Patent Application
20230151603
This is a Provisional Patent Application filed for the invention by Dawn Irion of Blaine, Tenn., 37709, for new and useful “Transition Bracket.”
The present invention relates generally to building construction products and more specifically to hardware for attaching vertical structures to each other.
Outdoor decks are extremely popular in residential home construction. Homes and apartments, as well as a variety of other buildings, often incorporate exterior decks into their design. These decks provide convenient spaces for a variety of outdoor activities, including cookouts, dining and sunbathing, as well as other leisure activities. Decks typically are provided with a railing or perimeter fence to keep people from falling over the edge of the deck.
Wood products traditionally have been the primary source of materials for use in decking construction. Some of the essential elements of deck and fence construction are the railing and post members. The railing is typically secured to the post via a bracket. Traditional brackets, however, often are unattractive, are cumbersome to use, and often do not adequately remain secured to the post.
Recently it has become popular to build structures vertically on top of decks and deck railing in order to provide for privacy screens, trellises for plants to climb upon, and to provide for covers over decks to protect against direct sun. Woven materials are often used as horizontal covers over outside decks. Other accessories can also be connected to structures build vertically over decks and deck railing.
A post is a substantially straight, elongated columnar structure that is anchored at one end so as to stand upright, and that supports thereon another structure. A post can be made of any appropriate material, including wood, metal, or plastic. Posts of various lengths and compositions are used in a wide range of applications, including supporting fences, traffic control signs, temporary structures, etc. Where a post is intended to be substantially permanent, it is often placed in a hole and anchored in a concrete footing to increase its cross section and hold it firmly in place.
Brackets are devices used during construction of buildings and other structures that allow fast and secure attachment of structural components to each other. For example, joist hangars are a well known technology that is used, almost exclusively, for attaching floor joists to foundational elements. Brackets are commonly made of a steel alloy and are shaped to fit standardized lumber sizes (2×4; 4×4; 6×6; 2×6). Brackets typically include holes strategically placed to allow for securing elements such as nails, screws, or bolts, to be inserted through the holes in the brackets and into the wood, thereby securing the bracket to the structural element. Brackets typically include formed portions shaped to fit at least two different structural elements, thereby allowing a builder to securely attach said two structural elements to each other.
A need yet remains in the art for a bracket that can adequately secure and support vertical structures placed atop deck posts, that has an aesthetically pleasing appearance, and that can be installed quickly and easily. More particularly a need remains in the art for a bracket for end-to-end coupling of vertical posts of different sizes while maintaining the orientation and direction of a second post on top of a first post, said hardware having advantages for installation of vertical structural elements on top of existing post elements. It is to the provision of such a bracket that the present invention is primarily directed.
Additionally, brackets exist for connecting a horizontal structural member like a rail to a vertical post, and brackets exist for connecting a top vertical post to a bottom post of the same size. However, a need remains in the art for a bracket that can securely connect a larger bottom post to a smaller upper vertical post.
The instant invention improves upon current art with respect to all of these issues.
The present invention is a bracket which allows for quick, simple, secure, and visually attractive attachment of an Upper Post oriented vertically on top of a larger post. Said bracket provides stability for the Upper Post by unifying the upper and Lower Posts. In the preferred embodiment, the Top and Bottom Sections of the bracket are generally square to fit a common style of deck post well-known in the art (typically 6 in.×6 in. and 4 in.×4 in.). Within the scope of the present device, it should be understood that the bracket can be several different shapes, styles, and sizes, depending on the shape of the given upper and Lower Posts.
In the preferred embodiment the bottom of the Upper Post rests on the approximate center of the top of the Lower Post. However, in alternate embodiments the Upper Post may rest in non-centered positions atop the Lower Post. For example, the Upper Post may rest atop the Lower Post with one, two, or three of the vertical sides of the Upper Post flush with the respective vertical sides of the Lower Post.
One aspect of the present invention is to provide for improved stability of the upper vertical post while minimizing effort required for installation. This aspect arises from the instant invention by transferring stability of the Lower Post to the Upper Post by means of a single bracket that securely attaches to both the Lower Post and the Upper Post.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide said improved stability while using only one connecting bracket between the lower and Upper Posts.
One primary advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates the need for decorative trim to cover exposed brackets.
For purposes of this specification the capitalized term “Lower Post” refers to an approximately vertical structure upon which other structural components of a fence, building, deck, railing, or similar structures, may attach to said Lower Post, and upon which the Bottom of the bracket is placed.
For purposes of this specification the capitalized term “Upper Post” refers to an approximately vertical structure inserted and secured into the Top of the bracket. The Upper Post is always smaller in diameter, or width and depth, when compared to the Lower Post.
For purposes of this specification the capitalized term “Top Section” refers to that portion of the bracket into which the Upper Post is inserted. The Top has a smaller opening to receive the Upper Post than the opening of the Bottom.
For purposes of this specification the capitalized term “Bottom Section” refers to that portion of the bracket into which the Lower Post is inserted. The Bottom Section has an opening to receive the top of the Lower Post. Said opening of the Bottom Section is larger than the opening at the top of the Top Section.
