Fence rail bracket with push fasteners

Abstract

A fence rail bracket assembly for mounting a fence rail to a fence post includes a mounting bracket and one or more push fasteners. The mounting bracket has two sidewalls, a bottom wall, and a rear wall. The bottom wall supports the weight of the rail. The rear wall includes one or more post-mounting apertures that receive one or more post-mounting push fasteners to mount the bracket to the post. And the two sidewalls receive the rail between them and include one or more rail-mounting apertures that receive one or more rail-mounting push fasteners to secure the rail to the bracket. Other aspects of the invention include a fence system including the fence rail bracket assembly, and a method of mounting a fence rail to a fence post using the fence rail bracket assembly.

1 . A fence system, comprising:
 at least one generally vertical post;   at least one rail that is laterally arranged relative to the post;   at least one bracket that mounts to the post, wherein the bracket defines at least one rail-mounting aperture; and   at least one rail-mounting push fastener that extends through the rail-mounting aperture and into the rail to secure the rail to the bracket.   
     
     
         2 . The fence system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one rail-mounting push fastener extends into but not all the way through the rail. 
     
     
         3 . The fence system of  claim 2 , wherein the bracket includes two generally vertical sidewalls, the at least one rail-mounting aperture comprises four rail-mounting apertures with each of the sidewalls defining two of the rail-mounting apertures, and the at least one rail-mounting push fastener comprises four rail-mounting push fasteners. 
     
     
         4 . The fence system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one rail-mounting push fastener extends all the way through the rail. 
     
     
         5 . The fence system of  claim 4 , wherein the bracket includes two generally vertical sidewalls, the at least one rail-mounting aperture comprises at least two rail-mounting apertures with each of the sidewalls defining one of the rail-mounting apertures and with the rail-mounting apertures aligned with each other, and the at least one rail-mounting push fastener extends all the way through the rail and through the aligned rail-mounting apertures. 
     
     
         6 . The fence system of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one rail-mounting push fastener includes a segment with resilient wing elements and a segment without resilient wing elements. 
     
     
         7 . The fence system of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one rail-mounting aperture has two parallel opposing edges, wherein the at least one rail-mounting push fastener includes a segment with a square cross-section that is received in the rail-mounting aperture and engages the parallel edges to prevent rotation of the rail-mounting push fastener, a segment with resilient wing elements that engage the rail to secure the rail-mounting push fastener to the rail, and a segment with threading, and further comprising a rail-mounting nut with threading that mates with the threaded segment of the rail-mounting push fastener. 
     
     
         8 . The fence system of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one rail-mounting push fastener includes a head and a leading tip opposite the head, the square cross-section segment is adjacent the head, and the threaded segment is adjacent the leading tip. 
     
     
         9 . The fence system of  claim 1 , wherein the bracket includes a rear sidewall that defines at least one post-mounting aperture, and further comprising at least one post-mounting push fastener that extends through the post-mounting aperture and into the post to secure the bracket to the post. 
     
     
         10 . A fence system, comprising:
 at least one generally vertical post;   at least one rail that is laterally arranged relative to the post;   at least one bracket adapted to support the rail, wherein the bracket defines at least one post-mounting aperture; and   at least one post-mounting push fastener that extends through the post-mounting aperture and into the post to secure the bracket to the post.   
     
     
         11 . The fence system of  claim 10 , wherein the bracket includes at least one generally vertical rear wall that defines the at least one post-mounting aperture. 
     
     
         12 . The fence system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one post-mounting push fastener extends into but not all the way through the post. 
     
     
         13 . The fence system of  claim 12 , wherein the bracket defines at least one rail-mounting aperture, and further comprising at least one rail-mounting push fastener that extends through the rail-mounting aperture and into the rail to secure the rail to the bracket. 
     
     
         14 . A fence bracket assembly for use with a fence system including at least one generally vertical post and at least one rail that is laterally arranged relative to the post, the bracket assembly comprising:
 two generally vertical sidewalls that receive the rail therebetween, wherein at least one of the sidewalls defines at least one rail-mounting aperture;   a rear wall extending at least partially between the two sidewalls and defining at least one post-mounting aperture;   a bottom wall extending at least partially between the two sidewalls and defining a support surface that supports the rail;   at least one post-mounting push fastener that extends through the post-mounting aperture and into the post to secure the bracket to the post; and   at least one rail-mounting push fastener that extends through the rail-mounting aperture and into the rail to secure the rail to the bracket.   
     
     
         15 . The fence bracket assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one rail-mounting push fastener includes a segment with resilient wing elements and a segment without resilient wing elements. 
     
     
         16 . The fence bracket assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one rail-mounting aperture has two parallel opposing edges, wherein the at least one rail-mounting push fastener includes a segment with a square cross-section that is received in the rail-mounting aperture and engages the parallel edges to prevent rotation of the rail-mounting push fastener, a segment with resilient wing elements that engage the rail to secure the rail-mounting push fastener to the rail, and a segment with threading, and further comprising a rail-mounting nut with threading that mates with the threaded segment of the rail-mounting push fastener. 
     
     
         17 . A method of mounting a fence rail to a fence post, comprising:
 mounting a fence rail bracket to the post;   positioning a fence rail on the bracket;   forming at least one rail-mounting aperture in the rail in alignment with a rail-mounting aperture in the bracket; and   inserting a rail-mounting push fastener into the aligned rail-mounting apertures of the rail and the bracket to secure the rail to the bracket, without the need for a screwdriver.   
     
     
         18 . The bracket-mounting method of  claim 17 , wherein the step of forming at least one rail-mounting aperture in the rail comprises drilling at least one rail-mounting aperture in the rail. 
     
     
         19 . The bracket-mounting method of  claim 17 , wherein the rail-mounting aperture in the bracket has two parallel opposing edges, and wherein the step of inserting a rail-mounting push fastener comprises:
 grasping a rail-mounting push fastener;   inserting the rail-mounting push fastener into the rail-mounting aperture, all the way through the rail, and out an opposite side of the bracket so that a square segment of the rail-mounting push fastener is engaged by the parallel opposing edges of the rail-mounting aperture to prevent rotation of the rail-mounting push fastener, a segment of the rail-mounting push fastener with resilient wing elements engages the rail to secure the rail-mounting push fastener to the rail, and a segment of the rail-mounting push fastener with threading extends out of the opposite side of the bracket;   releasing the rail-mounting push fastener; and   installing a threaded nut onto the threaded segment of the rail-mounting push fastener without manually restraining the rail-mounting push fastener against rotation.   
     
     
         20 . The bracket-mounting method of  claim 17 , wherein the step of mounting a fence rail bracket to the post comprises drilling at least one post-mounting aperture in the post and inserting a post-mounting push fastener through a post-mounting aperture in the bracket and into the post-mounting aperture in the post, without the need for a screwdriver.