Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C1/00—Chairs adapted for special purposes
  • A47C1/12—Theatre, auditorium or similar chairs
  • A47C1/121—Theatre, auditorium or similar chairs having tipping-up seats
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/56—Parts or details of tipping-up chairs, e.g. of theatre chairs
  • A47C7/58—Hinges, e.g. for mounting chairs in a curved row
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/56—Parts or details of tipping-up chairs, e.g. of theatre chairs
  • A47C7/60—Use of locks or ledges for limiting the seat movement

Definitions

• the present invention relates to stadium seating and, in particular, to the reduction of undesired noise in stadium seats and to a stadium seat mounting arrangement.
• Stadium seats generally take the form of a fixed backrest and a pivotably mounted seat.
• the seat is pivotable between a substantially vertical standby position and a substantially horizontal use position.
• a resilient member such as a spring or an elastomeric equivalent, is interposed between the seat and backrest and urges the seat into the standby position.
• a horizontal spine extends in the row direction between adjacent aisles.
• the individual seats are connected to the spines after the spines have been erected.
• the spines are provided with welded metal attachments to which the stadium seats are engaged, hi another, the spines are pre- drilled and a fastener is used to secure the stadium seat to the spine. Both of these attachment methods have the disadvantage that fine adjustment of position of the stadium seat is not possible.
• the stadium seat is provided with a body in two parts which are shaped so as to be clamped to the spine. Normally fasteners extend between the two parts and these can be tightened to increase the clamping action.
• the each seat's final position is determined with precision. This is normally done by setting the spacing of the seats in the front row, and then setting the spacing of the seats in the second row so that the seats in the second row fall in between the seats in the first row. This procedure is repeated for each row in turn.
• a seating arrangement for stadia, auditoria, and the like comprising a fixed backrest, and a seat having a pivotal mounting including a resilient means interposed between said seat and backrest to permit said seat to be pivoted between a substantially vertical standby position, to which said resilient means returns said seat, and a substantially horizontal use position into which a user manually moves said seat against the urging of said resilient means, wherein said pivotable mounting includes a damping means to slow the movement of said seat between said use and standby positions.
• the abovementioned damping arrangement provides the unexpected benefit that spectators wishing to create a mechanical applause effect, or vandals wishing to cause damage to the seating arrangement, quickly become bored because of the extra mechanical effort involved in moving the seat into and out of the seating arrangement against the action of the damping provided as referred to above. As a consequence, this essentially anti-social behaviour quickly comes to an end and the problem is solved or at least ameliorated.
• a mounting system for connecting stadium seats to a horizontally extending spine comprising an elongate body, a backrest extending from said body, and a seat pivotally mounted from said body and pivotable with respect to said body and backrest, wherein that portion of said elongate body facing away from said backrest is shaped to mate with an upper region of said spine but not extend beyond a lower region of said spine, and at least one substantially inextensible strip extends around said mated body and spine to clamp said body to said spine.
• a method of connecting stadium seats to a horizontally extending spine comprising the steps of: providing an elongate body; providing a backrest extending from said body; pivotally mounting a seat from said body such that said seat is pivotable with respect to said body and backrest; shaping that portion of said elongate body facing away from said backrest to mate with an upper region of said spine but not extend beyond a lower region of said spine; and disposing at least one substantially inextensible strip around said mated body and spine to clamp said body to said spine.
• Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the stadium seat of a first embodiment with the seat in the substantially vertical standby configuration
• Fig. 2 is a left side elevation of the seat of Fig. 1 with the seat in the substantially horizontal use configuration
• Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the seat of Fig. 1,
• Fig. 4 is vertical cross section taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3,
• Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the seat in the standby configuration
• Fig. 6 is a vertical cross section taken on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5,
• Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the seat in the configuration illustrated in Fig. I 5
• Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the components of the damped pivotable mounting mechanism
• Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the stadium seat of a second embodiment in its use configuration
• Fig. 10 is a rear elevation of the seat of Fig. 9,
• Fig. 11 is a left side elevation of the seat of Figs. 9 and 10
• Fig. 12 is a front elevation of the seat of Figs. 9-11 but showing the seat in the standby configuration
• Fig. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a stadium seat of a third embodiment
• Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the stadium seat of the third embodiment with the seat in the stand by configuration.
• the stadium seat 1 of the first embodiment has a backrest 2 supported by a pair of upstands 3 which extend from a central elongate body 4. Pivoted to the elongate body 4 is a seat 5 which in Figs. 1 and 3 is in the substantially vertical standby configuration and in Fig. 2 is in the substantially horizontal use configuration.
• the central body 4 is supported by a spine 7 which is in turn mounted on a leg 8.
• the seat 5 is provided with a pair of arms 10, 11 which are rotatably supported by the central body 4.
• the right hand pivotable mounting between the central body 4 and the arm 5 is a straightforward rotary mounting and is different from the left hand rotary mounting 14 which includes both a resilient interconnection between the seat 5 and the central body 4 and a damping mechanism.
• the details of the rotary mounting 14 are best appreciated from Figs. 6, 7 and 8 and take the form of a first barrel 16 which includes a locating lug 26 which engages with the central body 4 and prevents rotation of the first barrel 16 about its longitudinal axis.
• the rotary mounting 14 also includes a second barrel 27 which, like the first barrel 16, is essentially a hollow tube closed at one end.
• the second barrel 17 has a plurality of mounting lugs 27 at its closed end which engage with protrusions 29 on a stub axle 30.
