This invention relates generally to sign-supporting brackets, and more specifically to a theft-resistant sign assembly, incorporating a bracket, wherein a sign, including a banner or the like, is secured to a face of a ballistic fence, i.e., a fence capable of stopping or resisting penetration by projectiles.
One known form of theft-resistant sign bracket is a bracket comprising an elongated element molded from a synthetic resin. A bolt extends through an elongated slot in the molded element and is engaged with a nut located in a nut-receiving space within the molded element, the nut-receiving space being elongated along the direction of elongation of the slot. The nut is slidable in the direction of elongation of the slot but restrained against rotation by opposed internal walls of the nut-receiving space. The bolt is a “one-way” bolt, having a receptacle formed in its head for receiving the tip of a screwdriver. The receptacle is formed with surfaces configured to allow clockwise rotation of the bolt by the screwdriver but to deflect the screwdriver axially outward from the receptacle when the screwdriver is rotated counterclockwise. End slots, formed in opposed ends of the elongated molded element, are engageable with lengths of fence wire on opposite sides of an opening of a chain link fence and a wall of at least one of the end slots is provided with a hole for a screw or similar fastener used to maintain engagement of that end slot with the length of fence wire extending through it.
In a typical sign installation, four such brackets are attached to the chain link fence in positions such that the bolt of each bracket can be aligned with one of the holes in a sign to be attached to the fence. The elongation of the slot, and the movability of the bolt in the direction of elongation of the slot and the elongated nut-receiving space, allow the bracket to be adjusted to accommodate variations in the positions of the bolt holes in the sign.
The brackets and the bolt holes in the sign are typically located inboard relative to the edges of the sign to make access to the brackets difficult after the bolts are tightened. Thus the sign can be secured to a chain link fence in such a way that a thief not equipped with special tools will encounter a considerable amount of difficulty in attempting to remove the sign.
The bracket described above is suitable for use with chain link fences. However, in recent years, so-called, “high security” or “ballistic” fences have come into widespread use to protect equipment such as electric substation transformers and the like by preventing damage to the equipment by bullets and other projectiles.
A typical ballistic fence includes a unitary layer of heavy-gauge steel formed with an array of horizontally elongated undulating strips extending parallel to one another. The undulations of adjacent strips are offset from one another so that parallel columns of narrow, horizontally elongated, slots are formed in the heavy-gauge steel layer.
The unitary layer of steel formed with undulating strips and horizontally elongated slots is typically welded to, and reinforced by, a mesh of horizontally- and vertically-extending, heavy-gauge steel wires. The unitary layer of steel forms an outer face of the fence, and the mesh of steel wires forms an inner face of the fence.
The bracket described above, which is designed for use with chain link fences, cannot be fitted to a ballistic fence in a manner similar to the manner in which it is fitted to a chain link fence. That is, the end slots in the elongated molded element cannot be readily engaged with the undulations of the ballistic fence.
There has been a need for a sign bracket having a capability of bolt-position adjustment similar to that of the sign bracket designed for chain link fencing, and also having the capability of secure attachment to a ballistic fence.
In the bracket assembly of this invention, the bracket can be a modified version of the bracket previously utilized for securing a sign to a chain link fence. The principal modification is the addition of a tie strip and the adaptation of the bracket so that it has an internal passage for receiving the tie strip.
More specifically, the bracket comprises a rigid element having a first outer surface facing in a first direction for abutment with a fence, and a second outer surface facing in a second direction opposite the first direction. An internal, nut-receiving, space is provided within the rigid element, and a bolt shank-receiving opening, formed in the second outer surface, leads from the second outer surface to the internal, nut-receiving, space. A bolt for attachment of a sign to the rigid element, has a threaded shank extending through the bolt shank-receiving opening, and a nut located in the internal, nut-receiving, space is threaded to the shank of the bolt. The bolt includes a head external to the rigid element.
An internal passage is provided within the rigid element, and a flexible metallic tie strip extends through this internal passage. The tie strip has a locking head at one end thereof engageable with a part of the strip remote from the locking head whereby the tie strip can form a loop. The locking head permits reduction of the size of the loop but prevents the size of the loop from increasing.
In the completed sign assembly, the loop extends through the internal passage in the rigid element and through two of a plurality of openings extending through the fence, and is tightened by reduction of the size of the loop whereby the rigid element is firmly fixed to the fence. The shank of the bolt extends through at least one through hole of a sign, and is in tightened engagement with the nut so that the sign is firmly attached to the rigid element of the bracket.
