FR2960579A1 - Retractable step device for use in room i.e. auditorium, to configure e.g. step, in room, has retracting unit deploying armchair such that floor primarily extends in back part of armchair in deployed position of armchair - Google Patents

Abstract

The device (1) has a floor (11) forming a lid above a lintel. A retracting unit (14) i.e. spiralift(RTM: platform lift system) type retracting unit, retracts an armchair (2) in the lintel and deploys the armchair such that the floor primarily extends in a back part of the armchair in a deployed position of the armchair. The armchair is provided with a base (16) and a backrest (17) carried by posts (18) and arranged such that the posts are off-set horizontally beyond the lintel in the deployed position of the armchair. An independent claim is also included for a retractable step system comprising a configuration changing unit.

Description

The present invention relates to the field of theaters, particularly theaters of variable configuration, modular and versatile. In order to ensure a good profitability of a theater, it is important that it has the greatest possible versatility. Several solutions exist to ensure the versatility of a room, especially by means of retractable steps, which allow, when retracted, to release a large, uniformly horizontal floor area, which can be used for banquets, as dance floor or for an exhibition. In the first case, the steps are folded against a wall of the room, but this requires large structures, difficult to handle, which even folded occupy a large area of the room. In a second case, the stands are folded under the floor of the room, which allows to release substantially the entire possible area. Among the solutions of the second case, there is a first solution 25 in which the chairs of the stands are folded vertically under the floor, and a second solution, in which the chairs of the stands are folded horizontally under the floor. The first of these solutions involves large deflections to fold the chairs and a large depth available under the floor, so expensive infrastructure. The second of the solutions imposes a distance between the rows of armchairs approximately 1m20, corresponding substantially to the height of the armchairs. However, a distance of about 1m between two rows is sufficient. This second solution therefore implies an operating loss of nearly 20% in a configuration where the steps are used, compared to a solution of fixed steps. The object of the invention is to propose a device and a method which are simple to implement and which make it possible in particular to ensure great versatility and good profitability, with minimal infrastructures. According to a first object of the invention, such a retractable step device is characterized in that it comprises at least one chair, a trunk, floor means for forming a cover above the trunk, means for retracting each chair in said chest, and, to deploy said chair, so that in the deployed position of said chair, the floor extends essentially in the back of said chair. The chair may comprise a seat and a back supported by uprights, arranged so that, in the unfolded position of the chair, the uprights are deported horizontally beyond the chest. Advantageously, the device comprises means, preferably spiraliftTM type or equivalent, to raise the trunk. Advantageously also, the same retraction means are provided for simultaneously manipulating a pair of chairs of the same rank. Just as advantageously, a chest can be provided to retract four armchairs of the same rank. The retraction means may comprise a hinge part 25 rigidly attached to a respective chair, said part being articulated in rotation about an axis carried by an upper part of the corresponding trunk, in front of this trunk. These retraction means may further comprise a toggle joint hinged between the hinge and a bottom of the trunk, and cylinder means, preferably electric, to drive the toggle. The device may also include jack means for raising the floor.

Advantageously, the device may comprise two chests, one of the chests being of a rank immediately greater than the rank of the other trunk, and means for elevating the trunk of higher rank relative to the other. The device may further comprise, under the chests, a compartment adapted to house furniture. It can be adapted to allow the furniture to slip on a nearby floor, especially on the floor of a neighboring device.

The invention also relates to a system of retractable steps, characterized in that it comprises several devices according to the invention. This system may include means for automatically changing configuration.

The invention also relates to a room equipped with such a system of

15 retractable steps. Such a room may comprise an orchestra pit, a floor of which is formed by at least one device according to the invention.

The invention also relates to the use of a step system according to the invention.

A first use may be in a configuration in which the chairs are retracted and the floors of the devices together form a single floor.

A second use may be in a stepped configuration, in which chairs are deployed and in which each row is higher than a lower row, if it exists, and lower than a higher row, if

25 exists.

