Stadium seat

Details Stadium seat Stadium seat

2002-03-15

2004-04-13

Cuomo, Peter M. (Department: 3636)

Chairs and seats

Movable bottom

Tiltable

C297S335000, C297S332000, C267S133000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06719370

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to seats, chairs and the like, and more particularly to fold-up or “tip-up” seats.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
The invention has been developed primarily for use as a stadium seat, and will be described predominantly with reference to this application. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use, being also applicable to auditoriums, concert halls, opera houses, grandstands, theatres, cinemas and potentially any other situation in which fold-up or tip-up seating is employed.
Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Stadium seats are reasonably well known. They typically comprise a generally horizontally oriented seat member disposed to support the majority of the weight of a sitter, and a generally vertically oriented backrest positioned immediately behind and above the seat member to provide appropriate back support. While some stadiums make use of elongate bench type arrangements, these tend to become relatively uncomfortable after prolonged periods, and for this reason, individual seat configurations are generally preferred.
Individual stadium seats of this type are typically grouped together in rows and are normally anchored securely to a frame or other supporting structure so as to maintain the intended spacing between seats and prevent unauthorised removal.
One difficulty that is commonly encountered with such seating is that in order to accommodate the maximum number of spectators in a limited space, the seats must be positioned relatively closely together. Such constraints on packing density apply in terms of both the lateral spacing between adjacent seats in a row, and the fore and aft spacing between successive rows. This makes it difficult for spectators to move along the limited corridor space between the backs of the seats in one row and the fronts of the seats in the adjacent row. It also makes cleaning of the seats, and of the spaces beneath, around and between them, more difficult.
In an attempt to ameliorate these problems, so-called tip-up stadium seats have been developed. These seats typically incorporate some form of hinge mechanism to permit the seat member to fold or tip upwardly toward the backrest, thereby creating additional corridor space between adjacent rows when the seats are not in use. Arrangements of this type have permitted greater packing densities to be achieved, or alternatively have provided more comfortable spacing between rows for a given packing density. They have also enabled greater access to facilitate cleaning. However, known tip-up seat mechanisms have been found in practice to suffer from various disadvantages, deficiencies and problems.
For example, in some designs, the only stable rest position for the folding seat member is the operative or use position, so that the potential space saving can only be realised by a spectator manually tipping up each seat individually as they pass along the row. This is a clumsy, awkward and time-consuming procedure for a user attempting to move along a particular row for any significant distance.
In other designs, a counterweight mechanism is provided so as automatically to bias the seat member into a fully upright or retracted position, when not in use. This provides optimum space saving potential. However, arrangements of this type are also prone to problems and disadvantages. For example, it is not uncommon for the mechanism to become stiff over time, due to the accumulation of dirt, spilled food or drink and other debris in the relatively small clearance spaces associated with the hinges. As soon as the resultant friction exceeds the relatively small retraction force provided by the counterweight, the retraction mechanism fails to operate automatically, and the individual seat members must once again be manually raised.
Such designs are further limited in that they require the seat member to be manually folded down, against the retraction force provided by the counterweight, before the user can safely sit on it. This operation is inconvenient if the user's hands are otherwise occupied, for example in carrying bags, food, drink or other amenities.
There is also a safety concern in relation to seats of this type, in situations when the user stands and then attempts to resume the seated position. In such circumstances, if the user is unaware that the seat member has automatically tipped upwardly into the retracted position, there is a significant risk that the user will fall onto the ground in front of the retracted seat, landing directly on the user's coccyx. This gives rise to the concomitant risk of shock and potentially serious spinal injury. Spectators are particularly prone to this sort of accident when standing momentarily while their attention is drawn away from the seat, as occurs for example when spontaneously rising to applaud, cheer on a player or team, celebrate a point score, or perform a “Mexican wave”.
In an attempt to ameliorate these problems, some tip-up stadium seats have been designed so as not to allow the seat member to retract into the fully upright position. However, this restriction compromises the space saving potential and also impedes cleaning and maintenance operations.
Many known stadium seats are also prone to rapid deterioration and premature failure due to inadequacies in their design and/or a failure on the part of the designers to anticipate the severity of the conditions to which the seats are repeatedly exposed at major mass marketed sporting events.
For example, in a number of known tip-up stadium seats, the hinge mechanisms have been found to be deficient. In some cases, the hinges are relatively weak, and are prone to rapid wear and frequent failure through the use and abuse to which they are inevitably subjected. Some designs are also susceptible to being improperly assembled at the installation stage, as a consequence of which the seat member can inadvertently become disconnected from the backrest and the supporting frame while in use. This situation is potentially hazardous, again due to the risk of the sitter falling without warning and landing on the coccyx.
A distinct but related shortcoming of some seats is that they can be disassembled too readily, and are therefore susceptible to vandalism. Aside from the cost of maintenance and repair, this issue is particularly problematic, because of the inherent hazard involved if the seat member can be intentionally removed and used abusively as a projectile by spectators.
Other deficiencies in known designs include excessive complexity of design, a large number of moving parts giving rise to complexity in installation, production and maintenance expense, exposed edges or protrusions on which clothing can catch, exposed back regions enabling inadvertent foot contact from behind, poor reliability, poor ergonomics, and premature degradation due to environmental exposure.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate one or more of these disadvantages of prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the invention provides a A tip-up seat assembly including:
a backrest, adapted to be secured to a supporting structure in a generally upright orientation;
a corresponding seat member adjacent the backrest, hingedly mounted for rotation between an open position wherein the seat member is substantially horizontal and a folded position wherein the seat member is tilted upwardly toward the backrest;
bias means for biasing the seat member toward the folded position; and
a tilt-limiter configured to resiliently restrain the seat member in an intermediate position thereby avoiding inadvertent rotation of the seat member into the folded position.
Preferably, the tilt-limiter includes a resilient arm having a free end for engagement with a contact surface to provide a count

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