GB2303388A

GB2303388A - Handrail for spiral staircase

Info

Publication number: GB2303388A
Application number: GB9515096A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jan-Olof Svensson
Original assignee: WELAND AB
Current assignee: WELAND AB
Priority date: 1995-07-21
Filing date: 1995-07-21
Publication date: 1997-02-19
Anticipated expiration: 2015-07-21
Also published as: GB9515096D0; GB2303388B; DE19527211A1

Description

2303388 HANDRAIL The present invention relates to a handrail for a spiral

staircase of the type which has a substantially vertical central pillar from which steps extend, the handrail being arranged so as to be connected to the central pillar.

Spiral staircases and handrails of the type indicated in the introduction have previously been known. In accordance with the prior art such handrails have been constructed as a helix which extends around the central pillar of the spiral staircase. The production of such helical handrails has entailed difficult problems inasmuch as the angle within which the spiral staircase extends can vary considerably.

Furthermore, the height of the step can vary from staircase to staircase, and hence handrails must be specially adapted for each individual staircase, due to the fact that both the total length and the incline of the handrail can vary. 20 Handrails according to the known state of the art consequently cannot be produced as standard units which are put together to form a handrail that suits a particular spiral staircase. The production of a helical handrail furthermore makes great demands on jigs and measuring equipment in order to enable it to be constructed in accordance with the staircase in question. Particular complications arise in the bending of the handrail inasmuch as the latter is twisted around its longitudinal axis.

The present invention has as its object to construct the handrail indicated in the introduction in such a way that said handrail can be produced in a simple and rational manner. Another object of the invention is to bring about a handrail which in a large number of applications can be put together by using prefabricated standard components as the starting- point. A further object of the invention is to bring about a handrail which is aesthetically pleasing, which has good strength and which is easy to assemble.

According to the present invention, there is provided handrail for a spiral staircase of the type which has a substantially vertical central pillar from which steps extend, the handrail being attachable to the central pillar, wherein the handrail comprises a plurality of substantially straight sections which, in use, are arranged in a plane that is substantially parallel to a line running in the longitudinal direction of the central pillar and which in this plane are substantially parallel to or form acute angles with the line.

The handrail preferably comprises two substantially straight sections.

In a first embodiment it is also advantageous for the handrail to comprise two sections situated on opposite sides around the central pillar, a connecting part between them extending approximately in a horizontal plane across the centre line of the central pillar.

In another embodiment it is advantageous for the handrail to comprise at least three sections which extend substantially parallel to the centre line of the central pillar.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the attached drawings, in which there are shown:

Fig. 1 a vertical side view of the first embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 a vertical side view of the embodiment Fig. 3 according to Fig. 1 viewed in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 1, a section along the section line B-B in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Fig. 8 Fig. 9 Fig. 10 a section along the section line C-C in Fig. 2, a section along the section line D-D in Fig. 2, a vertical side view in the direction of arrow E in Fig. 2, a modified embodiment in a view corresponding to Fig. 1, a terminating part pertaining to the handrail according to Fig. 7, an initial part pertaining to the handrail according to Fig. 7, in a view corresponding to Figs. 1 and 7 a connecting part forming part of the handrail according to the last-mentioned Figure, Fig. 11 in a view corresponding to Figs. 1 and 7 a section of the handrail according to the last-mentioned Figure, and Fig. 12 an end view in the longitudinal direction of the central pillar of the handrail according to Fig. 7. the reference symbol 1 refers to a of a spiral staircase where the central In Fig. 1 central pillar pillar supports the inner ends of steps of the spiral staircase (not shown). Steps extend out horizontally from the central pillar and are arranged with their inner ends along a helix upwards along the central pillar. The direction of travel up the staircase is shown by arrow 11.

The inner handrail of the spiral staircase, which is arranged so as to be connected to the central pillar, comprises an initial part or a lower concluding part 2, a lower section 3, a connecting part 4, an upper section 5 and also a terminating part or an upper concluding part 6.

