TECHNICAL FIELD & BACKGROUND
Staircases have always been a hidden safety concern. Many times staircases have been assembled or constructed improperly and are unsafe. Imprecise measurements and cutting of staircase parts and components often result in unsafe steps and other staircase components that may result in people falling or tripping on the staircase as well.
The present invention relates to a staircase. More specifically, the present invention relates to a precision built staircase.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase that is quicker and easier to assemble, has a longer-lasting aesthetically pleasing appearance and utilizes more precise pre-manufactured profiled structural stringers and pre-profiled decorative stringers than current staircases.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase with an added standard skirt board and a plurality of accessories that may be assembled in a few minutes that may be in compliance with various building codes and standards.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase with a plurality of components with a plurality of aesthetic embodiments that may be manufactured with precision machinery such as a computer numerical control or a CNC router machine. The stair components to be profiled from a panel may be preferably routed face-to-face reversed (top-bottom, bottom-top) for raw material economy in the range of 26% to 38% for a first set of structural stringers and eliminate the need to make another set of structural stringers when the decorative final staircase may be installed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase that ensures consistent dimensional productivity and installation at the right position with a plurality of winder's treads and risers set by utilizing a starter winder tread plank and a pre-profiled nose angled to a plurality of winder's treads that may be also easy to fix, well-aligned at the front surfacing and angled at approximately 90 degrees to the front of the starter winder tread plank and are quickly installable into a starter winder tread plank slot for a better final result.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase that allows easy and rapid assembling and attachment of the staircase components that includes a plurality of pre-drilled apertures and a plurality of standard brackets that may be glued together without any excess overflow of glue to a plurality of treads, risers and stringers.
It is also another object of the present invention to provide a plurality of standard skirt boards that may be temporarily or permanently utilized at a plurality of predetermined heights that are attached securely with one or more covers and one or more corner joints.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase with a plurality of components that may be easily sold and kept in stock across distributors, retailers, agents, installers, finishers and do-it-yourself suppliers on the market.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a plurality of precision built staircase components that may be easily stocked in a weather regulated warehouse or a store, that includes structural stringers, decorative stringers, skirt boards and other stair components that will not warp, curve, crack or split by utilizing kiln dried, engineered composite materials and/or other materials.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase in a kit form in a pre-assembled box that may be utilized as a cabinet, a closet or an outside shell that may be also available in a pre-finished or a non-finished form.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase that may utilize a plurality of different sizes, types, lengths, gages, with or without headed nails and screws.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase that is made of composite, hardwood, softwood, aluminum, steel, concrete, marble, granite, rough or prefinished materials, or other suitable engineered materials pre-assembled or non-pre-assembled.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase that may utilize a wide variety of glue types.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a precision built staircase and related components that may be manufactured in any desired shape, size, and/or dimensions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiments, but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like references denote similar elements, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a staircase having a first tread with a recessed tread end cap, a new structural stringer, a new square, a new decorative stringer and a pre profiled skirt board with the new square fit into the structural stringer, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded front perspective view of a staircase with a pre-profiled skirt board and a decorative stringer, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a temporarily installed preliminary staircase, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a side view of a pair of skirt boards manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a side view of a pair of radius stringers manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a side view of a pair of square stringers manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a side view of a pair of angled outside radius stringers manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a side view of a pair of horizontal outside radius stringers manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a side view of a pair of vertical outside radius stringers manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a side view of a pair of winder inside radius stringers manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a side view of four squares manufactured from a panel with a plurality of tapered apertures drilled at a predetermined angle to receive a plurality of screw treads and a plurality of risers pre-nailed or screwed to a plurality of structural stringers, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a side view of a square attached to a structural stringer, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a front side view of a standard riser with a plurality of apertures and grooves for glue overflow, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is front side view of a dowel and spring and a top riser, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is an overhead perspective view of a tread with a positioned slot to receive a dowel of a riser, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a bottom perspective view of a tread with a positioned slot to receive a dowel of a riser, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a side perspective view of a tread and riser assembly at a level of a spring-dowel with a positioned slot to receive a dowel of a riser and a groove at a rear of a tread, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a side perspective view of a pair of grooves at a rear of a tread, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is a top view of a first winder's tread fit at a starter winder tread plank, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 20 is side perspective view of a winder starter plank with a plurality of align recessed noses of a first winder's tread, a second winder's tread and a third winder's tread with a decorative jacket, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 21 is a side view of a second winder's tread fit at a winder starter plank, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 22 is a side view of a third winder's tread fit at a winder starter plank, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 23 A-J are a plurality of side views of a plurality of shapes of a plurality of pre-profiled stringers, pre-profiled decorative stringers, standard skirt boards and standard squares and bars, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 24 is a side view of a packing box, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 25 is a top view of a precision built staircase, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 26 is a side view of a precision built staircase, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 27 is a side view of a reversible stringer-tread support, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 28A is a side view of an attachment screw, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 28B is a front view of an attachment screw, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described using terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some of the described aspects. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments.
