Patent Application
20070057242
This invention relates to a deformation and weather resistant, noise attenuating, fencing assembly comprising a series of hollow posts, each post having a high strength to weight ratio, which may be easily installed by an individual; most particularly to a fencing assembly effective in the attenuation of sound and which is in compliance with the Florida Building Code 2001 wind load requirements, without the need for concrete anchoring.
Noise attenuating barriers are used extensively for blocking sounds caused by obstreperous machinery (e.g., generators), automobiles, trains, aircraft and the like. Typically, these barriers range from about 4 to 18 feet in height and are constructed of wood, metal, or concrete, with concrete being the most common. However, it has been determined that concrete and metal barriers tend to deflect sound waves rather than attenuate or absorb the same, hence, they fail to effectively prevent sound wave transmission.
While concrete and wooden posts are sturdy and can be made to provide privacy, concrete posts tend to be expensive to install and maintain, and both concrete and wooden posts deteriorate and crumble over time often leading to early failure. Attempts to overcome the deterioration problems associated with wood and concrete have included making fencing posts out of metal (e.g., steel, aluminum, etc), yet, this has proven expensive and heavy as compared to the instant invention. It is also known in the art to form sound attenuating fencing from posts made from assorted polymers for the purpose of choosing a sound absorbing material, however, these polymers lack the requisite structural properties to support heavy loads.
What the prior art has thus far failed to provide is a weather resistant, noise attenuating, fencing assembly comprising a plurality of deformation resistant poles, each formed from a fiberglass reinforced resin, in combination with clips and a structure reinforcing and weather resistant cap which provides a light-weight, easy to assemble fence having a strength to weight ratio of about 18:1. The use of fiberglass posts provides a sturdy, economical system for dampening sound waves, for example, the noise created by a generator. Furthermore, this construction makes it possible to attach approximately 800 pounds of appurtenant assemblies to each fence post weighing only about 44 pounds. As an added benefit, when the lower end of the posts are inserted about 30 to about 36″ below ground, the resultant assembly meets the stringent Florida Building Code 2001 requirements for wind load without the need for additional concrete anchoring.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,732 to Caceres et al., disclose a fencing system having rails, slats and posts formed from pultruded fiberglass with several advantageous features. The lightweight fiberglass components are very strong and will not rust like metal fencing and do not require frequent maintenance like wood fencing. The pultruded fiberglass components are easy to manufacture and transport and the finished fence can be assembled using conventional fasteners. Fence components are designed to be lightweight while having a substantial resistance to bending forces. In addition, the fiber reinforced fencing can be made to resist degradation due to ultraviolet radiation. Unlike the instant invention, the design of the fencing system of Caceres et al., is not directed to providing a fence with any sound attenuating properties as evidenced by the embodiments that provide visibility and/or allow wind to pass through the fence slats.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,771 to Schmanski et al., disclose a fencing device provided to prevent the transmission of sound. The device is fabricated of a polymer composition and comprises a hollow core member formed of fiber-reinforced thermosetting resin, and an outer member formed of unreinforced thermoplastic resin that is friction fit to the core member. The core member is constructed of a thermosetting resin to provide resilience for the device. In contrast, the outer member is a thermoplastic resin used to eliminate deterioration due to weather and absorb sound waves. The inner and outer members are connected by friction. Adjacently disposed devices are connected together to form a fence-like barrier through which few or no sound waves are allowed to pass. Unlike the instant fence assembly, the posts of Schmanski et al., do not require two separate laminate substrates to provide the necessary rigidity and weather resistance provided by the instant invention. Moreover, the posts of Schmanski et al., are not composed of a fiberglass-reinforced resin veiled by a polyester cloth effective to prevent blooming of the glass fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,498 to Grieb, discloses a highway sound barrier formed by one or more panels mounted in a vertical abutting relation, each of the panels being formed .from one or more self-supporting foam cement blocks. Each of the blocks having a foam core (e.g. extruded or expanded polystyrenes, phenolics and polyisocyanurate forms), a reinforcement grid mounted on the exposed surfaces of the core and a thin fiberglass coating applied to the reinforced grid for securing the grid to the foam core and to increase the compressive strength of the blocks. The addition of cementitious or thermal barrier coatings to the foam blocks develops strong load bearing strengths. These coatings can be made sun resistant, frost-free and non-cracking. The thickness of the blocks being sufficient to form a load bearing structure. Unlike the instant fence assembly, the panels of Grieb must anchored to the ground by a helical screw anchor rod embedded in a concrete pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,061 to Borgnini, discloses a panel with a horizontal or vertical transverse ridged cross-section, that can be interconnected in succession with other panels or the same type to form a continuous screen which is installed above the central barrier separating the two carriage-ways of a road, or above the barriers that delimit the sides of a road; this screen, particularly when installed above the central barrier of a road, being designed to be capable of simultaneously acting to screen off full beam headlamps and spray from wet road surfaces from the opposing carriageways of a road, and to act as reference at night and/or in conditions of poor visibility, due to the high refractive power of its surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,829 to Tan et al., disclose a sound insulating wall and method of installing the same. Fixing members are mounted, at predetermined intervals, on the top portion of a footing that is built along a road. A concrete-type board having vertical through-holes is mounted on the footing through the fixing member. Steel rods each having top and bottom threaded portion are inserted into the respective through-holes of the board with the bottom threaded portion being threadedly engaged with the respective fixing members. Upper nuts are engaged with the top threaded portion of the respective rods, to thereby fix the board onto the footing.
