The present invention relates to a stair edging component. In particular, this invention relates to a stair edging component useful in the constructions of stairs and to a method of producing such a stair edging component.
Each step in the flight of stairs comprises a horizontal tread and vertical riser. The meeting edge of the tread and riser is often termed the nosing. This edge or nosing may be prone to forces that can cause damage to it.
There is also a regulatory requirement in some jurisdictions to provide stairs with high visibility and anti-slip edges. This is to improve the safe use of the stairs, particularly for disabled or sight impaired users.
To address these issues, a stair may be provided with a nosing extrusion or insert, which can provide a stronger edge to the stair. The nosing extrusion may be provided with a high visibility area or portion and/or an anti-slip area or portion, which may reduce damage and improve the safety of users.
Some staircases are moulded from a settable material such as concrete. An example of this type of staircase is found in U.S. Pat. No. 8,262,055, which describes a method of forming concrete flights of stairs. This method is used in the erection of many types of buildings, particularly commercial and industrial buildings.
For this type of staircase, edging or nosing extrusions are usually affixed to the staircase after moulding. Affixing such extrusions to the edge of each stair after moulding can be labour intensive and expensive.
A need has been identified for a stair edging component or nosing extrusions that is made as a separate item and then used in concrete stair moulding systems such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,262,055 to create a pre-cast concrete stair with a high visibility and anti-slip edge on the leading edge of each step of the stair.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improvement on existing stair edging components and systems or to at least provide a useful alternative to known components and systems.
In a first aspect, the present invention provides an elongate insert for a leading edge of a stair, the insert comprising:
Preferably, the insert further comprises a locating recess at at least one end thereof, more preferably at each end thereof.
Preferably, the coupling interface comprises at least one hooking part for securing the insert to the stair.
Preferably, the coupling interface comprises at least one recess for engagement with a lip of the stair.
Preferably, the coupling interface comprises at least one clamping recess adapted to receive a positioning device during moulding of the stair.
Preferably, the insert is formed substantially of concrete, with a pipe extending therethrough to define the opening.
Preferably, the tread surface of the insert is at least slightly concave.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a stair edging component or nosing assembly comprising:
Preferably, each locating spacer is provided with an opening therein, corresponding to the opening in each insert.
Preferably, the profile of each insert is substantially similar to the profile of each locating spacer.
Preferably, at least one surface of each locating spacer is at least slightly concave.
Preferably, the tread surface of each insert is at least slightly concave.
Preferably, the tensioning means is a wire or cable.
Preferably, the tensioning means is secured by way of one or more crimping ferrules.
Preferably, the stair edging component or nosing assembly further comprises a locating spacer at each end thereof.
Preferably, each insert is further provided with one or more locating pins.
In a third aspect, the present invention provides a mould assembly for forming an insert for a leading edge of a stair, the mould assembly comprising:
Preferably, the mould assembly is shaped to provide the tread surface of the insert with a slightly concave surface.
In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a method of forming a stair edging component or nosing assembly, the method comprising:
Preferably, tensioning of the tensioning means is achieved using a tensioning jig.
Preferably, the tensioning means is held in place after tensioning by means of one or more crimping ferrules.
This brief summary of the invention broadly describes the features and advantages of certain embodiments of the invention. Further features and advantages will be described in the detailed description of the invention that follows.
Novel features that are believed to be characteristic of the invention will be better understood from this detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. However, the accompanying drawings are intended to help illustrate the invention or assist with understanding the invention, and are not intended to define the scope of the invention.
The invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings, in which:
The present invention relates to a stair edging component or nosing extrusion that is made as a separate item and then used in concrete stair moulding system such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,262,055. The nosing extrusion of the present invention may be used to create a pre-cast concrete stair with high visibility and anti-slip leading edge on each stair. This leading edge may also be durable and hard-wearing.
The stair edging component or nosing extrusion of the present invention is shown in
One embodiment of the nosing extrusion 5 is shown in more detail in
The coupling interface 6 includes a recess 7 formed in the riser surface 3. When moulded into a stair, the material making up the stair, preferably concrete, flows into this recess 7. The recess 7 has enough volume to ensure that the step beneath the component is sufficiently strong.
Additionally, the nosing extrusion 5 preferably has a rear recess 8 causing the formation of a protrusion 9 at the back of the nosing extrusion 5. The protrusion 9 will have enough distance from the nosing extrusion's edge on the tread surface 2 to stop any upward movement during the casting of the nosing extrusion 5 in a stair.
A clamping or recess or groove 10 may also be provided. This receives a positioning device (shown in
A nosing extrusion 5 moulded into a stair 1 is shown in
The nosing assembly 5 of the present invention comprises a plurality of inserts 15 as shown in
Preferably, each insert 15 comprises a main body portion with a tread surface provided with a plurality of grooves 16 (or some other suitable feature to provide a gripping or non-slip surface).
The insert 15 may be of any convenient length, for example, 335 mm, 300 mm, 280 mm, 125 mm or even 75 mm.
Each insert 15 is provided with an opening 17 extending therethrough. Each opening 17 is adapted to accept a tensioning wire or rod, as described in more detail below. The opening 17 may be formed by providing a PVC pipe or other suitable tubing, moulded into the insert 15, as also described in more detail below.
Each insert 15 is provided with a recess 18 of a suitable shape to assist the insert 15 to be retained in a stair. In the embodiment shown in
As shown in
A nosing assembly 23 of the present invention is shown in
The openings 17 of each insert 15a, 15b are adapted to accept a tensioning wire or rod 24 (hereafter wire 24). In one preferred embodiment, the wire 24 may be a 316 stainless steel cable of about 2.5 mm thickness. The use of 316 stainless steel cable will eliminate corrosion.
