Fence

A fence formed of hollow fiberglass posts and rails. The posts have apertures formed therethrough transverse to their lengths for receiving the rails. Two hollow rails extend into an aperture from opposite sides of a post with their ends located in the aperture. A hollow connecting member is located within the two hollow rails for connecting together the ends of the two hollow rails. The hollow connecting member has a slit formed through its wall along its length and is compressed such that it may be located within the two hollow rails. The hollow connecting member when located within the two hollow rails expands outward against the walls of the two hollow rails.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fence of the type 
having posts and rails wherein the joints of the rails are hidden from 
view. 
The rails of the fence are hollow and the posts have apertures formed 
therethrough transverse to their lengths. Two hollow rails extend into an 
aperture from opposite sides of a post with their ends located in the 
aperture. A connecting member is located within the two hollow rails for 
connecting together the ends of the two hollow rails. 
In a further aspect, the connecting member is hollow and has a slit formed 
through its wall along its length. The outside diameter of the connecting 
member is greater than the inside diameters of the rails. The slit allows 
the connecting member to be compressed such that it may be located within 
the two hollow rails. The hollow connecting member when located within the 
two hollow rails expands outward against the walls of the two hollow rails 
.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to FIGS. 1-5 the fence of the present invention is formed of 
hollow posts 21 and hollow rails 23. Preferably the posts 21 and rails 23 
are formed of fiberglass although other suitable plastics or material may 
be employed. The posts 21 have apertures 25 formed therethrough, 
transverse to the length of the posts, for receiving the rails. The ends 
of abutting rails 23 are located in the apertures 25 whereby the joints of 
the rails 23 are hidden from sight. 
Hollow connecting members 27 are located in the rails at their joints for 
securing the rails together. The rails 23 and connecting members 27 are 
cylindrical in shape and have the same outside diameters. As seen in FIG. 
2, a slit 29 is formed through the wall of the connecting member 27 along 
its length. The slit 29 has a width sufficient such that the connecting 
member 27 may be compressed and inserted into the ends 23 of the rails to 
be abutted. When located within the ends of abutting rails, the connecting 
member 27 expands against the walls of abutting rails to connect or splice 
them together. 
Referring to FIGS. 3-5, there will be described the manner in which a fence 
is assembled. In this description, rails 23-1 and 23-2 have their ends 
inserted and secured in the apertures 25 of post 21-1 which has its bottom 
end located in a hole in the ground. At this point it is desired to insert 
and secure the free ends of rails 23-2 and the ends of rails 23-3 in the 
apertures 25 of post 21-2 and to locate the bottom end of the post 21-2 in 
the hole 31 formed in the ground. The free ends of rails 23-2 are inserted 
through the apertures 25 of post 21-2 such that their ends extend beyond 
the post as shown in FIG. 5. The rails 23-2 are flexible such that they 
may be bent in the manner shown in FIG. 5 during this portion of the 
assemblying process. The ends of the connecting members 27 are compressed 
and inserted into the ends of the rails 23-2 protruding from the post 
21-2. The connecting members 27 are inserted into the protruding ends of 
the rails 23-2 such that half of their lengths are located in the rails 
23-2 and half of their lengths extend beyond the protruding ends of the 
rails 23-2. A hammer may be employed to apply force to the free ends of 
the connecting members 27 during this inserting process. The free ends of 
the connecting members are compressed and inserted into the ends of the 
next rails 23-3. A hammer may be employed to apply force to the free ends 
of rails 23-3 to cause the ends of rails 23-2 and 23-3 to abut with the 
abutting ends being connected together with the connecting members 27. The 
post 21-2 then is slid along rails 23-2 (to the right as seen in FIG. 2) 
to locate the joints between rails 23-2 and 23-3 within the apertures 25 
of the post 21-2 such that the joints cannot be seen. Since the connecting 
members are within the rails 23-2 and 23-3, they also cannot be seen. The 
bottom end of the post 21-2 then is lowered into the hole 31 and any space 
between the post 21-2 and the wall of the hole 31 is filled with dirt. 
