AU2023203138B2

AU2023203138B2 - A fence mounted trellis

Info

Publication number: AU2023203138B2
Application number: AU2023203138A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Grant Hetherington
Original assignee: Hetherington Design & Fabrication Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Hetherington Design & Fabrication Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-20
Filing date: 2023-05-18
Publication date: 2024-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 2043-05-18
Also published as: AU2023203138A1

Abstract

A trellis for mounting to and support by a metal fence of the type having sheet metal panels spanning between spaced-apart upper and lower horizontal rails and supported by spaced-apart 5 posts fixed to the ground. The trellis comprising, a wire mesh panel secured to the upper and lower horizontal rails by a plurality of bracket assemblies. D3 I112 1 A T in I 2n C IQ 1/6 7 2,3 6 -30- I 7 5 7 Fig. 1

Description

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Fig. 1

A FENCE MOUNTED TRELLIS TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a trellis that is mounted to and supported by a metal fence. In particular, the present invention is directed to trellis for use with a metal fence of the type having sheet metal panels spanning between spaced-apart upper and lower horizontal rails and supported by spaced-apart posts fixed to the ground.

BACKGROUND

A trellis is an architectural structure usually made from an open framework, or lattice of interwoven or intersecting pieces of wood, bamboo or metal that is normally made to support and display climbing plants. There are many types of trellis, with the most common type being anchored to the ground. Whilst some trellis can be anchored to walls or roof structures, known trellis, due to weight considerations, are generally not suited to be mounted to metal fences, such as COLORBOND® steel fences that are commonly used in Australian homes.

is These days it is quite common for landscapers, gardeners, and DIY individuals, to manufacture their own trellis from mesh, reinforcement mesh, timber lattice or wire cabling etc, and attach it to steel or timber posts which are concreted or driven into the ground directly in front of a wall, or a fence, such as a COLORBOND® steel fence. This type of trellis is not actually attached to the wall or fence. Not only, is installing a trellis in front of an existing COLORBOND®fence in this way labour intensive, requiring ground preparation, it is difficult to achieve an aesthetic result.

Bunnings Warehouse, Australia's largest hardware chain, promotes a DIY project, using screws and stainless-steel cable to create a climber pattern on a COLORBOND® fence. This type of climber pattern is also very labour intensive, as it is not an off-the-shelf ready to install item or kit, and you are required to drill and then install screws into the fence. This "climber pattern" is not ideal, as the screws are being screwed into metal fence components which are less than 0.4mm thick. As such, the screw heads must not be projecting too far from the fence, otherwise there is a risk that when tensioning the stainless-steel cable, the screws will bow and cause damage to the fence. As such, because the head of the screws must be close to the metal fence, there is little space between the stainless-steel cable and the fence, thus limiting the type and size of climbing plant with which this system can be used. Also, drilling into a P22032AU00 230518

COLORBOND* fence to receive the screws, may result in premature corrosion and degradation of the fence post and rails. Furthermore, should it be decided later to remove it, you are either left with holes in the fence or possibly screws projecting from the fence.

The present invention seeks to provide a trellis mounted to and supported by a metal fence that ameliorates over at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In a first aspect the present invention consists of a trellis suitable for mounting to a metal fence, said fence being of the type having sheet metal panels spanning between spaced-apart upper and lower horizontal rails and supported by spaced-apart posts fixed to the ground, said trellis comprising a wire mesh panel to be secured to said upper and lower horizontal rails by a plurality of bracket assemblies, wherein each of said bracket assemblies comprises a first bracket and an associated second bracket, said first bracket adapted to be secured to a side edge of said wire mesh panel, said associated second bracket in adjustably slidable engagement with said first bracket, and said associated second bracket adapted to engage with one of said upper and lower horizontal rails.

Preferably said first bracket has a plurality of spaced apart grooves for engagement to said side edge of said mesh panel.

Preferably said upper and lower horizontal rails each have an elongate channel into which said sheet metal panels extend, and said second bracket has a notch with an adjacent projection at or near one end, so that said notch and said projection, can engage with a portion of one of said rails in a manner where said projection extends into said channel.

Preferably said second bracket is attached to said first bracket by means of at least two threaded fasteners.

