AU2012211384B2 - Stair tread - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention resides in a replaceable nosing for a stair tread.

Description

2012211384 07 Aug 2012

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT

Invention Title: "STAIR TREAD"

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 1 2012211384 07 Aug 2012

TITLE

STAIR TREAD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 The present invention relates generally to the field of construction. In particular, the invention relates to a versatile stair tread. The stair tread may also offer improved safety.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 10 Stairs are constructed from stringers, risers and treads. Stringers are the structural members that support the treads and the risers. The stringers extend the length of the stairs and are fixed at each end. Stringers may be made of virtually any structural material to suit the application. Wood is commonly used to provide an aesthetic appeal and metal is more common in utilitarian applications. 15 Lightweight extruded materials are finding broad application.

The tread is the part of the stair that is stepped on, and each tread is fixed to the stringers. Typically there are two stringers and a tread is attached to a stringer at each end. There may be a central stringer for some stairs. The treads may be attached to the stringers by any suitable manner such as bolts, screws, 20 welding, nails, etc. A front part of the tread is referred to as the nosing. It may protrude over the back of the tread beneath.

The riser is a vertical portion between each tread. For an open stair the riser will be absent. 25 It is known that stairs can be somewhat dangerous as it is easy to slip.

For this reason stairs have been designed with a rough tread upper surface, particularly for industrial use. It is also known to provide a bright colour on the nosing to reduce the chance of missing a step. Unfortunately these safety 2 2012211384 07 Aug 2012 features can be lost as they are generally applied to the nosing and this is the part of the tread that wears quickest.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 5 In one form, although it need not be the only or indeed the broadest form, the invention resides in a stair tread comprising a removable nosing.

In another form the invention resides in a stair tread comprising: a body having an upper surface and attachment portions at a lower part for attachment to a stringer; and 10 a replaceable nosing section forming part of the upper surface when inserted.

In a yet further form the invention resides in a stair comprising: at least a pair of stringers; a plurality of treads attached between the stringers so as to form a stair; wherein each tread has a replaceable nosing. 15 Preferably the stair further comprises risers between treads.

The removable nosing is suitably an extrusion having a dovetail attachment that inserts to a dovetail slot in an upper surface of the tread.

Suitably the replaceable nosing may be brightly coloured, for example safety yellow. Preferably the replaceable nosing has a non-slip surface. 20 Further features and advantages 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 25 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, in which: FIG 1 is a sketch of a set of stairs; 3 2012211384 07 Aug 2012 FIG 2 is a cross-sectional end view of a tread according to a first embodiment; FIG 3 is a first embodiment of a nosing for the tread of FIG 2; FIG 4 shows the nosing of FIG 3 assembled to the tread of FIG 2; 5 FIG 5 shows a riser; and FIG 6 shows an alternate nosing embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention reside primarily in a stair tread with 10 removable nosing. Accordingly, the elements have been illustrated in concise schematic form in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are necessary for understanding the embodiments of the present invention, but so as not to obscure the disclosure with excessive detail that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present 15 description.

In this specification, adjectives such as first and second, left and right, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one element or action from another element or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order. Words such as “comprises” or “includes” are intended to 20 define a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed, including elements that are inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus.

Referring to FIG 1 there is shown a set of stairs comprising stringers 1 25 and treads, such as 10. Each tread 10 is attached to the stringers by suitable means as described below. Each tread 10 has a replaceable nosing 22.

Referring now to FIG 2, there is shown a cross-section of an extruded stair tread 10. The tread is suitably formed from aluminium or a light alloy. The invention is not limited to any particular material but for ease of explanation the 30 following description will refer to an extruded aluminium tread. 4 2012211384 07 Aug 2012

The tread 10 has an upper surface 11 that may have non-slip regions 12. The stair tread 10 has a back face 13 and a front face 14. Typically these will be plain faces but patterning or colouring may be applied. Attachment portions 15 attach to stringers (not shown). In the preferred embodiment of FIG 2 the 5 attachment portions 15 are extruded slots that receive bolt heads that are inserted through the stringer and fixed with nuts. Although convenient, the invention is not limited to this means of attachment. The treads could be attached by bolting through the upper surface 11 or could be welded on. A front part 20 of the tread 10 has a dovetail slot 21 for receiving a 10 replaceable nosing 22 shown in FIG 3. As seen in FIG 3, the replaceable nosing 22 has a corresponding dovetail shape 23 so that the removable nosing 22 may be inserted into the dovetail slot 21 in the manner shown in FIG 4.

