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Title:
BRACKET FOR AFFIXING BALUSTERS TO A RAIL FRAME
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2020/071898
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A bracket is provided for affixing balusters to a rail frame or rail support in a secure manner to form a railing, guard rail, balustrade, grille and the like so that the assembly and installation of these structures may be simplified by self-assembly or do-it-yourself (DIY) method using home tools. The bracket is provided as an elongated insert to be slided into the rail frame along its length. The bracket's configuration is provided as a U-shape cross-section or profile comprising a bottom plane integrally connecting a pair of opposing side walls wherein at least a pair of projections is formed from the opposing sides of the side walls to define an opening smaller than the diameter (i.e.width or thickness) of the baluster to be gripped. The projections are integrally formed with the opposing side walls and may be provided as a pair of fingers projecting from the opposing side walls. The fingers' ends may be tapered in the direction of the baluster's insertion with the fingers' ends provided with forked or multiple tips, or more preferably with triple forked tips. Preferably still, two pairs of fingers are provided.

Inventors:
KYO YAN CHOON (MY)
Application Number:
PCT/MY2019/000042
Publication Date:
April 09, 2020
Filing Date:
October 04, 2019
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
KYO YAN CHOON (MY)
International Classes:
E04F11/18; E04H17/14; E06B3/54; E06B3/58
Foreign References:
US4334671A1982-06-15
US3363390A1968-01-16
US20170234015A12017-08-17
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1. A bracket for gripping an end of an intermediate support member, said bracket comprising a bottom plane integrally connecting a pair of opposing side walls forming a U-shape profile or cross-section, wherein at least a pair of projections is formed from said opposing sides of said side walls to define an opening smaller than the diameter [or width, thickness] of said intermediate support member to be gripped.

2. The bracket according to Claim 1 wherein the projections are integrally formed with said opposing side walls.

3. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the projections comprise a pair of fingers projecting from said opposing side walls.

4. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the opposing pair of fingers' ends are tapered in the direction of insertion of said intermediate support member end.

5. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each of the opposing pair of fingers’ ends are provided with forked/multiple tips.

6. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the fingers' ends are provided with triple forked tips.

7. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein two pairs of fingers are provided.

8. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims provided as a rail or elongation having a U-shape profile with pairs of fingers defining a gap or opening there along for gripping a plurality of intermediate support members, including balusters, to be insertable therein.

9. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims made of metal or alloy thereof.

10. The bracket according to Claim 9 made of aluminium or alloy thereof.

11. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims fabricated by extrusion, including aluminium extrusion.

12. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the metal or its alloy has malleability or ductility properties of sufficient softness to enable barb tip ends of the fingers or fork ends to bite into the intermediate support member's end surfaces to enhance grip against withdrawal of said intermediate support member from said bracket.

13. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein its external dimensions allow for ease of insertion and fitting into a rail frame, said rail frame provided with a plurality of apertures for ease of insertion of the intermediate support members' ends therethrough into the opening to be gripped therein.

14. The bracket according to Claim 13 provided in each of a pair of rail frames comprising a top rail and bottom rail holding a plurality of the intermediate support members therein between, wherein each of the pair of brackets grips the ends of said intermediate support within the respective top and bottom rail frames.

15. The bracket according to any one of Claims 13 - 14 wherein its external dimensions is about 1 mm less than the corresponding internal dimensions of the rail frame.

16. The bracket according to any one of Claims 13 - 15 wherein the diameter of the intermediate support member is wider than the opening diameter by about 3 times the difference between the external dimensions of the bracket and the internal dimensions of the rail frame.

17. The bracket according to Claim 16 wherein the diameter of the intermediate support member is about 16 mm, the opening diameter is about 13 mm, and the gap between the bracket wall and the corresponding rail frame wall is about 1 mm.

18. The bracket according to Claim 16 wherein the diameter of the intermediate support member is about 16 mm, the opening diameter is about 12.9 mm, and the gap between the bracket wall and the corresponding rail frame wall is about 1 mm.

19. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the thickness of the pair of fingers is about one-fifth thinner than the U-shaped wall.

20. The bracket according to Claim 19 wherein the thickness of the pair of fingers is about 1 mm and the U-shaped wall is about 1.25 mm.

21. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the fingers extending laterally from the U-shaped walls have a length of 9.3 mm and a thickness of 1 mm.

22. The bracket according to any one of Claims 1 - 20 wherein the fingers have a rigidity of a finger having dimensions according to Claim 21 allowing limited flexure in engaging the intermediate support member's end when inserted.

23. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the U-shape profile’s side walls having a rigidity allowing for flexure of its top end according to said U-shape profile having a thickness of 1.25 mm and an aspect ratio of 21 mm height to 34 mm width.

24. The bracket according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the internal dimensions of the rail frame is defined by protrusions from the internal surface of said rail frame, said protrusions positioned to enable said bracket to be inserted with ease into said rail frame to grip the ends of said intermediate support members inserted through the apertures of said rail frame.

25. A rail frame according to Claim 24 wherein the insertion of intermediate support members causes outward flexure of the bracket’s opposing walls

counteracting against the protrusions from the internal surface of said rail frame.

26. A rail frame adapted for insertion thereinto of a bracket according to any one of the preceding claim.

27. A package or system of articles comprising

at least a bracket according to any one of the preceding claims, at least a rail frame according to any one of Claims 11 - 21,

a plurality of intermediate support members,

and optionally

end frame members, and

means for affixing to a building structure the aforesaid articles having been assembled into a railing, rail guard, balustrade, grille and the like, said package being a self-assemble or do-it-yourself (DIY) system.

28. A railing, rail guard, balustrade, grille and the like architectural fixture assembled from a package or system of articles according to Claim 27 and installed onto a building structure.

29. A product assembled from a package or system of articles according to Claim 27 including storage or holding enclosure, pet cage, mattress support for bed, barricade and like products formed, or having part thereof formed, by railing or grille.

Description:
Bracket for affixing balusters to a rail frame

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a railing assembly and grille-like products wherein components members such as the intermediate support members such as balusters may be affixed to the upper and lower rail frame to form the railing. In particular, a bracket insert is provided to enable the balusters to be affixed to the rail frames to form a railing or grille-like component which may in turn be assembled into a cage, rail guard, deck rail and the like.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventional railings such as a deck rail providing fencing as safety barrier to a swimming pool or staircase, etc. typically comprises a plurality of intermediate support members in form of bars, rods or balusters held in equidistal spacing in between a pair of rail support, comprising an upper (or top) and a lower (or bottom) rail frames, shown as Option 1 in FIG. 1A (Prior Art). Alternatively, the balusters may be affixed directly to the floor or deck in the case of a balustrade in Option 2 shown in FIG. 1A. It could be seen that the key to the sturdiness of the railing is the manner the baluster ends are fastened or affixed to the top and bottom rails. Hence, some prior art installations provide for a support rail to complement the affixing of the balusters thereto and the top and bottom rails are adapted to cover up or frame up the support rail for aesthetic reasons.

For aesthetics as well as ease of hand grip, a hand rail may be further provided on the top rail as shown in exploded view in FIG. IB (Prior Art) so that the fastening means for fixing the baluster ends to the rail may be hidden from touch and sight. Another conventional alternative is to provide the rail support integrally with the support rail and hand rail as shown in FIG. 1C. An example of means for jointing or fastening baluster ends to a support rail is British Patent GB-1129089 (Swiss Aluminium) which disclosed a nut and bolt affixing means as illustrated in FIG. ID (right) as compared to a typical railing configuration schematic diagram (left).

PCT publication WO-2010/108169 (Ferris) disclosed a method of affixing the balusters with specially adapted ends which are inserted into the rail support via holes and locked with an insert plate with corresponding holes, each adapted with a narrow portion, such that the baluster end may be locked in place by the hole’s narrow portion when the insert plate is shifted laterally. A current trend for railing is to provide it as a self-assemble or do-it-yourself (DIY) configuration such as that disclosed in US-2017/0089094 (Zhu) wherein the emphasis is on securing the support rails to the posts forming the rail frame so that the square frame is sufficiently sturdy to retain the elements, such as the balusters, within the frame. The baluster ends are capped with plastic sleeves for good fit before inserting into the holes. Rail support ends are fastened to the frame posts by screw means but which are exposed for ease of dismantling later. In respect of connecting frames in general, the use of a brackets with folding as projection to clip and hold in the place one member to be fastened is disclosed in US-5297886 (Janssen). In this prior art, the bracket’s folded projections enable the second member to be held at any length relative to the first member; nevertheless, screw means is necessary to securely attach and form a fixed connection between the two members.

