WO2009072149A1

WO2009072149A1 - Wall-mounted handrail

Info

Publication number: WO2009072149A1
Application number: PCT/IT2007/000837
Authority: WO
Inventors: Enrico Demicheli
Original assignee: Eurolegno Group S.P.A.
Priority date: 2007-12-03
Filing date: 2007-12-03
Publication date: 2009-06-11
Also published as: EP2231957A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a handrail comprising a bar (1,1 A, IB, 1C, ID) to be fixed to a wall through fastening brackets (5,50). Each bracket (5) has at a first end a threaded portion or a coupling plate to be coupled to the bar (1,1 A, IB, 1C, ID) and at a second end a threaded blind hole (12) adapted to house alternatively either a threaded pin to be engaged into the wall or a bolt to be engaged into a mounting base, which in turn is secured to the wall. The invention also comprises a handrail bracket and a handrail installation kit.

Description

WALL-MOUNTED HANDRAIL

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a handrail according to the preamble of claim 1.

As known, handrails consist of a bar or tube made of wood, metal or another suitable material and fixed to a wall along a stairway so that people can hold on to it; the handrail bar is usually secured to the wall by means of brackets. The latter are metal L-shaped supports which in some cases are fitted at one end with a fastening plate; the plate slideably engages into a guide provided along the bar, which allows it to move relative to the latter: once the brackets have been applied to the wall, the bar is positioned by sliding it in relation to the plates of the brackets and is then secured in the preferred position. This solution is quite simple and practical, but it essentially fits metal handrails only, wherein the bar is an elongated section within which a guide can be obtained; if the bar is made of another material or is a solid metal tube (as opposed to a section), different solutions are available.

For example, different handrail installation solutions are known in the art which are not compatible with one another, i.e. which do not have any interchangeable parts, thus compelling an installer to choose the most appropriate mounting system in advance.

However, if a wrong choice is made, the installer will have to change the mounting system while the work is already under way, in which case it may also be possible that the whole handrail needs to be replaced. Handrails are also known in the art like the one described by patent JP 2002021282, wherein an L-shaped fastening bracket has a plate at a first end and a hole at the opposite end, into which a pin provided in one piece with a fastening base is engaged.

The junction between the base pin and the bracket is ensured by a screw passing through an aperture perpendicular to the pin axis. The fastening base is in its turn secured to the wall by means of three or more peripheral screws which engage into as many anchors driven into the wall.

According to patent JP 2002021282, it is therefore normally necessary to drill three holes per bracket into the wall whereto the handrail must be installed, after having arranged all the brackets along the handrail bar. Another mounting system is described in patent JP2001059322, which discloses a handrail fixed to a wall through a base provided with holes for peripheral screws, as in the above- mentioned system; in this second case, however, there is a pin which is made integral with the bracket by means of a series of nuts and flanges associated with the bracket itself: as the nuts are tightened, the flanges will clamp the central pin, so that the former become integral with the latter.

The installation of this solution requires that three or more peripheral holes be drilled into the wall, in addition to one larger central hole intended for supporting the structural load applied to the bracket. In fact, the pin anchor driven into the central hole and into the wall must be long enough to ensure that the bracket is anchored securely.

The handrail of patent JP 2001059322 comprises no sliding guide between the bracket and the bar: therefore, if an installer having to mount a handrail according to this document cannot make a adequately long and large central hole, e.g. because of the presence of embedded electric cables, plumbing, conduits or the like in the wall, he will have to replace the whole bracket with another mounting solution (e.g. like the one described in the above- mentioned patent JP 2002021282).

As a matter of fact, such a situation will compel the installer to change the entire handrail, since the two systems described above have virtually no interchangeable parts in common. The present invention aims at solving the above-mentioned drawbacks as well as other problems related to the handrails known in the art.

This object is achieved by a handrail having the features set out in the appended claims. This handrail can be installed according to different methods and has a number of interchangeable components which can be used for implementing said different methods. Thus, this handrail offers the installer such installation flexibility and ease, as detailed below, that it can even be mounted by unqualified people.

