Fastener for securing a fence wire to a post

Abstract

A fastener for securing a fence wire to a post comprising a base member having a clip member secured thereto and extending outwardly therefrom in an arcuate fashion to define an entrance opening and a central opening. A horizontally disposed support is secured to the base member and has its opposite ends protruding from the side of the base member so that a fastener wire may be wrapped around the post and the protruding outer ends of the support to secure the fastener to a steel post. The fastener may also be secured to a cylindrical wood or fiberglass post by means of screws or nails extending through the base member into the post.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/196,435 entitled A FASTENER FOR SECURING A FENCE WIRE TO A POST filed Apr. 12, 2000, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to a fastener for securing a fence wire to a post and more particularly to a fastener for securing a fence wire to a post wherein the fence wire may be moved therethrough during stretching or repair operations.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

[0003] Many types of fasteners have been provided for securing a fence wire to steel posts and to wood posts. When the fence wire is to be secured to a wood post, the same is usually accomplished by U-shaped staples. However, if the wire must be stretched after the staples have been securely fastened to the wood posts, the staples must be loosened to enable the wire to move with respect to the staple and the post. Further, there are some occasions when it is desired to lay the wire down so that a vehicle may pass thereover. In such a case, the staples must be removed from the wood posts, which is a time-consuming task.

[0004] Many different types of clips have been utilized for those instances when the fence wire is to be mounted on a steel post. However, to the best of applicants' knowledge, the prior art clips do not permit the convenient attachment of the fence wire thereto, nor do the prior art clips permit the convenient disconnection of the fence wire from the clip such as when the wire is to be let down. Further, to applicants' knowledge, the prior art clips do not enable the fence wire to be moved with respect to the fastener when the wire is to be stretched or repaired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] A fastener is described for securing a fence wire to a post and comprises a flat base member, having upper and lower ends. The base member has a rear portion which is positioned adjacent the post and has a front portion which is secured to a substantially vertically disposed clip member having first and second ends. One end of the clip member is secured to the base member with the clip member extending outwardly therefrom, thence upwardly, and thence towards the base member to define a central opening which may movably receive a fence wire extending therethrough. The second end of the clip member is spaced from the base member to provide an entrance opening to the central opening so that the fence wire may be easily positioned in the central opening or may be removed therefrom. A horizontally disposed support in the form of a rod member is secured to the base member and has opposite end portions protruding laterally of the base member so that the fastener may be secured to a steel post by means of an attachment wire extending around the post and the opposite end portions of the fastener. In one embodiment, the clip member and the support are welded to the base member. In another embodiment, the base member, clip member and support are integrally formed.

[0006] It is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved fastener for securing a fence wire to a post.

[0007] A further object of the invention is to provide a fastener for securing a fence wire to a post which enables a barbed fence wire to pass therethrough.

[0008] Still another object of the invention is to provide a fastener for securing a fence wire to a post which enables the fence wire to be moved with respect thereto during stretching and repair operations of the fence wire.

[0009] Still another object of the invention is to provide a fastener for securing a fence wire to a post whether the post is a steel post or a wood post.

[0010] Still another object of the invention is to provide a fastener for securing a fence wire to a post which is quickly and easily secured to a fence post.

[0011] Still another object of the invention is to provide a fastener for securing a fence wire to a post which is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

[0012] These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the fastener of this invention;

[0014] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the fastener of this invention secured to a steel post; and

[0015] FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the fastener of this invention secured to a wooden post.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0016] The fastener of this invention is referred to generally by the reference numeral 10 and includes a base member 12 having an upper edge 14, lower edge 16, and opposite side edges 18 and 20. The upper edge 14 of base member 12 is provided with a notch 22 formed therein to accommodate tooth 24 extending from a steel post 26.

[0017] Horizontally disposed support 28 is secured to the front face of the base member 12 by welding or the like and has its ends 30 and 32 protruding beyond the opposite side edges 18 and 20, as seen in the drawings. The fastener may be secured to a steel post 26 by means of a fastener wire 34 extending around the post 26 and being wrapped around the ends 30 and 32, as seen in the drawings. If needed, the lower edge 16 of base member 12 may also have a notch formed therein to accommodate a tooth of the steel post.

[0018] The numeral 36 refers to a rod-like clip member having end 38 secured to the front face of base member 12 by welding or the like. If desired, clip member 36 may be integrally formed with base member 12. Clip member 36 extends downwardly and outwardly from its end 38, thence upwardly, thence inwardly and upwardly, to terminate in an end portion 40 which is generally parallel to base member 12. End portion 40 of clip member 36 is spaced from end portion 38 to provide an entrance opening 42 which communicates with a central opening 44 defined by the clip member 36. Central opening 44 is sufficiently large enough to enable a barbed fence wire to extend therethrough to be moved with respect to fastener 10.

[0019] Once the fastener 10 has been secured to the post by means of the fastener wire 34, the barbed fence wire 46 may be secured thereto by moving the fence wire 46 downwardly through the entrance opening 42 into the central opening 44. To ensure that the fence wire 46 cannot move upwardly through the entrance opening 42, it is suggested that a hammer or the like be used to "flatten" the clip member 36 somewhat so that end portion 40 is positioned closely adjacent end portion 38 to close the entrance opening 42.

[0020] When installed on the post, the fence wire is retained in the fastener, but may be moved longitudinally with respect to the fastener during fence wire stretching or repair operations. If it is necessary for the wire to be removed from the fastener, the clip member is simply bent somewhat to again create the entrance opening 42 to enable the wire to pass upwardly therethrough for let-down purposes or the like.

[0021] The fastener is also suitable for use with a cylindrical post constructed of wood, fiberglass, etc. To that end, a pair of openings 48 and 50 are provided in the base member 12 to enable screws or nails to be extended therethrough into the post. When the fastener 10 is to be used on a cylindrical post, it is preferred that the base member 12 have a slight curvature thereto to correspond to the curvature of the outer surface of the cylindrical post.

[0022] Thus it can be seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.

Claims

We claim:

1. A fastener for securing a fence wire to a post, comprising: a base member, including upper and lower ends, having a rear portion positioned adjacent the post and a front portion; a substantially vertically disposed clip member having first and second ends; said clip member having its said first end attached to said base member extending outwardly therefrom, thence upwardly, and thence towards said base member to define a central opening which movably receives a fence wire extending therethrough; said second end of said clip member being spaced from said base member to provide an entrance opening to said central opening so that the fence wire may be positioned in said central opening.

2. The fastener of claim 1 wherein said central opening is sufficiently large enough to permit a barbed fence wire to pass therethrough.

3. The fastener of claim 1 wherein said second end of said clip member includes a portion which is substantially parallel to said base member.

4. The fastener of claim 3 wherein said clip member is integrally formed with said base member.

5. The fastener of claim 1 wherein a horizontally disposed support is provided on said base member which has opposite end portions which protrude laterally of said base member whereby the fastener may be secured to a steel post by means of an attachment wire extending around the post and said opposite end portions.

6. The fastener of claim 5 wherein said horizontally disposed support is integrally formed with said base member.

7. The fastener of claim 1 wherein said base member has openings formed therein to enable nails or screws to be extended therethrough and received by a non-metal post.

8. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the upper end of said base member has a central notch formed therein for receiving a tooth which projects from a steel fence post.