Abstract:
A fence cover or sheath comprising a canal, a lid and means for assembling the same. The said sheath is made of flexible materials and variable in colors and dimensions and it is conveniently used in the protection and maintenance of post and rails fences against climate conditions. The invention provides the advantage of reducing the time dedicated to the fence&#39;s maintenance and avoids the need of expensive maintenance materials while providing an aesthetic alternative to consumers.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to the protection of fences particularly, it relates to a sheath and its further use in covering post and rails fences in order to protect them from climate conditions and to offer an aesthetically pleasing alternative to the public regarding fence appearance. Similarly, this invention provides a method of maintaining fences from corrosion by covering the same with the herein described sheath, avoiding the use of painting materials and excess work dedicated to fences maintenance.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART  
       [0002]     The prior art discloses multiple types of fences, such as wood picket fences, wire/chain links fences, post-rails fences, among others and improvements thereof well known type of fences. For example Crisp, U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,817 disclosing a particular high strength security system fence for resisting penetration by vehicles. Lepetri, U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,522 discloses a particular picket fence with removable intermediates flats. Similarly, Forbis et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,829 discloses a modular fence system that includes fence planks designed for insertion into open channels of upper and lower fence rails.  
         [0003]     On the other hand, the prior art also discloses different fence devices and/or accessories directed to different purposes. For instance, among the said purposes are improvements in fence protection or fence-privacy traits provided to the property surrounded by it, fence appearance or enhancement by adding aesthetic elements, the discouragement of intrusive trespassing and vandalism or to add versatility, elegance and glamour to the fence. For instance, Stoop, U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,233 discloses a paint roller assembly designed to paint chain link fences or similar structured fences, while Bender, U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,536 discloses a plastic cap to be installed in the top lever of fence posts. Similarly, there are a variety of top rails covers in the market that are installed in chain link fences types in order to cover the upper level of the said fences, examples of the said covers are disclosed in Bush, U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,276. Clearly, each device or fence product is designed and elaborated depending on the physical nature and structural dimensions of the fence. This invention is related to rail and post fences and the like that generally comprise horizontal units or posts and vertical units or rails, and wherein the said post and rails have a substantially rectangular, square or circular cross-section. The said rails are generally welded to the posts in order to form the fence structure. These posts and rails may have different dimensions, for instance the width of the post may be different from the width of the rails and the spaces among the rails may be variable. The internal of the said rails and post may be solid or hollow, and they are made of plastic, metal or similar weldable materials such as galvanized steel, black steel, or combinations thereof. If the said units -rails and posts- are welded, the said fence is vulnerable to corrosion because the welded area lost its protection or galvanized area, thus the fence requires extra protection and maintenance.  
         [0004]     The prior art lacks to disclose or suggest a sheath to encase or cover post and rails fences in order to reduce the maintenance cost of the said fence while simultaneously providing protection to the said fence. Furthermore, the prior art lacks to disclose or suggest a sheath designed for the said fence in order to enhance the appearance of the fence by adding aesthetic elements, and adding versatility, elegance and a touch of elegance to the whole property surrounded by the fence.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheath or cover for encasing the posts and rails of fences in order to protect the said fences from corrosion and to simultaneously add an aesthetic element to the said fences. It is another element of the instant invention to provide a sheath comprising a rectangular or semi cylindrical flexible main open canal, a rectangular or semi cylindrical flexible lid and having means for assembling the rectangular or cylindrical lid and the rectangular or cylindrical canal together so once the assembly is done the square, rectangular or circular cross sectioned post or rail are tightly encased and substantially covered by the said sheath. The cylindrical sheaths are used for the cylindrical posts and rails while the rectangular ones are used in the covering of rectangular or square cross sectioned ones respectively.. Thus the physical dimensions and forms of the sheath are congruent with the post and rail to be covered.  
