Cable rail with serpentine cable
A cable railing assembly having a plurality of posts, an expandable cable guide assembly, and a tensioning apparatus, and a method of assembling the cable railing assembly. The expandable cable guide assembly includes a pair of cable braces with a cable extending in a serpentine fashion between the cable braces. The tensioning apparatus includes a tensioner base, a tensioner body, a compression spring positioned between the tensioner base and the tensioner body, a movable carriage slidably mounted adjacent the tensioner body and comprising a cable clamp for gripping the cable, and a threaded adjuster secured to the body and operative for moving the movable carriage along the body.
1 . A cable-style railing apparatus comprising:
a pair of spaced-apart upright posts and having a plurality of cable returns;
a cable extending in a serpentine fashion between the upright posts and threaded around the cable returns such that multiple portions of the cable each span between the upright posts; and
a tensioning device comprising a threaded adjuster and a compression spring and wherein turning the threaded adjuster to a predetermined extent comprises turning the threaded adjuster until the compression spring is compressed a predetermined amount, and wherein with substantially no tension in the cable a visible gap is present between two portions of the tensioning device and wherein the compression spring is compressed the predetermined amount when the threaded adjuster is turned until the visible gap is eliminated between the two portions of the tensioning device.
2 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cable returns comprises a plurality of rollers.
3 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cable returns comprises a plurality of pulleys.
4 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cable returns comprises a plurality of curved non-rotating cable guides.
5 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the plurality of curved non-rotating cable guides comprises low-friction polymer guides.
6 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cable is affixed at one end to one of the upright posts and the opposite end of the cable is attached to the tensioning device.
7 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a second tensioning device and wherein the cable is attached at one end to one of the tensioning devices and the opposite end of the cable is attached to the second tensioning device.
8 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a rigid beam extending between the upright posts and in contact with upper portions of the upright posts such that as the cable is tensioned by the tensioning device, the rigid beam keeps the upper portions of the upright posts a predetermined distance apart from one another.
9 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the rigid beam defines a channel therein and the tensioning device is housed within the channel of the rigid beam.
10 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the rigid beam or the posts include supports for supporting the rigid beam at the posts until the tensioning device is used to develop tension in the cable and thereby clamp the rigid beam between upright posts.
11 . A cable-style railing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the tensioning device comprises a body portion and a base portion and the visible gap is present between the body and base portions in the pre-tensioned state and no visible gap is present between the body and base portions in the tensioned state.
12 . A cable-style railing apparatus comprising:
a pair of posts having a plurality of cable returns;
a cable extending in a serpentine fashion between the posts and threaded around the cable returns such that multiple portions of the cable each span between the posts; and
a tensioning device for tensioning the cable, the tensioning device comprising:
a tensioner body,
a movable carriage slidably mounted adjacent the tensioner body,
a threaded adjuster for moving the movable carriage, and
a compression spring between a base portion and the tensioner body for biasing the tensioner away from the base portion;
wherein the tensioner body, movable carriage, and threaded adjuster are configured and adapted such that a predetermined tensile force can be developed in the cable simply by turning the threaded adjuster to a predetermined extent.
13 . A cable tensioning apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the base portion has a cable bore for receiving the cable therethrough and the cable can extend through the compression spring and into the cable clamp of the movable carriage.
14 . A cable tensioning apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein when the threaded adjuster is turned enough that the spring is compressed between the tensioner body and the base portion to such an extent that the tensioner body is brought into close contact with the base portion, a predetermined amount of tension force is developed in the cable.
15 . A cable tensioning apparatus as claimed in claim 12 , wherein turning the threaded adjuster to the predetermined extent compresses the compression spring a predetermined amount, resulting in a predetermined tension force in the cable.
16 . A cable tensioning apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the compression spring has a spring rate of between about 150 pounds per inch and about 700 pounds per inch.
17 . A cable tensioning apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein compression spring has a spring rate of about 500 pounds per inch.