US20240401368A1

US20240401368A1 - Fence Post Guide Assembly

Info

Publication number: US20240401368A1
Application number: US18/205,043
Authority: US
Inventors: Osvaldo Figueroa
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2023-06-02
Filing date: 2023-06-02
Publication date: 2024-12-05

Abstract

A fence post guide assembly is disclosed that includes a fence post and a fence post guide for assisting the installation of the fence post in a desired orientation. The fence post guide includes a housing member that is configured to encircle the fence post and a plurality of support members attached to the housing member. Spikes on the bottom surface of the support members extend into the ground to hold the housing member and fence post therein in a desired vertical orientation. The housing member and attached support members are placed at or near ground level so that the fence post is maintained in a desired vertical orientation without additional parts or equipment and no or minimal physical effort by an installer of the fence post.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND

Fence post ground engagement supports used to secure fence posts into the ground typically employ a hollow upper section to receive the post and a ground engagement spike extending therefrom. These supports usually employ a driving block that is temporarily inserted into a hollow post receiver and then driven in to the ground. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,709,366, 4,874,149, 4,923, 164 and 5,340,065 which show various post engagements.
Installing fence posts can be difficult to do accurately and quickly. Two installers are needed to measure, level, align and support the fence posts. Also the installers repeatedly need to adjust the position of the posts during installation.
A need exists to facilitate fence post installation using a device that may enable a single installer to accurately and quickly install fence posts with minimal effort.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a fence post guide assembly that includes a fence post and a fence post guide for use in the installation of the fence post in a desired orientation. The fence post guide includes a housing member that is configured to encircle the fence post and a plurality of support members attached to the housing member. Spikes on the bottom surface of the support members extend into the ground to hold the housing member and fence post therein in a desired vertical orientation without additional parts and with no or minimal physical effort by an installer of the post member. The fence post guide includes: an open-ended housing member for receiving a post member. The housing member may have a circular cross section such as a cylindrical cross section or a multi-sided cross section such as quadrilateral cross sections, including square and rectangular cross sections.
A plurality of support members is attached to the housing member and extends outwardly from the sides of the housing member. Each support member has an upper surface and a lower surface wherein one or more spikes, typically four spikes, extend downwardly from the lower surface of one or more support members. The spikes are configured so that a portion of one or more of the spikes extends below ground level. The cross section of the housing member corresponds with the cross section of the post member so that the housing member may slide over the post member and positioned at ground level so that the post member guide supports the post member in a desired orientation with no or minimal physical effort by an installer of the post member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a top perspective view of a quadrilateral fence post guide with support members extending from the corners.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the fence post guide with support members extending outwardly.

FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of a support member with attached spikes extending from the bottom surface of the support member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The fence post guide assembly disclosed herein includes a fence post and a fence post guide that employs a housing member having an upper and lower opening, a plurality of support members joined to the housing member proximate to the lower opening of the housing member, wherein each support member has an upper surface and a bottom surface. The bottom surfaces of a plurality of the support members include a plurality of vertically extending, elongated spikes.
The support members are parallel to and substantially coplanar with the lower opening of the housing member. One skilled in the art can determine the extent to which support members should be parallel to and coplanar with the lower opening in order to hold the housing and any fence post therein in a desired orientation such as a vertical orientation when the housing member is at the base end of the fence post without additional parts or equipment and with no or minimum physical effort by an installer of the fence post.
The parts of the guide may be made of various materials such as metals and plastic material. Specific characteristics and dimensions of the guide can be determined by one skilled in the art depending on several factors, including but not limited to, its use, the characteristics of the fence post, and the environment in which the guide is used.
When the guide is used in a typical outdoor environment, a hole is formed in the ground so that a fence post can be inserted to a desired depth. The fence post is inserted in the hole and the housing member is placed so that the housing member encircles the fence post.
The housing member and attached support members are placed at or near ground level so that the spikes on the bottom surface of the support member extend into the ground in a manner sufficient to hold the housing member and fence post therein in a desired vertical orientation. The length of the spikes on each of the support members may be adjusted to obtain a desired vertical orientation of the fence post. Typically, bubble levels on the surface of the housing member may be used to achieve a desired vertical orientation. Once the desired vertical orientation is achieved, a filling material such as concrete may be placed in the hole to hold the fence post in place when the guide is removed.
The housing member has a horizontal cross section concentric to the fence post being installed. The housing member may have a cylindrical shape or a shape formed from a plurality of intersecting wall members. The housing member includes an upper opening and a lower opening. An embodiment wherein the housing member is formed from intersecting walls configured to hold a quadrilateral fence post is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . Four side wall members 1, 2, 3, and 4 intersect to form an open-ended housing member 25 having integral upper and lower corners. Preferably, there is a level 20 on at least two of the wall members to aid in vertical installation of the fence post. One or more of the wall members may include perforations 22 for fasteners to secure the fence post to the housing member.
The support members are joined to the sides and/or intersections of the sides of the housing member and are configured as arms that extend radially proximate to the lower opening of the housing member. The support members are parallel with and substantially coplanar with the lower opening of the housing member at or close to ground level wherein the support members are configured to support the housing member and any fence post therein without additional parts or equipment and with no or minimal effort by an installer. Preferably, the lower opening of the housing member and the bottom surface of the support members are substantially coplanar at ground level to support any fence post therein with no or minimal physical effort by an installer of the fence post.
The dimensions and number of support members can be determined by one skilled in the art so that they are sufficient to hold the housing member and fence post therein in a vertical orientation with no or minimal physical effort by an installer of the fence post depending on several factors, including but not limited to, the characteristics of the fence post, and the environment in which the post assistant is used.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , four support members 12, 14, 23 and 34 extend radially from each of the corners formed by wall members 1, 2, 3, and 4 near lower opening 15 of the housing member. The bottom surfaces are parallel to and substantially coplanar with the lower opening 15 of the housing member. As shown in FIG. 3 , an embodiment of a support member has an upper surface 30 and a bottom surface 35 wherein four spikes 43 extend from the bottom surface. The support member shown in FIG. 3 is configured for attachment to a lower corner of the housing member.
The bottom surfaces of the support members include a plurality of vertically extending, elongated spikes configured to anchor the guide to the ground. The spikes on bottom surfaces of the support members extend vertically into the ground in a manner sufficient to hold the housing member and fence post therein in a vertical orientation. FIGS. 1 and 3 show a typical support member 23 having a set of four spikes 43 extending from the bottom surface 35.
The dimensions and number of spikes depend on several factors, including but not limited to, the characteristics of the fence post and the environment in which the guide is used. One skilled in the art can determine appropriate dimensions, number and other characteristics of the spikes so that they hold the housing and any fence post therein in a vertical orientation with no or minimal physical effort by an installer of the fence post
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.

