A New Method of Constructing Stair-ways.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Mar., 1891-Accepted, 4th Apr., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New Method of Constructing Stair-ways.
7F1
1, RUDOLF HERMANNS, of Elberfeld, Rhenish Prussia, Germany, Royal
Architect, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My invention relates to improvements in the construction of stair-ways or flights
of steps in gardens, parks, and other open places with ascending ground and also for
making the borders of side walks in strects and other places where one stair or
step only is required, as in railway stations. It is of such construction that ordinary
labourers can fix the stairs correctly in a very short time, take them down &
transport them & refix them at another place if such is desired, whilst it is not
excluded to construct them as a permanent structure.
Such stair-ways are now mostly built of stone and where cheapness is required
they are made of wood blocks or rough beams with a backing of gravel and sand.
The stairs of stone are durable and good, but expensive; those made of wood
are often subjected to repairs and of short duration and therefore dear to be held in
order.
The object of my invention is to obviate these drawbacks of the constructions
in practice and to produce stair-ways which are very durable, which can be placed
at any incline in a very short time or taken down again, if desired, and erected at
another place by any labourer and which nevertheless their low price shall be of
good style and of good appearance.
On the accompanying drawing my method of constructing stairs and stair-ways
is shown in different constructions varying only in details to show the principal
manners how the structures can be carried out & some of the principal manners
of use.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the stairs, the flyers made of special iron;
Fig. 1 shows the chair for taking up the balusters & flyer irons;
Fig. 2 is a section parallel to the bridge board with flyer-irons of I section with
the balusters fastened by screws;
Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 2;
Fig. 2B is a modified chair in various views & sections.
Fig. 3 is a section parallel to the bridge. board of U iron & the balusters put in
from the bottom :
Fig. 4 is a similar section with flyers of ordinary rails;
Fig. 5 is a similar section with flyers of specially rolled iron;
Fig. 6 is a similar section showing a new mode of fastening the balusters;
Fig. 7 is a section with the employment of cast-iron bridge boards;
Fig. 8 is a section with balusters screwed down;
Fig. 9 is a section without chairs & the use of a special Hyer-iron ;
Fig. 9 is a plan of Fig. 9.
Fig. 9B shows various views of the nail used with Fig. 9.
Fig. 10 is a similar arrangement as in Fig. 9 with flyer-irons rivetted fast;
Figs. 11 & 12 show an arrangement with angle-iron bridge boards.
Figs. 13, 13, 14 & 15 show the arrangement for making single stairs or steps.
For making my stair-ways I use by preference iron of V section for the bridge-
boards 1, if special local circumstances, which I shall treat particularly hereafter,
do not make it desirable to use other forms of section, see Figs. 1 to 6 and
9, 10, 13-15.
According to the inclination of the ground the iron bridge boards are provided

page_text: peculiar construction of the nail 5 and its head 6 which will be best understood
from Fig. 1A.
The nail 5 is smaller in body than the head and this one projects on one side;
the hole in the bridge board is of same width as the head of the nail 5 at the bottom
or foot of the upper part of the chair. Therefore the chair, when put upon &
into the bridge board, will slope down a little and the projecting part of the head 6
beyond the nail 5 will prevent its being turned upwards and undoing itself
arbitrary.
At the upper side the chair is provided with the flute 7 and the chamfer 8, the
latter being a little bevilled or hollowed out downwards, so that the flyer rails 11,
which may be made of specially rolled section as in Figs. 1, 5, 6 & 7 or of I section
as in Fig. 2 & 11 or of U iron (Fig. 3) or of old rails as in Fig. 4, may be placed
and held therein.
This is simply done by holding them a little obliquely and slipping the bottom
flange into or underneath the chamfer 8, adjusting it then so that the front edge
stands flush with the flute 7 and preventing them from being pushed forwards or
pulled upwards.
The chairs 4 & 4ª may be provided with the projecting pieces 9 having holes 3,
into which the balusters 10 are stuck and held fast therein, either by means of a
nut screwed underneath as in Figs. 2 & 8 or by bending the foot of the pillar (10)
and sticking it into the chair from below before it is put in place on the bridge
board as in Figs. 3 & 4, or by making the holes in the chairs 4 (Fig. 1^) with an
off set 3" and welding to the baluster 10" a little nose 12, which being afterwards
covered by the flange or bottom of the flyer rail fastens the baluster and prevents
its being pulled out without undoing the flyer rails.
Instead of using bridge boards of rolled iron of V section or any other suitable
section, they may be made of cast-iron as shown in Figures 7 & 8.
Here of course the use of separate chairs for taking up the flyer rails and the
balusters are dispensed with; the cast-iron bridge boards 1" & 1 having the
flutes 7 and the chamfers 8" cast therein direct and also the holes for fastening
the balusters, whether they be held down by nuts or by means of the nose 12 as
shown.
When the arrangement of Figs. 3 & 4 is used the balusters must be put in place
before the chairs, or at any rate at the same time with these and this construction
therefore cannot be employed where a complete railing is used, each baluster has to
be put in place separately with its chair.
The arrangement of holding and putting down the balusters shown by Figs. 1, 6
& 7 allows to put the railing together and fix complete sets after the chairs have
been put down, but of course before the flyer rails are laid in place.
The manner of fastening the balusters shown by Fig. 2 & 8 allows the fixing of
the railing in complete sets and after the flyer rails have been laid down.
The chairs carrying the flyer rails may be dispensed with when flyer rails rolled.
for the purpose are being used.
This manner of constructing stair-ways according to my method is shown in
Figs. 9, 94, 9B & 10. Here the flyer rail 13 is provided with a bottom flange
forming an obtuse angle with the vertical or upright stay of the same.
The bridge
boards 1, are provided with oblong holes 14 and corresponding with them the flyer
rails receive similar holes but instead of using a cast-iron chair for joining both
bridge-boards & flyer rail together the latter is put direct upon the bridge boards
and both or the three pieces respectively are held together by means of a specially
constructed nail which is shown in various views in Fig. 9B.
This nail consists of the long foot 15, central upon it, so that the foot projects
symetrically right & left, is the stem of the nail 16 of the length equal to both,
the thickness of the metal in the bridge board & of the bottom flange of the flyer
rail together; at the top of this stem is the head 17 standing at right-angle to the
foot 15 but projecting at one side only, not symmetrically on both sides. The foot
of this nail is first stuck into the hole 14, then it is turned round by 90° (see

