Privacy panel system for ornamental fence
View Patent ↗A privacy panel system for ornamental fences that include a plurality of panel members that are dimensioned to fit within adjacent pickets of the ornamental fence to close off and provide privacy between the pickets. Each panel member comprises a central section with offset attachment wings, the latter of which are affixed to the back planar face of the parallel fence pickets. The central section is offset to extend within and between adjacent pickets, but offset from the front face thereof. To provide privacy between a picket and a post, such as an end post, an elongated trim piece is provided having a first edge defining a slot with a slot gap substantially equal to the thickness of the privacy panel to enable a free edge of a central section of the privacy panel to be tightly retained within the slot. The free edge of the privacy panel is formed by cutting the central section vertically to provide a free end, which is rigidly and securely retained within the slot. Thus, the spacing between a picket and an end post, which is typically not of uniform spacing, can be closed off through the use of the end post trim piece in combination with the cut central section of the privacy panel.
1. A privacy panel system for a preexisting ornamental fence, said privacy panel system comprising: a plurality of vertical fence pickets, each having parallel front and back faces, disposable between a pair of vertical posts of said fence;
a set of privacy panels, each panel having a width greater than the spacing between adjacent fence pickets and a length substantially greater than the width, each said panel being opaque and made of a plastics material, each said panel having a single planar central section and a pair of attachment wings, each of which are integral with said central section through a transition section, said attachment wings parallel to said planar central section and offset therefrom a distance less than the distance between the front and back faces of the pickets so that the planar central section is recessed from the front faces of the pickets, said planar central section width not greater than the spacing between adjacent pickets so as to fit therewithin and wherein the attachment wings of adjacent panels may overlap each other and are affixable to the pickets;
an elongated trim piece having a length substantially equal to the length of said privacy panels, said trim piece being opaque and made of a plastics material, said trim-piece having a first edge defining a slot having a slot gap substantially equal to the thickness of said privacy panel to enable a free edge of a central section of said privacy panel to be tightly retained within said slot, said trim piece further comprising an integral trim piece attachment flange.
2. The privacy panel system of claim 1 wherein said plastics material is a durable outdoor grade plastic.
3. The privacy panel system of claim 1 further comprising attachment elements for affixing said attachment wings to the vertical fence pickets and for affixing said trim piece attachment flange to a vertical post.
4. The privacy panel system of claim 1 wherein said trim piece further comprises a privacy face integral with and extending from said first edge and parallel with said slot.
5. The privacy panel system of claim 1 wherein at least one privacy panel is cuttable along the vertical length of said central section to remove one of said attachment wings and form a free edge of said central section.
6. The privacy panel system of claim 1 wherein the width of said single planar central section is substantially equal to, but just less than, the spacing between adjacent pickets.
7. The privacy panel system of claim 6 wherein the distance between adjacent pickets is approximately 4″.
8. An ornamental fence combined with privacy panels affixed thereto comprising:
an ornamental fence comprising a plurality of vertically disposed parallel elongated pickets, each picket of rectangular cross-section having a front face, a back face, and a pair of side faces, at least one vertical post adjacent at least one of said pickets, and at least one horizontally disposed rail intersecting the parallel pickets and post to define vertically elongated rectangular fence openings;
a plurality of privacy panels affixed to the ornamental fence between adjacent pickets and covering said rectangular fence openings, each privacy panel comprising an opaque plastic panel having a width greater than the spacing between adjacent pickets and a length sufficient to cover the rectangular fence opening,
each said panel being of uniform thickness,
each said panel having a single substantially planar central section and a pair of attachment wings, each integral with said central section through a transition section,
said attachment wings parallel to said planar central section and offset therefrom with each transition section substantially perpendicular to the central section and attachment wings, the central section positionable within, and enclosing, said vertically elongated rectangular fence opening with each said transition section in facing relationship to a side face of adjacent pickets and wherein said attachment wings overlie one of said front and back faces of adjacent pickets for attachment thereto and wherein the attachment wings of adjacent privacy panels overlap each other and are affixed to a rectangular face of the pickets by screws.
9. The combination of claim 7 further comprising an end privacy panel between a picket and an adjacent post, which includes includes only a single attachment wing and includes a free edge, and further comprising an elongated trim piece having a length substantially equal to the length of the end privacy panel, said trim piece being opaque and made of a plastics material and having a first edge defining a slot having a slot gap substantially equal to the thickness of said end privacy panel, the free edge of the end privacy panel inserted within and tightly retained within said slot, said trim piece further comprising an integral trim piece attachment flange affixed to the post.
10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said trim piece includes a facing integral with and extending from the first edge and parallel with said slot.
11. The combination of claim 8 wherein the distance between adjacent pickets is approximately 4″.
12. An ornamental fence combined with privacy panels affixed thereto comprising:
an ornamental fence comprising a plurality of vertically disposed parallel elongated pickets, each picket of rectangular cross-section having a front face, a back face, and a pair of side faces, at least one vertical post adjacent at least one of said pickets, and at least one horizontally disposed rail intersecting the parallel pickets and post to define vertically elongated rectangular fence openings;
a plurality of privacy panels affixed to the ornamental fence and covering said rectangular fence openings, each privacy panel between adjacent pickets comprising an opaque plastic panel having a width greater than the spacing between adjacent pickets and a length sufficient to cover the rectangular fence opening,
each said panel being of uniform thickness,
each said panel having a single substantially planar central section and a pair of attachment wings, each integral with said central section through a transition section,
said attachment wings parallel to said planar central section and offset therefrom with each transition section substantially perpendicular to the central section and attachment wings, the central section positionable within, and enclosing, said vertically elongated rectangular fence opening with each said transition section in facing relationship to a side face of adjacent pickets and wherein said attachment wings overlie one of said front and back faces of adjacent pickets for attachment thereto and wherein the attachment wings are offset from the central section a distance less than the distance between said front and back faces of the picket so that the central section is recessed from the front of the ornamental fence pickets.