Foldable stand

Abstract: The present invention relates to a foldable stand comprising a series of frame sections arranged partly to support seat/standing surfaces, partly to transfer the load from said surfaces to a supporting foundation, wherein the frame sections (1, 4, 6, 7) are rotatably arranged visavi a wall section (2) being arranged to be fastened to a wall or a corresponding object, and to rest upon a supporting foundation, that the frame sections (1, 4, 6, 7) are internally connected with leg sections (5, 8), that the leg sections (5, 8) and the frame sections (1, 4, 6, 7) are rotatably connected with each other, and that all frame sections ( 4, 6, 7) except for one (1) carry directly against the supporting foundation via said leg sections (5, 8), whereby the frame section (1), which is not carrying against the supporting foundation is joined to a lower frame section (4) via a rotatably arranged supporting leg (3).

Description: Technical field The present invention relates to a foldable stand comprising a series of frame sections lying one upon the other and arranged horizontally in unfolded condition partly to support seat/standing surfaces, partly to transfer the load from said surfaces to a supporting foundation by means of leg sections arranged side by side and connected with them, wherein the horizontal frame sections are rotatably arranged via rotatinal points, for a folding /unfolding operation in relation to a wall section being arranged to be fastened to a wall or a corresponding object and to rest upon a supporting foundation, said rotational points being arranged in said wall section. The object of the present invention is to obtain a foldable stand, which in a simple way can be brought in use from a folded condition and in the same simple way can be refolded when its space is needed for other purposes. Further the object is hereby to obtain a very stable unit which can resist the strain from a great number of sometimes energetic spectators. Background of the invention The need for stands in sport and athletic halls is great whereby, however, the problem is that one does not need them all the time, nor can have them at place due to the need for space. Another problem is often that the need is present in present halls where the use has been changed from a mere school gymnastics without any need for a stand, to spectator attracting sports and activities, such as indoor bandy, basket ball and volley ball. These activities were hardly thought of when building our present halls. With regard to the communes there are restricted financial resources present as well, and thus one tries to utilize present school gymnastics hall to such other activities in order to increase the extent of utility. Thus there is a desire for foldable stand constructions and such are available on the market as well. I.a. there is a so called telescopic stand, which, however, requires large space and which need to be planned already at the construction of the hall. It is previously known from DE-A-2,353,480 a foldable stand which comprises a rear stand and two side stands between which seat/standing surfaces are arranged. The seat/standing surfaces can be lowered via rotational points and links to coincide with a plane through the side stands. The stand is only supported in four points on the supporting foundation which results in that it can only be used for a very restricted load. US-A-3,001,243 describes a foldable stand, which is folded in sections. By means of this sectional folding the stand will extend considerably from e.g., a wall against which it has been mounted. US-A-2,054,960 describes a foldable stand similar to the one of US-A-3,001,243. Even this stand takes a considerable space out from the wall when folded. US-A-1,964,613 describes a foldable stand comprising a lower frame between the long sides of which a number of cross bars are arranged which carry in stair form further cross bars being subsequently shortened and carrying seat planes. The load from the upper planes burdens the lower cross bar in one point when there is no load transfer from an upper plane directly to the supporting foundation. This restricts the load capability of the stand. The construction further means a considerable extension at the folding together, from the wall against which the stand is mounted. Description of the present invention It has now surprisingly turned out possible to be able to solve these problems by means of the present invention, which is characterized in that the frame sections are internally connected with upright leg sections, that the leg sections and the frame sections are rotatably connected with each other via rotational points being arranged in said leg sections, and that in unfolded condition of the stand all frame sections except for the uppermost frame section carry directly against the supporting foundation via said leg sections extending to the said supporting foundation whereby the frame section, which is not carrying against the supporting foundation is joined to the frame section below it via a rotatably arranged supporting upright leg via a rotational point