Various operations will be described as multiple discrete operations, in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention. However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation.
The phrase “in one embodiment” is used repeatedly. The phrase generally does not refer to the same embodiment, however, it may. The terms “comprising”, “having” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise.
In accordance with these objects which will be discussed in detail below, the present invention provides a complete line of modified stair components and, when assembled together with a plurality of accessories and an installation stair kit reduce installation time, achieve a higher percentage savings of raw material, manufacturing time, and installation time with high precision.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a staircase 500, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The staircase 500 may have a first tread 10 with a first recessed tread end cap 12, a second tread 10A with a second recessed tread end cap 11, a third tread 10B with a third recessed tread end cap 13, a fourth tread 10C with an added tread end cap 9, a decorative stringer 4 and a pre-profiled skirt board 5 with a square 15 fit at a side of each of a plurality of structural stringers 3. The staircase 500 may include any number of suitable sequential treads and risers.
The staircase 500 may relate to modifications and ameliorations that make the staircase 500 relatively easier to install and may be typically more economical to manufacture, saving manufacturing time and raw materials than traditional staircases and reduce in the range of 30% to 70% of the installation time due to the high precision of machinery (e.g., CNC router) utilized to produce many of the staircase components. When the staircase 500 may be assembled, the final result will be a better temporary fit or permanent fit. The staircase 500 may permit re-use of the structural stringers 3 installed at the beginning of construction and may only replace a rough tread 18 and a riser 17 initially and be temporarily installed by a plurality of chosen decorative treads 1, 10, 10A, 10B, 10C and risers 200, a decorative stringer 4, a pre-profiled skirt board 5 and any other desired components, pre-finished or to be finished on a job site.
Staircases currently available on the market may be mostly assembled on a job site and to save installation time, few distributors offer them pre-assembled which may also be prefinished. When assembled on a job site, most of the time, stringers 3 may be cut manually with a skill saw approximately 2 inches×2 inches×12 inches which may be where precision discrepancies occur. When the staircases may be assembled at a manufacturing site, they do not necessarily have the high precision machines (CNC router) to perfectly cut the stringers 3, 4 and other high precision component's cut to the staircase 500 to size, if necessary. Typically it's very difficult to determine in advance the precision squaring and leveling of the walls, floors and ceiling formed approximately 95% of the time in a new building or a remodeled job site, resulting that some percentage of components fabricated or adjusted onsite must be reprocessed, resulting in a costly operation.
Installation of the staircase 500 may be considered by professional building contractors to be complicated work. The staircase 500 may be imperative to introduce into a large market, products that may be installed in less time and with more efficiency and precision than traditional staircases. Structural stringers 3 may be a significant part of substantial saving in manufacturing, raw material, installation time and an attractive final long lasting aesthetic appearance. Regarding the stringers 3, 4 and pre-profiled skirt board 5, the manufacturing's precision and relative rapid execution offer distributors, retailers and others a reasonable price and better compliance of building codes. Structural stringers 3, decorative stringers 4, a pre-profiled skirt board 5 and a plurality of winder's treads (FIG. 19, 201, 202, 203) may be manufactured in a through panel, that may also be reversible and made of many materials such as engineered, laminated, plywood, composite, kiln dried or other suitable materials to reduce the components curving, warping, cracking, shrinking or expanding too much. All these elements may be required to be avoided so that precise manufacturing at the beginning of the manufacturing process may avoid the need to reinstall new stringers 3, when the staircase 500 may be installed.
FIG. 1 includes a pre-profiled skirt board 5 and a basic skirt board (FIG. 26, 2631) that adds a desired aesthetic fit and hides a plurality of nails 16 and/or a plurality of screws 19 may be utilized at a top side of a plurality of treads 1, 10, 10A, 10B, 10C and a plurality of risers 17, 200 and/or space between the wall 550, the treads 1, 10, 10A, 10B, 10C and the risers 17, 200, when there may be, a staircase or a winders staircase installation.
