Abstract:
A reinforced connector for supporting a tubular grab railing has an upper tubing support that is aligned with the grab railing during use and a lower base portion which is attached to the tubing support, and is fastened a wall or floor as a pedestal for the tubing support. The tubing support has an opening extending longitudinally thereof that divides it into upper and lower halves with the reinforcing plate held between them. The halves of the tubing support are aligned with one another to form at least one boss that is constructed and arranged to engage and support one end of a section of the grab railing tubing. The connector assembly which supports a section of grab railing is formed from dissimilar structural materials including an outer plastic resinous connector element and a reinforcing plate. The reinforcing plate extends through the support to provide reinforcement for the tubing support including each boss and the tubing itself.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to railings and more particularly to safety railings that are commonly referred to as grab bars and to connectors therefor. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Because of safety concerns, particularly in bathrooms and showers which may have wet floors that make it possible for a person to fall, and concern for physically impaired individuals, it has become common to provide safety railings often called grab bars in bathrooms and around showers and bathtubs. Grab bars are particularly helpful and are frequently required by building codes to aid physically impaired individuals. Applicable building codes include stringent strength requirements. Consequently, grab bar systems now in use are formed from metal such as stainless steel or aluminum in order to have the strength needed to meet code requirements and accordingly are relatively expensive and have decorative and aesthetic limitations. While plastic grab bars have been previously proposed, e.g., formed from a plastic polymer as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,237, it is difficult or impossible for plastic to meet the strength requirements set by building codes and they weaken with age. In addition, the patented device is not suited for use with commercially available tubing. Another problem is the difficulty associated with drilling holes and inserting grab bar mounting screws through a mounting flange often in a location that is beneath or behind the horizontally extending portions of the grab bar support unit. Thus, when a workman attempts to mount a grab bar support unit, he must drill holes and mount screws that are beneath or almost beneath the horizontal part of the grab bar support. This is time consuming, labor intensive, and often results in screws that are cocked to one side. 
     In view of these and other deficiencies of the prior art, it is one object of the present invention to provide a grab bar mounting assembly that exhibits outstanding performance, is easy to install, is rugged in construction and provides the appealing visual qualities of plastic, yet has the strength of steel so as to meet or exceed building codes, regulatory agency, and industry requirements. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide improved grab railing mounting hardware that can be readily manufactured from injection molded, thermo-formed or thermo-set plastic resin in any color and yet has the strength of steel. 
     A further object is to provide an improved mounting assembly for tubular grab railings of modular construction with interchangeable parts that can be readily assembled on site to meet dimensional and design requirements of any particular installation job. 
     Still another object is to provide a mounting system for tubular grab railings that has a more appealing appearance and better decorative possibilities than grab railings now in commercial use. 
     Another object is to provide a mounting connector assembly for tubular grab railings that will work with various kinds of commercially available metal or plastic tubing. 
     Another object is to provide a grab railing mounting connector assembly with a provision for preventing rotation of the tubing during use so that the user will have secure support. 
     These and other more detailed and specific objects of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following Figures and detailed description which illustrate by way of example but a few of the various forms of the invention within the scope of the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein the same numerals represent like structures in the several Figures and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is perspective view of a grab railing mounted for use on the walls of a building by way of example to show several tubing connectors embodying the invention for supporting different numbers of tubes. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a straight connector  14  of  FIG. 1  shown on a larger scale. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the connector of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a vertical sectional view taken on line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of an adjustable connector  20  of  FIG. 1  in accordance with the invention on a larger scale. 
         FIG. 6  is a plan view of the adjustable connector of  FIG. 5  when assembled. 
         FIG. 7  is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 7A  is a left end view of the connector of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 8  is a side elevational view of the connector of  FIGS. 5-7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the adjustable connector  20  of  FIGS. 5-8  on a slightly smaller scale. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an end fitting connector  12  of  FIG. 1  showing its reinforcing plate in exploded position. 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of an L connector  16  of  FIG. 1  in accordance with the invention showing its reinforcing plate in exploded position. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a T connector  18  in accordance with the invention showing its reinforcing plate in exploded position. 
         FIG. 13  is an X connector  19  in accordance with the invention showing its reinforcing plate in exploded position, 
         FIG. 14  is a tubular elbow railing section  24  in accordance with the invention, and 
         FIG. 15  is an exploded view showing an end extension. 
