Wooden newel post

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6662519
  • Patent Number
    6,662,519
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, April 2, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, December 16, 2003
    20 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Ramirez; Ramon O.
    • Sterling; Amy J.
    Agents
    • Lowe Hauptman Gilman & Berner, LLP
Abstract
A wooden newel post includes upper and lower post sections, anda decorative lamella layer. The upper post section is made of higher quality wood, and has a lower post connecting end. The lower post section is made of lower quality wood, and has an upper post connecting end connected to the lower post connecting end of the upper post section, and an outer post surface. The decorative lamella layer is made of higher quality wood, and is secured to the outer post surface of the lower post section.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The invention relates to a wooden newel post and, more particularly to a wooden newel post that is made from a combination of higher and lower quality wood materials.




2. Description of the Related Art




Referring to

FIGS. 1 and 2

, a conventional wooden newel post


1


is shown to have a height and width, and is formed by interconnecting three wooden boards


101


side-by-side along the width of the wooden newel post


1


to form a rectangular raw post body. Each of the wooden boards


101


is made of higher quality wood, such as oak or maple, and extends the full height of the wooden newel post


1


. The post body is turned so as to form a contoured upper post section


2


, and a lower post section


3


having a rectangular cross-section. The standard specification of the wooden newel post


1


is 43 to 72 inches in height. Higher quality wood materials having no scars, no mineral lines, and having sufficient length are selected to produce the conventional wooden newel post


1


.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The main object of the present invention is to provide a wooden newel post that is made from a combination of higher and lower quality wood materials so as to help reduce consumption of higher quality wood.




According to this invention, a wooden newel post having a height and width comprises an upper post section, a lower post section, and a decorative lamella layer. The upper post section is made of higher quality wood, and has a lower post connecting end. The lower post section is made of lower quality wood, and has an upper post connecting end connected to the lower post connecting end of the upper post section, and an outer post surface. The decorative lamella layer is made of higher quality wood, and is secured to the outer post surface of the lower post section.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:





FIG. 1

illustrates how a conventional wooden newel post is made from a plurality of wooden boards;





FIG. 2

is a schematic view of the conventional wooden newel post;





FIG. 3

is a schematic cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of a wooden newel post according to the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment taken along line


4





4


of

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 5

is a schematic view of the wooden newel post of the present invention; and





FIG. 6

is a perspective view of a rectangular raw post body of the preferred embodiment, illustrating how the wooden newel post is made from the post body.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




Referring to

FIGS. 3

to


6


, one preferred embodiment of a wooden newel post


100


according to the present invention is shown to have a height and width, and comprises an upper post section


10


, a lower post section


20


connected to the upper post section


10


, and a decorative lamella layer


30


adhered to an outer post surface of the lower post section


20


.




The upper post section


10


is made of hard higher quality wood, such as oak wood and maple wood, and extends at least one-half of the full height of the wooden newel post


100


. In this embodiment, the upper post section


10


extends to approximately two-thirds of the full height of the wooden newel post


100


, and has a top end portion


11


, a lower post connecting end


12


opposite to the top end portion


11


, and a contoured outer post surface


13


that extends along the full height of the upper post section


10


. The upper post section


10


includes three wooden boards


14


that are interconnected side-by-side along the width of the wooden newel post


100


, such as by gluing, and that extend along the full height of the uppermost section


10


. Lower ends


141


of the wooden boards


14


correspond to the lower post connecting end


12


of the upper post section


10


.




The lower post section


20


is made of lower quality wood, such as rubber wood and pine wood from plantation forests, defective higher quality wood, and high density fiber material. The lower post section


20


has a rectangular cross-section, an upper post connecting end


21


, a bottom end portion


22


opposite to the upper post connecting end


21


, and an outer post surface


23


that extends along the full height of the lower post section


20


. The lower post section


20


includes three wooden boards


24


that are interconnected side-by-side along the width of the wooden newel post


100


, such as by gluing, and that extend along the full height of the lower post section


20


. Upper ends


241


of the wooden boards


24


correspond to the upper post connecting end


21


. Each wooden board


24


includes two board sections


24


′ that are interconnected to each other along the full height of the lower post section


20


by means of finger joints. The upper ends


241


of the wooden boards


24


of the lower post section


20


and the lower ends


141


of the wooden boards


14


of the upper post section


10


are interconnected by means of finger joints, such that the lower post section


20


extends continuously from the upper post section


10


along the full height of the wooden newel post


100


.




The decorative lamella layer


30


includes 2-8mm lamella pieces of the same hard higher quality wood used in the upper post section


10


, and is adhered securely to the outer post surface


23


on four sides of the lower post section


20


.




Referring to

FIG. 6

, the wooden newel post


100


of this invention is manufactured according to a process that is substantially similar to the conventional one. Three wooden boards


210


made of higher quality wood are interconnected respectively with three wooden boards


220


made of lower quality wood so as to form a rectangular raw post body


200


. The post body


200


is lathed so as to form the contoured outer post surface


13


of the upper post section


10


.




Although the wooden newel post


100


of the present invention conveys a continuous higher quality wood appearance in view of the upper post section


10


and the decorative lamella layer


30


, as best illustrated in

FIGS. 3 and 5

, the lower post section


20


covered by the decorative lamella layer


30


can be made of lower quality wood or defective higher quality wood, thereby reducing consumption of higher quality wood material to a minimum.




While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.



Claims
  • 1. A wooden newel post having a height and width, comprising:an upper newel post section made of higher quality wood and having a lower newel post connecting end, the higher quality wood selected from the group consisting of oak wood and maple wood; a lower post section made of lower quality wood and having an upper newel post connecting end connected to said lower post connecting end of said upper newel post section, said lower newel post section further having an outer newel post surface, the lower quality wood selected from the group consisting of rubber wood and pine wood from plantation forests, defective higher quality wood, and high density fiber material; and a decorative lamella layer made of higher quality wood and secured to said outer newel post surface of said lower post section.
  • 2. The wooden newel post as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper post section extends at least one-half of the full height of said wooden newel post.
  • 3. The wooden newel post as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper post section has a contoured outer post surface.
  • 4. The wooden newel post as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper post section includes a plurality of wooden boards that are interconnected side-by-side along the width of said wooden newel post, and that extend along the full height of said upper post section.
  • 5. The wooden newel post as claimed in claim 1, further comprising finger joint means provided on said lower post connecting end and said upper post connecting end for interconnecting said upper and lower post sections.
  • 6. The wooden newel post as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower post section includes a plurality of wooden boards that are interconnected side-by-side along the width of said wooden newel post, and that extend along the lull height of said lower post section.
  • 7. The wooden newel post as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of said wooden boards includes a plurality of board sections that are interconnected to each other by means of finger joints.
  • 8. The wooden newel post as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower post section has a rectangular cross-section, and said decorative lamella layer is secured to four sides of said lower post section.
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