Patent Application
20210317680
This invention relates to slats which are inserted into chain link fences in order to increase privacy and security, especially to the retention of such slats in a chain link fence.
There are many patents for retaining, or locking, slats into a chain link fence.
These generally appear to fall into four major categories—apertures in the sides of adjacent slats through which a retaining bar is placed; a substantially U-shaped channel to receive an end of each slat placed at the bottom, the top, or both the bottom and the top of the slats, a pin placed within and extending from each slat; and fins extending from the sides of the slats to the knuckles of the fence—plus a fifth category of miscellaneous retaining devices.
In the first major category U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,556 such a retaining bar is, indeed, inserted through apertures in the slats. For U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,761 each slat is retained by one or more horizontal slats or strips intertwined in the fence wires and passed through aligned openings in the opposite sides of the slats; a strip can be unwound from a supply spool. (This could be inserted into a chain link fence, i.e., pre-inserted, prior to installation, or even shipment, of the fence and probably wound with the uninstalled fence for shipment; but such pre-installation would be difficult because the apertures would have to be precisely aligned for all the slats. A similar slat-retaining fence using a strip placed through apertures in the slats is manufacture offered for sale as the Top Lock Slat by Pexco of Atlanta, Ga.) In U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,058 a flexible belt (made from flexible material such as plastic, rubber, or the like) is horizontally inserted through apertures in the slats. For U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,468 slots (apertures) in slats receive a retaining bar. Slats having opposing slots (apertures) for receiving a retaining bar are the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,839. A support bar extends through opening in the slats of U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,947. And one embodiment for U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,547 involves an upper rail extending through apertures in slats.
Representative of the second major category, United States patent publication no. 2014/0145133 utilizes a U-shaped retainer having flanges to spring into cutouts in the slat. (The retainer is stated to be able to be at either the top or the bottom of the slats, but it is not indicated that a top retainer and a bottom retainer can be simultaneously employed. A second embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,547 has sidewall on each slat which snap; into a retainer on the top, bottom, or both ends of the fence. Each slat in U.S. Pat. No. 7,878,487 has at least two notches on opposite faces into which barbs extend from the front and rear of the retaining channel; the retaining channel can be at the top or the bottom of the fence but is not stated to be simultaneously at the top and the bottom. Tabs on a U-shaped retaining bar at the bottom of the fence fit into apertures in the front and rear of the slats for U.S. Pat. No. 8,366,078. In a first variant of this major category U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,760 uses a retraining strip having protrusions, at least one of which protrusions fits into a notch near the bottom of each slat. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,954 a U-shaped retainer can support the slats from the bottom or be at the top or bottom or both of the slats but has no portion extending into any slat. And two examples of a second related variant exist. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,760,759 and 2,802,645 are very similar to each other. Both involve slats that are supported by a horizontal slat or strip (or, in a different embodiment, attached to rigid connecting member). Proper alignment of the slats within each retainer would, however, be very time consuming.
Within the third major category U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,044 has a pin which locks into a slat through an aperture and limits the movement of the slat with respect the wire of a fence or, in a second embodiment, can wrap around a bottom rail installed on the fence. A member having a stop to retain a slat is insert into a slat of U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,922. And the claims of U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,929 seam to deal with third and fourth stops which are discussed but not claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,922. Installation of these pins would again require considerable time.
For the fourth major category U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,676 has fins which wedge into the knuckles of a fence; one embodiment also has strands, at the ends of the fins, to wrap around the knuckle. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,628 a first set and a second set of fins retain a slat in a chain link fence by engaging the knuckles of the fence. And a notch in a fin of a slat is intended to catch on a fence knuckle in U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,623.
For the miscellaneous category the one embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,645 was noted above. Additionally, the slats of U.S. Pat. No. 3,069,142 are diagonally arranged, are attached to the wire of the fence with an integral clip, and are further retained with frictional force from slats that are perpendicularly diagonal to the other slats. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,505 a horizontal strip member is conventionally attached to the vertical slats; the strip member is made from any conventional materials, such as wood, metal, or extruded plastic. Picket members on one side of a chain link fence are, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,381 snappingly engaged with mounting members either woven into the fence or on the opposite side of the fence. An expandable corrugated slat of U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,243, uses spring force to retain such slat in the channel of a fence. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,766 a projections from a cap first into channels of adjacent slats. And in United States patent no. Re. 36,0385 each slat has a channel near one edge to retain the fence wire between adjacent knuckles and also has an attachable cover for such channel.
The chain link fence with retained slats of the present invention comprises a traditional chain link fence with any fence slats inserted and running from top to bottom in the chain link fence. Between the top selvages and the tops of the slats, between the bottom selvages and the bottoms of the slats, or between both the top selvages and the tops of the slats and the bottom selvages and the bottoms of the slats is inserted an elongate member having sufficient strength to support the slats while also being sufficiently flexible to permit the chain link fence with the slats and the elongate member or members to be rolled in the traditional manner for a chain link fence but not so flexible as to prevent the elongate member from being pushed into the fence.
Such an elongate member can, therefore, along with the slats, be pre-inserted into the fence before installation, or even shipment, of the fence because of the physical composition of the elongate member and the relatively large space between the selvage and the end of the slats. The structure, composition, and shape of the elongate member will, though, after insertion preclude substantial movement of the slats thereby preventing a slat from exiting past the top or bottom of the fence.
The elongate member can have a circular, oval, or polygonal cross section and can be either hollow or solid. Unlike a U-shaped elongate member, the present elongate member need not be so stiff as to prevent its sides from collapsing and impeding the insertion of the end of a slat. Moreover, because the end of a slat does not need to enter the present elongate member, as an end of a slat must with a retaining U-shaped elongate member, a slat can be thicker than the present elongate member. And the present elongate member can work with a fence have any type of selvage, knuckle or twist or a combination thereof.
Preferably, the elongate member is attached to the wire of a the fence with one or more connectors, e.g., a hog ring. And if the fence is longer that the elongate member the adjacent ends of consecutive elongate members can, using any technology known to one of ordinary skill in the art (such as overlapping the adjacent ends of the consecutive elongate members and connecting such ends together with one or more connectors, e.g., a hog ring.
The present elongate member can, furthermore, function appropriately with any known type or size of fence slat and a chain link fence of any mesh size.
As indicated above and illustrated in
The elongate member can have a circular, oval, or polygonal cross section and can be either hollow or solid; all such preceding shapes being defined herein as a closed shape. And the present elongate member 9 can work with a fence 1 have any type of selvage 7, knuckle 13 (shown in
Preferably, the elongate member 9 is attached to the wire 15 of a the fence 1 with one or more connectors 16, e.g., a hog ring 17 to prevent the elongate member 9 from sliding from the fence 1. And if the fence 1 is longer that the elongate member 9 the adjacent ends 18 of consecutive elongate members 9 can, using any technology known to one of ordinary skill in the art (such as overlapping the adjacent ends 18 of the consecutive elongate members 9 and connecting such ends 18 together with one or more connectors 16, e.g., a hog rings 17.
As used herein, the term “substantially” indicates that one skilled in the art would consider the value modified by such terms to be within acceptable limits for the stated value. Also as used herein the term “preferable” or “preferably” means that a specified element or technique is more acceptable than another but not that such specified element or technique is a necessity.
