Fence

Abstract

A fence has a connecting member to join an upper fence and a lower fence together. The connecting member consists of an upper fastening bar transversely positioned on the bottom of each post of the up per fence, a lower fastening bar also transversely positioned on the top of each post of the lower fence, and a connecting tube that is cut with an inserting groove in its bottom and plural holes bored on its top respectively for each post of the upper fence to insert. Two positioning segments are formed inside the connecting tube to respectively fix with the upper fastening bar and the lower fastening bar. A connecting pin has its two ends respectively inserted into each post of the upper fence and also each post of the lower fence to keep the two posts joined together. Thus, the fence can be easily assembled and raised with its height without discarding original posts.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a fence, particularly to one having its screws invisibly installed, and its upper fence and its lower fence conveniently assembled together.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Commonly, a conventional fence or the like made of metal is composed of plural rails (at least an upper one and a lower one), and plural posts cross-linked with the rails. Each intersection of the rails and the posts is fastened by a screw. But, if the fence is to be heightened, it is always done either by replacing the posts with longer ones, posing a high cost, or by being welded with additional posts, possible to smear the fence.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of this invention is to offer a fence able to be easily assembled and raised with height.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

This invention is better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a planar view of a first preferred embodiment of a fence in the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial exploded planar view of the first preferred embodiment of a fence in the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the mark C in FIG. 3;

FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of the mark B in FIG. 3;

FIG. 3C is an enlarged view of the mark C in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a partial exploded side view of the first preferred embodiment of a fence in the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an assembled cross-sectional view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of a fence in the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial exploded planar view of a third preferred embodiment of a fence in the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is an assembled cross-sectional view of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a first preferred embodiment of a fence in the present invention consists of an upper fence 1 and a lower fence 2, and a connecting member 3 linking the upper fence 1 with the lower fence 2. The connecting member 3 is composed of an upper fastening bar 30, a lower fastening bar 31, a connecting tube 32 and a connecting pin 33.

The upper fastening bar 30, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 3B, is formed as a straight strip, transversely positioned on the lower sidewall of each post 10 of the upper fence 1 by being sideward fastened by a screw 300 to keep the bottom of the post 10 of the upper fence 1 connected, and having a pushing-and-pulling surface formed on its top.

The lower fastening bar 31, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3C, is also formed as a straight strip, transversely positioned on the upper sidewall of each post 20 of the lower fence 2 by being fastened by a screw 310 to keep each of the posts 20 connected. Also, the upper fastening bar 30 and lower fastening bar 31 are located at the same side.

The connecting tube 32 is provided with an inserting opening 320 cut in its bottom, plural holes 321 bored on its top for the posts 10 to extend therein, an upper positioning segment 322 and a lower positioning segment 323 formed to correspond to the upper fastening bar 30 and the lower fastening bar 31 respectively. The upper positioning segment 322 is used for fixing with the upper fastening bar 30 that is fixed with the bottom of the posts 10 of the upper fence 1 to stably fit in. The lower positioning segment 323 is used for locking with the lower fastening bar 31 that is fixed with the top of the posts 20 of the lower fence 2 to fit in. Extended inward from the edge of the inserting opening 320 is a lower annular supporting projection 324 having a pushing-and-pulling surface. An upper annular blocking projection 325 is projected inward above the lower supporting projection 324 by a distance equal to the height of the lower fastening bar 31. The distance between the upper blocking projection 325 and the top of the connecting tube 32 is equal to the height of the upper fastening bar 30, denoted as the upper positioning segment 322. And, the distance between the lower supporting projection 324 and the upper blocking projection 325 is denoted as the lower positioning segment 323.

The connecting pin 33, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, has its two ends inserted in the post 10 of the upper fence 1 and the post 20 of the lower fence 2 respectively, so as to join the posts 10 and 20 together. Corresponding to the screws 300 and 310 of the upper fastening bar 30 and the lower fastening bar 31, there are two vertical notches 330 respectively cut at the top portion and the lower portion of the connecting pin 33 at the same side, for the tails of the screws 300 and 310 to insert therein. A blocking wall 331 is located between the notches 330, employed to be sandwiched by the screws 300 and 310 to keep the posts 10 and 20 positioned to be linked together without dropping down.

When the upper fence 1 and the lower fence 2 are to be assembled together, first, each connecting pin 33 has to keep its one end inserted in each post 20 of the lower fence 2 and each post 10 of the upper fence 1 has to keep its lower end inserted in the connecting tube 32, with the upper fastening bar 30 fitted in the upper positioning segment 322 of the connecting tube 32. Next, keep the end of each post 10 of the upper fence 1 engaged in the top portion of each corresponding connecting pin 33. By the time, the lower fastening bar 31 located at the top side of the post 20 of the lower fence 2 is to smoothly pass over the pushing-and-pulling surface of the lower supporting projection 324 of the connecting tube 32 to keep the connecting tube 32 positioned in the lower positioning segment 323. So, by means of the connecting pins 33, the posts 10 and 20 of the upper fence 1 and the lower fence 2 are stably joined together, with the upper fastening bar 30 and the lower fastening bar 31 locked in the upper positioning segment 322 and the lower positioning segment 323 respectively, as shown in FIG. 5.