being arranged in said leg, whereby said frame sections, leg sections and wall section are arranged to cooperate to fold/unfold the stand. Further characteristics are evident from the accompanying claims. By means of the present invention a very stable and minimally space demanding stand is obtained which by means of manual force can be folded out for use in a simple way, or be folded together. The present invention will now be described more in detail below with reference to a preferred embodiment, however, without being restricted thereto, and to the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of a stand according to the present invention in a lowered/unfolded condition; FIG. 2 shows the stand according to FIG. 1 in a folded condition; FIG. 3 shows a stand according to the present invention seen in a perspective view from the rear side; and FIG. 4 shows a stand according to the present invention seen in a perspective view from the front side. 1 denotes a first frame section arranged to receive a seat or standing plane 13 for spectators. This first frame section 1 is rotatably mounted to the upper part of a wall section 2 via a rotation point 21 and is provided with a support leg 3 which is partly rotatably mounted in the frame section 1 via a rotation point 22, partly rotatably mounted in a second frame section 4 via a rotation point 23. The frame section 4 is likewise rotatably mounted visavi the wall section 2 via a rotation point 24 and is provided with a first leg section 5, which supports against a supporting foundation. The leg section 5 is rotatably mounted partly to the frame section 4 via a rotation point 25, partly to a third frame section 6, partly to a fourth frame section 7 via rotation points 26, and 27, respectively. The frame section 4 is arranged to receive a seat or standing plane 14 for spectators, as well. The third frame section 6 is, in the same way as the previously mentioned frame sections 1 and 4, rotatably mounted visavi the wall section via a rotation point 28, whereby the frame section 6 need not necessarily be drawn up to the wall section. Further, as mentioned the frame section 6 is rotatably mounted in the first leg section 5 in the rotation point 26, and rotatably mounted in a second leg section 8 via a rotation point 29, which in turn is rotatably mounted in the fourth frame section 7 via the rotation point 30. The fourth frame section 7 is, as the previously mentioned frame sections 1, 4 and 6, rotatably mounted in the wall section 2 via a rotation point 31, and carries a front leg 9 arranged to frame section 7, which leg is rotatably mounted in a rotation point 32. The frame sections 6 and 7 are, as well as the previously mentioned frame sections 1 and4 arranged to receive each their seat or standing plane 15 and 16 respectively, for spectators. Between the respective seat or standing plane a stair can be arranged in the form of detachable risers which are hooked on to the respective leg section/leg support. A wall section contains a number of groups of frame sections 1, 4, 6, and 7 between which groups seat or standing planes are arranged, which seat or standing planes join the frame sections to one unit, a foldable stand. The number of frame sections are determined by the space and the need for spectator places which is present. The seat planes can also be provided with foldable back rests to improve comfort and convenience. Likewise each unit can be provided with detachable side protecting racks which are conveniently arranged into notches arranged in the ends of the seat or standing planes, and the frame sections, respectively. The number of frame sections of a stand is determined by the space, but also the weight of the stand in the case one wants to fold and unfold the same manually. The number of groups of frame sections is determined by the longitudinal space available, and the weight from a handling point of view, and by need. Normally three to four groups of frame sections are used. In order to facilitate the folding of the stand against the wall to which it is attached a towing spring 10 can be arranged behind the wall section 2 and via a wire 11 over a intermediate point 12 of the upper part of the wall section be connected to the rotation point 27 to obtain a towing moment for aiding the folding of the stand against the wall. To facilitate the folding in and out of the forward leg 9 a guiding bar can be arranged between the leg section 8 and the leg 9 which forces the leg 9 to follow the movement of the leg section 8. Thereby there is a better guarantee that the leg 9 is unfolded which increases safetiness. For the sake of protection riser planes can be arranged between the leg sections which planes are arranged to prevent people to fall beneath the stand. The riser planes may either be stiff, of tree, polymer or the similar, or be soft, of woven material. The advantage of the present foldable stand is that it can be unfolded and folded, respectively, in a very simple way, whereby it takes a minimum of space in the foldable condition. The stand shown in the present drawing extends only 200 mm from the wall and forms