The one or more tread's end caps 11, 12, 13 may be added at one or both sides of treads 1, 10, 10A, 10B, 10C and formed recesses made at a depth of the typical length of overpass of the decorative stringer 4 (open decorative stringer) at approximately ±50% of thickness of tread and at approximately 100% or less of the width of treads (FIG. 15, 116). The end cap (FIG. 1, 11, 12, 13) may be shaped as desired and will typically be disposed at a side and an overpass at the rear of the tread (FIG. 17, 113) to hide imperfect fits of the decorative stringer 4, a vertical radius (FIG. 9, 902), a horizontal radius (FIG. 8, 802) and/or an angled outside radius (FIG. 7, 702) of stringers 4 or simply for a decorative look from a round cover (FIG. 26, 15C). An angled square (FIG. 2, 575) of any suitable outside or inside shape may bring the same corrections resulting in a different aesthetic appearance at a lower price L-shape at a bottom rear tread radius when treads 1, 10, 10A, 10B, 10C may be nosed at a right side and/or a left side of the staircase 500.
FIG. 2 is an exploded front view of a staircase 500 with a pre-profiled skirt board 5 and a decorative stringer 4, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
The pre-profiled skirt board 5 may be installed quickly without any scratches on the treads 1, 10, 10A, 10B, 10C or the risers 17, 200 such as a plurality of pre-finished treads or a plurality of pre-finished risers utilizing a plastic tape 6, with a resistant glue 7 disposed on one side of the plastic tape 6. The pre-profiled skirt board 5 may be laid down over the plastic tape 6 preinstalled at a wall side over the treads 10, 10A, 10B, 10C and the risers 17, 200. The basic skirt board (FIG. 26, 2631) or pre-profiled skirt board 5 may be slid-up to the front of the risers 200 and may be pushed to the wall 550. The plastic tape 6 may be removed by manually tearing-off the plastic tape 6. The plastic tape 6 may similarly be utilized for the pre-profiled skirt board 5 of a winders staircase set.
FIG. 3 is a front view of a temporarily installed preliminary staircase, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
The cover joint 18a, 18b, 18c and the corner joints (FIGS. 25 and 26, 2542, 2550, 2560, 2580, 2585, 2590) will time efficiently cover a plurality of cuts (FIG. 2, 18B) at a plurality of joint eliminating touch-up areas. Any corner joints 18B, 2542, 570, cover joints 18a, 18b, 18c, 2540, 560, 2580, 2587 or starter winder tread plank 101, 2550, 2552 will be utilized to hide jointed cuts (good or bad), nails 8, 16 or screws 19, acting as a recess for a pre-profiled skirt board and a multi-use skirt board 5, a plurality of pre-profiled decorative stringers 4, a plurality of treads 1, 10, 18 and a plurality of risers 17, 200. Some molding (FIG. 3, 560) with an angled overlap will hide as well, over and at the side of these pre-finished or non-prefinished components and the angle between the back of molding 560 formed at the wall and the top of the skirt board may be approximately 91 or more degrees or other suitable angle. One or more nails 8, 16 that secure the pre-profiled skirt board 5 to a wall 550 from the top of skirt board 5 will be hid with an overlap angled molding 560.
When the rough and/or decorative staircase components may be ready to be installed, a reversible square 15 or bar (not shown) could be secured by gluing, nailing or screwing to the inside structural stringer 3 at the back of staircase 500. The square 15 or bar (not shown) underneath the rough tread 18 may be set in place and pushed to the back of the riser 17 that may be already secured in place. It may be significant to install at least two previously described auto adhesive resilient material or spongy material (FIG. 12, 15A) to the top of the square 15 or bar (not shown) and at least one, if desired, to the middle vertical front of the square 15 to be utilized. This process may be repeated at all triple stringer contacts (FIG. 12, 3) to the left or the right of the staircase if there may be more than two structural stringers.
FIG. 3 illustrates when installers replace a temporary staircase on a job site for a decorative staircase, the rough treads 18 and the risers 17 may be nailed or screwed to a structural stringer 3, however this may not be possible to do for decorative threads and risers to be installed. The staircase 500 remedies this and allows the pre-profiled skirt board 5 or the basic skirt board (FIG. 26, 2631) to be installed at the wall over the nails 16 and/or screws 19 and potential wrong cuts of treads and risers may then be hidden by the thickness of a pre-profiled skirt board 5 or a basic skirt board (FIG. 26, 2631).
FIG. 4 is a side view of a pair of skirt boards manufactured from a panel attached face to face, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
With the height of risers 47A and tread's runs 43A being precise, further ameliorations allow for an easier and quicker installation. After face-to-face manufacturing, the risers 47A and tread's runs 43A may be approximately identical. Tread run 43 is equivalent to 43A, nose profile 44 is equivalent to 44A, riser height 47 is equivalent to 47A and the top of the staircase skirt board 42 is equivalent to 42A. Most of the staircase 500 may be made with a reversible pair face to face like process. Nose profiles 44 and 44A may be profiled at any desired shape and dimensions.