     
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, the present invention provides a reinforced supporting connector and a tubular grab railing. The connector comprises an upper tubing support or fitting that is aligned with the grab railing during use and a lower mounting base portion that is attached to the tubing support and is fastened a wall, floor, or other surface as a pedestal for the tubing support. The tubing support can be split or otherwise provided with an opening extending longitudinally which contains a reinforcing member extending longitudinally of the tubing support. The tubing support has at least one boss that is constructed and arranged to engage and support one end of a section of the grab railing tubing. The invention thus provides a composite connector assembly for supporting a section of grab railing; the composite connector being formed from dissimilar structural materials comprising an outer plastic resinous supporting element that is exposed to view and tactile contact by the user and a hidden reinforcing member which is recessed therewithin and typically is a metal. Each boss is constructed and arranged to engage one end of a section of the tubular grab railing. The reinforcing member can be a plate that extends through the support to provide reinforcement for the tubing support including the boss as well as the tubing itself. A supporting base is attached to the tubing support to fasten the connector to a wall, floor, or other surface. The invention also provides an adjustable connector including two pivotally related portions with a joint between them to permit adjustment on site for establishing the desired angle of intersection between two adjoining grab bar railing sections and an elbow with a right angle bend that can be used for inside or outside railing corners, end extensions, and screw cover. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the Figures and particularly  FIG. 1 , a tubular grab railing and supporting connectors in accordance with the invention is indicated generally by the numeral  10 . The supporting connectors, all of which embody the invention, must, as in any railing system, support different members of railing sections at various angles and accordingly are provided with different numbers of tubing support members.  FIG. 1  shows by way of example, connectors embodying the invention can be used with different numbers of tubes and include the following: three end connectors designated  12 , one straight connector  14 , one L connector  16 , one T connector  18 , one X connector  19 , and one adjustable connector  20 . Mounted between the connectors  12 - 20  are sections of commercially available metal or plastic tubing  22  which may be pre-cut or cut to length by workmen on site during installation. A section of tubing  24  having a right angle bend that can be used as an inside or outside elbow is shown at the right in  FIG. 1  in a position mounted between the connectors  12  and  14 . Tubing  22  can also be metal having a plastic outer sheath or a coating of paint. 
     The straight connector  14  will now be described in more detail by reference to  FIGS. 2-4 . The connector  14  includes an upper split connector tubing support portion  30  and a lower upright mounting base portion  32  that is connected to the upper portion by a suitable fastener such as a bolt, pin, screw, rivet, or the like, all for convenience referred to herein simply as a fastener. In this case, the fastener is a bolt  34  that is attached to the base  32  by a nut  36  which is welded to the metal reinforcing base. The upper tubing support  30  is split longitudinally along a separation line  38  into upper and lower halves  40  and  42  with cooperating recesses  44  and  46  confronting one another that are of the appropriate size to receive a metal reinforcing plate  48  which is bored or has a punched opening  49  at the center and at each end at  49   a  for the bolt  34  and for screws  50  respectively which join the upper and lower halves of the tubing support  30 . Plate  48  can be flat as shown or, if desired, can be corrugated or embossed. The central opening  49  for the bolt  34  is larger than the peripheral openings  49   a  for the screws  50 . The reinforcing plate  48  is preferably a metal stamping formed from steel which extends through a pair of bosses  56  and  58  from one end of the upper tubing support portion  30  to the other. It can be seen that the fastener  34  secures the halves  40  and  42  together and at the same time fastens the upper tubing support portion  30  rotatably to the base  32 . A socket  52  is provided in the top half  40  for the bolt  34  which following assembly is covered with a security cap  54  that is non-removable or only removable with a special tool (not shown). The tubing support  30  is elongated laterally and in this case includes two opposed bosses  56  and  58  which could be circular in cross-section but are most preferably of oval configuration, i.e., out of round to receive and support the ends of grab rail tubing sections  22  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The bosses are constructed and arranged to have a sliding fit within the ends of the tubing sections  22 . If standard commercially available tubing is used by the installer, the ends of each tube section can be given an oval shape, e.g,. by striking each end lightly with a hammer after being cut to size to fit the bosses  56  and  58 . In this way the tubing sections  22  will be unable to rotate on the bosses  56  and  58  so as to provide firm, secure, and reliable support for a person using the grab railing  10 . 
     The upper and lower halves  40  and  42  of the tubing support  30  are formed from a plastic resinous material of any suitable composition, e.g., polypropylene, nylon, PVC, polyester, polystyrene, Plexiglas, or other resin which has appealing visual qualities and is warm to the touch because of its relatively low thermal conductivity. The reinforcing plate  48  can be formed from any suitable material of high tensile strength such as steel. 