The present invention also relates to a handrail bracket and a handrail installation kit. Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and from the annexed drawings, which are supplied by way of non-limiting example, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a handrail bar and a handrail bracket according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the fastening bracket and the bar of Fig. 1 in a pre-assembled condition; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the fastening bracket and the bar of Fig. 1 mounted to the handrail wall;

Fig. 4 shows a second embodiment of a handrail bar according to the invention, which is provided with external threaded nuts for fastening the brackets; Fig. 5 shows a third embodiment of a handrail bar according to the invention, which is provided with holes for fastening the brackets;

Fig. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of a handrail bar according to the invention, which is provided with internal nuts for fastening the brackets;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the bracket of Fig.6 mounted to the wall; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a handrail bar provided with a bracket sliding guide;

Fig. 9 shows a support bracket for the bar of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 shows a bead for securing the bracket of Fig. 9 to the bar of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 shows a first wall fastening base of the brackets shown in the previous drawings; Fig. 12 shows a second wall fastening base of the brackets shown in the previous drawings;

Fig. 13 shows a screw and an associated anchor for securing the base of Fig. 11 to the wall;

Fig. 14 shows a double-thread pin and an associated anchor for securing the base of Fig. 12 to the wall;

Fig. 15 is a sectional view of the assembled configuration of the bracket of Fig. 9 and the base of Fig. 11 with the screws of Fig. 13;

Fig. 16 is a sectional view of the assembled configuration of the bracket of Fig. 9 and the base of Fig. 12 with the pin of Fig. 14;

Fig. 17 shows two handrails according to the invention assembled together and forming a single modular handrail; Fig. 18 shows an element for joining together the two bars of the modular handrail of Fig.

17.

Fig. 19 is a side view of an end cap for the bars of the handrail shown in the previous drawings.

With reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, there is shown a bar 1 of a handrail according to a first embodiment of the invention; in particular, bar 1 consists of a tubular metal section, e.g. made of steel, brass, bronze, extruded aluminium or the like.

Bar 1 is secured to the wall by means of a bracket 5 detailed in Figs. 2 and 3.

In this embodiment, bar 1 incorporates a threaded metal bushing 9 welded to the bar tube. Bracket 5 comprises a first threaded end 51 and a second hollow end, which is provided internally with a threaded blind hole 12.

The latter is substantially coaxial to the corresponding end of the bracket, which preferably has an "L" shape so that threaded end 51 and the axis of blind hole 12 are perpendicular to each other.

On bracket 5 are provided a fastening nut 91, engaged with the thread of threaded end 51, and a sliding nut cap 92.

Bracket 5 is fixed to the wall through a base 13, a screw 14 and screws 18, as will be described later on. Bar 1 and bracket 5 are locked together, as shown in two successive steps in Figs. 2 and 3, by screwing threaded end 51 of bracket 5 into bushing 9, both of which are then locked in position through a fastening nut 91 suitably covered by cap 92, which can slide relative to bracket 5.

Cap 92 has essentially an aesthetic function and is optional, since it is only used for covering fastening nut 91.

As aforementioned, bushing 9 is internally welded to the tube by means of welding spots

95, if the bar is made of a weldable material; otherwise, the bushing and the bar may be glued or joined together by any other appropriate means.

Referring now to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, there are provided alternative embodiments of the handrail of Fig. 1, all of which use the same bracket 5 described above and shown in detail in Fig. 7, without both fastening nut 91 and nut cap 92. hi particular, bar IA is fitted with one or more external threaded nuts 11 (two in the example shown in Fig. 4) in the bracket mounting areas. threaded nuts 11 may be welded to bar 10, if the latter is made of steel or another weldable material, or else they may be glued or applied by using any other appropriate means. hi this case as well, there may be a fastening nut 91 and an associated nut cap 92, neither of which is shown in the drawings for clarity, similarly to the embodiment of Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The drawings only show two pairs of nuts 11 on the bar, but of course there may be additional nuts for obtaining a wider bracket positioning range. Bracket 5 is mounted to the wall in the same way as the bracket of Figs. 2 and 3.

Base 13 will be described in detail later on.

A particularly advantageous variant of this embodiment of the invention for solid bars IB

(i.e. non-tubular ones), e.g. made of wood or plastic, is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. In this case, one or more holes 90 are drilled into bar IB for housing the upper end of bracket 5.

