Patent Abstract:
A railing system is disclosed having spacers for spacing apart railing pickets, and a rail which engages the spacers and secures the railing pickets. The spacers are made up of a planar top member, side members extending from longitudinal edges of the top member, and wings extending outwardly from a central position of the side members. The rail comprises a substantially elongated planar member and first and second substantially parallel elongated side-walls perpendicularly connected to the planar member. The side-walls each comprise first and second groove members, which are spaced apart to form grooves running substantially parallel to the elongated planar member. The grooves are adapted to receive the plurality of spacers such that the wings of the spacers abut against the first and second groove members when the spacers are assembled in the railing system.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. Application Ser. No. 12/537, 208  filed on 6 Aug. 2009 entitled RAILING SYSTEM, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/547,183 filed on 11 Mar. 2004 entitled RAIL AND RAILING SYSTEM, which is US national stage of PCT International Application No. PCT/CA2004/000378 which has an international filing date of 11 Mar. 2004 and entitled RAIL AND RAILING SYSTEM, which claims the benefit of the filing date of Canadian Application No. 2,422,750 filed on 12 Mar. 2003 and entitled RAIL AND RAIL SYSTEM. The content of the applications referred to in this paragraph is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to the field of railings and in particular to an aluminum rail and railing system. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Railing systems for any number of outdoor applications are well known. For example, residential decks, pool decks, playgrounds, etc., all utilize any number of conventional railing systems. Such railing systems are typically made of pressure treated lumber or aluminum particularly suited for outdoor use. 
         [0004]    Typically, aluminum railing systems utilize spacers which snap onto top and bottom rails to space out railing pickets. Although such systems adequately space out the pickets, the overall appearance of the system is less than desired given that the spacers necessarily protrude away from the railings. Furthermore, as the spacers merely snap onto the top and bottom rails, the spacers are susceptible to removal after the railing system has been assembled. Consequently, thieves may easily remove the spacers leaving the railing system vulnerable to failure. These systems are undesirable, particularly in the residential railing industry wherein homeowners frequently install or build their own rail systems. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, a need exists for an improved rail and railing system which provides an aesthetically pleasing result and which overcomes the deficiencies noted above. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a rail for a picket railing system having a plurality of spacers for spacing a plurality of railing pickets. The rail may include a substantially elongated planar member and first and second substantially parallel elongated side-walls perpendicularly connected to the planar member. The side walls may each comprise opposing grooves running substantially parallel to the elongated planar member. The grooves may be adapted to receive the plurality of spacers and may be formed within each of the side walls. 
         [0007]    Each of the grooves may comprise a first elongated groove member and a second elongated groove member. The first elongated groove member may be connected adjacent an end of the side wall and extend perpendicularly from the side-wall. The second elongated groove member may be connected adjacent the end of said side wall and run parallel to the first groove member. The second elongated groove member may be spaced away from the first elongated groove member to permit snug insertion of the plurality of spacers between the first and second groove members. 
         [0008]    According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a rail system for holding picket railings. The rail system may include a plurality of spacers adapted to space the picket railings apart and a rail adapted to internally receive the plurality of spacers and to secure the picket railings. 
         [0009]    Each of the plurality of spacers may include a top member and first and second parallel wings connected to the top member. The first and second wings may be shaped to be received in grooves located within the railings. 
         [0010]    According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a rail system which includes a top rail and bottom rail, a post adapted to receive the top and bottom rails, a plurality of pickets for placement between the top and bottom rails, and a plurality of spacers adapted to be inserted into the top and bottom rails for spacing the plurality of pickets apart. 
         [0011]    The post may include an open ended head to receive the top rail and an opening for receiving the bottom rail. Alternatively, the post may include connectors to receive the top and bottom rails. The connectors may include universal angle brackets. The post may also include post supports. 