Preferably said second bracket has an elongate slot therein, and said threaded fasteners pass through said slot at spaced apart locations, said slot in combination with said threaded fasteners allowing for said adjustably slidable engagement of said second bracket relative to said first bracket.

Preferably said second bracket is substantially L-shaped with a leg portion having a foot portion extending therefrom, said elongate slot disposed on said leg portion, with said

P22032AU00 241029 projection at the free end of said foot portion bent at substantially right angles, and said notch disposed in said foot portion.

In a second aspect the present invention consists of a trellis suitable for mounting to a metal fence, said fence being of the type having sheet metal panels spanning between spaced-apart upper and lower horizontal rails and supported by spaced-apart posts fixed to the ground, said upper and lower horizontal rails each have an elongate channel into which said sheet metal panels extend, wherein said trellis comprising, a wire mesh panel to be secured to said upper and lower horizontal rails by a plurality of bracket assemblies, each bracket assembly comprises a first bracket and an associated second bracket, said first bracket adapted to be secured to a side edge of said wire mesh panel, said associated second bracket in adjustably slidable engagement with said first bracket, and said associated second bracket adapted to extend and engage within a channel section of one of said upper and lower horizontal rails.

Preferably said second bracket has a notch with an adjacent projection at or near one end, so that said notch and said projection, can engage with a portion of one of said rails in a manner is where said projection extends into said channel.

Preferably said second bracket has an elongate slot therein, and said second bracket is attached to said first bracket by means of at least two threaded fasteners passing through said elongate slot at spaced apart locations, said slot in combination with said threaded fasteners allowing for said adjustably slidable engagement of said second bracket relative to said first bracket.

Preferably said second bracket is substantially L-shaped with a leg portion having a foot portion extending therefrom, said elongate slot disposed on said leg portion, with said projection at the free end of said foot portion bent at substantially right angles, and said notch disposed in said foot portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a trellis of present invention mounted to a steel fence.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the mesh panel of the trellis shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of a bracket assembly (without bolts) and mesh panel of the trellis shown in Fig. 1.

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Fig. 4 shows an enlarged perspective view of the first bracket of bracket assembly shown in Fig. 3.

Fig 5. shows a front perspective of single bracket assembly used to mount the mesh panel of trellis shown in fig I to the lower rail of the fence.

Fig 6. shows a rear perspective the single bracket assembly, mesh panel and lower rail of the fence shown in Fig. 5.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Figs 1 to 6 depict a trellis 1 mounted to and supported solely by a metal fence 2 according to a first embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment metal fence 2 is a conventional COLORBOND* steel fence, namely a fence having pre-coated steel panels spanning between spaced-apart upper horizontal rails and lower horizontal rails and supported by spaced-apart posts fixed to the ground 30. For clarity and ease of reference, Fig. 1 depicts a single segment of a fence 2, namely a pre-coated steel panel 3, spanning between two posts 6 an upper horizontal rail 4 and lower horizontal rail 5. Upper and lower horizontal rails 4, 5 are identical, with each having an open channel section, namely an "elongate channel" to receive steel panel 3. In Australia, such a conventional COLORBOND* steel fence 2, is marketed under brands such as LYSAGHT* and METROLL*. For the purposes of this embodiment the upper and lower horizontal rails 4, 5 having open channel sections, are of the substantially "square-type" marketed by METROLL®.

Trellis 1 comprises a rectangular mesh panel 10 and four bracket assemblies 7, each bracket assembly 7 comprising first bracket 8 and second bracket 9 operably connected to each other.

Mesh panel 10 is preferably made of 50mm x 50mm x 4mm galvanised weld mesh, and in this embodiment is about 700mm wide. The peripheral ends of the mesh are folded to form four outside edges having a width of about 50mm, namely two side edges 11,12 and top and bottom edges 14,15. The folding of the mesh to form these edges, creates rigidity in mesh panel 10 and a cavity from the face of COLORBOND* steel fence 2 where the vine or plant can grow. Furthermore, side edges 11,12 provide a mounting location for each of the four bracket assemblies 7.

