WO2003015584A1

WO2003015584A1 - Seating device

Info

Publication number: WO2003015584A1
Application number: PCT/GB2002/003838
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nicholas Jervis
Original assignee: Nicholas Jervis
Priority date: 2001-08-20
Filing date: 2002-08-20
Publication date: 2003-02-27
Also published as: GB0120236D0

Abstract

A seat (10) for use in tiered auditoriums, such as a sports stadium, has a seating portion (12) arranged at a higher than normal height such that the eye level of a user when seated is substantially the same to their eye level when standing.

Description

SEATING DEVICE

The present invention relates to a seating device for use in tiered auditoriums, and in particular a seating device wherein the eye level of an user ofthe seating device when seated is substantially equal to the eye level ofthe user when standing.

It is well known to arrange seating in auditoriums such as theatres or cinemas on tiers of increasing height, the height rising from the front of the auditorium towards the rear. By placing successive rows of seats on rising tiers, or steps, each subsequent row of seating is placed at a greater height than the preceding row. This is intended to ensure that the view of a seat user is not blocked by the user of a seat in front, by virtue that the users of each row of seats can, generally, see over the top ofthe seated users ofthe rows in front of them.

In auditoriums where the users of the seats generally remain seated, such as theatres or cinemas, this arrangement works reasonably well. However, in auditoriums such as sports stadiums it is often the case that the seat users prefer to stand. Historically, very little seating was provided in sports stadiums, with spectators forced to stand on rising tiers. This produced the similar end result to tiered seating in that most spectators were able to see over the top of those people stood in front of them on the lower tiers. However, it is increasingly the case that because of new safety regulations seating must be provided for all spectators in sports stadiums.

This leads to the problem identified by the present applicants that a spectator who is seated in the provided seat cannot see beyond a person in front if that person is standing (even though a seat has been provided for him).

A possible solution to the problem is to increase the height of each tier, or step. This would allow both someone who is seated, or standing, to see above a person on one ofthe lower tiers who is standing. This solution is not particularly satisfactory because ofthe difficulty in retro-fitting to existing stadia, and in the context of new stadia it is not satisfactory because by increasing the height of each tier the number of tiers that can be constructed within the normal confines of a sports stadium is reduced. Also, the size of the sports stadium must be increased at correspondingly increased construction costs.

A further problem with conventional seating arrangements in sports stadiums is that when an user is standing on one of the tiers, the height of the tiers and the conventional seats located on the tier immediately in front results in the height ofthe preceding seat back being generally no more than equal to the height ofthe knees or shins ofthe standing user. This is a serious safety disadvantage because without a further guardrail or handrail should a standing person be inadvertently urged forwards, for example in the situation of an emergency evacuation, there is a strong probability that they will trip forwards against the seat back immediately in front of them.

It would therefore be advantageous to provide a seating device that allows an uninterrupted view for an user regardless of whether they are seated or standing. It would be further advantageous to provide a seating device that provides increased safety in the case of emergency situations.

According to a first aspect ofthe present invention there is provided a seating device for use in tiered auditoria, the seating device comprising at least one seat having a seating portion, whereby the seating portion is arranged to be sufficiently high such that the eye level of an user of said seat when seated is substantially equal to the eye level of said user when standing.

It is thus possible, by providing a raised seat, to ensure that, in general, a user's sightline to a stage or sporting area of the auditorium is not interrupted if the person immediately in front ofthe user stands up.

By bringing the eye level of a seated spectator to substantially the same as their eye level when standing, the seat user should always be able to see above a person who is seated or standing directly in front of them. Preferably the seat includes a substantially horizontal portion arranged at a height substantially equal to or greater than the average or nominal waist height of a person stood behind said seating device. The increased height of a horizontal portion in comparison with the normal height ofthe back of standard stadium seating overcomes the problem associated with standard stadium seating that people may trip over the seat backs, for example, in the case of an emergency evacuation. By arranging the horizontal portion to perform as a guardrail at substantially waist height there is the greatly reduced likelihood of people inadvertently falling forwards over the seat back immediately in front of them.

Alternatively or additionally, each seat has a back rest the top of which is at substantially waist height or above of a person stood behind the seats.