A third use may be in a cabaret configuration, in which the chairs are retracted and in which pairs of chests of adjacent ranks form the same floor, the floors of successive pairs together forming steps.

A fourth use may be in an exhibition configuration, in which the armchairs are retracted and in which first chests together form a floor for the circulation of visitors around second chests arranged higher than the first chests. Several embodiments of the invention will be described below, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a device according to the invention, comprising two rows of seats, in deployed position; FIG. 2 is a partial view of the device of FIG. 1, to which an armchair is shown in a retracted position; FIGS. 3 to 6 are diagrammatic and sectional views of four possible configurations for the same room equipped with the device of FIG. 1; - Figure 7 is a view similar to the previous, wherein the room is equipped with a retractable orchestra pit; FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, in which a device according to the invention further comprises, under the rows of armchairs, compartments for storing tables and chairs, for use in a configuration cabaret of the hall; and FIG. 9 illustrates a method of implementing the cabaret configuration for the room illustrated in FIG. 8. In all of the figures, a scene is assumed to be on the right, so that steps formed by a device according to the invention are provided to rise as one goes to the left of each figure. Figure 1 illustrates a device 1 according to the invention. In the illustrated example, the device 1 comprises a first row A, and a second row B. Each row comprises four retractable armchairs 2, 2A, 2B. Thus, each device 1 comprises eight chairs. Only an armchair of each rank, seen in profile, is represented in the figures. The letters, arranged in index of references, represent the rank of each armchair. By convention, a lower index rank A is considered to be the lowest rank in the tiers 30 with respect to a higher index rank B.

Each row of four seats 12 is carried by a respective frame 3. A substantially parallelepipedal box 5, formed on each frame, is provided for folding the seats 2 of its rank, as particularly illustrated in Figure 2.

The two chassis 3A, 3B of the same device 1 are themselves carried by a lift 4. The elevator 4 comprises a horizontal structure 6 on which the chassis and elevation means 7 rest. In the example, the horizontal structure in the form of a plate 6 and the elevation means are cylinders type spiraliftTM or equivalent 7. The spiralifts are well known io people performing, because they allow to lift heavy loads on high heights while having a reduced h7 footprint (see Figure 3) in their folded position. The frame 3A of the first rank A is rigidly fixed on the plate 6. Elevation means 8 are arranged so as to create a raised portion H8 of the frame 3B relative to the frame 3A. In a fully folded position, the raising means 8 are retracted into the thickness of the plate 8 and the chassis 3B. In the illustrated example, the raising means are scissor arms and driven by a screw jack driven by an electric motor (not shown in the figures). In FIG. 1, the elevation means are symbolically represented by a cross. In the illustrated example, the elevation H8 has the value of a step, ie between 15 and 20 cm, preferably 16 or 17 cm. The boxes 3A and 3B are mounted so that they are substantially contiguous and that they slide freely relative to each other. Each box 5 is provided with a cover 11 articulated on the upper edge of a rear face 12 of the box 5. The lid is moved by a jack 13, preferably electric, between an open position, illustrated in FIG. the trunk lid 3B of the upper row B, and a closed position, illustrated in the same figure 1 by the trunk lid 3A of the lower row A and dashed in the upper row. In its closed position the lid is adapted to allow the movement of people, spectators or actors. A retraction mechanism 14 makes it possible to deploy the chair 2 in a position illustrated in FIG. 1 or to fold it inside its trunk 3, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The same retraction mechanism is provided for handle two chairs simultaneously, and is arranged between these two chairs. The chairs 2 are of a type whose seat 16 is foldable against the backrest 17 when no pressure is exerted. The seat 16 and the backrest 17 are hingedly mounted on side jambs 18. When the chair 12 is deployed, the legs 18 are substantially vertical. In the folded position, as illustrated in the lower row A, the backrest is straightened so as to be substantially in the extension of the jambs 18 and lowered by a part 19 on which it is articulated, so as to further reduce the space requirement. of the chair 2. A lower end of each leg 18 is rigidly fixed to a first end 21A of a piece 21, shaped "V", forming a hinge and articulated about a horizontal retraction axis X21. The retraction axis X21 is carried by an upright 22 of the frame 3, close to an upper end of this upright 22. The retraction mechanism 14 comprises a toggle joint 23. The toggle 23 comprises a training bar 24 and a connecting bar 26. A first end of the drive bar 24 is hinged at the bottom of the frame, on a yoke 27, about a horizontal and transverse axis 25 X24. A first end of the connecting bar 26 is articulated in rotation to the hinge piece 21, about a connecting axis X26. In side view, as shown in the figures, the first end 21A of the hinge piece and the connecting pin X26 are each borne by the end of a respective branch of the "V" whose retraction axis X21 is the tip.

