Abstract:
A rail system comprising a hand rail; at least one support post for supporting said hand rail in a position whereby a person walking adjacent to said hand rail can use it for support; at least one rod running parallel to said rail and connected to said at least one support post at a position from said hand rail; and an adjustable clevis connected said rod to said post, wherein said adjustable clevis can allow said rod to be positioned and maintain said rod in a position parallel to said hand rail.

Description:
[0001]     The present application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) from U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/549,188, filed 1 Mar. 2004 and entitled a “Railing System.” 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to railing systems and more particularly to a system that can be installed in a variety of different configurations.  
         [0004]     2. Background of the Invention  
         [0005]     Railing systems are used on stairs in buildings and on exterior structures. Often the railing systems include barriers located below the handrail itself. For example, it could be a metal sheet, a glass sheet or rods that run parallel to the handrail and are attached to the upright support that holds the handrails. Typically, these sheets or rods below the handrails are used for two purposes. One is to provide protection from somebody falling through under the handrail and over the stairs balcony. Additionally, they add a decorative effect to enhance the architectural or other ambiance of the structure in which they are used. A device sometimes used to attach the sheet or rods to the handrail support is called a clevis. The clevis is a connector that has on one end a fork shape protrusion that will connect to the upright support with a pin. At the second end it has a lateral hole through the clevis receives the rod, or it may form a two-part cap structure that holds the sheet of glass or metal.  
         [0006]     Typically, for a railing system in which the clevis holds a rod or rail, the clevis is formed as a single piece. For a railing system running along a level surface the rod hole through the clevis is orientation at right angles to the grove of the fork. This allows the clevis to be attached to a projecting vertical protrusion of the support post with a pin that goes through the fork of the clevis and connects to this vertical protrusion. However, when the railing must go up an incline, such as a stairway, the orientation between the rod hole and the fork must change and the angular orientation being dependent on the angle of incline of the stairs. Thus, it is necessary to make different types of devises depending on the incline of the surface the railing system will be running across, be it level or on inclined surface.  
         [0007]     Thus what is needed is some type of a system that is flexible enough to allow for proper orientation of the support or barrier rods to maintain them parallel to the handrail whether it is moving along at a level surface such as along a balcony or at an incline up or down a stairway. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     The invention will be better understood by an examination of the following description, together with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a stairway using a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a circular staircase with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the railing system of the present invention on a flat surface;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the railing system of the present invention on a stairway or inclined walkway;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view along lines V-V of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is a view of a portion of the railing circumscribed by dotted oval VI of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is a view of a portion of the railing system encircled by dotted circle VII of  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a view of the railing system circumscribed by dotted oval VII in  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view along line IX-IX of  FIG. 8 ;  
         [0018]      FIG. 10  is a raised view of the clevis of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 11  is a raised view of the clevis of the present invention depicted in  FIG. 10  rotated 90 degrees to the right;  
         [0020]      FIG. 12  is a raised view of the clevis of the present invention depicted in  FIG. 10  rotated 180 degrees;  
         [0021]      FIG. 13  is a raised view of the bottom member of a clevis of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 14  is a raised view of the bottom portion of the clevis of the present invention depicted in  FIG. 13  rotated 90 degrees to the right;  
         [0023]      FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional view of the bottom portion of the clevis depicted in  FIG. 13  along the XV-XV;  
         [0024]      FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional view of the bottom portion of the clevis depicted in  FIG. 13  along line XVI-XVI;  
         [0025]      FIG. 17  is a side view of the upper portion of the clevis of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 18  is a cross-sectional view along the XVIII-XVIII of  FIG. 17 ;  
         [0027]      FIG. 19  is a cross-sectional view along line XIX-XIX of  FIG. 17 ;  
         [0028]      FIG. 19A  is a another cross-sectional view along line XIX-XIX of  FIG. 17 ;  
         [0029]      FIG. 19B  is a third cross-sectional view along line XIX-XIX of  FIG. 17 a  screw threaded into hole  66 ; and  
         [0030]      FIG. 20  is a cross-sectional cut away view along line XX-XX of  FIG. 10 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0031]      FIG. 1  provides a perspective view of a railing system on a stairway that uses the current invention. As can be seen, the handrail  21  is supported by vertical support structures  23 . The vertical support structures are connected along the edge of the stairs  27 . Below the handrail are the support rods  29 . The support rods  29  are connected to the upright support structure  23  by clevis  31 . The devises  31  have rod holes  33  through which the rods  39  pass. At the opposite end of the clevis is the fork  35 , which connects by a pin inserted through a pinhole in the clevis and a hole in the flange or vertical projection  37  of support post  23 .  FIG. 2  provides a perspective view of the current invention employed on a railing system on a spiral type of staircase. Therein the same numbers referenced above reference the same parts.  
         [0032]      FIG. 3  provides side view of a railing system on a flat or level surface, therein railing  21  support post  23  can be seen. Additionally, barrier rods  29  can be seen in their current orientation parallel to the ground as well as the rail  21 . Additionally, devises  31  connect barrier rods  29  to each of support post  23 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 4  provides a side view of a railing system on an inclined ramp or on a set of stairs  41 . As can be seen, the handrail  21  is parallel to inclined surface  41 . Additionally, barrier rods  29  also are in an orientation that is parallel to handrail  21  and to inclined surface  41 . However, as can be seen, the rods  29  are no longer in an orientation that is perpendicular or orthogonal to the support post  23  but are in fact orientated in a different angle. The angle the rods  29  set at maintains them in an orientation parallel to handrail  21 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 5  provides a cross-sectional view of the handrail system depicted in  FIG. 3  where the orientation of the whole handrail systems goes along a level path  38 . Handrail  21  is visible with support post  23  to which devises  31  are attached. Additionally, support rods connect through the retaining hole  33  of clevis  31 .  FIG. 6  is a close-up view of the portion of the railing is encircled by dotted oval VI of  FIG. 3 . In the close-up view handrail  21  and a portion of the support post  23  are visible. Additionally, barrier rods  29  are also visible. Clevises  31  connecting the barrier rods  29  to support post  23  are also visible.  
