Patent Grant
11091932
This invention relates to slats which are inserted into chain link fences in order to increase privacy and security.
The slat of U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,623 possesses a body member 19 having a front surface 28, a parallel rear surface 30, and two shorter connecting parallel sides 27 and 29. Fins 21 and 22 may originate (a) near the centers of sides 27 and 29 or (b) from opposite corners of a side 27 or 29 and the front surface 28 or the rear surface 30. But the fins 21 and 22 do not originate from any intermediate point between the center of a side 27 or 29 and a surface (front 28 or rear 30).
Each of the fins 21 and 22 extends at an acute angle relative to its respective side of origination 27 or 29 to reach the plane of the surface 28 or 30 toward which such fin 21 or 22 is angled.
The slat of U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,623 has, however, no straight fin.
Lines 16 through 26 in column 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,628 indicate, “For purposes of providing privacy and providing a self-locking slat that is automatically securable in a channel of a chain link fence . . . first and second fins [20a and 20b] may extend from and along longitudinal sides of the body member, proximate a proximal [toward the front side of the chain link fence 16, according to lines 12 through 13 of column 4] face sheet . . . of the body member, laterally and proximately, toward and into the knuckles of the chain link fence to frictionally engage the knuckles, and specifically, the twisted wires at intersections of the wire mesh fencing fabric.” Line 65 of column 4 through line 4 of column 5 further explain, “ . . . the fins 20a, 20b are configured to extend proximately, relative to the body member 24. In particular, and relative to a proximal face sheet 26 of the body member 24, the fins 20a, 20b are oriented at an angle, [α], the angle being between about 0° and about 30° and, more preferably, between about 0° and 20°, and in a preferred embodiment between, between about 5° and 15°.”
Further, according to lines 41 through 51 of column 2, “In another embodiment of the present invention, the . . . slats further include third and fourth fins for inhibiting rotational movement of the slat relative to the channel [of a chain link fence]. More specifically, in this embodiment, third and fourth fins extending along and from longitudinal sides of the body member, proximate a distal [toward a back side or face of the chain link fence, according to lines 10 through 11 of column 4] face sheet . . . of the body member, are provided to abuttingly engage distal portions of the wire mesh fencing fabric to inhibit rotational movement of the slats within corresponding channels.
Lines 13 through 21 in column 5 continue, “In particular, and as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3-5, fins 30a, 30b extend at least laterally outwardly toward knuckles 18, and extend distally, relative to the body member 24, to engage distal portions 14b of the wire and mesh fencing fabric 14. In one embodiment, the fins 30a, 30b are oriented at an angle, β, relative to a distal face sheet 28 of the body member 24, the angle β being between about 35° and 55° and, more preferably, between about 40° and 50°.
Therefore, the slat of U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,628 can have an angled fin and a straight fin on each side of the body member, but the fins are not asymmetrically arranged, i.e., as defined herein the straight fins are not diagonally opposite to one another, and the angled fins are not diagonally opposite to one another; if straight fins exist, the angled fins do not have their respective free ends angled toward opposite faces of the slat; an angled fin and a straight fin are not attached at the same place to the body member; and no fin is attached to the body member other than at a corner, i.e., as defined herein, where a side meets a face.
The fins of the slat in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,584,468 and 5,899,442 can, according to lines 60 through 61 in column 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,468 and the identically worded statement in lines 62 through 64 from column 4 in U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,442, on each side be angled toward or away from each other; but there is no indication in either patent (1) that the angled fins are diagonally opposite to one another simultaneously with straight fins being diagonally opposite to one another, i.e., there is no indication that fins comprising a set of two angled fins and a set of two straight fins are asymmetrical or (2) that any two fins originate from the same place on a given side of the slat.
And there is no indication of any angled fin in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,839.
The inventor is, moreover, unaware of any fence slat having an angled fin and a straight fin originating from a given side of a slat wherein the angled slat originally proceeds perpendicularly to the side of the slat before extending at an angle from such perpendicular portion.
The Dual-winged Slat of the present invention has a rectangular body comprising a front face, a rear face, a first edge (also termed a “side”), and a second edge. It further comprises a straight fin (also termed a “wing”) and an angled fin on each edge with the free end of the angled fin being angled (in the transverse plane with respect to the body of the slat) toward the face of the body which is farther from the place of attachment of the angled fin to the edge; as is traditional for fins and slats, the attachment of the fins to the body of the slat extends longitudinally along the edges of the slat. The body may be either solid or hollow. If the body is hollow, the body preferably contains at least one, and most preferably two, internal walls which are parallel to the edges of the body and connected at the tops and bottoms of the walls to the front face and to the rear face of the body of the slat.
The free end of the first straight fin must be closer to the plane containing the front face of the slat than is the free end of the first angled fin which originates from the same edge of the slat as does the first straight fin, i.e., the first edge. And the free end of the second straight fin must be closer to the plane containing the rear face of the slat than is the free end of the second angled fin, which originates from the same edge of the slat as does the second straight fin, i.e., the second edge.
No fin may be attached to the edge of the slat more than halfway to the face toward which the angled fin is directed.
Preferably, the straight fin and the angled fin attached to a given edge of the body of the slat are attached to such edge at the same place.
The fins are, also preferably, asymmetrically arranged, i.e., the straight fin on a first edge, i.e., the first straight fin, of the slat is diagonally opposite to the straight fin on the second edge of the slat, i.e., the second straight fin; and the angled fin on a first edge of the slat, i.e., the first angled fin, is diagonally opposite to the angled fin on the second edge of the slat, i.e., the second angled fin.
