in the drawings, it being provided at its upper end with
the usual spear-shaped head b.
C represents the ornament which may be of any suitable general design, the
said ornament having two picket encircling eyes c, c, one at each end and two picket-
encircling eyes, d, d, at a suitable distance apart, above and below the centre of
the ornament, the said eyes d, d, coming, when the ornament and rail A, are
secured together at points just above and below the upper and under faces of the
said rail.
The eyes c, d, are secured together both above and below the rail by connecting
arms e, which are flared outward in opposite directions, and in the direction of the
length of the rail from the eye c, and then inward and connect with the eye d,
There is nothing new in this part of the construction of the ornament and therefore
no claim will be made thereto.
The picket-encircling eyes d, d, nearest the rail or centre of the ornament are
connected together by arms or webs D which arms are curved or bowed outward
with relation to each other, are preferably flat at their front and rear faces and of
such construction as to form a segment of a circle-the axis of which is central or
approximately so, between the lower edges of the two eyes d, d, and a line drawn
vertically through their centre.
The picket B, is held in place in the eyes of the ornament against longitudinal
movement, preferably, by upsetting the metal of the eyes c, d, by a punch into the
metal of the picket, B.
The picket B, and ornament C, are secured to the rail A, in front (the rear face
of the ornament and picket coming in close contact with the front face of the rail)
by ornamental clips E, which clips have projecting arms f, g, to over-lap the upper
and under flanges or faces of the rail A, the construction of said clip being sub-
stantially as illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawing that is to say, the clips consist
of a main ornamental body or front plate h, having inwardly projecting flanges, i, j,
extending along its upper and under edges as clearly illustrated in Figure 4 of the
drawing, the upper flange i, having the two arms f, projecting from it at both ends,
the said arms f, extending inward or backward a short distance, or a distance equal
to the thickness of the flange of the rail it is to over-lap and then forward and
downward they forming a sort of angle-hook, to engage the upper flange of the rail
in securing the picket and ornament to the rail.
The two arms g, extend forward in a line parallel to the length of the clip E, at
cach end of the lower flange j, and are sufficient width to over-lap the lower flange
of the rail A.
The flanges i, j, (which when the parts of the fence are connected, bear at their
rear edges against the front face of the rail, thereby leaving a space between the
rail A, and front plate h, of the clip as shown in Figure 4), are of slightly greater
depth than the thickness of the arms D, of the ornament and extend only across
the top and bottom of the clip, leaving the ends open, thus permitting the arms D,
of the ornament to be interposed between the front plate h, of the clip and the
front of the rail A, and in the manner illustrated in the drawing,-the front plate
at one end.of the clip E, over-lapping the circular arm D, of one ornament near
its centre, and the other end of the front plate of the clip over-lapping the arm D,
of the adjacent ornament, near its centre, as shown.
This construction and arrangement of the clip E, and ornament C, forms a
cking bearing for the ornament at its centre and permits the rails of the fence to
be inclined more or less to adapt the fence to grades, and as will be noticed any
length of fence may be set up and adjusted to grade without punching holes in the
rail A, which is very desirable as it permits the setting up of the fence without
3

page_text: requiring the special tools and machinery heretofore used by all fence builders,
most of the factories having their ornaments cast, and pickets and rails made
outside their factory and only employing tools and machinery necessary to punch
the rails, and prepare the fence ready for shipment or setting up.
The clip E, used in this improved fence will preferably be made of cast malleable
iron, as also are the ornaments.
A two-part clamp G, is clamped to the end of the rail by a bolt k, extending
through the clamp and past the end of the rail, which by the way is the only
place where a bolt is necessary in the entire construction of the fence.
The manner in which the fence is put together, will be readily apparent to any
one viewing the drawings.
Any adjustment, (even 45) may be had by simply raising or lowering the rails A,
at their ends most remote from the post after all the ornaments and pickets are
in place.
The pickets ornaments will always retain a vertical position irrespective of the
pitch of the rails.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare and claim
the following:
1st. A metallic fence comprising an unpunched rail, a picket, an ornament having
eyes to engage said picket and have a circular central portion, as described, and
ornamental clips having arms to engage the rail above and below and engaging the
circular portion of the ornament, to adjustably secure the ornament and picket to
the rail substantially as described.
2nd. In a metallic fence, the ornament C, comprised of the eyes c; c, and d, d,
the ones c, d, being connected by the webs e, and the ones d, d, being connected
together by the circular arms D, curved in opposite directions, said arms forming a
segment of a circle, and being adapted to be engaged by the ends of the clip E,
adjustably secured to the rail of the fence, substantially as described and for
the purpose set forth.
3rd. In a metallic fence, having an unpunched rail A, and an ornament and
picket resting in front of said rail, the clips E, adjustably secured to the rail as
described, having the flanges i, j, and the projecting arm f, g, to grasp the rail at
its upper and under side as shown, said clip engaging the circular, central portion
of an ornament substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.
4th. A metallic fence, comprising the unpunched rail A, the picket B, and
ornament C, lying in front of said rail, said ornament having the centrally curved
arms D, the axis of which central with relation to the picket B, and rail A, as
shown, and the ornamental clip E, having the rail-engaging arms f, g, said clip
being constructed substantially as described and being adapted to over-lap the one
curved arm D, of one ornament and one arm D, of the next adjacent ornament
and permit lateral adjustment of the fence, substantially as described.