         [0035]      FIG. 7  provides a close-up view of the railing system encircled by dotted circles VII of  FIG. 5 . In this cross-sectional orientation the railing is visible as well as the support post  23  and devises  31  with rod retaining hole  33  through which the barrier rods  29  run.  FIG. 8  provides a close-up view of the section of the railing system enclosed by dotted oval VIII of  FIG. 4  in which the railing and support post are visible. Additionally, support rods or barrier rods  29  are also visible. Barrier rods  29  being connected to the support post  23  by devises  31 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the railing system in along line IX-IX of  FIG. 8 . In this picture, the orientation of the railing  21  is at an oblique angle to the support post  23 . Additionally, support rods or barrier rods  29  also appear in their parallel orientation to rail  29  and non-orthogonal orientation to support post  23 .  
         [0037]     One of the unique features of the system is the adjustable clevis which allows the barrier rods to be adjusted to an orientation that is parallel to the rail whether or not the railing system is running along a level section or if it is going up and down in an inclined plane or stairs.  FIG. 10  provides a side view of clevis  31  of the present invention and shows its two-part structure with a cap  51  and fork end  53 . Screw retaining hole  55  is also visible with the indentation of the barrier hole  33  partially visible to the right, this would be a counter clockwise rotation if one were looking at the top of clevis  31  and provides a view of clevis  31  of  FIG. 10  wherein the whole clevis is rotated 90 degrees. In this side view the rod hole is clearly visible through cap  51 . Additionally, pinhole  57  is visible through the base of fork portion  53 .  FIG. 12  provides a 180-degree rotation of the clevis depicted in  FIG. 10 . Therein, the cap  51  and fork portion  53  are visible as well as the fork shape itself.  
         [0038]      FIG. 13  provides a side view of the bottom of fork portion  53 . Therein in dotted outline of pinhole  57  which projects through the bottom portion of the fork portion  53  is indicated. Additionally, at the top of the fork portion  53  is a peg  61 . Peg  61  has retaining groove  63 , which circumscribes the entire peg  61 . Upper flange  67  defines upper edge of groove  63 .  FIG. 14  provides a view of fork portion  53  rotated 90 degrees from the orientation depicted in  FIG. 13 . Therein, pinhole  57  is visible. Additionally, it can be seen that peg  61  is symmetrical in shape with a symmetrical groove  63  around its top.  FIG. 15  provides a view of fork portion  53  along lines XV of  FIG. 13  and pinhole  57  is visible therein which holds the pin which attaches the fork portion to the post  23 .  FIG. 16  is a view of fork portion  15  along line XVI of  FIG. 13 . This top orientation on the top of pin  61  is visible as well as the pinhole  57  in outline form. Additionally, in dotted outline form groove  63  can be seen and is provided for illustrated purposes.  
         [0039]      FIG. 17  provides a side view of the cap portion  54  of clevis  31 . Therein, screw retaining hole  55  is visible as well as the edge of rod retaining hole  33 .  FIG. 18  provides a cross-sectional view of cap portion  51  along line XVIII of  FIG. 17 . Therein in outline form can be seen orientation of rod retaining channel hole  33 . Additionally, screw retaining hole  55  is visible. A screw can be threaded into hole  55  to thereby hold rod  29  that passes through rod retaining hole  33 .  FIG. 19  provides a view of cap portion  51  along line XIX of  FIG. 17 . Therein the hollow base  59  appears together with rod retaining channel hole  33  as well as screw retaining hole  55 .  
         [0040]     Screw hole  66   FIGS. 10 and 11  accepts a screw that projects into hollow opening  59  of cap  51 .  FIG. 19A  another view of cross-sectional view XIX-XIX of  FIG. 17  shows screw  67  that can be threaded into hole  67 .  FIG. 19B, 19A  another view of cross-sectional view XIX-XIX of  FIG. 17  shows screw  67  threaded into hole  66  with tip  67 A projecting into hollow  59 .  FIG. 20 a  cross-sectional cut away view along line XX-XX of  FIG. 10  show how when cap  51  is attached to base  53  tip  67 A of screw  67  projects into groove  63  to hold cap  51  to base  53  in a rotateable fashion.  
         [0041]     The clevis works such that the hollow portion  59  of cap  51  fits snugly but rotatably over peg  62  at the top of fork base  53 . A screw  71  is then threaded into screw retaining hole  55 , which passes through hollow portion  59  of cap portion  51 . When screwed into hole  55  then engages or projects into groove  63 . This thereby prevents the cap portion  51  from being removed from fork portion  53  but allows it to rotate in a 360 degree circle. Thus, the rods that pass through the rod retaining hole  33  can be configured in any required orientation with respect to a handrail whether the railing system is on a level surface or moves up in an inclined or a stairway.  
         [0042]     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made to it without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.