Abstract:
An adjustable picket fence includes movable joints connecting rails to pickets so the rails can articulate with respect to the pickets whereby the orientation of the rails can be adjusted to accommodate uneven terrain.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to the general art of fences, and to the particular field of picket fences.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Fences made of wood, stone, brick, metal and other materials have been used for many years for a variety of reasons such as to indicate boundaries, to hinder an act of trespass by animals or people and to confine animals or people within an enclosure. Fences may also be used to manage sound, wind, light, sightlines and for purely aesthetic reasons. Since fences have multiple purposes, a variety of styles have evolved over the years. Wood fences in particular seem to have the widest variety of designs, including a woven-board style, a solid abutting picket board style, a staggered picket board style and a louvered style  
         [0003]     Picket fences are well known. They consist of a number of vertical members, called “pickets,” secured to at least two horizontal supports to form a panel. A number of these panels are then secured together with pickets that are anchored in the ground or other suitable mounting surface. Picket fences are typically used as protective barriers around private properties, swimming pools, gardens and the like, and may include decorative features. This type of fence is typically constructed and installed by a skilled artisan. For this reason, they are usually quite expensive.  
         [0004]     More recently, a less costly type of picket fence has emerged. This type of picket fence is constructed of a collection of pre-fabricated components that are packaged and sold through retail outlets. The components are designed to be easily put together by the average “do-it-yourself” type of consumer. This type of fence also serves as an effective barrier to unwanted guests and may also be aesthetically pleasing.  
         [0005]     Common techniques for positioning and supporting a fence rail during assembly of a fence are well known. In typical practice, a plurality of fence pickets are positioned carefully on railings and slightly above the ground. Fence rails are then mounted between and to the fence pickets by fasteners, the fasteners frequently being screws, bolts, nails or other like mechanical fasteners which are driven, screwed or otherwise inserted through the fence rail.  
         [0006]     The formation of a fence and particularly the connecting, positioning and supporting of the fence rails against the fence pickets can frequently be a labor-intensive and time-consuming process requiring use of multiple tools. Moreover, a fence rail, once mounted to a fence picket using typical means, may be difficult to remove and re-position at a different angle or elevation. Indeed, repeated installation and removal of the same fence picket may, in common practice, puncture, damage or deface the fence rail and even the connected fence pickets. Yet further, removal and repositioning of a fence rail, even where possible, is often a labor-intensive and time-consuming process requiring use of multiple tools. Moreover, construction on uneven terrain is often particularly complex, even requiring a customized structure and special skills.  
         [0007]     Problems appear to exist, however, with the methods of construction known to the inventor in that each appears to be a complicated method which requires the purchase of multiple individual specific components to complete and which permits little room for modifications to address variable needs.  
         [0008]     There accordingly exists a need for an invention which facilitates rapid, efficient, sturdy, yet easily-modifiable connection and positioning of fence rails along a fence by even a relatively unskilled user at a user-selected, user-modifiable elevation and at a user-selected, user-modifiable angle. A need additionally exists for a means and a method which accomplishes the foregoing purposes without need of tools or additional fasteners and without damage to the fence picket or attached fence rails.  
         [0009]     The inventor is aware that because of the relative ease of installation, buying prefabricated fence sections has become popular. However, without fence sections that can accommodate a slope, the fence sections must be coupled together in a manner that will produce gaps when used on slopes.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The above-discussed disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by a picket fence system that has movable joints between the rails and the pickets whereby the rails can articulate with respect to the pickets. The rails can thus be easily moved into a desired orientation to account for uneven terrain. It is noted that the fence embodying the present invention can be used with many kinds of fencing materials, including, but not limited to, vinyl, wood and metal.  
         [0011]     Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES  
       [0012]     The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an adjustable picket fence embodying the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  shows the adjustable fence embodying the present invention in position on uneven terrain.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3A  shows how the fence embodying the present invention can easily adapt to different slopes.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  shows a swivel joint on a picket. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]     Referring to the figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in an adjustable picket fence  10  that is located adjacent to ground G. Fence  10  comprises a plurality of pickets, such as picket  12 . Each picket includes a first end  14  which is a top end when the pickets is mounted between two posts (PS) as shown in  FIG. 3A , a second end  16  which is a bottom end when the picket is mounted in the PS and a longitudinal axis  18  which extends between first end  14  and second end  16 .  
         [0019]     A first swivel joint  20  is located near the first end. First swivel joint  20  includes a pivot pin  22  having one end  24  inserted into the picket and a second end  26  that is spaced apart from the picket. A second swivel joint  30  is located near second end  16 . Second swivel joint  30  includes a pivot pin  32  which has one end  34  inserted into the picket and a second end  36  that is spaced apart from the picket. Second swivel joint  30  is spaced apart from first swivel joint  20  in the direction of longitudinal axis  18 .  
         [0020]     The swivel joints are identical and an example is shown in  FIG. 4 . A pivot pin P has a first end P 1  fixedly mounted in the picket  18 P and a second end P 2  spaced apart from the picket. Second end P 2  has a head H thereon. Head H is spaced from the picket far enough so that a rail can be pivotally attached to the rail to pivot about pin P but will not come off of the picket.  
         [0021]     A plurality of rails, such as rails  40 , are adapted to extend above the ground. Rails  40  include a first rail  42  that is attached to the first swivel joint of each picket with second end  26  of the first swivel joint being accommodated in the first rail. The first rail is pivotally connected to the picket using standard accepted practice whereby, as can be understood from the teaching of  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the first rail can articulate with respect to the picket to accommodate uneven terrain, such as hill H or the like.  
         [0022]     A second rail  50  is attached to the second swivel joint of each picket with the second end of the second swivel joint accommodated in the second rail. The second rail is pivotally connected to the picket via the second swivel joint whereby, as can be understood from  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the second rail can articulate with respect to the picket to account for uneven terrain.  
         [0023]     As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , each rail has a pivot pin accommodating channel PC and a pivot pin head accommodating chamber HC so the pivot pin of the first swivel connection can be accommodated in the first rail and the pivot pin of the second swivel connection can be accommodated in the second rail. The channels and chambers of both rails are identical; therefore, in the interest of clarity of the figures, only the channel and chamber of the first rail are identified in  FIG. 2 , it being understood that the channel and chamber in the second rail are identical to those shown for the first rail.  
         [0024]     Use of the fence system  10  can be understood from the teaching of this disclosure and thus will only be briefly discussed. Standard posts, such as post PS shown in  FIG. 3A , are placed in the ground. The prefabricated sections, which embody the invention, are secured to the posts using accepted standard practice. The fencing sections easily adjust to any terrain and are simply attached to standard posts using well known methods. All of the swivel joints are where the rails meet the pickets. Nothing goes into the ground except the posts as per standard practice. As can be understood from  FIGS. 3 and 3 A, the rails remain even when the terrain is uneven.  
         [0025]     While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.