System for fittings for arenas and stadiums

Abstract

A connection and support apparatus for fittings for stadiums / arenas, comprises a fitting with a spigot, a spigot mounting profile having a socket for the spigot, a mounting base to house the spigot mo

Description

The present specification relates to a system for fittings for arenas and stadiums, that is, a system for providing fittings such as seats, rails and other items in position on the stadium tiers. Stadiums and arena venues host a variety of events that often require the facilities to be reconfigured to meet the specific needs of each event. This often requires removing and / or interchanging different fittings for other fittings. For example, some stadiums wish to switch between terraces having seating, to terraces where attendees can stand. Permitting fans to stand may require that barriers are erected between terraces. Depending on the event, a stadium may want both areas for attendees to stand and areas where seating is provided. Some stadiums prefer to combine both seating and barrier rails into a combined unit, providing the option to lock or prevent the seats from being used during standing events. In some venues, these barrier rails and / or seating need to be installed on retractable or telescopic platforms that can be pushed back or retracted to provide space for other types of events. When installed on these telescopic tribunes, it is preferable for the seats and / or guard rails to fold into the spaces between the decking so they can be retracted without removing all the equipment. Some areas of the venue may require press desks for certain events but not for others, making it useful to have the ability to interchange seating with desks conveniently. The object of the present invention is to provide a solution which allows different stadium furniture to be added, removed and swapped in a convenient manner. Further objects will be apparent from the explanation of the description, drawings and claims. According to the present invention, there is provided a connection and support apparatus according to claim 1. The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, of which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a row of chairs featuring an embodiment of the latching system; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the row of chairs with the latching system in a separated state; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a detail of the latching system in a separated state; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a detail of another embodiment of the latching system in an assembled state; Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a detail of part of the latching system; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a guard rail featuring an embodiment of the latching system; Figure 7 is a perspective view of a press rail featuring an embodiment of the latching system; Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of a detail of part of another embodiment of the latching system; Figure 9 is a perspective view of the latching system of figure 8 in an assembled state, in first locked state; Figure 10 is a perspective view of the latching system of figure 8 in an assembled state, in second unlocked state; Figure 11 is a perspective view of the latching system of figure 8 in an assembled state, in third state where the pivoting procedure is commencing; Figure 12 is a perspective view of the latching system of figure 8 in an assembled state, in fourth state where the pivoting procedure has completed; Figure 13 is a perspective view of a guard rail featuring the latching system of figure 8, the guard rail being in a vertical orientation; and Figure 14 is a perspective view of a guard rail featuring the latching system of figure 8, the guard rail being in a folded horizontal orientation. Referring to figure 1, a chair assembly 10 comprises a row of three chairs 12 mounted on a rail 14. Referring also to figures 2 and 3, a leg or spigot 15 down downwardly extends from each end of the chair assembly, these two spigots engaging with two latching supports 16 which secure the chair assembly 10 with respect to the ground 11. The spacing between the two spigots 15 corresponds to the spacing two latching supports 16. Referring particularly to figure 3, the latching support 16 includes a receiving socket 18 which is shaped to receive the spigot 15. In the following examples, the spigot 15 is of substantially rectangular cross-section, and the socket 18 of the latching support 16 has a cavity having a corresponding rectangular cross section. The spigot 15 includes a lip or lips 17, which abut the upper edge of the socket 18 and locate the chair assembly 10 at the correct height. The spigot 15 can be produced using different manufacturing technologies and / or materials such an engineering plastics or laser cut steel, this will depend on the type of furniture or equipment to which it is attached. The latching support 16 also includes a latch 20, which is shaped so that when the spigot 15 is lowered into the latching support 16, the lip 17 on the front of the spigot can push the latch 20 aside to allow the lip 17 to descend to the edge of the socket 18, but once the lip 17 has passed, the latch 20 prevents the lip from ascending, as shown in figure 4. It will be noted that the lip 17 may be situated just on the front and rear surfaces of the spigot 15 adjacent to the latch 20 in use as shown in figure 3, or the lip 17 may be encompass the entire perimeter of the spigot 15 as shown in figure 4. Referring to figure 5, the latching support 16 generally comprises a mounting base 26, a spigot mounting profile 22, and the latch 20. The mounting base comprises two parallel walls spaced by a web to form a generally C-section bracket, into which the spigot mounting profile 22 is located and secured to the mounting base 26 by means of bolts 34 which extend through corresponding holes 37 formed in the mounting base 26 and spigot mounting profile 22, held by washers 36 and nuts 35. The design of the mounting base 26 may vary dependant on its specific application to the building or substructure to which it is secured The spigot mounting profile 22 and mounting base 26 could be secured together in different ways. The spigot mounting profile 22 is of uniform cross section, comprising a central socket 18 for receiving the spigot 15, a front 'C' section 24 which accommodates and constrains the latch 20, and a rear boxed compartment 25 which adds rigidity to the spigot mounting profile 22. The spigot mounting profile 22 is ideally formed as an aluminium extrusion, which can be produced within close tolerances in order to maintain a close fit with the spigot 15. The latch 20 is pivotally secured to the spigot mounting profile 22 by a pivot pin 28 which extends through a bore in the latch 20 and a pair of pivot holes 29 in the spigot mounting profile 22. The latch 20 is biased to close by a return spring 32, the front short legs of the 'C' section providing a strong and convenient