A second end of the drive bar 24 and a second end of the connecting bar 26 are hinged together about a common axis X46. A cylinder 28, preferably electric, allows to drive the knee and, consequently, to retract and deploy the chairs. This jack is hinged, on the one hand to a yoke 28A, on the lower part of the frame 3, and on the other hand to a handle 29 formed on the drive bar 24. The handle 29 is disposed on the bar drive 24 between its ends. The yoke 28A of the jack 28 is disposed behind the yoke 27 of the drive bar 24. Thus, an extension of the jack 10 causes the retraction of the respective seats 2, and a retraction of the jack allows the deployment of the chairs. A stop 25, fixed on the frame 3, makes it possible to limit the rotation of the drive bar 24 towards the rear. In its abutment position, the bars 24, 26 are beyond a plane defined by the X24 and X26 axes, so that the chair is in a stable position, without the risk of retreating under the weight of a spectator. In Figure 2, the amount 22 is only partially represent, in order to reveal the entire retraction device, in the retracted position. In the deployed position, the plumb of the front of the seat 16 of each chair 2 is at the front of the box, so that the feet of a sitting spectator rest on the floor 11 of the lower row, when 'it exists. In other words, the corresponding box 5 is disposed in the back of the chair 2. As a result, a height H2 armchairs, lower than in the devices of the prior art, is compensated by the elevation H8; the height H2 being measured between the bottom 25 of an upright 18 and the top of the back of a chair in the folded position of the chair 2A of FIG. 1. The length L5 of the boxes 5, necessary to accommodate a retracted armchair 2 in the horizontal position can therefore be reduced by about the value of the extension H8. Thus, in the example illustrated, H8 = 18cm and L5 = 1m. The distance L5 between two rows is optimized, as well as the capacity of the room equipped with such devices according to the invention. In addition, the uprights 22 being deported to the front of the trunk, and the hinge piece 21 through the trunk by its front face, the uprights do not cross the floor 11. Thus, no drilling, orifice or notch is necessary to passage of uprights 22 in the floor 11. Such a configuration is particularly advantageous, both for the safety of the audience, as for the aesthetics of the room. Figures 3 to 6 illustrate three configurations of the same room io equipped with devices 1 according to the invention. Such a room system 30 according to the invention comprises a substantially horizontal floor 31 and a scene 32 raised relative to the floor 31. A pit 33 is dug without the floor 31 to accommodate the devices 1. The figures are side views, and six devices 1 are represented one behind the other, constituting twelve rows Al, B1-A6, B6 of 15 chairs 2. Of course, several other devices can be arranged on either side of the devices shown, so to constitute rows of more than four chairs. The depth H33 of the pit 33 is designed so that, in the low position of the devices 1, the floors 11 can be arranged in the same horizontal plane as the floor 31, as particularly illustrated in FIG. 3. In addition, in this Figure 3, the chairs, not shown, are all retracted in their respective chest 5. Thus, the floors 11 constitute, with the floor 31, a continuous horizontal surface which can in particular be used as a dance floor.