Preferably the seating portion is arranged to be moveable into a substantially vertical orientation. Preferably the seating portion is urged into said vertical orientation by biasing means. This increases the standing room available to a user. By arranging for the seating portion to return to a vertical orientation the comfort of the user when standing may be increased as the vertical seating portion may form a comfortable surface for the user to lean against.

Preferably the seating portion is height adjustable, thereby accommodating users whose height varies away from the average user height.

Preferably each seat includes a footrest. Additionally the footrest may be height adjustable. Preferably the seating portion, footrest and horizontal portion form an integral unit.

Additionally or alternatively, each seating element is arranged to form a seating module, each module connecting to further modules. Preferably no additional connecting elements are required to connect each module to one another.

Preferably the seating portion and footrest are integral with said module. Alternatively, the seating portion may be connected to a separate support element. Additionally, the footrest may be integral with said seat support element. According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a stadium seating system for use in tiered auditoriums, the seating system comprising a plurality of seats, each seat having a seating portion arranged to be sufficiently high such that the eye level of an user of each seat is substantially equal to the eye level of said user when standing, each seat further comprising first and second connecting elements, wherein the first connecting element of a first seat is arranged to engage with the second connecting element of a second seat.

Preferably each seat includes a anchor for securing said seat to a tier ofthe auditorium.

Preferably each seat includes a seating portion support member. Additionally said seating support member or seat may be adjustable for height.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a known arrangement of seating in use;

Figure 2 schematically illustrates a seating system ofthe present invention in use;

Figure 3 is a front view of an embodiment of a seat according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a side view ofthe seat shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a front view of a further embodiment of a seat according to the present invention;

Figure 6 is a further embodiment of a seat according to the present invention;

Figure 7 is a further embodiment of a seat according to the present invention having a separate seating portion support member; Figure 8 shows an alternative seat height adjustment arrangement to that shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 shows a seat according to a further embodiment ofthe present invention; and

Figure 10 shows a plurality of seats according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 1 illustrates the presently known seating arrangements that are commonly found in tiered auditoriums, for example in a football stadium. Each seat 1, 2, is mounted on a tier 3, 4, the tiers rising in a step wise fashion. A user 5 ofthe lower seat 1 is illustrated in Figure 1 as being standing. The eye level of user 5 is therefore at a height A from the tier 3 on which they are standing. Conversely, the seat user 6 ofthe upper tier 4 is shown as seated with an eye level height indicated by arrow B. As can be seen in Figure 1, the eye level of the seated user 6 ofthe upper tier 4 is substantially the same as the eye level ofthe standing user 5 of the lower tier 3, thus resulting in the view for the seated user 6 being obstructed by the head or body ofthe standing user 5.

Figure 2 illustrates the seating system ofthe present invention. Each seat 10 has a seating portion 12 that is arranged at a higher than normal height. This ensures that when an user 14 of an upper tier 16 is seated, with an eye level shown by the arrow D, they can see above the users 18 of a lower tier 20, even when that user is standing. This is because the height of the seating portions 12 is arranged such that the eye level height of the seat user when seated is substantially the same as the eye level height of the seat user when they are standing. This is illustrated by the arrows marked D and E in Figure 2. The height of each successive tier therefore causes the users of an upper tier to always have an unobstructed view over the tops of users of lower tiers.

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of a seat according to the present invention. The seat comprises a substantially vertical seat support 30 on which is mounted a seating element 32. The seating element 32 may be pivotably mounted to the seat support 30, for example by means of pivot pins 34. Connected to the seat support 30 is a further substantially vertical body element 36 that is in turn connected to a substantially horizontal portion 38. The substantially horizontal portion 38, vertical body element 36 and seat support member 30 may be formed from a single element, for example a single piece of steel tubing bent to an appropriate shape. Alternatively the horizontal element 38, vertical body element 36 and seat support member 30 may be separately formed elements connected together by any well known appropriate means. Located at one end of the vertical body element 36 is an L shaped plate 40 that is arranged to be fastened to one ofthe tiers of an auditorium. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, a first connecting element 42 is located at the end of the vertical body element 36 opposite the L shaped plate 40. A second connecting element 44 is located at the free end ofthe substantially horizontal portion 38. The second connecting element 44 is arranged to be connected to the first connecting element 42 of a further seat of the present invention, with the horizontal portion 38 being of an appropriate length to evenly space the first and second connected seats apart. The first and second connecting elements 42, 44 allow the simple modular construction of the seating system according to the present invention.

