CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Ser. No. 62/217,075, filed on Sep. 11, 2015, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field

The present disclosure relates to a vinyl fencing system. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a vinyl fencing system to replace an existing wood fence, while utilizing posts of the existing wood fence during installation.

Description Of Related Art

Improved construction of vinyl fences is desired. Often, vinyl fences are installed to replace an existing wood fence. Much of the labor involved with fence installation is consumed by alignment of the fence posts relative to a property line and relative to one another. It has been observed that in many cases, the existing wood posts of the wood fence are structurally sound.

SUMMARY

The present application advantageously discloses a replacement vinyl fence system that may be installed by incorporating existing wood posts of a wood fence being replaced. Reuse of posts reduces demolition costs, reduces construction costs, improves sturdiness of the resulting vinyl fence, and reduces construction time.

In one aspect, the fence system includes vinyl post sleeves that are slipped over and cover the existing wood posts. The fence system also includes vinyl fence panels made of individual vinyl pickets connected along at least a portion of their lengths by connectors. The panels are locked together and are mounted to a surface of the wood posts by fasteners (e.g., screws) that pass through the vinyl fence panels and the vinyl sleeves, and into the wood post. The fence panels are made more rigid using stiffeners, which may be an elongated apparatus made from a metal such as aluminum. The stiffeners may be coupled to horizontal rails located on the fence panels, by use of fasteners (e.g., screws) that extend through the stiffeners, the rails, and into the boards of the panels. Decorative covers may cover joints and fasteners, and a top rail is located over the ends of the boards.

The preceding is a simplified summary of embodiments of the disclosure to provide an understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neither an extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its various embodiments. It is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description presented below. As will be appreciated, other embodiments of the disclosure are possible utilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described in detail below.

The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word â€œmayâ€ is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words â€œincludeâ€ , â€œincludingâ€ , and â€œincludesâ€ mean including but not limited to. To facilitate understanding, like reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate like elements common to the figures. Optional portions of the figures may be illustrated using dashed or dotted lines, unless the context of usage indicates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages of the disclosure are apparent by reference to the detailed description when considered in conjunction with the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale unless clearly stated or implied by the immediately surrounding disclosure, so as to more clearly show the details, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows portions of a vinyl fence system according to the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a portion of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 shows detailed view of portions of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a detailed view of portions of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a frontal view of a vinyl fence system according to the disclosure, installed onto existing wood posts.

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a partially exploded view of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a partially exploded view of a portion of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is an end view of a vinyl fence board of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 8.

FIG. 13 is an end view of a vinyl fence board connector of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 8.

FIG. 14 is a close-up view of a portion of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 8.

FIG. 15 is a close-up perspective view of the fence portion shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a partially exploded view of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is an end view of a stiffener used in the vinyl fence system of FIG. 8.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an end portion of the vinyl fence system of FIG. 8.

FIG. 19 is a partially exploded view of FIG. 18.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosure will be illustrated below in conjunction with an exemplary fencing system. Although well suited for use with, e.g., a fencing system using vinyl vertical member, horizontal members and posts, the disclosure is not limited to use with any particular type of fencing components. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed components may be used in any fencing system in which it is desirable to upgrade a fence without completely replacing all of its components.

A customer may have a traditional wood fence in their yard, e.g., a stockade-style wooden fence having wooden picket panels of standard horizontal length (usually six-foot panel length and six-foot height), side-mounted to wooden posts made of 4â€³Ã—4â€³ timbers. Each wooden picket panel includes a large number of individual vertical pickets (e.g., about 24 pickets), coupled together with a horizontal upper rail and a horizontal lower rail. A wood fence ages very quickly, for example, the wood changes color as it ages unless painted, portions may be subject to insect damage if not properly treated, nails may rust if the wrong type of nails were used, and so forth. Therefore, at some point during ownership, the customer is likely to want to replace the wood fence, or would like to change the look of the wood fence. A vinyl fence offers durability and aesthetic advantages compared to a wooden fence.

Industry standards for new vinyl fencing include eight-foot spacing between vinyl posts. In new installations this usually results in fewer posts needed compared to the six-foot spacing of wooden posts for a new wooden fence. Posts are labor intensive to install (e.g., to dig and set a footing), thus reducing the number of posts reduces the overall labor needed to install a fence.

Upgrading a wooden fence to a vinyl fence traditionally has been a complicated process due to the existing wooden posts. The wooden posts are sunk into the ground and may be anchored with a concrete footing. Traditional upgrade methods involve digging out and removing the wooden posts and their concrete footings, and filling the resulting holes. Then the locations of replacement vinyl posts have to be surveyed and marked, replacement holes for the new vinyl posts have to be dug, and the new vinyl posts have to be installed, including new concrete footings. The process is labor intensive, physically demanding, and requires tools and equipment that a homeowner may not have (e.g., cement mixer, and auger or other post hole digger) and would require a homeowner to buy or rent. Digging new post holes also carries risk of disturbing underground services such as buried utility lines, buried irrigation lines, and so forth. Consequently, a typical homeowner may be discouraged from upgrading an old wooden fence. If the homeowner decides to proceed with an upgraded fence, the homeowner is more likely to hire a contractor to perform the work, further increasing project cost.

