Form fitting fence

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to fences, and in more particular applications, to form fitting fences that follow the contours of the ground.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are a wide variety of fences used for residential neighborhoods ranging from metal to various types of wood and composites. Depending on the type of material, the fence has to be designed to withstand the environment which includes wind, water and other chemicals.

Metal fences are often galvanized to withstand the environment whereas various treatments are available for wood fences depending on the type of wood. Such treatments available for wood fences include painting, staining, pressure treating and other similar processes. Additionally, wood fences are often installed so that they do not touch the ground as the wood may stay wet longer and proceed to rot faster.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one form, a fence system for following the contours of a surface is provided. The fence system includes a plurality of generally cylindrically shaped slats. Each slat has an upper portion, a lower portion, a body extending between the upper and lower portions, at least one groove extending along the body and at least one protrusion extending outwardly from the body. The protrusion of a first slat is insertable within the groove of a second slat and the protrusion of a third slat is insertable within the groove of the first slat. The protrusions and grooves maintain the slats adjacent one another and permit relative movement of the slats to follow the contours of a surface.

In accordance with one form, the slats are generally right circular cylindrically shaped.

According to one form, the at least one groove and the at least one protrusion are located substantially 180 degrees from one another on the body of each slat.

In yet another form, the at least one groove and the at least one protrusion are located less than 180 degrees from one another to provide a curved fence.

In accordance with one form, each slat comprises a plurality of protrusions.

In one form, each slat comprises a plurality of grooves.

According to one form, the at least one groove has a first width and the at least one protrusion includes an extended portion and a retaining portion. The extended portion having a second width approximately equal the first width and the retaining portion having a third width larger than the first and second widths.

In accordance with one form, each groove includes an insertion opening sized to permit the retaining portion to be inserted within the groove.

In one form, the at least one groove extends the entire length of the body from the upper portion to the lower portion.

According to one form, the protrusions are screws.

In one form, the slats are made of polyvinyl chloride.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial cutaway side view of a fence system for following the contours of the ground;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side view indicating portions of slats which may be removed to create a level upper surface;

FIG. 3A is a side view of one embodiment of a groove on a slat;

FIG. 3B is a side view of an alternative groove on a slat which runs the entire length of the slat;

FIG. 4A is a side view of one embodiment of a protrusion for use in a fence system;

FIG. 4B is a side view of an alternative embodiment of a protrusion for use in a fence system;

FIG. 5A is a top view of one embodiment of cylindrical slat;

FIG. 5B is a top view of another embodiment of a cylindrical slat;

FIG. 5C is a top view of yet another embodiment of a cylindrical slat;

FIG. 6A is a top view depicting one orientation of the fence system;

FIG. 6B is a top view of another orientation of the fence system; and,

FIG. 6C is a top view of yet another orientation of the fence system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a partial cutaway view of a fence system 10 is shown. The fence system 10 includes a plurality of generally cylindrical slats 12. Each slat has an upper portion 14, a lower portion 16 and a body 18 extending between the upper and lower portions 14,16. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3-4, each slat 12 includes at least one groove 20 extending longitudinally along the body 18 and at least one protrusion 22 extending outwardly from the body 18.

As seen in FIG. 1, there are at least three slats, 30,32,34. The first slat 30 has at least one protrusion 22, such as protrusion 36 which is insertable within a groove 20, such as groove 38 of the second slat 32. Additionally, a protrusion 22, such as protrusion 40 of the third slat 34 is insertable within a groove 20, such as groove 42 of the first slat 30. The grooves 38,42 and protrusions 36,40 maintain the slats 30, 32, 34 adjacent one another while still permitting relative movement of the slats 30, 32, 34.

The grooves 20 will now be discussed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3A-B. The grooves 20 may take a wide variety of forms as understood by those skilled in the art. For example, the groove 20 may be take the form of groove 40 such that it does not extend the entire length of the slat 18. The groove 40 has a width, as illustrated at 42. The groove 40 may also include an insertion opening 44 having a width, as illustrated at 46. In an alternative embodiment, the groove 20 may extend the entire length of the body 18 from the upper portion 14 to the lower portion 16, as illustrated as groove 48 in FIG. 3B. In this form, the groove 48 may or may not include an insertion opening 44.