If the bar is made of metal, plastic or the like, the holes 90 can be internally threaded; for wooden bars this is not necessary, although self-tapping screws should preferably be used for connecting the bracket.

Additionally, the holes may be located only in certain areas, as in Fig. 5, or for the entire length of bar IB, thus allowing the installer to place bracket 5 in any desired position.

A further variant of the handrail according to the invention is shown in Fig. 6: in this case, bar 1C is hollow, and the bushing of the example of Fig. 1 or the external nut of Fig. 4 are replaced with a nut 11 ' welded within hollow bar 1C, which must be engaged with threaded end 51 of bracket 5 as explained above.

As shown in Fig. 7, bracket 5 is fixed to the wall by tightening screw 14 into blind hole 12 of bracket 5 and by securing base 13 to the wall by means of screws 18. With reference to Figs. 8, 9 and 10, there is shown a different embodiment of handrail bar

10D; in particular, bar 1OD consists of a tubular metal section, preferably made of extruded aluminium or the like, and comprises an element for its connection to bracket 50 represented by sliding guide 2.

Bracket 50 has a plate 6 replacing the threaded end. Guide 2 has two undercuts 3 which slideably hold plate 6, shown in detail in Fig. 9.

In this example, bar ID is stiffened by two internal ribs 4.

Bar 1OD and bracket 50 are locked together in position by screwing beads 8 into internally threaded holes 7 of plate 6, said beads pushing plate 6 against undercuts 3 and preventing it from sliding within guide 2. As shown in Fig. 9, bracket 50 has two ends, at one of which there is fastening plate 6, whereas the opposite end is provided with threaded blind hole 12, similarly to bracket 5 of the previous examples.

In this case as well, threaded blind hole 12 is substantially coaxial to the end of bracket 50, which has the usual "L" shape, so that the axis of holes 7 in fastening plate 6 and the axis of threaded blind hole 12 are perpendicular to each other.

With reference to Figs. 7, 15 and 16, a first and a second methods for installing the handrail according to the present invention will now be described, which use the parts shown in detail in Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14.

- 5 - According to the first method, as shown in Figs. 7 and 15 relating to bracket 5 and bracket 50, respectively, base 13 is secured by means of a bolt or a screw 14 engaged into blind hole 12 at the end of bracket 5, 50.

In this case, fastening base 13, as shown in Fig. 11, has a central hole 16 for inserting bolt 14 and two or more peripheral holes 17 for inserting screws 18, which, as shown in Figs. 7 and 15, engage into respective wall anchors 19 to be applied into the wall. With reference to Fig. 15, according to the first handrail installation method plate 6 is first inserted into guide 2 of bar ID; subsequently, fastening base 13 is mounted to bracket 50 by screwing bolt 14 into blind hole 12, and then said base is secured to wall 15 by means of screws 18.

Next, bar ID is positioned with respect to the wall by sliding it relative to bracket 50 up to the desired location; it is then locked in position by means of bead 8 as explained above. According to the second handrail installation method, shown diagrammatically in fig. 16, bracket 50 is screwed by means of threaded blind hole 12 to the end of a pin 20, which preferably has two different threads or a single thread having two different pitch sizes.

Fig. 14 is a detailed view of pin 20 with the associated wall anchor 23: as shown, it has a first portion 21 characterized by a respective type of thread, and a second portion 22 characterized by a different thread or anyway by a thread having a different pitch than the first portion 21. The latter is adapted to be screwed into threaded blind hole 12 of the bracket, while second portion 22 has a thread adapted to engage with wall anchor 23: this prevents any installation mistake, as further explained below.

According to the second handrail installation method, base 24 shown in Fig. 12 is mainly used as a covering element; unlike the previous case, it is not specifically used for securing the bracket to the wall.

To this end, the base 24 has just one central hole 25 which allows the insertion of pin 20; apart from working as a cover, base 24 may also be used to advantage for distributing the bending moment generated by deformation of pin 20 against wall 15 (in practice, just like the collar of a lifting eyebolt). According to this second handrail installation method, the step of fastening bracket 50 to pin 20 can be followed or preceded by the step of securing pin 20 to wall 15, thus allowing the installer to choose which step to carry out first and obtaining an extremely flexible system. Plate 6 is then secured to bar ID along guide 2 as explained above.

