Stair tread non-skid treatment

Abstract

An improvement for a wood stair tread of the type having a generally transparent protective coating thereon, the improvement being a three dimensional pattern formed in a top surface of the stair tread to both improve footing and preserve the natural appearance of the wood forming the top surface of the tread.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/439,684 filed Jan. 13, 2003, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to the field of stairs, more particularly, to a stair tread, which is a horizontal member which is intended to be walked upon by humans in a staircase.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] In the past, various treatments have been utilized to provide a non-skid surface to stair treads. When such treads were made of hardwood, the natural attractiveness of the wood was often desired to be displayed for aesthetic purposes. Typically, a hard, generally transparent coating was applied to allow display of the natural wood finish of the stair parts, including the tread. Such finishes included varnishes and polyurethane coatings, which performed the display function, but resulted in a stair tread that had a relatively smooth surface to walk on, and which could result in sliding or skidding as it was trod upon. Such a smooth coated surface, while providing an aesthetically pleasing surface to look at, was somewhat less desirable as a surface to walk on, particularly when a person lacked shoes or other footwear that provided a sufficient coefficient of friction to establish firm footing as the stairs were traversed.

[0004] One solution to the slippery surface was to cover at least a central portion of the stair tread with a non-slip covering such as carpeting or adhesive-backed non-skid polymer strips. In a marine environment, it was known to add sand to varnish to provide a non-skid surface to walk on. However, each of these prior art attempts to provide a non-skid surface to a stair tread had shortcomings, particularly with respect to concealing the aesthetic appearance of the natural wood stair tread. The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a non-skid treatment to a stair tread without concealing the natural appearance of a stair tread made of wood.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] FIG. 1 shows a simplified fragmentary perspective view of a staircase having stair treads useful in the practice of the present invention.

[0006] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stair tread showing a first embodiment of the non-skid treatment of the present invention.

[0007] FIG. 3 is a section view taken along line 3-3 of the stair tread of FIG. 2.

[0008] FIGS. 4-27 show alternate embodiments of the non-skid treatment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Referring now to the Figures, and most particularly to FIG. 1, a staircase 10 may be seen. Staircase 10 has a plurality of steps 12, with each step formed by a horizontally oriented stair tread 14 and a vertically oriented riser 16. Steps 12 may be supported by a pair of stringers 18, (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1). A landing tread 20 may be used at the topmost end of the staircase.

[0010] Referring now also to FIGS. 2 and 3, a stair tread 14 formed of wood and showing one embodiment of the non-skid treatment may be seen. Tread 14 in FIGS. 2 and 3 has a three dimensional pattern 22 cut into or otherwise formed in the top surface 24 of the tread 14. In the embodiment shown, pattern 22 is a plurality of grooves 26 extending from the top surface 24 into the body 28 of the tread 14.

[0011] It is to be understood that other forms of the three dimensional pattern 22 may be used in the top surface 24 of the tread 14. Providing a three dimensional pattern 22 in the top surface 24 results in a top surface geometry that is not simply a plane surface, thus providing a somewhat textured top surface 24 for tread 14. This non-skid treatment results in contours in the top surface 24 which will provide a gripping action for persons walking on the stair treads 14 to reduce the chance of slipping. At the same time the surface finish of the stair tread may still be a hard, smooth, generally transparent coating such as varnish, polyurethane or the like. Using the non-skid treatment of this invention along with one of the conventional coatings mentioned will permit the natural appearance of the wood of the tread to remain visible in an aesthetically pleasing manner, while the three dimensional pattern 22 improves the footing on the tread, and may provide an additional aesthetically pleasing design element to the appearance of the stair tread.

[0012] The invention is thus seen to be a wood stair tread having a three dimensional pattern formed in the top surface thereof. The stair tread of the present invention may be coated with a generally transparent coating covering at least the top surface of the tread to permit the natural appearance of the wood to be visible.

[0013] Various forms of three dimensional patterns may be used in the practice of the present invention, provided that the top surface of the tread is other than a simple plane surface and improves the footing over that which would exist with a simple coated or finished plane surface.

[0014] Referring now to FIGS. 4 through 27, alternate embodiments of the non-skid treatment of the present invention may be seen. It is to be understood that the three dimensional patterns shown in FIGS. 4-27 are illustrative and not limiting, since the three dimensional pattern can take numerous forms in addition to those shown expressly herein. It is further to be understood that as used herein, “wood” for the stair tread is preferably, but not necessarily hardwood. The stair tread of the present invention may be made of wood other than hardwood, and may even be made of composite materials such as particle board or other compressed cellulose or other materials with a wood veneer for the top surface 24 into which the three dimensional pattern 22 is formed. The pattern 22 may be formed by saw or other machine cutting, or may be die cut when veneer is used. Alternatively, pattern 22 may be embossed or otherwise formed in top surface 24 of the tread 14.

[0015] This invention is not to be taken as limited to all of the details thereof as modifications and variations thereof may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims

1. In a wood stair tread of the type forming a generally horizontal member to be walked upon by humans in a staircase, the improvement in combination therewith comprising a three dimensional pattern in a top surface of the stair tread to provide improved footing of a human walking thereon.

2. The improved stair tread of claim 1 further comprising a generally transparent coating permitting the natural appearance of the wood to be displayed through the coating.

3. The improved stair tread of claim 1 wherein the three dimensional pattern comprises a plurality of geometric figures.

4. The improved stair tread of claim 1 wherein the three dimensional pattern comprises a repeating geometrical pattern.

5. The improved stair tread of claim 1 wherein the three dimensional pattern includes a plurality of grooves extending from the top surface into the body of the tread.