US1839679A - Portable bleacher stand - Google Patents

Description

T. O. HOPPES Jan. 5, 1 932.

Jan. 5, 1932. T. o. HOPPES PORTABLE BLEACHER STAND Filed Dec. 9, 1930 ZSheetS-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 5, 1932 i V 7 V UNI'E; -srA'rus PATENT OFFICE- rnolunsolnorrns, or TAMAQUA, PENNSYLVANIA PORTABLE BLEAGHER STAND Application filed December 9, 1930. Serial No. 501,116.

r This invention relates to a portable bleach- Theinvention is illustrated in the accoms er stand and one object of the invention is to p ying w ng wh ein a provide a. stand ada t d to b erect d u on a Figure 1 is a perspective View of the imball field, in a gymnasium, or other hall as a p ved blea hel Stand, temporary eating stru tu Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view looking at one 55 Another object of the invention is to so dp he S -{1d, I

construct the stand that it may be easily and gis a V EW in Side elevation of one of quickly set up for use and also easily and the up gh s When folded, 4 quickly dismantled when no longer needed gs a tra sverse sectional view taken and to further so construct the stand that On h t -t g- 160 when it is erected it will'be very strong and i; 5 a VleW h g 0116 Of the pr p not be liabl to oll of the uprlghts when folded, and Anoth r bj t f th i ti i t Fig. 6 is aview illustratlnga modified form vide the stand with improved uprights which of P PP; ay be easily and quickly set-up for use and This improved stand consists of a number e5 when not in use reduced to a compact mass 0f p g llldlcftted- 111 general y the I111- capable of being stored in a small space. metal and Servlng as Supports seat Another object of the invention is to. pro- 9 2 and foot boards 3 Whlch eXtend 10nvide improved props for upper bars f th gltu-dinally of the stand between the uprlghts 2' uprights and also provide improved means 1h CIOSSQd Felatlon thereto- V to brace these props when in use and prevent The P g are of it {111101103136 00I1StI11C4 them from slipping rea-rwardly when in place tlOIl and e has it ba l 4 and an upper and allowing the stand to collapse while in bar 5 Whwh y be moved from a folded pouse. sition in which it extends longitudlnally of Another-object of the invention is to prot e base bar closelyabw he me, shown '1 vide the upper bar of each upright with img a ralsed p n, as shown n proved brackets to which seat boards and foot g' l 1, in which it extends rearwardly 1n boards are to be attached and so apply these p y g g lqn 0 the base bar. brackets toth up r bar f th i ht Sockets 6 are secured against s de faces of that the foot boards and seat boards may b the upper bar in opposed relation to each '80 firmly supported in proper spaced relation to other to lecelve 1 1 1 e ds of props by means each other. of which the upper bar 18 to be supported 1n Another object of the inventio i t so araised position. In the present illustration, dispose the brackets upon the upper bars of tWO P P h e b n u ed o support an upper 5 th u ri ht th t h th t d i di bar of eachupright but it will be understood tled and the upper bars of the uprights lowthat as many props may be used as found ered to a folded position portions of the necessary according to the s1ze of the stand. brack t a ngag it id faceg of These props may be constructed as shown 1n base bars to which the upper bars are attached Flgures 1 and 5 or as shown 1n Figure 6. In 40 and prevent the. upper bars from moving the form shown n Flgures 1 and 5, each transversely of th low bar prop consists of side bars 7 formed of Wood Another object of the invention is to proa d they are pivotally connected by straps 8 vide the basehars oftheuprights with ground extending transversely of the bars and seengaging feet at their ends which serve to cured thereto by bolts or equivalent fasteners brace the base bars against transverse tilting 9 passed throughthe bars and end, portions and also are adapted to engage ends of the of the straps. Therefore, each side bar deupper bars when lowered and assist the break fines a supporting leg havlnga aw 10 at its ets in preventing the upper bars from movupper end andut wlllbe readily seen-that, in transversely out of their proper positlons when the prop is set 1n place with the aws ab dve the base bars. at its upper ends engaged through the sockets I 6, the upper bar will be firmly supported as it will be gripped between the jaws 10 and also supported against downward movement by the sockets and by resting upon the straps 8 which pivotally connect the side bars of the props. The companion straps are pivotally connected by pins 9 which engage through openings in the overlapping end portions of the straps. Braces 11 of the break oint type are provided to limit movement of the lower ends of the side bars 7 of the props away from each other.

The prop shown in Figure 6 is formed of angle metal and consists of side bars 12 which have their upper end portions bent, as shown at 13, to extend in'cross relation to each other and terminate in upwardly extending jaws 14 to engage in the sockets =5 and firmly grip the upper bar of an upright. A fastener 15 extends through the crossed portions 13 to pivotally connect the side armsof the prop, and in order to limit movement of the lower ends of the side arms away from each other, there has been provided a break joint brace 16 similar to the brace 11.

1V hen these props are set in place, they are disposed in straddling relation-to the base barof an upright and are disposed at a rear incline, as shown in Figure 2, so that strain will be applied longitudinally of the props when the stand is occupied. Bracing bars 17 extend between the uprights and rest upon the upper edge faces of the base bars l back of the props and these bracing bars are engaged by books 18 which are pivoted in the base bars and adapted to be swung into and out of position to engage the bracing bars. By this arrangement the bracing bars will be prevented from moving rearwardly along the base bars l of the uprights and since the legs or side bars of the props engage the bracing bars, as shown clearly in Figure 2, the props will be prevented from slipping rearwardly and the stand will be prevented from collapsing.