In its most general form the invention provides for the handrail to be composed of a number, preferably two but possibly three or more, of sections which are substantially straight and which are arranged to extend approximately along the central pillar 1, up along the latter. The various sections are distributed around the central pillar, and end parts adjacent to one another on sections are preferably connected via connecting parts which bridge the distance between the ends of sections, both in the longitudinal direction of the central pillar and in the circumferential direction of the latter. Sections are preferably arranged in a plane parallel to the centre line of the central pillar 1. In the stated plane the section may be parallel to is the central line but may also form an acute angle with the latter. Between adjacent ends of a section of the handrail there are located the connecting parts which are preferably arranged in a transverse plane relative to the centre line and by means of which the handrail is closed to form a coherent unit.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 1-6 the section is straight and at opposite ends has end parts 7 bent at approximately 900 which constitute part of or form the connecting part 4. The end parts lie in the same plane and are bent in the same direction so that as a result the part of the handrail that is formed by a section 3 or 5 and two end parts 7 can be said to be basically U-shaped.

From Fig. 2 it is evident that the longitudinal direction of sections 3 and 5 forms an acute angle with the centre axis of the central pillar 1 and this angle is preferably equal for both sections. The connecting part 4, which in this embodiment is formed by two end parts 7 abutting one another, has its principal direction horizontal and is accordingly transverse in relation to the centre line of the central pillar.

The connecting part 4 is arranged in the central region of the angle within which the spiral staircase extends, for which reason the two sections 3 and 5 remain of similar size and similar shape.

As is evident from Figs. 4 and 6, the joint between the two parts which form sections 3 and 5 of the handrail in the region of the connecting part 4 is straight, for which reason a simple, straight joint piece (shown with broken lines at 12 in Figs. 4 and 6) can be used on the inside of the handrail if the latter is made of tubular material. It is expedient for the handrail also to have in this region a bracket 8 for attachment of the connecting part 4 within the central pillar 1. The bracket 8 may either be anchored in the joint piece 12 via openings in the end parts 7 or be firmly welded directly in one or other of the end parts.

From Fig. 5 it is evident that a bracket 9 is also arranged for attachment of the lower end of the lower section 3. This bracket 9 is advantageously placed in the same way as the bracket 8 for the connecting part 4 and can accordingly be firmly welded directly in the lower end part 7 of the lower section 3 but can also be anchored in the joint piece which connects said lower end part to the initial part 2. It may also be attached within the initial part.

In Fig. 5 the initial part 2 is shown as a part bent at approximately 900 which extends around the central pillar 1 in the circumferential direction thereof. The initial part 2 preferably lies in a plane which is transverse in relation to the centre line of the central pillar 1 and which in addition is preferably horizonal. The initial part 2 extends around the central pillar at an angle which is advantageously at least 900, reckoned from the front edge 10 of the lower step of the staircase, the arrow 11 showing the direction of travel up the staircase.

In the case in which the terminating part 6 is used it is constructed entirely by analogy with the initial part 2 and is shown in Fig. 3.

According to the invention the sections which are integral parts of the handrail may be more in number than the two described above. Consequently it is possible to construct a handrail from three, four or possibly more sections, where sections are parallel to the central pillar 1 and are also located at some distance from the latter. Sections are furthermore distributed around the central pillar 1, preferably with equal pitch angles. The connecting parts between adjacent sections lie in a plane which is transverse, not necessarily perpendicular, relative to the centre axis of the central pillar and have end parts bent in opposite directions which lie in a common plane. An embodiment according to this description is shown in Figs. 7-12. 20 In Fig. 7 an embodiment is shown which is modified in relation to the embodiment according to Figs. 1-6 where the sections 3 and 5 of the handrail are located at a distance from the central pillar 1 but are approximately parallel to the latter. Between sections 3 and 5 the handrail in this embodiment has coupling parts 13 which comprise the connecting parts 4. The coupling parts 13 have lower and upper parts 14 and 15 respectively which via joints 16 and 17 connect these parts to the upper and lower ends 30 respectively of sections 3 and 5. The parts 14 and 15 lie in a common plane and are parallel to one another. owing to this the parts 14 and 15 come to be oriented as direct extensions of the lower and upper sections 3 and 5 respectively of the handrail.