However, if the process of upgrading a wooden fence to a vinyl fence could be simplified to something less than the total removal of an old wooden fence and installation of an entirely new vinyl fence, the project cost and schedule may be reduced. The required effort may be reduced to an extent that the homeowner may perform the project himself, thus further reducing project cost. With reduced project cost, the demand for such fence upgrades would likely increase.

Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide a replacement vinyl fence system having a lower project cost to purchase and install, compared to the total removal of an old wooden fence and installation of an entirely new vinyl fence. Embodiments achieve this objective at least in part by removing wood boards, pickets, panels and the like from an existing wood fence. Embodiments retain wooden posts that are still in at least a minimum quality condition, and sheathing the retained wooden posts in vinyl so that the sheathed posts are suitable for coupling to vinyl fence panels and are aesthetically compatible with the rest of the vinyl fence.

Mounting of conventional vinyl panels to a conventional new vinyl fence post involves brackets, which are mounted on a side of the fence post that is perpendicular to a major plane of the vinyl panel. The lateral end edges of the vinyl panels are then coupled to the brackets.

In contrast, embodiments provide for mounting of vinyl panels to a side surface of a vinyl-sheathed post, the side surface being parallel to the major plane of the vinyl panel. Side-surface mounting allows for greater tolerance in the location of sheathed posts compared to the lateral ends of vinyl panels. Tolerance may be important if some wooden posts are unusable and have to be replaced with a new post or if some post have leaned to one side or another but are still otherwise usable. Furthermore, if vinyl panels can be stiffly and securely joined to respective adjacent panels, side-surface mounting may help to decouple (i.e., to remove the mutual dependency upon) post locations from the locations of joints between one panel and an adjacent panel. For example, panels do not necessarily need to join at a location of a post.

A problem with sheathing of an existing wooden post is that as the post ages, it normally tends to lean or curve so that the post is no longer vertically oriented, or is less vertically oriented. The lean or curve may be caused by, e.g., rot, soil erosion or settling, accidents (e.g., impacts with falling branches, lawn tractors, etc.), pull from attached panels, and the like. The wooden post may lean in any direction, so over time the exact spacing between adjacent posts may vary from one pair of posts to another pair, even if they had been installed initially with equal spacing (e.g., 6-foot spacing). Preferably, embodiments are able to accommodate a relatively large range of degree of lean or curve in the wooden posts, for example, up to about a 35 degree to 40 degree of lean in any direction from vertical. Some embodiments may be adapted to accommodate a greater degree of lean or curvature in a plane parallel to the major surface of the fence panels, compared to a plane not parallel to the major surface of the fence panels. The adaptation may be by way of attaching a panel to a wooden post by use of a horizontal rail that runs across substantially the entire length of the panel. As long as there is a usable a surface to attach the horizontal rail to the wooden post, then the panel can be attached to the wooden post via the horizontal rail.

If the lean or curve is of such magnitude that it is not feasible or possible to reuse the wooden post, it will be replaced with a new vertical post.

FIG. 1 illustrates a side plan view of a portion 10 of a replacement vinyl privacy fence system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The privacy vinyl fence system is usable to replace an existing wood fence, while utilizing posts of the existing wood fence. Portion 10 includes two fence panels 14, each fence panel 14 including a plurality of pickets 20. Pickets 20 are coupled together by use of an upper horizontal rail 18 and lower horizontal rail 118.

Privacy fence panels typically are constructed with six-inch wide pickets. They are assembled (e.g., glued together, snapped together) in order to be expandable. The new construction vinyl privacy fence panel is normally eight feet wide and six feet high, whereas the wood panel is normally six feet wide and also six feet high. A six-foot wide panel is easier to transport in a pickup truck, SUV or van, and therefore it would be more attractive to the do-it-yourself homeowner, for assembly at the job site, if replacement privacy vinyl panels were available in six-foot widths.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded oblique view of portion 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fence panels 14 each are configured to be stiff using stiffeners 16 positioned inside horizontal rails 18, 118 of the fence panels 14, with fasteners, such as screws S, extending through the stiffeners 16, the rails 18 or 118, and into pickets 20 of the fence panels 14. The individual pickets 20 of the fence panels 14 are configured to connect to one another along their vertical lengths by use of connectors 22. Decorative covers 24 and 26 snap over the locations of the fasteners and at the ends of the rails 18, 118, respectively. Decorative top covers 28 and end caps 30 are fixedly attached over the tops and ends of the pickets 20, respectively. In some embodiments, connectors 22 may include barbs or the like to resist (including discouraging or preventing) their removal from between pickets 20.

