AU2012206997B2

AU2012206997B2 - Flange cover device

Info

Publication number: AU2012206997B2
Application number: AU2012206997A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Jason Robert Cerezo
Original assignee: Steelmore Holdingd Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Steelmore Holdingd Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2011-07-25
Filing date: 2012-07-25
Publication date: 2015-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 2032-07-25
Also published as: AU2012206997A1

Abstract

A flange cover device and method of installing an extrusion having a flange using such a flange cover device are provided. Typically the extrusion is a hand rail. The flange cover device includes a cover plate, a cover insert located within 5 the cover plate, a seal located within the cover plate adjacent the cover insert, and a base plate. A flange portion of the hand rail is encapsulated, and sealed therein by the seal, between the cover plate and the base plate.

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: "FLANGE COVER DEVICE" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 1 TITLE Flange Cover Device FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 The invention relates to a device for attaching an extrusion such as a rail or bar to a surface. In particular, although not exclusively, the invention relates to a flange cover device for attaching a rail to a surface. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 10 The use of hand rails and grab rails is commonplace in bathrooms, toilets, stairways and walkways to assist people including those who may have a disability or be unsteady on their feet. The rails must be strongly attached to the walls or floor of the room in order to provide a stable support. Additionally, the entire rail including where it is attached to the wall or floor must be able to be 15 easily cleaned, particularly for rails used in bathrooms and toilets. Many rails are fixed to a surface by attaching the end of the rail into a base plate which is screwed onto the surface. The base plate often has exposed screw heads which are difficult to clean. A cover plate can be fitted over the base plate to cover the screw heads, 20 however a crevice generally remains both where the cover plate abuts the surface and where the cover plate abuts the handrail. This crevice may allow water, dirt etc to enter the area between the cover plate and the base plate, which is not easily accessible for cleaning. Similarly, other extrusions with a base plate suffer from the same effects.