     The base  32  comprises a hollow body  60  formed from plastic resin with a horizontal mounting flange  62  at its lower end that is bored at  64  for mounting screws  67  used to attach the base  32  to a wall, floor, or other surface. Inside the plastic body  60  is a tubular or deep drawn metal reinforcing member  66  with an upper horizontal end wall  68  to which the nut  36  is bonded or welded, and a lower radially extending mounting flange  70  that has bored openings  72  which are aligned with the openings  64 . After the screws  67  have been installed, an optional thin walled cover  74  formed from metal or plastic may be placed over the hollow plastic body  60  to hide the mounting screws  67 . Cover  74  is held in place by the tubing support  30  which the installer attaches to the base  32  by bolt  34  after the cover  74  has been put in place as shown in  FIG. 4 . The upright base  32  serves as a pedestal for tubing support  30  which can rotate about the center of the bolt  34  so that it can be moved during installation to any desired angle for placing the grab railings in the position required by the specifications for that installation. Once the location of each base  32  is established, the mounting screws  67  can be placed in any convenient position because the bosses are not in place when the base is mounted. However, even if they were, the tubing support  30  is able to be turned in either direction to position the railings so that the screw holes will not be covered by the bosses  56 ,  58 , thus facilitating installation. 
     Refer now to  FIGS. 5-9  which illustrate the adjustable connector  20  in more detail. The base  32  which serves as a pedestal for the adjustable connector  20  is the same modular base  32  described above and shown in  FIGS. 2-4 . The same modular base  32  is used in all of the connectors to be described as a pedestal for rotatably supporting the tubing support at its upper end by means of the bolt  34  or other suitable fastener. The tubing support  30  of  FIGS. 5-9  is also split longitudinally into upper and lower halves, which in this case are designated  80  and  82  at the left and  84  and  86  at the right with upper and lower halves  84  and  82  overlapping and in contact along a horizontal bearing surface  88  ( FIG. 5 ) to define a joint for enabling the boss  80 ,  82  at the left to be pivoted with respect to a boss  84 ,  86  about a vertical axis  88  at the center of bolt  34  which acts as a pivot pin. In this case, a longitudinal recess  84   a  is provided in the lower surface of member  84  to accommodate a flat reinforcement plate  90  and the lower tubing support half  82  is provided with an upwardly opening recess  92  to receive a steel reinforcing plate  94  having a bored opening  96  aligned with a similar opening  98  in plate  90  for the bolt  34 . Plate  90  overlaps plate  94  as best seen in  FIG. 7 . During installation, the base  32  is mounted first as described above in the correct position required for each particular railing installation. The tubing support  30  is then attached to base  32  by means of the bolt  34  which is secured to the nut  36  that is bonded or welded inside the base  32 . Once the plates  90  and  94  have been positioned, the screws  50  can be screwed in place or, optionally, this can be done at the factory. The cap  54  is then placed over the bolt  34 . The oval, i.e., out of round configuration of the boss  80 ,  82  is clearly shown in  FIG. 7   a . This feature prevents the tubing sections  22  from turning or rotating on the supporting bosses during use, thus providing secure support for the user. 
     Refer now to  FIGS. 10-13  which show, respectively, an end connector  12  with a single boss in  FIG. 10 , an L-shaped connector  16  in  FIG. 11 , a T connector  18  in  FIG. 12 , and an X connector  19  in  FIG. 13 ; all with identical modular bases  32  that serve as a pedestal for holding the tubing support on a wall or other surface. In each of  FIGS. 10-13 , the tubing support is similar to that described in  FIGS. 2-4  except that in  FIG. 10  there is only one boss  56  and the metal reinforcing plate shown in an exploded view in  FIG. 10  at  48   a  is of the appropriate length to fit between the halves of the end connector  12  which like connector  14  is split along longitudinal separation line  38  and includes a recess for plate  45   a , the left end of which can be seen in  FIG. 10 . Like the metal reinforcing plate  48  in the support  12  of  FIG. 3 , the plate  48   a  which is recessed within support  30  at separation line  38  as in  FIGS. 3 and 4  is bored at  49  to receive the bolt  34  (not shown in  FIG. 10 ) the lower end of which is screw-threaded into the nut  36  of the base  32 . The tubing supports  30  in all of  FIGS. 10-13  are similarly constructed, the bolt  34  securing the tubing support assembly  30  to base  32  in each case as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  so that it is free to rotate on the base  32  about the axis of the bolt  34 . 
