Patent Application
20100287853
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a structural element used in residential and commercial buildings, more particularly to a wooden structure for a stair.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wooden structure for a stair, such as that disclosed in each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,596,362, 5,985,398, and 6,860,071, includes a tread body made of a plurality of wooden strips, and a nose member fixed to a front end of the tread body. The tread body and the nose member have the same height. However, the aforesaid wooden structure lacks a decorative effect, and cannot cover a defect on a top portion of a riser member of a stair.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a wooden structure that has a strong structure and that has a decorative effect so as to be suitable for use on a stair.
According to this invention, a wooden structure for a stair comprises a tread member and a front nose member. The stair has a tread surface and a riser surface. The tread member includes a tread core layer made of lower quality wood and having a tread bottom face, and a tread lamella layer fixed on top of the tread core layer, made of higher quality wood, and having a tread top face opposite to the tread bottom face. The tread member has a first height, a tread front end face interconnecting front ends of the tread top and bottom faces, and a tread rear end face interconnecting rear ends of the tread top and bottom faces. The front nose member is made of wood, and has a front nose rear face connected to the tread front end face and having a part extending downwardly from the tread front end face and adapted to face the riser surface, a front decorative face opposite to the front nose rear face, a front nose top end interconnecting top ends of the front nose rear face and the front decorative face, and a front nose bottom end interconnecting bottom ends of the front nose rear face and the front decorative face. The front nose top and bottom ends are spaced apart from each other by a second height that is larger than the first height.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
The tread member 10 includes a tread core layer 10′ made of lower quality wood and having a tread bottom face 11, and a tread lamella layer 10″ fixed on top of the tread core layer 10′, made of higher quality wood, and having a tread top face 12 opposite to the tread bottom face 11. The lower quality wood is selected from the group consisting of rubber wood, pine wood, cedar wood, defective higher quality wood, high density fiber material, wood core board, plywood board, and particle board. The higher quality wood is selected from the group consisting of oak wood, maple wood, poplar wood, cherry wood, beech wood, alder wood, and hemlock wood. In this embodiment, the tread core layer 10′ is made of a single wood piece. In an alternative embodiment, the tread core layer 10′ may be made of a plurality of interconnected wood pieces. The tread member 10 has a first height (H1) (see
The front nose member 20 is made of wood. Preferably, the front nose member 20 is made of the aforesaid higher quality wood. The front nose member 20 has a front nose rear face 21 connected to the tread front end face 13 and having a part 212 extending downwardly from the tread front end face 13 and adapted to face the riser surface 220, a front decorative face 22 opposite to the front nose rear face 21, a front nose top end 23 interconnecting top ends of the front nose rear face 21 and the front decorative face 22 and flush with the tread top face 12, a front nose bottom end 24 interconnecting bottom ends of the front nose rear face 21 and the front decorative face 22, and two opposite front nose left and right lateral ends 25 connected between the front nose rear face 21 and the front decorative face 22 and between the front nose top and bottom ends 23, 24. The front nose rear face 21 is connected to the tread front end face 13 through a mortise-and-tenon joint. The tread front end face 13 has a tenon 131 of the mortise-and-tenon joint that projects forwardly therefrom and that extends along the length of the tread member 10. The front nose rear face 21 has a mortise 211 of the mortise-and-tenon joint that extends inwardly therefrom and that extends along the length of the front nose member 20 to receive the tenon 131.
The front decorative face 22 has a non-planar surface. The front nose member 20 has a non-uniform thickness in a front-to-rear direction and which varies from the front nose top end 23 to the front nose bottom end 24. The front nose top and bottom ends 23, 24 are spaced apart from each other by a second height (H2) that is larger than the first height (H1). The front nose bottom end 24 and the tread bottom face 11 are spaced apart from each other by a third height (H3).
Each of the left and right side nose members 40 is made of the aforesaid higher quality wood, and has a side nose front end face 41 fixed to a respective left or right lateral end face 25 of the front nose member 20, a side nose rear end face 42 extending rearwardly beyond the tread rear end face 14 by a distance (L) (see
The side nose rear end face 44 has a non-planar decorative surface, as best shown in
The riser member 30 is adapted to be fixed on the riser surface 220 of the stair 200, and has a top portion 311 clamped by the part 212 of the front nose rear face 21 against the riser surface 220. The riser member 30 includes a riser core layer 31 made of the aforesaid lower quality wood and adapted to abut against the riser surface 220, and a riser lamella layer 32 fixed to an outer surface of the riser core layer 31 and made of the aforesaid higher quality wood.
After the wooden structure 100 of the present invention is made, the front nose member 20 and the side nose members 40 are fixed respectively to the tread front end face 13 and the tread lateral end faces 15 of the tread member 10. During assembly of the wooden structure 100 to one of the stairs 201, the top portion 311 of the riser member 30 is disposed between the front nose rear face 21 and the riser surface 220, after which the front nose member 20 is pushed rearwardly so that the top portion 311 of the riser member 30 is clamped by the front nose rear face 21 against the riser surface 220, and the riser member 30 abuts against the riser surface 220. The tread member 10 may be adhered fixedly to the tread surface 210. Hence, assembly of the present invention to the stair 200 is easy. Further, the front decorative face 22 of the front nose member 20 and the outer decorative faces 44 and the side nose rear end faces 42 of the side nose members 40 have non-planar decorative surfaces so as to enhance the appearance of the wooden structure 100.
The present invention has the following effects:
1. Because the second height (H2) is larger than the first height (H1), and through the presence of the riser member 30, damage or defects on the riser surface 220 can be covered and concealed. Further, the front nose member 20 and the side nose members 40 provide a good decorative effect. Hence, the appearance of the entire wooden structure 100 is enhanced.
2. If the tread member 10 is made of a single wood piece, the entire structure of the wooden structure 100 may be enhanced.
3. The tread core layer 10′ and the riser core layer 31 can be made of lower quality wood, so that not only can the manufacturing cost of the wooden structure 100 be minimized, the impact on the environment can be minimized.
4. The wooden structure 100 of the present invention may be suitable for use on a new stair 201 or for repairing an old stair 201, so that the wooden structure 100 has many applications. For example, the original stair tread and riser member of the stair 201 may be left intact, and the wooden structure 100 may be mounted directly covering the same, so that repair of the stair 201 is quick and fast.
It is worth mentioning that although two side nose members 40 are disclosed in this embodiment for disposal on the two lateral plates 230 of the stair 200, when one of the lateral plates 230 abuts against a wall, then only one side nose member 40 is necessary. Further, if the riser surface 220 of the stair 201 has no damage or defects, the riser member 30 may be dispensed herewith.
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 interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