All of the aforementioned prior art fail to disclose a weather and deformation resistant fence assembly having a high strength to weight ratio, which may be easily installed by an individual, and which are in compliance with the Florida Building Code 2001 wind load requirements, without the need for concrete anchoring.
All patents and publications listed herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
Consequently, in response to the aforementioned problems found in the prior art, the present invention discloses a noise attenuating, weather and deformation resistant fencing assembly comprising a series of hollow posts, each post formed of a lightweight fiberglass-reinforced resin. The assembly includes a structure-reinforcing cap inserted within a first open end of each of the posts to frictionally engage the interior surface of the post to substantially prevent movement of the exterior surface thereof when various types of appurtenant structures are mounted thereon, which would otherwise cause deformation and possible structural failure of the post walls. The assembly further includes first and second clips that are inserted into the first and second open ends of the post, respectively, to provide an easy means to properly space and secure the posts together.
In a preferred embodiment the assembly includes a fiberglass post which is weather resistant, thereby providing a longer life cycle than concrete, wood or metal and in a particularly preferred embodiment includes a UV inhibitor for protection from ultraviolet light degradation.
Assembly of the post, clip and cap yield a sound attenuating, deformation and wind resistant assembly having an enhanced structural properties. As opposed to prior art devices that often required multiple individuals for installation, the fencing assembly of the present invention only requires a single individual for installation. Furthermore, direct burial at a depth of about 30 to about 36″ is in compliance with Florida Building Code 2001 wind load requirements.
Accordingly, it is a primary objective of the instant invention to provide a weather resistant and sound insulating fencing assembly comprising a deformation resistant pole, formed from a fiberglass reinforced resin, in combination with a structure reinforcing cap and clips which, upon assembly, provides an structure having a strength to weight ratio of about 18:1.
Another objective of the instant invention is to provide a fencing assembly whereby certain selective posts can be turned to create an aesthetically attractive fencing system.
It is a further objective of the instant invention to provide a deformation resistant assembly capable of meeting Florida Building Code 2001 Wind Load Requirements, without the need for concrete anchoring.
It is yet another objective of the instant invention to provide poles, which are lightweight, economical, sturdy, and can be readily manufactured and transported.
It is still further objective of the present invention to provide ultraviolet degradation resistance to the fencing assembly.
Another objective of the present invention to provide a fencing assembly that may be installed by an unskilled person using few hand tools.
It is yet another objective of the instant invention to provide a post incorporating therein a veil effective to prevent blooming of the glass fibers.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
Detailed embodiments of the instant invention are disclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific functional and structural details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representation basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.
Referring now to
In order to prevent blooming, a condition wherein the ends of the glass fibers protrude from the polyester resin matrix, the instant post is formed with an integral polyester veil. This veil is a polyester cloth molded to the pole's surface during manufacture, wherein it is intrinsically bound to the surface by intermingling with the polyester resin. The veil thus encapsulates the fiberglass and prevents blooming.
As seen in
The posts of the fencing assembly are releasably attached to each other at the first and second opens end of the post by first and second clips 26, respectively, shown in detail at
In a preferred embodiment, shown in
During installation of the fencing assembly, either the first or second clips may be inserted into the first or second end of the posts, however, it is preferred that the second clips be first inserted into the second ends of adjacent posts to connect them. The adjoined posts are at least partially buried and the first clips inserted into the first ends the adjacent posts for reinforced structural stability.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the cap includes a pyramidal shaped crown 40 with a bottom surface 42 having downward depending members 44 integrally connected thereto which act as a retention means. The cap members 44 are constructed and arranged to frictionally engage the interior surface of the post and substantially prevent movement of the exterior surface thereof when various types of appurtenant structures are mounted thereon utilizing through-bolts or the like, which would otherwise cause deformation and possible structural failure of the post walls. Preferably, the depending members 44 are located along the bottom surface 42 such that when the cap 36 is installed on the first open end of the post the members 44 do not engage the clip 26, which could potentially prevent the cap from effectively engaging the interior surface of the post.
Other, various retention means are contemplated by the instant invention for fixedly retaining the structure-reinforcing cap within the hollow rectangular post. Other embodiments of the retention means include screws 46, rivets, bolts or the like known to those skilled in the art, which are applied so as to simultaneously engage the cap (including cap members 44) and the load bearing walls whereby removal of the cap is prevented. Such attachment insures retention of the cap within the post, thus enabling the load bearing walls to be maintained in a spaced apart position subsequent to mounting thereon items having a weight up to 18 times the weight of post. In prior art devices, mounting is generally accomplished by the use of through bolts, which upon tightening, would have deformed and cracked the post. Owing to the cooperation of the structure reinforcing cap and hollow post, the instant invention provides a solution to this problem. While the structure-reinforcing cap need not completely seal the open end, in a preferred embodiment it does provide closure to the first open end.
While the posts may be of any shape, as illustrated herein, preferably, the post is either a square or a rectangle. The posts are designed for direct burial, such that the post may be implanted directly into the ground, without the need for concrete reinforcement, preferably at a depth of about 30″-36″ below the ground level, and provide above ground support to one or more appurtenant structures attached thereto, so as to enable above-ground placement of loads up to 18 times the weight of the pedestal assembly.
All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention, which are obvious to those skilled in the art, are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.