A backrest 46, shown in chain line, may further be connected to the vertical body element 36 to provide a backrest for an user ofthe seat. In the preferred embodiment the backrest 46 extends to substantially the same height as the horizontal portion 38 and, in the opposite direction, to approximately the same height as the level of the tier immediately behind the seat. The backrest 46 lies in substantially the same plane as the horizontal portion 38. The backrest 46 is therefore arranged to also function as a safety barrier between adjacent tiers of seating by preventing the accidental or deliberate passage of a person from one tier to another under the horizontal portion 38.

The height of the vertical body element 36 is such that the horizontal portion 38 is at approximately waist height or above of a person stood immediately behind on the next raised tier. This provides an important safety benefit in that the horizontal portion 38, in conjunction with the backrest 46, forms an integral safety barrier at a height sufficient to safely restrain users located behind the seat. This is in contrast to the conventional seating arrangements, as shown in Figure 1, in which the backrest of a seat tends to only be at approximately shin or knee height of a user when stood behind the seat on the next upper tier, and subsequently pose a danger that a standing user may trip against the backrest and fall forward into the lower tiers.

Figure 4 shows a side view of the seat shown in Figure 3 with the corresponding parts labelled accordingly. In Figure 4, it can be seen that the connecting portion 50 connecting the seat support member 30 and the vertical body element 36 is arranged at an angle such that the seat support 30 and substantially vertical element 36 do not lie in the same plane with respect to the tier. This ensures that the seat user may sit comfortably on the seating portion 32 and may further allow the user to lean comfortably against the pivoted seating portion 32 when the seat user is standing.

Figure 5 illustrates a further example of the seat according to the present invention as shown in Figures 3 and 4, with the added provision of a footrest 52 connected to the seat support element. This provides additional comfort for the seat user when seated and ensures that the seat user can comfortably become seated on the elevated seating portion

32.

A further embodiment of a seat according to the present invention is shown in Figure 6. In this embodiment the substantially vertical body element 36 has a further portion 54 that is arranged to be located in a mounting hole formed in the stadium tier. This provides an alternative fixing arrangement to the L shaped plate 40 shown in Figures 3 and 4. Also shown is a further means of connecting the seating element 32 to the substantially vertical body element 36. The seating element 32 is pivotably mounted on a substantially horizontal bar 56, the bar 56 being connected by means of a load bearing support 58 to the vertical support element 36. Equally, the seating element 32 may be rigidly attached to the bar 56, with the bar 56 being pivotably attached to the load support element 58.

A further embodiment of a seat according to the present invention is shown in Figure 7. The substantially vertical member 36 and horizontal element 38 are connected together as previously described, with the lower portion ofthe vertical member 36 being connected to an L shaped plate 40 for attachment to the auditorium tier. Alternatively, the vertical member 36 may have a further portion arranged to be located in a mounting hole in the stadium tier, in the same manner as shown in Figure 6. However, in this embodiment, a further separate seat support member 30 is provided that is separately connected to the stadium tier by means of a mounting plate 60. A footrest 62 (shown in chain line) may be further connected to the seat support element 30. Again, it will be appreciated that other securing means may be utilised to anchor the seat support member to the stadium tier in an analogous manner to the vertical member 36. The seat support element 30 comprises a tubular body in which a further support element 64 is telescopically mounted. Adjustable restraining means 66 are provided between the further support element 64 and the seat support element 30 that allow the height of the further seat support element 64 to be adjusted in relation to the stadium tier.

An alternative seat height adjustment mechanism is shown in Figure 8. The further support element 64 is telescopically mounted in the seat support element 30. A hydraulic or pneumatic pump 67 is located on the seat support element 30 and is operated by movement of a pump handle 69 so as to alter the height of the further support element 64. A fluid reservoir 65 of hydraulic or pneumatic fluid is provided within the seat support element 30.

