BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pergola, more particularly to a pergola that is convenient to transport and store.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pergola used in a garden is usually made from wood or cement, and needs a lot of manpower and mechanical equipments during construction thereof. To solve this problem, a pergola which can be assembled by a consumer and which is constituted by a plurality of posts and a plurality of rafters formed by plastics molding techniques has been proposed. However, the posts and rafters formed by molding plastics have a poor resistance to weather changes, and the rafters have a relatively long length, which has an adverse effect on transport and storage.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a pergola that has a high resistance to weather changes and that is convenient to transport and store.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a pergola that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks associated with the prior art.
According to this invention, a pergola includes: a plurality of posts; two opposite tie beams supported on the posts; and a plurality of rafters spaced apart from each other and supported on the tie beams. Each of the rafters includes a first segment, a second segment, and a connecting unit interconnecting the first segment and the second segment. The connecting unit includes a first end cap and a second end cap. The first end cap is secured in the first segment and is formed with a retaining hole. The second end cap is secured in the second segment and is formed with a protrusion which engages releasably the retaining hole in the first end cap.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a pergola according to this invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view to illustrate the structure of a rafter of the first preferred embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary assembled partly sectional view of the rafter of the first preferred embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary assembled perspective view to illustrate the structure of a rafter of the second preferred embodiment of a pergola according to this invention; and
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the rafter of the second preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Before the present invention is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying preferred embodiments, it should be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
Referring to FIG. 1, the first preferred embodiment of a pergola according to the present invention is shown to include four posts 2 (one of which is not visible in this figure because of the viewing direction), two opposite tie beams 4 supported on the posts 2; and a plurality of rafters 3 spaced apart from each other and supported on the tie beams 4.
FIG. 2 shows the structure of one of the rafters 3 of the first preferred embodiment. The rafter 3 includes a first segment 31, a second segment 32, and a first connecting unit 33 interconnecting the first segment 31 and the second segment 32. Each of the first segment 31 and the second segment 32 of the rafter 3 is in the form of a hollow metal column having an open end 311, 321. Each of the open ends 311, 321 has an end face 3111, 3211. The first connecting unit 33 includes a first end cap 312 and a second end cap 322. The first end cap 312 has an end face 313 formed with two retaining holes 316, and is fittingly received in the open end 311 of the hollow metal column of the first segment 31 such that the end face 313 of the first end cap 312 is flush with the end face 3111 of the hollow metal column of the first segment 31. The second end cap 322 has an end face 323 formed with two protrusions 326 which engage releasably the retaining holes 316 in the end face 313 of the first end cap 312, and is fittingly received in the open end 321 of the hollow metal column of the second segment 32 such that the end face 323 of the second end cap 322 is flush with the end face 3211 of the hollow metal column of the second segment 32.
Each of the protrusions 326 on the end face 323 of the second end cap 322 of the first connecting unit 33 has a head portion 328 with a first diameter and a rod portion 327 with a second diameter smaller than the first diameter of the head portion 328. Each of the retaining holes 316 in the end face 313 of the first end cap 312 of the first connecting unit 33 has a first section 317 with a diameter larger than the first diameter of the head portion 328 of the protrusion 326, and a second section 318 extending from the first section 317 and having a diameter smaller than the first diameter of the head portion 328 of each of the protrusions 326 and larger than the second diameter of the rod portion 327 of each of the protrusions 326. Each of the first segment 31 and the second segment 32 of each of the rafters 3 has a notch 315, 325 for insertion of a respective one of the tie beams 4 thereinto. Preferably, each of the rafters 3 further includes a first sleeve 34.
During disassembly, the first end cap 312 is disengaged from the second end cap 322 so as to separate the first segment 31 from the second segment 32, thereby resulting in a decrease in the length of each of the rafters 3.
During assembly, as shown in FIG. 3, each of the protrusions 326 of the second end cap 322 of the first connecting unit 33 is inserted into the first section 317 and then moved to the second section 318 of the respective one of the retaining holes 316 in the first end cap 312 of the first connecting unit 33 so as to connect the first segment 31 with the second segment 32. The first sleeve 34 is sleeved on a selected one of the first segment 31 and the second segment 32 (provided on the second segment 32 in this embodiment) before interconnecting the first segment 31 and the second segment 32, is moved to a position where the first connecting unit 33 is located, and is fastened to the first segment 31 and the second segment 32 using screws, thereby enhancing the connecting strength between the first end cap 312 and the second end cap 322.
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the second preferred embodiment of the pergola according to this invention. In this preferred embodiment, each of the rafters 3 includes a first segment 31, a second segment 32, a third segment 35, a first connecting unit 33 interconnecting the first segment 31 and the second segment 32 and having a first end cap 312 and a second end cap 322, a second connecting unit 33′ interconnecting the first segment 31 and the third segment 35 and having a third end cap 312′ and a fourth end cap 322′, a first sleeve 34 sleeved on a respective one of the rafters 3 at a position where the first connecting unit 33 is located, and a second sleeve 34′ sleeved on a respective one of the rafters 3 at a position where the second connecting unit 33′ is located. Each of the second segment 32 and the third segment 35 has a notch 325, 355 for insertion of a respective one of the tie beams 4 thereinto. Each of the first, second, and third segments 31, 32, 35 of each of the rafters 3 is in the form of a hollow metal column. The hollow metal column of the first segment 31 has two opposite open ends 311, 311′, while each of the hollow metal columns of the second segment 32 and the third segment 35 has an open end 321, 351. Each of the first and third end caps 312, 312′ is fittingly received in a respective one of the opposite open ends 311, 311′ of the hollow metal column of the first segment 31. The second end cap 322 is fittingly received in the open end 321 of the hollow metal column of the second segment 32, and the fourth end cap 322′ is fittingly received in the open end 351 of the hollow metal column of the third segment 35. In this embodiment, the structures of the first, second, and third segments 31, 32, 35, the connecting units 33, 33′, and the sleeves 34, 34′, as well as their connecting relationships are substantially similar to those in the first preferred embodiment.
It should be noted here that the manner of connecting the first, second, and third segments should not be limited to the preferred embodiments, and can be varied as long as the connecting object is achieved. For example, threading connection can be used in this invention.
Since each of the rafters 3 is divided into at least two segments in the preferred embodiments, transport and storage of the pergola is relatively convenient. Moreover, the rafters 3 are made from a metal material and have superior resistance to weather changes over those made from a plastics material.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation and equivalent arrangements.
Patent Application
20070227080
