Tribune grand stand construction with downwardly and upwardly extending hook-shaped finger and nose portions as male coupling parts and related method for building such a tribune grand stand construction

Abstract

A tribune grand stand construction comprises main frame side-carriers and seating frame cross-carriers detachably connected by means of male and female coupling parts. The male coupling parts (MCP) comprise a connector with a downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (21a) and an upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b). The female coupling parts (FCP) comprise a forwardly facing insertion opening (12) that is delimited by a lower and an upper hooking surface (15, 16). A distance (d1) between a free lower end of the finger portion (21a) and a free upper end of the nose portion (21b) is larger than a height (y) between the lower and upper hooking surfaces (15, 16). A distance (d2) between the free lower end of the nose portion (21a) and an inner lower end of the nose portion (21b) is smaller than the height (y) between the lower and upper hooking surfaces (15, 16).

Description

[0001] TRIBUNE GRAND STAND CONSTRUCTION WITH DOWNWARDLY AND UPWARDLY EXTENDING HOOK-SHAPED FINGER AND NOSE PORTIONS AS MALE COUPLING PARTS AND RELATED METHOD FOR BUILDING SUCH A TRIBUNE GRAND STAND CONSTRUCTION

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to tribune grand stand constructions that can easily and quickly be built on site, mainly for temporary purposes, during sports games or other spectator events, such that they can also easily and quickly be removed again.

[0004] BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

[0005] Such temporary tribune grand stand constructions, also referred to as bleachers, are known in various embodiments for offering a plurality of raised rows of seating positions, like foldable seats, bucket seats or the like, for people to sit on. It is known for this to make use of quickly and easily (dis)mountable open frame-type understructures with vertical uprights that are connected to each other via stabilization rods. The rows of seating positions then get connected to upper ends of the uprights. In particular use may then be made of left and right stepped main frame side-carriers that get to bridge distances between the upper ends of the uprights, such that multiple rows of seating positions can be hung between those main frame side-carriers at those multiple steps. Seating frame cross-carriers then may be connected at each of those multiple levels to the stepped main frame side-carriers. The seating frame cross-carriers may form rows of seating positions themselves or rows of seating positions may be hung thereto.

[0006] FR-2.259.190 discloses an example of such left and right stepped main frame sidecarriers that define three-levels between which seating frame cross-carriers are mountable that each carry a bench-like curved seating surface. For this, complementary male and female coupling parts are provided between the main frame side-carriers and seating frame cross-carriers. The female coupling parts here are formed by forwardly facing triangular insertion openings that are provided in front walls of the main frame side-carriers. The male coupling parts here are formed by backwardly projecting hook-shaped finger portions that are provided at back sides of the seating frame cross-carriers and that are configured to get inserted into the insertion openings and then moved downwards to hook therein. Due to the downwardly narrowing triangular shape of the insertion openings, the hooks get wedged into them, thus providing a more or less fixated coupled state.

[0007] A disadvantage hereof is that the hook-shaped finger portions can only hook into the insertion openings if all of them are simultaneously accurately positioned in front of their corresponding insertion openings. Due to the length and weight of the seating frame crosscarrier, this is a difficult operation, particularly if one has to do this alone, and particularly also because it needs to be done for each step of the main frame side-carriers at both ends of each seating frame cross-carrier. All this makes the building of this known temporary tribune grand stand rather difficult and time-consuming.

[0008] Another disadvantage is that the coupling between the male and female coupling parts is not truly upwardly fixated. For example high wind loads may push seating frame crosscarriers out of their coupled states, making the rest of the tribune grand stand construction less strong and stable. EP-2.557.255 discloses an open frame-type understructure with cornering uprights, on the tops of which stepped main frame side-carriers are releasably connected. Seating frame cross-carriers that each carry a row of seats can be hung at three levels between those stepped main frame side-carriers. For this, pairs of upper and lower pegs with thin necks and thick heads are provided at each of those three levels of the stepped main frame sidecarriers. The seating frame cross-carriers at their outer ends are provided with complementary pairs of upper and lower hooks that project backwardly and that are configured to hook over the pairs of pegs.