Preferably, for the angled fin and the straight fin which are closer to the front face, i.e., the first straight fin and the first angled fin, the first angled fin rides along the outer rear portion of the first left-opening curved knuckle, the free end of the first angled fin touches the inside of the first right-opening curved knuckle, and the first straight fin must be outside but near (and, most preferably, touch) the front outer portion of the first left-opening curved knuckle. Also preferably, for the angled fin and the straight fin which are closer to the rear face, i.e., the second angled fin and the second straight fin, the second angled fin rides along the outer front portion of the second right-opening curved knuckle, the free end of the second angled fin touches the inside of the second left-opening curved knuckle, and the second straight fin must be outside but near (and, most preferably, touch) the rear outer portion of the second right-opening curved knuckle.
And, optionally, for either or both angled fins the first portion, i.e., the portion attached to the edge may be perpendicular to the edge while the second portion, i.e., the portion associated with the free end of the angled fin, is angled toward the face of the slat which is farther from the point of attachment of the angled fin to the edge.
As stated above and as illustrated in
In accordance with tradition for fins 7, 9, 12, 14 and slats 1 and as illustrated in
The body 2 may be either solid or hollow and is preferably hollow, as illustrated in
The free end 30 of the first straight fin 7 must be closer to the plane 31 containing the front face 3 of the body 2 of the slat 1 than is the free end 32 of the first angled fin 9. And the free end 33 of the second straight fin 12 must be closer to the plane 34 containing the rear face 4 of the body 2 of the slat 1 than is the free end 35 of the second angled fin 14.
Furthermore, neither the first straight fin 7 nor the first angled fin 9 can be attached to the first edge 5 more than halfway from the front face 3 to the rear face 4, and neither the second straight fin 12 nor the second angled fin 14 can be attached to the second edge 6 more than halfway from the rear face 4 to the front face 3.
Preferably, as illustrated in
The fins 7, 9, 12, 14 are, preferably, asymmetrically arranged, i.e., as indicated above, the first straight fin 7 is diagonally opposite to the second straight fin 12, and the first angled fin 9 is diagonally opposite to the second angled fin 14. And even more preferably, the fins 7, 9, 12, 14 are precisely asymmetrically arranged, i.e., as defined herein, the fins 7, 9, 12, 14 are not only asymmetrically arranged as stated in the immediately preceding sentence, but the first straight fin 7 is the same distance from the front face 3 as the second straight fin 12 is from the rear face 4 while the first angled fin 9 is the same distance from the front face 3 as the second angled fin 14 is from the rear face 4.
Preferably and as illustrated in
As portrayed in
Also preferably, as depicted in
Although the slat 1 can be constructed to fit a chain link fence of any mesh size, for a 3.5 and 5 mesh chain link fence illustrative dimensions for a slat 1 which would utilize the preferred limitations and, when most preferred limitations have been mentioned, such most preferred limitations are the following: the body 2 of the slat 1 would be 2 inches long and 0.25 inches wide, i.e., the first edge 5, the second edge 6, and the internal walls 24, 25 would be 0.25 inches long; the front face 3, the rear face 4, the first edge 5, the second edge 6, and the internal walls 24, 25 would be 0.025 inches wide; the straight fins 7, 12 would be 0.25 inches long and 0.035 inches wide; and the angled fins 9, 14 would be 0.5 inches long and 0.035 inches wide. Of these lengths and widths as well as the angles α′, α″ only the length of the body 2 would have to vary when the mesh of the chain link fence is different.
The angles α′, α″ are preferably within the range of 35° to 38°, inclusive; and, most preferably, each of these angles is 37°. Furthermore, as shown in
Each fin 7, 9, 12, 14, i.e., the first straight fin 7, the first angled fin 9, the second straight fin 12, and the second angled fin 14, optionally contains one or more separations 49, as illustrated in
Such separations 49 can extend across the full length of each fin 7, 9, 12, 14 or only across part of the length of such fin 7, 9, 12, 14 and can extend the full width of each fin 7, 9, 12, 14 or only a final segment 50 of the width of such fin 7, 9, 12, 14. Furthermore, some of such separations 49 can extend the full width of such fin 7, 9, 12, 14 while other separations 49 extend across only a final segment 50 of such fin 7, 9, 12, 14.
The separation 49 can be a slit 51, a gap 52, or a notch 53 (a gap 52 with sides 54, 55 which are not parallel to one another, e.g., serrations 56). A single fin 7, 9, 12, 14 can have only one type of separation 49 or any combination of different types of separations 49.
Whenever it is stated herein that a component which is indicated to be attached or connected can be, or is preferably, integrally formed, “integrally formed” is defined herein to comprise “attached” or “connected” in addition to meaning “formed as a single unit.”
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.
As used herein, the terms “straight” (as in “straight fin”), “rectangular”, “angled”, “perpendicular”, “perpendicularly, “bent”, “aligned” and the like are to be construed as being preceded in all cases by the adjective “generally”. More specifically, in various embodiments herein and other embodiments not expressly described or illustrated, elements of the present invention are constructed of materials, which by their nature, may flex, bend, distort, and/or or depart from their original fixed and/or molded shapes. This bending or departure from original shape does not represent a departure from the purposes or scope of the invention or the claims set forth below, but rather, are still expressly claimed herein. The term “generally” is defined herein as +/−49% of the stated value or characteristic.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5584468 | Meglino | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5775676 | Hoggan | Jul 1998 | A |
| 6164628 | Hoggan | Dec 2000 | A |
| 20020113232 | Torres | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20080135820 | Hoggan | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180128008 A1 | May 2018 | US |