FIG. 4 illustrates a second stepped configuration for room 30. In this configuration, devices 1 are arranged such that each row A1, B1-A6, B6 is shifted from the ranks immediately adjacent to a height H8. Thus, each plate 6 is separated from its neighbors of lower or higher rank, a height equal to twice H8. Each upper row B 1- B6 is elevated by the height H8 relative to the corresponding lower row A1-B1. The chairs are shown deployed at the front of their respective boxes. Except for rows A1 and B3, the seats are shown sitting down for clarity. Of course, when no one is sitting on a seat, this seat is intended to be folded against its respective file, so as to facilitate movement between the rows of chairs, as illustrated in the first row Al and sixth row B3 . Figure 5 illustrates a third configuration, called cabaret configuration, wherein the chairs are folded into their respective boxes. In addition, the chests of the same device 1 are at the same level, so that the floor 11 of each upper row B 1, B 6 is at the same level as the floor 11 of the immediately lower row A1, A 6 supported by the same plate. 6. Each plate is in turn shifted Thus, each plate 6 is separated from its neighbors of lower or higher rank, a height equal to twice 118, as in the case of the stepped configuration. Thus, each device 1 is adapted to support a row of tables 36 and corresponding chairs 37, so that guests can be seated while comfortably attending a show that takes place on stage 32. FIG. fourth configuration of the room 30, said exposure configuration, in which first devices 1, 1A are raised so that their floor 11 is above the general level of the ground 31, and thus offers a surface for exposing objects to Visibility height of visitors 33. Second devices 1.1Y are in a low position, their floor 11 being at the general level of the ground 31, so that their floor allows a circulation of visitors 33 within the exhibition.

Figure 7 shows a room 40 which differs from room 30 previously described in that it comprises an orchestra pit 41 equipped with a device 42 according to the invention. The device 42 differs from the device described above in that it comprises three rows A, B, C corresponding boxes and retractable chairs (not shown in the figure). In a pit configuration 42A, the caissons are arranged at the bottom of the pit, so that they constitute a floor 11 on which an orchestra can take place in the pit 41. In an intermediate configuration 42B, the floor 11 5 of the pit device 42 is disposed at the same level as the ground 31. In this position, the device 42 makes it possible to enlarge the capacity of the room 40, either by adding three rows A, B, C of additional seats, or by extending the floor 31 to the stage 42. Advantageously, the three rows A, B, C can be raised relative to each other, out that in the intermediate position, the chairs can extend the steps. In a scene configuration 42C, the floor 11 of the pit device 42 is disposed at the same level as the scene 32. Thus, the scene is extended forward, and can accommodate larger shows. FIG. 8 represents a room 50 which differs from the room 40 previously described in that the devices 51 according to the invention comprise compartments 52, arranged between a lower plate 6A, resting on the spiralifts 4 and an upper plate 6B supporting the caissons 5. Such compartments are adapted to house room equipment, particularly 36 tables and chairs 37 used in a cabaret configuration. Advantageously, the chests 5 and the upper trays 6B are designed to provide a fire barrier, for example two hours, to prevent transmission too fast, chairs 2 stepped, a fire that would declare in a compartment 52. FIG. 9 particularly illustrates a method for extracting the room furniture 36, 37 from the compartments 52, in order to arrange this furniture on the floors 11 of the devices 51. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, four devices 51 are represented, indexed 51A to 51D, from right to left, the first device 51A being against a scene 32. All the chairs 2 are retracted, inside their respective boxes 5, so that the floors 2960579 -11 - 11 are free to receive tables 36 and chairs 37, in a cabaret configuration. The first device 51A is shown in its lower position, table and chairs are still stored in the corresponding compartment 52C. The fourth device 51D is in its use position in a cabaret configuration. Table 36.37, previously extracted from the compartment 52C of the adjacent device 51C, are disposed on its floor 11. This floor 11 has been raised to a level ND. The third device 51C is in the low position. The second device 51B has been raised and its lower plate 6A is at the same level as the floor 11 of the third device 51C, so that chairs 37 and a table 36 can be shifted from their compartment 52B to the floor 11 of the third 51C device. The same operation can be repeated between the first device 51A and the second device 51B. As the tables and chairs are put in place, the devices 51A-51D are raised to their respective levels NA-ND, so that: ND-NC = NC-NB = NB-NA = 2 x H8, in the cabaret configuration. Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described. Thus, with a device according to the invention, it is easy to vary the slope of the steps. For example, if it is expected that the raising is two steps, evening about 30 to 40 cm, it is possible to reduce the length of the boxes 15 to 20 cm more, compared to the examples illustrated with reference to the figures. Other configurations may also be provided than those described above. In particular, because of its great modularity and the fact that they can be largely factory mounted and then transported by truck, such devices can also be used to make temporary stands. 2960579 - 12 - For the same reason, such devices can be mounted very quickly in a room under construction or renovation, limiting the time of assembly, and allowing a faster recovery of activities in this room.