FIG. 5 is a side view of a pair of inside radius stringers or skirt boards manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Some pre-shaped inside square cover (FIG. 1, 13) with or without an inside radius 502 or an outside radius 702, 802, 902 may be added to a bottom rear tread outside of the decorative stringer 4 and/or the square angles 602 to match and cover a manufactured inside 502 and the bottom shape of the rear tread when the tread may be nosed at one or more sides.
FIG. 5 illustrates a stringers riser's inside radius 502 that may be disposed on a riser rear bottom (FIG. 13, 131) adjacent to decorative angled or standard risers to assemble with a decorative stringer's risers 4 at a predetermined height (FIG. 3, 570). If the width of the riser (FIG. 13, 200) may be too wide, the predetermined height of the riser may be cut at a desired height minus inside radius 502 or at approximately ±15 degrees from the front bottom riser predetermined height. Typically all risers 200 that may be installed permanently at any length may be pre-cut at each end of the riser 200 at an approximately ±45 degree angle or more and more typically at an approximate 47 degrees angle (FIG. 1, 590), where the fit with decorative stringer 4 riser height pre-angled cut will be typically suitable and if the riser angle may not be necessary and may be cut square as needed without creating an inadequate fit.
FIG. 6 is a side view of a pair of square pre-cut stringers 601 and a square angle 602 manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
When utilized as a pre-cut skirt board, the pair of square pre-cut stringers 601 may be fixed directly over the stringer, treads and risers that may be installed properly against the pre-cut skirt board and if some imperfections occur then tread rims (FIG. 25, 2595, 2650), tread rim extenders (FIG. 26, 2630), molding (FIG. 25, 2575) usually matching the tread rim design and tread rim blocks (FIG. 26, 2620) may be utilized to hide imperfections, utilized to give a certain style and in all cases save installation time and money and procure a longer lasting aesthetic appearance.
FIG. 7 is a side view of a pair of angled outside radius stringers, all outside radius angles or outside shape between horizontal 802 and vertical outside radius 902 manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
The pre-shaped outside square cover or end cap (FIG. 1, 11, 12, 13), a round cover (FIG. 26, 15C) and an angled square (FIG. 2, 575) may be utilized to hide outside radius 702, 802, 902 or square angles 602 and even fit or hide inside radius 502 at the rear and or bottom of the lateral overlapped tread's nose.
FIG. 8 is a side view of a pair of horizontal outside radius stringers manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
The pre-shaped outside square cover (FIG. 2, 590) also includes outside radius 702, 802, 902 or square angles 602 at the rear and/or bottom of lateral overlapped tread's nose.
FIG. 9 is a side view of a pair of vertical outside radius stringers manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
The pre-shaped inside square cover (FIG. 1, 11) also includes outside radius 702, 802, 902 or square angles 602 at the rear and/or bottom of a lateral overlapped tread's nose.
The back of staircase 500 has to be finished and frequently a professional contractor installer or painter may be required to return several times to completely finalize the staircase construction, which may be costly. One way to eliminate this may be to supply standard backing panels to be adjusted to the back of the staircase to be typically equally cut at the jobsite at each side, to be properly fit, pre-finished and fabricated from any suitable material available. The backing panel of the staircase may be pre-finished or non-prefinished, plain or with any suitable types of printed, pressure printed, molded designs, grooved or with any suitable designs, textural finish or composition of products adaptable to the back of staircase stringers 3 or 4. Many different types of molding shapes or designs may be added to all joints and/or walls, floors or ceilings adjacent to the staircase 500. If the stairs, backing panel and moldings may be pre-finished, there may be no need to have other professionals come back to finalize the construction of the staircase, resulting in a substantial savings of time and money with a more convenient decorative final result. The decorative backing panel of the staircase may be installed with a plurality of nails or a plurality of screws with or without glue with preferably some backing cross-member installed between the stringers when necessary and desired sound padding may be added between standard backing panel and back of treads and risers. Any molding (FIG. 3, 560) should be installed in a floating orientation secured to the wall and should allow for shrinking and expansion variations of structure that do not affect the final aesthetic appearance.
FIG. 10 is a side view of a pair of winder inside radius stringers manufactured from a panel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
A standard holder bar will come at a plurality of predetermined lengths and typically has the same dimensions as the top of the longer side of the square (FIG. 11, 15) and may be secured at the rear of the square 15 when more strength may be needed to attach treads to the tread's runs of stringer (e.g. Winder's tread 1, 2, 3 to winder's stringers (FIG. 19, 1001B, 1001H)).
