Abstract:
A portable enclosure quick exchange framing system having a plurality of adjustable securing elements and a fence operable to be secured to the securing elements. The securing elements are operable to be anchored in the ground or a support base. The portable enclosure system is easily configurable to fit in any yard or area.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This Patent Application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/502,618 filed Jun. 29, 2012 and titled Portable Enclosure Apparatus and Method, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    Embodiments of the present invention relate to portable enclosures. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to portable enclosures for retaining animals. 
         [0004]    2. Discussion of Related Art 
         [0005]    There are many types of conventional enclosures, such as fencing, designed for various purposes, e.g., keeping people and/or animals in and/or out. In most cases, fencing is permanent, which may be undesirable for a number of reasons, e.g., aesthetic, limits use of area, only occasionally desired. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, there is a need to provide an enclosure apparatus that remedies the aforementioned deficiencies in the conventional art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The following brief description is provided to indicate the nature of the subject matter disclosed herein. While certain aspects of the present inventive concept are described below, the summary is not intended to limit the scope of the present inventive concept. Embodiments of the present inventive concept provide a portable enclosure system and method. The present inventive concept does not suffer from and remedies the deficiencies of conventional enclosures such as those previously set forth herein. 
         [0008]    The present inventive concept provides, in its simplest form, a plurality of adjustable securing elements and a fence operable to be secured to the securing elements. The securing elements are operable to be anchored in the ground. The portable enclosure system is easily configurable to fit in any yard or area. 
         [0009]    The aforementioned may be achieved in one aspect of the present invention by providing an enclosure system including a plurality of adjustable securing elements. Each of the adjustable securing elements having two pivoting ends extending therefrom, at least one receiver, and/or at least one stake. The plurality of adjustable securing elements may include a center post with hinges to secure the two pivoting ends to the center post. Each of the two pivoting ends may include a lower bar extending perpendicular to the center post and an angled bar extending from an end of the lower bar to the center post. 
         [0010]    The enclosure system may include a fence operable to be secured to each of the plurality of adjustable securing elements via the at least one receiver. Each of the two pivoting ends may include another stake. Each of the plurality of adjustable securing elements may be operable to be independently configured to one of an open configuration, a closed configuration, and a corner configuration. The enclosure system may include a plurality of bottom supports having overlapping ends operable to be aligned and simultaneously penetrated via a portion of the at least one stake to lock the plurality of bottom supports together. 
         [0011]    The enclosure system may include a plurality of bottom supports having overlapping ends operable to be aligned and penetrated via a portion of the at least one stake to lock the plurality of bottom supports together. The at least one receiver may be rotatable about at portion of each of the plurality of adjustable securing elements so that, upon engagement of the at least one receiver to the fence, rotation of the at least one receiver adds tension to the fence. 
         [0012]    The aforementioned may be achieved in another aspect of the present invention by providing a method of using an enclosure system including staking a plurality of adjustable securing elements in the ground, each of the adjustable securing elements having two pivoting ends extending therefrom, at least one receiver, and at least one stake. The method may further include the step of securing a fence to each of the plurality of adjustable securing elements via the at least one receiver. 
         [0013]    Additional aspects, advantages, and utilities of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an adjustable securing element in a corner configuration; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an adjustable securing element in an open configuration; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an adjustable securing element in a closed configuration; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a fence with apertures; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of a plurality of adjustable securing elements with the fence attached thereto in a rectangular configuration; 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of a plurality of adjustable securing elements with the fence attached thereto in a square configuration; 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a top plan view of a plurality of adjustable securing elements with the fence attached thereto in a miniature square configuration ideal for use with a plant; 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a non-adjustable securing element; 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an adjustable securing element in a closed configuration; 
           [0024]      FIG. 10  is an elevated side view of adjustable securing elements mounted in a bottom support; 
           [0025]      FIG. 11  is a top plan view of a bottom support; 
           [0026]      FIG. 12  is an elevated side view of adjustable securing elements mounted in a bottom support; and 
           [0027]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a bottom support. 
       
    
    
       [0028]    The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0029]    The following detailed description of the invention references the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. 
         [0030]    In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to are included in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separate references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” in this description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are also not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For example, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment may also be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included. Thus, the present technology can include a variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein. 
         [0031]    Turning to the drawings and particularly  FIGS. 1-3 , an adjustable securing element  10  is illustrated in a plurality of configurations. The securing element  10  is made of a lightweight, durable material, e.g., tubular aluminum or the like, and includes an elongated center post  12  having a stake  14  at a bottom end thereof sized and shaped to extend into a ground surface. A plurality of hinges  16  are spaced from each other along the center post  12 . Extending from the center post  12  and independently connected at the hinges  16  are two identical pivoting “V” elements  18 . Each of the “V” elements includes a lower post  20  that extends perpendicular to the center post  12  and an angled post  22  that extends at an angle from the center post  12 . 
         [0032]    In the exemplary embodiment, the angled post  22  preferably extends from the center post  12  between approximately  15  and  45  degrees, and more preferably at  30  degrees. Depending from a junction between the lower post  20  and the angled post  22  is another stake  24  that is sized and shaped to extend into a ground surface. 
