Abstract:
A plastic support which holds a wire throughout its length which may be inserted into a hollow plastic member such as a fence rail with the wire positioned where it may prevent deflection of the plastic fence or like member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    In applicant&#39;s co-pending patent application Ser. No. 09/671,852 entitled REINFORCED VINYL EXTRUSIONS, an invention is disclosed and claimed which utilizes wires in hollow vinyl extrusions to prevent their deflection, especially those used as fence rails. While this invention works very effectively, there is a problem in inserting the wires through the length of the extrusions.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The purpose of this invention is to provide a mechanism whereby the wires which are to be placed under tension inside of the hollow extruded member may be readily introduced into the hollow extruded member by means of plastic supports which have a length approximately the same as the hollow extruded plastic member and which in turn carry the wires in the appropriate position inside of the hollow extruded member.  
           [0003]    Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a plastic member which will carry suitable interior wire reinforcement which may be inserted into a hollow plastic extrusion and thus, prevent unnecessary deflection in use.  
           [0004]    This, together with other objects of the invention, will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]    [0005]FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly in section showing a plastic support, H-shaped in cross section, fitted within a rectangular extruded plastic member such as a fence rail.  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 2 is an end view of FIG. 1 showing the end which is not shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 3 is a side view of the opposite end of the combination shown in FIG. 1  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 4 is a section in the plane  4 - 4  of FIG. 3.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but shows an alternative type of plastic support member which is X-shaped in cross section.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 6 is a section at the end of FIG. 5 showing the support wire extending out into the rear of the plastic extruded member.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 7 is a section through FIG. 5 in the plane  7 - 7 .  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 8 is a section similar to FIGS. 6 and 7 showing an I-shaped plastic support member which has only a single wire going through the hollow extruded plastic member.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 9 is a section of FIG. 8 in the plane  9 - 9 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    This invention will be described with respect to an extruded vinyl fence rail which is rectangular in cross section; however, it should be understood that it is applicable to other vinyl extrusions which may be circular in cross section as is disclosed in applicant&#39;s co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/671,852.  
         [0015]    Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, typical fence rail  10  is provided with end cap  11  which has a comparable end cap  12  at the opposite end. (See FIG. 2.) The plastic support member  13  is shown in section and is provided with four openings  14   a ,  14   b ,  14   c  and  14   d  extending through its length through which the two pairs of wires  15   a  and  15   b  pass. These openings may be better seen in FIG. 4 with the wires  15   a  and  15   b  extending therethrough.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a view of the end cap  12  showing the wires  15   a  and  15   b  extending outward through openings  12   a  and  12   b  and then inward through openings  12   c  and  12   d  of the cover  12 . As shown in FIG. 1, the wires are clipped together with clips  16   a  and  16   b  where they extend outward through openings  11   a, b, c  and  d  of end cap  11 .  
         [0017]    Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 7, an alternate plastic support  17  is shown which is X-shaped in cross section and provided with openings  18   a ,  18   b ,  118   c  and  18   d , comparable to the openings and the location of the openings shown in FIG. 4 of the H-shaped cross section member  13 . Wires  15   a  and  15   b  are located in these openings similar to the manner which has been described in connection with FIG. 1 where wires  15   a  and  15   b  extend through openings  11   a, b, c  and  d  and are clipped together at the outside of the end cap  11 .  
         [0018]    It should be noted that while round openings  14   a, b, c, d  and  18   a, b, c  and  d  are shown, these openings can as well be U-shaped in cross section with the open portion of the U extending from the member itself. In other words the U portions which would be comparable to openings  14   b  and  14   c  would extend upwardly and the U portions that would replace openings  14   a  and  14   d  would extend downwardly, thus, effectively holding the wires  15   a  and  15   b  in place in both places.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is a section of FIG. 5 in the plane  6 - 6  showing the wire  15   b  extending through the end of the end cap  12 .  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8 is a third example of a plastic support  19  in the shape of an I-beam in cross section. This is designed for use where there is only a need for a single wire  20  such as where the width of the extruded vinyl member  10  is much less than the height of the member  10 .  
         [0021]    The member  10  shown in FIG. 8 is provided with end caps  21  and  22  similar to those previously described and the wire  20  extends through openings  22   a  and b of end cap  22  and is clipped together by a clip  24 . In this case the openings  23 - 23  are at the opposite ends of the center section of the I-beam  19  as best shown in FIG. 9 and may be circular in cross section or U-shaped as previously described.  
         [0022]    When utilizing the plastic support, the wires are placed therein temporarily fastened together at one end without the use of an end cap and at the opposite end, the wires extend through the end cap such as end caps  12  or  21 . The entire assembly is then inserted inside of the extruded plastic fence rail  10  until the end cap  12  or  21  fits snugly against the end of the plastic rail  10  and then the wires are poked through the openings in the opposite end cap  11  or  22  and fastened with the appropriate fasteners  16   a  and  16   b  or  21 . This provides an easy way in which to insert the wires through the length of the fence rail and to ensure that they are positioned in the best possible location to provide maximum strength and prevent the deflection of the fence rail or other plastic extrusion.  
         [0023]    While this invention has been shown and described with respect to a detailed embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the scope of the claims of the invention.