<div class="application article clearfix" id="description">
<p class="printTableText" lang="en">10060655131* ;PATENTS FORM NO. S Our ref: VIA509232NZPR ;NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Patent of Addition to New Zealand Patent No. 563387 ;A SUPPORT BASE ;We, TEALE METAL PRODUCTS (2005) LIMITED a New Zealand company of 66 Rangi Road, Takanini 2105, New Zealand, hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: ;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.2. ;1 h FEB 2012 ;received ;301994374 ;VIA509232NZPR ;301994374 ;2 ;A SUPPORT BASE ;FIELD OF THE INVENTION ;5 The invention relates to a support base, and in particular to a support base that is capable of use with a number of upstanding items such as signs, umbrellas, fence uprights and the like. ;BACKGROUND ;10 Many upstanding items such as signs, umbrellas, fence uprights and the like, need to be able to be moved from position to position and be stable when in place. ;It is common to see support bases fixed to such upstanding items in order to provide stability in windy conditions or when impacted by moving vehicles, equipment, or people. Fixed 15 support bases add to the weight and size of the upstanding item and thus impact upon the ability to readily transport them and store them. ;Support bases that can be releaseably attached to such upstanding items to provide stability have also been developed in order to overcome transportation and storage difficulties with 20 the upstanding item. Such releasable support bases are of particular use where a number of upright items are required to be used. The situations will include road signs that indicate the presence of roadworks for example, movable fences having a number offence uprights such as temporary fencing for building sites and crowd control for example, amongst others. Releasable support bases have also been developed in which the legs, which extend to 25 provide stability, are able to fold and lie flat on the ground if the upright item falls over. It is also important for the releasable support base to be storable and transportable. This can be a problem as the legs that extend to provide support are difficult to manage. ;Recent requirements in New Zealand relating to road signs require that when a road sign is 30 knocked over, the support base, the upright sign support, and the sign itself must lie relatively flat with no part of the road sign being more than 150 mm above the ground surface. These requirements have been introduced to help prevent road signs from presenting a hazard to vehicles or bikes after they have been knocked over or fallen over for any reason. ;VIA509232NZPR ;301994374 ;5 ;10 ;15 ;20 ;25 ;OBJECT OF THE INVENTION ;It is an object of the invention to provide an improved support base that can be releaseably attached to an upstanding item and, when made for use with road signs, is capable of meeting New Zealand requirements, or that will provide the public with a useful choice in support bases for an upstanding item. ;SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ;In a first aspect, the invention relates to a support base for an upstanding item, the support base including a first sleeve, a base plate, and at least three legs extending from the base plate, wherein: ;• the base plate includes an upper plate and a lower plate; ;• the first sleeve extends through and from the centre of the upper plate of the base plate and is capable of releaseably receiving an end of said item therethrough so as to support said item in an upstanding position; ;• the lower plate of the base plate includes an aperture in suitable juxtaposition with the first sleeve and being adapted to releaseably receive the end of said upstanding item and to locate the item in a particular orientation, said aperture substantially preventing movement of that end from that particular orientation; and wherein ;• the legs are moveable from an extended support position to a collapsed position in which the support base lies in a substantially flat position. ;Preferably the upper and lower plates are connected by at least three arrangements, each of said arrangements including a rod, each end of which is securely attached to the upper and lower plates, and a second sleeve surrounding the rod, the second sleeve being able to rotate about the rod and being attached to a leg of the support base; wherein the arrangements are positioned to allow passage of the end of the upstanding item through the first sleeve and into the aperture in the base plate. ;35 ;VIA509232NZPR ;301994374 ;4 ;Preferably the ends of the rod are securely attached to the upper and lower plates by welding. ;Preferably the second sleeve is attached to a leg of the support base by welding. ;5 ;Preferably the first sleeve is a round or square tube. Most preferably the first sleeve is a round tube. ;Preferably the base plate is circular and has a diameter of less than 150 mm. ;10 ;Preferably when in the collapsed position the legs of the support base lie substantially flat and against each other. ;Preferably when the legs are in the folded storage position, the