UNITIZED UPRIGHT FENCE/RAILING SET

ENSEMBLE DE CLOTURE-LISSAGE VERTICAL UNITISE

English Abstract

A unitized upright fence/railing set that
comprises of: posts, upper beam, lower beam,
and multiple enclosed railings that are placed in
between the upper beam and the lower beam. By
using the joint components, the posts are joined
together with the upper beam and the lower
beam. The posts are square tubes, and during
production, the surface of the posts are carved
with mortises which are to be punctured through
during fence assembly by the corresponding
tenons on the joint components, so that the
beams can be locked and secured in place onto
the posts. The configuration of the present
invention allows for easy handling and carrying
of the dissembled fences/railings, and allows for
the subsequent effortless fence/railing assembly.

French Abstract

Un ensemble de clôture-lissage unitisé qui comprend des poteaux, une poutre supérieure, une poutre inférieure et de multiples lissages fermés qui sont placés entre la poutre supérieure et la poutre inférieure. En utilisant des composants de joint, les poteaux sont joints ensemble avec la poutre supérieure et la poutre inférieure. Les poteaux sont des tubes carrés et, pendant la production, la surface des poteaux est sculptée avec des mortaises qui sont perforées pendant l'assemblage de la clôture par les tenons correspondants sur les composants de joint, de façon que les poutres sont verrouillées et fixées en place sur les poteaux. La configuration de la présente invention permet une manipulation et un transport faciles des clôtures-lissages, et permet un assemblage sans effort subséquent de la clôture-lissage.

Claims

What is claimed is:


1. A unitized upright fence/railing set, which
comprises of:

a set of posts, on the surface of which
carved with key-hole shape mortises that can be
punctured through by the corresponding tenons
for component securing purposes;

a set of beams, which includes an upper
beam and a lower beam, and both beams are
placed in between a set of posts;

a number of enclosed railings, which are
vertically erected in between the upper beam
and the lower beam;

a number of cap plates, which are placed in
between the enclosed railings, and are located
on the upper beam and the lower beam;

a first joint component, which is used for
joining the posts with the upper beam; on one
end is an insertion plug that has an all-around
jagged strip surface and it can be fully inserted
into the upper beam, while the other end
contains tenons that are inserted through and
secured in place at the punctured mortises on
the posts;



12



a second joint component, which is used to
join together a lower beam with the posts; on
one end is an insertion plug that has an all-
around jagged strip surface and it can be fully
inserted into the lower beam, while the other
end contains tenons that are inserted through
and secured in place at the punctured mortises
on the posts.

2. The unitized upright fence/railing set as
claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the upper portion of the upper beam is a
casing tube, at the bottom interior of the casing
tube is an internally protruding convex seat,
which is to be used for receiving and holding
the insertion plug of the first joint component;
on both sides at the bottom of the convex seat
extended downward a set of side panels, where a
strip of tenon is formed on each inner wall of
the side panels; and at the bottom edges of the
side panels are outward tilting brims;

the lower portion of the lower beam is a
casing tube, which is to be used for receiving
and holding the insertion plug of the second
joint component; side panels are extended
upward from both sides of the casing tube, a



13



strip of tenon is formed on each inner wall of
the side panels, and at the upper edges of the
side panels are outward tilting brims;

on the bodies near the upper end and the
lower end of the enclosed railing are carved
with mortises, when an enclosed railing is to be
joined to the upper beam and the lower beam,
the upper end and the bottom end of the
enclosed railing are inserted in between the side
panels of the upper beam and the side panels of
the lower beam respectively; and after insertion,
the mortises on the enclosed railing lock the
tenons of side panels of both the upper beam and
the lower beam such that the enclosed railing is
gripped by the upper beam and the lower beam;

the cap plate is in arch shape, which contains
grips at both edges of the inward bending sides
of the cap plate that grip the outward tilting
brims of the side panels on both the upper beam
and the lower beam, and as a result, separates
and clasps two enclosed railings in their places.
3. The unitized upright fence/railing set as
claimed in claim 1, wherein the posts, the beams,
the enclosed railings, and the cap plates are all
aluminum alloy extrusions.



14

Description

CA 02638709 2008-08-14

UNITIZED UPRIGHT FENCE/RAILING SET
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention:

The present invention relates to a unitized
upright fence/railing set, in particular, it refers
to fence/railing components that are aluminum
extruded, and the components are joined with

one another by mortises and tenons so that users
can easily assemble or dissemble the
fences/railings and store them away.

