Rack for a stairway guide, and a method of providing a stairway guide comprising a rack

Abstract

A rack for a stairway guide suitable for providing good grip in curves comprises a bendable strip body, said bendable strip body comprising a first main side and a second main side, the first main side being provided with a series of equidistant engagement elements, each element being chosen from i) a hole, and ii) a protrusion. Both longitudinal sides are provided with a series of indentations. Being bendable, a stairway guide can be manufactured easily by bending the rack in the desired shape defined by the stairway guide.

Claims

1. A rack for a stairway guide, wherein the rack comprises a bendable strip body; wherein said bendable strip body comprises a first main side and a second main side, the first main side being provided with a series of equidistant engagement elements, wherein said elements of the strip body are holes, and two longitudinal sides, wherein the strip body comprises a series of indentations at both longitudinal sides of the strip body, wherein the indentations comprise blind ends, said blind ends being located in the longitudinal direction of the strip body halfway between two adjacent holes.

2. The rack according to claim 1, wherein the indentations are defined by edges of the strip body, at least one of said edges comprising a shoulder.

3. The rack according to claim 2, wherein the elements comprise a wall section adjacent to the first main side, said wall section being inclined at an angle of less than 30 degrees to the centerline of the element.

4. A method of providing a stairway guide, wherein a stairway guide body is provided with a rack, wherein the rack is a rack according to claim 3.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein a stairway guide comprises a stairway guide body comprising at least one deviation from straight chosen from a turn or knick, wherein the rack is bent to accommodate for the deviation and attached to the guiderail body.

6. The method according to any of the claim 5, wherein the stairway guide body comprises a material comprising aluminium or plastic, and the rack is mounted using self-tapping screws.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will now be illustrated with reference to the drawing where

(2) FIG. 1 shows a cut-out sideview of a stairlift carriage on a stairway guide;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a top view of a section of a rack according to the invention;

(4) FIG. 3a shows a wheel of the stairlift carriage of FIG. 1 on a rack with changing inclination;

(5) FIG. 3b shows a wheel of the stairlift carriage of FIG. 1 on a curved rack; and

(6) FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view through the rack of FIG. 2.

(7) FIG. 1 shows a cut-out sideview of a stairlift carriage 180 on a stairway guide 150.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) The stairway guide 150 comprises a stairway guide body 155 and a rack 100 fixed to said stairway guide body 155. The rack 100 comprises a plurality of holes 111, here through-holes 111.

(9) The stairlift carriage 180 comprises a driven wheel 190 mounted on an axle 182 and driven by a motor 183 via a right-angled transmission. The driven wheel 190 (pinion wheel) comprises a tread 191, said tread being provided with spaced-apart knobs 192.

(10) When the wheel 190 is driven by motor 183, the knobs 192 of the wheel 190 are received by the through-holes 111. This allows the stairlift carriage 180 to move safely along the stairway guide 150.

(11) FIG. 2 shows a top view of a section of a rack 100 according to the invention. The rack 100 is made of a metal strip and comprises a strip body 210 with two opposite longitudinal sides 211 provided with a series of indentations 220 at both longitudinal sides 211 of the strip body 210.

(12) The indentations 220 comprise blind ends 221 away for the longitudinally extending sides 211 and open ends 222 opening up at the longitudinally extending sides 211. The indentations 220 are defined by edges 212 of the strip body 210, both edges 212 of an indentation 220 that face each other providing a shoulder 213 which serve as a stop for a screw (not shown) which are convenient if is desired to fix the rack 100 to the stairway guide 150 using self-tapping screws.

(13) The rack 100 as shown in FIG. 2 is straight but can be bent to a desired shape. When it is bent, the through-holes 111 are at least to some extent protected from excessive deformation that might otherwise jeopardise reliable engagement of the wheel 190 by the stairlift carriage 180, because in this preferred embodiment the blind ends 221 are from a longitudinal point of view halfway between adjacent through-holes 111.

(14) To reliably receive the knobs 192 of the wheel 190, the through-holes 111 are tapered through-holes as will be discussed with reference to FIG. 4.

(15) FIG. 3A shows the wheel 190 of the stairlift carriage 180 of FIG. 1 on a rack 100 with changing inclination.

(16) FIG. 3B shows a wheel 190 of the stairlift carriage 180 of FIG. 1 on a curved rack 100.

(17) In the embodiments shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the rack 100 comprises further holes 311 for sturdily fixing the rack 100 to the stairway guide body 155.

(18) FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view through the rack of FIG. 2. The rack 100 comprises a first main side 401 and a second main side 402. The second main side 402 will face the stairway guide body 155 after fixing the rack 100 to the stairway guide body 155.

(19) To reliably receive the knobs 192 of the wheel 190, the through-holes 111 are tapered through-holes 111, with wall sections 411 adjacent to the first main side 401, said wall sections 411 being an angle of 20° to the centerline 499. This allows the knobs 192 of the wheel 190 to be received reliably in by the through-holes 111 of the rack 100 even in case there is a deviation from the linear in the rack 100 fixed to a stairway guide 150. The shallow angle allows for a firm grip of the wheel 190 to the track 100.

(20) The invention can be varied within the scope of the appended claims. For example, instead of through-holes 111 the rack 100 may comprise protruding elements, in which case the wheel 190 should comprise complementary recesses. Such a rack may be manufactured by providing the rack of FIG. 2 with pins which will preferably be tapered. It is not impossible to have a rack with both holes and protrusions with a complementary wheel 190.