Preferably, the bracket comprises a Bottom Section for placing over the top of a Lower Post, and a Top Section for placing an Upper Post down into said upper section, to rest the bottom of the Upper Post onto the top of the Lower Post. In the preferred embodiment each section comprises four vertical sides fused to each other at the corners of a square cross section. The Top and Bottom sections each enclose a space with one end open. Said open ends are oriented to face in opposite directions, allowing placement of said Upper and Lower Posts into said enclosed spaces, leaving the smaller Upper Post resting vertically on top of the larger Lower Post. Each side of said Sections may include one or more holes to allow the bracket to be fastened securely to both the upright Lower Post and the smaller Upper Post with securing devices such as screws or nails to be inserted through said holes. In the preferred embodiment the Top and Bottom Sections are an integral part of the one-piece bracket. Due to the posts both being fully enclosed by said respective Sections, the bracket provides both vertical and lateral support to reduce rotation, horizontal, and vertical movement of the bracket when fastened to the posts.
In the preferred embodiment the bracket includes a horizontal plate located at the connection of the two sections, thereby leaving said plate between the Upper and Lower Posts at the top of the Lower Post and the bottom of the Upper Post, and connecting said Top Section with the Bottom Section. For purposes of description, said plate may be referred to by the terms “plate” or “cap.” The cap is that portion of said plate that extends horizontally from the outer sides of the Top Section to the top of the sides of the Bottom Section. The term plate refers to that section of the plate that extends from the interior of the sides of the Top Section to enclose the bottom of said Top Section. Said plate may include one or more holes to allow fasteners such as screws or nails to be inserted through said holes for connecting the bracket to the bottom post.
In an alternate embodiment a reducing portion replaces the cap and plate described above. Said reducing portion is located between the top of the Bottom Section and a portion of the Top Section that is above the bottom of the Upper Post. One embodiment of said reducing portion comprises four relatively flat sides fused to each other at four corners of said reducing portion. Said sides of the reducing portion are angled from the top of the Bottom Section toward the Upper Post at an angle greater than 90 degrees when measured from the interior vertical sides of the Bottom Section to the sides of the reducing portion. In this embodiment the Upper Post inserts through the top of the Top Section, down past the top of the reducing section, to rest on the top of the Lower Post.
Alternatively, on a round post said Top and Bottom Sections are cylindrical and said reducing portion is conical.
Said reducing portion provides a larger width and depth (or alternatively, diameter) on the Bottom Section of the bracket to accommodate placing the bottom of the bracket over the Lower (larger) Post, and provides a smaller width and depth (or alternatively, diameter) on the Upper Section of the bracket to accommodate placing the bottom of the Upper (smaller) Post into the top of the bracket. In the preferred embodiment the reducing portion is the portion of the bracket beginning at the top of the Lower Post and running up to the point at which the reducing portion meets the sides of the Upper Post.
Yet another embodiment includes the reducing portion with both the plate and the cap on the interior of the reducing portion. In other words, these internal structures are located between the exterior sides of the Upper Post and the interior sides of the reducing portion, and above the plate. In said embodiment the internal structures are shaped to accommodate secure placement of the Upper Post above the Lower Post. Said internal structures may include the sides of the Top Section of the bracket, as previously described, running down to the plate/cap on all vertical sides of the Upper Post.
In alternate embodiments each of the four sides of the Top Section and Bottom Section are not connected to each of the other sides of said Sections.
In alternate embodiments cross sections of the Top Section and Bottom Section may be square, rectangular, circular, or other shapes to fit the dimensions of the Upper and Lower Posts. In said alternate embodiments, the cross section shapes of the Top Section and Bottom Section may be different from each other, or may be the same shape as each other.
In alternate embodiments the Top Section may be centered on the Lower Post, or may be non-centered on the top of the Lower Post. The one, two, or three sides of the Top Section may be oriented to be flush with one, two, or three of the sides of the Lower Post. In other words, the Top Section may be flush with the corners of the Lower Post, flush with a side of the Lower Post, or any combination of these possibilities, simultaneously or separately.
In alternate embodiments the sides of the Top Section and/or Bottom Section may be smaller than the respective sides of the Upper Post and Lower Post. Said smaller sides may be centered respective to the sides of said Upper Post and Lower Post, or may be non-centered respective to the sides of said Upper Post and Lower Post.
In an alternate embodiment the sides of the Top Section and/or Bottom Section may comprise more than one flange running down the exterior sides of the Upper Post and/or Lower Post.
In another embodiment the Top Section and Bottom Section may comprise three sides each, two sides each, or any combination of one, two, three, or four sides.
It is understood that the features described herein may be exchanged or combined with any other features to produce a functional embodiment of the disclosed bracket. The specific embodiments combined in this specification are not limiting. In other words, any feature described herein is interchangeable with any other feature described herein. The scope of this specification is inclusive of any functional combination or permutation of the described features. In each iteration Top and/or Bottom Section can be either rectangular, square, cylindrical, or any other shape to fit the Upper and Lower Posts, and the plate may or may not have an opening for a fastener.
Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown, since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
The present invention, which is described more fully hereinafter, provides an improved bracket for securely attaching a larger vertical post with a smaller vertical post placed atop the larger post. This invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the specific embodiments described herein.
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It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description provide embodiments of the invention and are intended to provide an overview or framework of understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. Other aspects of this invention will appear from the following detailed description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.