Description of Prior Art:

Fences or railings have become part of our
daily lives long time ago. As . part of interior
designs, fences/railings can be used to segregate
different parts of the living quarters.
Fences/railings can also be helpful to the

2o elderly or the sick, so that they are able to move
around by using them as supports.
Fences/railings can also be used to protect
babies or young children with the proper
enclosures. For the outside of the houses,
fences/railings are mostly used in hallways.

1


CA 02638709 2008-08-14

In general, most of the existing fences or
railings are made of wood. In order to
strengthen the overall fence/railing structures,
some parts of the structures may be made of

metallic material. Nevertheless, whether they
are made of wood or metallic material, the
different parts are drilled and then locked in
place with screws. The resulting structure is not
only heavy to carry or to transport, but also
difficult to assemble or dissemble.

In view of the technical deficiencies arisen
in the prior art, the inventor has dedicated great
efforts studying various approaches against the
above mentioned deficiencies; after

continuously researching and experimenting, the
inventor ultimately brings about the formulation
and design of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of present invention is to
provide a unitized upright fence%railing set that
comprises of posts, beams and enclosed railings,

so to form a structure that is easy to be
2


CA 02638709 2008-08-14

assembled /dissembled, and to be stored away.
Accordirig to the unitized upright
fence/railing set of present. inventi'on, after the
posts are manufactured, at the locations on the

surface of the posts where the posts and the
upper beam or the lower beam are to be joined,
key-hole shape mortises are carved on the posts.
During assembly, these mortises are punctured
to allow tenons on the beams to be inserted

through the holes and thus the posts and the
beams are joined and locked in place. Prior to
assembly, the mortises are not punctured so to
maintain smoothness of the post surfaces; it also
avoids potential rust formation around the

mortises, and it avoids unwanted objects to get
inside the posts through the mortises; it further
avoids potential damages to the edges of the
mortises. Therefore, this is the second object of
present invention.

A more complete understanding of these and
other features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from a careful
consideration of the following detailed
description of certain embodiments illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.

3 .


CA 02638709 2008-08-14

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plain view of the assembled unit
of present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of present
invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the "mortise
and tenon" components of present invention.

FIG. 4 is another enlarged view of the
io "mortise and tenon" components of present
invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the
assembled unit of present invention with its post,
upper beam and lower beam.

1 5

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS

As shown in Fig. 1, the unitized upright
fence/railing set of present invention comprises
of: posts 1, upper beam 2, lower beam 3 and
multiple enclosed railings 4 that are placed

between the upper beam 2 and the lower beam 3.
4


CA 02638709 2008-08-14

All of the above components are aluminum alloy
extrusions.

In reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the posts 1
are placed at both sides of the fence/railing; in
the case that the overall fencing is too long,

additional post(s) 1 may be added in between
along the length of the entire fencing to
strengthen the fence/railing structure.

Between two posts, there are an upper beam
io 2 and a lower beam 3; between the upper beam .2
and the lower beam 3, there are multiple vertical
enclosed railings 4, the top ends and the bottom
ends of the enclosed railings 4 are individually
inserted into the upper beam 2 and the lower

is beam 3 respectively; between each enclosed
railing 4, there is a cap plate 5 that separates
and clasps the two enclosed railings in their
places.

As shown in the Figures, a top cap 11 is set
20 on top of each post 1, the said top caps 11 can
be cone-shaped, round, or in other, shapes. At
the bottom of top caps 11, there are downwardly
extended long tenons 12 that would match
themselves with the mortises 13. The mortises

25 13 are carved -at the inside walls of the posts,
5


CA 02638709 2008-08-14

and the locations . of the mortises 13 are in
correspondence with the tenons 12. During
assembly, top caps 11 are settled on top of the
posts 1 by inserting the tenons 12 into the

corresponding mortises 13. Posts I are square
tubes, after the posts 1 are manufactured, at the
locations on the posts 1 where the posts 1 and
the upper beam 2 or the lower beam 3 are to be
joined, two key-hole shape mortises 14 are

io carved on each location of the posts 1; the
formation of these mortises 14 are wider on the
top and narrower on the bottom. During
assembly, these mortises 14 are punctured to
allow tenons on the beams to be inserted through

the holes 15. At the bottoms of the posts I are
attached with bottom caps 16.

The upper portion of the upper beam 2 is a
square casing tube 21. At the bottom interior of
the casing tube 21 is an internally protruding

convex seat 22. On both sides at the bottom of
the convex seat 22 extended downward a set of
side panels 23. A strip of tenon 24 is formed on
each inner wall of the side panels 23, and at the
bottom edges of the side panels 23 are outward
tilting brims 25. .