Another embodiment of a seat according to the present invention is shown in Figure 9. In this embodiment the substantially vertical member 36 is a single straight element, connected to the horizontal element 38 at one end and anchored to the stadium tier at its other end by means of a securing plate 60, or any other securing means as previously discussed. Mounted in line with the vertical member 36 and forward of it is the seat support element 30. A mounting bracket 72 secures the seat support element 30, which comprises a substantially hollow tube, to the vertical member 36. A further support element 64 to which the seating element 32 is secured is arranged to be located within the seat support element 30 in a telescopic manner. The height of the further support element 64 within the seat support element 30 is adjustable. Further brackets 70 are provided on the vertical member 36 to which a backrest, not shown for clarity, is secured.

A yet further embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 10. The horizontal element 38 is supported between two vertical members 36, each vertical member being secured to a tier. A number of seat support elements 30 depend from the horizontal element 38. At the free end of each seat support element 30 a seating element 32 is pivotably mounted so that when the seat is unoccupied the seating element 32 extends in a downward direction from the seat support element 30 in substantially the same plane as the seat support elements 30, horizontal element 38 and vertical members 36. Backrests 46 (shown as individual back rests, but which may also be provided as a single element extending between the vertical members 36) may also be attached to the seat support elements 30 and/or the horizontal element 38. Although it is preferred that the seat support elements 30 are either formed integrally with the horizontal element 38 or permanently secured thereto, they may be arranged to be releasably attached thereby allowing the seat support elements 30 to be attached to an already existing horizontal rail.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that further combinations of preferred features may be provided. For example, the footrests 62 or 52 may also be adjustable in height, or may be provided on a further separate support member. The first and second connecting elements 42 and 44 may be arranged to be bolted together, or welded, or connected by any other suitable means. Equally, the seat support element 30, substantially vertical body element 36 and horizontal element 38 may be formed from a number of different materials such as steel tubing, square section steel members, molded reinforced plastic members or the like.

Claims

1. A seating device for use in tiered auditoria, the seating device comprising at least one seat having a seating portion, whereby the seating portion is arranged to be sufficiently high such that the eye level of an user of said seating device when seated is substantially equal to the eye level of said user when standing.

2. A seating device according to claim 1, comprising a substantially horizontal portion arranged at a height substantially equal to or greater than the average or nominal waist height of a person stood behind said seating device.

3. A seating device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the seating device comprises a backrest the top of which is at substantially waist height or above of a person stood behind the seats.

4. A seating device according to any preceding claim, wherein the seating portion is arranged to be moveable into a substantially vertical orientation.

5. A seating device according to claim 4, wherein the seating portion is urged into said vertical orientation by biasing means.

6. A seating device according to any preceding claim, wherein the seating portion is height adjustable.

7. A seating device according to any preceding claim, wherein the seating device comprises a footrest.

8. A seating device according to claim 7, wherein the footrest is height adjustable.

9. A seating device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the seating portion, footrest and horizontal portion form an integral unit.

10. A seating device according to any preceding claim, wherein each seating device is arranged to form a seating module, each module connecting to further modules.

11. A seating device according to claim 10, wherein no additional connecting elements are required to connect each module to one another.

12. A seating device according to claim 10 or 11 when dependent on claim 7, wherein the seating portion and footrest are integral with said module.

13. A seating device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the seating portion is connected to a separate support element.

14. A seating device according to claim 13 when dependent on claim 7, wherein the footrest is integral with said seat support element.

15. A stadium seating system for use in tiered auditoriums, the seating system comprising a plurality of seats, each seat having a seating portion arranged to be sufficiently high such that the eye level of an user of each seat is substantially equal to the eye level of said user when standing, each seat further comprising first and second connecting elements, wherein the first connecting element of a first seat is arranged to engage with the second connecting element of a second seat.

16. A stadium seating system according to claim 15, wherein each seat comprises an anchor or securing said seat to a tier ofthe auditorium,

17. A stadium seating system according to claim 15 or 16, wherein each seat comprises a seating portion support member.

18. A stadium seating system according to claim 17, wherein said seating support member or seat is height adjustable.