As could be seen from the above description of prior art, the connection between the balusters and the rail support or frame requires screw, nut-and-bolt or other fastening means. None of the above-described features are able to provide for a sturdy and secure fitting of the rail elements without the need to carry out tedious fastening with screw or bolt of each baluster in order to sufficiently form a security railing or grille which matches that of the conventional welded railing or grille. SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

From the above-described disadvantages or limitations, it would be desirable to provide for such a self-assemble or DIY railing or grille package of components which a user may assemble and install himself with ordinary tools available at home without the need for specialized equipment, and that the assembled railing or grille has joints that are as strong as a welded joint, especially in joining the baluster ends to the rail support. It would be further advantages to provide for means enabling such jointing to be adaptable to fit existing rail frames or rail support products so that they may continue to be used and need not be replaced.

In a general embodiment of our invention, a bracket is provided for gripping an end of an intermediate support member, the bracket comprising a bottom plane integrally connecting a pair of opposing side walls forming a U-shape profile (i.e. cross-section of the bracket] wherein at least a pair of projections is formed from the opposing sides of the side walls to define an opening smaller than the diameter [i.e. width or thickness] of the intermediate support member to be gripped. Preferably, the projections are integrally formed with the opposing side walls and may be provided as a pair of fingers projecting from the opposing side walls. The fingers’ ends may be provided tapered in the direction of insertion of said intermediate support member end. Each of the opposing pair of fingers’ ends may be provided with forked or multiple tips, or more preferably with triple forked tips. Preferably still, two pairs of fingers are provided.

In one aspect of our invention, the bracket as described above may be provided as a rail or elongation having a U-shape profile with pairs of fingers defining a gap or opening along for gripping a plurality of intermediate support members, which may be provided as balusters, to be insertable therein.

In a second aspect of our invention, the bracket may preferably be made of metal or alloy thereof, including aluminium or alloy thereof. Preferably, the bracket is fabricated by extrusion, including aluminium extrusion. In this respect, the selected metal or its alloy may have malleability or ductility properties of sufficient softness to enable barb tip ends of the fingers or fork ends to bite into the intermediate support member's end surfaces to enhance grip against withdrawal of the intermediate support member from the bracket. ln a third aspect of our invention, our bracket's external dimensions allow for ease of insertion and fitting into a rail frame which is provided with a plurality of apertures for ease of insertion of the intermediate support members’ ends therethrough into the opening to be gripped therein. Preferably, the rail frame is provided in a pair comprising a top rail and bottom rail holding a plurality of the intermediate support members therein between, wherein each of the pair of brackets grips the ends of said intermediate support within the respective top and bottom rail frames. The external dimensions of the bracket is preferably about 1 mm less than the corresponding internal dimensions of the rail frame.

Preferably, the diameter of the intermediate support member is wider than the opening diameter by about 3 times the difference between the external dimensions of the bracket and the internal dimensions of the rail frame. In one preferred

embodiment, the diameter of the intermediate support member is about 16 mm, the opening diameter is about 13 mm and the gap between the bracket wall and the corresponding rail frame wall is about 1 mm. Preferably still, the diameter of the intermediate support member is about 16 mm whereas the opening diameter is about 12.9 mm, and the gap between the bracket wall and the corresponding rail frame wall is about 1 mm.

In another preferred embodiment, the thickness of the pair of fingers is about one- fifth thinner than the U-shaped wall, specifically, with the thickness of the pair of fingers being about 1 mm and the U-shaped wall about 1.25 mm. Another

embodiment of our bracket provides for the fingers laterally extending from the U- shaped walls to have a length of 9.3 mm and a thickness of 1 mm. Preferably, the fingers with such dimensions have a rigidity allowing for limited flexure upon engaging the intermediate support member's end. Preferably still, the U-shape profile’s side walls have a rigidity allowing for flexure of its top ends according to a U- shape profile having a thickness of 1.25 mm and an aspect ratio of 21 mm height to 34 mm width. In a fourth aspect of our invention, the rail frame may be adapted for ease of insertion of a bracket according to our invention, wherein the internal dimensions of the rail frame defined by protrusions from the internal surface of said rail frame, wherein the protrusions are positioned to enable our bracket to be inserted with ease into said rail frame to grip the ends of said intermediate support members inserted through the apertures of said rail frame. Preferably, the insertion of intermediate support members causes outward flexure of the bracket’s opposing walls counteracting against the protrusions from the internal surface of said rail frame.

