Improvements in Staireases.
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in Staireases.
I, JOHN ALFRED WILLMORE, of 6, Oakhill Road, East Putney, London, S.W.,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to iron staircases that are used more especially for escape
in case of fire, and its object is to obtain a solid structure of iron and at the same
time a tread surface on the top of the steps and landings which shall be non
slippery and readily renewable when worn without interfering with the con-
struction of the stairs; various devices have from time to time been tried for this
purpose such as wood blocks and planks in open metal frames but in these
the under surface of the wood was exposed & therefore liable to take fire readily.
In this invention I employ a step of cast iron having its top, riser and spandrils
cast in one piece, the top being formed with a sunk tray in the centre into which
a piece of oak or teak or other wood boarding can be fitted and secured by screws
from beneath giving the same foothold as in an ordinary wooden staircase.
This wood can be removed and renewed without difficulty and at small
cost as it becomes worn, and the underside of the wood which is the most likely
to be exposed to the action of fire is protected by having a solid layer of iron
beneath it and where required I would give still further protection to the wood
by interposing a sheet of asbestos cardboard or other fire resisting substance
between it and the iron.
The landings of a staircase would be constructed in a similar manner.
I, JOHN ALFRED WILLMORE, of G, Oakhill Road, East Putney, London, S.W.,
Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to iron staircases that are used more especially for escape
in case of fire, and its object is to obtain a solid structure of iron and at the same
time a tread surface on the top of the steps and landings, which shall not become
slippery and which can readily be renewed when worn without interfering with
the construction of the stairs.
Various devices have from time to time been tried for this purpose such as wood

page_text: block treads & skeleton frames of iron filled in with wood but in these the under
surface of the wood was exposed & therefore liable to take fire readily.
In this invention I employ a step of cast iron preferably with the tread riser
and spandrils cast in one piece, the tread being formed with a sunk tray or depres-
sion in the centre into which a piece of oak, teak or other wood boarding can be
fitted and secured by scrows from beneath or by other suitable means. This wood
will give the same secure foothold as an ordinary wooden stair and could be
removed and renewed without difficulty and at small cost when it becomes worn,
the underside of the wood is protected from the direct action of the fire by the
iron forming the bottom of the tray and still further protection can be given by
interposing a sheet of asbestos or other fire resisting substance between it and
the iron.
The landings of a staircase can be constructed in a similar manner and the same
form of construction can be used in balconies, and where the steps and landings
are bolted between strings instead of resting on them.
In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a plan with the wood filling removed.
Fig. 2 a front elevation Fig. 3 an end elevation and Fig. 4 a cross section on
the line A A, of such a step for a straight staircase and steps for spiral stairs, or
landings could be made in the same manner.
In these figures B is the riser of the step C the spandril D the wood filling,
fitting into the sunk, tray the solid bottom of which is shown at E. G the layer
of asbestos or other fire resisting material and H II are the ends of the tray
which are raised so as to be level with the wood filling and to these raised ends
the balusters are fixed in the usual manner.
Having now more particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is―
1. An iron step or landing for staircases formed with A Iray or
depression onl the top into which tray or depression a layer of
wood is fixed by screws or other suitable means to form the wearing
portion of the step or landing and either with or without a layer of asbestos or
other fire resisting material between the iron and the wood filling.
Dated November 27th 1900.