2 Many base plates and cover plates combinations for fixing rails and other fixtures to surfaces in a more hygienic manner are manufactured from non ferrous metals by die casting. However, this can result in increased manufacturing costs which can be an incentive for less hygienic, exposed screw 5 type base plates to be used. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to overcome or at least alleviate one or more of the above problems and/or provide the consumer with a useful or 10 commercial choice. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In one form, although it need not be the only or indeed the broadest form, the invention resides in a flange cover device for a flange located at the end of 15 an extrusion. The flange cover device comprising: a cover plate having a cover plate top, a cover plate sidewall and a cover plate aperture formed through the cover plate top; a cover insert seated within the cover plate, the cover insert having a cover insert top, a cover insert aperture formed through the cover insert top, a 20 cover insert sidewall and a cover insert connector located on the cover insert sidewall; a seal located within the cover plate adjacent the cover insert, the seal having a seal top, a seal aperture formed through the seal top, and a seal sidewall; and 25 a base plate having a base plate floor, a base plate sidewall and a base 3 plate connector located on the base plate sidewall; wherein the extrusion is located through the cover plate aperture, the cover insert aperture and the seal aperture, and the flange is encapsulated between the cover insert, the seal and the base plate when the cover insert 5 connector is connected to the base plate connector. Preferably the extrusion is a hand rail. In one embodiment the cover insert is held in its seated position within the cover plate by a skirt portion of the cover plate sidewall. Preferably, the cover insert connector and the base plate connector are 10 corresponding screw threads. Suitably, the base plate has a projection adapted for location within the extrusion, when the extrusion is hollow or at least has a hollow portion. In another form, the invention resides in a method of installing an extrusion having a flange cover device, including the steps of: 15 seating a cover insert into a cover plate; placing the extrusion through the cover plate, the cover insert and a seal; attaching a flange to an end of the extrusion; fitting a base plate to the flange; fastening or adhering the flange and the base plate to a surface; and 20 connecting the cover insert and the base plate, thus encapsulating the flange and pressing the seal between the flange and the cover plate. In another form, the invention resides in a rail system comprising: a rail having a flange located at an end of the rail; a cover plate; 25 a cover insert seated within the cover plate; 4 a seal located within the cover plate adjacent the cover insert; and a base plate; wherein the flange is encapsulated between the cover plate and the base plate by connecting the cover insert and the base plate. 5 In another form, the invention resides in a flange cover device for a flange located at the end of a extrusion, the flange cover device comprising; a cover plate having a cover plate top, a cover plate sidewall and a cover plate aperture formed through the cover plate top; a cover insert seated within the cover plate, the cover insert having a 10 cover insert top, a cover insert aperture formed through the cover insert top, a cover insert sidewall and a cover insert connector located on the cover insert sidewall; wherein the cover insert is held in its seated position within the cover plate by a skirt portion of the cover plate sidewall. 15 Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To assist in understanding the invention and to enable a person skilled in 20 the art to put the invention into practical effect preferred embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG 1 shows an exploded view of a rail having a flange and a flange cover device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and 5 FIG 2 shows a cross sectional view of a rail having a flange and an assembled flange cover device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 5 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A flange cover device 1000 for a rail 200 and flange 210 combination, as shown in FIGS 1 and 2, comprises a cover plate 1100, a cover insert 1200, a seal 1300 and a base plate 1400. The cover plate 1100 has a cover plate top 1110 and a cover plate 10 sidewall 1120. A cover plate aperture 1130 is located through the cover plate top 1110. The cover plate aperture 1130 is sized and shaped to allow passage of the rail 200 through the cover plate aperture 1130. The cover plate sidewall 1120 extends from the cover plate top 1110. A portion of the cover plate sidewall 1120 is shaped to form a skirt 1121. The skirt 15 1121 inclines inwardly towards the centre of the cover plate 1100 and then flares outwardly. Thus there is an area of the cover plate sidewall 1120 which has a reduced diameter compared to the remainder of the cover plate sidewall 1120. The cover plate 1100 is formed from stainless steel. Other rigid materials which are generally resistant to standard bathroom cleaning fluids may also be 20 utilized for the cover plate 1100. The cover plate 1100 is punched or stamped out from a metal sheet using a die, and is then shaped using metal spinning or lathe spinning techniques to create the shape of the cover plate 1100, including the shape of the skirt 1121 in the cover plate sidewall 1120. The cover insert 1200 has a cover insert top 1210 and a cover insert 25 sidewall 1220. The cover insert 1200 is formed from a plastic material such as 6 polyoxymethylene (also known as acetal). Other plastic materials having a high degree of stiffness and dimensional stability may also be used (e.g. Ertalyte TX). A cover insert aperture 1230 is located through the cover insert top 1210. The cover insert aperture 1230 is sized and shaped to allow passage of the rail 200 5 through the cover insert aperture 1230. The cover insert sidewall 1220 extends from the cover insert top 1210. A portion of the cover insert sidewall 1220 forms a cover insert connector 1221. The cover insert connector 1221 is suitably a threaded portion. Alternatively, the cover insert connector 1221 may be a snap fit ring, groove, a projection or other 10 such connection formation. The seal 1300 is formed from an elastomeric material such as high density polyethylene (HDPE), rubber or other polymeric material. The seal 1300 consists of a seal top 1310 and a depending seal sidewall 1320. A seal aperture 1330 is located in the seal top 1310 to allow passage of the rail 200. 15 The seal sidewall 1320 is shaped to lie adjacent to the rail 200, when the rail 200 is located within the seal aperture 1330. The base plate 1400 is formed from a base plate floor 1410, a base plate sidewall 1420 and a projection 1430. The base plate 1400 is formed from a plastic material such as polyoxymethylene (also known as acetal). Other plastic 20 materials having a high degree of stiffness and dimensional stability may also be used (e.g. Ertalyte TX). Base plate apertures 1411 are located in the base plate floor 1410, each sized to allow the passage of a fastener. The base plate sidewall 1420 extends from the base plate floor 1410. A portion of the base plate sidewall 1420 provides a base plate connector 1421. 25 Suitably, the base plate connector 1421 is a threaded portion. Alternatively, the 7 base plate connector 1421 may be a snap fit ring, a groove, a projection or other type of connector formation. The rail 200 is a grab rail, hand rail or other type of rail or bar. The rail 200 is hollow with a circular cross sectional shape. However other cross 5 sectional shapes such as oval, square, rectangular etc may be used. Flange 210 is welded to an end of the rail 200. The flange 210 is sized and shaped to correspond with the base plate floor 1410. Flange apertures 211 are located through the flange 210 to correspond to the base plate apertures 1411. 10 In use, the cover insert 1200 is located within the cover plate 1100. Manual pressure is applied to force the cover insert sidewall 1220 against the restriction formed by the reduced diameter area of the cover plate sidewall 1120 created by the shape of the skirt 1121. The cover insert 1200 is thus mechanically held within the cover plate 1100 by the inwardly inclined portion of 15 the skirt 1121. An adhesive may also be applied between the cover insert 1200 and the cover plate 1100. The cover plate 1100, containing the seated cover insert 1200, is then fitted over the rail 200. The seal 1300 is also fitted over the rail 200. The flange 210 is then welded to the end of the rail 200. 20 The base plate 1400 is pressed onto the end of the rail 200, such that the flange 210 is against the base plate floor 1410 and the projection 1430 seated within the rail 200. The base plate floor apertures 1411 are aligned with the flange apertures 211. The base plate 1400 is then located on a surface (not shown) where the 25 rail 200 is to be installed. Screws (not shown), or other fasteners, are fitted 8 through the flange apertures 211 and the base plate floor apertures 1411 to secure the flange 210 and the base plate 1400 to the surface. The seal 1300 is then moved into position such that the seal sidewall 1320 is adjacent to the flange 210. The cover plate 1100 containing the seated 5 cover insert 1200 are then moved in to position such that the seal 1300 is located within the cover insert aperture 1230. The cover plate top 1110 is then also adjacent to the seal top 1310 in the vicinity of the rail 200. The location of the seal 1300 has the advantage of prohibiting contaminants from entering through the crevice that is formed around rail 200. This in turn avoids the difficult 10 problem of cleaning exposed screw heads. The cover plate 1100 and cover insert 1200 are then rotated such that the cover insert connector 1221 screws into the base plate connector 1421. An edge of the skirt 1121 of the cover plate sidewall 1120 is thus positioned to be adjacent to the surface. Thread tape or sealant, as is known in the field, may be 15 used between the cover insert connector 1231 and the base plate connector 1421 to enhance the connection between the cover insert 1200 and the base plate 1400. By using a plastic material to make the cover insert 1200, and thus provide the cover insert thread 1231, it is possible to manufacture the cover plate 20 1100 itself from stainless steel by methods such as stamping out and metal spinning, as a high dimensional precision is not required. This reduces the cost of producing the cover plate 1100. Additionally, as the base plate 1400 may also be formed from a plastic material, the total cost of the flange cover device 1000 is low compared to previous devices. 25 Installation of the flange cover device 1000 is also simple, with few 9 moving parts to manipulate when attaching the rail 200 to a wall or floor. By shaping the cover plate 1100 to mechanically hold the cover insert 1200 within the cover plate 1100 by the shape of the skirt 1121, the risk of the cover plate 1100 becoming separated from the rest of the flange cover device 5 1000 is reduced in comparison to the use of solely an adhesive to join the cover insert 1200 to the cover plate 1100. Throughout the specification the aim has been to describe the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features. Persons skilled in the relevant art may realize variations from the 10 specific embodiments that will nonetheless fall within the scope of the invention. For example, the flange 210 may be formed in an oval shape to allow the flange 210 to be attached to the rail 200 prior to putting the cover insert 1200 and seal 1300 onto the rail 200. The rail 200, cover plate 1100 and flange 210 may then be powder coated. Following powder coating, the cover insert 1200 may be slid 15 over the flange 210, onto the rail 200 and seated within the cover plate 1100. The seal 1300 can then be slid onto the rail 200 over the flange 210 and the flange cover device 1000 installed as described above. It will be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope 20 of the invention.