stop. A locking bolt 31 extends through a threaded hole 39 in the latch 20 (conveniently coaxial with the return spring 32) and acts against the rear wall of the 'C' section 24. When the locking bolt 31 is wound inwards it acts on the rear wall of the 'C' section 24 pushing the latch 20 firmly against the front legs of the 'C' section 24 and is prevented from rotating, the latch 20 is locked. When the bolt 31 is wound out the latch 20 is free to rotate automatically returning to home position by the spring 32. As previously discussed, the surface of the latch 20 that faces the socket 18 has a ramp surface which, provided the locking bolt 31 is not constraining the latch 20, allows the latch 20 to pivot over the lip 17 of the spigot 15 when the spigot 15 is pushed into the socket 18. Once the lip 17 has passed the ramp surface, the latch 20 is urged to pivot back by the return spring 32 to retain the lip 17 against a stop surface, securing the spigot 15 (and so the chairs 12) to the latching support 16. The locking bolt 31 may be adjusted so that the latch 20 cannot be moved, preventing tampering. After this has been done, both the spigot 15 of the chairs 12, the chairs 12 are securely fixed relative to the ground 19. When it is necessary to remove the chairs, the locking bolt 31 of each latch 20 is adjusted to allow the latch 20 to pivot freely, the lower part of the latch 20 is pressed towards the socket 18 to pivot the latch 20 and release the lip 17 of the spigot 15, and the chairs 12 may be lifted off the latching support 16. The lipped spigot, latch and spigot mounting profile 22 fixed to a mounting base thus provide a convenient system for removably installing chairs. Other stadium fittings could be equipped with spigots in a similar manner, utilising the same mounting base 26, spigot mounting profile 22, and latch 20. Referring to figure 6, a guard rail 41 includes two spigots 15 which engage with two latching support 16 in the same fashion as previously described for the chairs 12; figure 7 shows a press desk 43, again having two spigots at the end of the legs of the press desk 43, and again these engage with two latching support 16 in the same fashion as previously described. This means that various stadium fittings such as chairs, guard rails, press desks and other items can be conveniently and rapidly interchanged. The fittings can either use the same mounting base 26 and spigot mounting profile 22, or if desired, the spigot mounting profile 22 could be removed and replaced with a different spigot mounting profile 22, for example if a longer spigot mounting profile 22 is desirable for a particular fitting, or a different design of mounting base could be used to mount to a wall as opposed to floor. Referring to figures 8 and 9, the fitting assembly could have the capability to be folded without being disassembled, which is particularly useful when the fitting is incorporated in a telescopic grandstand system. As previously described, a spigot mounting profile 22 is secured in a mounting base 26, the spigot mounting profile 22 again having a socket 18 to receive the spigot of a fitting, and a 'C' section 24 incorporating a latch 20. In this embodiment an alternative mounting base 65 is used which allows a modified spigot mounting profile 22 to be pivoted through approximately 90 degrees within the mounting base 65 allowing it fold, typically between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation. A pivot pin 48 passes through two elongated holes 50 in the mounting base 65 and though concentric holes 47 in the spigot mounting profile 22. A stirrup pin 49 passes through a retaining slots 55 and two concentric holes in the mounting profile 52, each retaining slot 55 forming part of an arcuate slot or cutout 53 provided in each wall of the mounting base 26. A latch pin 46 passes two concentric holes 47 in the mounting base 65 and clearance cutaways 63 in the mounting profile 22. Features 47, 52 and 63 are all located in the front 'C' section of the mounting profile 24 so that the rectangular socket 18 is not obstructed. A blocking latch 45 has two concentric holes 47 which correspond to the latch pin 46 allowing the bocking latch 45 to rotate in a fixed datum located on the mounting base 65. When in the upright or in use position the pivot pin 48 is at the bottom of the elongate slot 50 and the stirrup pin 49 is at the bottom of the retaining slot 55. The blocking latch 45 has a return tension spring 56, one end of spring 56 being attached to the blocking latch 45 and at the other to a hole 66. The return spring 56 retains 45 in a vertical position relative to 66, its leading edges 46 preventing or blocking the stirrup pin 49 from being lifted from the retaining slot 55 (and thus preventing inadvertent folding of the fixing) until blocking latch 45 is temporarily rotated out of the way so that the mounting profile 22 can be lifted, as shown in figure 10. The blocking latch pivot pin 46, fitting pivot pin 48, and fitting stop pin 49 may be secured in their respective holes with circlips 58. In this embodiment, a vertical bracket fixing 65 is included to allow the mounting base 26 to be additional secured to a vertical riser. It will be noted that in this embodiment, the spigot mounting profile 22 does not include the boxed compartment 25. Referring to figure 11, the mounting profile 22 can now be lifted, such that the pivot pin 48 is at the top of the elongate slot 50 and stirrup pin 49 has cleared the retaining slot 55. The stirrup pin 46 enters the arc shaped cutaway in 53 which is concentric with the top pivot centre of the elongate slot 50 allowing the mounting profile 22 to rotate forwards to a horizontal orientation. When the folding sequence of the fitting is reversed, when the spigot is in the vertical orientation the weight of the fitting will cause the fitting stop pin 49 to descend into the retaining slot 55. Referring to figure 13, the spigot 15 of a guard rail 41 have been fitted to the modified folding latching support 16' described in figures 8 to 10. Referring to figure 14, after operating the folding procedure described above, the guard rail 41 is now in a horizontal orientation. In this specification an apparatus / method / product "comprising" certain features is intended to be interpreted as meaning that it includes those features, but that it does not exclude the presence of other features. Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A connection and support apparatus for fittings for arenas and stadiums, comprising:A fitting with at least one spigot;A latching support comprising:a spigot mounting profile having a socket configured to receive the spigot;a mounting base to house the spigot mounting profile and secure it to the ground or base structure;a latch pivotally secured to the latching support by a pivot pin, the latch having a ramp surface and a stop surface, the latch configured to allow the spigot to be inserted into the central socket and to prevent the spigot from being removed once inserted, unless the latch is released by a user.

