Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – With stadium or auditorium feature – Seating arrangement
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-28
2001-06-12
Kent, Christopher T. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
With stadium or auditorium feature
Seating arrangement
C052S009000, C052S006000, C052S183000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06243991
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to tiered stands installed in indoor facility such as gymnasium, auditorium or multipurpose hall, or indoor or outdoor athletic field or the like, and pertains in particular to variable floor height tiered stands wherein each of the tiered floor members can be synchronously displaced vertically upwards or downwards whenever necessary in order to change the height of the floor members depending upon the intended use of the facility.
BACKGROUND ART
When, for example, a stadium for ice hockey game as shown in
FIG. 1
is used as a stadium for a basketball game as shown in
FIG. 2
, with a basket court
50
arranged at the center area, it would be desirable to be able to accommodate as increased number of spectators as possible. In this instance, in addition to the existing tiered stands
51
in the stadium, it has been a conventional practice generally adopted in the United States or in other countries to arrange separate stands
52
between the existing stands
51
and the basket court
50
as seen in the longitudinal direction of the stadium. The same is true when, for example, an athletic stadium is to be used as a concert hall by removing part of the tiered stands on one longitudinal side of the stadium and arranging a stage
53
on that side, as shown in FIG.
3
.
When a stadium is used for various purposes as exemplified above, it is preferred that the inclination of the tiered stands as a whole can be changed as required in relation to the intended use. Thus, in the above-mentioned examples, in order to watch an ice hockey game, it is desirable to achieve a steep inclination of the stands and thereby realize a wide visual field, as shown in FIG.
4
(
a
) which is a schematic sectional view of the tiered stands. On the other hand, for watching a basket ball game, in view of the fact that the basket court itself is not large, and by further taking into account the required number of the additional stands, it is desirable to achieve an intermediate inclination by increasing the height of the tiered stands on the lower side. Furthermore, when the stadium is used as a concert hall, it is highly important that as many stands
52
as possible are arranged on the front side of the tiered stands
51
. Thus, the height of the tiered stands
52
on the lower side is further increased as shown in FIG.
4
(
c
) to achieve a less steep inclination.
In the examples shown in FIGS.
3
and
4
(
c
), the tiered stands
51
situated on the side of the stage
53
, either partly or in their entirety, may be arranged such that they are of a telescopic structure wherein the floors on the lower side are retraced below the floors on the upper side, thereby allowing the stage
53
to be installed. However, since such an arrangement, per se, is not a direct subject matter of the present invention, a detailed explanation will be omitted.
The inclination of the tiered stands
51
as a whole can be readily changed, for example, in the manner as shown in a schematic side view of FIG.
5
(
a
). In this instance, among the horizontal floor members F
1
to F
n
arranged in the form of tiers, the location corresponding the rear end of the floor member F
n
at the uppermost stage is used as a fulcrum O, and a linear frame member FR connected to the rear ends of the remaining floor members F
1
to F
n-1
is caused to rotate about the fulcrum O by a desired angle upwards, for example. During such rotation, the horizontal posture of the movable floor members F
1
to F
n-1
can be maintained by providing a parallel link mechanism such that movable portions associated with the respective floor members are restricted with respect to each other. To this end, as shown in FIG.
5
(
b
) for example, the floor members F
1
to F
n
including the stationary floor member are connected to each other by a link element LN which extends in parallel with the frame member FR.
When, however, the overall inclination of the tiered stands and hence that of the plurality of floor members is changed in the manner explained above, as shown in FIG.
5
(
a
), the floor member F
1
at the lowermost stage protrudes forwards by a relatively large horizontal distance P along with a decrease in the inclination, so that the projected planar space of the stands in their architectural design cannot be maintained constant. Also, when it is necessary to provide a stationary structure, such as fence, in front of the floor member F
1
at the lowermost stage, as in ice hockey stadium, there still remains a problem that the floor member F
1
at the lowermost stage is brought into interference wit such a stationary structure.
With the above-mentioned known arrangement, furthermore, the depth of each tier increases as the inclination becomes less steep, thereby giving rise to a problem that it is at any time difficult to optimize the desired level difference between the tiers, the desired location and the desired height of the seats provided on each tier, hence the eye position and visual field of the spectator on the seat.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide variable floor height tiered stands in which longitudinal displacement and variation in depth of the tiered floor member of the stands are minimized when the inclination of the tier floor members is changed, thereby allowing planning of the tiered stands with a constant installation space, and eliminating the risk of interference between the stands and any stationary structure, while facilitating settings of the desired level difference between the tiers, the desired location and the desired height of the seats provided on each tier, and the like.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, there is provided variable floor height tiered stands comprising a plurality of movable floor members extending horizontally and arranged in the form of tiers, said floor members being adapted to be unitarily rotated by a swing arm about a fulcrum which is provided for a support member of a stationary floor member at the uppermost stage so as to change inclination of the floor members, wherein said fulcrum is located at a cross point between the support member of the stationary floor member at the uppermost stage and the horizontal segment or a segment in parallel therewith, which substantially bisects a vertical segment representing a vertical displacement of the movable floor member at the lowermost stage when the movable floor members are caused to undergo a parallel displacement vertically between the desired maximum inclination position and the minimum inclination position; and a swing arm is provided and has a length that allows connection between said fulcrum and a rear end of the movable floor member at the lowermost stage before or after the vertical displacement, will all the movable floor members connected to the swing arm.
This is shown in the conceptual views of FIGS.
6
(
a
) and (
b
). Thus, when each of the movable floor members F
1
to F
n-1
are moved unitarily between the maximum inclination position of the floor members F
1
to F
n
indicated by the solid line in FIG.
6
(
a
) and the minimum of the floor members indicated by the imaginary line, and the movable floor member F
1
at the lowermost stage is vertically displaced by an amount A, a cross point CR is formed between a horizontal segment HZ on one hand, which bisects a vertical segment a
1
or a
2
connecting the positions of the front or rear edge of that floor member F
1
before and after the displacement, and the support member SP of the stationary floor member F
n
at the uppermost stage, on the other hand. As further shown in FIG.
6
(
b
), a swing arm SA is provided and has a length that allows the connection of the fulcrum and the rear edge of the movable floor member F
1
at the lowermost stage before the vertical displacement, for example, with all the movable floor members F
1
to F
n-1
connected to the swing arm SA.
With such an arrangement, by causing an angular displacement of the swing arm SA between the maximum and minimum in
Kabushikikaisya Kotobuki
Kent Christopher T.
Thissell Jennifer I.
Young & Thompson
LandOfFree
Variable floor height tiered stand does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Variable floor height tiered stand, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Variable floor height tiered stand will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2445703