METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENHANCING TRACTION ON STAIR TREADS

• US 20140318047A1
• Filed: 04/24/2014
• Published: 10/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brobbey Mensah
• Original Assignee: Brobbey Mensah
• Inventors: Mensah, Brobbey
• Granted Patent: US 9,121,186 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 52/179
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 11/166 with means for fixing a separate edging strip
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 11/17 Surfaces guard covers of stairs E04G21/30
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49963 Threaded fastener
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24008 including fastener for attaching to external surface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24331 including nonapertured component

Abstract

A traction element for carpeted stair treads or other flooring includes a deformable substrate secured by screws to the tread that is vertically aligned with the top edge of a riser and slightly rearward of the tread leading edge. The substrate is covered with adhesive backed friction tape. The screws extend through respective apertures centered in respective concave tapered annular recesses defined in the substrate. The apertures are in a linear array defining a bend axis along the substrate length and the tread width and about which the substrate deforms as it is being threadedly attached to the tread. When thusly bent the substrate top surface becomes concave such that its forward edge is higher than its rearward edge, thereby establishing a slight forwardly extending incline. The tape strip conforms to the bent substrate and its exposed top surface comprises a high friction or abrasive substance.

Claims

1. A kit for assembling and installing traction elements on flooring comprising:

a plurality of long narrow support substrates of solid deformable metal or plastic material, each support substrate having top and bottom surfaces, forward and rearward mutually parallel edges, and first and second ends, each support substrate having a length dimension extending between said first and second ends, a predetermined width dimension very much smaller than said length dimension extending between said forward and rearward edges, and a thickness dimension defined between said top and bottom surfaces, wherein said thickness dimension is sufficiently small to permit bending deformation about a longitudinal bending axis of said support substrate, each support substrate having a linear array of longitudinally spaced screw-receiving apertures of predetermined diameter defined therethrough, said linear array defining said bending axis and extending substantially parallel to said forward and rearward edges at a widthwise location closer to said rearward edge than to said forward edge, each aperture being substantially centered in a respective concave tapered annular recess defined in said top surface and forming a convex protrusion in said bottom surface; and

friction tape having a bottom surface covered with an adhesive material capable of adhering the friction tape bottom surface to the material of said support substrates, and a top surface comprising an abrasive substance having a much higher friction than that of said support substrate, said adhesive material on said bottom surface of said friction tape being covered with a peel-off protective backing strip, said friction tape having a width dimension substantially equal to the width dimension of said support substrates, wherein the friction tape is configured to overlie, cover, conform to and have its bottom surface adhere to the top surface of said support substrates.

2. The kit of claim 1 wherein said friction tape is in a roll suitable to be cut into strips configured to overlie, cover and have its bottom surface adhere to the top surface of a respective support substrate.

3. The kit of claim 1 wherein said friction tape is a plurality of friction tape strips equal in number to at least the number of support substrates in said plurality of support substrates, wherein each friction tape strip is configured to overlie, cover and have its bottom surface adhere to the top surface of a respective support substrate to provide a traction element.

4. The kit of claim 3 further comprising multiple screws equal in number to at least all of the screw-receiving apertures in said plurality of support substrates, each screw having a head diameter larger than the predetermined diameter of said screw-receiving apertures and configured to be disposed entirely below the top surface of a support substrate when that screw is extended lengthwise entirely through one of said screw-receiving apertures.

5. The kit of claim 4 wherein each of said screws has a threaded shaft and a flat head with a tapered section configured to reside in the tapered annular recess surrounding a respective screw-receiving aperture.

6. The kit of claim 3 wherein said friction tape strips have a predetermined length corresponding to the predetermined length of said support substrates.

7. The kit of claim 6 wherein the flooring is carpet and wherein the coefficient of friction between said abrasive substance and rubber, leather and polymer shoe soles is high compared to the coefficient of friction between those shoe soles and nylon, polypropylene, acrylic, polyester, wool and cotton carpet materials under wet and dry conditions.

8. The kit of claim 7 wherein the coefficient of friction between said abrasive substance and rubber, leather and polymer shoe soles is greater than 1.0.

9. The kit of claim 1 further comprising multiple screws equal in number to at least all of the screw-receiving apertures in said plurality of support substrates, each screw having a head diameter larger than the predetermined diameter of said screw-receiving apertures and configured to be disposed entirely below the top surface of a support substrate when that screw is extended length wise through one of said screw-receiving apertures, and wherein each of said screws has a threaded shaft and a flat head with a tapered section configured to reside in a respective screw-receiving aperture.

