Tool-Free Fence Panel Assembly via Rotatable Pickets and Alignment Rods
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fence panels require specialized equipment for assembly and have complex component parts, making them difficult to disassemble, transport, and assemble on-site, while also lacking the ability to be securely installed on slopes.
Innovation Solution
A fence panel design featuring rails with holes and pickets with apertures that create a channel, allowing a rod to extend through the pickets and align with the rail holes for secure assembly without tools, enabling easy transportation and installation on slopes through picket rotation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If fence panels are designed with traditional connection methods, then assembly requires specialized equipment and is complex, but the panels cannot be easily disassembled or transported
Solution Approach 1:
The fence panel is divided into modular components (rails with holes, pickets with apertures, and rods) that can be easily assembled and disassembled. The segmentation allows each component to be independently manufactured and transported, then quickly assembled on-site without specialized equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The rod serves multiple functions simultaneously: it connects adjacent pickets together, passes through the apertures in the pickets, and aligns with the holes in the rail. This merging of functions into a single component simplifies the overall assembly process and reduces the need for additional fastening elements.
2Ease of manufacture
If fence panels use simple component parts for easy manufacturing and shipping, then assembly becomes easier, but the connection security may be insufficient to prevent picket removal or rattling
Solution Approach 1:
The rod is designed to be movable within the apertures of the pickets, allowing the pickets to rotate relative to the rail for installation on slopes. The rod can shift position to accommodate this rotation while maintaining connection security, preventing both picket removal and rattling through dynamic adjustment rather than rigid fixation.
3Reliability
If pickets are fixed rigidly to rails, then connection security is maximized, but the fence cannot be installed on slopes due to inability to rotate
Solution Approach 1:
The rod is designed to be movable within the apertures of the pickets, allowing the pickets to rotate relative to the rail for installation on slopes. The rod can shift position to accommodate this rotation while maintaining connection security, preventing both picket removal and rattling through dynamic adjustment rather than rigid fixation.
4Reliability
If fence panels are assembled with multiple fastening components, then connection security improves, but assembly complexity and shipping costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rod serves multiple functions simultaneously: it connects adjacent pickets together, passes through the apertures in the pickets, and aligns with the holes in the rail. This merging of functions into a single component simplifies the overall assembly process and reduces the need for additional fastening elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The rod is a universal component that performs multiple functions: connecting pickets, providing alignment with the rail, enabling rotation for slope installation, and preventing rattling. This multi-functionality reduces the total number of components needed while maintaining connection security.
Data Source
AI summary
The present application provides a fence panel comprising at least one rail, wherein a side of the rail comprises a plurality of holes therethrough a plurality of pickets comprising apertures in opposite side walls thereof, such that the apertures create a channel extending through the picket width, wherein each of the plurality of pickets extends through a different hole in the rail, such that the apertures in the pickets are aligned and a rod extending along at least part of the length of the rail, wherein the rod extends through the channel between the apertures in each of the pickets.