Patent ID: 8511648

Claim:
A fence system, comprising: an upper horizontal rail and a lower horizontal rail extending along respective upper and lower rail axes, each of the rails comprising a respective extruded lineal of plastic material including a horizontal top wall extending laterally between first and second vertical rail sidewalls that depend downwardly from opposed edges of the top wall to define an internal cavity, a plurality of attachment legs each extending from a base surface and formed integrally with the sidewalls, and each attachment leg including a barb; a plurality of vertical members each extending between the upper and lower horizontal rails, each vertical member comprising at least one upper slot and at least one lower slot, and adapted to be received into the internal cavities of the upper and lower rails; wherein each of the attachment legs of the upper and lower rails is at least partially resilient to facilitate insertion of the attachment legs within respective ones of the slots when the vertical members are received into the internal cavities of the upper and lower rails; and wherein each barb resists removal of the attachment leg once inserted into a corresponding slot to facilitate securement of each vertical member to the upper and lower horizontal rails; and wherein each base surface is a surface of a base wall extending upwardly toward the top wall, and each of the attachment legs is cantilevered from a terminal end of one of the base walls; wherein each barb comprises an abutment surface that is offset from the base surface and that bears against an inner surface of the vertical member adjacent the respective slot into which the attachment leg is received when the attachment leg is fully inserted into the slot to inhibit removal of the attachment leg from the slot; and wherein each base surface engages an outer surface of one of the vertical members when each attachment leg is received in one of the slots.