In a fifth aspect of our invention, our invention may be provided as a package or system of articles comprising, as described herein, a bracket, a rail frame, a plurality of intermediate support members, and optionally end frame members and means for affixing to a building structure the aforesaid articles having been assembled into a railing, rail guard, balustrade, grille and the like, the package being a self-assemble or do-it-yourself (DIY) system of articles. A railing, rail guard, balustrade, grille and the like architectural fixture may thus be formed by self-assembly from such a package or system of articles and installed onto a building structure. Alternatively, a product assembled from such a package or system of articles may include storage or holding enclosure, pet cage, mattress support for bed, barricade and like products formed, or having part thereof formed, by railing or grille. LIST OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

To better understand this invention and its advantages, a more detailed explanation on some of its various prototypes or contemplated embodiments is provided in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings listed below. It should be noted that the embodiments are merely exemplary and non-limiting.

FIG. 1 (Prior Art) collectively referring to FIG. 1A, IB, 1C and ID show the various conventional configurations of railing.

FIG. 2 illustrates a typical simplified railing assembly according to one embodiment of our invention.

FIG. 3 reveals a bracket according to the above embodiment partially withdrawn from a rail frame.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the bracket according to the above embodiment of our invention with a baluster positioned to be inserted.

FIG. 5 displays a cross-sectional view of the above embodiment with the baluster inserted into the bracket.

FIG. 6 shows in cross-sectional view a second embodiment of our bracket with a pair of fingers.

FIG. 7 illustrates in cross-sectional view a third embodiment of our bracket comprising two pairs of fingers.

FIG. 8 displays a cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment of our bracket comprising two pair of fingers, each with double tips.

FIG. 9 shows in cross-sectional view of a fifth embodiment of our bracket comprising two pair of fingers, each with triple tips.

FIG. 10 exemplifies in cross-sectional view in which our bracket may be adapted to fit into rail frames of various configurations or profiles.

FIG. 11 illustrates a rail frame having a different configuration or profile may be adapted to receive our bracket.

FIG. 12 displays another embodiment of our bracket in which the pair of fingers may be formed by wall folding.

FIG. 13 shows yet another embodiment of our bracket in which the wall folding may be formed into two pairs of fingers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

It is to be noted that whilst our invention is directed to a bracket which is insertable within a rail frame, the term "rail frame” is used in this specification to include the conventional rail or rail support in which a plurality of balusters may be affixed between a pair of such rail supports. It may be noted that the rail frame may be provided as a pair comprising a top rail support and a bottom rail support wherein a plurality of intermediate support members such as balusters may be affixed therein between as in the case of a railing. Alternatively, in the case of a balustrade, the bottom rail support may be omitted wherein bottom ends of the balusters may be individually affixed to the floor, deck or platform as the case may be. As the balusters need not be provided as tubular members and may take alternative elongated forms, for example slats, they are referred to herein as "intermediate support members” where its profile may be provided with tubular, square, diamond, rectangular or other cross-sectional forms depending on the baluster or intermediate members design. The bracket may sometimes be referred to as an insert due to its manner of installation or fitting into a rail frame.