• the stub axle 30 also includes a pair of prongs 31 which engage with the arm 11 of the seat 5.
• a helical compression spring 33 Positioned in between the first barrel 16 and second barrel 17 is a helical compression spring 33 each end of which is formed into a transverse member 34, 35.
• the interior of each of the first barrel 16 and second barrel 17 is provided with a respective slot (not illustrated) which engages the corresponding transverse member 34, 35 when the spring 33 is located within the second barrel 17 and the second barrel 17 is located within the first barrel 16.
• the prongs 31 can be rotated in an anti-clockwise direction in order to compress the spring 33 and pivot the seat 5 out of the standby configuration.
• the energy stored in the spring 33 returns the seat 5 to the standby configuration when a force is no longer applied to the seat 5 to urge it into the substantially horizontal use position.
• the interior of the second barrel 17 is filled with a high viscosity liquid, such as grease, prior to insertion of the spring 33 therein.
• a high viscosity liquid such as grease
• the grease fills the spaces between the various turns of the spring 33.
• some of the grease also is positioned on the mating cylindrical bearing surfaces of the first and second barrels. The result of the grease is that rotational movement between the first and second barrels 16, 17 - in both directions - is damped.
• compressing and uncompressing the spring 33 is also damped since this requires movement of the grease in order for the spring 33 to change shape.
• the grease is sufficiently viscous not to be discharged from the combination of the two barrels and thus remains in situ for the operating life of the chair.
• the preferred form of damping liquid is polydimethylsiloxane which is a silicone grease having a viscosity of at least approximately 30,000 csp (and preferably up to 60,000 csp) such as that sold under the trade name SIL GEL or 200 FLUID by the Dow Corning Corporation.
• An alternative damping liquid is that manufactured by Asia Pacific Speciality Chemicals of Sydney, Australia and sold under the name VACUUM FLUID.
• FIG. 9-14 there is shown a stadium seat 41 according to a second embodiment.
• the seat 41 has a backrest 42 which is supported by two spaced apart vertically extending upstands 43, 44 which extend from a body 45.
• the upstands 43, 44 define an opening 46 therebetween.
• the body 45 is elongate and generally U- shaped when viewed in transverse cross section. This is best appreciated from Fig. 11.
• the U-shaped body 45 mates with a horizontally extending spine 47 which is supported by a number of spaced apart legs 48, only one of which is illustrated in Figs. 9-12.
• a seat 49 Pivotably mounted with respect to the body 45 and backrest 42 is a seat 49 which is movable between a substantially horizontal use configuration illustrated in Figs. 9-11 and a generally vertical standby configuration illustrated in Fig. 12.
• two metal straps 51, 52 extend around the body 45 and the spine 47 passing through the opening 46.
• the straps 51, 52 are preferably made of metal and are therefore in practical terms substantially inextensible and can be secured by any known mechanism.
• a substantial advantage of the straps 51, 52 is that they can be used to initially loosely mount the stadium seat 41 on the spine 47 such that the stadium seat 41 can be slid to the left or right along the spine 47 to determine its final position. Thereafter the straps 51, 52 are tightened to their final state thereby firmly securing the stadium seat 41 to the spine 47.
• the stadium seat 61 has a backrest 42, body 45 and seat 49 essentially as before.
• the spine 47 and leg 48 are also as before.
• the transverse extent of the upstands 63, 64 is greater in Figs. 13 and 14 than in Figs. 9-12.
• each of the upstands 63, 64 is provided with a corresponding aperture 65, 66. It is through these apertures 65, 66 that corresponding straps 71, 72 pass in order to clamp the body 45 to the spine 47.
• the body 45 is provided with a straight groove 68 which receives the strap 71 in order to locate same relative to the body 45.
• a similar groove 69 which is provided with a recess 70, the groove 69 accommodating the strap 72 and the recess 70 accommodating an indicium portion 74 of the strap 72.
• the indicium portion 74 carries a number, in this example the number of the seat 61 in a particular row (number 33) but the indicium portion could in addition indicate the row and seat number such as H42 indicating seat 42 in row H, for example.
• Each of the straps 71, 72 is provided with an aperture in one end and a threaded hole in the other end.
• a fastener in the form of a grub screw 76 is passed through the aperture and is threadably engaged with the threaded hole in order to tighten the strap 71, 72.
• An initial engagement between the grub screw 76 and the threaded hole is normally sufficient to loosely mount the stadium seat 61 on the spine 47 so that it can thereafter be adjusted into its final position. Then the grub screw 76 is tightened.
• the grub screw 76 is provided with a head (known per se) which is only able to be tightened and not untightened. This prevents vandals attacking the mounting arrangement once the seats have been finally positioned.
• the straps 51, 52, 71 and 72 can be fabricated from steel or engineering grade plastics material. Stamped metal straps are particularly useful because the seat number can be fabricated during the stamping operation.
• other mechanisms besides the grub screw can be used to tighten the straps. For example, radiator hose clamp technology or a toggle arrangement as used for ski boots, is able to be utilized.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Dentistry (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Chairs For Special Purposes, Such As Reclining Chairs (AREA)
• Chairs Characterized By Structure (AREA)
• Road Paving Structures (AREA)
• Seats For Vehicles (AREA)

Priority Applications (7)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (10)

Cited By (5)

Families Citing this family (26)

Citations (10)

Family Cites Families (18)

• 2005
  • 2005-09-16 AT AT05784639T patent/ATE418892T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-09-16 NZ NZ553667A patent/NZ553667A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-09-16 DE DE602005012123T patent/DE602005012123D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2005-09-16 JP JP2007531538A patent/JP4785855B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-09-16 AU AU2005284694A patent/AU2005284694B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2005-09-16 EP EP05784639A patent/EP1788910B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2005-09-16 CN CN200580031252XA patent/CN101022750B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-09-16 US US11/575,117 patent/US7950739B2/en active Active
  • 2005-09-16 WO PCT/AU2005/001420 patent/WO2006029473A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2005-09-16 ES ES05784639T patent/ES2320248T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (10)

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