2. The connection and support apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the latch is biased to a closed position by a return spring.

3. The connection and support apparatus according to any previous claim wherein a locking bolt is provided that is capable of securing the position of the latch.

4. The connection and support apparatus according to any previous claim, wherein the spigot includes a lip configured to engage with the latch.

5. The connection and support apparatus according to any previous claim, wherein the latch is mounted on the spigot mounting profile.

6. The connection and support apparatus according to any previous claim, wherein there is provided:A hole in the mounting base and a corresponding pivot pin in the spigot mounting profile, configured to allow a pivoting motion of the spigot and fitting;an arcuate cutout in the mounting base includes a retaining slot, and a corresponding stop pin in the spigot mounting profile, configured to constrain the extent of the pivoting motion.

7. The connection and support apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the hole in the mounting base is elongated, and the arcuate cutout in the mounting base includes aretaining slot configured to constrain the pivoting motion and lock the fitting in a vertical orientation unless the fitting is intentionally lifted by the user8. The connection and support apparatus according to either claim 6 or 7, wherein there is5 included a blocking latch configured to prevent the fitting from inadvertently pivoting.

9. The connection and support apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spigot mounting profile is formed as an aluminium extrusion.10 10. A latching support according to any previous claim.

11. A spigot adapted for use with the latching support according to claim 10.

12. The connection and support apparatus for fittings, comprising a fitting having a plurality15 of spigots, and a plurality of corresponding latching supports.

Images