         [0006]     It is a further object of this invention a process of sheathing fence&#39;s post and rails with a novel resistant and resilient sheath in order to protect them from the climate elements and simultaneously lowering the fence maintenance costs.  
         [0007]     It is a further object of this invention to provide a sheath for posts and rails of fences comprising a main canal and a lid and wherein the means for assembling the lid and the canal to each other comprises conventional methods used for the said joining such as snapping, sliding, clipping, mounting or fastening. The said means may be positioned in any part of the lid and or canal, for instance they can be located at the edges of the lid and the canal in such a way that once the post or rail are inserted in the main canal and lid, the said mechanism holds both lid and canal tightly assembled.  
         [0008]     The said sheathing process for protecting a rail-fence type comprises inserting the post or rail into the main canal so three sides of the said beam-post or rail are covered, followed by covering the remaining face of the beam, post or rail with a lid and assembling both lid and main canal so that the whole beam is covered or cased on the sheath after the canal and lid are joined or assembled by conventional methods such as snapping, sliding, clipping, mounting, fastening or combinations thereof.  
         [0009]     Alternatively, the post or rail may be covered with the lid, covering one of the sides of the post or rail, while the remaining sides of the beam, post or rail, are covered with the canal followed by joining or assembling the lid and canal together using conventional methods such snapping, sliding, clipping, mounting, fastening or combinations thereof. The said sheath can be made of any conventional material, but is preferably made from a resilient, flexible material, such as extruded plastic. The said sheath may be made using material that contains UV resistant protection as an optional measure to enhance the cover quality and reduce the maintenance cost of the fence. The dimensions of both, the lid and the main canal are variable and co-extensive with the dimensions of the post and rails intended to be sheathing. For instance, if a post intended to be covered has a square cross section of 2×2 inches, then the sheath-main canal and lid-should have a width that fill fits the said cross section tightly in order to avoid any free space between the sheath and the post. On the other hand, the length of the canal and lid may be made of a variable length, since it can be cut off to the exact length of the post or rail intended to be covered. Thus, post or rails are encased tightly and completely by the sheath. Similarly, lid and canal may be prepared in a wide variety of colors, thus increasing the aesthetic appeal of the fence and the property surrounded by the said fence.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view that illustrates a lateral view of the lower part of a rectangular cross sectioned hollow post-plastic or metal-already enclosed or sheathed by this invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 1B  is a perspective view that illustrates a lateral view of the lower part of a square cross sectioned hollow post-plastic or metal-already enclosed or sheathed by this invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view that illustrates a lateral view of the lower part of a rectangular cross sectioned solid post-plastic or metal-already enclosed or sheathed by this invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2B  is a perspective view that illustrates a lateral view of the lower part of a square cross sectioned post-plastic or metal-already enclosed or sheathed by this invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2C  is a perspective view that illustrates a lateral view of the lower part of a rectangular or square cross sectioned canal and lid already mounted or assembled, forming the whole sheath.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3A-3C  is a front view and a lateral view of the process of installing the invention to a post or rail.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4A-4D  illustrates different mechanisms to assemble or adjust the lid and the canal in order to tightly sheath the post or rail.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  illustrates a segment of a fence and the ready to installed corresponding canals and lids.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6A-6B  illustrates a progressive view of the installation of the invention to a section of a fence.  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  illustrates examples of different fence styles constructed by the post and rails wherein the instant invention may be used 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]      FIG. 1A  illustrates the embodiment of the invention showing an inclined bottom view section of a sheathed post  30 . It is to be noticed that in the said illustration a rectangular hollow post  31  has been already protected by the sheath. In the said illustration, it is noted that the main canal  32  covers three of the sides of the rectangular post: the right and left sides together with the top side while the lid  33  covers the bottom side of the said post.  
         [0021]     Similarly, in  FIG. 1B  illustrates the inclined bottom view of an already encased post system  34 . It is to be noticed that the left, right and top sides of the squared post  36  have been covered by the main canal  35 , while the bottom side of the post has been covered by the lid  37 .  
