FENCE BARB ARM
United States Patent 3698691
A Y-shaped barbed wire holder for attachment to the top of fence posts by means of an integral base which fits over the post. One barb arm and one half of the base if formed from from a single piece of sheet metal. The other half of the base is welded in place and an end closing disc is held in the base by an annular groove. The second barb arm is welded to the bight of the first arm.
US Patent References:
/1192216.html
Louden - July 1916 - 1192216
Fencepost attachment
Bailey - December 1921 - 1401509
Topping arm for fenceposts
Thomson - January 1923 - 1440852
Fencepost attachment
Bailey - July 1923 - 1460936
Fence structure
Getz - February 1929 - 1703189
/1192216.html
Louden - July 1916 - 1192216
Fencepost attachment
Bailey - December 1921 - 1401509
Topping arm for fenceposts
Thomson - January 1923 - 1440852
Fencepost attachment
Bailey - July 1923 - 1460936
Fence structure
Getz - February 1929 - 1703189
Application Number:
05/153731
Publication Date:
10/17/1972
Filing Date:
06/16/1971
View Patent Images:
Export Citation:
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
29/897.330
International Classes:
E04H17/24; E04H17/00; E04H17/14; E04H17/06
Field of Search:
256/11,1,47,48,34
US Patent References:
Primary Examiner:
Taylor, Dennis L.
Claims:
What is claimed is
1. A Y-shaped arm assembly for supporting wires above a fence having vertical support post comprising:
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said base portions are semi-cylindrical and said blank is a circular disc forming a cup shaped cavity adapted to fit over the top of a round post.
1. A Y-shaped arm assembly for supporting wires above a fence having vertical support post comprising:
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said base portions are semi-cylindrical and said blank is a circular disc forming a cup shaped cavity adapted to fit over the top of a round post.
Description:
This invention relates to an improved device for supporting one of more strands of barbed wire at the top of a fence, preferably a chain link fence. In such fences it is common practice in places where extra security is needed, to position an inclined arm above the fence post, this arm having slots to hold barbed wire strands which run parallel with the fence itself. The prior art has utilized base members (to be secured to the top of the fence post) which are separate from the arm members such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,028,147 to Crumbo; separate cast base members to which an arm may be adjustably secured such as U.S. Pat. No. 1,703,189 to Getz and various other devices where the base member and the arm member are separately manufactured and are subsequently bolted or welded together. Although many of these devices are strong and serviceable, they are expensive to manufacture.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a Y-shaped fence barb arm which is economical to manufacture with the base being integral with the arm.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for manufacturing barb arms which are stamped from sheet metal and welded with a minimum number of fabricating steps.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon a review of the following disclosure of a preferred embodiment, given by way of example only, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the arm of this invention in place atop a chain link fence;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the arm shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing the location of the welds and the positioning of the parts in an assembled arm.
Turning now to a detailed description of the arm itself, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 12 identifies the combination arm and base unit having an arm 14 containing slots 16 for insertion of the barbed wires and a semi-circular base section 18. That base section forms one-half of the base (which fits around the top of a round fence post) and base member 20 forms the other half of the circular base. When these two halves are welded together, an internal annular groove 22 is formed to hold a disc member 24. Thus, the area below the disc forms a socket which the fence post, for example 11/2 -inch galvanized pipe, can be inserted. Other shapes could, of course, be used to fit on square or rectangular posts.
No separate welding is needed to keep the disc 24 in place since the annular groove 22 is of just sufficient interior diameter to hold the disc captive in place. A further annular raised portion 26 is preferably formed in the base for purposes of strengthening it in order to insure that the interior diameter is round and readily adaptable to fit over the round pipe post.
The insertion of the disc 24 to form a socket or cup inside the base also prevents water from entering the post and a drainage hole may be provided in either half of the base member to drain water away from the top of the disc 24. When the two halves of the base member are welded together, an eliptical opening 28 is formed to hold the top rail 30 of the fence. The hole is eliptically shaped so that a round pipe can be received when the fence is running up or downhill.
A separate arm member 32 is formed which is preferably identical to the arm portion 14 and is secured in place by weld 34 on the bight portion of the U-shaped arm and weld 36 on the leg portion. A similar weld (not shown) is on the side opposite weld 36. The Y barb arm thus formed has provision to carry six strands of barbed wire, three facing inwardly and three facing outwardly.
The two halves of the base member are held together by weld 38, which is visible in FIG. 3 and another diametrically opposite weld 38 which is not shown in the figures. Similarly, a weld 40 is placed on top of a finger 44 which fits over a recessed tip 42 of arm 12. A tongue portion 46 is shaped to fit within the interior U-section of arm 12. A weld similar to 40, but on the opposite side is also made in order to secure the two semi-circular base members together. Thus, only four welds, all of which can be automatically and simultaneously made, are needed in order to form the base into a solid and extremely servicable piece. Only three additional welds are required to hold the arm 32 onto arm 12 in order to form the Y configuration.
The method of this invention will now be described in detail. The barb arm is made entirely from sheet steel which is pressed by the use of dies into a configuration that resembles a Y when in use on top of an industrial fence. The arm consists before welding, of four separate parts as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 1 shows the complete arm after welding.
Part 12 is formed from a flat plate of steel, trapizoidal in shape, and is blanked from a sheet coil 20-13/16 inches wide. The openings which accomodate the three strands of barb wire for part 12 are then punched in this plate and the plate is trimmed at the same time on the die. After the holes and trimming are accomplished, the process of forming is begun on the next die to form it into a shape having a U cross section. Two more dies are used to complete the part 12, one die trims excess metal off the basal part and the last die bends it at a 45° configuration to complete the part 12.