in foldable condition a mere vertical unit. The leg sections, as well as the lower part of the wall section can be provided with joining surfaces which primarily has the task of creating an aesthetically moment/area which can be used for decoration, but also prevent e.g., when placed in a ball hall that bigger balls are wedged into the folded stand. Such continuous areas which normally consist of laminated wood, plywood, also creates a stability sideways and diagonally to the stand. It shall be noted that the lower part of the leg sections 5 and 8 as well as the lower part of the wall section are vertically arranged for maximal carrying capacity but also for best folding geometry. These parts, as well as the leg 9, remain vertical during the whole unfolding or folding events. Further, for geometrical reasons, to obtain a vertical "wall" in folded condition of the stand according to the present invention said wall and leg sections are angled backwardly seen from the front edge of the stand, i.e., so that the lower part of the wall section is placed at a distance from the wall while its upper part is substantially abutting the wall. The wall sections do not need to be attached to a wall even if this is normally done indoors, but the frame sections can be provided with a diagonally extending bar between the rotation points 24 and 27, whereby the foldable stand according to the present invention can be erected freely. This improves the field of use for the stand which thus, in a simple way, is made transportable and can be moved between different events. In such case a back rest is arranged between the upper frame sections 1 of a series. The wall sections can, in such a case also be denoted back section, back leg section or rear leg section. The distance between two seat/standing planes, h , is determined by the thickness of the seat/standing plane, t , and the distance between two rotational points, f , according to Pythagoras theorem, i.e., f 2 = t 2 + h 2 The distance of the wall section, k , from the wall at the lower part of the wall section, is k=3t . Further the distance c between the wall section and the first leg section which extends down to the supporting foundation, is equal to the sum of the distance a plus the distance b , whereby a is the distance between the rotation points 23 and 24, and the distance b is the distance between the rotation points 23 and 25, which is equal to the distance between the rotation points 26, and 28, and 27, and 31, respectively. The distances between the rotation points 26 and 29, and 30 and 32, respectively, are not critical to geometry for folding the stand.

Claims: A foldable stand comprising a series of frame sections lying one upon the other and arranged horizontally in unfolded condition partly to support seat/standing surfaces, partly to transfer the load from said surfaces to a supporting foundation by means of leg sections arranged side by side and connected with them, wherein the horizontal frame sections (1, 4, 6, 7) are rotatably arranged via rotational points (21, 24, 28, 31) for a folding/unfolding operation in relation to a wall section (2) being arranged to be fastened to a wall or a corresponding object, and to rest upon a supporting foundation, said rotational points being arranged in said wall section, characterized in, that the frame sections (1, 4, 6,7) are internally connected with upright leg sections (5, 8), that the leg sections (5, 8) and the frame sections (1, 4, 6, 7) are rotatably connected with each other via rotational points (25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32) being arranged in said leg sections, and that in unfolded condition of the stand all frame sections (4, 6, 7) except for the uppermost frame section (1) carry directly against the supporting foundation via said leg sections (5, 8) extending to the said supporting foundation, whereby the frame section (1), which is not carrying against the supporting foundation is joined to the frame section below it (4) via a rotatably arranged supporting upright leg (3) via a rotational point (22) being arranged in said leg, whereby said frame sections, leg sections and wall section are arranged to cooperate to fold/unfold the stand. Foldable stand according to claim 1, characterized in that the distance between the respective frame sections (1, 4, 6, 7) and between two consecutive leg sections (5, 8) relates as 1:1.5 to each other, whereby the distance between the frame section (1) which is not supported by the foundation and its rotatably support leg (3) is 1:1. Foldable stand according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lowermost frame section (7) is arranged to a towing spring (10) or the similar for support at the folding of the stand. Foldable stand according to claim 1, characterized in that the wall section (2) is arranged to be arranged at some distance from the wall in its lower part resting against the supporting foundation, to which wall the frame section (2) is arranged.

Inventors: STIGARD RAOUL, STIGARD, RAOUL
Applicants: RANTZOWS SPORT AB
Application year: 2000
Main classification: E04H3
IPC codes: E04H3