An advantage of using connectors 22 is that in some installations it might be necessary to change the length of panel 14 to make it fit better, either to shorten panel 14 by removing one or more pickets 20, or to lengthen panel 14 by adding one or more pickets 20. Pickets 20 can be slid in and out of panel 14 when connectors 22 are used.

In other embodiments that do not use connectors 22, pickets 20 can be removed by snapping them out. In another embodiment, a traditional tongue-in-groove or dovetail joint may be used to attach adjacent pickets 22. In another embodiment, glue may be used to couple adjacent pickets.

Stiffeners 16 help ensure that two panels joined together will not become detached or ripped apart under stress. Stiffeners 16 also stiffen the panel body itself. Stiffener 16 is illustrated in the figures as an insert inside upper horizontal rail 18 and/or lower horizontal rail 118. Stiffener 16 is made from a stiff and non-brittle material such as steel, thick aluminum, vinyl, a stiff plastic such as PVC or an acrylic. Stiffeners 16 are included in order to pass a wind load test. A vinyl privacy fence, unlike a wood fence, is subject to a wind load test in some parts of the country (e.g., Florida). The wind load test helps ensure the fence will survive expected wind loads produce by severe storms such as tropical storms. Stiffeners 16 should be stiff enough to allow the fence to pass the wind load test. The wind load test conditions typically include a gust component and a sustained wind component. The gust component is, e.g., a three-second wind gust at 120 miles an hour, without causing a fence panel to detach. The sustained wind component is, e.g., a five minute sustained wind of 65 miles per hour, without causing a fence panel to detach.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded oblique view of fence panel 14 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates a pair of upper horizontal rails 18 and a pair of lower horizontal rails 118, disposed on opposite major sides of fence panel 14.

FIG. 4 illustrates a plan view of fence panel 14 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fence panel 14 typically is about 68 inches tall and about 48 â…œ inches long. During assembly, a glue bead may be applied along an upper end of one or more of pickets 20, e.g., along a front and/or back vertical major surface of pickets 20, or along a top edge of pickets 20. The glue bead may be useful to help attach decorative top cover 28 to pickets 20. Similarly, glue beads may be applied to where upper horizontal rails 18 and lower horizontal rails 118 meet pickets 20, e.g., along inner surfaces of upper horizontal rails 18 on both sides of pickets 20, and along inner surfaces of lower horizontal rails 118 on both sides of pickets 20. Details of sections A and B are illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed plan view of sections A and B as shown in FIG. 4. Sections A and B are used to help join together panels 14 that are immediate adjacent to each other. For example, the apparatus of Detail 4 on one fence panel 14 may couple with the apparatus of Detail B on a different fence panel 14 to the immediate left of fence panel 14.

FIG. 6 illustrates a side planar view of fence panel 114 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Exemplary dimensions are illustrated. Section G identifies the front and back coupling of upper horizontal rail 18 to fence panel 14.

FIG. 7 illustrates a side planar view of the Detail G portion of FIG. 6, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Exemplary dimensions are illustrated.

FIG. 8 illustrates a side plan view of a portion 10 of a replacement vinyl fence system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Decorative sleeve covers 12a are described in greater detail in FIG. 9. Portion 10 is side-mounted in front of the posts.

FIG. 9 illustrates a side plan view of a portion 10 of a replacement vinyl fence system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Portion 10 includes vinyl post sleeves 12 that are slipped-over and substantially enclose the exposed portions of the existing wood posts, with decorative sleeve covers 12a installed thereon. Sleeve 12 may be open at the lower end where the wood post is sunk into the ground. Replacement vinyl fence panels 14 are configured to be locked together and are side-surface mounted to a rear side of the wood posts by fasteners, such as screws, passed through the panels 14 and the sleeves 12 and into the wood post.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exploded oblique view of portion 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 2, but further includes an illustration of posts 12.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exploded oblique view of a top portion of panel 14, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Individual pickets 20 are coupled together with connectors 22, one of which is illustrated in a fully installed position, and another of which is illustrated in a partially exploded position.