In this frame, it should be pointed out that threaded pin 20 must sustain the stress borne by several screws 18 in the first installation method; therefore, said pin shall be longer and greater in diameter than said screws. The installation versatility of the handrail according to any of the above embodiments of the invention also facilitates a modular construction thereof, which is obtained by joining several bars together. This situation is shown in Fig. 17, which illustrates two handrails according to the invention assembled together to form a single longer handrail. It is of course possible to assemble two, three or more bars together, until the desired length is obtained, by using connection elements 30 shown in Fig. 18, which, for tubular- section bars, are inserted into the ends of each bar.

Connection elements 30 are provided in the form of plastic caps or the like, and have two plug-in terminals 31 and 32 which connect the ends of two adjacent bars (like those shown in Fig. 1, 4, 6 and 8). If the bar is a hollow section, the final portion of the handrail, whether formed by a single bar or by several adjacent bars, can be plugged with end caps 33 shown in Fig. 19. In addition to the above-described effects, the handrail according to the present invention also offers further advantages over prior-art handrails. For example, depending on the quality of the wall (plasterboard, bricks, etc.), and on whether there are any wall-embedded cables or plumbing or other obstacles which may hinder the installation work, an installer can choose between the first installation method, which uses three short small-diameter screws per bracket, and the second installation method, which uses only a single longer pin having a larger diameter. A handrail according to the invention allows the installer, whether specifically skilled or not, to easily choose the preferred installation method which suits his requirements best without having to replace the whole handrail, as is sometimes required when prior-art handrails are used.

With bar ID of Fig. 8, the installation work is made simpler by the presence of sliding guide 2, whereas this same effect is provided in the bar of Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 6 by bushing 9, nuts 11, 11 ' or holes 90, which allow the brackets to be secured in different preferred positions.

Furthermore, it is extremely advantageous to provide a handrail installation kit comprising at least one bar and one bracket according to the present invention, and including for each bracket at least one fastening base 13 and a base cap 24 with the associated screws 18 and 14; the kit also includes threaded pin 20, thus facilitating the installer's work. With such an installation kit, the installer can mount the handrail according to either one of the two methods described above, depending on the characteristics of the installation place: the installation of the handrail is thus extremely flexible and quick.

Furthermore, the cost of said kit is advantageously very reasonable, because the various non-interchangeable parts thereof which are used for either installation method are all low- cost ones.

Claims

I . Wall-mounted handrail, comprising one bar (1,1A,1B,1C,1D) and at least one bracket (5,50) for securing the bar (1, IA, IB, 1C, ID) to a wall, which bracket (5,50) is provided at a first end with means (6,51) to be coupled to the bar (1, IA, IB, 1C, ID), characterized in that the bracket (5,50) has an internally threaded hole (12) at a second end. 2. Handrail according to the preceding claim, wherein the threaded hole (12) is a blind one.

3. Handrail according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the bar (1, IA, IB, 1C, ID) comprises fastening means (2,9,11,11',9O) which cooperate with the coupling means (6,51) of the bracket (5,50) to position the bracket (5,50) along the bar.

4. Handrail according to claim 3, wherein the fastening means provided on the bar (10D) comprise a sliding guide (2).

5. Handrail according to claim 4, wherein said means for coupling the bracket (50) to the bar (ID) comprise a plate (6) having at least one hole (7), and the bracket (50) is secured to the bar (ID) by engaging a bead (8) into the hole (7) of the plate.

6. Handrail according to claim 3, wherein the fastening means provided on said bar (IA, 1 C) comprise at least one threaded bushing or one threaded nut (11, 11').

7. Handrail according to claim 3, wherein the fastening means provided on said bar (IB) comprise at least one hole (9) drilled into it.

