BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to a stair tread structure, including a tread body made up of a core layer, a plurality of lateral connecting members, a tread end member, a plurality of external connecting sheets, and an elongate nose member wherein the core layer and the tread end member are respectively made up of one or more than one board bodies of recycled wood, plywood, sawdust, and other lower quality materials that are integrally processed and firmly bonded into one piece with the lateral connecting members, the external connecting sheets, and the tread nose member securely glued thereto via synthetic adhesive, facilitating an easier and speedier manufacturing process of the tread body to achieve economical efficiency as well as environmental protection thereof.
Please refer to FIG. 1. A conventional stair tread structure as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,398 comprises a tread body 10 made up of an elongate nose member 11, and a plurality of elongate tread pieces 12 glued laterally adjacent to each other wherein the nose member 11 has a curved front flange 111 protruding at one edge thereof. Each of the elongate tread pieces 12 is made up of a top layer 121 of higher quality material and a core layer of lower quality material, which are mutually bonded together via fastening glue.
There are some drawbacks to such conventional stair tread structure. First, the tread body 10 is made up of multiple tread pieces 12 that are glued laterally adjacent to each other before the nose member 11 is applied and bonded thereto, which is quite tedious and complicated in the manufacturing process and uneconomical in terms of efficiency thereof. Second, the tread body 10 with the tread pieces 12 and the nose member 11 simply glued together provides a rather poor and inconsistent bonding that can cause the connected tread pieces 12 to dissever and make the tread body 10 inconvenient in use. Third, the tread piece 12 of the tread body 10 is made up of the top layer 121 of higher quality material and the core layer 122 of lower quality material mutually glued together wherein the lateral end surfaces of the tread body 10 are exposed outsides without any decoration thereon, which tends to mar the beauty of the tread body 10 thereof as a whole.
Please refer to FIG. 2 showing a perspective view of U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,362. Another conventional stair tread structure includes an elongate nose member 20, a plurality of elongate tread bodies 30, and a tread end member 40 wherein the nose member 20 has a semi-circular front flange 21 disposed thereon, and each of the elongate tread bodies 30 is made up of a core layer 31 with corresponding upper and lower surface layers 32, 33 laminated at both top and bottom sides thereon. The core layer 31 (referring to FIG. 3) includes middle pieces 311 of various sizes glued together at the middle section thereof, and two lateral end pieces 312 of different sizes to match and bond with the middle pieces 311 thereby.
There are some disadvantages to the second conventional stair tread structure. First, the various-sized middle pieces 311 of the core layer 31 thereof must be connected with the lateral end pieces 312 before the upper and lower surface layers 32, 33 are glued to the core layer 31 to provide an elongate tread body 30 thereby, and the multiple tread bodies 30 each having a core layer 31 made up of the middle pieces 311 and the lateral end pieces 312 of different sizes are sequentially bond one with another before the nose member 20 and the tread end member 40 are respectively applied to attach to the adjacent front and rear connecting surfaces of the elongate tread bodies 30 therewith. The stair tread obtained thereby is, therefore, characterized by a complicated manufacturing process that, taking a lot of time and efforts, is rather uneconomical in terms of efficiency. Second, the elongate tread body 30 must be individually assembled via the core layer 31 thereof laminated with the upper and lower surface layers 32,33 thereof before combined with the other finished elongate tread bodies 30, the nose member 20, and the tread end member 40 thereof respectively, which, with a poor and inconsistent bonding, can easily cause the detachment and deformation of the assembled elongate tread bodies 30 thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is, therefore, the primary purpose of the present invention to provide a stair tread structure, including a tread body made up of a core layer, a plurality of lateral connecting members, a tread end member, a plurality of external connecting sheets, and an elongate nose member wherein the core layer and the tread end member are respectively made up of one or more than one board bodies of recycled wood, plywood, sawdust, and other lower quality materials that are integrally processed and bonded into one piece, efficiently making the best use of recycled resources for environmental protection thereof.
It is, therefore, the second purpose of the present invention to provide a stair tread structure wherein the core layer, the lateral connecting members, the tread end member, the external connecting sheets, and the elongate nose member are integrally processed and quickly bonded together via synthetic adhesive, facilitating an easier and speedier manufacturing thereof to achieve the economical efficiency and avoid the risk of detachment and deformation of the stair body thereof.
