Brackets for Temporary Support of a Rail Between Upright Posts During Construction of a Fence or the Like

Abstract

For temporarily supporting a rail during installation between a pair of upright posts, a bracket features an inner face for placement against a lateral side of the first post, and an outer face lying opposite the inner face. An upright bracing flange projects inwardly from the inner face of the bracket at an upright edge thereof to embrace a corner of the first post in squared relation thereto. A seat extends perpendicularly away from the bracing flange to receive an underside of the rail and place an end of the rail closely adjacent the lateral side of the first post. An upright shoulder is situated above the seat in perpendicular relation thereto and parallel relation to the bracing flange to receiving a face of the rail. Seating and abutting the rail with the seat and the upright shoulder of the bracket thus squares the rail with the post.

1 . A device for temporarily supporting an end of a rail during installation thereof between a pair of upright posts, said device comprising:
 a bracket for placement on a first upright post at a lateral side thereof that faces toward a second upright post spaced therefrom, said bracket comprising:
 an inner face for placement against the lateral side of the first post; 
 an outer face lying opposite the inner face to face toward the second post; 
 an upright bracing flange projecting inwardly from the inner face of the bracket at an upright perimeter edge thereof to reach inwardly from the lateral side of the first post against an adjacent outer side thereof so that the inner face and the bracing flange cooperatively embrace a corner of the post at which the lateral side and the adjacent outer side intersect, thereby squaring the bracket relative to said corner of the post; 
 a seat extending perpendicularly away from the bracing flange to receive an underside of the rail atop said seat in a position placing an end of the rail in close adjacency or abutment with the lateral side of the first post; and 
 an upright shoulder situated above the seat in perpendicular relation thereto and parallel relation to the bracing flange for receiving a face of the rail in abutted contact against the upright shoulder, whereby seating and abutment of the rail against the seat and the upright shoulder of the bracket acts to square the rail with the post. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the seat comprises a seating flange projecting outwardly away from the outer face of the bracket to define a widened seat area whose width exceeds a thickness dimension of the bracket measured between the inner and outer faces thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1  comprising a tape measure slot in which a catch tab of a tape measure in insertable to enable a post-to-post measurement between the two posts after installation of the device. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the shoulder comprises a shoulder flange projecting outwardly away from the outer face of the bracket to define a shoulder width that exceeds a thickness dimension of the bracket measured between the inner and outer faces thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 4  comprising a tape measure slot at an intersection of the shoulder flange and the outer face of the bracket to enable insertion of a tape measure catch in said slot to measure the distance between the two posts after installation of the device. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the bracket comprises a bent plate having a main portion that defines the inner-and outer faces of the bracket and from which the bracing flange is integrally bent. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 2  wherein the bracket comprises a bent plate having a main portion that defines the inner-and outer faces of the bracket and from which the seating flange is integrally bent. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 4  wherein the bracket comprises a bent plate having a main portion that defines the inner-and outer faces of the bracket and from which the shoulder flange is integrally bent. 
     
     
         9 . The device of any one of  claim 7  wherein the bracing flange is integrally bent from the main portion of the bent plate. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1  wherein an entirety of the bracket is defined by a singular bent plate having a main portion which defines the inner and outer faces and from which other portions of the bracket are integrally bent. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 6  wherein the main portion of the bent plate has a vertical leg from which a horizontal leg reaches perpendicularly outward at an elevation below an upper end of the vertical leg, the seat resides atop the horizontal leg, the upright shoulder resides at an inner side of the vertical leg from which the horizontal leg extends, and the bracing flange resides at an opposing outer side of the vertical leg. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11  wherein the main portion of the bent plate is L-shaped and consists solely of said vertical and horizontal legs. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the bracket comprises a main portion defining the inner and outer faces and having a vertical leg from which a horizontal leg reaches perpendicularly outward at an elevation below an upper end of the vertical leg, the seat resides atop the horizontal leg, the upright shoulder resides at an inner side of the vertical leg from which the horizontal leg extends, and the bracing flange resides at an opposing outer side of the vertical leg. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 13  wherein the main portion of the bracket is L-shaped and consists solely of said vertical and horizontal legs. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 1  comprising a fastening hole penetrating the bracket from the outer face thereof to the inner face thereof to enable temporary fastening of the bracket to the lateral side of the post through said fastening hole. 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 1  wherein a seating depth of the bracket measured from the shoulder to the bracing flange equates to a half-width of the post minus a half-thickness of the rail, whereby the bracket is configured to center the rail across the lateral side of the post. 
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 1  wherein a seating depth of the bracket measured from the shoulder to the bracing flange equates to a full-width of the post minus a full-thickness of the rail, whereby the bracket is configured to place the rail in flush relation to a third side of the post that intersects the lateral side of the post at which the bracket is placed and that is situated opposite the adjacent outer side of the post that is embraced by the bracing flange. 
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 1  comprising a visual marker situated on the bracket and spaced above the seat by a distance that equals a width of the rail, whereby placement of the visual marker in alignment with a top end of the post places a top edge of the rail flush the top end of the post when the rail is placed atop the seat. 
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 18  wherein the visual marker is an upper end of the bracket or an upper end of the shoulder. 
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 16  in combination with the rail and at least one of the posts. 
     