In a general embodiment of our invention, a bracket is provided for gripping an end of an intermediate support member - such as a baluster or similar elongate intermediate member. The bracket may be provided as an insert within the rail frame, or rail support fabricated as a hollow frame as commonly seen, for example, forming a grille or railing frame. As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of rail frames comprising a top 30a and bottom 30b rail frames, each with brackets (40a, 40b] inserted within, with the balusters 32 (shown in shortened lengths as indicated by tilde lines) as intermediate members which ends are held between the rail frames 30a, 30b. In FIG. 3, the balusters have not been inserted yet through holes or apertures 34 provided on the rail frames and the bracket 40 is partially inserted into the rail frame 30 to show its configuration. The bracket 40 comprises a bottom plane 42 integrally connecting a pair of opposing side walls 44, 46 to form a substantially U-shape profile or cross-section. At least a pair of projections 50a, 50b is formed from the opposing sides of the side walls to define a gap or groove opening 70 which is smaller than the diameter or width of the baluster to be gripped therein. On the rail frame 30, the diameters of the holes or apertures 34 are marginally larger than the width or diameter of the balusters so that they may be inserted with ease therethrough and into the bracket 40.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 respectively show in cross-sectional view the baluster 32 prior to and after its insertion into the bracket 40. The projections may comprise of a pair of fingers 50a, 50b projection from each of the opposing side walls 44, 46 or more preferably as shown in the drawings, provided with two pairs, i.e. with the second pair of fingers 52a, 52b. Preferably, each of the opposing pair of fingers’ ends 54a, 54b are tapered in the direction of insertion of the baluster end.

With collective reference to FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the finger ends 54a, 54b may preferably taper downward gently as the baluster end 32 is to be inserted

downwards. In addition to the tapering, the finger ends may be further provided with forked or multiple tips which is shown in the drawings as triple fork tips. Upon insertion of the baluster end, each of the fingers would be flexed a little along the direction of insertion and thus, with the triple fork tips tapered accordingly, each of the fork tips would evenly engage and grip the surface of the baluster end in a secure and strong manner that prevents the baluster’s withdrawal and provides a permanent joint to the rail frame.

Another embodiment of our bracket is to provide the projections to be integrally formed with the opposing side walls. This manner of forming the projections as foldings extending from the side walls is illustrated in FIG. 12 which shows a pair of projections 60a, 60b and FIG. 13 which shows two pairs of projections, the second pair of foldings 62a, 62b. The bracket may be made from any material suitable for fabrication but, if used with the conventional rail support or rail frame and balusters made from metal, then our bracket would likely be made of the same material or its alloy, or a material that matches the tensile strength of the existing conventional parts. Preferably, the material is a metal, including aluminium or its alloy, and more preferably, our bracket is fabricated by extrusion, including aluminium extrusion. Without being drawn into theoretical speculation of specific alloying and bulk material's mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and cantilever’s properties of moment and shear stress, and the mathematical rigours of validating the theoretical basis and determining the precise dimensions of the profile and thickness of each feature other part of our bracket, we describe in broad general terms in the following the salient properties of our invention’s various prototypes which have been tested successfully for some of the features described or claimed herein.

It is known that metals and their alloys have their respective malleability and ductility properties. The malleability of the particular aluminium alloy used to fabricate our prototypes may have enabled the specific limited (i) outward flexure of the opposing walls’ 44, 46 distal ends and (ii) downward flexure of the fingers with the insertion of the baluster. The effect of this outward flexure of the opposing wall is illustrated in FIG. 5 where the distal ends of the walls could be seen counteracting against the wall of the rail frame 30, thus providing the compressing force against the baluster. Similarly, it is possible that the particular aluminium alloy’s ductility has enabled the specific softness of the baluster surface to be "bitten" and gripped by the fingers’ fork end tips with the downward limited flexure of the fingers upon the insertion of the baluster, thus providing the barb-like effect with further compressive force against the withdrawal of the baluster from the bracket within the rail frame.

As our bracket may be provided as an insert adapted to be slidably inserted into existing conventional rail support or rail frame, it may be provided in various profiles to conform to the rail frame profile in order to achieve the limited flexure and grip features afore-described. Some of the bracket’s adaptations and the rail frame's variations are illustrated in FIG. 9, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 which are referred to herein collectively. As previously described, the rail frame may be provided with a plurality of apertures 34 for the ease of insertion of balusters in equidistant manner along the rail frame. As an alternative, instead of adapting a bracket to fit as an insert into a rail frame, the rail frame's internal dimensions may be adapted with features such as protrusions, ribs 72a, 72b or grooves to locate and place the bracket in a position to receive the baluster's end through the aperture 34 as illustrated in FIG. 11. An important consideration for any adaptation or modification to either the bracket or the internal surface of the rail frame is to maintain the ability of the bracket’s opposing walls to outwardly flex upon the insertion of the baluster end into the opening 70 and to enable at least part of the flexed opposing walls to counteract against the rail frame’s internal wall surface in enabling the fingers or projections to compress the baluster end and prevent it from movement or withdrawal.

