Slot Rail Assembly

Abstract

The slot rail assembly, in combination with a rail portion, at least one baluster, at least one baluster connector, and a lateral slot and at least one spacer is disclosed and claimed. The baluster may be slid distally along a lateral slot to accommodate the pitch or slope of incline or decline addressed. Lateral movement of the balusters within the lateral slot and change in relative angle of the baluster in relation to the rail portion allows the balusters to stay “plumb” no matter what the pitch of the stairs may be. At least one spacer may be snapped into place to fix the horizontal position of the balusters and to provide a seal against ingress of debris and moisture into the lateral slot. The slot rail assembly may be deployed as a stair rail, a stairway or an improved connection system for balusters and stair rails.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61 / 011,304 filed on Jan. 16, 2008 which is incorporated by reference herein.FIELD OF INVENTION[0002]This invention relates generally to a stair rail system for stairs that includes a pivoting supporting device allowing for adjustment of the angle of the balusters and the like, and, more particularly, the stair rail system allows slideable adjustment of the variable angle balusters to used between the rail and a set of steps or between the hand and foot rails of a staircase assembly.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0003]No federal funds were used to develop or create the invention disclosed and described in the patent application.REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX[0004]Not ApplicableAUTHORIZATION PURSUANT TO 37 C.F.R. §1.171(d)(c)[0005]A portion of the ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]Yet another object of the invention is to provide a stair rail assembly which allows an interlocking pivot device to slide along the lateral slot of the rail so that the stair rail assembly may be plumbed as necessary to the incline of the stairs while allowing the balusters to be positioned at or near vertical (in relation to the horizon or floor) and the open portions of the lateral slot to be covered and or protected using spacers which may be configured from pre-selected lengths or cut to length during assembly.

Problems solved by technology

Most difficult is to properly position the balusters in precise vertically extending relation along the incline portion of the staircase once the rail portions have been cut and positioned between the posts.

However, since the assembly pivots together and is in actuality an overall fixed assembly, installation still requires a great deal of skill and care, and therefore the assembly is less than desirable.

However, this approach was also disadvantageous since the baluster may slide within the recess after installation.

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