FIG. 11 is a side view of four squares 15 manufactured from a panel with a plurality of reversed tapered apertures 215 drilled at a predetermined angle to receive a plurality of screw treads and a plurality of risers pre-nailed to a plurality of structural stringers, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
After completion of these operations, all rough treads (FIG. 3, 18) and risers (FIG. 3, 17) may be torn-out and ready to receive the new pre-finished or to be finished desired risers (FIG. 1, 200) and treads 10 to structural stringers 3 and pre-profiled decorative stringers 4. These components may be tighten with a plurality of screws 209 from the back of the staircase 500 through the reversed taper apertures (FIG. 11, 215) beneath and in back of the square 15 to beneath the treads and to the back of the riser. Any nails 8,16 and/or screws 19 to the top of the treads and the risers (FIG. 1) that will be eventually hidden, will be permitted and facilitate the securing of the treads and the risers from the back of the squares 15 or bars (FIG. 27, 2700).
FIG. 12 is a front view of a square 15 attached to a structural stringer 3, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Similar suitable techniques to form or drill angled apertures and tapered apertures will be applied as well including securely screwing treads and risers to tread's runs 580 of stringers (FIG. 3, 3) with a plurality of previously described pieces of sticky and spongy material 15A placed between square 15 or bars (not shown) and treads 1,10,18.
FIG. 12 illustrates that square 15 firmly maintains the desired position in regards to temporarily or permanently attached treads (FIG. 1, 10), risers (FIG. 1, 200) and stringers (FIG. 12, 3). Two pieces of sticky and spongy material 15A may be added on top of square 15 to be attached to treads 1, 10, 18 underneath and at least one piece of sticky and spongy material 15A such as cork, foam, rubber, or felt may be added at the vertical front side of the square 15 to be attached at the rear risers (FIG. 13, 200B). The piece of sticky and spongy material (FIG. 12, 15A) may be typically square or round or the like and may be auto-adhesive which will act as a spacer being squeezed when screwed through a bracket aperture 215 to the back to the tread (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, 1, 10 and 18) and riser (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, 1, 17 and 200) resulting in a relatively tighter fit to the stringer 3.
FIG. 13 is a front side view of a standard riser with a plurality of apertures 208A, 203B, and grooves 207A, 202B for glue overflow, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
When an end-user desires a permanent and solid installation, glue may be typically applied to the structural stringers (FIG. 12, 3) at the suggested grooved shape at tread's runs (FIG. 3, 580) or (FIG. 27, 2712) and/or to the riser's heights (FIG. 3, 570), top of risers (FIG. 13, 207) and/or bottom front riser's grooves 202B to the riser to be tighten to the rear of tread (FIG. 16, 113) or the rear of tread slot or grooves (FIG. 17, 119) to be tighten to the front bottom of standard riser 200 B through the desired pre-drilled apertures 203B at the bottom of the riser with appropriated screws 209, introduced at the back of the standard riser rear bottom. The typical screws to be utilized for the staircases' installation may be a plurality of screws 209 that may be self-drilled forming a plurality of angled apertures 208A or a plurality of apertures 203B, 203A or at the level of a printed line 201 A without a plurality of pre-drilled holes across the riser from the back of the riser to the back of the tread and may be tempered of suitable appropriated lengths. A complete kit of screws needed for the installation of chosen staircase will be available for sale and other ways to save time and errors.
FIG. 13 illustrates a top of the risers 200 that may be attached to the treads 112 underneath the angled apertures 208A at specific angles typically with a plurality of screws 209 that may be self-drilled and tempered. Addition of a plurality of grooves disposed on top of a riser groove 207A or a bottom front 200A permits a better grip and possibility to add glue such as Place or PL type glue, typically in permanent installation without regarding the height of the standard risers desired and minimizing overflows of glue onto unwanted portions of the risers.
FIG. 14 is front side view of a dowel and spring and a top riser, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Some others modifications to risers 200 and treads 10 will attach them at the right position quickly, precisely and tight fit together temporarily and/or permanently (with or without glue) to underneath the front of tread 116. One of these may be, at least one aperture 210 located at the approximate middle of the top riser length and plus or minus half-thickness of the riser to insert a dowel 205 or preferably a spring 206 plus a dowel 205 in wood or in other material to the bloc riser at the desired position when the dowel 205 may be engage in a slot (FIG. 15, 208) at the same distance underneath the tread nose 114. The dowel 205 may be introduced in the slot 208 by the pressure action of the spring 206 pushing the dowel 205. When both the dowel 205 and the slot 208 may be connected together, the standard riser 200 may be ready to be screwed securely underneath the tread 116 without slipping out of slot, through angled apertures (FIG. 13, 208A) pre-drilled from back of riser 200 B to the top of the riser with suitable screws 209
FIG. 14 is a plurality of printed lines 201A to help to fix the inside bottom riser 202A to the back of the tread 113 with screws 209 from the lowest marker line staying after cutting the needed riser height. The preferred shapes at the top of the riser (FIG. 1, 200) should be a W-shaped section (FIG. 23F) and or triple V-shaped section FIG. 23 J (e.g. a double big V-shaped section and small V-shaped section disposed in middle top of riser). This triple V-shape will allow glue to be disposed with a gun at the middle V-shaped section to overflow in double V-shaped section of each side when the treads and risers will be tighten together. At the bottom front 200A of standard riser 200 at least one groove and typically 4 grooves may be provided to permit adhesion and accommodate overflow of glue when rear of bottom tread (FIG. 17, 119) and bottom front riser 202B may be secured together through at least one aperture of a plurality of apertures (FIG. 13, 203 A) that may be pre-drilled and may be accommodated with one or more suitable screws 209.