page_text: Fig. 94) so that the head stands lengthways & the foot crossways and now the flyer
rails are put over the nail head upon the bridge boards, slipping down by their own
gravity so that they are hooked together with the bridge boards by the peculiar
action & form of the nails.
This manner of uniting the bridge boards with the specially rolled flyer rails I
recommend especially for making stair-ways which are likely to be taken away
again but when they are intended for permanent use the simpler way of rivetting
them together may be preferred, as shown by Fig. 10.
When using as bridge boards angle-irons 22 the vertical side of which, when
being placed down, is of sufficient height, as shown in Figs. 11 & 12 the same may
serve at the same time as a guard against earth & other material rolling down upon
the steps from the slope above or also to prevent the material of the steps (the
backing which will be specially mentioned hereafter) from slipping down upon
the scarp below and at the side of the stairway.
Finally the Figs. 13-15 show the special use of my invention for making single
stairs or stoops, such as side walk borders in streets, ou bridges and in railway
stations.
Here the bridge boards are replaced by irons 18 of suitable section, or I or
any other section, which are placed down at right angle or crossways to the
direction of the street and in suitable distances & reaching forwards to the edge of
the side walk; then chairs 19 of similar design as those described formerly are
placed upon them and held thereon in a similar manner and into these chairs the
edge rails 20 of old rails or of I section or specially rolled section are placed in
the same manner as the flyer rails in making complete stairways as shown by
Fig. 15.
The structures so far described are in reality only the framework of a stairway
and to complete it it only requires that this frame work is filled out with some
filling or backing material 21, that is with earth, sand or gravel and the stairways
or the side walks are complete as indicated in sections in the various figs.
It is evident that the pressure of this backing material & the pressure of the
earth from behind or above will greatly support the stability of the structure and
secure the joints, not only by covering them, but especially by forcing the chairs &
the flyer rails with regard to the bridge boards into such a position that they
are still more opposed to their being pulled out from each other.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The method of constructing stair-ways consisting in that,
1. That iron bridge boards (1) of suitable section are put down at the
proper incline which are provided with holes (2) into which chairs (4) are hung
by means of peculiarly shaped nails (5) with heads (6), which chairs are
provided with a flute (7) and a chamfer (8) to receive the flyer rails and with
holes (3) to take up the baluster (10) and being filled out at the back with
sand, earth or gravel, the pressure of this backing material and of the earth.
behind securing the connection between the bridge boards, the chairs and the
flyer rails.
2. That bridge boards (1, 1) of cast iron are put down as before, having
flutes (7") and chamfers (8) for the flyer rails and the holes for the balusters
cast into them to take up the flyer rails and the balusters direct without the
use of chairs, the flutes (7") and the chamfer (S) together with the pressure
of the earth & of the backing material securing the connection between the
bridge boards & the flyer rails.
3. Providing the chairs (4) with the holes (3) and offsets (3) for taking up
the balusters and securing these therein by putting the flyer rails into the
chairs and upon the noses (12) of the balusters in the holes and offsets (3 & 3).
4. That the bridge boards of suitable section and with oblong holes (14) are

page_text: placed down on the proper incline and that the flyer rails of specially rolled
sections and with similar holes are joint to them,
a. For temporary structures, by means of peculiar nails having an oblong
foot (15) fitting into the holes and a stem (16) in the centre of the foot and
a one sided head (17) running at right angle to the foot (15).
b. For permanent structures, by rivetting specially rolled flyer rails to the
bridge boards and filling out the back of the flyer rails in both cases
with sand, gravel and earth.
5. That the bridge boards are made of angle iron (22) the long side of the
angle standing upwards securing the stairs against the earth from the slope
above falling down upon the steps or preventing the backing material from slipping
down on the scarp below.
6. The method of making single stairs or borders of side walks in streets
consisting in that, that upon pieces of iron (18) placed crossways to the direction
of the walk, chairs (19) are fixed carrying the border irons (20) of any suitable
section and filling up the back with earth or sand as before described.
The whole as shown and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 25th day of February 1891
KARL S. MAYER,
Agent for R. Hermanns.