The invention can be not only assembled easily, but also assembled with only one or plural units of the fence depending on diverse requirements of consumers. As for the manufacturers, they can keep a lower amount of stock. If the fence is to be heightened, a user needs first to take a top rail of the fence off the top of the posts 10. Next, fix a new upper fastening bar 31 on the top of the posts 10 and; fix the bottom of the posts 10 of a new upper fence 1 on a new upper fastening bar 30. Then each original post 10 is inserted with one end of a new connecting pin 33; put a new connecting tube 32 combined with the upper fastening bar 30. Then, insert the lower fastening bar 31 fixed on the top of the posts 10 of the original fence into the connecting tube 32 of the new upper fence 1, and insert the bottom of the posts 10 of the new upper fence 1 into the upper portion of the connecting pin 33. Thus, the fence can be raised with its height without discarding any posts of the original fence.

As shown in FIG. 6, a second preferred embodiment of a fence in the present invention has almost the same components as the first embodiment does, except that an additional top annular blocking projection 326 is formed above the upper annular blocking projection 325 to have the lower positioning segment 323 located between the lower annular supporting projection 324 and the upper annular blocking projection 325, and the upper positioning segment 322 located between the upper annular blocking projection 325 and the top annular blocking projection 326.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a third preferred embodiment of a fence in the present invention has its connecting member 3 modified as below. The lower fastening bar 31 fixed on the posts 20 of the lower fence 2 is formed tubular, provided with an opening 311 formed in its bottom to let it smoothly move to mount on the upper portion of each post 20, and plural through holes 313 bored in its top to respectively correspond to each post 10 of the upper fence 1. The lower fastening bar 31 has its one side fixed with the top sidewall of the post 20 by the screw 310, and has its other side curved to form an elastic hook 312 obliquely extended outward from the free end. As defined in the first embodiment, the upper positioning segment 322 is also limited between the top of the connecting tube 32 and the upper annular blocking projection 325 for fixing the upper fastening bar 30, and the lower annular positioning segment 323 is limited between the upper annular blocking projection 325 and the lower annular supporting projection 324 for fixing the lower fastening bar 31. Moreover, the connecting tube 32 is provided with annular locking teeth 327 formed on its inner wall to correspondingly lock with the elastic hook 312 of the lower fastening bar 31.

The advantages of the invention are described below as can be seen from the foresaid description. The screws 300 and 310 used to fasten the rails and the posts 10 and 20 are invisibly installed to enable the fence have an aesthetic appearance. And, there is no need to discard any posts 10 and 20 in case of raising the height of the fence.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications that may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A fence formed by intersection of plural posts and rails and provided with a connecting member to keep its upper fence and its lower fence joined together, said connecting member comprising:

an upper fastening bar transversely positioned on a lower sidewall of each post of said upper fence to keep bottoms of said posts of said upper fence connected;

a lower fastening bar also transversely positioned on an upper sidewall of each post of said lower fence to keep tops of said posts of said upper fence connected;

a connecting tube provided with an inserting opening cut in its bottom, plural holes bored on its top to respectively correspond to each post of said upper fence and to let each said post extend therein, an upper positioning segment and a lower positioning segment formed on an inner wall of said connecting tube to correspond to said upper fastening bar and said lower fastening bar respectively, said upper positioning segment used for engaging with said upper fastening bar fitted with bottoms of said posts 10 of said upper fence, said lower positioning segment used for locking with said lower fastening bar fitted with the tops of said posts 20 of said lower fence; and

a connecting pin having its two ends inserted in each said post of said upper fence and each said post of said lower fence respectively so as to join two said posts together; two vertical notches respectively cut at a top portion and a lower portion of said connecting pin for tails of two screws to move in to keep said posts fixed with said upper fastening bar and said lower fastening bar, a blocking wall located between said notches to be sandwiched by two said screws to keep said posts stably positioned without dropping down.

2. The fence as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting tube is provided with a lower annular supporting projection extended inward from an edge of said inserting opening and having a pushing-and-pulling surface, an upper annular blocking projection projected above said lower annular supporting projection by a distance equal to a height of said lower fastening bar, an upper positioning segment 322 located between said upper annular blocking projection and a top of said connecting tube to be equal to a height of said upper fastening bar, a lower positioning segment 323 located between said upper annular blocking projection and said lower supporting projection.

3. The fence as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting tube is additionally provided with a top annular blocking projection formed above said upper annular blocking projection to make said upper positioning segment limited between said upper annular blocking projection and said top annular blocking projection.

4. The fence as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper fastening bar and said lower fastening bar are formed as straight strips and fixed on a sidewall of each said post by a screw.

5. The fence as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower fastening bar is formed tubular and provided with an opening formed in its bottom to enable itself smoothly move to mount on an upper portion of each said post of said lower fence, a through hole bored in a top of said lower fastening bar to correspond to each said post of said upper fence, said lower fastening bar having its one side fixed with a top sidewall of each said post by said screw and its other side curved to form an elastic hook obliquely extended outward from its free end, said upper positioning segment located between said top of said connecting tube and said upper annular blocking projection for fixing said upper fastening bar, said lower positioning segment located between said upper annular blocking projection and said lower annular supporting projection for fixing said lower fastening bar, said connecting tube provided with annular locking teeth formed on its inner wall to correspondingly lock with said elastic hook of said lower fastening bar.