width of the substantially 15 adjacent legs is not greater than the diameter of the circular base plate. ;Preferably the support base has four legs and four associated arrangements. ;Preferably there are four legs and four associated arrangements attached to the upper and 20 lower plates adjacent their edges with two of the legs and associated arrangements closer together than the other two. ;Preferably the legs are releaseably attached to the arrangements connecting the upper and lower base plates. ;25 ;Preferably the rods (and hence the arrangements) are releaseably attached to the upper and lower base plates. ;Preferably the upstanding item is a support for a road sign, an umbrella, or a fence post. ;30 ;Preferably the aperture in the lower plate of the base plate and the end of the upstanding item are square in shape. ;Preferably the lower plate of the base plate includes a blocking strip positioned below the 35 aperture to prevent passage of the end of the upstanding item through the aperture. ;VIA509232NZPR ;301994374 ;Preferably the support base includes a handle. ;Preferably the handle is attached to the first sleeve a suitable distance from the upper plate of the base plate and extends from the sleeve parallel to the base plate. ;5 ;Preferably the handle is aligned with the aperture in the lower plate of the base plate such that the desired orientation of the upstanding item can be defined by the position of the handle. ;10 Preferably there is a bend in each of the legs such that when the support base is in use the base plate does not touch the ground surface on which the end of each of the legs rests. ;In a second aspect the invention provides a kit of parts, the kit including: ;15 a support base according to the first aspect of the invention and an upstanding item. ;Preferably the kit also includes at least one placard. ;FIGURES ;20 ;25 ;30 ;35 ;A preferred form of the invention will be described with reference to the attached Figures in which: ;Figure 1: shows a side elevation view of a preferred form of the present invention; ;Figure 2: shows a front elevation of the preferred form of the invention shown in Figure 1; ;Figure 3: shows a preferred form of the invention with the legs in an extended support position; ;Figure 4: shows a plan view of a preferred form of the invention with the legs in a folded storage position; ;Figure 5: shows a top view of a preferred form of the invention shown in Figure 3; ;Figure 6: shows a preferred form of the invention in use as a road sign; ;VIA509232NZPR ;301894374 ;Figures 7 and 8: show the preferred form of the invention of Figure 6 in a collapsing sequence; ;5 Figure 9: shows a preferred form of a spigot of use in orienting an upstanding item in a support base; ;Figure 10: shows a further preferred embodiment of the invention in use as a road sign; ;10 Figures 11 and 12: show the preferred form of the invention of Figure 10 in a collapsing sequence; ;Figure 13: shows a preferred form of a wheel of Figures 10,11 and 12; ;15 Figure 14: shows a diagrammatic representation of a new embodiment of the present invention; ;Figure 15: shows a preferred form of the new embodiment of the present invention with the legs in an extended support position; and ;20 ;Figure 16: shows a plan view of a preferred form of the new embodiment of the present invention with the legs in a folded storage position. ;DETAILED DESCRIPTION ;25 ;The invention in general terms relates to a support base for use in supporting upstanding items such as support for road signs, umbrellas, fence posts (particularly for use with temporary fencing) amongst other items. The common feature of such upstanding items is that they require support to prevent them from falling over. This could be as a result of high 30 winds or impact from a vehicle or person for example. Such upstanding items will usually include an elongate portion to which some form of support base is attached or attachable. ;35 ;The elongate portion of the upstanding items will usually be in a tubular (i.e. round or square) form depending on the item. Most supports for road signs, for example, will include a square elongate portion one end of which will be intended to be attached to a support base. ;V1A509232NZPR ;301994374 ;7 ;Umbrellas however, will tend to have a round elongate portion and will usually simply have a shaft, although the shaft may be tubular. ;It is now a requirement for road signs that, when they are knocked over, no part of the road 5 sign will be higher than 150 mm from the ground. This includes the sign itself, which is often securely attached to the road sign support. As a result, it can be difficult to ensure that the road sign as a whole will lie substantially flat. From a practical perspective, it is also useful to be able to determine the desired orientation of such a sign when placing the support base in position before the sign support is placed in the support base. The sign should, if at all 10 possible, also be able to be held in that desired orientation. ;With reference to Figure 1, a side elevation view of a preferred form of the support base 