10. The kit of claim 1 wherein the flooring is a carpeted stair tread and wherein each support substrate is configures with said material and thickness such that when screws are fully and tightly extended through the screw receiving apertures and threadedly engage a top edge of a stair riser with carpet material disposed between the bottom surface of the substrate and the riser, the substrate is bent about said bending axis such that its top surface is concave with a portion of the substrate forward of the bending axis slightly inclined such that the substrate forward edge is higher than the substrate rearward edge.

11. A system of traction elements for resisting slippage between a person'"'"'s shoe outsole and a carpeted stairway that includes a series of horizontal carpeted stair treads interconnected by vertical risers, each stair tread having a forward tread edge secured to a top edge of first riser and a rearward tread edge secured to the second riser, said system comprising:

a plurality of long narrow support substrates of solid deformable metal or plastic material, each support substrate secured to a respective stair tread at a location spaced rearwardly from the forward tread edge and directly above the top edge of said first riser, each support substrate having top and bottom substrate surfaces, forward and rearward mutually parallel substrate edges, and first and second substrate ends, each support substrate having a substrate length dimension extending between said first and second substrate ends, a predetermined substrate width dimension very much smaller than said substrate length dimension extending between said forward and rearward substrate edges, and a thickness dimension defined between said top and bottom substrate surfaces, wherein said substrate thickness dimension is sufficiently small to permit bending deformation of the substrate about a longitudinal bending axis, each support substrate having a linear array of longitudinally spaced screw-receiving apertures of predetermined diameter defined therethrough, said array defining said longitudinal bending axis and extending substantially parallel to said forward and rearward substrate edges at a location closer to said rearward substrate edge than said forward substrate edge, each aperture being substantially centered in a respective concave tapered annular recess defined in said top surface and forming a convex protrusion in said bottom surface; and

a plurality of friction tape strips, one for each support substrate, each tape strip having a strip bottom surface covered with an adhesive backing material adhering the friction tape strip bottom surface to a respective support substrate, and a strip top surface comprising an abrasive substance having a much higher coefficient of friction then that of said support substrate, said friction tape strips having a strip width dimension substantially equal to the substrate width dimension, wherein each friction tape strip overlies, covers and conforms to the top surface of a respective support substrate;

wherein each support substrate is secured to the top edge of said first riser by a plurality of screws extending entirely through respective ones of said screw receiving apertures into said top edge to compress carpet material therebetween and cause the support substrate to bend about said bending axis such that said top surface is concave and said forward edge is higher than said rearward edge.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein each of said screws has a head diameter larger than the predetermined diameter of said screw-receiving apertures and configured to be disposed entirely below the top surface of its support substrate when that screw is extended length wise through one of said screw-receiving apertures.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein each of said screws has a threaded shaft and a flat head with a tapered section configured to reside in tapered recess of a respective screw-receiving aperture.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the coefficient of friction between said abrasive substance and rubber, leather and polymer shoe soles is high compared to the coefficient of friction between those shoe soles and nylon, polypropylene, acrylic, polyester, wool and cotton carpet materials under wet and dry conditions.

15. The kit of claim 14 wherein the coefficient of friction between said abrasive substance and rubber, leather and polymer shoe soles is greater than 1.0.

16. A method of preventing slippage between an outsole of a person'"'"'s shoe and flooring, said method comprising:

installing respective friction tape strips on said flooring; and

providing said friction tape strips with a desired color by;

providing visual evidence, such as a photo or material swatch, of the desired color for said friction tape strips;

printing a photo of said evidence on adhesive-backed waterproof vinyl material;

laminating the printed photo with transparent or translucent friction material; and

cutting the laminated material into friction tape strips.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said flooring is a carpeted stairway that includes a series of horizontal carpeted stair treads interconnected by vertical risers, each stair tread having a forward tread edge secured to a top edge of first riser and a rearward tread edge secured to the second riser, and wherein said step of installing comprises:

installing respective friction tape strips along each stair tread at a linear location spaced rearwardly from the forward tread edge and directly above the top edge of said first riser;

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of installing comprises:

securing a long narrow support substrate of solid deformable metal or plastic material to said first tread at said linear location by inserting multiple screws through respective multiple apertures defined through said support substrate arranged in a linear array along the length of the support substrate, the linear array being closer to a rearward edge than a forward edge of the support substrate; and

attaching one of said adhesive backed strips in conforming and covering relation to the secured support substrate.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein:

the step of securing includes providing said apertures in respective tapered annular recesses in the top surface of the support substrate, and recessing the heads of said screws into said recesses such that the tops of the screw are below the top surface of the support substrate.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of securing includes bending and deforming the support substrate about a bending axis coaxial with said linear array such that the forward edge is raised to a horizontal level higher than said rearward edge.