Claims

1. A fence post guide assembly comprising in combination an elongated fence post member and a fence post member guide for orienting the fence post member in a desired orientation,

wherein the housing member comprises an upper opening aligned with a lower opening, the housing member having a circular cross section or a quadrilateral cross section comprising a plurality of connected sides wherein the upper opening is aligned with the lower opening to receive the fence post member there through,

wherein a plurality of support members having an upper surface and a bottom surface are attached to the sides of the housing member proximate to the lower opening of the housing member wherein the support members are configured to extend outwardly from the housing member and are parallel to and substantially coplanar with the lower opening of the housing member; and

wherein a plurality of spikes extends downwardly from the bottom surfaces of the support members.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the desired orientation is a vertical orientation.

3. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising bubble levels on sides of the housing member.

4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the support members are attached to intersections of the sides of the housing member.

5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the support members are configured as arms extending outwardly from the housing member and at least a plurality of spikes extends below ground level when the lower opening of the housing member is proximate to ground level.

6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the housing member has a quadrilateral cross section.

7. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the quadrilateral section is square.

8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein four spikes extend downwardly from the lower surfaces of the support member.

9. A post member guide for orienting a post member in a desired orientation comprising,

a housing member having an upper opening and a lower opening, the housing member having a circular surface or a plurality of connected sides wherein the upper opening is aligned with the lower opening to receive an elongated post member there through,

a plurality of support members having an upper surface and a bottom surface attached to sides of the housing member proximate to the lower opening of the housing member wherein the support members are configured to extend radially outwardly from the housing member and are parallel to and substantially coplanar with the lower opening of the housing member; and

a plurality of spikes extends from the bottom surfaces of the support members.

10. The guide of claim 9 further comprising bubble levels on sides of the housing member.

11. The guide of claim 9 wherein the support members are attached to intersections of the sides of the housing member.

12. The guide of claim 9 wherein the support members are configured as arms extending outwardly from the housing member and at least a plurality of spikes extends below ground level when the lower opening of the housing member is proximate to ground level.

13. A post assistant guide for orienting a fence post at or below ground level, the guide having a housing having a quadrilateral cross section wherein the guide comprises,

an open ended housing member having an upper opening, a lower opening, and four intersecting sides configured to form corners;

four support members, each support member having an upper surface and a lower surface wherein each support member is attached to sides of the housing member proximate the lower opening of the housing member and is substantially coplanar with the lower opening of the housing member; and

one or more spikes extends downwardly from the lower surface of the support members wherein the support members and the spikes are configured so that a portion of one or more of the spikes extends below ground level,

wherein the cross section of the housing member corresponds with the cross section of the fence post member to enable the housing member to slide over the fence post member so that the support members are positioned proximate to ground level so that a portion of one or more of the spikes is below ground to support the fence post member in a vertical orientation.

14. The guide of claim 13 wherein four spikes extend downwardly from the lower surfaces of the support members.

15. The guide of claim 13 wherein the quadrilateral section is square.

16. The guide of claim 13 wherein the support members are attached to the housing member at the corners of the housing member proximate the lower opening of the housing member.

17. The guide of claim 13 wherein the housing member further comprises two or more bubble levels.

18. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the fence post member guide comprises:

an open ended housing member having a quadrilateral cross section, an upper opening, a lower opening, and four intersecting sides configured to form corners;