It is, therefore, the third purpose of the present invention to provide a stair tread structure wherein the elongate nose member of the tread body is provided with a curved front flange that can be alternatively made to provide various decorative patterns thereon, achieving the stylistic change and beauty of the stair tread thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,398.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,362.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the above U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,362 in assembly.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a partially assembled perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is another partially assembled perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the present invention partially assembled and processed.
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of the present invention partially assembled.
FIG. 9 is an assembled perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the present invention finished in assembly and processing.
FIG. 11 is another assembled and processed perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Please refer to FIG. 4. The present invention is related to a stair tread structure, including a tread body 50 made up of a core layer 51, a plurality of lateral connecting members 52, a tread end member 53, a plurality of external connecting sheets 54, and an elongate nose member 55. The core layer 51 and the tread end member 53 are respectively made up of one or more than one board bodies 511, 531 that, integrally processed and firmly bonded into one piece, can be made of recycled wooden material, plywood, sawdust, and other lower quality materials. Besides, the core layer 51 is provided with a pair of lateral coupling portions 512 symmetrically protruding at both end surfaces thereon, and each lateral connecting member 52 is equipped with a lateral coupling groove 521 disposed at one end surface therein correspondingly matching to the lateral coupling portion 512 of the core layer 51 for mutual engagement therewith.
Please refer to FIGS. 5 through 11 inclusive. In assembly, the coupling grooves 521 of the lateral connecting members 52 are respectively applied with synthetic adhesive at proper positions and firmly glued with the lateral coupling portions 512 of the core layer 51 thereby. The tread end member 53 with synthetic adhesive properly applied at one longitudinal lateral side thereon is fixedly attached to the adjacent end surface of the assembled core layer 51 and the lateral connecting members 52 as shown in FIG. 5. Then, the external connecting sheets 54 are applied from both upper and lower sides to firmly bond via synthetic adhesive with the top and bottom surfaces of the core layer 51, the lateral connecting members 52 and the tread end member 53 with protrusive edges 541 extending outwards from the four end surfaces of the assembled core layer 51, the lateral connecting members 52, and the tread end member 53 as shown in FIG. 6. The protrusive edges 541 of the upper/lower external connecting sheets 54 are then trimmed and removed there-from as shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and the elongate nose member 55 with synthetic adhesive properly applied at one longitudinal end surface thereon is laterally fixed to the adjacent connecting end surface of the core layer 51 opposite to the tread end member 53 thereof as shown in FIG. 9. Then, the elongate nose member 55 is further processed at one lateral end to provide a curved front flange 551 as shown in FIG. 10 wherein the curved front flange 551 thereof can be alternatively made to provide various decorative patterns thereon such as rib-like ones as shown in FIG. 11. Therefore, the tread body 50 obtained thereby is efficiently manufactured and economically processed in an easier and speedier manner, which can not only avoid the risk of warping and deformation in the production thereof, but also can make the best use of recycled resources for the protection of environment.
Please refer to FIG. 12 showing another embodiment of the present invention. The present invention can also comprise a tread body 60 made up of a core layer 61, a plurality of external connecting sheets 62, a tread end member 63, and an elongate nose member 64 that are firmly bonded together via synthetic adhesive. The core layer 61 is equipped with a plurality of protrusive coupling portions 611 that, each having arcuate connecting faces 612 cut at both edges thereof, are equally spaced out at one (or both) lateral end(s) thereof in continuous with an adjacent curved edge surface 613 defining one side of the lateral end(s) thereof. A lateral connecting member 65, having a plurality of coupling recesses 651 each defined by an opening edge 652 and a stop facet 653 at both sides thereof to form a connecting end surface 654 thereon, is provided to correspondingly engage with the protrusive coupling portions 611 of the core layer 61 thereby. Besides, the connecting end surface 654 of the lateral connecting member 65 has an arcuate edge face 6541 defining one side thereof, closely matching with the curved edge surface 613 of the core layer 61 so as to provide alternative stylistic variation of the stair tread thereby.
Patent Application
20060196129
