Patent Application
20180202143
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other features, details, utilities, and advantages of the claimed subject matter will be apparent from the following more particular written Detailed Description of various implementations and implementations as further illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims
Implementations described herein provide a stair installation bracket for installing staircases in stairwells. The bracket includes a bracket assembly configured to anchor to a wall of a stairwell, a hanger tool removably connected to the bracket assembly, and a positioning bolt for positioning a staircase relative to the wall.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present technology may be realized by reference to the figures, which are described in the remaining portion of the specification. In the figures, like reference numerals are used throughout several figures to refer to similar components. In some instances, a reference numeral may have an associated sub-label consisting of a lower-case letter to denote one of multiple similar components. When reference is made to a reference numeral without specification of a sub-label, the reference is intended to refer to all such multiple similar components.
In designing and engineering a building's structure, many different assemblies (walls, columns, beams, bracing, strapping, and the fasteners that fasten them together) may be needed to form the building's structure and to manage loads and forces. The assemblies may be standardized through a limited number of uniquely designed standardized wall panels, trusses, fasteners, and other framing components, which may be manufactured using an automated technique such as by roll forming steel sheets. This unique and standardized assembly of elements may be used to form the building's structure and may effectively support loads and forces. Furthermore, these standardized assemblies may be useful in reducing the cost and time in designing such buildings. In multi-story residential or commercial buildings, standardized stairwells may be formed by these standardized components. As such, standardized staircases may be configured to fit in the standardized stairwells. The staircases may be pre-fabricated before the staircases are installed in the building. The pre-fabricated staircases may be anchored to the stairwell wall using fasteners. However, installation of a pre-fabricated staircase may be difficult due to the size and shape of the staircase. For example, a crane may be used to lower the staircase into the stairwell where the staircase must be anchored to specific areas of the stairwell walls. A crane is not effective in positioning a large and heavy staircase to a specific location in the stairwell.
In the implementations described herein, a bracket system is provided that allows a staircase to be roughly positioned relative to specific anchor point in a stairwell. The bracket provides a hanger tool with positioning bolts that may be used to accurately position the staircase relative to the specific anchor points. Once the staircase is accurately positioned, the staircase is anchored to the stairwell wall using the bracket and pre-installed bolts, and the hanger tool with the positioning bolt may be removed. These implementations are described further with respect to the following figures.
The hanger tool 104 includes a vertical column 110, a lower tab 106, and a positioning bolt 108. The hanger tool 104 may be formed of one piece of metal or otherwise welded together. The vertical column 110 of the hanger tool 104 may be configured to fit in the channel of the channel assembly 114 of the bracket assembly 102. The vertical column 110 includes one or more pre-formed pilot holes (e.g., pilot hole 126) configured to receive an end of headless bolts that fit through the channel assembly 114. For example, the headless bolt 116 fits into a pilot hole of the vertical column 110. The headless bolts (e.g., headless bolt 116) may be threaded and as such, the pilot holes of the channel assembly 114 and the vertical column are threaded to receive the headless bolts. The headless bolts fit into the vertical column 110 such as to hold the hanger tool 104 in place. The positioning bolt 108 is a threaded bolt that fits into a pilot hole of the tab 106. The positioning bolt 108 moves vertically depending on a direction of rotation.
One or more of the stair installation brackets 100 may be installed on a stairwell wall and configured to receive a landing of a pre-fabricated staircase (not shown). An edge wall of the staircase may be positioned to rest on the tab 106 of the stair installation bracket 100. As such, the hanger tool 104 may support the staircase until the staircase is attached directly to the bracket assembly 102. When resting on the tab 106, the positioning bolt 108 may be rotated causing the bolt to move up or down, until the staircase is positioned into a desired location relative to the bracket assembly 102. A sidewall of the staircase may include pre-formed pilot holes, and as such, the pilot holes must be aligned with the pilot holes of the channel assembly 114. Thus, the positioning bolt 108 is rotated until the pilot holes of the staircase wall are aligned with the pilot holes of the channel assembly 114. Once the pilot holes of the staircase wall are aligned with the pilot holes of the channel assembly 114, the headless bolts may be rotated such as to engage the headless bolts with the pilot holes of the stairwell wall. As a result, the stairwell is anchored to the bracket assembly 102. Furthermore, the headless bolts disengage with the pilot holes of the hanger tool 104. As such, the headless bolts may contemporaneously engage with the staircase and disengage with the hanger tool 104.
The hanger tool 204 includes a vertical column 208, a tab 206 with a pilot hole 234 configured to receive a positioning bolt 210. The vertical column is configured to fit into a channel 236 formed by the channel assembly 224 of the bracket assembly 202. The vertical column further includes one or more pilot holes (e.g., a pilot hole 238) configured to receive and engage with the headless bolts (e.g., the headless bolt 226). When the headless bolts are positioning in the channel assembly 224 of the bracket assembly 202 and in one of the pilot holes of the vertical column 208, the hanger tool 204 is anchored in place.
When the hanger tool 204 is anchored to the bracket assembly 202, a staircase landing (not shown) may be positioned on the tab 206 of the hanger tool. The positioning bolt 210 may be rotated until a pilot hole of the staircase landing (not shown) is aligned with the pilot holes of the channel assembly 224. Once alignment is achieved, the headless bolts (e.g., the headless bolt 226) may be rotated such as to anchor the staircase to the bracket assembly 202 of the stair installation bracket). Nuts and bolts may be used to further anchor the staircase to the bracket assembly 202. Furthermore, as the headless bolts are rotated, the bolts move outward and release the hanger tool 204. As such, the hanger tool 204 may be removed from the bracket assembly 202.
The stair installation brackets (e.g., stair installation brackets 706 and 712) have been described with respect to installation of staircases. However, it should be understood that the stair installation brackets may be used to install other structures such as flooring, ceilings, platforms, etc.
A positioning operation 810 positions a pre-fabricated staircase with a lower staircase landing and an upper staircase landing on to the hanger tool of each stair installation bracket. The positioning operation 810 may include lowering the staircase onto the brackets using a crane and/or manpower. Once the staircase is positioned on the brackets such that the upper staircase landing is on the upper landing brackets and the lower staircase landing is on the lower landing brackets, a rotating operation 812 rotates the positioning bolts of the stair installation brackets such that the pre-formed pilot holes of the staircase are aligned with the pre-formed pilot holes of the bracket.
A second rotating operation 814 rotates each headless bolt of the at least one stair installation bracket such that the headless bolts are engaged with the pre-formed pilot holes of the staircase. An attaching operation 816 attaches washers and nuts to the headless bolt to anchor the staircase to the stair installation brackets. A removing operation 818 removes the hanger tool from each bracket assembly.
The above specification, examples, and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended. Furthermore, structural features of the different embodiments may be combined in yet another embodiment without departing from the recited claims. Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of the invention. The implementations described above and other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