8. Handrail according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the bracket (5) comprises a threaded end (51) to be coupled to the bar (1,1A,1B,1C). 9. Handrail according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the bracket (5,50) is associated with a fastening base (13) by means of a bolt (14) or the like engaged into said threaded hole (12) of the bracket, and wherein the fastening base (13) comprises at least one central hole (16) for the insertion of said bolt or the like (14) and at least one peripheral hole (17) for the insertion of screws (18) used for fixing the base (13) to the wall (15). 10. Handrail according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the bracket (50) is coupled to a pin (20) having a first and a second threaded portions (21, 22), and wherein the first threaded portion (21) is engaged into the threaded blind hole(12) of the bracket.

I I. Handrail according to the preceding claim, wherein the first and second threaded portions (21,22) of the pin (20) have different threads. 12. Handrail according to claim 10 or 11, wherein between the bracket (50) and the wall (15) a cap (24) is interposed which only has one central hole (25) allowing the pin (20) to pass through.

13. Bracket (5,50) for fixing a handrail bar (1, IA, IB, 1C, ID) to a wall (15), substantially L-shaped, at a first end of which there are means (6,51) for fastening it to the bar (1), characterized by comprising a threaded blind hole (12) at a second end.

14. Bracket (5,50) according to the preceding claim, wherein the axis of said blind hole (12) is substantially coaxial to the second end of the bracket (5,50).

15. Bracket (50) according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the means provided at the first end for fastening it to the bar comprise a plate (6) having at least one hole (7).

16. Bracket (5) according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the means for fastening it to the bar comprise a thread (51) around its first end. 17. Installation kit for a handrail according to one or more of claims 1 to 12, characterized by comprising at least: one bar (l,lA,lB,lC,lD), a plurality of brackets (5,50), substantially L-shaped and fitted at a first end with means

(6,51) for coupling the bracket to the bar (1,1 A, IB, 1C, ID) and at a second end with a threaded hole (12), one fastening base (13) having at least one peripheral hole (17) for screws (18) used for securing the base (13) to the wall and one central hole (16); one cap (24) having only a central hole (25), one pin (20) having a first and a second threaded portions (21, 22), the first threaded portion (21) being adapted to engage into the threaded blind hole (12) of the bracket.

18. Installation kit according to the preceding claim, wherein the bracket hole (12) is blind and substantially coaxial to the end of the bracket (5,50).

19. Installation kit according to claims 17 or 18, wherein the means for coupling the bracket (50) to the bar (1, IA, IB, 1C, ID) comprise a plate (6) having at least one hole (7). 20. Installation kit according to any of claims 17, 18 and 19, wherein the bar (ID) comprises a sliding guide (2).

21. Installation kit according to the preceding claim, comprising brackets (5) fitted at one end with a plate (6) with holes (7), threaded beads (8) adapted to engage into the holes (7) of the plate (6). 22. Installation kit according to one or more of claims 17 to 21, wherein threaded bushings

(9) are provided on the bar (1).

23. Installation kit according to one or more of claims 19 to 21, wherein threaded nuts

(11,11') are provided on the bar (IA, 1C).

24. Installation kit according to one or more of claims 19 to 21, wherein holes (90) are provided on the bar (IB).

25. Installation kit according to the preceding claim, wherein the holes (90) are threaded.

26. Installation kit according to any of claims 22 to 25, wherein the bracket (50) comprises a threaded end (51 ) to be coupled to the bar ( 1 , 1 A, 1 B, 1 C).

27. Installation kit according to one or more of claims 17 to 26, wherein the first and second threaded portions (21, 22) of the pin (20) have different threads among them.

28. Installation kit according to one or more of claims 17 to 27, additionally comprising at least one hood to be applied to the end (33) for to the bar (1, IA, IB, 1C, ID). 29. Installation kit according to one or more of claims 17 to 28, additionally comprising at least one connection element (30) for joining bars (1, IA, IB, 1C, ID) together, which is fitted with plug-in parts (31, 32) to be coupled to the ends of two bars. 30. Pin (20) for fixing a handrail according to one or more of claims 1 to 18 to a wall, characterized by comprising a first (21) and a second (22) threaded portions, and wherein the first threaded portion (21) is adapted to engage into a threaded hole, whereas the second threaded portion is of the self-tapping type or the like adapted to engage into a wall anchor driven into a wall.