The protrusions 22 will now be discussed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4A-B. The protrusions 22 may take a wide variety of forms as understood by those skilled in the art. For example, the protrusions 22 may take the form as shown as protrusion 50 in FIG. 3A. This protrusion 50 has an extended portion 52 and a retaining portion 54. The protrusion 50 also has a first width, as illustrated at 56 representing the width of the extended portion 52. The protrusion 50 also has a second width 58, as illustrated at 58 representing the width of at least a portion of the retention portion 54. In an alternative embodiment, the protrusion 22 may take the form of protrusion 60, as illustrated in FIG. 4B. This protrusion 60 includes similar features to those discussed above. Furthermore, the protrusion 60 may take the form of a screw which includes threads 62.

The slats 12 may also take a variety of forms, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 5A-C. For example, slat 70 in FIG. 5A is in the form of a right circular cylindrical shape. Slat 72 in FIG. 5B represents another embodiment in the form of more of an oval cylindrical shape. In yet another embodiment, shown in FIG. 5C, slat 74 is in the form of a flattened tube cylindrical shape. However, those skilled in the art will understand that other shapes are also contemplated without departing from the scope of the present fence system. Additionally, the slats 12 may be made from a variety of materials known to those skilled in the art. In one form, the slats 12 are made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The use and installation of the fence system 10 and the associated components will now be discussed in detail. Most, if not all of the slats 18 in the system will include both a groove 20 and a protrusion 22. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, most, if not all of the slats 18 will include multiple grooves 20 and protrusions 22. The protrusions 22 can be fastened to the slats 12 in any conventional manner such as gluing, melting or the like. In one embodiment, where the protrusions 22 take the form of screws, such as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the protrusions can be fastened to the slats 12 by screwing the protrusion into the body 18 of the slats 12. The grooves 20 can be created by methods known to those skilled in the art such as by machining the slats 12 and/or forming the slats with the grooves 20 already part of the slat 12.

Installation of the fence system 10 requires the insertion of the protrusion(s) 22 of one slat 12 into the groove(s) 20 of an adjacent slat 12. As shown in the figures, the width 58 of at least a portion of the retaining portion 54 is larger than the width 42 of the groove 20. Therefore, the protrusions 22 are either inserted into the insertion opening 44 and/or slid down the entire length of the body 18 from either the upper portion 14 or the lower portion 16. Once the protrusions 22 are inserted through the groove 20, the retaining portion 54 will help retain the slats 12 adjacent one another. It should also be noted that in one form the width 42 of the groove is approximately equal the width 56 of the extended portion 52. The extended portion 52 is located within groove 20 and by making the widths 42,56 approximately equal, the connection between adjacent slats 12 may be strengthened.

It should be noted that the grooves 20 have a length extending longitudinally along the body 18. This length permits the protrusions 22 to move up and down and therefore position the adjacent slats 12 upwardly and downwardly relative to one another as necessary to accommodate the contour of a surface. Furthermore, additional protrusions 22 may be added and/or removed depending on how the grooves 20 and protrusions 22 align to follow the contour of a surface.

Referring to FIG. 2, a fence system 12 is shown as installed along a surface 80, such as a residential yard. As can be readily seen, the surface 80 is not perfectly flat and therefore, the fence system 10 has been adjusted to follow the contour of the surface 80. The protrusions 22 and groove 20 permit adjacent slats 12 to move upwardly and downwardly relative to one another. As illustrated in phantom, sections 90 of the upper portions 14 of certain slats 12 have been removed to that the tops of the slats 12 are even, regardless of the contour of the surface 80. In one embodiment, caps (not shown) may be installed along the upper portions 14 of the slats 12 to prevent water and debris from entering the slats. Additionally, the slats 12 may be sealed in other manners known to those skilled in the art.

The orientation of the grooves 20 and protrusions 22 relative to one another on a single slat 12 may be adjust as desired to produce a variety of configurations of fence systems 10, such as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-C. As seen in FIG. 6A, the grooves 20 and protrusions 22 are located approximately 180 degrees from one another on each slat 12 such that the fence system 10 is configured in a straight line. As illustrated in FIG. 6B, the grooves 20 and protrusions 22 are located less than 180 degrees from one another on each slat 12 such that the fence system 10 is configured in an arced shape. As illustrated in FIG. 6C, the groove 20 and protrusion 22 are located approximately 90 degrees from one another to produce a corner post 100. It should be understood that other orientations of the grooves 20 and protrusions 22 are also contemplated. Additionally, it should be understood that slats 12 having varying orientations of grooves 20 and protrusions 22 may be mixed to produce a desired configuration of fence system 10.