Patent Application
20080190049
The present invention is a portable staircase for use at construction sites and more specifically a portable staircase which includes a hand railing which can be folded down to facilitate transportation.
The present invention is a portable staircase that can be utilized by contractors or construction crews at construction sites. Many contractors that renovate homes and/or build new homes or other structures must climb ladders to go from one floor to the next during the construction phase. This method of ascending floors remains in place until either a temporary staircase is built or the permanent staircase is installed. These contractors, homeowners, designers and inspectors do not like or feel safe climbing these ladders, but they have little choice until the permanent stairs are installed.
There are many prior art prefabricated staircases already on the market, but none of them address the portability issue that has been resolved by the present invention. These prior art temporary staircases are typically extremely heavy, and more importantly, bulky. As such, they are difficult to transport, and virtually impossible for a contractor to relocate from one job site to the next. One example of such a prefabricated stairway system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,234 B1 issued to Marshall and dated Oct. 22, 2002. This is exemplary of other such prefabricated stairway systems. One inventor has addressed the issue of temporary stairway systems at construction sites (U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,875 B2 issued to Hasse on Dec. 7, 2004.) In comparison with the present invention, Hasse does not successfully address the portability problem that is resolved by the present invention disclosed herein.
Thus, it is the objection of the present invention to provide a temporary staircase for use at constructions sites. The temporary staircase of the present invention is relatively light and easy to transport, due to the inclusion of fold-down handrails. The temporary staircase can be transported by two people and takes only a few minutes to set up. Thus, the contractors, homeowners, inspectors or others who must go from one floor to the next during the construction phase are presented with a safe method of doing so.
Such are the objectives of the present invention portable staircase. Other objectives, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The present invention is a portable staircase for use at construction sites that comprises fold-down railings to facilitate transport from one construction site to the next. The portable staircase includes a plurality of horizontal treads supported by stringers. At least one handrail is provided which is pivotally connected to the stringer utilizing a plurality of handrail support posts. A permanent pivot pin pivotally connects the handrail to each of the handrail support posts. Another permanent pivot pin pivotally connects each of the handrail support posts to the stringer. The handrail can be locked into one of two pre-selected positions: a first folded-down position to facilitate transportation and a second upright position for use at construction sites. The stringer, handrail posts and handrail are all predrilled with pin-receiving holes in order to lock the handrail in its chosen position utilizing a removable pin. If desired, two removable pins may be employed to lock the handrail in position: a first removable pin to lock the handrail support post to the stringer and a second removable pin to lock the handrail support post to the handrail in the up and usable position.
For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made herein to the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to the figures, the present invention is a portable temporary staircase 10 for use at construction sites or the like. The temporary staircase of the present invention includes a fold-down railing so that the staircase unit can more readily be transported from one job site to the next.
The construction staircase of the present invention includes a plurality of horizontal tread members 20 supported by a plurality of stringers 22 each step typically having a standard 8″ rise and 10″ run. The width of each horizontal tread member is typically 30″ although staircases having other dimensions are within the scope of this disclosure. The horizontal tread members are formed as a honeycomb to provide improved traction and to reduce transportation weight. The staircase is installed to run from the lower deck (floor) 24 to the floor joist of the next deck 26 and is nailed in place by adjustable flanges to the upper deck floor joist. At the bottom of stringers are attached vulcanized rubber pads which rest on the lower deck and assist in securing the stringers thereto.
The portable construction staircase includes at least one fold-down railing (the unit may be provided with two railings, one for each side of the horizontal tread, if desired) so that the staircase can be transported with the railing in the folded-down position for ease of transportation. The folded-down transport condition of the present invention is best depicted in
The fold down railing includes at least one handrail 28 which when in its upright position is substantially parallel to the top edge of the stringer. Usually, in its upright position each handrail will be approximately 3 feet above the horizontal treads. Extending downward from the handrail or handrails is a plurality of handrail support posts 30 to connect the handrail handrails to the stringers. The handrail is attached to the handrail support posts permanently and pivotally through the use of pins. Likewise, the support posts are permanently and pivotally attached the stringer using pins. Moreover, the handrail is adjustably locked into the appropriate position, either the transport position or the upright in-use position, through use of at least one removable pin and appropriately-located pre-drilled pin-receiving holes.
The handrail support posts connect permanently to the stringer by way of pivoting connection. As best viewed in
A removable pin 36 is provided which is used to secure the railing in either of its two selected position (the transport position, and the upright, in-use position.) In order to prevent the pin from being misplaced during transportation, the removable pin is permanently attached to the stringer. Specifically, the removable pin is attached to a wire 38 which wire is then permanently welded or otherwise attached to the stringer. A hole 40 is drilled through the handrail support post for receiving the removable pin.
A first hole 42 for receiving the removable pin is drilled into the stringer near the bottom permanent pin 32 location. The removable pin is utilized to secure one of the handrail posts to the stringer when the post is in its upright (in-use) condition by insertion of the removable pin through the hole 40 in the support post and into the first removable pin hole location. The first removable pin location is adjacent to the permanent bottom pin location, several inches directly above it. The stringer, as well as the handrail support post, are both pre-drilled with holes 42 of appropriate size and configuration to receive the removable pin 36.
A second removable pin receiving hole 44 is drilled into the stringer for locking the handrail in position for transport (see
The disclosure now turns to the pivoting connection between the top of the handrail support posts 30 and the handrail 28 which is best viewed in
A plate 48 is welded to the top of the handrail support post wherein the plate is predrilled with two pin receiving holes 50 to receive a removable pin. The two pin receiving holes are formed into the plate at a first location to lock the handrail in an upright usable position and a second location to lock the handrail in its transport position.
To transport the present invention portable staircase, the removable pins are removed and the railing its folded down into its transport position, with the handrail parallel to and lying next to the stringer. Now, the removable pins are inserted into the appropriate pin receiving holes to lock the railing in transport position. Once the portable staircase arrives at the construction site and placed into position rising from the lower floor to the next upper floor, the removable pins are again removed and handrail is reinstated to its upright, in-use position. Next, the removable pins are placed in the second set of pin-receiving holes, thereby locking the handrail in its in-use position. Finally, the top horizontal tread and/or stringer is nailed to the upper floor joist to secure the staircase into position using adjustable flanges.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles and preferred embodiment of the invention. Furthermore, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to one skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, operation and embodiment shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