FIG. 14 illustrates a top 207A and a bottom front 200A of risers that may be nailed or screwed to riser height (FIG. 3, 570) of structural stringer 3 at an identical level to the top tread's runs 580, the top of below riser which has at least one aperture, a dowel 205 or a spring 205, 206 to match the slot 208 in the front of and underneath tread 116 to be typically nailed or screwed in a desired precise position.
FIG. 15 is an overhead side perspective view of a tread with a positioned slot to receive a dowel of a riser, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Prior to installing a plurality of rough risers 17 of treads 18, structural stringers 3 may be installed at a precise position initially with glue and may be then nailed or screwed to wall 550.
FIG. 16 is an overhead side perspective view of a plurality of bottom treads with a positioned slot to receive a dowel of a riser, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 illustrate an overhead side perspective view of a tread and riser assembly at a level of a spring-dowel with at least one groove 119 and/or a radius 118 at a rear of a tread 113 with a positioned slot 208 to receive a dowel 205 of a riser 200, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Top of risers 207A and bottom of risers 202A may be nailed or screwed to riser height (FIG. 3, 570) of stringer (FIG. 2, 4) at an identical level to the top tread's runs 580, the top of riser below tread which has at least one aperture, if desired, a dowel 205 or a spring 205, 206 to match the slot 208 if wished in the front of and underneath tread 116 to be typically screwed in a desired precise position. This new way eliminates the need to use steel squares or pre-drilled bloc's onsite, usually utilized by professional contractors. The rear of tread bottom 113 includes a tread radius 118 and a tread groove 119 when necessary.
FIG. 17 is an overhead side perspective view of a tread and riser assembly at a level of a spring-dowel with a groove at a rear of a tread with a positioned slot to receive a dowel of a riser, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
There may be also a tread groove (FIGS. 17 and 18, 119) disposed at the rear of the tread to accommodate any glue spillage and overflow and therefore more glue for a potentially stronger attachment. A plurality of multiple grooves accommodate any glue spillage or overflow that may be typically installed at the middle rear portion of the tread 10 that may be firmly secured to the riser and tread together to minimize the possibility of glue spillage and overflow over the tread top. The one or more grooves (FIGS. 13 and 14, 207A) at the top of the riser 200 also have the same function of catching glue spillage and minimize overflow.
Any of the one or more grooves provide a strong, permanent and tight attachment of any adjacent components when the components may be made of wholly or partly engineered products, such as OSB, particleboard, fiberboard, plywood, LVL, LSL, softwood and other materials that may easily possibly break, split or allow for a screw or nail to be easily torn-off or removed.
FIG. 19 is a top perspective view of a first winder's tread fit at a starter winder tread plank, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 20 is a side perspective view of a starter winder tread plank 101, a plurality of aligns recessed noses 150 of a first winder's tread 1, a second winder's tread 2 and a third winder's tread 3 with a decorative jacket 100, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Starter winder tread plank 101 assures the installation of winder's treads 1,2,3 to firmly and accurately align each other in a plurality of predetermined single or double recessed slots 1A,2A,3A at a predetermined precise riser height desired and to tightly attach winder's risers 1B,2B,3B,4B at right angles to the adjacent to wall starter winder tread plank 101 and winder's treads 1,2,3 together.
FIG. 21 is a side perspective view of a second winder's tread fit at a starting plank, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Decorative starter plank jacket 100 may be added any time after treads and risers may be installed over the rough starter plank 99 and holder of starter plank. To build a staircase 500 on-site will save from 4 to 6 hours of installation time in contrast to a traditional staircase and to build on site a staircase 500 with a set of 3 winder's treads and risers, the saving time will be up to 9 hours in contrast to a traditional staircase. This large time savings will be appreciated by professional building contractors and do-it-yourself customers who wish to install their own staircase.
