US2277594A - Bleacher assembly - Google Patents

Description

March 24, 1942.

H. v. LUDWICK 2,277,594

BLEACHER ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Herbert V. Ludwick ,March 24, 1942.

H. v. LUDWICK 2,277,594

BLEACHER AS S EMBLY Filed Sept. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Herbert Lutfwmk Atlq March 24, 1942. v, LUDWICK BLEACHER ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. {lrberl' V. Luduick BY W W Atty.

. spectator events, out

bleacher section illustrated in Fig.

Patented Mar. 24, 1942 UNITED STAT-ES PATENT OFFICE BLEACHER ASSEMBLY Herbert V. Ludwick, Dearborn, Mich. Application September 20, 1940, Serial No. 357,566

'(ot-iss-l) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to portable bleachers and particularly to that type of bleacher used at of doors or indoors.

An object of the invention is to generally improve bleacher constructions and in so doing, provide a device which is compact, sturdy in construction, light in weight, economical to manufacture, simple to set up and take down, and one which may be packed and transported from place to place with the minimum of effort and ex- D nse.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a unitary bleacher construction which has a great safety factor and an excessive load carrying capacity because of the particular combination and arrangement of the load carrying elements.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a unitary bleacher construction in which the load carrying elements are firmly locked' against displacement from one another when in use, and the units may be secured to one another to form a continuous assembly.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a portable bleacher. unit in which the seats and foot boards are all positioned above the principal load carrying members.

A further object of the invention is the-provision of a device of the character referred to in which the seats andfoot boards are arranged and secured in such manner may safely walk on an even plane from one bleacher to another, without having to step over the stringers, or without danger of the boards being displaced, and without disturbing the persons already seated.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a unitary bleacher construction which may be readily assembled in large part from standard pre-fabricated structural pieces.

The foregoingfand other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds, reference being made from time to time to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the rear of a bleacher section embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a left end view of the bleacher section illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the left end of the Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of one of the units comprising the bleacher section illustrated in Fig. 1.

, Fig. 5 is a front elevation of one of the units comprising the bleacher section illustrated in Fig. 1.

that the spectators 1 v members comprising the jack I9.

feet employed 24 to the inside Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail showing some of the structural features of my in'- vent-ion.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig.8 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 9-9 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is a sectional giew taken substantially on the line l0l0 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line H- H of Fig. 2.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line |2 l2 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 13 is a detailed section of one of the feet employed with my bleacher.

Fig. 14 is a modified form of one of the feet employed with my bleacher.

Fig. 15 is another modified form of one of the with my bleacher.

' Referring now more particularly to the drawings, it will elements by my device. Any number of these units can be joined together to form sections as shown in Fig. 1. The stringers I8 are primarily I-beams in cross-section, although I prefer to employ the special I-beam fabricated and sold under the trade name Stran Steel for the reason that it is light in weight and is corrugated (Fig. 10) to provide unusual rigidity and strength.

The jacks H! are rectangular in preferably made of Stran Steel ing a cross-section as shown, at secured together by welding means. The jacks members 2| and shape and are members havlQa in Fig. 9, and or other suitable I9 are braced by means of the cross-braced by the diagonal members 22 (Figs. 4 and 5). The cross members 2| are preferably made of U-shaped channel stock and are preferably welded to the vertical are adapted to serve as bearing members for the stringers I8. It will be noted that meet the stringers l8 at an angle of degrees. The upper ends l9b (Fig. 9) of the vertical members of the jacks I 9 are provided with U-shaped filler plates 23, the legs of which are welded as at 'of the vertical members l9b.

, The stringers outer sides of the stringers apertures in the plates l8 are also provided with U-shap'ed filler plates 25, (Figs. 6, 9 and 10) the legs of which are welded as at 26, to the inside of the horizontal legs of the stringers l8. This arrangement gives fiat bearing surfaces between the l8 and the inner sides of the jacks l9, and prevents the jacks I! from turning on their vertical axes. The stringers l8,

the plates 25, plates 23 and the members lllb (Figs. 9 and 10) are all provided with substantially large holes 21 into which is fitted a hollow tubular member 28, which has suflicient length to extend from one side of the jack IE! to the other. The protruding ends of the tubular member 28 are provided with pins 29 to prevent displacement. I prefer a hollow tubular member such as 28, for the reason that it is light in weight, yet provides substantial bearing surfaces between. the variou contacting parts.

