JP7724750B2 - fence - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fence installed on a deck or the like.

Fences with lighting functions have been known in the past.

Patent No. 5552444

There is a demand for improved ease of installation and compactness in fences with lighting functions.

The purpose of this invention is to improve the ease of installation and compactness of fences with lighting functions.

One embodiment is a fence comprising posts and cross bars, each of which has a cross bar member, a cross bar cover that covers the top surface of the cross bar member, and a lighting device. The cross bar member has a lighting device mounting groove that opens downward in the center of the width direction, and groove-like portions that open upward on both sides of the lighting device mounting groove in the width direction. The groove-like portions of the cross bar member are covered by the cross bar cover, forming a space for placing wiring or reinforcing materials.

According to the embodiment, it is possible to improve the ease of installation and compactness of fences with lighting functions.

This is an overall front view of the fence of the embodiment as seen from the inside. FIG. 1 is a partial front view of the upper portion of the fence of the embodiment. 1A and 1B are enlarged views of a portion of a fence according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is an enlarged front view of the connection between the post and the horizontal bar, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the connection between the post and the horizontal bar as viewed from below. 3A and 3B are diagrams of a horizontal rail of a fence according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is an exploded view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. 1A to 1F are exploded views of the mounting brackets for the horizontal rails of a fence according to an embodiment, and FIGS. 1G and 1H are views of the horizontal rails when they are attached. 3A and 3B are diagrams of a horizontal rail of a fence according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2 with some parts omitted, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2. 7A and 7B are enlarged partial views for explaining the lighting device of the fence of the embodiment, in which (a) is an enlarged front view of the connection part between the post and the horizontal bar, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of the connection part between the post and the horizontal bar as seen from below. In Fig. 7, components other than the lighting device are omitted as appropriate.

The fence of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings, using an example of a fence installed on a deck located outside a building.
In the following description, the left-right direction as viewed from the inside of the fence is referred to as the front direction, and the direction from the inside to the outside of the fence is referred to as the front direction or width direction.

(Overall structure of the fence)
As shown in Figure 1, the fence of this embodiment has multiple (three) posts 1, 1, a coping 2 supported across the upper ends of the posts 1, 1, and cross bars 3, 3 supported horizontally between the posts 1 at intermediate positions in the height direction of the posts 1, 1. Note that the number of posts or cross bars is not limited.

The support pillar 1 is made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy, and is a long hollow member having a rectangular cross section.
The coping 2 is made of a metal material such as aluminum alloy, and is a long, hollow member with a rectangular cross section. It is placed on the top surface of each support 1 and fixed to the support 1 by support joints 22. Resin end caps 2a are attached to both end faces of the coping 2.

The cross beam 3 is a long member and is attached between the side surfaces of the support pillar 1.
The horizontal beam 3 is equipped with LED lighting 51 of lighting equipment 5 that illuminates the area below the horizontal beam 3 along the longitudinal direction (viewing direction), and is connected to a power source (not shown) via wiring 52 arranged inside the support 1.
The horizontal rail 3 on which the lighting device 5 is arranged will be described in more detail below.

(Strut configuration)
As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the cross beam 3 has a cross beam member 31, a cross beam cover 32 that covers the upper surface of the cross beam member 31, and a lighting cover 33, which are long members made of a metal material such as aluminum alloy, and is attached between the sides of the support 1 by a cross beam mounting bracket 41.

As shown in Figure 4, the crosspiece member 31 has a lighting equipment mounting groove 31a located in the widthwise center and opening downward, bottom wall portions 31b, 31b extending outward from the lower ends on both sides of the lighting equipment mounting groove 31a in the widthwise direction (projection direction), and outer walls 31c, 31c continuing from the outer ends of the bottom wall portions 31b, 31b and extending upward. Groove-shaped portions 31d, 31d opening upward are formed on both sides of the widthwise direction of the lighting equipment mounting groove 31a.

The horizontal rail member 31 is arranged so that the long LED light 51 that constitutes the lighting device 5 emits light downward in the lighting device mounting groove 31a. Note that the light attached to the lighting device mounting groove 31a is not limited to a long LED light; multiple lights may be arranged side by side with spaces between them.