Claims

1. A flange cover device comprising: an extrusion having a flange located at an end of the extrusion; 5 a cover plate; a cover insert located within the cover plate; a seal located within the cover plate adjacent the cover insert; and a base plate; wherein the flange is encapsulated between the cover plate and the base 10 plate by connecting the cover insert to the base plate.

2. A flange cover device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover insert and the base plate have corresponding connectors. 15

3. A flange cover device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cover insert connector and the base plate connector are corresponding screw threads.

4. A flange cover device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the cover insert is seated within the cover plate. 20

5. A flange cover device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cover insert is held within the cover plate by a skirt portion of the cover plate.

6. A flange cover device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the 25 cover plate and the cover insert are integral. 11

7. A flange cover device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base plate has apertures that correspond with one or more apertures of the flange. 5

8. A flange cover device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base plate has a projection adapted for location in a hollow portion of the extrusion. 10

9. A flange cover device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the seal is formed of an elastomeric material.

10. A flange cover device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the extrusion is a hand rail. 15

11. A method of installing an extrusion having a flange to a surface, the method including the steps of: placing the extrusion through a cover plate, a cover insert and a seal; fitting a base plate to the flange; 20 mounting the flange and the base plate to a surface; and connecting the cover insert to the base plate to encapsulate the flange and to engage the seal between the flange and the cover plate.

12. A method of installing an extrusion having a flange to a surface as 25 claimed in claim 11, the method further including the step of attaching the flange 12 to the end of the extrusion.

13. A method of installing an extrusion having a flange to a surface as claimed in claim 12, wherein attaching the flange to the end of the extrusion 5 includes welding the flange to the end of the extrusion.

14. A method of installing an extrusion having a flange to a surface as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, the method further including the step of locating the cover insert into the cover plate. 10

15. A method of installing an extrusion having a flange to a surface as claimed in an one of claims 11 to 14, where in mounting the flange and the base plate to a surface includes fastening the flange and the base plate to the surface. 15

16. A method of installing an extrusion having a flange to a surface as claimed in claim 15, wherein fastening the flange and the base plate to the surface includes aligning apertures of the base plate with apertures of the flange and fitting fasteners through the aligned apertures. 20

17. A method of installing an extrusion having a flange to a surface as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the extrusion is a hand rail.

18. A flange cover device comprising: a cover plate having a cover plate top, a cover plate sidewall and a cover 25 plate aperture formed through the cover plate top; 13 a cover insert seated within the cover plate, the cover insert having a cover insert top, a cover insert aperture formed through the cover insert top, a cover insert sidewall and a cover insert connector located on the cover insert sidewall; 5 a seal located within the cover plate adjacent the cover insert, the seal having a seal top, a seal aperture formed through the seal top, and a seal sidewall; and a base plate having a base plate floor, a base plate sidewall and a base plate connector located on the base plate sidewall; 10 wherein an extrusion is located through the cover plate aperture, the cover insert aperture and the seal aperture, and a flange of the extrusion is encapsulated between the cover insert, the seal and the base plate when the cover insert connector is connected to the base plate connector. 15

19. A flange cover device as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

20. A method of installing an extrusion having a flange to a surface as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 20 1999339vl