Abstract:
The present invention provides generally a support post system comprising a support member. The support member comprises at least one recess in a surface of the support member for receiving a rail member. The support post further comprises at least one attachment member which extends outwardly substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support member. The attachment member extends through the recess. The support post system further comprises a finish plate for being placed over the rail member when after the rail member is seated in the recess. The finish plate has a passage formed therein to allow passage of the attachment member therethrough. The support post system also comprises a mechanism for removably securing the finish plate to the attachment member.

Description:
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08,661,695, filed Jun. 11, 1996, now abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a support post system, and, particularly, to a support post system for use in construction of fences and walls for various purposes. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Post-supported fences and walls have been used in numerous settings for hundreds of years. In such fences or walls, substantially horizontal rails are supported by substantially vertical posts. Generally, the supporting posts of such fences are buried into the ground. 
     The posts for early post-supported fences and walls were fabricated largely if not entirely from wood. Unfortunately, wood is adversely affected by environmental conditions over a relatively short period of time, especially when buried in the ground. Recently, therefore, wooden posts have been replaced in many instances by concrete or metallic posts better suited to withstand the extremes of temperature and moisture required of an outdoor system. 
     In the past it also has been very difficult to construct post-supported fences and walls and to replace damaged rails in post-supported fences or walls. In many cases it was necessary to remove the post adjacent a damaged rail from the ground to repair or replace the damaged rail. In an attempt to facilitate the construction of fences and walls and to facilitate the repair thereof, a number of modular fencing systems have been proposed. 
     Nonetheless, the modular systems currently available suffer from a number of significant drawbacks. For example, such systems are often difficult to assemble. Moreover, it is often difficult to lay out such modular systems in a desired geometric arrangement. Still further, many such modular systems are not sturdy enough for use in many settings. 
     It is, therefore, desirable to develop a support post and support post system that minimizes or eliminates these and other drawbacks associated with current posts and support post systems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides generally a support post system comprising a support member having at least one recess in a surface of the support member for receiving and seating a rail member. The support member further comprises at least one attachment member which extends outwardly substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support member. The attachment member extends through the recess and preferably beyond the surface of the support member. In one embodiment, the attachment member passes through a corresponding passage in the rail member when the rail member is seated in the recess. The rail may be seated in the recess without the attachment member passing through the rail member, however. The support post system further comprises a finish plate for placement over the rail member after the rail member is seated in the recess. The finish plate has a passage formed therein to allow passage of the attachment member therethrough. The support post system also comprises means for removably securing the finish plate to the attachment means. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an embodiment of a support post system under the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of an embodiment of reinforcement members for use in the support members of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the reinforcement member of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5A illustrates a front view of an embodiment of a fence system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5B illustrates a side perspective view of an embodiment of a fence system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5C illustrates a front view of an embodiment of a fence system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6A illustrates an embodiment of a fence system of the present invention have an angled connection plate. 
     FIG. 6B illustrates an embodiment of a support member having recesses in more than one side thereof for creating an angle in a fence system. 
     FIG. 7A illustrates an embodiment of a cross rail fence system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7B illustrates an embodiment of a privacy fence system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7C illustrates and embodiment of a landscaping or retention wall incorporating an embodiment of a support member of the present invention 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, support post system  10  preferably comprises a support member  20  having at least one recess  30  therein. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, support member  20  has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape and comprises three recesses  30  on one of its four sides. For maximum strength and facility of construction, recesses  30  are preferably rectangular grooves of an appropriate width and depth to seat a rail member  40  of rectangular cross section (see FIGS. 1 and 2) therein. As clear to one skilled in the art, however, support member  40  can have any of a number of cross-sectional shapes. Likewise, recesses  40  can be of substantially any cross-sectional shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of rail member  40  to be seated therein. 
     Each recess  30  includes at least one attachment member  50  extending therethrough, which may, for example, comprise a bolt. Preferably, at least two attachment members  50  are included in each recess. Support member  20  is preferably fabricated from a strong and durable material such as steel reinforced concrete or fiberglass. Most preferably, support member  20  is fabricated from steel reinforced concrete. As best illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 4, support member  20  may, for example, comprise one or more steel reinforcement rods  100  longitudinally oriented within the interior of support member  20 . Reinforcement rods  100  may be placed within concrete support member  20  using well known concrete molding techniques. Preferably, at least two reinforcement rods  100  are included. To increase the strength of attachment of rail members  40  to support members  20 , attachment members  50  are preferably attached to enforcement rods  100 . Attachment members  50  comprising metallic bolts, for example, may be welded to reinforcement rods  100  before support member  20  is molded. 
     As best illustrated in FIG. 5A, support members  20  are preferably anchored at desired positions by, for example, being buried in the ground. Rail members  40  are then seated in recesses  30  with each rail member  40  preferably being supported by at least one support member  20 . At the position where a rail member  40  is seated in a recess  30 , one or more passages  45  may be formed in rail member  40  through which attachment members  50  may pass. Alternatively, the ends of rail members  40  may simply be seated in recesses  30  without attachment member  40  passing therethrough (see FIG.  5 C). 