FIG. 22 is a side perspective view of a third winder's tread fit at a starting plank, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Decorative starter plank jacket 100 may be added any time after treads and risers may be installed over the rough starter plank 99 and holder of starter plank. To build a staircase 500 on-site will save from 4 to 6 hours of installation time in contrast to a traditional staircase and to build-on site a staircase 500 with a set of three winder's treads and risers, the saving time will be up to nine hours in contrast to a traditional staircase. This large time savings will be appreciated by professional building contractors and do-it-yourself customers who wish to install their own staircase.
FIGS. 23 A-J is a plurality of side perspective views of a plurality of preferred shapes of a plurality of pre-profiled stringers (FIGS. 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 23E, 23F, 23G, 23H and 23J) of skirt boards (FIGS. 23A, 23B, 23C and 23E, 23I) of squares and bars (FIG. 23C) of decorative stringer riser high (FIG. 1, 590) pre-cut at 45 or more degrees (FIG. 23 D,E,H) in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 24 is a front side perspective view of a packing box, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Packing box 2400 may be provided to transport any staircase components that need to be protected when carried to the job site. Some components may be long such as stringers 3, 4 and the basic skirt board 5, 2631 and may be also fragile to carry. More specifically when prefinished, the packaging box 2400 should be solid and very protective and typically may be very costly. The packing box may also have a second use as a cabinet and/or closet with or without a door or a cover 2430 that may also be split into two or more sections 2410 and 2420 that may also be usable as furniture (e.g. a cabinet for tools and accessories or a shoes cabinet open shell) or any other desired suitable utilities or applications, pre-finished or non-pre-finished. The packing box may potentially save money, prevent environmental waste, as well as protect staircase components to be delivered and serve as a strong marketing tool for a manufacturer, or any intervenient in distribution and sale of staircases and or other domains. The dual purpose packing box may be adapted to any type of suitable products to be carried needing suitable appropriated protection. The packing box may be made of any suitable type of material, at any suitable desired dimensions, engineered design, or other needed specification. Different kits of shells, doors and accessories associated with the packing box 2400 will be available on request and may be customized with specified specifications as well.
FIG. 25 is a top perspective view of a staircase, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention illustrates contact between some of the components that permit a better adjustment when assembled temporarily and/or permanently together. The staircase 500 attempts to correct or hide imperfections in cutting and assembling and/or further variations of adjacent construction components. The staircase 500 attempts to minimize the time of installation, to maximize the quality of assembly and to minimize the touch-up areas. Other ameliorations regarding temporary and permanent attachment from original components suggested to treads 1,10,18 and risers 17, 200 together contribute to minimizing the time needed to assemble stair components together in the staircase 500 and ameliorate the need for a high tightening strength.
The back of the staircase 500 may be attached between the first wall 2510 and the second wall 2520 and behind a third wall 2530. A skirt board starter joint 2542 attaches the back of the staircase 500 with the third wall 2530 typically at each corner. There may be also a corresponding cap 2540 disposed on each of the skirt board starter joints 2542 to protect the skirt board starter joints 2542. A winder starter plank 2550 attaches the back of the staircase 500 to the first wall 2510. A cap 2552 may also be disposed on the winder starter plank 2550 to protect the winder starter plank 2550 and skirt board's cuts. A middle skirt board joint 2560 attaches the back of the staircase 500 to the second wall 2520. A cap 2562 may be disposed on the middle skirt board joint 2560 to protect or cover the middle skirt board joint 2560. An outside skirt board corner joint 2570 also attaches the back of the staircase 500 to the second wall 2520. A cap 2570 may be disposed on the outside skirt board corner joint 2580 to protect the outside skirt board corner joint 2580. A tread rim extender tread 2590 additionally attaches the first wall 2510 to the back of the staircase 500. A tread rim 2595 may be disposed to slide underneath the tread rim extender tread 2590 to further attach the back of the staircase 500 to the first wall 2510. A reversible molding 2575 also attaches the back of the staircase 500 to the first wall 2510. A skirt board ender joint 2585 may be disposed underneath the reversible molding 2575 to further attach the back of the staircase 500 to the first wall 2510. A cap 2587 may be disposed on the skirt board ender joint 2585 to protect the skirt board ender joint 2585 and the basic shirt board (FIG. 1, 5) or (FIG. 26, 201A).
FIG. 25 illustrates engineered skirt boards that may be typically installed in two or three parts because single engineered skirt boards of a suitable length may be typically not available and may be very difficult to carry and time-consuming to manufacture especially with a fit-at-joint assembly. These engineered skirt boards may be also less aesthetically attractive than other longer skirt boards for end-user customers. Most of staircase components mentioned in this document may be made with this manufacturing process (reversible pair face to face) and save in the range of approximately 26% to 38% of raw material and most cover joints of any kind utilized to hide cut and or imperfection may be made of one or two or three pieces of any kind of material, prefinished or not.