Claims (19)

REVENDICATIONS1. Device (1) retractable steps, characterized in that it comprises: at least one chair (2); a chest (5); floor means (11) for forming a lid above said chest; means (14) for retracting each chair into said trunk, and for deploying said chair, so that in the extended position of said chair the floor (11) extends substantially in the back of said chair (2). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the chair (2) comprises a seat (16) and a backrest (17) carried by uprights (18), arranged so that in the deployed position of said chair, said amounts are deported horizontally beyond the chest (5). 3. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises means (4), preferably spiraliftTM type or equivalent, to raise the trunk (5). 4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the same retraction means (14) are provided for simultaneously handling a pair of chairs of the same rank. 5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a chest is provided to retract four armchairs of the same rank. 30 6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the retraction means (14) comprise a hinge part (21) rigidly attached to a respective chair, said part being articulated in rotation around 2960579 - 14 - an axis (X21) carried by an upper part of the trunk (5) corresponding to the front of said trunk. 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the retraction means (14) further comprises a toggle joint (24,26) articulated between the hinge piece (19) and a bottom of the trunk (5), and jack means (28), preferably electric, for driving the toggle joint. 8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises jack means (13) for raising the floor (11). 9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises two chests (5A, 5B), one (5B) chests being of a row (B) immediately greater than the rank (A ) of the other chest (5A), and means (8) for raising the upper tier chest (5B) relative to the other. 10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that it further comprises, under the chests (5A, 5B), a compartment adapted to accommodate furniture (36,37). 11. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that the device is adapted to allow the shifting of the furniture (36,37) on a neighboring floor (11), in particular on the floor (11) of a device (1) neighbor . 25 12. System of retractable steps, characterized in that it comprises several devices according to one of the preceding claims. 13. System of retractable steps according to claim 12, characterized in that it comprises means for automatically changing the configuration. 14. Room (30, 40, 50) equipped with a system of retractable steps according to one of claims 12 or 13. 2960579 - 15 - 15. Room according to claim 14, characterized in that it comprises an orchestra pit (41), a floor is formed by at least one device (42) according to one of claims 1 to 11. 16. Use of a retractable step system according to one of claims 12 or 13 in a configuration in which the chairs are retracted and the floors (11) of the devices (1) together form a single floor. i0 17. Use of a retractable step system according to one of claims 12 or 13 in a stepped configuration, wherein the chairs are deployed and wherein each row (Al - B6) is higher than a lower row, if it exists, and lower than a higher rank, if it exists. 18. Use of a retractable step system according to one of claims 12 or 13 in a cabaret configuration, in which the seats are retracted and in which pairs of adjacent rows of chests (A1, B1, A2, B2). form the same floor (11), the floors of successive pairs together forming steps. 19. Use of a retractable step system according to one of claims 12 or 13 in an exhibition configuration, in which the chairs are retracted and in which first chests together form a floor for the circulation of visitors (33) around second chests arranged higher than the first chests. 5