         [0033]    The center post  12  has a plurality of receivers extending laterally therefrom, i.e., an upper receiver  26 , a middle receiver  28 , and a lower receiver  30 . Each of the receivers  26 ,  28 ,  30  are sized and shaped to independently receive a portion of a fence  32 . The fence  32  may be formed of Kevlar, plastic, a resilient metal and/or wire, rope, fabric, fiberglass, and/or any other flexible, high-strength material. The upper receiver  26  and lower receiver  30  have a mirrored design with respect to each other, which includes an outwardly-ending portion  34  and a single parallel extending portion  36 . The upper receiver  26  is rotatable relative to the center post  12 . The middle receiver  28  also includes the outwardly portion  34 , but includes dual, upper and lower parallel extending portions  38 ,  40 . 
         [0034]    Turning to  FIG. 4 , the fence  32  includes a plurality of apertures  42 . The apertures  42  are sized and shaped to receive one or more of the receivers  26 ,  28 ,  30  and are sized depending on type of material of the fence  32 . When each of the receivers  26 ,  28 ,  30  are received by the fence  32 , the fence  32  is secured to the adjustable securing element  10 , and the adjustable securing element  10  and the fence  32  may be simultaneously staked into the ground. It is foreseen, however, that the adjustable securing element  10  may be staked into the ground prior to engagement with the fence  32  without deviating from the scope of the present inventive concept. 
         [0035]    The adjustable securing element  10  with the fence  32  may be constructed in a variety of configurations to accommodate a variety of sizes, e.g., 24″ to 60″ or more, as illustrated in  FIGS. 5-7 . Without limitation, the variety of configurations includes square, rectangle, or octagon. In a stored configuration, the adjustable securing element  10 , which is approximately 48″ long, with the fence  32  may be stored in an area of about 48″×12″×18′ with the adjustable securing element  10  in a closed configuration. When a user desired to setup the adjustable securing element  10  with the fence  32 , the adjustable securing element  10  is positioned in one of an open configuration, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a corner configuration, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , or something in between. Once positioned in the desired configuration, the adjustable securing element  10  is positioned in the ground via the stake  14  and the another stake  24 . To aid in positioning the stake  14  and the another stake  24  into the ground, the user may apply a downward force on the lower post  20 . It is foreseen that the lower post  20  may include a friction-heightening element, e.g., ribbing or the like, to prevent slippage when the user interacts with the lower post  20 . 
         [0036]    Once anchored in the ground, the user may secure the fence  32  to the adjustable securing element  10 . A plurality of the adjustable securing elements  10 , e.g., four or more, may be used to form the enclosure with assembly of each of the adjustable securing elements  10  following the same aforementioned steps. Additionally one or more nonadjustable securing elements  43  may be used to form the enclosure, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The stake elements  43  includes all of the parts of the adjustable securing element  10 , e.g., the receivers  26 ,  28 ,  30  etc., but does not include the elements  18 . 
         [0037]    In the exemplary embodiment, ends  44  of the fence  32  are secured at a single one of the adjustable securing elements  10  with any excess wound around the one of the adjustable securing elements  10 . To add or increase tension of the fence  32 , the upper receiver  26  is rotated about the center post  12 . Adding tension to the fence  32  via the upper receiver  26  increases a height of the fence  32  relative to the ground. In this manner, the adjustable securing element  10  and the fence  32  forms an enclosure. It is foreseen that the middle receiver  28  and/or lower receiver  30  may be made to be rotatable about the center post  12  without deviating from the scope of the present inventive concept. It is also foreseen that an electric wire  51  may be threaded through clips  45  on each of the adjustable securing elements  10  to form an enclosure having an electrical deterrent, e.g., to keep animals in/out of the enclosure, as illustrated in  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 16  illustrates a top plan view of a configuration of the present inventive concept with the electric wire  51  and the fence  32 . It is foreseen that the electrical wire  51  may be powered by a portable power source, e.g., solar power, AC power, and/or the like. 
         [0038]    Turning to  FIGS. 14 and 15 , a rod  60  may be used to facilitate engagement of the fence  32  to the adjustable securing element  10 . The rod  60  is woven through the apertures  42  and then is slipped over one or more of the receivers  26 ,  28 ,  30  to engage the fence  32  to the adjustable securing element  10 . The rod  60  facilitates use of the adjacent portion of the fence  32  as a gate to and out of the enclosure formed by the present inventive concept.  FIG. 15  illustrates the fence  32  engaged with the adjustable securing elements  10 . 
         [0039]    Turning to  FIG. 17 , a configuration of the present inventive concept is illustrated in which the fence  32  is secured as a top cover to the adjustable securing elements  10 . In this manner, the present inventive concept is capable of use as a protective covering, e.g., to keep birds away from plants. 
         [0040]    For use on hard surfaces, e.g., concrete, a bottom support  50  may be used, as illustrated in  FIGS. 10-13 . The bottom support  50  includes a plurality of apertures  52  sized and shaped to at least partially receive ends of the stake  14  and/or the another stake  24 . The bottom support  50  includes ends  54  operable to overlap each other, e.g., with each successively-placed one of the bottom support  50  inversed relative to each other. In this manner, one of the stake  14  and the another stake  24  may penetrate an end-most one of the apertures  52  and cause the successively-placed bottom supports  50  to be engaged to each other, as illustrated in  FIG. 13 . 
         [0041]    Accordingly, the present invention provides a portable enclosure system that is easy to assemble and disassemble, and requires minimal storage space. 
         [0042]    Having now described the features, discoveries and principles of the general inventive concept, the manner in which the general inventive concept is constructed and used, the characteristics of the construction, and advantageous, new and useful results obtained; the new and useful structures, devices, tools, elements, arrangements, parts and combinations, are set forth in the appended claims. 
         [0043]    It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the general inventive concept herein described, and all statements of the scope of the general inventive concept which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.