1 is shown. The support base 1 includes a sleeve 2 extending from a circular base plate 3 to which legs 4 are attached. The sleeve 2 of the support base 1 also includes a handle 5. ;15 ;The circular base plate 3 as shown in the preferred form in Figure 1 includes an upper plate 3a and a lower plate 3b. The legs 4 are pivotally attached via a nut/boit/washer arrangement 6 between upper plate 3a and lower plate 3b in such a manner that the legs 4 are capable of pivoting about the arrangement 6 in the plane of base plate 3. ;20 ;The handle 5 is positioned a suitable distance from base plate 3 such that a user's hand can easily fit into handle 5 without impacting on base plate 3 or arrangement 6. ;With reference to Figure 2, a front elevation view of the support base 1 shown in Figure 1 is 25 shown. In Figure 2, the preferred width of the widest portion of handle 5 is shown relative to the diameter of sleeve 2. ;With reference to Figure 3, a view of support base 1 with the legs 4 in an extended support position is shown. As shown in the preferred form of Figure 3, the support base 1 has four 30 legs 4 which are splayed apart to provide support. Arrangements 6 are positioned adjacent the edge of the base plate 3 and are indicated as 6a and 6b, with arrangements 6a being closer together than arrangements 6b (one of which is obscured from view). The impact of this orientation of the arrangements 6 will become more apparent when viewing Figure 4. As can be seen in Figure 3, the positioning of handle 5 is on the opposite side of sleeve 2 to the 35 position of arrangements 6a. ;The legs 4 include a bend, the position of which is indicated in Figure 3 by a 'B'. This bend B causes the base plate 3 to be lifted slightly relative to the ends of the legs 4 that are distal to the base plate 3. Accordingly, when the support base is in use the base plate does not touch the ground surface on which the end of each of the legs 4 rests i.e. only the ends of the legs 4 distal the base plate 3 touch the ground surface. This causes pressure to be placed on the legs 4 as the weight of the support base 1, and the upstanding item held by the support base 1, is concentrated in the ends of the legs 4. The pressure prevents the legs from "walking" and assists in holding the support base 1 in place. The legs 4 are also held firmly in place against the base plate 3 as a result of this pressure, allowing them to hold a sturdy position should the road sign assembly be buffeted by wind or the like. Further, where the support base 1 is placed on an uneven ground surface, the bend B helps ensure that all four legs 4 are in contact with the ground surface. ;With reference to Figure 4, a view of support base 1 with the legs 4 in a folded storage position is shown. In this position, the legs 4 are lying substantially adjacent each other and extend from base plate 3 in a direction opposite to the direction that handle 5 extends from sleeve 2. This allows the user to hold handle 5 and simply and efficiently carry support base 1. ;Arrangements 6a are, as mentioned earlier, shown closer together than arrangements 6b, with handle 5 extending in a direction from sleeve 2 opposite to the position of arrangements 6a. It is this relationship of arrangements 6a and 6b and handle 5 that allows legs 4 to lie in the substantially adjacent arrangement when support base 1 is held by the user from handle 5. The handle 5 is optional but is preferred. The support base 1 could be carried without the handle by holding around the adjacent legs, but the handle 5 makes carrying the support base 1 much easier. This ability to have the legs (particularly four legs) lie substantially adjacent each other provides a particular advantage to the invention. ;Also seen in Figure 4 is the positioning of a spigot 7 within sleeve 2. Spigot 7 extends from the bottom of sleeve 2 and is capable, when a square elongate portion of an upstanding item (not shown) is placed within sleeve 2, of orienting that item in a desired direction. The spigot 7 in effect allows a support for a road sign to be "self orienting" within sleeve 2. The orientation will be maintained as the spigot will extend in a male fashion into the elongate portion. The spigot 7 takes the general form of a truncated pyramid having opposing angled walls 8, of a truncated substantially tri-angular form, joined together by a planar portion 9. The opposing angled walls 8 extend from the bottom of sleeve 2 with the planar portion 9 ;VIA509232NZPR ;301994374 ;9 ;being distal the bottom of sleeve 2 and thus, in use, extending into the square elongate portion of an upstanding item. Spigot 7 is best seen with reference to Figure 9. ;With reference to Figure 5, a top view of support base 1 with the legs 4 in an extended 5 support position is shown. As discussed with reference to Figure 4, the orientation of arrangements 6a, 6b and handle 5 can again be seen. ;With reference to Figure 6, support base 1 in use as a support for a road sign 20 is shown. Legs 4 of support base 1 are again shown in the extended support position. Road sign 20 10 includes a support 21 (partially