[0009] A disadvantage hereof is that the pairs of hooks can only engage with the pairs of pegs if all four hooks are lifted and hooked simultaneously behind the heads over the necks of the pegs. Due to the length and weight of the seating frame cross-carrier, this is a difficult operation, particularly if one has to do this alone, and particularly also because it needs to be done for each step of the main frame side-carriers at both ends of each seating frame crosscarrier. The accurate orientating of the relative heavy seating frame cross-carriers is further complicated because each seating frame cross-carrier must at a same time be manoeuvred underneath front edges and above back edges of floor plates that were already laid in place upon the stepped main frame side-carriers at an earlier stage. All this makes the building of this known temporary tribune grand stand construction rather difficult and time-consuming.

[0010] Another disadvantage is that the seating frame cross-carriers after being hung in place are only loosely hooked in the coupled state. Thus they run a risk of getting unintentionally detached, for example due to large wind forces blowing from a back side underneath the open-frame understructure, and thus possibly exerting large upwards lifting forces upon the floor plates and seating frame cross-carriers.

[0011] WO-2016 / 115643 discloses a subassembly of left and right stepped main frame sidecarriers that are connected with each other by means of seating frame cross-carriers at three levels. Rows of seats can subsequently be hung at those three levels onto the seating frame cross-carriers between those stepped main frame side-carriers. The seating frame crosscarriers at their outer ends are provided with pairs of upper and lower pegs with thin necks and thick heads. The stepped main frame side-carriers are provided with complementary pairs of upper and lower receptacles that are configured for the heads of the pegs to get inserted into in a specific manner. The lower receptacle comprises an insertion portion that opens out towards a front face, and amore slender angled guiding portion that opens out sideways. The angled guiding portion has a horizontal slit part that connects to the insertion opening, and a vertical slit part that connects to the horizontal slit part. The upper receptacle comprises an insertion portion that opens out upwards and a straight guiding portion that opens out sideways. The straight guiding portion merely has a vertical slit part that connects to the insertion portion.

[0012] During assembly it is foreseen that firstly the lower pegs need to get positioned straight in front of the forwardly open insertion portions of their corresponding lower receptacles. Subsequently the heads of the lower pegs need to be fully inserted in backwards direction into those insertion portions after which their necks need to get guided through the angled guiding portions until they get to abut against lower ends of the vertical slit parts. After that the seating frame cross-carrier needs to get lifted up again such that the necks of the lower pegs get to abut against upper ends of the vertical slit parts. The seating frame crosscarrier then needs to be tilted backwards until both upper pegs have come to lie straight above the upwardly open insertion portions of their corresponding upper receptacles. Subsequently the heads of the upper pegs need to be fully inserted in downwards direction into those insertion portions until the necks of the upper pegs get to abut against lower ends of the vertical slit parts of the straight guiding portions of the upper receptacles, while at a same time the necks of the lower pegs shall then get to abut again against the lower ends of the vertical parts of the angled guiding portions of the lower receptacles again.

[0013] A disadvantage hereof is that the foreseen insertion of the pairs of pegs in the specific foreseen order in said perpendicular directions runs a risk of the pegs getting prematurely jammed inside the receptacles. Furthermore, in practice it has appeared that the foreseen insertion is counterintuitive, in particular because some of the lifting and tilting movements of the seating frame cross-carrier need to be done first downwards with the aid of gravitational forces acting upon it and then back up again contrary to those gravitational forces acting upon it. This is even complicated due to the length and weight of the seating frame cross-carrier. This makes the building of this known temporary tribune grand stand construction rather difficult and time-consuming.

[0014] Another disadvantage is that the upper pegs of the seating frame cross-carriers after being hung in place are not upwardly delimited due to the fact that the upper receptacles are opening out upwardly. Thus they run a risk of getting unintentionally detached again, for example due to large wind forces blowing from a back side underneath the temporary tribune grand stand construction, and thus possibly exerting large upwards lifting forces upon the seating frame cross-carriers.

[0015] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The present invention aims to overcome those disadvantages at least partly or to provide a usable alternative. In particular the present invention aims to provide a truly safe temporary tribune grand stand construction that can quickly and easily be built in a fully reliable and intuitive manner, that is well able to deal with all kinds of weight loads of people taking place on it, and that also is able to deal with high wind loads.

