MODULAR RAILING SUITABLE FOR VARIABLE INSTALLATION SLOPES
20220220764 · 2022-07-14
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
E04H17/1456
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
International classification
Abstract
The present invention teaches a modular railing, in which the various modules that constitute it can be connected to each other in a simple and aesthetically homogeneous way. This modular railing provides that even the individual modules can in turn be made with interchangeable parts. All suitably standardized, so as to preserve the possibility of using, in large quantities, identical pieces.
Each module of the railing comprises: at least a support pole placed at one end of said section of railing, and suitable for being fixed to the ground, an upper horizontal bar that connects two support poles (and coupled to them near their upper end), a lower horizontal bar that connects two support poles (and coupled to them near their base), and a plurality of vertical rods that connect said two upper and lower horizontal bars.
Claims
1. A modular railing comprising a plurality of modules (100) connected to each other, wherein each module (100) is an element of railing, comprising: a. at least one supporting post (110) located at one end of said railing module (100), and suitable for being attached to the ground; b. an upper horizontal bar (120) which connects said supporting post (110) to another supporting post (210) belonging to the adjacent module, and said upper horizontal bar (120) is coupled to said two supporting posts (110, 210) near their upper end; c. a lower horizontal bar (130) which connects said supporting post (110) to another supporting post (210) belonging to the adjacent module, and said lower horizontal bar (120) is coupled to said two supporting posts (110, 210) near their base; d. a plurality of vertical rods (140) which connect said upper (120) and lower (130) horizontal bars; and wherein said each module (100) is characterized in that: each module (100) is identical to the modules (100) to which it is connected, regardless of the slope and the direction of installation; each upper horizontal bar (120) comprises couple of substantially constant section profiled elements, an upper profiled element (121) and a lower profiled element (122), wherein: said upper profiled element (121) has a face facing upwards whose surface is substantially smooth, said lower profiled element (122) has a face facing downward in which there are plurality of holes; said lower horizontal bar (130) comprises at least one upper profiled element (132) with a substantially constant section, which has a face facing upwards in which there are a plurality of holes; said plurality of vertical rods (140) are coupled to said upper (120) and lower (130) horizontal bars, so that the upper end of each of said vertical rods (140) is inserted into a hole present on said lower profiled element (122) of said upper horizontal bar (120), and said coupling has the prerogative not to form an interlocking joint and to allow said each vertical rod (140) to vary the angle it forms with said upper horizontal bar (120) so that said each vertical rod (140) maintains the verticality even if said upper horizontal bar (120) is not horizontally installed, and wherein the lower end of each of said vertical rods (140) is inserted into a hole present on said upper profiled element (132) of said lower horizontal bar (130), and said coupling has the prerogative not to form an interlocking joint and to allow said each vertical rod (140) to vary the angle it forms with said lower horizontal bar (130) so that said each vertical rod (140) maintains the verticality even if said lower horizontal bar (130) is not horizontally installed; and wherein said upper horizontal bar (120) and said lower horizontal bar (130) are connected at their ends to said two supporting posts (110, 210) by means of a constraint which allows to provide an adjustable angle with one degree of freedom; said supporting post (110) comprises at least two longitudinal profiled elements: an external longitudinal profiled element (111) arranged to be fixed vertically to the ground, and an internal longitudinal profiled element (112) arranged to be coupled with said external longitudinal profiled element (111) so that said internal longitudinal profiled element (112) can rotate around its own longitudinal axis before being fixed in a definitive installation position, and once their coupling has been completed, said internal and external profiled elements (111, 112) are coupled side by side and parallel.
2. The modular railing comprising a plurality of modules (100) according to claim 1, wherein said lower horizontal bar (130) also comprises a lower profiled element (131) suitable for coupling with said upper profiled element (132) so as to form a single body.
3. The modular railing comprising a plurality of modules (100) according to claim 2, wherein, following the coupling of said upper (121, 132) and lower (122, 131) profiled elements of said upper and lower horizontal bars (120 and 130), inside said upper and lower horizontal bars (120, 130) a hollow space is formed, inside which there is a filling element (135) made with a compressible material which is in contact with the top and bottom ends of said vertical rods (140), with the function of counteracting vibrations of said vertical rods (140).
4. The modular railing comprising a plurality of modules (100) according to claim 2, wherein, following the coupling of said upper (121, 132) and lower (122, 131) profiled elements of said upper and lower horizontal bars (120, 130), inside said upper and lower horizontal bars (120, 130) a hollow space is formed, in which the ends of said vertical rods (140) are housed, when they are assembled in said modules (100), and at least one of these lower and upper ends (142) of said vertical rods (140), which are housed inside said hollow space, is coupled to a damper element (136) made of a compressible material, with the function of counteracting the vibrations of the vertical rod (140) to which said at least one end belongs.
5. The modular railing comprising a plurality of modules (100) according to claim 1, wherein said vertical rods (140) in their central part, which is comprised between said lower horizontal bar (130) and said upper horizontal bar (120), have a constant section.
