Decorative railing assembly

Abstract

A railing assembly comprising at least one infill assembly formed from a top member, a bottom member and a barrier member extending between the top and bottom members. At least one post member is included having an upper support to engage the top member and a lower support to engage the bottom member. At least one of the upper support and the lower support is lockably engagable with the top member and the bottom member, respectively, to retain the at least one infill assembly on the at least one post. The assembly may also include a top rail adapted to lockably engage with the top member. The railing assembly provides a quickly constructed unit that does not require any fasteners to connect together the assembly components while still providing a rattle-free construction.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A railing assembly comprising:
 at least one infill assembly, each infill assembly comprising a top member, a bottom member and a barrier member extending between the top and bottom members;   at least one post member having an upper support to engage the top member and a lower support to engage the bottom member, at least one of the upper support and the lower support being lockably engagable with the top member and the bottom member, respectively, to retain the at least one infill assembly on the at least one post.   
     
     
         2 . The railing assembly of  claim 1  including a top rail adapted to lockably engage with one of the top member, the upper support and both the top member and the upper support. 
     
     
         3 . The railing assembly of  claim 1  wherein the upper support is a plate and the top member rests atop the plate. 
     
     
         4 . The railing assembly of  claim 3  in which the plate is generally rectangular and includes a channel to receive the top member. 
     
     
         5 . The railing assembly of  claim 3  in which the plate is formed from two portions extending from the post at an angle to each other to define a corner post for accommodating a pair of infill assemblies extending from the corner post at an angle to each other. 
     
     
         6 . The railing assembly of  claim 3  in which the barrier member comprises a plurality of barrier members arranged in spaced, parallel relationship between the top and bottom members, and the at least one post is dimensioned to fit between an adjacent pair of said plurality of barrier members. 
     
     
         7 . The railing assembly of  claim 6  in which the plate is dimensioned to span the distance between the adjacent pair of said plurality of barrier members to restrict movement of the top member with respect to the post. 
     
     
         8 . The railing assembly of  claim 1  in which the bottom member is interrupted along a length to define discontinuous portions of the bottom member separated by at least one opening to accommodate the at least one post. 
     
     
         9 . The railing assembly of  claim 8  in which the lower support of the at least one post comprises at least one support portion protruding from at least one side of the post to engage with one of the discontinuous portions of the bottom member. 
     
     
         10 . The railing assembly of  claim 9  in which the at least one support portion comprises two support portions with each support portion extending from opposite sides of the post to accommodate a straight section of infill assembly. 
     
     
         11 . The railing assembly of  claim 9  in which the at least one support portion comprises two support portions with each support portion extending from adjacent sides of the post to define a corner post between a pair of infill assemblies for accommodating a pair of infill assemblies extending from the corner post at an angle to each other. 
     
     
         12 . The railing assembly of  claim 1  in which the lower support is lockably engagable with the bottom member by a locking system comprising pairs of inter-engagable locking flanges on the bottom member and the lower support. 
     
     
         13 . The railing assembly of  claim 12  in which a first pair of flanges are formed on opposite sides of inner surfaces of the bottom member and a second pair of flanges are formed on opposite sides of the lower support such that the bottom member fits over the lower support for interlocking engagement between the first and second pairs of flanges. 
     
     
         14 . The railing assembly of  claim 1  in which the upper support is lockably engagable with the top member by a locking system comprising pairs of inter-engagable locking flanges on the top member and the upper support. 
     
     
         15 . The railing assembly of  claim 2  in which the top rail is lockably engagable with one of the top member and the upper place by a locking system comprising pairs of inter-engagable flanges on the top rail, the top member and the upper support. 
     
     
         16 . The railing assembly of  claim 15  in which a first pair of flanges are formed on opposite sides of inner surfaces of the top rail and a second pair of flanges are formed on opposite sides of the top member such that the top rail fits over top member for interlocking engagement between the first and second pairs of flanges. 
     
     
         17 . The railing assembly of  claim 1  in which the infill assembly, and the post member, are formed from one of aluminium, plastic, and composite material. 
     
     
         18 . The railing assembly of  2  in which the infill assembly, the post member, and the top rail are formed from one of aluminium, plastic, and composite material. 
     
     
         19 . The railing assembly of  claim 1  in which the at least one post includes a mounting structure for attachment of the at least one post to a surface. 
     
     
         20 . The railing assembly of  claim 1  in which the infill assembly comprises a plurality of pickets extending between top and bottom members. 
     
     
         21 . The railing assembly of  claim 20  in which the top and bottom members are formed with openings to receive ends of the plurality of pickets, the ends being welded to the members to form the infill assembly. 
     
     
         22 . The railing assembly of  claim 1  in which the infill assembly comprises at least one glass partition extending between top and bottom members. 
     
     
         23 . A railing assembly comprising:
 at least one infill assembly, each infill assembly comprising a top member, a bottom member and a barrier member extending between the top and bottom members;   at least one post member having an upper support to engage the top member and a lower support to engage the bottom member, at least one of the upper support and the lower support being lockably engagable with the top member and the bottom member, respectively, to retain the at least one infill assembly on the at least one post; and   a top rail adapted to lockably engage with the top member.   
     
     
         24 . The railing assembly of  23  in which the infill assembly, the post member, and the top rail are formed from one of aluminium, plastic, and composite material.