The lighting cover 33 is a flat plate-shaped member with elongated screw holes 33b that are elongated in the width direction at appropriate positions in the longitudinal direction, and a positioning portion 33a formed on the top surface with multiple longitudinally extending grooves arranged in a row in the width direction.

The cross beam member 31 has screw holes 31g, 31g formed on the underside of both widthwise sides, specifically in the bottom wall portions 31b, 31b. The lighting covers 33, 33 are arranged side by side in the widthwise direction on either side of the lighting equipment mounting groove 31a, and are attached by fixing means b1, b1 such as screws via the screw holes 31g, 31g of the cross beam member 31 and the screw hole 33b of the lighting cover 33, so that their position can be adjusted freely in the widthwise direction.

The underside of the bottom wall portions 31b, 31b of the cross-rail member 31 is formed with positioning portions 31e, which have multiple longitudinally extending grooves arranged in a row in the width direction. The lighting cover 33 is positioned in the width direction relative to the underside of the bottom wall portions 31b, 31b by the engagement of the positioning portions 33a with the positioning portions 31e of the cross-rail member 31, and is fixed parallel to the cross-rail member 31.

The cross-rail member 31 has locking claws 31f, 31f formed on the lower outer surface of the outer walls 31c, 31c for attaching the cross-rail cover 32.

The cross-rail cover 32 has an upper wall portion 32a and side wall portions 32b, 32b extending downward from both sides of the upper wall portion 32a in the width direction. Engagement ribs 32c, 32c are formed on the lower inner surfaces of the side wall portions 32b, 32b to engage with the engagement claws 31f, 31f of the cross-rail member 31.

The horizontal crosspiece 3 is assembled by attaching the horizontal crosspiece cover 32 to the horizontal crosspiece member 31 from above, so that the locking ribs 32c, 32c of the horizontal crosspiece cover 32 engage with the locking claws 31f, 31f of the horizontal crosspiece member 31. The groove portions 31d, 31d are covered by the horizontal crosspiece cover 32, forming spaces s1, s1 on both sides of the width of the lighting equipment mounting groove 31a.

(Attaching the crosspiece to the support post)
The horizontal beam mounting bracket 41 for mounting the horizontal beam member 31 of the horizontal beam 3 to the support 1 has a first mounting bracket 411 and a second mounting bracket 412 made of a metal material such as steel.
The cross-beam mounting bracket 41 has the second mounting bracket 412 fixed to the side of the support 1, and the second mounting bracket 412 and the first mounting bracket 411 clamp the bottom wall portions 31b, 31b of the cross-beam member 31 of the cross-beam 3, thereby attaching the cross-beam 3 to the support 1.

As shown in Figures 5(a) and (b), the first mounting bracket 411 has a vertical wall 411a with an outer circumferential dimension slightly larger than the cross section of the cross bar 3, and horizontal walls 411b, 411b extending horizontally from a predetermined height position on both sides of the vertical wall 411a in the width direction, and the inside of the vertical wall 411a is hollowed out to form a hollowed-out portion 411c.
The first mounting bracket 411 has screw holes 411d, 411d formed in the horizontal walls 411b, 411b.

As shown in Figures 5(c) and (d), the second mounting bracket 412 has a vertical wall 412a with outer dimensions that fit inside the cutout portion 411c of the first mounting bracket 411, and a horizontal wall 412b that is wider than the vertical wall 412a and extends horizontally from the bottom edge of the vertical wall 412a.
The second mounting bracket 412 has a screw hole 412c formed in the vertical wall 412a through which a fixing means b2 such as a screw can be passed for attaching it to the support 1, and a long screw hole 412d formed in the horizontal wall 412b in the longitudinal direction of the cross bar 3.
As shown in Figures 3(b) and 5(c), it is preferable that the second mounting bracket 412 has a notch 412e at the center of the tip of the horizontal wall 412b, which allows the end of the LED light 51 to be seen, so that light from the LED light 51 can be emitted without waste.

When attaching the cross beam 3 to the support 1, as shown in Figures 5(e) to (h), the second mounting bracket 412 is attached to the support 1 by fastening means b2 such as a screw through the screw hole 412c in the vertical wall 412a.
The first mounting bracket 411 is positioned so that the vertical wall 412a of the second mounting bracket 412, which is fixed to the support 1, overlaps with the vertical wall 411a so that the vertical wall 412a is positioned within the cutout portion 411c.