     
         21 . A device for temporarily supporting an end of a rail during installation thereof between a pair of upright posts, said bracket comprising:
 a planar main portion having a vertical leg that is coplanar with a horizontal leg that reaches perpendicularly outward from the vertical leg at a spaced elevation below a top end of said vertical leg, said planar main portion having opposing inner and outer faces;   an upright bracing flange reaching perpendicularly inward from the vertical leg of the planar main portion at an upright outer edge of said vertical leg that resides opposite the horizontal leg of the planar main portion;   a seating flange reaching perpendicularly outward from the horizontal leg of the planar main portion at a horizontal upper edge of said horizontal leg; and   a shoulder flange reaching perpendicularly outward from the vertical leg of the planar main portion at an upright inner edge of said vertical leg that resides opposite the upright outer edge thereof.   
     
     
         22 . The device of  claim 21  wherein the bracket comprises a bent L-shaped plate that defines the L-shaped main portion, and of which the upright bracing flange, the seating flange and the shoulder flange are integrally bent portions. 
     
     
         23 . A method of installing a rail between first and second upright posts that have facing-together lateral sides that intersect adjacent outer sides of said uprights posts at outer corners thereof, said method comprising:
 (a) with a bracket device having an inside corner, a support seat and a shoulder that resides in perpendicular relation to said support seat, achieving a squared position of said bracket device on the first upright post by embracing the inside corner of said bracket about the outside corner of the first upright post, said squared position acting to (i) place the support seat of said bracket device adjacent to the lateral side of the first upright post in perpendicular relation to the outside corner of the first upright post, and (ii) place the shoulder of said bracket device adjacent to said lateral side of the first upright post in parallel relation to the outside corner of the first upright post at a distance inward therefrom;   (b) with said inside corner of the bracket device embraced about the outside corner of the first upright post, fastening the bracket device to the first upright post to maintain the squared position of the bracket device thereon;   (c) seating an underside of the rail atop the support seat of the bracket device with a first end of the rail in close adjacency or abutment with the lateral side of the first upright post and with a face of the rail in abutment against the shoulder of the bracket device, and, with a second end of the rail supported on the second upright post, fastening the first end of the rail to the first upright post; and   (d) unfastening and removing the bracket device from the first upright post.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23  comprising, before step (c) installing a second matching bracket device on the second post by performing steps (a) and (b) with said second bracket device at said second post, and during step (c), using said second bracket device to support the second end of the rail during fastening of the first end of the rail to the first post. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23  wherein achieving the squared position in step (a) comprises placing a visual marker of the bracket device in alignment with a top end of the first post, and thereby automatically setting an elevation of the seat at a downward distance the top end of the post that equals a predetermined width dimension of the rail so that placement of the rail on the seat in a widthwise-up orientation automatically places a top edge of the rail flush with the top end of the post. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25  wherein the visual marker of the bracket device is an upper end of the bracket device or an upper end of the shoulder thereof. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 23  wherein the bracket device is the device of any one of  claims 1  to  22 .