At least one end of the wire 24 is provided with a securing means, such as at least one crimping ferrule 25. The crimping ferrule 25 may preferably be formed of stainless steel.
As well as the inserts 15a,15b, the nosing assembly 23 may be provided with one or more locating spacers 26. Preferably, a locating spacer 26 is provided between each pair of adjacent inserts 15a, 15b and also at each end of the nosing assembly 23.
The locating spacer 26 is shown in more detail in
During assembly, a plurality of inserts 15 may be selected, and joined together by way of the locating spacers 26 and wire 24, to produce a stair nosing component or nosing extrusion 23 as shown in
One advantage of the present invention is that the inserts 15 may be made of any desired length, allowing formation of a stair nosing component or nosing extrusion 23 of any desired length. In addition, individual inserts 15 are shorter than the length of a stair nosing component or nosing extrusion 23, making transport easier and reducing damage that might occur during transportation and use of longer lengths of nosing.
Assembly of the nosing assembly 23 is now described with reference to
At an opposite end, a second crimping ferrule 25b is located on to the wire 24. A tensioning jig 29 is then placed on the wire 24 and is used to tension up the wire 24. This may be done by drawing an end of the wire 24 through a hole in a bolt 30 of the tensioning jig 29, and screwing the bolt 30 inwardly towards the end of the insert 15, as shown in
The wire 24 may be pulled tight by hand and then the third, outer crimping ferrule 25c is crimped on to the wire 24. The bolt 30 may then be wound outwardly away from the end of the outer insert 15, to tension the wire 24 and thereby draw the inserts 15 firmly together. Once the wire 24 has sufficient tension, the second, inner crimping ferrule 25b may be positioned up against the end of the outer insert 15 and may be crimped on to the wire 24.
The wire 24 may then be cut and the tensioning jig 29 removed, resulting in the assembled nosing 23.
An alternative tensioning system is shown in
An alternative insert section is shown in
The insert 15a, 15b may also be provided with a recess 34 at each end. This helps to ensure there are no gaps between adjacent insert sections 15a, 15b and locating spacers 26, to provide a smooth finish to the insert 15.
Each end locating spacer 26a as shown in
In addition, the locating spacers 26 used in between adjacent inserts 15a, 15b may be provided with grooves 16, which in use align with the grooves 16 in the inserts 15a, 15b.
Referring now to
The mould assembly 36 may be of any desired length, for example from about 2.5 m to 6 m.
To form a plurality of inserts 15a, 15b, pieces of pipe 39 are located within the mould assembly 36 and are spaced apart and secured in place with spacer locating formers 40. The spacer locating former 40 is shown in more detail in
Once the moulding assembly 36 is assembled as shown in
Once the settable material has set or hardened sufficiently, the inserts 15a, 15b may be removed from the mould assembly 36. To do this, the upper mould extrusion 38 is removed from the mould assembly 36, leaving the inserts 15a, 15b located in the lower mould extrusion 37. The inserts 15a, 15b can then be easily removed from the lower mould extrusion 37, for example by tipping this portion of the mould assembly upside down or by simply lifting each insert 15a, 15b from the lower mould extrusion 37.
The spacer locating formers 40 may be removed, leaving inserts 15 such as that shown in
In one preferred aspect of the invention, the top of the spacer locating former 40 and the locating spacer 26 are not flat, as shown in
Similarly, in one embodiment of the invention, the inserts 15 are also slightly concave. Being slightly concave adds friction and improving anti-slip properties to the stair edging component or nosing extrusion 23.
In an alternative aspect of the present invention, inserts 15 may be provided with an additional component 43, as shown in
To provide for this additional component 43, the mould assembly 36 may be provided with an additional pipe or extrusion 44, as shown in
The pipe or extrusion 44 may be made from PVC so that it may flex inwards for easy removal from the concrete once the insert 15 is made, or it could be left in the insert 15 to enable components to be clipped in.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the insert 15 of the present invention is made from concrete or an epoxy-concrete composite or the like. More preferably, the insert 15 is made from a strong or hard concrete or concrete composite (optionally, harder and stronger than the concrete forming the stair) so that wear on the edge of each step of a stair is reduced.
The insert and nosing assembly of the present invention provide a number of useful features. Variable length inserts allow a user to form a nosing assembly of a desired length for any particular stairs, so there is no need to make each nosing to suit a particular customer's requirements. Shorter inserts are also easy to transport to end use locations.
The nosing assembly of the present invention may be more likely to sit flat in the stair mould because the assembled nosing, with the tensioning wire, allows the assembly to bend and flex even though it is exposed to considerable pressure (for example, over 100kg). Also, some stair moulds may not have flat surfaces and if the nosings are not lying flat on the mould surfaces there will be concrete ingress and the definition between the nosing and the stair faces will be uneven and unsightly.
The nosing assembly of the present invention does not need additional reinforcing, which can provide a cost advantage in some situations.
The spacer/locating system of the present invention provides for accurate formation of the nosing assemblies and stairs comprising such nosing assemblies. The manufacture system using sacrificial PVC pipes is accurate and flexible regarding the length of the insert and nosing assembly created.
The slightly concave shape of the top of the locating spacer and insert ensures the nosing assembly lies flat on the concrete stair mould (the nosing assembly only touches the stair mould on its outside edges as indicated at 42a in
The present invention and its embodiments have been described in detail. However, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment described in the specification. Modifications and variations may be made to the disclosed embodiment without departing from the scope or essential characteristics of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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613159 | Jul 2013 | NZ | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/NZ2014/000142 | 7/11/2014 | WO | 00 |