6. The modular railing comprising a plurality of modules (100) according to claim 5, wherein said constant section of said vertical rods (140) has the shape of a straight slit, corresponding to a shape of said vertical rods are approximable with that of a flat and thin bar.
7. The modular railing comprising a plurality of modules (100) according to claim 5, wherein said constant section of said vertical rods (140) has a “V” shape, corresponding to a shape of said vertical rods which are approximable with that of a bar flat and thin longitudinally folded.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] Furthermore, this invention also has further advantages, which will become more evident from the following description, from some examples of practical embodiments which illustrate further details, from the attached claims which form an integral part of the present description, and from the attached figures in which:
[0029]
[0030]
[0031]
[0032]
[0033]
[0034]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0035] In
[0036] The number 110 indicates a first supporting post which has the function of supporting the two horizontal bars 120 and 130. Said horizontal bars 120 and 130 are then connected, at their other end, to a second supporting post, indicated with the number 210.
[0037] From
[0038] From a constructive point of view, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the supporting posts can be made so that they are mounted on site or, in any case, in a post-production phase, thus also facilitating transport and storage of the various elements that make up the railing.
[0039] At this point it should be noted that it is a purely conventional choice (adoptable only for descriptive purposes) to attribute just one supporting post to each adaptable module 100, and assume that the horizontal bars 120 and 130 are connected at one end to the supporting post 110 of the adaptable module 100 to which they belong, and in the other end to the supporting post 210 which, by convention, is assumed to belong to the next adjacent module.
[0040] As will be clarified also with the aid of the following
[0041] In
[0042] The upper horizontal bar, which in
[0043] In fact, the lower horizontal bar is also typically composed of two elements. In particular, in
[0044] It is noted that, in a simplified variant of an adaptable module 100 for railings according to the invention, said lower element 131 of the lower horizontal bar 130 is not strictly necessary to support the vertical rods 140, which could also be supported by means of an appropriate variation of their section, smaller in their lower end, which allows the latter to slip into the slots of the upper element 132 just for a small stretch.
[0045] A similar variant can be theoretically conceived also as regards the upper horizontal bar 120, even if, in this case, the presence of the upper element 121 is however desirable, if not to block the upward sliding of the vertical rods 140, at least to act as a handrail.
[0046] Ultimately, it is observed that, using only profiled elements, i.e. elements that allow very inexpensive industrial manufacturing processes, it is possible to compose a railing segment in which there are no welds or rigid fixings between the vertical and horizontal elements. In fact, the vertical rods are simply fixed by inserting them into suitable slots made on some horizontal elements. This type of coupling allows the vertical rods 140 to form a variable angle both with the upper horizontal bar 120 and with the lower bar 130. This method of mounting the vertical rods 140 and the lower and upper horizontal bars, 120 and 130, allows the module adaptable 100 to be installed both in a horizontal plane and on a slope. In this regard, it is noted that the amplitude of variation of the angle that the vertical rods 140 can form with the two horizontal bars is sufficient to adapt almost to all the slopes that can realistically be foreseen in real practical cases.
[0047]
[0048]
[0049] In the example of embodiment of
[0050] In any case, regardless of how the boundary of each individual adaptable module 100 is defined, the individual modules are also composed of standardized elements.
[0051] It is desirable that few elements are defined (which can also be optimized in terms of simplicity of manufacture), with which to create all the modular railings according to the invention. This is in order to maximize the advantages obtainable through the economies of scale.
[0052] In particular, in
[0053] The embodiment proposed in
[0054] However, it is also observed that, a railing that aims to be truly adaptable to a wide variety of cases, it is not enough that it is suitable for adapting to slopes, it must also adapt to the creation of fences that follow non-straight paths. The adaptation to non-straight paths, is ensured by the coupling between the two longitudinal profiled elements that make up the supporting post, i.e., in the example of
[0055]
[0056] In the embodiment of
[0057]
[0058] Ultimately, each module 100 of the adaptable modular railing, made according to the teachings of the invention, can be composed, almost entirely, with profiled elements (therefore, potentially, low cost elements) connected together with very simple constraints that do not require the interposition of joining elements to make the adjustments with the required degrees of freedom.
[0059] Therefore, the embodiments described with the help of
[0060] And for the construction of this fence, only a limited number of types of identical elements can be used, achievable with industrial scale economies (without resorting to any custom-made element) and adopting very efficient industrial processes such as the manufacture of profiled elements.
[0061] It is worth underlining, at this point, how the modular railing according to the teachings of the present invention is very simple to be assembled; therefore, various supply methods may be envisaged for installation. The individual modules can be pre-assembled (totally or partially), so that the installation provides only to fix them to the ground and to each other (with few other finishing operations), or a supply can be provided in which the assembly of the modules themselves must be carried out on site.