obscured in Figure 6). Support 21 includes a square elongate portion 22, end 22a of which extends into sleeve 2 of support base 1. Spigot 7 (obscured in Figure 6) will "self orientate" road sign 20 into the desired orientation and will hold road sign 20 in this desired orientation. The orientation will be maintained due to the weight of the road sign 20 pushing down on to spigot 7. ;15 ;Figures 7 and 8 show road sign 20, as shown in Figure 6, in a collapsing sequence. ;In Figure 7, road sign 20 is shown as having partially collapsed with placard 25 being braced against the ground and placard 26 being held off the ground as a result. The legs 4 of 20 support base 1 have pivoted in the natural manner as a result of the collapse and lie against each other. Other positionings of legs 4 are of course also possible depending on the nature and angle of collapse. ;In Figure 8, road sign 20 is shown as having completely collapsed with placards 25 and 26 of 25 road sign 20 lying as flat as possible. It is notable that the base part 3 is the highest portion of both road sign 20 and support base 1. The ends of legs 4 where they are attached to circular base part 3 lie within the diameter of base part 3. ;The movement of road sign 20 from the position shown in Figure 7 to the position shown in 30 Figure 8 is possible due to the ability of spigot 7 to release elongate part 22a from the male/female relationship that maintained road sign 20 in the desired orientation, such as shown in Figure 6. This then allows elongate part 22a to rotate within sleeve 2 allowing the road sign 20 to lie flat. ;35 ;With reference to Figure 9, spigot 7 is shown. In its preferred form, spigot 7 will include angled walls 8 and planar portion 9. Angled walls 8 are in a substantially truncated tri ;VIA509232NZPR ;301994374 ;10 ;angular form having a wide end 10 and a narrow end 11. Angled walls 8 are connected by planar portion 9, which extends between walls 8 from the respective narrow ends 11. In use, spigot 7 will extend from the bottom of sleeve 2 (not shown in Figure 9) of support base 1 with planar portion 9 of spigot 7 extending into the elongate portion of an upstanding item 5 (not shown in Figure 9) in a male/female relationship. The generally truncated pyramid form of spigot 7 as shown in Figure 9 allows the spigot 7 to "self orientate" a square elongate portion and then hold the square elongate portion in a desired orientation within sleeve 2, this forming an aspect of the invention. The truncated nature of spigot 7 also allows ready release of the upstanding item should the upstanding item and support base 1 fall over due 10 to some form of impact, wind etc. ;Figure 10 shows a further embodiment of the invention. This embodiment includes wheels 27, which assist in ensuring that the legs 4 move to a position wherein the legs 4 do not extend to a height greater than the diameter of the circular base plate 3. Figure 10 shows 15 legs 4 of support base 1 again in the extended support position and with wheels 27 attached to the upper surface of legs 4. ;Figures 11 and 12 show road sign 20, as shown in Figure 10, in a collapsing sequence, assisted by the inclusion of wheels 27 attached to legs 4. ;20 ;In Figure 11, road sign 20 is shown as having partially collapsed with placard 25 being braced against the ground and placard 26 being held off the ground as a result. The legs 4 of support base 1 have pivoted in the natural manner as a result of the collapse and lie substantially flat and against each other. When the support base 1 is rotated to the position 25 shown in Figure 11 (as a result of being knocked over), the wheels 27 come in contact with the ground surface and are substantially perpendicular to the ground surface. The rotation of the legs 4 into the position shown can therefore be assisted by the wheels 27, as the legs 4 can more easily slide across the ground surface. ;30 If the ground surface is coarse or is covered in grass or the like, the legs 4 of Figures 1-8 may be prevented from rotating into the collapsed position as they may become caught in coarse ground or grass, hence the road sign may not lie substantially flat and the legs 4 may protrude beyond the diameter of the base plate 3. The wheels 27 shown in Figures 10-12 allow the legs 4 to rotate into the desired collapsed position despite coarse ground, grass, or 35 the like. ;VIA509232NZPR ;301994374 ;11 ;In Figure 12, road sign 20 is shown as having completely collapsed with placards 25 and 26 of road sign 20 lying as flat as possible. Again, the transition of the position of the legs 4 in Figure 11 to the position of the legs 4 in Figure 12 is assisted by the wheels 27, which allow the legs to easily slide across the ground surface. ;5 ;With reference to Figure 13, a preferred form of the wheel 27 is shown. The Figure shows an end view of leg 4 looking from the end of the leg 4 distal to the base part 3 (not shown in Figure 13). The wheel 27, in the preferred embodiment shown, is attached to the leg 4 by means of a nut/boit/washer arrangement 28, which allows the wheels 27 to rotate freely. 