[0017] According to the present invention this aim is achieved by a tribune grand stand construction according to claim 1. This tribune grand stand construction comprises: an understructure; main frame side-carriers configured to be detachably connected upon the understructure at opposing sideways spaced apart positions; and seating frame cross-carriers configured to be detachably connected between the opposing sideways spaced apart main frame side-carriers, wherein each outer end of the seating frame cross-carriers is equipped with male coupling parts, and each main frame side-carrier is equipped with complementary female coupling parts that are configured to be coupled with each other in a coupled state, wherein the male coupling parts comprise a first backwardly projecting connector that has a first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion, wherein the female coupling parts comprise a first forwardly facing insertion opening that at its lower side is delimited by a first lower hooking surface that is configured for the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion to hook behind in the coupled state. According to the inventive thought of the present invention the first connector further has an upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion, and the first insertion opening at its upper side is delimited by an upper hooking surface that is configured for the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion to hook behind in the coupled state, wherein a distance between a free lower end of the first downwardly extending hookshaped finger portion and a free upper end of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion of the first connector is larger than a height between the first lower and upper hooking surfaces of the first insertion opening, and wherein a distance between the free lower end of the first downwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion and an inner lower end of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion is smaller than the height between the first lower and upper hooking surfaces.

[0018] Thus a novel and inventive type of coupling means for tribune grand stand constructions is provided that makes it possible to couple elongate cross-barriers between main frame side-carriers in a quick and reliable manner. The order of steps to be performed in order to make this coupling between the seating frame cross-carriers and the main frame side-carriers in practice has appeared truly intuitive. This is caused by the fact that grand stand builders immediately recognize that the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portions of the first connectors firstly need to get inserted in a slanted upwards direction into the first insertion openings. This insertion is facilitated by the fact that back sides of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portions then may rest upon and slide over and along the first lower hooking surfaces that delimit the lower sides of the first insertion openings.

[0019] As soon as the nose-portions then have hooked behind the upper hooking surfaces that delimit the upper sides of the first insertion openings, the rest of the coupling follows almost automatically.

[0020] The coupling firstly goes on with a downwards letting the entire seating frame crosscarrier swing backwards by means of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portions hinging around the upper hooking surfaces. During this backwards swinging, the first hookedshaped finger portions automatically shall penetrate into the first insertion openings. This backwards swinging is aided by gravity.

[0021] After that, the coupling secondly goes on with a letting the entire seating frame crosscarrier slide straight downwards. During this downwards sliding, free lower ends of the downwardly extending first hook-shaped finger portions automatically shall slide behind the first lower hooking surfaces, whereas the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion remains lying with its free upper end behind the upper hooking surface. This downwards sliding is also aided by gravity.

[0022] The coupling handling thus has three phases, a starting phase of an upwards turning in / hooking-movement of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion of the first connector into the first insertion opening, followed by an intermediate phase of a downwards tilting / insertion movement of the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion into the first insertion opening, followed by an end phase of a downwards sliding / hooking- movement of the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion behind the first lower hooking surface.

[0023] In this coupled state the seating frame cross-carrier is unable to unintentionally unlock itself from the main frame side-carriers without human interaction again. It can only be unlocked by executing the above coupling phases in reverse order. This means first sliding the entire seating frame cross-carrier upwards against gravity, then forwardly swinging its lower side upwards also against gravity, and then as soon as the slanted orientation is reached, unhooking the first connectors downwards out of the first insertion openings. This means that even if wind forces would be able to force the seating frame cross-carrier to slide upwards and thus entirely releasing the downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portions, that then still the seating frame cross-carrier would remain being upwardly and forwardly delimited by the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portions still hooking behind the upper hooking surfaces.

[0024] This brings the big advantage that the thus built tribune grand stand construction is able to deal with truly high wind loads since the obtained upwardly and forwardly delimited couplings between the seating frame cross-carriers and the main frame side-carriers are of such a type that the entire tribune grand stand construction's weight as a whole may be taken into account. Furthermore, the inventive coupling means help to prevent that for example hooligans were to take out one of the carriers for throwing it around.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment a back side of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion and first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion of the first connector together may define a convexly curved guiding face. The convexly curved guiding surface brings the advantage that it is able to smoothly guide the first connector over the first lower hooking surface during the starting phase when the first connector is to be inserted in a slanted upwards direction into the first insertion opening. Furthermore it brings the advantage that the merging into each other of the back side of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion and first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion gives so-called flesh to the entire first connector, thus making it stronger.

[0026] In a preferred further or alternative embodiment an inner side of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion may define a concavely curved guiding face. The concavely curved guiding surface brings the advantage that it is able to smoothly guide the first connector around the upper hooking surface during the intermediate phase when the first connector is to hinge the seating frame cross-carrier to swing backwards around the upper hooking surface for the downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion to be inserted in the backwards direction into the first insertion opening.