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First bracket 8, is preferably a 6mm thick aluminium rectangular plate of 60mm x 44mm, with two spaced apart recesses (grooves) 16 having a width of about 6mm. There are two M6 tapped threads 17, each disposed between the central recess 16 and a respective outer recess. These tapped threads 17 are for receiving M6 hex (Allen) head bolts (threaded fasteners) 18 to secure second bracket 9 thereto. In use recesses 16 are for ease of installation, as they assist in positioning bracket 8 on the mesh, until bolts 18 are fastened thereto.

Second bracket 9, is preferably made of 3mm thick aluminium sheet. It is "L-shaped like" in appearance, with a leg portion 20 and foot portion 21, with a projection 22 at the free end of foot portion 21 bent at substantially right angles. Immediately adjacent the bend there is a notch 23 in foot portion 21. A longitudinally extending elongate slot 24 is disposed in leg portion 20. In this embodiment, leg portion 20 is about the same width of first bracket 8, namely 44mm, and the stand-off length, namely the length foot portion 21 projects from leg 20 is about 50mm. The width of notch 23 is about 20mm, whilst projection 22 is about 30 mm in length.

is In use, when securing second bracket 9 to first bracket 8, bolts 18 pass through slot 24 in second bracket 9 to threadedly engage with first bracket 8. By means of slot 24, second bracket 9 may be slidably adjusted, namely raised and lowered, relative to bracket 9 prior to bolts 18 being tightened. Details of this adjustability will be discussed later.

As mentioned earlier, in use, four bracket assemblies 7 are used with each panel 10, two on each of side edges 11,12. Whilst normally the bracket assemblies 7 would be positioned on side edges 11,12 near the respective top and bottom side edges 14,15, it should be understood that the configuration of first bracket 8 is designed so that it can be located anywhere along either of side edges 11,12 of panel 10, to allow for fences that are on a gradient and for installing a panel 10 that may be taller than the COLORBOND* steel fence 2.

Whilst the attachment of trellis 1 to fence 2 relies on four bracket assemblies 7, it will now be described with reference to a single corner of trellis 1, where a bracket assembly 7 is used to secure mesh panel 10 to lower rail 5 of fence 2 as shown Figs 5 and 6. For ease of clarity, sheet panel 3 of fence 2 that would normally be projecting into channel 13 of lower rail 5, has been omitted from Figs 5 and 6. First bracket 8 is abutted against side edge 12 from inside panel 10, so that recesses 16 engage with the mesh. Second bracket 9 is secured to first bracket 8 by bolts 18 passing through slot 24 but are not tightened immediately. Second bracket is slidably adjusted (moved) until notch 23 engages a sidewall 5a of rail 5, such that projection P22032AU00 241029

22 is extending into channel 13 of rail 5, and then bolts 18 are tightened so that second bracket 9 is then fixed relative to first bracket 8. In this fixed arrangement a portion of projection 22 is abutted against lip 19 at the channel opening of rail 5.

When this is done in similar manner to attach all four bracket assemblies 7 to both the upper rail 4 and lower rail 5, trellis 1 is mounted to and supported by fence 2 as shown in Fig.1.

In the present embodiment, mesh panel 10, and therefore trellis 1 is sized so that it is the same height of the fence 2, as shown in Fig. 1. However, what should be understood is that in a not shown embodiment trellis 1 may be taller than steel fence 2, and necessary positioning of the bracket assemblies 7 to be secured to upper rail 4, will require bracket assemblies to be positioned at different locations on edges 11,12 than that shown in the abovementioned embodiment.

There are various advantages of the utilising bracket assemblies 7 of the present embodiment as follows:

• Firstly, because trellis 1 is mounted to and supported by fence 2, it does not require any is fixing or anchoring to the ground.

• Secondly, rails 4,5 having channel sections, such as those marketed under brands LYSAGHT* and METROLL*, do not have identical size and shape and their dimensions differ to each other. The "slidable adjustability" of second bracket 9 relative to first bracket 8, means that bracket assembly 7 can be used with several different rails 4,5. This means bracket assembly 7 can be considered a type of "universal bracket assembly" to suit different "channel-section" rails 4,5.

• Thirdly, bracket assemblies 7 in this embodiment provide a cavity of about 50mm between mesh panel 10 and sheet panel 3 of fence 2, providing adequate space for climbing plants.

