US3092372A

US3092372A - Railing

Info

Publication number: US3092372A
Application number: US89964A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harry T Cougle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-02-17
Filing date: 1961-02-17
Publication date: 1963-06-04
Anticipated expiration: 1980-06-04

Description

H. T. COUGLE June 4, 1963 RAILING Filed Feb. 1'7, 1961 FIG. 3.

27 INVENTOR.

FlG l.

FIGS.

HARRY T. COUGLE ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,092,372 RAILING Harry T. Cougle, 1101 Herbert St., Philadelphia 24, Pa. Filed Feb. 17, 1961, Ser. No. 89,964 2 Claims. (Cl. 256-22) This invention relates to improvements in a railing, balustrade or the like, and more particularly concerns improvements in indoor stair railings having upright support members made of ornamental ironwork.

It has long been a problem to provide an ornamental ironwork upright support member which may be easily substituted for the wood spindles in a wood indoor stair railing. The height of the handrail from the tread of the steps, and the slope of the handrail, are not uniform from one railing installation to the next, and depend to some extent on the contractor who installed each particular railing. In one house, the stairs are designed to cover a certain horizontal distance, and this may require the handrail to be set at 45 degrees in order to extend from the top to the bottom of the stairs. In another house, the stairs may have to extend a. different horizontal distance which may require that the handrail be set at an angle of 42 degrees, or at an angle of 48 degrees, and

so on.

If it is desired to replace the wood spindles, and the dimensions are known, it is a simple job to manufacture ornamental ironwork spindles of the proper height. However, these ironwork spindles are custom made and are therefore expensive.

Another problem is that the removal of the wooden spindles uncovers the holes in the tread of the step which received the dowel pins at the bottom of the wood spindles, and this presents an unsightly appearance. These dowel pins support the bottom of the wood spindle in the conventional wood indoor stair railing, the top of the spindle being cut to fit flush with the bottom of the handrail and being nailed thereto.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to overcome the aforementioned problems and to provide a railing or the like having upright support members made of ornamental ironwork adapted to replace wood spindles.

It is another object to provide a railing having ornamental ironwork upright support members which are adapted to fit handrails of any height or slope.

It is another object to provide a rail-ing having ornamental ironwork upright support members which may be inexpensively made by mass production methods.

It is another object to provide a railing having ornamental ironwork upri-ght support members which are part of a do-it-yourself kit and may be easily installed by unskilled workmen or by the home owner himself.

It is another object to provide such a support mem her, the installation of which requires the use of only very simple tools such as a screwdriver and a keyhole saw, or a hacksaw.

It is another object of this invention to provide a railin'g having ornamental ironwork upright support members which are adapted to replace wood spindles and which are constructed in such a fashion as to make unnecessary the filling of the holes in the step tread which formerly received the dowel pins at the bottom of the wood spindle.

Other objects and advantages of this invention, including its simplicity and economy, as well as the ease with which it may be adapted to existing railings, will further become apparent hereinafter and in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial view in side elevation of a railing constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in section, on an enlarged scale, taken Patented June 4, 1963 "ice 2 as indicated by the lines and arrows 2-2 which appear in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial view of an ornamental ironwork support member and illustrates part of its installation procedure;

FIG. 4 is a view in top plan, on an enlarged scale, of an ornamental ironwork upright support member and illustrates the construction of its adapter member;

FIG. 5 is a view in top plan, on an enlarged scale, of an ornamental ironwork upright support member and illustrates an adapter member of modified construction; and

FIG. 6 is .a view in side elevation of a railing construoted in accordance with this invention and illustrates another upright support member of modified construction.

Although specific terms are used in the following description for clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the structure shown in the drawings and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the invention.

Turning now to the specific embodiments of the invention selected for illustration in-the drawings, there is shown an indoor stair railing which includes a wood handrail 11 supported on the steps of the stairs by: wood newel post 12, ornamental ironwork upright support members 1315, and wood spindle 16. Wood spindle 16 may be replaced by an ornamental ironwork support if desired.

'16 is sawed at an angle so that it fits flush against the bottom 23 of handrail 11, and the nails 24 attach the top of wood spindle 16 to handrail 11.

Wood spindles 16 are remove-d by withdrawing nails 24 and removing dowel pin 17 (which is formed integral with wood spindle 16) from holes 18 which are thus uncovered and present an unsightly appearance.

Ornamental ironwork upright support member 15 includes a body element in the form of a scroll 25, a base plate 26 which is welded as at 29 to the bottom of scroll 25 and covers holes 27 in tread 28, and an adapter member 31 extending between the top of scroll 25 and the bottom 23 of handrail 11. The top surface 32 of adapter member 31 fits flush against the bottom 23 of handrail 11.

Base plate 26 is provided with a pair of screw holes 34 through which a pair of screws 33 fasten base plate 26 to tread 28. Holes 34 are formed in the corners of base plate 26 so that the handle of a conventional screwdriver is not obstructed by the scroll 25 during installation.

Adapter member 31 is in the form of a hollow tube which is welded as at 30 to the top of scroll 25 around an adapter opening 35. A wood screw 36 is positioned in adapter hole 35 and in the bore of adapter member 31, and is screwed into handrail 11 to fasten adapter member 31 and scroll 25 thereto.

Ornamental ironwork upright support member 14 is constructed in the same fashion as support member 15 except that its body element is in the form of an ornamental ironwork spindle having four legs, 4144, and is provided with base plate 26' which is fastened to tread 28 through the screw holes 34". Legs 42 and 43 are shown as being made of twisted bars.