[0062] It is evident that a preventive pre-assembly speeds up the installation operations, while the assembly on site allows the packaging to be made more compact, and the supply logistics simpler. What is important to underline is that the modular railing according to the teachings of the present invention lends itself to making significant optimizations to the entire industrial process: from the construction of the railing in the factory to its installation, until the finished work.
[0063]
[0064] As already repeatedly said, these supporting posts 110 must be capable of being installed on floors of various slopes, and their fixing to the ground can be achieved in many ways; the way shown in
[0065] Furthermore, on the upper part of said plate 113 there are protruding elements, indicated with the number 114, arranged to bolt the base of the longitudinal profiled element 111 (i.e. the so-called external longitudinal element of the supporting post 110), so as to being able to adjust the fixing angle to maintain the verticality of the supporting post 110. Ground fixing by bolting is a very typical fixing method for supporting posts; obviously this is not a detail that confers inventive level to the invention, but is mentioned in the present description for completeness reasons, and to highlight how also the ground fixing can be performed with simple elements, in line with the aims of the invention.
[0066]
[0067]
[0068]
[0069]
[0070]
[0071]
[0072] Inside the circle, indicated with the number 133, an enlargement of one end of the lower horizontal bar 130 is shown when the two elements 131 and 132 are coupled together. Said lower horizontal bar 130 looks like a tubular element, internally hollow, with a series of substantially equally spaced slots facing upwards, so that, when the vertical rods 140 are inserted inside, the end of the latter remains housed at the inside the horizontal bar 130.
[0073] The enlargement proposed in the circle 133 also highlights a hole, indicated with the number 134 placed at the end of the horizontal bar 130. Said hole 134, in the embodiment considered in
[0074] The other
[0075] First, it is observed that when the two lower and upper elements 131 and 132 are coupled, they give rise to an internally hollow single body. The internal cavity of this lower horizontal bar can be used to insert other filling elements, with the function of keeping the vertical rods 140 stationary which, due to the tolerance between the rods and the slots could be subjected to undesired vibrations. In fact, vibrations could be transmitted from the ground (for example in the railings installed at the edge of a road) or determined by the wind (since these are railings installed outdoors).
[0076] These filling elements can be made of materials similar to those of the elements 131 and 132, or even with materials which do not offer particular mechanical strength, such as for example plastic or rubbery materials, or other types of materials.
[0077] The embodiments presented in
[0078]
[0079] After reviewing the main building blocks of a modular railing according to the invention, it is easy to conclude that it largely meets all the scopes for which it was conceived. In fact, it has been seen that all the constituent elements are of very simple workmanship: in fact, few types of profiled elements are used, and each type is made of equal elements to or attributable to a few models, just to vary the aesthetic rendering. For example, some variants of vertical rods, or few variants of handrails or supporting posts can be conceived.
[0080] Even the requirement to have a “railing system” in which the aesthetic aspect is sufficiently cared for, is therefore adequately satisfied by the solutions taught in the proposed invention.
[0081] Another aspect of great importance consists in the fact that no custom-made parts are required: this is possible since the modules adapt to any type of terrain and fence path. At most, it may be necessary to cut the horizontal bars of the terminal modules, to accurately adjust the overall length of the railing, but this is such a simple operation that it can be certainly performed on site, without causing any kind of difficulty.
[0082] In general, it can be said that the adaptable modules 100 to make a railing according to the invention, are suitable for numerous implementation variants. These may depend not only on aspects concerning the individual components of the system, such as the coupling mechanisms between the various elements, or on the use of additional elements, in addition to the essential ones that have been indicated in this description, but also on the possibility of using a large variety of materials. In fact, the materials do not constitute characterizing prerogatives of the invention which, moreover, adapts to the construction of railings with very different strength requirements: therefore, to make each individual part of the system, many materials can be used indeed, ranging from metallic materials to plastic ones, up to conceive railings made of different materials.
[0083] Depending on the implementation cases, these variants can offer further advantages compared to those already mentioned, and can be implemented by the man skilled in the art without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as can be understood from the present description and from the attached claims.
[0084] Therefore, each variant of a railing adaptable to any terrain and any path of fencing that presents the essential characteristics indicated in the main claim, must be considered a different implementation of the same invention, without thereby altering the principles and the inventive nature which inspired the invention itself.
[0085] Furthermore, the invention can be partially implemented, just as it can be enriched with additional accessory elements. It does not escape, in fact, that the railing according to the invention can be enriched with devices specifically oriented to the implementation of particular installation methodologies.
[0086] Or, the adaptable modules 100 to make a railing according to the invention may evolve towards a greater emphasis for the automation of installation and/or maintenance, and it is possible to arrive at the definition of methods likely to become highly automated processes.
[0087] Therefore, the invention lends itself to incorporating and supporting further evolutionary efforts capable of improving the railing as a whole, but also of defining increasingly efficient installation and/or maintenance methodologies. Such developments, if not included in the present description, may be subject of further patent applications associated with the present invention.