         [0012]    Other aspects of the invention will be appreciated by reference to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment and to the claims that follow. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    Embodiments of the invention will be described by reference to the accompanying drawings. 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a rail and railing system made in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2   a  is a perspective view of a section of top rail of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2   b  is a perspective view of a section of bottom rail of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3   a  is a cross-sectional view along line  3   a - 3   a  of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3   b  is a cross-sectional view along line  3   b - 3   b  of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a post and a section of top and bottom rails of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5 . is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the post of  FIG. 4 ; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 6 . is a perspective exploded view of the railing system of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not meant as a limitation of the invention. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on another embodiment to yield still a third embodiment. It is intended that the present invention include such modifications and variations as come within the scope and spirit of the present invention. 
         [0023]    An outdoor railing system, generally  10 , according to the invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Railing system  10  is illustrated as a section of a complete rail for purposes of illustration. The present invention includes such sections as well as a complete railing system constructed in accordance with the invention. The present invention also includes top and bottom rails  12  and  14  separately for use in such railing systems. 
         [0024]    Conventional outdoor railing systems are typically made from aluminum. The present invention includes rails and railing systems made of aluminum, but is not limited to any particular material. For example, the components of the railing system  10  or rails  12  and  14  may be fabricated from any conventional construction material, including plastic, wood, cementious materials, and the like. Any and all such materials suitable for railing systems are within the scope and spirit of the invention. 
         [0025]    Referring again to  FIG. 1 , railing system  10  includes top and bottom rails  12  and  14 , posts  16 , pickets  18  and picket spacers  20  in between adjacent pickets. The pickets  18  are of sufficient length to span the distance between the top and bottom rails  12  and  14 . 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIGS. 2   a ,  2   b ,  3   a  and  3   b , each rail includes a substantially elongated planar member  22  and first and second substantially parallel elongated side walls  24  and  26  perpendicularly connected to the planar member  22 . The side walls  24  and  26  each include opposing grooves  28  running substantially parallel to the elongated planar member  22 . 
         [0027]    The grooves  28  are adapted to receive the spacers  20  and include a first elongated groove member  30  and a second elongated groove member  32 . The first elongated groove member  30  is connected adjacent an end of the side walls  24  and  26  and extends perpendicularly from the side-walls  24  and  26 . The second elongated groove member  32  is also connected adjacent the same end of the side walls  24  and  26  and runs parallel to the first groove member  30 . The second elongated groove member  32  should be spaced away from the first elongated groove member  30  to permit snug insertion of the spacers  20  between the first and second groove members  30  and  32 . 
         [0028]    The first and second side walls  24  and  26  may be connected to the planar member  22  via spot welding in the case of aluminum. Similarly, the first and second groove members  30  and  32  may be connected to the side walls  24  and  26  via spot welding in the case of aluminum. As those skilled in the art will appreciate other methods of connecting the first and second side walls  24  and  26  to the planar member  22  and the groove members  30  and  32  to the side walls  24  and  26  are contemplated, for example, adhesive, fasteners etc. Preferably, each of the top and bottom rails  12  and  14  is a unitary structure which may be accomplished via an aluminum extrusion for instance or by other means known in the art. 
         [0029]    The spacers may include a top member  34  and first and second parallel wings  36  shaped to be received in the grooves  28 . The first and second parallel wings  36  may be connected to the top member  34  via spot welding in the case of aluminum. As those skilled in the art will appreciate other methods of connecting the first and second wings  36  to the top member  34  are contemplated, for example, adhesive, fasteners etc. Preferably, the first and second parallel wings  36  are integrally formed with the top member  34  via an aluminum extrusion for instance or by other means known in the art. 
         [0030]    As best shown in  FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b , once spacers  20  are inserted into top and bottom rails  12  and  14 , the first and second parallel wings  36  abut the first and second groove members  30  and  32 . In so doing, the spacers  20  snugly fit into grooves  28 , thus preventing the spacers  20  from being removed from the railing system  10  after assembly. To provide for an aesthetically pleasing result, the top member  34  may be spaced away from the first and second parallel wings  36  so that the top member  34  lies flush with the first elongated groove member  30 . However, in another embodiment, those skilled in the art will also appreciate that parallel wings  36  may be flush with top member  34  providing an overall flat surface. 