FIG. 26 is a side perspective view of a precision built staircase 500, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
The staircase 500 includes the reversible molding 2575 or 560 which may be disposed on top or bottom of the staircase 500. There may be also a cap 2610 on the top of starter corner joint 2540 of the staircase 500. The skirt board inside corner joint 2540 may be underneath the cap 2610. A tread rim block 2620 may be disposed underneath the skirt board start joint 2540. A tread rim extender 2630 may be vertically or horizontally attached to each vertical portion of a basic skirt board 2631 of each height of the staircase 500. The tread rim extender 2630 may be attached to the vertical portion basic skirt board 2631 with preferably at least one pinned nail. The tread rim 2595 may be then provided on the distal end 2650 of the horizontal portion 2652 of each step. The round cover 15C secures the vertical portion 2642 and the horizontal portion 2644 together and the screws 209 assemble firmly top riser to underneath tread nose side and same for bottom front riser to back of tread. The overlap angled molding 560 has a pair of ends 562 with an L-shape flat flange 2660 provided on the ends 562 of the overlap angled molding 560. The skirt board ender joint 2585 and cap 2587 may be provided at the bottom of the staircase 500.
FIG. 26 illustrates the basic skirt board 2631 that will accommodate and accept a wide variation of riser heights variation up to +/−⅞ths of the height of the tread rim while preserving an aesthetically pleasing installed skirt board, that is perfect-fit even when some variation of at side components.
The packing box 2400 will permit the delivery of longer components such as full length skirt boards, stringers and full length molding 560 and 2575 without anxiety regarding the components being broken or damaged while being transported.
FIG. 27 is an overhead side perspective view of a reversible stringer-tread support 2700, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
The structural stringer 3 has a plurality of grooves 2710 disposed on top of the structural stringer 3. The grooves 2710 may be typically convex grooves 2712 but may be any suitable shape. The grooves 2712 permit glue to overflow and spill on either side of the grooves 2710 and permit a better and larger grid surface, while also providing a better hold and attachment at the right level. There may be one or more taper apertures 2720 provided as well. This reversible stringer-tread support 2700 sit perfectly in grooves 2710 of structural stringer 3 and eliminate the need to use any square 15 and (FIG. 12, 15A) to well secure tread to structural stringer 3.
The standard stringer tread support 2700 may also be reversible. A plurality of grooves 2712 found on structural stringer 3 permit the glue to overflow and spill on either side of the grooves and permit a better and larger grid surface while also providing a better hold and attachment.
Typically the grooves may be disposed around the sides of the stringer that may be cut with a plurality of grooves 2710 to lock down, align and set the reversible standard stringer tread support 2700 quickly at a desired height and level without the need to add 15A spongy material like the one utilized on top of square (FIG. 12, 15). Similar to all of the components of the staircase, grooves disposed around the stringer permit to quickly and easily be assembled all together with or without glue.
FIG. 28A is a side perspective view of a screw 209, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
The screw 209 includes a threaded portion 2810, a screw head 2820 and a non-threaded portion 2830. The threaded portion 2810 may be disposed on a rear half 2802 with a distal end 2803 of the screw 209. The screw head 2820 may be disposed on a proximal end 2804 of the screw 209. The screw head 2820 may be a Phillips head shape 2822 or any other suitable shape of the screw head or combined example (Phillips and Square #3). The non-threaded portion 2830 may be disposed on a front half 2806 of the attachment screw 209 and accommodates a thickness of any tread. There may be also a self-drill end 2840 disposed on the end of the distal end 2803. Right now on the market, there may be no screw available for this application that may be more then steel gage number 9. Steel gage number 10 or higher should be utilized to firmly assemble a structural staircase.
FIG. 28B is a front perspective view of an attachment screw 209, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The threaded portion 2810, the screw head 2820 and the non-threaded portion 2830 and their components of the attachment screw 209 may be the same as illustrated and described in FIG. 28A. The screw head 2820 may be a Phillips head shaped 2822 or any other suitable shaped screw head as previously described in FIG. 28A or combined, example (Phillips and Square #3). Installation of the staircase and its components may be done from the top of the staircase to the bottom of the staircase, eliminating the need for an installer to walk on the tread during the installation, which may be typically done during the installation. This also allows the installer to work alone without a helper during the installation utilizing a top to bottom installation. The precision of the structural stringer and the prefabricated components assembled together permit the installation of a prefabricated skirt board after the structural stringer, tread and riser may be installed, usually that may be typically impossible to do with a regular installation with material currently on the market.
While the present invention has been related in terms of the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described. The present invention may be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Thus, the description is to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive on the present invention.
Patent Application
20150082716
