US 12,421,729 B2
Spiral staircase
Aaron Todd Francis, San Jose, CA (US); and John C McCune, San Martin, CA (US)
Filed by Aaron Todd Francis, San Jose, CA (US); and John C McCune, San Martin, CA (US)
Filed on Jun. 8, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/835,227.
Prior Publication US 2023/0399851 A1, Dec. 14, 2023
Int. Cl. E04F 11/04 (2006.01); E04F 11/032 (2006.01); E04F 11/18 (2006.01)
CPC E04F 11/04 (2013.01) [E04F 11/032 (2013.01); E04F 11/181 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A staircase for traversing between an upper floor and a lower floor, the staircase comprising:
a column having an upper end configured for positioning at the upper floor, a lower end configured for positioning at the lower floor, and an interior area;
a plurality of steps coupled to the column, wherein each step of the plurality of steps:
is coupled to the column and extends outside of, and away from, the column;
comprises a respective tread surface; and
is configured to move longitudinally along the column;
wherein the staircase is configured to transition to a plurality of states by an actuation system during operation, the plurality of states comprising a closed state and an opened state;
wherein the closed state comprises the plurality of steps positioned at the upper end of the column with the tread surfaces of the plurality of steps oriented around the upper end of the column and configured to be coplanar to a flooring surface of the upper floor;
wherein the opened state comprises the plurality of steps positioned at varying distances longitudinally along the column from the upper end towards the lower end so as to form spiraling steps around the column between the upper and lower floors; and
wherein the plurality of steps is configured to move longitudinally along the column for positioning in the closed and opened states; and
a lifting platform, wherein the lifting platform comprises:
a coupling portion for coupling to the actuation system, wherein the coupling portion is positioned in the interior area of the column;
a contacting portion for contacting and moving the plurality of steps longitudinally along the column, wherein the contacting portion is positioned outside of the column and below the plurality of steps; and
one or more spokes extending from the coupling portion to the contacting portion;
wherein each of the one or more spokes extend through the column; and
wherein the lifting platform is configured to move longitudinally along the column to contact and move the plurality of steps along the column.