     After rail member  40  is seated in recess  30  of support member  20 , a finish plate  60  is placed over rail member  40  and secured to support member  20  as best illustrated in FIG.  5 A. Preferably, finish plate  60  is shaped to conform to the surface of rail member  40 . In the case of a rectangular rail member, for example, finish plate is preferably substantially flat. Likewise, finish plate  60  may be curved if the surface or rail member  40  is curved. Finish plate  60  includes means for removably attaching finish plate  60  to attachment member  50 . Preferably, finish plate  60  includes one or more passages  65  therethrough to allow attachment means  50  to pass through passages  65 . In the case of threaded bolts used for attachment means  50 , a nut  70  (see FIG. 5B) as known in the art may be used to secure finish plate  60  (and thereby rail member  40 ) to support member  20 . Preferably, finish plate  60  is fabricated from a strong, durable material such as steel and acts to securely maintain rail member  40  within recess  30 . 
     As best illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 6A, the installation of a hinged gate or creation of an angle in a fence or wall is very simple with the present system. In that regard, FIG. 5A illustrates a hinge plate  80  that is (for durability) preferably placed in recess  30  of support member  20  before rail member  40  is placed therein. Hinge plate  80  preferably has one or more passages  85  to allow attachment members  50  to pass therethrough. After hinge plate  80  is set in place in recess  30 , rail member  40  is then set in place within recess  30  over hinge plate  80 . A finish plate  60  is then placed over rail member  40  and secured to support member  20  via attachment means  50 . Hinge plate  80  includes a hinged portion  90  attached to hinge plate  80  via a hinge  87 . A swinging gate may be attached to hinge portion  90  as known in the art. A hinged portion may alternatively be attached to finish plate  60  for supporting a hinged gate or door. 
     Similarly, an angle θ may easily be created in a fence or wall under the present invention with used of an angled plate  110 . In the case that rail members  40  are of a rectangular cross-section, angled plate  110  preferably comprises a first substantially flat surface  110 A and a second substantially flat surface  110 B. Surfaces  110 A and  110 B form angle θ therebetween. Surface  110 A is preferably provided with one or more passages  105  and seated in recess  30 . Attachment member(s)  50  pass through passages  105 . After surface  110 A of angled plate  110  is set in place within recess  30 , rail member  40  is placed thereover. Second surface  110 B acts as a support for a further rail member  40 , which, when attached to second surface  110 B through any means known in the art (for example, bolts and nuts) forms approximately an angle θ with respect to first surface  110 A and the rail member attached thereto. To provide strength to the angled attachment, an angled finish plate  60 ′ is preferably set in place last to secure the angled attachment. As clear to one of ordinary skill in the art, an angled connection can also be made in the present system with use of angled finish plate  60 ′ without the use of angled plate  110 . Moreover, angled plate and angled finish plate are easily formed to any angle θ (for example, by bending metallic plates). 
     FIG. 6B illustrates another manner in which an angle in a fence system of the present invention can be made. In the fence system illustrated in FIG. 6B, rails members  40  are placed in recesses  30  and  30 ′ which are formed in the exterior sides of support member  20 ′. Recesses  30  and  30 ′ form an angle φ therebetween, thereby forming the angle φ in the fence system. As clear to one of skill in the art, support member  20 ′ may easily be constructed to form a wide range of angles φ. 
     FIGS. 7A through 7C provide a number of examples of the aesthetic and utilitarian versatility of the present system. FIG. 7A illustrates a cross rail design in which cross rails  40 ″ have been attached to support members  20 ″ as have been rail members  40 ′. As illustrated in FIG. 7A, recesses  30 ″ are appropriately shaped to accommodate the ends of rail members  40 ′ and of cross rail members  40 ″. Finish plate  60 ′ is placed over recess  30 ″ to secure rail members  40 ′ and cross rail members  40 ″ within recess  30 ″. In the embodiment of FIG. 7A, attachment members  50  are shown to pass through rail members  40 ′ and cross rail members  40 ″. As illustrated in FIG. 5C, however, rail members  40 ′ and cross rail members  40 ″ may be seated in recesses  30 ″ in a manner such that the one or more attachment member passing through recesses  30 ″ do not pass through rail members  40 ′ or cross rail members  40 ″. 
     FIG. 7B illustrates a privacy wall or fence in which vertical planks  150  have been attached to rail members  40 . FIG. 7C illustrates a landscaping wall  170  in which blocks  200  have been inserted between rail members  40 . As clear to one skilled in the art, the dimensions of support members  20  and rail members  40  are easily adjustable to fit any situation. In the case that a large load must be supported by a fence or wall under the present invention, recesses  30  of support members  20  preferably face the direction from which the most force will be applied. In the case of a landscaping retaining wall, for example, recesses  30  preferably face the ground or soil to be retained. In the case of a livestock fence, for example, recesses  30  preferably face the interior of the fenced portion wherein the livestock is to be retained. 
     The fence systems of the present invention are also easily adaptable to an electric fence system for retention of livestock. In that regard, insulators (not shown) for supporting electrified wire (as well known in the art) are easily attached to support members  20  using methods well known in the art. 
     Although the present invention has been described in detail in connection with the above examples, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that variations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention except as it may be limited by the following claims.