Abstract:
The object of the invention is to improve privacy, shade, and aesthetic properties of a rigid barrier fence or wall or an outdoor patio. The preferred embodiment is a screen panel with visual and audio impairment properties that extends upward from the top of a barrier wall and effectively increases the overall wall height. Other embodiments affix a shade or aesthetic combination accessory from a barrier fence or wall, roof, or roof support member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The background art applicable to the invention pertains to rigid barrier fences or walls or an outdoor patio roof as to their role in providing privacy, shade, or aesthetic improvements.  
           [0002]    Privacy  
           [0003]    Barrier fences or walls are commonly found in areas with congested housing, such as town houses or concentrated suburban housing. Many southwestern cities in the United States have concentrated suburban housing developments. In these cities, single or two story houses are frequently located as little as 10 feet from the nearest neighboring house and are separated by a barrier fence or wall. The barrier fence or wall serves multiple functions, three of which are creating privacy, creating shade, and blocking sound from neighbors, busy streets, and other noise sources. This wall is frequently regulated by city and/or state ordinances as to a maximum height due to safety issues that arise when a wall becomes too tall and not otherwise supported. An undesirable result is that individuals taller than five and a half feet can frequently view into a neighbor&#39;s yard, house windows, or other personal property, and can clearly hear conversations, party&#39;s noises, or other disturbances. This event, thereby, compromises the privacy between the neighbors. In each occurrence, an individual on one side of the fence is disturbing his or her neighbor&#39;s peace, whilst the individual on the other side of the fence is being violated of his or her privacy.  
           [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,583, issued to Russell L. Witt, is for a chain link fence extension. This utility prescribes an extension attachment that has the flexibility of choosing the extension material and design to suit aesthetic and privacy concerns. Other applications of this invention, relating to the chain link fence, can have the function of improving the aesthetics of an otherwise common fence. The utilities of this design are realized only when used with the prescribed method of attachment, which is specific to the thin and flexible chain link fence. This extension can be combined with another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,760,759, issued to Rice, which inserts vertical slats down through the wire mesh of a chain link fence. The sum of these improvements, in the most related manner, is effectively a taller chain link fence with limited visibility through.  
           [0005]    Shade  
           [0006]    Shade is a valuable asset in summer months. Shade serves to help keep areas at a cooler temperature or to protect areas from direct sunlight. Shade makers can be an independent erection, such as a free standing patio umbrella or a car port, or shade makers can be an erection to an already existing object such as the addition of a visor to a car or plane or an awning to a house. Conventional awnings are supported at more than two points; requiring a significant area above and around a doorway or window.  
           [0007]    Aesthetics  
           [0008]    Many designs of fences are meant to increase the aesthetics of a house or an establishment and the surrounding property. Wrought iron is used to make a necessary fence or gate appear more elegant. The use of wrought iron is intended, however, to let a passerby view inside. The White House perimeter fence is an example. Concrete, stone, and wood are also used in the fabrication of fences or walls, but help obstruct views as well as well as inhibit passage.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The invention pertains to the design of a non-permanent outdoor fixture accessory that provides the services of a visual impairment, sound barrier, shade creator, or aesthetic improvement to a barrier fence or wall or outdoor patio. The barrier fence or wall mentioned hereon in is in reference to a solid, rigid, permanent erection which serves as a visual and/or audio blocker, or as an obstacle meant to prevent the intrusion or departure of people or animals, and commonly found between neighboring houses or along property lines. Such erections are normally constructed employing concrete, concrete-blocks, metal, stone, or wood materials, or any combination thereof. The mounts for all embodiments can be any of the types disposed to cover 3 sides of an entity, such as the back, top and front of a barrier fence or wall, 2 sides of an entity, such as the top and front of a barrier fence or wall, or a single side, such as the back, top, or front of a barrier fence or wall.  
           [0010]    It is an object of the invention to increase the privacy generated by a barrier fence or wall by increasing the overall visual impairment height.  
           [0011]    It is another object of the invention to increase the privacy generated by a barrier fence or wall by increasing the overall audio impairment height.  