FIG. 6 illustrates a modified connecting member 27A which has one end 27B 
cut such that it forms an acute angle relative to the slit 29. This angle 
may be 45.degree.. The connecting member 27A has advantages in that when 
the slanted end 27B is inserted into a rail, the point 27B.sup.1 will go 
in first. As the member 27A is forced further into the rail, the end of 
the member 27A is compressed closing the gap or slit 29. Thus 
pre-compression of the end 27B of the connecting member 27A is not 
required for inserting the end 27B of the member 27A into a rail 23 and 
insertion is easier. The opposite end 27C, however, will be required to be 
compressed before inserting it into a rail 23. 
Referring to FIGS. 7-9, there is illustrated a hollow corner post 41 having 
apertures 43 and 45 formed through its wall at right angles relative to 
each other for receiving the ends of the rails 23. The ends of the rails 
in the post 41 are cut at 45.degree. whereby they abut each other as shown 
in FIG. 8. Small vertical apertures 47 are preformed through the walls of 
the rails 23 at positions such that they will be located near the inside 
wall of the post 41 and small L-shaped rods 49 are inserted through the 
apertures 47 with the shorter bent portions 49A of the rods 49 resting on 
the top sides of the rails. The rods 49 prevent the rails 23 from being 
removed from the post 41. Insertion of the rods 49 in the apertures 47 of 
the lower rails 23 may be carried out with special equipment. Attachment 
of the rails 23 to the post 41 will begin with the lowest rail and 
progress upward. If the post 41 is used as an end post rather than as a 
corner post, only one set of apertures 43 or 45 will be formed through its 
wall for receiving the ends of rails 23 which will be attached to the end 
post by inserting the rods 49 into the small apertures 47. 
After the fence has been assembled and the posts secured in the ground, the 
tops of the posts may be filled with cement or other material to add to 
their appearance and to prevent water from entering the posts. 
In one embodiment, the rails 23 and connecting members 27 and 27A may have 
outside diameters of 2 inches. The apertures formed in the posts for 
receiving the rails will be slightly greater than 2 inches. The posts 21 
may have outside diameters of 3 inches and the posts 41 may have outside 
diameters of 4 inches. The connecting members 27 and 27A may have lengths 
of 12 inches each. The width of the slit 29 may be about one inch. 
Although the fence shown has five levels of rails, it is to be understood 
that the number of levels of rails may be more or less than five. 
Referring now to FIGS. 10-13 there will be described the apparatus for 
forming the apertures 25 through the posts 21 and the apertures 43 and/or 
45 into the posts 41. The apparatus comprises a frame 51 for supporting a 
carriage 53. The carriage has wheels 55 which roll on rails 57 secured to 
the top sides of the frame 51. A crank 59 having a gear 61 is secured to 
the frame 51. The teeth of the gear 61 mesh with the teeth of a rack 63 
secured to the carriage 53. The carriage may be moved forward or backward 
by turning the crank 59 in the appropriate direction. 
The carriage carries one or more drilling devices 71A-71E employed for 
drilling one or more holes in a post held at the forward end of the frame 
51 in a jig 73 secured to the frame 51. The carriage 53 is capable of 
supporting a plurality of the devices 71A-71E for forming a plurality of 
apertures simultaneously in a post. The front end of the jig comprises two 
vertical members 75 to each of which are secured two angle iron members 77 
which form two aligned V-shaped spaces for receiving the post. A post is 
held in the V-shaped spaces against the angle iron members 77 by clamps 79 
to allow the appropriate apertures to be drilled into the post by the 
devices 71A-71E secured to the carriage 53. The clamps 79 are welded to a 
pipe 81 adapted to turn in apertures 83 formed in brackets 85 secured to 
vertical members 75. A rod 87 is secured to pipe 81 and a spring 89 is 
connected to the end of the rod 87 and to a cross beam 91 of the frame of 
the jig 73. The spring 89 causes the clamps 79 to be urged against the 
post for holding it against the angle iron members 75. A linkage 93 is 
pivotally connected to the pipe 81 and to a lever 95 which also is 
pivotally connected to the lower frame of the jig. When the lever 95 is 
moved downward, the clamps 79 are moved away from the angle iron members 
77. 
Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, each of the devices 71A-71E is the same and 
comprises a hollow shank 101 having its ends supported for rotation by 
bearings 103 secured to the carriage 53. End members 105 and 107 are 
welded in opposite ends of the shank 101. End member 105 has a threaded 
aperture 109 formed therethrough for receiving a threaded nipple 111 of a 
hollow cylindrical saw member or hole saw 113 having saw teeth 114 at its 
forward end. The same member 113 is secured to a rear wall 115 to which 
the nipple 111 is secured. The saw member 113 is attached to the shank 101 
by screwing the nipple 111 into the threaded aperture 109. 
The rear wall 115 of the saw member 113 and the nipple 111 have an aperture 
117 formed therethrough for freely receiving a plunger 119. End member 107 
also has an aperture 121 formed therethrough for freely receiving the 
plunger. A thin disc shaped member 123 is attached to the forward end 119A 
of the plunger 119. The plunger 119 is inserted through apertures 117 and 
121 such that its rear end 119 projects rearward beyond end member 107 and 
the disc member 123 is located within the hollow cyclindrical shaped saw 
member 113. A funnel shaped member 124 has its small end attached to end 
member 107 to facilitate insertion of the plunger through aperture 121. A 
spring 125 is located around the rear end 119B of the plunger and has one 
end seated against the rear end member 107 and its other end seated 
against a washer 127 which seats against nut 129 which is screwed onto 
threads 131 formed on the end 119B of the plunger. Nut 133 is screwed onto 
threads 131 to lock the nut 129 in place. If desired a washer 135 may be 
provided between the rear end wall 107 and the end of the spring 125 as 
shown in FIG. 11. The spring 125 normally urges the plunger 119 rearward 
with the disc 123 against the rear wall 115 of the saw member 113. 
The purpose of the plunger 119 and disc 123 is to remove the core or cores 
from the inside of the cylindrical saw member 113 resulting from an 
aperture being drilled through one or both walls of a post. Removal of the 
core or cores is accomplished by pushing the plunger forward to cause the 
disc 123 to push the core or cores out from the inside of the cylindrical 
saw member 113. A hammer may be employed to apply force to the rear end of 
the plunger to force the core or cores out of the cylindrical saw members 
113. The spring 113 then moves the plunger 119 rearward to the position 
shown in FIG. 12. 
A system is provided for rotating one or a plurality of the shanks of the 
drilling devices 71A-71E. The system includes a dual tooth sprocket 137 
secured to the rear end of the shank 101 of each device 71A-71E by a set 
screw 139. An electric motor 141 is mounted to the carriage 51 for driving 
a pulley 143 attached to the shank 101 of the middle device 71A as shown 
in FIG. 10. The motor 141 drives the pulley by way of a belt 145. A chain 
147 is secured around the inward sprocket teeth of the center device 71A 
and the next device 71B to the left. A chain 149 is secured around the 
outer sprocket teeth of the device 71B and the outer device 71C on the 
left. A chain 151 is secured around the outer sprocket teeth of the center 
device 71A and the next device 71D to the right. A chain 153 is secured 
around the inner sprocket teeth of the device 71D and the outer device 71E 
on the right. Thus rotation of the motor causes all of the shanks 101 and 
hence all of the cylindrical saw members 113 to be rotated simultaneously. 
The crank 59 then is turned to move the carriage forward to drill all of 
the holes simultaneously in the post. The crank 59 next is turned in an 
opposite direction to back the saw members 113 out of the apertures formed 
in the post. The motor is turned off and the plungers 119 are moved 
forward to push the cores out of the saw members 113. If less than five 
holes are to be drilled into a post, the shanks 101 not needed may be 
removed beginning with the outer shanks. 
Different size saw members 113 may be screwed to the shanks 101 to drill 
different size apertures in the posts. 
In another embodiment of the device of FIG. 12, the aperture 109 may be a 
smooth surface smaller aperture formed through end member 105 for freely 
receiving the plunger 119. the nipple 111 may be fixedly attached to the 
forward end of the end member 105. The rear wall 115 of the saw member may 
have a threaded aperture formed therethrough for receiving the nipple 111 
whereby the saw member 113 may be screwed onto the nipple 111 for 
attaching the saw member 113 to the shank 101.