STAGING STRUCTURE

Abstract: A staging system and apparatus for construction of flat stages, choral risers, and the like which utilizes a basic structural flat rectangular panel module with an edge of extruded material having a re-entrant groove on the outer surface and upper and lower sockets on each side of each corner of the panel to receive support legs fashioned to be received in the bottom sockets. Railing stanchions are provided to seat in the top sockets. In the vertically spaced and overlapping choral risers, the top sockets serve to locate the overlap and mechanically lock the panels in an overlap position. Inserts received in the re-entrant groove interen­ gage with the re-entrant groove of an adjacent panel, to provide lateral and vertical stability to adjacent panels Special leg brackets are provided to engage the bottom sockets of two or four adjacent module panels to provide vertical support and lateral retention. Leg assemblies can be formed as a folding frame to facilitate shipping and storage. An interlock is provided between legs and sockets. Cable stabilization is provided with a cam tightening unit. A railing structure is provided to be supported in upper sockets and arranged for horizontal or angled railings. Step units are provided to interlock with the re-entrant grooves of the panel edges. Velcro clips are also received in the panel groove to support skirt curtains. A special roller accessory also mounts in the panel grooves to facilitate moving of the panels.

Description: The present invention relates to a staging system for construction of choral risers and the like, which includes a plurality of flat structural load-bearing square, rectangular or trapezoidal panels to serve as a module having spaced upper and lower surfaces and front and rear edges and a plurality of leg elements on said panels, including rearward longer legs at the rear edges and forward shorter legs at the front edges, said longer legs being provided on a first panel to rest on a supporting surface and a lateral bar connecting said longer and shorter legs of each panel. A staging system of this type has become known from US-A-29 78 754. In this prior staging system both the forward and rearward legs rest on the supporting surface, e.g. the ground. The rearward longer legs of a lower panel at the same time form the forward shorter legs of an adjacent upper panel. Furthermore, the lateral bars connecting the longer and shorter legs are arranged below the level of the lowest panel in this prior construction. The problem underlying the present invention is to increase both the vertical and lateral stability of such a staging system for construction of choral risers and the like. In a staging system of the above identified type this problem is solved by (a) said shorter forward legs being provided to rest on a rear portion of a second lower panel below said first panel, (b) said lateral bar being provided above the level of said second lower panel and (c) mechanical means connecting the top of a rearward leg of a lower panel to said lateral bar to provide lateral stability of the riser construction. Due to this structure there is an overlap of the panels with respect to each other. This results in substantial lateral and vertical stability of the staging system. Drawings accompany the disclosure and the various views thereof may be briefly described as follows; Fig. 1 a vertical plan of a choral staging assembly Fig. 2 an end view of the staging of Fig.1 Fig. 3 an enlarged section of the assembly of Fig.1 taken on line 36--36 of Fig.1 Fig. 4 a rear view of the assembly of Fig.1 taken on line 37--37 of Fig.3 Fig. 5 a view of a leg support structure with cross-bar interlock for horizontal bracing Fig. 6 a section view on line 39--39 of Fig.5 Fig. 7 a sectional view on line 40--40 of Fig.5 Fig. 8 a view from the back of a riser assembly showing the horizontal bracing Fig. 9 a view of a cable bracing connection at circle 42 in Figs.4 and 8 Fig.10 a view similar to Fig.9 with a cam cable take-up actuated Fig.11 a sectional view on line 44--44 of Fig.10 Fig.12 a sectional view on line 45--45 of Fig.3 showing the details of the riser overlap and interconnection Fig.13 a sectional view on line 46--46 of Fig.12 Fig.14 an illustration of a railing support Fig.15 a view similar to Fig.14 showing angled railings. Fig.16 a top view at arrow 49 of Fig.14 Fig.17 a view at arrow 50 on Fig.14 Fig.18 a view of a railing stanchion for a stair rail In Fig.1, there is illustrated a staging unit utilized for choral groups wherein a series of risers provide horizontal support for people standing in line, each line being at a different level than the next. There is, in Fig.1, a main back section 250, two wing portions 252, and angled connector portion 254. An end view, in small dimension, is illustrated in Fig.2 with railings 256. A larger view is shown in Fig.3 wherein a series of support panels 120 are mounted at different levels in overlapping relationship to provide a choral riser. With the exception of the lowest panel, the next adjacent rising panels each have a long leg support for the rear portion and a short leg support for the front portion which will rest on the next adjacent lower panel. Railing stanchions 258 can insert into sockets 160 in the outer corners of the various risers. In Fig.4, cable reinforcing devices utilizing cables 260 can be anchored at various portions to stabilize the unit horizontally. A device is provided ot tighten the cables which are anchored at the top. The tightening device is shown in Figs. 9 and 10 which are enlargements of the encircled portion 42 of Figs.4 and 8. With reference to Fig.9, on a leg portion 270, a circular cam 272 is rotatably mounted and carries an eccentric pivot pin 274 to which the cables are connected. Rotation of the cam as shown in Fig.10 will tighten the cables 260 to provide the proper tension. Also, as shown in Figs.8,9 and 10, drop-in horizontal bars, referenced generally at 280, have downwardly projecting portions 281 which socket in side mounted tubes 282. See also Fig.5. In Fig. 6, a U-shaped spring clip 284 with a button 286 is utilized to lock the horizontal bars in place until intentionally released. Fig.7 shows a section on line 40--40 of Fig.5. A more detailed showing of the stepped-in riser construction is found in Fig.12, a section taken on line 45--45 of Fig.3. At the top left-hand portion of Fig.12, it will be seen that the support module 120 has a depending leg 288 with a foot pad 182 resting on the lower module 120. The leg 288 has a conical projection 190 which projects into the socket 160 and is retained by the insert 214 and bolt 216. The longer leg 290 extends down to the supporting surface and also has a projection 190 secured in the support module 120 by a bolt 292. A lateral bar 294 connects the legs and is diagonally supported by a strut 296. A sectional view in Fig.13, taken on line 46--46 of Fig.12, shows the bar 294 mounted in a yoke 298 supported in a gusset 300 on a plate 302. This plate is secured by plugs 304 and bolts 306 to the support module 120. The yoke 298 is designed to be located at various points along the bar 294. See, for exampe, the threaded recess 307. Thus, the overlap of the risers can be adjusted as desired and still locked in place. Thus, the risers are secured to each other through the respective corner sockets and supported by the horizontal lateral members as well as by the tightened cables. In Figs. 14,15 and 16, there are showings of the manner in which a railing can be secured to the risers at the outer edges. A railing stanchion 310 is suitably supported in a socket 160 through a conical insert 312 (See Figs.14 and 17). The stanchion 310 has a plate 314 which rests on a support module 120. A bayonet slot 316, shwon in Figs. 14 and 17, is utilized in conjunction with a cross-pin 318 on a threaded shaft 317 which is resiliently biased upwardly by a coil spring 319. This pin will move the threaded shaft 317 vertically to retract it into the cone 312 for protection during shipping. When pin 318 is moved into the locking portion of the byonet slot 316 against spring 319, the threaded end may be screwed into the lower cone 190. The railings are pivotally mounted on a top piece 320 at the joints 322 and 324 (Fig.16) so that the railings can be aligned as in Fig.14 or angled as in Fig.15. If the railing stanchion is to be mounted on an angled stair rail, the structure shown in Fig.18 is utilized where the side beam of the stair rail 330 has a socket member 332 welded thereto to receive the lower end of a rail stanchion 310.