In this embodiment the connecting part 4 is an integrated part of the coupling parts 13 and, as is evident from Fig. 10, forms an angle a with a normal plane 18 to the central pillar 1. This angle a is preferably about 450 but can vary between 0 and a 5 considerably greater value.

Fig. 11 shows a section of the type which has the reference symbol 3 or 5 in Fig. 7, and it is evident that the section is straight and parallel to the central pillar 1. Sections 3 and 5 can consequently be used for adaptation of the construction to the value applying in a particular staircase construction by the length of the section being varied.

Fig. 8 shows an upper concluding part 19 which at its upper end has a terminating part 6 which extends in a plane across the longitudinal direction of the central pillar 1 and which preferably also extends in the circumferential direction thereof. The upper concluding part 19 is moreover formed by analogy with the coupling parts and as a result has lower and upper parts 14 and 15 respectively and also, between these, a connecting part 4.

Fig. 9 shows a lower concluding part 20 which is also formed by analogy with the coupling part 13 described above so that it has an upper part 15, a connecting part 4 and a lower part 14. Here too the lower and upper parts 14 and 15 respectively are preferably parallel to each other and lie in a common plane. As is indicated in Fig. 9, the lower part 14 does not need to have any equivalence to the initial part 2 according to Fig. 2.

In a variant of the embodiment according to Figs. 7-12 the connecting part 4 of the coupling part 13 lies in the normal plane 18, so that as a result the coupling part 13 may be described as approximately "rectangularly Z-shaped". It is also possible to make the lower and upper parts 14 and 15 appreciably shorter than is evident from the drawings but with a sufficient length to accommodate the joint piece for connecting together with sections 3 and 5.

Finally it is possible in accordance with the invention to dispense entirely with the coupling parts 13 or equivalence to the latter (such as the connecting parts 4) and to cause the handrail to be composed of a number of discrete sections of the handrail which are approximately parallel to the central pillar 1 and 10 which are distributed around the central pillar 1.

Claims

The invention can be modified further within the scope of the attached

Claims.

CLAIMS 1. Handrail for a spiral staircase of the type which has a substantially vertical central pillar from which steps extend, the handrail being attachable to the central pillar, wherein the handrail comprises a plurality of substantially straight sections which, in use, are arranged in a plane that is substantially parallel to a line running in the longitudinal direction of the central pillar and which in this plane are substantially parallel to or form acute angles with the line.
2. Handrail according to claim 1, wherein the handrail comprises two substantially straight sections.
3. Handrail according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein is adjoining ends of adjacent sections are joined to one another via connecting parts.
4. Handrail according to Claim 3, wherein it comprises two sections situated on opposite sides around the central pillar, the connecting part between them extending approximately in a horizontal plane across the line of the central pillar.
5. Handrail according to Claim 4, wherein the connecting part of the handrail is situated in the central region of the angle at which the spiral staircase extends around the central pillar and wherein the two sections have substantially the same length.
6. Handrail according to any preceding claim, wherein the sections have substantially the same length and shape with straight main parts and short end parts bent approximately 900 in the same direction, which end parts lie in the same plane.
7. Handrail according to any preceding claim, further comprising an initial part and a terminating part at the start and end respectively of the handrail, said initial and terminating parts in use extending in the circumferential direction of the central pillar at approximately 900 or more, reckoned from the front edge of the first or last step respectively of the spiral staircase.
8. Handrail according to Claim 1, or Claim 3 when appendant to Claim 1 comprising at least three sections which extend substantially parallel to the line of the central pillar.
9. Handrail according to Claim 8, wherein the connecting parts between adjacent sections extend approximately in a horizontal plane across the centre line of the central pillar.
10. Handrail according to Claim 8, wherein the connecting parts between adjacent sections form angles with a horizontal plane across the line of the central pillar.
11. Handrail according to any one of Claims 8 to 10, wherein the sections are substantially straight, while the connecting parts are approximately rectangularly Z-shaped and planar.
12. Handrail substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.