10 Alternative arrangements could be used to attach the wheels 27 as would be known to one of skill in the art. The wheels 27 are shown in the Figures as a planar circle. However, the wheels 27 could take an alternative form, such as a spherical shape. ;The wheels 27 can be made from any suitable material as would be known to a skilled 15 person. In a preferred embodiment, where the wheels 27 are planar as shown in the Figures, they are constructed of a steel plate. ;With reference to Figure 14, a diagrammatic representation of a preferred form of a new embodiment of the support base 1 is shown. The support base 1 includes a circular base 20 plate 3 as shown in Figures 1 to 8 and Figures 10 to 12. As wili be apparent other shapes for the base plate could also be used. The base plate 3 includes an upper plate 3a and a lower plate 3b. Extending upwards and outwards from the upper plate 3a is a first sleeve 2 through which the elongate portion 22 (including end 22a) of support 21 will pass (support 21 is not shown in Figure 14 - best seen in Figure 6 for example). ;25 ;In the centre of the lower plate 3b is an aperture 101 (not shown in Figure 14, but seen in Figures 15 and 16) which is square in shape. The aperture 101 receives the end 22a of support 21 therein. The end 22a will be shaped to fit in a male/female relationship with aperture 101 so the support 21 will be held securely but releasably within the support base 1. 30 This relationship allows ease of use of the support base in the field and ready alignment of a sign that may be attached to a support as desired. As will be appreciated by someone skilled in the art, the shape of aperture 101 (and hence end 22a of support 21) is not restricted to a square and may be altered to any suitable shape as required by the end use of the support base 1. It is however important that the support 21 is not able to rotate within the 35 support base 1 once the support 21 is in position. ;VIA609232NZPR ;301994374 ;12 ;Attached to the base of the lower plate 3b and sitting beneath aperture 101 is a blocking strip 102. The blocking strip 102 prevents the end 22a of elongated portion 22 of support 21 (not shown in Figure 14) from passing through the support base 1 to sit on the ground surface. As will be appreciated by someone skilled in the art, this blocking strip 102 may cover the 5 entire aperture 101 from below, however this is not necessary. Another alternative may be that the blocking strip is simply part of the bottom face of the lower plate 3b, although this is less preferred. ;Sitting between the upper plate 3a and the lower plate 3b are second sleeves 103, each of 10 which encloses a rod 104. Each of the rods 104 are preferably welded to both the upper plate 3a and the lower plate 3b thereby securing and supporting plates 3a and 3b in position. Alternative means of securing rods 104 to plates 3a and 3b as would be known to the skilled person could also be used. These alternative means could include releasable attachment options, such as nut and bolt type options, if desired. The sleeves 103 and rods 104 together 15 form arrangements 105. Sleeves 103 are not attached to plates 3a and 3b and are therefore capable of pivoting/rotating around the rods 104. Legs 4 (not shown in Figure 14) are securely attached to the sleeves 103 and extend outwards in the plane of the base plate 3. The legs 4 and sleeves 103 are thus capable of pivoting/rotating about the rods 104 in the plane of the base plate 3. ;20 ;Although not shown in the diagrammatic representation, there will be at least one more arrangement 105 between the upper plate 3a and the lower plate 3b. This can seen best in Figure 15. ;25 The arrangements 105, as shown in Figure 14, are positioned adjacent to the distal edge of the base plate 3. This allows for a large gap 106 between the upper plate 3a and the lower plate 3b, and between the arrangements 105, through which the elongated portion 22 and end 22a of a support 21 (not shown) can pass, such that end 22a can be received by aperture 101. ;30 ;With reference to Figure 15, a side elevation of a preferred form of a new embodiment of the support base 1 with the legs 4 in an extended position is shown. As shown in the preferred form of Figure 15, the support base 1 has four legs 4 which are splayed apart to provide support. The legs 4 are attached to and extend from arrangements 105a and 105b. The legs 35 4 will preferably be welded to the second sleeves 103, however other options (releasable and non-releasable) as would be known to a skilled person could also be used. The ;VIA509232NZPR ;301994374 ;13 ;positioning of the arrangements 105 relative to each other is indicated by arrangements 105a and 105b, with arrangements 105a being closer together than arrangements 105b. The impact of this orientation of the arrangements 105a and 105b is similar to that previously described for arrangements 6 in Figure 4 and is clearly shown in Figure 16. ;5 ;As indicated above, Figure 15 clearly shows the aperture 101 sitting within the centre of the lower plate 3b. Aperture 101 is thus suitably aligned with sleeve 2. Figure 15 also shows