Decorative railing assembly for a building and methods for manufacturing same

Abstract

A decorative railing assembly for a building includes two end rails each having a longitudinal extent. A decorative panel formed of a single workpiece of material has a frame bordering a coplanar design pattern. The frame connects to the two end rails and has a length dimension shorter than the longitudinal extent of either of the two end rails. Terminal ends of the end rails attach perpendicularly or angularly between upstanding posts of the building yet the frame does not attach directly to the upstanding posts. In this manner, assembly of a house porch, for example, becomes greatly simplified. In other embodiments, the design pattern has a substantially symmetrical pattern about a centerline of the decorative panel. The centerline may extend substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of the two end rails. Methods for manufacturing the railing assembly are also disclosed.

1 . A railing assembly for a building, comprising: 
 two end rails each having a longitudinal extent with comparable dimensions; and    a decorative panel connected between said two end rails having a frame juxtaposed said end rails and bordering a design pattern.    
   
   
       2 . The railing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said decorative panel comprises a single workpiece of material.  
   
   
       3 . The railing assembly of  claim 2 , wherein said frame is a partial frame.  
   
   
       4 . The railing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said frame borders said design pattern on a top, a bottom, a left and a right side thereof.  
   
   
       5 . The railing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said frame juxtaposes said two end rails for nearly an entirety of said longitudinal extent, said frame having a length dimension shorter than said longitudinal extent of either of said two end rails.  
   
   
       6 . The railing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said longitudinal extent is not-to-exceed about 8 feet long.  
   
   
       7 . The railing assembly of  claim 1 , further including a plurality of posts attached to terminal ends of each of said two end rails, said posts not attached to said frame.  
   
   
       8 . The railing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said design pattern has a substantially symmetrical pattern about a centerline of said decorative panel.  
   
   
       9 . The railing assembly of  claim 8 , wherein said centerline extends substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal extent.  
   
   
       10 . The railing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said frame connects substantially perpendicularly to said two end rails.  
   
   
       11 . A railing assembly for a building, comprising: 
 two end rails each having a longitudinal extent; and    a decorative panel connected between said two end rails having a design pattern and a partial frame with at least two edges each juxtaposed and substantially parallel to an entirety of said longitudinal extent of one of said end rails, said at least two edges each having a length dimension shorter than said longitudinal extent of either of said two end rails.    
   
   
       12 . The railing assembly of  claim 11 , wherein said decorative panel comprises a single workpiece of material.  
   
   
       13 . The railing assembly of  claim 11 , including a plurality of posts attached to terminal ends of each of said two end rails, said posts not attached to said partial frame.  
   
   
       14 . The railing assembly of  claim 11 , wherein said longitudinal extent is not-to-exceed about 8 feet.  
   
   
       15 . The railing assembly of  claim 11 , wherein said design pattern has a substantially symmetrical pattern about a centerline of said decorative panel.  
   
   
       16 . The railing assembly of  claim 11 , wherein said partial frame connects substantially perpendicularly to said end rails.  
   
   
       17 . A building, comprising: 
 a plurality of upstanding posts; and    a plurality of decorative panels, wherein a single decorative panel exclusively exists between two of said plurality of upstanding posts and each of said plurality of decorative panels is formed of a unitary workpiece cut to define a frame and a design pattern.    
   
   
       18 . The building of  claim 17 , further including a plurality of end rails, said each of said plurality of decorative panels are attached to two of said plurality of end rails, said plurality of upstanding posts attaching to terminal ends of said plurality of end rails, said plurality of upstanding posts not attaching to said frame.  
   
   
       19 . The building of  claim 18 , wherein said plurality of upstanding posts are each substantially parallel and are separated by about 8 feet, said terminal ends attaching substantially perpendicularly to said plurality of upstanding posts.  
   
   
       20 . A railing assembly for a building, comprising: 
 two end rails each having a longitudinal extent of not-to-exceed about 8 feet;    a decorative panel formed of a single workpiece of material connected between said two end rails and having a frame juxtaposed said end rails and bordering a substantially coplanar design pattern, said frame having a length dimension shorter than said longitudinal extent of either of said two end rails, said design pattern having a substantially symmetrical pattern about a centerline of said decorative panel wherein said centerline extends substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal extent.    
   
   
       21 . The railing assembly of  claim 20 , wherein said single workpiece is a fiberboard.  
   
   
       22 . The railing assembly of  claim 20 , further including a plurality of upstanding posts attached to terminal ends of each of said two end rails, said upstanding posts not attached to said frame.  
   
   
       23 . A method of manufacturing a railing assembly for a building, comprising: 
 providing a single workpiece of material;    cutting a design pattern into said single workpiece such that a frame remains substantially coplanar about said design pattern;    attaching two end rails to said frame, each of said two end rails having a longitudinal extent longer than a length of said frame, said frame being juxtaposed said end rails for nearly an entire length of said longitudinal extent.    
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein said cutting further includes routing said design pattern into a substantially symmetrical pattern about a centerline of said frame, said centerline extending substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal extent.  
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 23 , further including attaching terminal ends of each of said two end rails to a plurality of upstanding posts, said upstanding posts not attaching to said frame.  
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein said attaching said terminal ends further includes attaching said terminal ends substantially perpendicularly to said plurality of upstanding posts.