[0027] In a preferred further or alternative embodiment one or more of the hooking surfaces may be formed by bars, in particular round bars, like cylindrical metal bars, extending in horizontal direction behind a front wall that is equipped with the insertion opening. Thus advantageously excessive wear or damaging of possibly relative thin-walled lower and upper edges of the insertion opening in the front wall can be prevented. The bars may be made out of harder material and can more easily be replaced if necessary. For the bar forming the upper hooking surface it goes that its cylindrical outer face shall make the intermediate phase of hinging much easier.

[0028] In addition thereto the bar that forms the lower hooking surface may lie directly behind the front wall. Thus the largest forces acting upon the seating frame cross-carriers during actual use of the tribune grand stand construction, that is to say in the coupled state, for example due to rows of seating positions or stairs being connected to the seating frame cross-carriers, get carried by the thickness of the lower edges of the insertion openings in the front walls added with the thickness of the bars.

[0029] In addition thereto or in the alternative the bar that forms the upper hooking surface may lie at a larger distance behind the front wall than the bar that forms the lower hooking surface. This has the advantage that an advantageous lever arm is formed for the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion for pulling the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion into the first insertion opening during the intermediate phase. In a preferred further or alternative embodiment the male coupling parts further may comprise a second backwardly projecting connector that is positioned underneath the first connector and that has a second downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion, wherein the female coupling parts further may comprise a second forwardly facing insertion opening that is positioned underneath the first insertion opening and that at its lower side is delimited by a second lower hooking surface that is configured for the second downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion to hook behind in the coupled state. Thus advantageously, a double locking is obtained in the coupled state that adds to the stability of the coupling, in particular by means of preventing that the seating frame cross-carrier gets pushed by wind forces to swing upwards around the upper hooking surfaces.

[0030] In a preferred further or alternative embodiment the insertion openings that are provided in front walls of the main-frame side-carriers can be slit-shaped. Left and right side edges of the slit-shaped insertion openings then may automatically limit side faces of the connectors in the coupled state.

[0031] In a preferred further or alternative embodiment the male coupling parts can be made out of plate-shaped material, in particular made out of metal, and more in particular with the connectors formed by backwards bent segments of the plate-shaped male coupling parts. This makes them economic to manufacture and helps to keep the weight of the seating frame cross-carriers low.

[0032] In a preferred further or alternative embodiment the seating frame cross-carriers may comprise an upper and lower beam fixedly connected to the male coupling parts. The upper and lower beam then can advantageously be used for hanging rows of seating positions or stairs stably thereto.

[0033] Further preferred embodiments of the invention are stated in the dependent subclaims.

[0034] The invention also relates to a method for building the tribune grand stand construction.

[0035] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The invention shall now be explained in more detail below by parts of describing some exemplary embodiments in a non-limiting way with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0037] - Fig. 1 shows a tribune grand stand construction with couplings according to the invention;

[0038] - Fig. 2a shows an enlarged perspective view of front right corner sections of a main frame side-carrier and a seating frame cross-carrier placed upon and connected with an upright of an open-frame understructure;

[0039] - Fig. 2b shows a cross-sectional view of fig. 2a;

[0040] - Fig. 3 shows front and back perspective views of the male coupling part in fig. 2;

[0041] - Fig. 4a-e show cross-sectional views of the coupling during subsequent phases of coupling;

[0042] - Fig. 5a shows an enlarged view of detail Z in fig. 1;

[0043] - Fig. 5b shows fig. 5a with one of the seating frame cross-carriers taken out; - Fig. 6a shows an enlarged view of detail Y in fig. 1 showing one of the couplings between a main frame side-carrier and a fencing pole;

[0044] - Fig. 6b shows an enlarged view of detail X in fig. 6a; and

[0045] - Fig. 6c shows the fencing pole taken out.

[0046] In fig. 1-6 a tribune grand stand construction is shown that has been given the reference numeral 1. The tribune grand stand construction 1 comprises an understructure 2 with vertical uprights 3 that are placed upon the ground and that are connected with each other via stabilization rods 4. With this the uprights 3 are held spaced apart more than 2 meters, here at approximately 2.4 m.

[0047] Stepped main frame side-carriers 7 are detachably connected to upper ends of the uprights 3, here by means of conical lock adapter connections. Each main frame side-carrier 7 gets to extend in backwards direction between a front and back one of the uprights 4. Each main frame side-carrier 7 is of an open-frame type and consists of a plurality of horizontally, vertically and sloping hollow profile sections reinforced with plates. Amongst those are three horizontal profile sections 7a that extend between four vertical profile sections 7b.