6


CA 02638709 2008-08-14

The lower portion of the lower beam 3 is a
square casing tube 31. Side panels 32 are
extended upward from both sides of the casing
tube 31. A strip of tenon 33 is formed on each

inner walls of the side panels 32, and at the
upper edges of the side panels 32 are outward
tilting brims 34.

On the bodies near the upper ends and the
lower ends of the enclosed railings 4 are
respectively mortises 41 and 42. When an

enclosed railing 4 is joined to the upper beam 2
and the lower beam 3, as shown in Fig. 5, the
upper end and the bottom end of the enclosed
railing are inserted respectively in between the

side panels 23 of the upper beam 2 and the side
panels 32 of the lower beam 3. Under the
principle of "mortise and tenon" joint, after
insertion, the mortises 41 and 42 on the
enclosed railing lock the tenons 24 of side

panels 23 of the upper beam 2 and tenons 33 of
side panels 32 of the lower beam 3 respectively,
such that the enclosed railing is tightly gripped
by the upper beam 2 and the lower beam 3. After
the enclosed railings 4 are locked in place, cap

plates 5 are placed over and thus cover the
7


CA 02638709 2008-08-14

openings between each pair of side panels 23 (or
32).

As shown in the Figures, the cap plates 5
are in arch shapes. The grips 51, 52 at both
s edges of the inward bending sides of the cap

plates grip the outward tilting brims 25, 34 at
the side panels 23, 32 respectively, thus the cap
plates can be locked in their places.

A first joint component 6 is used to join an
io upper beam 2 and a post 1 together. On one end
of the joint component 6 is an insertion plug 61
which has the all-around jagged strip surface.
The insertion plug 61 can be fully inserted into
the casing tube 21 of the upper beam 2. On the

15 other end of the joint component, 6 are two
tenons 62. The two tenons 62 are inserted
through and secured in place at the punctured
mortises 15 that are on post 1, and as such,,
posts 1 and upper beams 2 are joined and locked
20 in place.

A second joint component 7 is used to join
a lower beam 3 and a post I together. On one
end of the joint component 7 is an insertion plug
71 which has the all-around jagged strip surface.

25 The insertion plug 71 can be fully inserted into
8


CA 02638709 2008-08-14

the casing tube 31 of the lower beam 3. O.n the
other end of the joint component 7 are two
tenons 72. The two tenons 72 are inserted
through and secured in place at the punctured

mortises 15 that are on post 1, and as such,
posts 1 and lower beams 3 are joined and locked
in place.

By using the above unitized upright
fence/railing set of present invention, the
io number of units to be used for fencing can be

determined based on the location and the size of
enclosure required. The spacing between the
enclosed railings can also be determined based
on age of the users (e.g. elderly vs. children) or

based on the purpose that the fences/railings are
to be used for. Since there is no direct exposed
opening or hole on the surface of the posts at
the time they are being manufactured, when the
posts are not in use as part of a fence/railing,

the posts would neither be subjected to
unwanted objects getting inside the posts, nor
be subjected to rust formation. In addition,
during assembly, partially completed
fence/railing can be fairly steady and stable as

the all-aroun-d ragged strip surface insertion
9


CA 02638709 2008-08-14

plugs ar'e used as parts of the joint components;
furthermore, by using the "mortise and tenon"
principle-based joint co'mponents, the assembly
of the entire fencing structure becomes
effortless and flexible.

From the above comprehensive illustrations,
the unitized upright fence/railing set of present
invention, of which each component is aluminum
alloy extrusion, the overall finished

1 0 fence/railing is very light in weight. By using
the "mortise and tenon" principle-based
component assembly and securing, it allows the
application of the fences/railings to be varied or
modified freely in accordance with the

is particular venues that the fences/railings are to
be used for. Therefore, the unitized upright
fence/railing set of present invention allows
flexibility in assembly. Furthermore, the
present invention has the structural composition

20 that enables the enclosed railings and posts to
be held tightly to the ground. With the above
combinations, even the fence is to be located in
countryside, the ' fence would still be
sufficiently sturdy to endure heavy wind and/or
25 rain storms, or the attacks of wild animals.



CA 02638709 2008-08-14

As a result, the present invention can be
concluded to be one creative configuration, and
therefore the application is made in accordance
with the specific provisions regarding inventi.ve

patents per stated in the relevant Patent Law.
Although the present invention has been
described with a certain degree of particularity,
the present disclosure has been made by way of
example and changes in details of structure may

io be made without departing from the spirit
thereof.

11

Representative Drawing