           [0012]    In the preferred embodiment, saddle mounts are placed at a predetermined increment apart on the top of a concrete-block barrier wall of a back yard. An extension rod composed of a rigid durable material is attached to each mount with a pivotal freedom about an axis parallel to the barrier wall, at the location where the extension rod abuts the saddle mount. A screen composed of a material with desirable opacity, shade, sound permeability, strength, ventilation, and weight characteristics spans the distance between the saddle mounts, fits over the extension rods via looped end sheaths, and has a height equal to the length of the extension rods. The ends of the screen, with respect to the length, are folded back making a loop, and fixed, forming a sheath for the purposes of accommodating the extension rods. In another case of this embodiment, the loop ends of the screen material have sections removed, thereby creating gaps between the loops. This allows for additional screens to share the same extension rod by interlacing the loop ends. This interlocking action additionally serves as a fulcrum for changes in the angle of a wall perimeter, for example, if a yard owner desires to have a continuous wall extension for his three-sided backyard barrier wall. This wall extension is superior to the prior art in that it possesses the capability of achieving a greater area of complete visual impairment, a greater area of complete audio impairment, an adjustability of protrusion angle, a linking ability to achieve a continuous impaired area, and a method of doing so in a temporary fashion as to not violate city and state ordinances.  
           [0013]    It is still another object of the invention to increase the shade created by a barrier fence or wall by increasing the overall height or adjusting the angle of protrusion of part of the barrier fence or wall.  
           [0014]    In this embodiment, a screen accessory is added to the barrier fence or wall and serves the function of blocking direct sunlight and other elements to sensitive plants or articles. The shade screen is supported by extension rods, which are coupled to flat surface mounts by an intermediary U-bracket. The U-bracket allows for the adjustability of protrusion angle of the screen and extension rods with respect to the mount. Further applications of this embodiment include a combination shade creator and sun light or UV absorber, such as solar panels for generating power or a solar water heater for a pool. It is noted that the shade created by the screen panel extension, the utility of the invention, can be achieved using any kind of mount with suitable strength and durability properties.  
           [0015]    It is still another object of the invention to increase the shade created by a patio roof by increasing the overall protrusion distance.  
           [0016]    In this embodiment, the invention is an awning supported by an extension rod with an adjustability of protrusion angle and mounted to the outer edge of a patio roof or roof support member. The extension rods are secured to a U-bracket, which is, in turn coupled to a flat wall mount. The awning can also serve as a drop-shade when the screen panel is wider than the extension rod is long. The screen, in this case, is hooded onto the extension rods and then hangs suspended. This effectively extends the protrusion distance of the patio roof and creates a larger inside patio volume. The volume comes as a result of the drop shade now suspended at an additional distance further outward than without the extension rods. The utility of this embodiment differs from prior art conventional awnings by its ability to be supported by only two points of mounting made possible by the lightweight design of a single screen. The shade screen is capable of mounting to a single horizontal member, such as the outer edge of a patio roof, rather than requiring additional supportive surfaces.  
           [0017]    It is still another object of the invention to provide an aesthetic improvement accessory to a barrier fence or wall. The aesthetic improvement can function in tandem as a visual impairment or a sound barrier.  
           [0018]    In this embodiment, saddle mounts are coupled to an adapter for a flower rack holder. The flower rack holder contains flowers, vines, or other vegetation which can grow to heights above the barrier wall and serve, in tandem, as an aesthetic improvement and a visual impairment or shade creator.  
           [0019]    These embodiments can be better understood when accompanied by the following drawings and descriptions. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is an illustration of the invention as a barrier wall extension in the form of a visual impairment.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a saddle mount for a barrier wall.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the components and final assembly of the extension rod and U-bracket adapter.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 is an illustration of the invention as an aesthetic accessory in the form of a flower bed holder.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a flower bed adapter.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6 is an illustration of the invention as a shade accessory.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a surface mount fixture.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 8 is an illustration of the invention as a shade accessory in the form of an awning for an outdoor patio.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 9 is an illustration of the invention as a drop shade accessory for an outdoor patio. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0029]    [0029]FIG. 1 is an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the invention. The wall shown is a concrete-block barrier wall  100  which can surround a house, building, or other erection. A non-permanent visual impairment  105  extends above barrier wall  100 . Visual impairment  105  can be of any material with desirable opacity, strength, ventilation, and sound permeability, and can be customizable from application to application. Visual impairment  105  is supported by extension rods  110 . The ends of visual impairment  105  have sheath loops  115  separated by gaps such that one extension rod  110  can support two separate visual impairments at a visual impairment junction  120  for a continuous visual impairment. Visual impairment junction  120  can also be used to bend corners in barrier wall  100  as in the case of FIG. 1. Extension rods  110  are fixed to U-bracket adapters  125  which have the adjustability of angle of protrusion with respect to the barrier wall  100 . U-bracket adapters  125  are coupled to saddle mounts  130 . The saddle mounts  130  have the adjustability to fit different thickness barrier walls by screwing tightening screws  135  into one side of the saddle mount. Further applications are possible by using other adapters and attaching them to mounting hole  140  of saddle mount  130 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 2 shows the saddle mount  130  which is used to supports accessories for a barrier fence or wall. Different thicknesses can be accommodated by using tightening screws  135  at threaded adjusting holes  200 . A common wall thickness is four inches thick, but the saddle mounts can be made in varying sizes. A U-bracket adapter  125  and extension rod  110  assembly attaches to saddle mount  135  at threaded receiving mounting holes  140 . Threaded receiving mounting hole  140  is not restricted to the middle span of the saddle mount  130 ; it can be located anywhere along the front, back or middle face that doesn&#39;t interfere with tightening screws  135 .  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 3 shows the U-bracket adapter  125  and extension rod  110  as components and as a completed assembly. U-bracket adapter  125  is attached to a mounting apparatus, such as a saddle mount, using generic coupling screw  300 . Generic coupling screw  300  passes through mounting hole  305  and fastens to a threaded receiving mounting hole on the corresponding mounting apparatus. U-bracket adapter  125  accommodates extension rod  110  using a pivot bolt  310  and pivot bolt wing nut  315 . Pivot bolt  310  passes through unthreaded hole  315 , then through extension rod pivot shaft  320 , followed by unthreaded hole  325 . The tightening action of wing nut  315  applies a compression force to pivot shaft  320  and consequently secures the angle of extension rod  110  with respect to U-bracket adapter  125 . This feature allows for customizable angles such as angled extension rod  330 .  
         [0032]    Another application of the invention using barrier wall  100  is a flower bed  400 , as shown in FIG. 4. This embodiment utilizes saddle mounts  130  with a flower bed adapter  405  to support flower bed  400 . The plants or flowers  410  in flower bed  400  serve multiple functions. The plants or flowers  410  serve as an aesthetic improvement to an outdoor environment in addition to providing increased privacy as a form of a visual impairment. A coupling screw  300  is used to fasten the flower bed adapter  405  to a threaded receiving mounting hole or threaded adjusting hole of saddle mount  130 .  
         [0033]    The flower bed adapter  405  is shown in FIG. 5 and is a generic adapter. Any design of adapter with suitable strength properties is permissible. The only requirement is a mating action between the adapter  405  and the flower bed  400 . The adapter has two 90 degree bends, is made of a metal or other strong durable material, and has one unthreaded mounting hole  500 . Coupling screw  300  passes through mounting hole  500  and into a threaded receiving mounting hole of saddle mount.  
         [0034]    Yet another application of the invention using barrier wall  100  is a shade creator  600 , as shown in FIG. 6. The angle of the shade creator  600  can be adjusted using the pivot bolt and wing nut assembly of the U-bracket adapter  125 . The U-bracket adapter  125  is couple to a surface mount  605 . The single surface mount  605  is secured to the barrier wall  100  by four concrete screws  610 . The shade created could be used to protect sun sensitive plants  615 .  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 7 shows the single surface mount  605 . Mounting screws  700  pass through slots  705  on single surface mount  605 . A U-bracket adapter, flower bed adapter, or other accessory can be coupled to single surface mount  605  using a coupling screw and threaded coupling hole  710 . Any design of flat plate surface mount  605  with suitable strength properties is permissible. Supportive slots  705  can also be individual holes or individual slots per mounting screw  700 .  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 8 is an illustration of the invention as a shade accessory and performing the service of a shade awning  800 . The shade awning  800  is supported using sheath loops  115  and the extension rod  110  and U-bracket adapter  125 . The U-bracket adapters are coupled to single surface mounts  605 . The single surface mounts  605  shown are fixed to the roof support members  805  of an outdoor patio roof  810 .  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 9 is an illustration of the invention as a drop shade accessory  900  attached to the roof support members  805  of an outdoor patio roof  810 . The drop shade accessory  900  is wider than the extension rods  110  are long and therefore hangs suspended at an extended distance from the patio roof  810 . An extra inside patio volume is now possible as a direct result of not being suspended directly from the edge of patio roof  810 . The drop shade  900  is supported by fitting sheath loops  115  over extension rods  110  which are coupled to U-bracket adapter  125 . U-bracket adapters  125  are coupled to single surface mounts  605 . The single surface mounts  605  shown are fixed to the roof support members  805 .  
         [0038]    Although the descriptions of the different embodiments reference a specific method of mounting attachment, the scope of the invention should not be construed as being limited by the methods illustrated, but should include any means by which a screen panel accessory may be supported. The invention merely prescribes that an increase in privacy, shade, and aesthetics are possible as a result of a screen panel extension to an existing barrier fence or wall, roof, or roof support member.