In order to mount the eat boards 2 and foot boards 8, there has been provided brackets 19 which are securedagainst side faces of the upper bar ofeach upright in spaced relation to each other longitudinally thereof. Each of these brackets is formed from a strip of strong metal and each strip is bent in spaced relation to its ends to form a bracket having a vertically disposed intermediate portion 20 and upper and lower horizontal portions 21 and 22 extending from its ends. The vertical portion is secured against the side face of the upper bar 5 of the upright by a bolt or other suitable fastener 23 and the rear end of the upper horizontal portion is twisted, as shown at 24, to form a foot through which a fastener 25 is passed. The forward end of the lower horizontal portion is bent upwardly as shown at 26, and ithen twisted to form a foot 27 through which a fastener28 is passed. It will thus be seen that the bracket will be very firmly secured to the upper bar of the upright with its upper horizontal portion 21 disposed above the upper bar and its lower horizontal portion disposed below the upper bar. Therefore, the seat boards and foot boards may be removably secured to the brackets by bolts 29 and they will be firmly secured in proper spaced relation to each other for convenient use as seats and foot rests. Since the seat boardsand foot boards are secured by bolts, they may be easily detached when the stand is to be dismantled. Referring to Figures 1 and 3, it will be seen that the brackets carried by the upper bar ofeach upright are laterally disposed against opposite ,side faces of the upper bar. Therefore, when the upper bar is swung downwardly tothe folded position shown in Figure 3, the depending portions of the brackets will engage opposite side faces of the base bar and the upper bar will be prevented from moving transversely out of its proper position directly above the base bar. The forward bracket of each upright has the lower horizontal portion omitted and its vertically-disposed portion extends downwardly at a curve and terminates near the lower edge of the base bar where it is secured by a bolt or equivalent fastener 30 which also engages through the lower end of a strip 31 disposed against the opposite side of the base bar This strip 31 extends-upwardly and is secured against the adjacent side face of the upper bar 5 by bolts .or equivalentfasteners 32 which also pass through thevertically disposed portion of thefrontbracket. By this arrangearms 34 which project upwardly above the base bar and are adapted to engage opposite side faces of ends of the upper bar whenthe upper bar is in the lowered folded position verse movement of the folded upper bar. Therefore, the upper bar when folded will be firmly held inits proper position above the base 'bar and the folded upright imay be stacked in a pile along with others when not in use without danger, of the base bar and upper bar moving transversely of each other and causing the strip 81 and vertically disposed portion of the frontbrackettobe twisted out of shape. A

I have therefore, provided a bleacher stand which may be easily and quickly set up for temporary use and then taken down and stored away until again needed. have fur sides of the base bar and other portions or and assist the brackets in preventing transther provided a portable bleacher stand which when set up will be very strong and durable and may be occupied without danger of its collapsing.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A portable seating structure comprising uprights spaced transversely. from each other, substantially Z-shaped brackets carried by said uprights and each consisting of a metal strip bent in spaced relation to its ends to form an intermediate portion extending above and below an upright and end portions disposed in vertically spaced horizontal planes and secured to the upright, seat boards extending transversely of said uprights and releasably secured upon the upper horizontally disposed portions of said brackets, and foot boards extending transversely of the uprights and releasably secured uipon the lower horizontally disposed portions of said brackets.

2. A portable seating structure comprising stringers spaced transversely from each other and extending rearwardly at an upward incline, brackets carried by each stringer in spaced relation to each other longitudinally thereof and each having a vertically disposed intermediate portion and horizontal disposed upper and lower end portions projecting in opposite directions from the intermediate portion, seat boards extending transversely of said stringers and releasa-bly secured to the upper horizontally disposed portions of said brackets, and foot! boards extending transversely of the stringers and releasably secured to the lower horizontally disposed portions of said brackets.

3. A portable seating structure comprising uprights spaced transversely from each other, each upright consisting of a base bar, an upper bar disposed above said base bar longitudinally thereof, props straddling the lower bar and engaging the upper bar to support the upper bar in a raised position in rearwardly diverging relation to the base bar, brackets carried by said upper bar in spaced relation to each other longitudinally thereof and each having a vertically disposed intermediate portion and horizontally disposed upper and lower end portions projecting in opposite directions from the intermediate portion, the brackets being alternately disposed against opposite side'faces of the upper bar and adapted to have their depend-' ing portions engage opposite side faces of the base bar when the upper bar is lowered to a folded position, the upper bar being pivotally mounted adjacent its front end for swinging movement from a raised position to a folded position, seat boards extending transversely of said uprights and releasably secured to the upper horizontally disposed portions of said brackets, and foot boards extending transversely of the uprights and releasably secured to the lower horizontally disposed portions of said brackets. 4. A portable seating structure comprising uprights spaced transversely from each other, each upright consisting of a base bar,

posed intermediate portion and horizontally disposed upper and lower end portions projecting in opposite directions from the intermediate portion, a strip secured against a side face of the upper bar near the front end thereof opposite the vertical portion of the front bracket and together therewith pivoted to'the base bar, seat boards extending,

transversely of said uprights and releasably secured to the upper horizontally disposed portions of said brackets, and foot boards extending transversely of the uprights and releasably. secured to the lower horizontally disposed portions of said brackets.

55. An upright for a portable bleacher comprising a base bar, an upper bar movable from a raised position in rearwardly diverging relation to said base bar to a lowered folded position, brackets carried by said upper bar in spaced relation to each other longitudinally thereof and each having a vertically disposed intermediate portion and upper and lower horizontal portions projecting in opposite directions from ends of the intermediate portion longitudinally of the upper bar to support seat boards and foot boards, said brackets being alternately secured against opposite side faces of the upper bar to engage opposite side faces of the base bar when the upper bar is folded, and

props to support the upper bar in a raised position having their upper ends removably engaged with the upper bar.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

THOMAS O. HOPPES. [n s.]

Images