The bottom wall portion 31b of the cross member 31 is positioned between the horizontal wall 412b of the second mounting bracket 412, which is positioned so that the vertical wall 411a and vertical wall 412a overlap, and the horizontal wall 411b of the first mounting bracket 411. The cross member 31 is then attached to the support 1 by clamping it by screwing fixing means b3 such as screws into the screw holes 411d of the first mounting bracket 411, the screw holes 412d of the second mounting bracket 412, and the screw holes provided in the cross member 31.

The horizontal rail mounting bracket 41 attached to the support 1 has communication holes 41a, 41a that connect an opening (not shown) formed in the support 1 to the spaces s1, s1 of the horizontal rail 3, allowing the wiring of the lighting device 5 from the support 1 to the inside of the horizontal rail 3.

(Reinforcement of horizontal bars)
As shown in Figures 2, 3 and 6(a), the horizontal rail 3 of the fence of this embodiment has reinforcing members 6 arranged in the spaces s1, s1 in the central region in the longitudinal direction.
The reinforcing member 6 is made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy, and is a long, hollow member with a rectangular cross section.It is placed within the spaces s1, s1 of the cross bar 3 and fixed to the bottom wall portions 31b, 31b of the cross bar member 31 by fixing means b4 such as screws.

The cross section of the reinforcing member 6 is not limited to a hollow rectangular shape, but may also be a generally L-shaped or U-shaped cross section, and the means for fastening the reinforcing member 6 to the cross beam 3 is not limited. Furthermore, there are no limitations on the area of the cross beam 3 where the reinforcing member 6 is placed.

(wiring for lighting equipment)
In this embodiment, the fence post 1 has an opening (not shown) at the attachment point of the cross bar 3 through which the wiring 52 of the lighting device 5 passes, and the wiring 52 passed through the post 1 enters one space s1 of the cross bar 3 from the opening in the post 1 via the communication hole 41a (cut-out portion 411c) of the first mounting bracket 411, as shown in Figure 7, and is connected to the LED lighting 51.
The lighting equipment 5 is provided with dry cones 53 at appropriate positions to protect it from rainwater.

(Effects of the fence of this embodiment)
The fence of this embodiment has a lighting equipment mounting groove in the widthwise center of the cross bar 3 for placing the LED light 51 of the lighting equipment 5, and space is formed on both sides of the lighting equipment mounting groove in the widthwise direction so that the wiring of the lighting equipment can be placed, making it possible to provide a compact illuminated cross bar without increasing the cross section.

The fence of this embodiment allows reinforcing members to be placed on both sides of the width of the lighting equipment mounting groove, allowing for balanced reinforcement of the cross bars, and the fence can be constructed using long cross bars while still incorporating lighting equipment.

In the fence of this embodiment, lighting covers are arranged on both sides of the underside of the cross bar members in the width direction, sandwiching the lighting equipment mounting grooves. The position of the lighting covers 33 can be adjusted freely in the width direction, so that, as shown in Figure 6 (b), the range of light that is illuminated can be changed by adjusting the position of the lighting cover 33 (arrow X), and the intensity of the light can be adjusted depending on the location and purpose of installing the fence.
Furthermore, the lighting covers 33 are individually arranged on both sides of the width of the LED lights 51 of the lighting equipment 5, so the range of light that is illuminated can be changed between inside and outside the fence.

It goes without saying that the above embodiments do not limit the invention described in the claims, but are to be treated as examples.

1: Support 3: Horizontal beam 31: Horizontal beam member 31a: Lighting device mounting groove 31b: Bottom wall portion 31c: Outer wall 31d: Groove-shaped portion 32: Horizontal beam cover 33: Lighting cover 5: Lighting device 51: LED lighting 52: Wiring 6: Reinforcement member 33a: Positioning portion

Claims (1)

Equipped with supports and crosspieces,
The horizontal beam includes a horizontal beam member, a horizontal beam cover that covers an upper surface of the horizontal beam member, and a lighting device,
the horizontal beam member has a lighting equipment mounting groove at the center in the width direction, the lighting equipment mounting groove being open downward, and groove-shaped portions on both sides in the width direction of the lighting equipment mounting groove being open upward;
A fence in which the groove-shaped portion of the crossbar member is covered with a crossbar cover to form a space for placing wiring or reinforcing members.