         [0031]      FIG. 3   a  also shows that top rail  12  comprises a handgrip portion  60 . Handgrip portion  60  has first and second edges  60 A and  60 B that respectively join to first and second side walls  24  and  26 .  FIG. 3   a  also shows that side walls  24  and  26  and planar member  22  form an elongated, downwardly opening channel  62 . Downwardly opening channel  62  is dimensioned to receive the top ends of pickets  18  (not shown in  FIG. 3   a ) which may project into channel  62  during assembly of railing system  10  (see  FIG. 6 ). 
         [0032]    As illustrated, channel  62  is generally square in cross-section. In the illustrated embodiment, handgrip portion  60  connects to the components which define channel  62  (i.e. first and second side walls  24 ,  26  and planar member  22 ) to define an elongated bore  64 . Bore  64  may be defined by an exterior surface of channel  62  and an interior surface of handgrip portion  60 . In the illustrated embodiment, bore  64  has the shape of an inverted U in cross-section. 
         [0033]    In the illustrated embodiment, handgrip portion  60  comprises generally planar elongated sections  65 A and  65 B that are respectively adjacent to first and second edges  60 A and  60 B of handgrip portion  60 . Sections  65 A,  65 B define a portion of bore  64 . Sections  65 A,  65 B extend generally perpendicularly to side walls  24 ,  26  respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, lower edges of side walls  24  and  26  project downwardly past edges  60 A and  60 B of handgrip portion  60  and upper edges of side walls  24 ,  26  project upwardly past edge  60 A,  60 B of handgrip portion  60 —i.e. edges  60 A,  60 B of handgrip portion  60  are connected to side walls  24 ,  26  in locations spaced apart from the upper and lower edges of side walls  24 ,  26 . In the illustrated embodiment, edges  60 A,  60 B join to side walls  24 ,  26  substantially along longitudinal mid-lines of side walls  24 ,  26 . 
         [0034]    In the illustrated embodiment, handgrip portion  60  has opposed generally planar faces  66 A and  66 B that extend along the length of handgrip portion  60  and a top section  68  which extends laterally between faces  66 A,  66 B. Faces  66 A,  66 B and top section  68  define a portion of bore  64 . 
         [0035]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the post  16  includes an open ended head  38  shaped to receive the top rail  12 . In this embodiment, the post  16  may also include an opening  40  to receive the bottom rail  14 . Preferably, the open ended head  38  and opening  40  are shaped to snugly fit top and bottom rails  12  and  14  to secure the top and bottom rails to the post  16 . As those skilled in the art will appreciate, other methods may be used to further secure the top and bottom rails  12  and  14  to the post  16 , such as fasteners. 
         [0036]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , in another embodiment, the post  16  includes connectors to receive the top and bottom rails  12  and  14 . The connectors comprise universal angle brackets  42  as known to those skilled in the art. Universal angle brackets are particularly useful for railing applications requiring non-conventional angles, such as following a flight of steps. Alternatively, the connectors may simply be a U-bracket  44  as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 6 . As those skilled in the art will appreciate, several connectors are contemplated and may be used in different combinations for use with the top and bottom rails  12  and  14  without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. 
         [0037]    As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 6 , to provide additional support to the posts  16 , the posts may include post supports  46 . Preferably, the post supports  46  include a base  48  which can be connected to a deck surface for instance. A sleeve  50  may be attached to the base  48  to snugly receive the posts  16 . The post supports  46  may be separately fabricated and attached to the posts  16  during installation of the railing system or may be integrally fabricated with the posts. 
       Operation 
       [0038]    The top and bottom rails  12  and  14  are connected to a post  16 . At least one spacer  20  is inserted into each of the top and bottom rails  12  and  14 . A picket  18  may then be installed between the top and bottom rails  12  and  14  by simply placing the ends of the picket into the top and bottom rails and abutting the picket next to the spacers  20 . Further spacers  20  and pickets  18  may be inserted until a desired number of pickets has been installed. A second post  16  may then be connected to the top and bottom rails  12  and  14  to complete the assembly resulting in an aesthetically pleasing and secure railing system. Alternatively, the top and bottom rails  12  and  14  may first be attached to a wall without the need for a first post  16  and then assembled as discussed above. 
         [0039]    It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. It is intended that the present invention include such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4