Support member 13 (FIG. 6) is especially designed for the short tread next to newel post 12 and is shown having two

twisted bar legs

45, 46.

FIG. 4 illustrates the tube conformation of adapter member 31, and FIG. 5 illustrates the conformation of an adapter member 47 extending from scroll 25a which is square in cross section with a drilled hole 35a extending therethrough. In general, the outer surface of the adapter member of FIGS. 1-5 may have any conforma- V v 3 tion just so long as there is an opening therethrough to pass the screw 36.

FIG. 6 illustrates a modified adapter member which may be solid instead of hollow, if desired; This solid adapter member 48 is installed in a difierent fashion from that of the hollow adapter members-31 and 47, as hereinafter described. 7

In installing the upright support members having the hollow adapter members such as member 31, the base 26 is placed on stair tread 28 and the adapter member 31 is brought in contact with the side of handrail 11 as shown in FIG. 3. It is to be noted that the top of adapter member 31 extends above the bottom 23 of handrail 11.

A scribe mark coincident with the slope of bottom 23 is made on adapter member 31, and the top surface 32 of adapter member 31 is then out along that slope so that top surface 52 fits flush against bottom 23; of handrail 11. After this has been accomplished with a keyhole saw or a hacksaw, a screwdriver is used to install the bottom plate screws 33 and the adapter member screw 36. The installation of adapter member 48 is somewhat different in that a hole 51 is drilled in the bottom 23 of handrail 11 and adapter member 48 is cut short enough to seat in the hole 51. Then the bottom plate screws are screwed into the tread of the step through the holes 34 in base plate 26'. 7

Accordingly, ornamental ironwork upright support elements are provided which are adapted to fit handrails of any height or slope. Such supporting elements may be inexpensively made on a mass production basis. They are especially adapted for replacing the wood spindles in indoor stair railings, and cover the holes in the treads which are exposed by the removal of the wood spindles.

Ornamental ironwork upright support members constructed in accordance with this invention may be provided in a do-i-t-yourself kit and 'are easily installed by unskilled workmen or by the home owner. requires the use of only the simplest tools.

Ornamental ironwork upright support members constructed in accordance with this invention are especially advantageous in, and add a safety feature to, railings of stairs going down to cellars which have been converted into play rooms. Most railings of cellar stairs are not provided with spindles and usually include only a handrail, or perhaps one other rail located midway between the handrail and the treads of the steps. Installation of the upright support elements of this invention in such railings makes them safer, and prevents children from falling through the railing to the floor of the converted playroom.

Installation It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment. Various changes may be made in the shape, size and arrangement of parts. For example, equivalent elements may be substituted for those illustrated and described, parts may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently of the use of other features, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention .as defined in the subjoined claims.

I claim:

:1. A railing for an indoor stairs having a flight of steps with treads having holes formed therein which received the dowel pin at the bottom of wood spindles, comprising a wood handrail, an ornamental ironwork scroll, a

base plate fixedly connected to the bottom of said scroll and covering said holes in the tread of the step, said base plate having a pair of screw holes formed therein, a pair of screws positioned in said screw holes and fastening said base plate to said tread, an adapter tube fixedly connected to the top of said scroll, the top surface of the adapter tube fitting flush against the bottom of said ihandnail, said scroll having anadapter opening formed therein leading to the bore of said tube, and a screw positioned in said adapter hole and said tube and fastening said tube and scroll to said handrail.

2. In a railing for an indoor; stairs or the like, an ornamental ironwork upright support member for supporting a wood handrail, comprising an ornamental ironwork scroll, a base plate supporting said scroll and detachably connectable to a tread of a step or the like, a hollow adapter member extending between the top of said scroll and the bottom of said wood handrail, the top of the :adapter member fittingfiush against the bottom of said handrail, and fastening means positioned inside said hollow adapter member and connecting said scroll and said adapter member to said handrail whereby said sup port member is installed with said handrail in place in tixed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,691,663 Morris Nov. 13, 1928 1,8395%11 Sommer Jan. 5, 1932 1,840,048 Michelman' Jan. 5, 1932 2,655,345 Lindman Oct. 13, 1953 2,881,016 Wagner Apr. 7, 1959 Woodward Oct. 17, 1961

Claims

1. A RAILING FOR AN INDOOR STAIRS HAVING A FLIGHT OF STEPS WITH TREADS HAVING HOLES FORMED THEREIN WHICH RECEIVED THE DOWEL PIN AT THE BOTTOM OF WOOD SPINDLES, COMPRISING A WOOD HANDRAIL, AN ORNAMENTAL IRONWORK SCROLL, A BASE PLATE FIXEDLY CONNECTED TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID SCROLL AND COVERING SAID HOLES IN THE TREAD OF THE STEP, SAID BASE PLATE HAVING A PAIR OF SCREW HOLES FORMED THEREIN, A PAIR OF SCREWS POSITIONED IN SAID SCREW HOLES AND FASTENING SAID BASE PLATE TO SAID TREAD, AN ADAPTER TUBE FIXEDLY CONNECTED TO THE TOP OF SAID SCROLL, THE TOP SURFACE OF THE ADAPTER TUBE FITTING FLUSH AGAINST THE BOTTOM OF SAID HANDRAIL, SAID SCROLL HAVING AN ADAPTER OPENING FORMED THEREIN LEADING TO THE BORE OF SAID TUBE, AND A SCREW POSITIONED IN SAID ADAPTER HOLE AND SAID TUBE, AND FASTENING SAID TUBE AND SCROLL TO SAID HANDRAIL.