FIG. 12 illustrates a cross-sectional view of picket 20 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Picket 20 includes two pockets 120a, 120b, situated on opposite sides of picket 20, along an axis parallel to a major surface of picket 20. Pockets 120a, 120b each include a void in the body of picket 20 and an opening from the void to the respective adjacent side of picket 20. As illustrated in FIG. 12, pocket 120a opens to the left side of picket 20, and pocket 120b opens to the right side of picket 20. Pocket 120a, 120b are shaped such that a diameter of the void is larger than a diameter of the opening to the side of picket 20. In some embodiments, pockets 120a, 120b may be mirror images of each other. Pockets 120a, 120b may extend from the top of picket 20 along substantially an entire vertical length of picket 20. In some embodiments, pockets 120a, 120b do not extend entirely to the bottom of picket 20. Pockets 120a, 120b are adapted (e.g., by their shapes) to accept connectors 22 illustrated in FIG. 11. Connector 22 cooperatively engages with a pocket 120a from one picket 20 and a pocket 120b from an adjacent picket 20 (or vice versa) in order to securely couple one picket 20 to an adjacent picket 20.

The weight of the pickets and the panels may be supported by a horizontal rail similar to extrusion 28, installed on the bottom of the fence.

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of connector 22 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Connector 22 includes a left half side having a shape that cooperatively engages with pocket 120b, and a right half side having a shape that cooperatively engages with pocket 120a. The left and right halves of connector 22 may be mirror images of each other. Connector 22 is constructed from a stiff and non-brittle material (e.g., a metal such as aluminum or steel; a stiff plastic such as acrylic; or vinyl, etc.) such that a connector 22 may stiffly and securely join two adjacent panels 20 by connector 22 being disposed along adjacent pocket 120a and pocket 120b. In some embodiments, connector 22 extends along substantially the entire vertical height of picket 20, and connector 22 may be held in place by friction. In some embodiments, connector 22 is prevented from sliding beyond the bottom of picket 20 by having pocket 120a and/or pocket 120b not extending to the bottom of picket 20.

Connector 22 may further include surface features 122 such as vertically-oriented ridges channels, notches, or combination of such features. Surface features 122 are shaped to cooperatively engage with similar features on the inner surface of pockets 120a, 120b. For example, if surface feature 122 is a ridge (as illustrated in FIG. 13), then surface feature 122 cooperatively engages with a corresponding channel in the inner surface of pocket 120a, 120b. Surface features 122 help resist rotational movement of connector 22 within pocket 120a and/or pocket 120b.

FIG. 14 illustrates a side plan view of a portion 10 of a replacement vinyl fence system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 14 illustrates a single horizontal rail 218 used to couple together pickets 20, rather than separate upper horizontal rail 18 and lower horizontal rail 118.

Attachment of a semi-private fence is similar, by anchoring a horizontal rail to the wooden post, as similar to horizontal rail 218 illustrated in FIG. 14. An extrusion may include holes used to receive the pickets. A semi-private fence allows for at least partial visibility through the fence for at least some angles of view.

FIG. 15 illustrates a detailed oblique view of a portion of FIG. 1, in an assembled configuration, where decorative cover 24 is coupled to upper horizontal rail 18.

FIG. 16 illustrates a detailed oblique view similar to the view of FIG. 15, but in an exploded view. The exploded view illustrates stiffener 16 within upper horizontal rail 18, and a plurality of fasteners 161 (e.g., screws) used to securely couple together upper horizontal rail 18, stiffener 16, and pickets 20. Decorative cover 24 may snap over upper horizontal rail 18 when assembled.

A joint between panels is shown in FIG. 16, where decorative cover 24 is located. Stiffener 16 runs inside upper horizontal rail 18 along substantially the entire length of upper horizontal rail 18. The whole panel 14 is screwed onto the stiffener, and then stiffener 16 is attached by one of two methods. A first method is to screw entirely through panel 14 to the wooden post on the other side of the panel. In that method, the attachment into the post is accomplished by the illustrated fasteners 161. A second method is described below with respect to FIG. 18.

FIG. 17 illustrates an end view of stiffener 16, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Stiffener 16 should be turned upright (i.e., vertically along its minor axis) so that stiffener 16 fits inside of extrusion 18. Stiffener 16 should be placed so that about half of its length is inside an extrusion 18 to the left of where two extrusions 18 join, and the remainder (about half of the length of stiffener 16) is inside the other extrusion 18, i.e., to the right of where the two extrusions 18 join.

FIG. 18 illustrates a detailed oblique view of a portion of FIG. 1, in an assembled configuration, where decorative cover 26 is coupled to upper horizontal rail 18.

In another embodiment, a stiffener may be attached to the back of a panel 14 on horizontal rail 18 or 118, in order to mate with a cooperating stiffener attached to the post.

FIG. 19 illustrates a detailed oblique view similar to the view of FIG. 18, but in an exploded view. The exploded view illustrates a plurality of fasteners 226 (e.g., screws) used to securely couple together picket 20 and ends of upper horizontal rails 18 on both sides of picket 20. Decorative cover 26 may snap over upper horizontal rail 18 when assembled.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments for this disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide the best illustrations of the principles of the disclosure and its practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.