         [0022]     It is to be noticed that in both illustrations the sheath is tightly enclosed to the hollow post that may be of conventional materials such as plastic or metal.  
         [0023]      FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B  correspond to the same illustrations of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , nonetheless, posts  41  and  44  are solid, while the corresponding posts  31  and  36  are hollow. The whole set of drawings illustrate the use of the preferable embodiment of the invention regardless of the nature of the post: hollow or solid or the material of the post such as plastic or metal or the like.  
         [0024]      FIG. 2C  Illustrates a perspective view that illustrates an inclined bottom side of mounted canals  46  or  48  and lids  47  or  49  forming the rectangular sheath  50  or the square sheath  51  and viewing it from the lower part of a rectangular or square cross section.  
         [0025]     FIGS.  3 A 1 ,  3 B 1  and  3 C 1  represent a process of installation of the invention in the post  53 . FIGS.  3 A 1  and  3 A 2  illustrate the components of the sheath: the elongated rectangular canal  52  having next to it the elongated lid  51 . Particularly,  FIG. 3A   1  illustrates the said components as a front view while  FIG. 3A   2  illustrates the said components from the inclined top or perspective view.  
         [0026]     On the other hand, FIGS.  3 B 1  and  3 B 2  illustrate the main same components, canal  52  and lid  51  being assembled into the post  53 . Notice that the said components can be assembled in any order as long as the post  53  is totally inside the said components. As can be appreciated,  FIG. 3B   1  illustrates the front view of the lid-post-canal system while  FIG. 3B   2  is the inclined top view of the same system.  
         [0027]     Similarly,  FIG. 3C   1  and  FIG. 3C   2  illustrate the already sheathed post system  54  wherein the post  53  has been totally fit or covered with the lid  51  and the canal  52 , from the front and lateral perspective respectively.  
         [0028]     On the other hand,  FIGS. 4A  through  FIG. 4D  illustrate alternative mechanisms to assemble, adjust or join the lid  51  and the canal  52  to each other in order and to tightly sheath the post or rail which is not illustrated in the said figures. Each one of the  FIGS. 4A through 4D  represent a cross sectional view of the sheath and the expanded illustration are intended to illustrate the versatility of some of the mechanisms that may be used to hold the lid and the canal tightly. The presented mechanisms are only examples of multiple possibilities and are not intended to limit the scope and spirit of the invention.  
         [0029]      FIG. 5  illustrates a segment of a fence  54  which is ready to be sheathed by lids and canals in  53  and  55 . It should be noticed that in the preferred embodiment, the three sides of the post not connected to the rails are inserted to the canal while the side of the post connected to the rail is inserted to the lid. Similarly, the three sides of the rails not connected to the posts are inserted to the canal while the one connected to the post is inserted in the lid. Notice that the lid and the canal are cut off to the corresponding length of the post and rail and that each point of connection between the post and the rail requires cutting off the lid in such a way that the lid fits all spaces but the ones wherein there is a post-lid connection. The said installation manner is only one of many possibilities and is not intended to limit the scope and spirit of the invention.  
         [0030]      FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B  illustrate a progressive view of the installation of the invention to a section of a fence  54 . Indeed  FIG. 6A  contains all the components of  FIG. 5  but wherein the lids and canals have been partially inserted to the fence section  54 , the next illustration  FIG. 6B  illustrates the whole insertion of the said lid and canal to the point wherein the whole fence section is totally sheathed.  
         [0031]     It is clearly understood that that the descriptions disclosed in this application are of illustrative nature and that multiple modifications may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from scope and spirit of the instant invention and based upon the entire or part of the whole instant disclosure herein discussed or illustrated. The said modifications or variations may included but not limited to variations in size, shape, materials, form, function and manner to carry out the installation or assembly and use. The said changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the instant invention.