The inventor has found that it is convenient to extrude the nosing and tread so that the nosing can slide into the slot. As seen in FIG 4, the nosing 15 forms part of the upper surface of the tread. It is also convenient to form a range of nosing designs that can be interchanged to suit particular needs. For instance, industrial sites may require a nosing that is coloured safety yellow. An outdoor site may require a nosing with a deep etching to provide a non-slip surface in wet weather. An indoor site may require a nosing that is coloured to imitate timber. 20 Stairs located in a low-light location or that are used at night may incorporate replaceable nosing with a luminescent (glow in the dark) coating.

The tread 10 may also include a channel 30 for receiving one end of a riser 31 (shown in FIG 5) in cases where a closed stair is desired. As with the nosing 22, the riser 31 may be coloured to suit the installation. 25 Although the inventor has found that sliding the nosing 22 into the dovetail slot 21 is effective, other manners of replaceable attachment will also be suitable. For instance, the dimensions of the dovetail slot 21 and dovetail shape 23 may be such that the nosing can be clipped in by resilient deformation of the extrusion. Persons skilled in the art will understand that a dovetail engagement is 30 convenient to extrude but other arrangements may also be used. A further embodiment of the nosing is shown in FIG 6. In FIG 6 the nosing 2012211384 07 Aug 2012 5 40 wraps around the front of the tread. This design may be appealing to give the tread a particular appearance. This embodiment may also be effective for safety if the nosing 40, or part of the nosing, is brightly coloured.

The embodiment of FIG 6 also shows an alternate arrangement for 5 attachment of the nosing 40 to the tread 10. The nosing 40 is shown with an L shape 41 which engages a corresponding channel (not shown) formed in the slot 20 of the tread 10.

The above description of various embodiments of the present invention is provided for purposes of description to one of ordinary skill in the related art. It is 10 not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to a single disclosed embodiment. As mentioned above, numerous alternatives and variations to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art of the above teaching. Accordingly, while some alternative embodiments have been discussed specifically, other embodiments will be apparent or relatively easily 15 developed by those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, this invention is intended to embrace all alternatives, modifications and variations of the present invention that have been discussed herein, and other embodiments that fall within the spirit and scope of the above described invention.

Claims (10)

1. A stairs tread being a two piece extrusion, one said piece being a replaceable nosing that slides into a slot in a front part of the other said piece.

2. A stairs tread being a two piece extrusion, one piece comprising a body having an upper surface and attachment portions at a lower part for attachment to a stringer; and the other piece being a replaceable nosing section forming a front part of the upper surface with sliding engagement.

3. The stairs tread of claim 1 or 2 wherein the replaceable nosing has a non-slip surface.

4. The stairs tread of claim 1 or 2 wherein the replaceable nosing has a coloured surface.

5. The stairs tread of claim 2 wherein the replaceable nosing is an extrusion having an attachment that inserts to a slot in the upper surface of the tread.

6. The stairs tread of claim 5 wherein the slot is a dovetail slot and the attachment has a corresponding dovetail shape.

7. The stairs tread of any one of the preceding claims wherein the replaceable nosing wraps around a front of the tread.

8. The stairs tread of any one of the preceding claims wherein the tread is formed from extruded aluminium.

9. A stairs comprising: at least a pair of stringers; a plurality of treads attached between the stringers so as to form a stair; and wherein each tread is formed as a two piece extrusion, one piece being a replaceable nosing that slides into a slot in a front part of the other piece.

10. The stairs of claim 9 further comprising risers between treads.