The external dimensions of the bracket would therefore conform to the internal dimensions of the rail frame leaving a tolerance for ease of insertion the bracket into the rail frame. It may be noted that this tolerance would disappear at locations such as the distal ends of the bracket’s opposing walls being outwardly flexed against the rail frame wall with the insertion of the baluster ends into the bracket’s opening 70 as previously explained. Preferably, this tolerance or the difference between the external dimensions of the bracket and the internal dimensions of the rail frame is about 1 mm. The diameter of the balusters may be marginally wider than the opening 70 diameter or gap distance by about 3 mm or 3 times the difference between the external dimensions of the bracket and the internal dimensions of the rail frame.

This quantitative aspect of our bracket may be explained with reference to a specific embodiment or example as follows. The baluster diameter is about 16 mm while the opening 70 gap or diameter is about 13 mm. (Note that the opening 70 gap may be marginally smaller at 12.9 mm]. Thus, the bracket’s opening 70 gap is about 3 mm narrower than the baluster’s 16 mm width and accordingly the insertion of the baluster will force the expansion of the opening 70 gap by about 1.5 mm against both side walls on either side. However, as the tolerance gap between the bracket and rail frame is only 1 mm, the flexure of the side walls on each side is short of 0.5 mm, thus resulting in the flexure of the distal ends of the side walls against the rail frame wall to counteract against the baluster ends via the fingers.

In another quantitative aspect of our bracket, the thickness of the projections or fingers may be provided at about one-fifth thinner than the wall thickness of the U- shaped bracket. Specifically, where the thickness of the fingers is about 1 mm, the U- shaped wall of the bracket is preferably about 1.25 mm. With respect to the cantilever effect of the fingers extending laterally from the bracket’s opposing side walls, the fingers may have a lateral length of about 9.3 mm and a thickness of 1 mm. It should be noted that the specific dimensions mention in this specification is not meant to limit our bracket’s features and configuration to the stated measurements. It should be noted that the specific dimensions stated herein is meant to indicate the ratio and/or difference of the related measurements which provide the feature or profile's resultant rigidity or flexure which is not too hard for a lay person or user to insert the baluster into the bracket’s opening 70 by hand or with the aid of home tools such as a soft-faced hammer and the like, and not too soft or flexible so as to allow the baluster to be twisted or turned and pulled out of the bracket’s grip.

Another key feature is the top or distal end of the bracket's side walls having the flexibility to outwardly flex against the corresponding part of the rail frame's inner wall resulting in a inward counteracting force providing the projections or fingers with a stronger grip. We have achieved this effect with a bracket which U-shape profile wall has an overall thickness of 1.25 mm and a cross-sectional aspect ratio of 21 mm of height to 34 mm of width. It has been found from tests conducted on our prototypes that balusters affixed to rail frames using bracket inserts installed within is as strong as conventional balusters welded to the rail frame or rail support, if not stronger.

As evident from the above examples, while our invention is basically directed to a bracket provided as an insert into a rail frame or support to securely hold balusters to form a railing, it is clear that the bracket may be adapted to conform to the rail frame’s profile in order to be insertable. On the other hand, a rail frame may also be provided various adaptations to be able to position and hold the bracket in place to receive the balusters. To achieve the objective of providing a self-assemble or DIY railing and the like, a shelf product would need to include our bracket as well as rail frames and balusters as a system so that these elements may be purchased

individually or as a package, with optional items such end frames and accessories for affixing to a building structure such as being a grille to a window or door, being a railing to a deck or platform or rail guard to a staircase, etc. Alternatively, an independent product may be assembled from a system of articles that include our bracket with complementary parts adapted or modified according to form an end product such as storage or holding enclosure, pet cage, mattress support for bed, barricade and like products formed, or having part thereof formed, by railing or grille. Such articles complementary to our bracket may therefore have adaptations and modifications which are to be considered as falling within the scope and letter of the claims hereinafter.