the gap 106 resulting from the positioning of arrangements 105a and b (including sleeves 103 and rods 104) adjacent to the edge of the base plate 3. The lower plate 3b includes aperture 10 101 in suitable juxtaposition with the first sleeve 2 to allow aperture 101 to releaseably receive an end 22a of the support (not shown) and to locate that end 22a (and hence the support 21 as a whole) in a particular orientation. The end 22a, of the support 21, and aperture 101 fit together in a male/female relationship thus, at least substantially preventing movement of that end 22a from that particular orientation. As seen in Figure 15, the shape of 15 the aperture 101 is square, therefore, while not seen in Figure 15, the end 22a of the support 21 will also be square and of a suitable size to fit within aperture 101 and be substantially prevented from rotational and lateral movement (i.e. the orientation of the support 21 is maintained as is the upright nature of the support). ;20 Therefore, as seen in Figures 14 and 15, the upper and lower plates 3a and 3b are connected by at least three arrangements 105. Each of these arrangements 105 includes a rod 104, each end of which is securely attached to the upper and lower plates 3a and 3b, as well as a second sleeve 103 surrounding the rod 104. The second sleeve 103 is able to rotate about the rod 104. The second sleeves 103 are each attached to a leg 4 of the support 25 base 1 thus allowing movement of those legs 4. The arrangements 105 are also positioned to allow passage of the end 22a of the support 21 through the first sleeve 2 and into the aperture 101 in the base plate 3b. ;In a preferred aspect, the handle 5 is aligned with the aperture 101 in the lower plate 3b such 30 that the desired orientation of the upstanding item (not shown) can be defined by the position of the handle 5. This alignment ability is shown by the position of the handle 5 and the aperture 101 in Figure 15. ;With reference to Figure 16, a view of the support base 1 with the legs 4 in a folded storage 35 position is shown. Figure 16 also shows the arrangements 105a and 105b relative to each other. ;VIASG9232NZPR ;301994374 ;14 ;Also seen in Figure 16 is the positioning of the aperture 101 in the lower plate 3b. As already indicated, the aperture 101 lies in the centre of the lower plate 3b and is therefore directly below the centre of sleeve 2. The aperture 101 is thus capable of orientating the elongate 5 portion 22 of a support 21 (not shown) in a desired direction when the upstanding item is placed within sleeve 2. The aperture 101 in effect allows a support for a road sign to be "self orienting" within sleeve 2, and thus within the support base 1 as a whole. This orientation will be maintained as the shape of the aperture 101 prevents the elongate portion of an upstanding item from twisting/rotating within the sleeve 2. ;10 ;As will be readily apparent, sleeve 2 could also take a square form in appropriate circumstances, such as when used to support square fence posts or the like. With the embodiment of Figures 14 to 16 a square shaped sleeve could be used as the aperture 101 would allow direct positioning still. ;15 ;However, a round sleeve is very much preferred as this will allow the upstanding item (eg a road sign) to spin in the sleeve while being orientated by into the desired orientation or once released. A square sleeve would not allow that to occur if a square elongate portion was in the sleeve. ;20 ;As will also be apparent, the end of the legs that attaches to the base plate of the support part (whether via arrangements 105 as shown in Figures 15 and 16 or otherwise) will, when the legs are in the extended support position, be slightly further off the ground than the end of the legs that are distal the base plate. It may be desirable to provide means to lift the ends 25 of the legs that are distal to the base plate to provide further stability. It is also an option to simply lie sandbags or the like over the legs to provide that stability. ;The support base according to the invention can be made of any suitable material as would be known to a skilled person. This will preferably be of a metal material, such as steel, but 30 could also be of a suitable plastics material if desired. In addition, arrangements 6 and 105 could be of any other alternative arrangement as would be known to a person skilled in the art. A further advantage of the embodiment shown in Figures 14 to 16, is that less metal is needed to form the support base 1. As a result, the support base is cheaper to manufacture and is lighter and thus more easily transported and used. ;35 ;15 ;Any reference to prior art at the specification should not be taken to be an admission that such prior art would constitute common general knowledge in New Zealand or in any other country. ;The foregoing describes the invention including a preferred form thereof. Alterations or modifications as would be known to a person skilled in this art are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the invention. *<br><br></p>
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