Part 20 completes the basal portion of the barb arm and fits the basal part 18. It is blanked and formed on what is commonly called progressive die. The plate of steel used for this is 53/4 inches wide and the blanking part of the die trims the blank.
The forming part of the progressive die completes part 20 except for trimming which is done on a separate die. One stroke of the press completes the part 20 except for trimming of the edges. The purpose in trimming the edges as shown is so the base segments will fit together with no open crack or seam when welded.
The next operation on the way to forming the Y-arm is to weld parts 18 and 20 together. This is accomplished by placing them into an air clamp which holds the parts securely while the welding process is accomplished. Welding is done automatically on four spots on location on the seams when the two parts are placed together; the welding operator only pushes a single button once the parts are clamped together. Standard Mig welders are used to which a timer and circuit device have been added. Actual welding time is about 2 seconds.
Before parts 18 and 20 are welded together, steel disc 24 is placed between the joined parts. This disc is placed in such a way that a cup is formed when this arm is placed on a post and water is prevented from entering the posts. The disc 24 is punched when part 20 is blanked.
After parts 18, 20, and 24 are joined together, a standard three strand barb arm is formed. A second barb arm is then formed in a manner similar to that used for arm 12 except that 15 inches wide coil steel is used. The second arm 32 is then welded to the first arm in the manner shown in FIG. 3.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a Y-shaped fence barb arm which is economical to manufacture with the base being integral with the arm.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for manufacturing barb arms which are stamped from sheet metal and welded with a minimum number of fabricating steps.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon a review of the following disclosure of a preferred embodiment, given by way of example only, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the arm of this invention in place atop a chain link fence;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the arm shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing the location of the welds and the positioning of the parts in an assembled arm.
Turning now to a detailed description of the arm itself, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 12 identifies the combination arm and base unit having an arm 14 containing slots 16 for insertion of the barbed wires and a semi-circular base section 18. That base section forms one-half of the base (which fits around the top of a round fence post) and base member 20 forms the other half of the circular base. When these two halves are welded together, an internal annular groove 22 is formed to hold a disc member 24. Thus, the area below the disc forms a socket which the fence post, for example 11/2 -inch galvanized pipe, can be inserted. Other shapes could, of course, be used to fit on square or rectangular posts.
No separate welding is needed to keep the disc 24 in place since the annular groove 22 is of just sufficient interior diameter to hold the disc captive in place. A further annular raised portion 26 is preferably formed in the base for purposes of strengthening it in order to insure that the interior diameter is round and readily adaptable to fit over the round pipe post.
The insertion of the disc 24 to form a socket or cup inside the base also prevents water from entering the post and a drainage hole may be provided in either half of the base member to drain water away from the top of the disc 24. When the two halves of the base member are welded together, an eliptical opening 28 is formed to hold the top rail 30 of the fence. The hole is eliptically shaped so that a round pipe can be received when the fence is running up or downhill.
A separate arm member 32 is formed which is preferably identical to the arm portion 14 and is secured in place by weld 34 on the bight portion of the U-shaped arm and weld 36 on the leg portion. A similar weld (not shown) is on the side opposite weld 36. The Y barb arm thus formed has provision to carry six strands of barbed wire, three facing inwardly and three facing outwardly.
The two halves of the base member are held together by weld 38, which is visible in FIG. 3 and another diametrically opposite weld 38 which is not shown in the figures. Similarly, a weld 40 is placed on top of a finger 44 which fits over a recessed tip 42 of arm 12. A tongue portion 46 is shaped to fit within the interior U-section of arm 12. A weld similar to 40, but on the opposite side is also made in order to secure the two semi-circular base members together. Thus, only four welds, all of which can be automatically and simultaneously made, are needed in order to form the base into a solid and extremely servicable piece. Only three additional welds are required to hold the arm 32 onto arm 12 in order to form the Y configuration.
The method of this invention will now be described in detail. The barb arm is made entirely from sheet steel which is pressed by the use of dies into a configuration that resembles a Y when in use on top of an industrial fence. The arm consists before welding, of four separate parts as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 1 shows the complete arm after welding.
Part 12 is formed from a flat plate of steel, trapizoidal in shape, and is blanked from a sheet coil 20-13/16 inches wide. The openings which accomodate the three strands of barb wire for part 12 are then punched in this plate and the plate is trimmed at the same time on the die. After the holes and trimming are accomplished, the process of forming is begun on the next die to form it into a shape having a U cross section. Two more dies are used to complete the part 12, one die trims excess metal off the basal part and the last die bends it at a 45° configuration to complete the part 12.
Part 20 completes the basal portion of the barb arm and fits the basal part 18. It is blanked and formed on what is commonly called progressive die. The plate of steel used for this is 53/4 inches wide and the blanking part of the die trims the blank.
The forming part of the progressive die completes part 20 except for trimming which is done on a separate die. One stroke of the press completes the part 20 except for trimming of the edges. The purpose in trimming the edges as shown is so the base segments will fit together with no open crack or seam when welded.
The next operation on the way to forming the Y-arm is to weld parts 18 and 20 together. This is accomplished by placing them into an air clamp which holds the parts securely while the welding process is accomplished. Welding is done automatically on four spots on location on the seams when the two parts are placed together; the welding operator only pushes a single button once the parts are clamped together. Standard Mig welders are used to which a timer and circuit device have been added. Actual welding time is about 2 seconds.
Before parts 18 and 20 are welded together, steel disc 24 is placed between the joined parts. This disc is placed in such a way that a cup is formed when this arm is placed on a post and water is prevented from entering the posts. The disc 24 is punched when part 20 is blanked.
After parts 18, 20, and 24 are joined together, a standard three strand barb arm is formed. A second barb arm is then formed in a manner similar to that used for arm 12 except that 15 inches wide coil steel is used. The second arm 32 is then welded to the first arm in the manner shown in FIG. 3.