     In  FIG. 11  the tubing support  16  is L-shaped as is the metal reinforcing plate  48   b  located at the separation line  38 . In  FIG. 12  the tubing support assemblyl 8  has a T-shaped configuration. The metal reinforcing plate  48   c  is similarly shaped to fit between the upper and lower halves of the tubing support  30  which separate along longitudinally extending separation line  38 . In  FIG. 13 , the tubing support assembly  19  has an X configuration, as does the metal reinforcing plate which is designated  48 d. Each of the tubing support assemblies of  FIGS. 11-13  are provided with recesses designated  45 ,  47 , and  49 , respectively, which are shaped in each case to receive the corresponding metal reinforcing plate shown and described. Thus in summary, the tubing support of  FIGS. 2-4  has two aligned bosses  56 ,  58 , the tubing support  30  of  FIG. 10  has a single boss  56 , the L-shaped tubing support  16  of  FIG. 11  has a pair of bosses  56  and  58  that are at right angles to one another, the T-shaped tubing support  18  of  FIG. 12  has two aligned bosses  56  and  58  and an intermediate boss  59  at right angles thereto while the tubing support  19  of  FIG. 13  has aligned bosses  56  and  58  similar to those described in  FIG. 2-4  and another pair of bosses  59  and  61  at right angles to the first pair. 
     Refer now to  FIG. 14  which shows the section of tubing  24  of  FIG. 1  with a right angle bend to provide an inside or outside elbow that can be connected between any of the tubing supports described. To provide the appropriate strength and to simplify installation, the elbow  24  is provided with a rectangular metal reinforcing plate  47  at each end similar to plate  48  that are positioned at right angles to one another and are normal to the plane of the elbow. Each of the reinforcing plates  47  is bonded, e.g., by spot welding or other suitable welding method to the interior surface of the elbow  24  and each is provided with a punched opening  47   a  that is appropriately positioned so that the bolt  34  can pass through it when the elbow is mounted on the boss of one of the tubing supports  30  of any of  FIGS. 2-13 . The location of the elbow  24  after being installed can be seen in  FIG. 1 . One of the bolts  34  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  passes through each of the bored openings  47   a  to secure the elbow  24  in place between connectors  12  and  14  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     In the event that one of the tubing supports such as  18  in  FIG. 1  has bosses which do not require tubing sections  22 , the bosses can be covered by end extensions  100  that are held in place in any suitable manner, e.g., by retaining screws extending the grip surface beyond the mounting base by about 4″ per end. Tubing sections  22  can be made of metal or plastic and can be cut from any commercially available stock, thereby reducing installation and production costs. 
     The end extensions  100  will now be described in more detail in connection with  FIG. 15  in which the same numerals refer to corresponding parts already described. First, a metal tube  102  that is typically 3″ or 4″ long is placed over the boss of tubing support  30 . A metal or plastic end cap  104  of cylindrical shape sized to fit into the open end of the tube  102  is inserted into the free end of the tube. The end cap  104  includes a circular rim or bead  106  near its outer end for limiting insertion of the end cap into the tube  102 . In the center of the end cap  104  is a bore  108  which extends partially through the end cap  104  and includes openings for a pair of retaining screws  110  that are threaded into a slot  112  in the end of the boss of tubing support  30 . Once the screws  110  are in place, they are covered by a plug  54  which is the same plug  54  that is used at the center of each fitting. The plug is held by friction within the bore  108 . The tubular extension  102  is properly dimensioned to fit over any of the bosses of any of the plastic fittings described herein above. 
     An important advantage of the invention is the variety of decorative possibilities provided by the plastic surfaces of the tubing support units  30 , yet the invention has more than enough strength to meet code and industry requirements. The invention can be installed more easily than previously because the invention allows workmen to install the mounting screws  67  before attaching the tubing support  30  so that none of the screws or screw holes are located beneath or concealed by the ends of the tubing  22 . Because the tubing support assembly is able to pivot about a vertical axis that is perpendicular to the wall or floor surface on which the connector is mounted at the center of bolt  34 , minor angular adjustments in the grab tubing can easily be made if needed thereby facilitating the installation process. The invention is therefore appealing from an aesthetic viewpoint both visually and tactilely because when the connector assemblies and interconnected tubing sections are made of plastic resin, they will be warm to the touch while being rugged in construction, strong enough to meet all building codes, and can at the same time be installed with greater precision and less effort than prior tubular grab railings. Tubing sections  22  can be made of metal or plastic and can be cut from any commercially available stock, thereby reducing production costs. 
     In a modified form of the invention which is also contemplated, the separation line  38  is eliminated and the metal reinforcing plate  48  is molded in situ so that the upper and lower halves of the tubing support  30  are integral with one another. In that case, the plate  48  is positioned between upper and lower molding dies (not shown) prior to injecting plastic resin into the mold as will be understood by those skilled in the art. 
     Many variations of the present invention within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to those skilled in the art once the principles described herein are understood.