In order to prevent the jacks l9 from being displaced at the bottom I provide non-buckling and non-swaying tension rods 30 (Figs. 2, 11 and 12) which extend from suitable plates 3l, carried by the jacks 19, to suitable plates 32, carried on the stringers l8. The rods 30 are hooked.

at either end (Figs. 11 and 12). The hooks at the jack end, being arranged to engage suitable 3i and the hooks at the other end being arranged to enter slots 33 in the plates 32 so that rapid assembly may be effected.

The jacks l9 and the lower end of the stringers l8, are provided with interchangeable feet 34 (Figs. 2, 13, 14 and which are formed with shanks 35 arranged to engage suitable sockets carried by the jacks 19. The bases of the feet may be formed of hollow cup-like elements as shown in Fig. 13, which would be suitable for out of doors use on soft ground, or they can be formed with partitions 14a, such as shown in Fig. 14, between which partitions strip of rubber Nb can be inserted. Such an arrangement would provide substantial fiictional contact for safe use on indoor floors and the like. I also illustrate in Fig. 15 how the feet may be set in concrete if it is desired to make the installation more or less permanent.

I will now describe the seating and foot board elements of my device, which, as it will be noted in Fig. 2, are all arranged above the stringer I8 and directly supported thereby.

The seat supports 36 (Figs. 2 and 6) are formed of angle iron having a T-shaped cross-section and notched as at 31, and bent to form inverted U-shaped brackets. The free ends of the brackets are cut so that one leg of the T rests on the stringers l8, as at 36, and the other legs of the T are bent, as at 39. The ends 38 and the bent portions 39 are then secured to the stringers l8 by any suitable means, such as welding or by rivets 40.

' I prefer to brace the seat brackets 36 by welding or riveting cross members 4| thereto as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The seat boards 42 have depending from their under sides, inverted'cup like members 43, which are adapted to fit over the upper portions of the brackets 36 and prevent the seat boards 42 from being displaced laterally.

In order to prevent the vertical displacement of the seats 42, I provide a locking device (Figs. 6 and '7) for each end, which consists of a pair of ears 44 formed on the member 43 into which is pivoted as at 45 a flat latch member 46. The member 46. is balanced so that it normally rests in the angular position shown in Figs. 6 and-'7, and so that its upper end engages the under edge of the upper portion of the bracket 36. This permits the seat board 42 to be readily placed in position for as it moves downwardly the latch 46 is swung out of the way and when the seat board is in position of rest the latch swings into locking position. The latch 46 is easily swung out of locking position by hand if it is desired to remove the board 42, but any unintentional upward movement of the board 42 fastens the latch 46 more securely. The latch 46 is held in proper angular positionby means of a stop 46a.

There is ample room between the seats to permit persons to enter and leave without disturbing the persons seated. The foot boards 41 are supported by bridge members 48, which are secured by rivets 49 or by welding to the seat brackets 36, as shown in Fig. 6. The foot boards 41 hav depending channel members 50 adapted to fit over the bridge members 48 and be secured thereto by latches 5|, similar to the latches already described, so that they cannot be displaced.

I provide a removable guard rail 52 for each section of my improved bleacher. This rail is preferably made of angle iron welded to form,

and is secured by bolts to U-shaped brackets 53 (Figs. 4 and 5) which are in turn secured by welding or other suitable means to the stringers l8 as shown.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a portable bleacher construction, including diagonal stringers and supporting jacks for the same, the combination of a bearing member secured to and joining the vertical legs of each jack, the said bearing members being adapted to distribute horizontally a substantial portion of the weight of a pair of stringers, the vertical legs of each jack having extension members which embrace the outsides of each pair of stringers, there being a hollow tubular member extending through the said extension members and. each pair of stringers.

2. In a portable bleacher construction, including diagonal stringers and supporting jacks for the same, the combination of a bearing member secured to and joining thevertical legs of each jack, the said bearing members being adapted to distribute horizontally a substantial portion of the weight of a pair of stringers, the vertical legs HERBERT V. LUDWICK.

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