In a preferred embodiment, the bolt shank-receiving opening and the internal, nut-receiving, space in the rigid element are elongated along the same direction.
The rigid element is preferably composed of molded synthetic resin, and at least a part of the internal passage for receiving the tie strip may be constituted by the internal, nut-receiving, space.
The internal passage for receiving the tie strip can also include a groove receiving the tie strip and having a width substantially equal to the width of the tie strip whereby the groove restricts lateral movement of the bracket relative to the tie strip.
The bracket assembly of the invention is especially well adapted for use in attaching a sign to a ballistic fence in which each opening of the plurality of openings is in the form of a slot elongated in a first direction on an outer face of the fence, and the openings are arranged in parallel columns extending in a second direction along the face and substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The first outer surface of the rigid element can overlie a part of one of the parallel columns of slots so that the rigid element overlies a plurality of slots in one of said parallel columns. An example of such a ballistic fence is one that comprises a unitary array of undulating strips extending in first direction in parallel rows along an outer face, and in which the undulations of adjacent strips are offset from one another in that first direction so that parallel columns of openings are formed in the fence.
Another aspect of the invention is the process by which a sign is fastened to a fence using the bracket and tie strip. The process is applicable for the attachment of a sign to any fence that comprises a panel having an inner face and an outer face and having a plurality of openings extending through the fence from the outer face to the inner face, wherein each opening of said plurality of openings is in the form of a slot elongated in a first direction on the outer face of the fence, and the openings are arranged in parallel columns extending in a second direction along substantially perpendicular to the first direction. In carrying out the process, the tie strip is passed through an interior passage in the bracket. The tie strip is preferably a flexible metallic tie strip having a locking head at one end thereof engageable with a part of the strip remote from the locking head so the strip can form a loop. The locking head permits reduction of the size of the loop but prevents the size of the loop from increasing. The tie strip is inserted through the interior passage of the bracket so that a first portion of the tie strip between the locking head to the remote part of the strip is disposed within the interior passage of the bracket, and the locking head and the remote part are connected respectively to the first portion of the tie strip by second and third portions thereof that protrude respectively from opposite ends of the interior passage of the bracket. The bracket is placed against the outer face of the fence, and the second and third portions of the tie strip are inserted through different slots in one of the columns of slots. The locking head is then engaged with the remote part of the tie strip to form the tie strip into a loop. Then the loop is caused to contract so that the bracket is secured to the fence. A threaded bolt is inserted through a hole in the sign and into a bolt-shank receiving opening in the bracket, and engaged with a nut inside the bracket.
The sign can be loosely bolted to a bracket either before or after the bracket is secured to the fence. If the sign is loosely bolted to each of a plurality of sign-supporting brackets before the brackets are secured to the fence, the tie strips can be inserted through slots in the fence and their locking heads engaged with their remote portions. The bolts and tie strips can then be tightened in any desired order. By bolting the sign to the brackets before attachment of the brackets to the fence, difficulties in aligning the bolts with the nuts inside the brackets can be avoided.
In the electrical utility installation illustrated in
The bracket member 24, as shown in
The bracket shown in
As shown in
Indentations 48 and 50, formed in the bracket member 24, are optional, and provided primarily to reduce the weight of the bracket and avoid excessive and unnecessary synthetic resin.
As shown in
The nut 54 can be inserted into space 56 through an opening 62, shown in
As shown in
A suitable flexible metallic tie strip is one in which the locking head incorporates a movable ball or roller and a cam surface that urges the ball or roller tightly against a part of the strip extending through the locking head when the strip is pulled in a direction to enlarge the loop. Such a metallic tie strip is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,446, granted on Mar. 1, 1998. The entire disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,446 is here incorporated by reference. Other forms of tie strips, such as tie strips having ratchet teeth and a resilient pawl can also be used.
As shown in
In the embodiment illustrated in
As shown in
The sign 14 (
The invention is applicable to various forms of fences other than the particular form of ballistic fence described above and depicted in
The use of one-way bolts, the configuration of the face of the ballistic fence, the proximity of the sign to the face of the fence, and inboard locations of the brackets relative to the edges of the sign will ordinarily be effective to prevent tampering, for example by attempting to cut portions of the tie strip exposed on the outer side of the fence. However, in cases where such tampering is a matter of concern and alternative embodiment can be used in which there is no exposure of the tie strip on the outer side of the fence. For example, the bracket member 98 as shown in
Other modifications can of course be made to the invention described herein without departure from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.