• Fourthly, trellis 1 can be provided in DIY kit form, so that a lowly skilled person could readily attach trellis I to fence 2, with only a hex (Allen) key required for bolts 18.

• Fifthly, bracket assemblies 7 can be attached at various locations along the side edges 11,12 of mesh panel 10, to accommodate fences that are on a gradient or for a trellis 1 that is taller than fence 2.

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• Furthermore, trellis 1 is mounted to fence 2 without any drilling or screwing necessary. This means that should trellis 1 be removed from fence 2 at a later stage, there will not be any unsightly holes or screws, as is the case of the prior art "climber pattern".

What should be understood is that the bracket assembly of the present invention could be sized and dimensioned differently to what has been described in the abovementioned embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention.

What should also be understood, is that whilst in the abovementioned embodiment the trellis is about 700mm wide, it could in other not shown embodiments be wider or narrower than this width.

The terms "comprising" and "including" (and their grammatical variations) as used herein are used in an inclusive sense and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of'.

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Claims

1. A trellis suitable for mounting to a metal fence, said fence being of the type having sheet metal panels spanning between spaced-apart upper and lower horizontal rails and supported by spaced-apart posts fixed to the ground, said trellis comprising, a wire mesh panel to be secured to said upper and lower horizontal rails by a plurality of bracket assemblies, wherein each of said bracket assemblies comprises a first bracket and an associated second bracket, said first bracket adapted to be secured to a side edge of said wire mesh panel, said associated second bracket in adjustably slidable engagement with said first bracket, and said associated second bracket adapted to engage with one of said upper and lower horizontal rails.

2. A trellis as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first bracket has a plurality of spaced apart grooves for engagement to said side edge of said mesh panel.

3. A trellis as claimed in claims 2, wherein said upper and lower horizontal rails each have an elongate channel into which said sheet metal panels extend, and said second bracket has a notch with an adjacent projection at or near one end, so that said notch and said projection, can engage with a portion of one of said rails in a manner where said projection extends into said channel.

4. A trellis as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second bracket is attached to said first bracket by means of at least two threaded fasteners.

5. A trellis as claimed in claim 4, wherein said second bracket has an elongate slot therein, and said threaded fasteners pass through said slot at spaced apart locations, said slot in combination with said threaded fasteners allowing for said adjustably slidable engagement of said second bracket relative to said first bracket.

6. A trellis as claimed in claim 5, wherein said second bracket is substantially L shaped with a leg portion having a foot portion extending therefrom, said elongate slot disposed on said leg portion, with said projection at the free end of said foot portion bent at substantially right angles, and said notch disposed in said foot portion.

7. A trellis suitable for mounting to a metal fence, said fence being of the type having sheet metal panels spanning between spaced-apart upper and lower horizontal rails and supported by spaced-apart posts fixed to the ground, said upper and lower horizontal rails each have an elongate channel into which said sheet metal panels extend, wherein

P22032AU00 241029 said trellis comprising, a wire mesh panel to be secured to said upper and lower horizontal rails by a plurality of bracket assemblies, each bracket assembly comprises a first bracket and an associated second bracket, said first bracket adapted to be secured to a side edge of said wire mesh panel, said associated second bracket in adjustably slidable engagement with said first bracket, and said associated second bracket adapted to extend and engage within a channel section of one of said upper and lower horizontal rails.

8. A trellis as claimed in claim 7, wherein said second bracket has a notch with an adjacent projection at or near one end, so that said notch and said projection, can engage with a portion of one of said rails in a manner where said projection extends into said channel.

9. A trellis as claimed in claimed in claim 8 wherein said second bracket has an elongate slot therein, and said second bracket is attached to said first bracket by means of at least two threaded fasteners passing through said slot at spaced apart locations, is said slot in combination with said threaded fasteners allowing for said adjustably slidable engagement of said second bracket relative to said first bracket.

10. A trellis as claimed in claim 9, wherein said second bracket is substantially L shaped with a leg portion having a foot portion extending therefrom, said elongate slot disposed on said leg portion, with said projection at the free end of said foot portion bent at substantially right angles, and said notch disposed in said foot portion.

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