Patent ID: 6543751
Filing Date: 2003-04-08
Classification: E04F,E04H,Y10T

Abstract:
A fence bracket apparatus for supporting a rail, comprising:a back piece; a bottom piece attached to said back piece; an angle bracket attached to said back piece and said bottom piece; at least one side piece attached to said back piece and said bottom piece, each side piece including an interior wall and an exterior wall, each exterior wall defining a side slot; and a rail retaining apparatus including a locking system for retaining the rail, the locking system including a flexible top piece including at least one side flap positioned in association with each side piece, each side flap extending downward from the top piece, each side flap including an inward facing locking tab adapted to engage the side slot; a flex strip hinge connecting the top piece to the back piece wherein the rail retaining apparatus allows for a rail to be inserted into the bracket, the rail to be locked in place in the bracket by rotating the top piece with the attached side flaps about the flex strip hinge to lock the top piece to the side pieces by flexing the top piece as the locking tab encounters the side piece to allow the side flap to extend outward and slide over the side piece to place the locking tab into the side slot, and the rail to be unlocked from the bracket by flexing the top piece to allow for the side flaps to extend outward and allow the locking tabs to slide out of the side slots and over the side pieces, and the rail to be removed from the bracket by positioning the top piece in a vertical position to allow for the rail to be removed from the bracket by sliding the rail between the side pieces and the side flaps.