Claims: A staging system for construction of choral risers and the like, which includes a plurality of flat structural load-bearing square, rectangular or trapezoidal panels (120) to serve as a module having spaced upper and lower surfaces and front and rear edges and a plurality of leg elements on said panels, including rearward longer legs (290) at the rear edges and forward shorter legs (288) at the front edges, said longer legs being provided on a first panel to rest on a supporting surface and a lateral bar (294) connecting said longer and shorter legs (288,290) of each panel (120), characterized by (a) said shorter forward legs (288) being provided to rest on a rear portion of a second lower panel (120) below said first panel, (b) said lateral bar (294) being provided above the level of said second lower panel (120) and (c) mechanical means (292,298,300) connecting the top of a rearward leg (290) of a lower panel to said lateral bar (294) to provide lateral stability of the riser construction. A staging system for construction of choral risers as defined in claim 1, in which riser panels (120) are positioned adjacent each other in end-to-end relation and said mechanical means (292,298,300) is engaged with two adjacent riser panels to maintain the end-to-end relationship and support the lateral bar (294). A staging system for construction of choral risers as defined in claim 1 in which said forward legs (288) are adjustable in length (182) to bear on a lower forward panel. A staging system for construction of choral risers as defined in claim 1 in which said panels (120) have open-ended sockets (160) at each leg position with an axis perpendicular to the plane of the panels, and said legs (288,290) have end projections (190) to insert respectively into a lower end of a socket, and retention means (310,316) positionable in the upper end of a socket to engage and retain said end projection securely in said sockets. A staging system as defined in claim 4 in which retention means (314,316) for the rearward legs is mechanically secured to a lateral bar (294) connecting a rearward leg and a forward leg. A staging system as defined in claim 4 in which said retention means includes a vertical stanchion (310) insert (312) for a railing support, and means (317) on said stanchion insert to engage and retain a leg projection (190) at the lower end of a socket. A staging system as defined in claim 4 in which said means on said stanchion support comprises a screw threadable (317) into a threaded recess on said leg projection, said screw being retractable to a position (Fig. 50) to avoid damage during transport of the stanchion and advanceable to a locked position to facilitate assembly. A staging system as defined in claim 4 in which said sockets have a detent recess (168) within the socket and said leg projections have a detent (192) to be received in said detent recess to retain said projection within the recess during assembly.

Inventors: BARDWICK III, JOHN, ROGERS, ORLEY DAVID, STATEN, KENNETH
Applicants: STAGERIGHT CORPORATION
Application year: 1985
Main classification: E04H3
IPC codes: A63J1, E04H3