[0048] The four vertical profile sections 7b are equally divided over the distance to be bridged between the front and back uprights 3, and are of hollow square cross-section. Each vertical profile section 7b is equipped with female coupling parts FCP, and is closed upwardly by means of a cap 9.

[0049] The female coupling parts FCP comprise a pair of slit-shaped upper insertion openings 12 and a pair of lower insertion openings 13 that are provided in a front wall 14 of each vertical profile section 7b. See fig. 2. The upper insertion openings 12 at their lower side are delimited by a bar that forms a first lower hooking surface 15. This bar extends sideways through the vertical profile section 7b at a level just above a lower edge of the upper insertion openings 12 directly behind the front wall 14. The upper insertion openings 12 at their upper side are delimited by a bar that forms an upper hooking surface 16. This bar extends sideways through the vertical profile section 7b at a level just underneath a lower edge of the upper insertion openings 12 and spaced apart over a distance x behind the front wall 14. The bars forming the first lower and upper hooking surfaces 15, 16 lie spaced apart from each other over a height y. The lower insertion openings 13 at their lower side are delimited by a bar that forms a second lower hooking surface 17. This bar extends sideways through the vertical profile section 7b at a level just above a lower edge of the lower insertion openings 13 directly behind the front wall 14.

[0050] Seating frame cross-carriers 20 are detachably connected to the vertical profile sections 7b. Each seating frame cross-carrier 20 gets to extend in sideways direction between opposing sideways spaced apart ones of the main frame side-carriers 7. Each seating frame cross-carrier 20 is of an open-frame type and consists of a lower and upper elongate beam 20a, 20b that at their outer ends are connected to male coupling parts MCP.

[0051] The male coupling parts MCP comprise an upper connector 21 and a lower connector 22 that are made out of plate-shaped material that has been bent such that the connectors 21, 22 project backwardly. See fig. 3. The upper connector 21 has a first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion 21a that delimits a downwardly open hooking slit 21a'. The upper connector 21 further has an upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion 21b that at its inner side defines a concavely curved guiding face 21b'. A back side of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion 21b and the first downwardly extending hook- shaped finger portion 21a together define a convexly curved guiding face 2T. A free lower end of the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion 21a lies at a distance d1 from a free upper end of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion 21b. The free lower end of the first downwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion 21a lies at a distance d2 from an inner lower end of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion 21b.

[0052] For the distances d1 , d2 and y, the following goes: d2 < y < d1

[0053] The lower connector 22 merely has a second downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion 22a that delimits a downwardly open hooking slit 22a'. The lower connector 22 is not provided with some kind of upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion, and instead only has a back side of the second downwardly extending finger portion 22a that defines a downwardly extending convexly curved face.

[0054] The coupling handling with the complementary male and female coupling parts MCP and FCP shall now be explained for fig. 4a-e.

[0055] In fig. 4a it is shown that the coupling starts with bringing the seating frame crosscarrier 20 in a slanted position and move it slanted upwards in this slanted position with the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion 21b of the upper connector 21 into the upper insertion opening 12. During this insertion the convexly curved guiding face 2T gets to rest upon and smoothly slide over and along the bar that forms the first lower hooking surface 15. The convex curvature of the guiding face 2T advantageously causes the seating frame crosscarrier 20 during this slanted upwards directed movement to also start to swing backwards around its longitudinal axis and thus force the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion 21b to hook more and more behind the bar that forms the upper hooking surface 16.

[0056] In fig. 4b it is shown that the coupling then goes on with a backwards moving and swinging of the entire seating frame cross-carrier 20. During this backwards moving and swinging, firstly the first hooked-shaped finger portion 21a shall start to penetrate into the upper insertion opening 12 while passing over the bar that forms the first lower hooking surface 15.

[0057] In fig. 4c it is shown that secondly during this backwards moving and swinging, the second hooked-shaped finger portion 22a shall start to penetrate into the lower insertion opening 13 while passing over the bar that forms the second lower hooking surface 17.

[0058] In fig. 4d it is shown that the backwards moving and swinging comes to a stop because the outer ends of the seating frame cross-carrier 20 have come to lie flat against the front wall 14 of the vertical profile section 7b.

[0059] In fig. 4e it is shown that the coupling then goes on with a straight downwards moving of the entire seating frame cross-carrier 20. During this downwards movement, the downwardly extending first and second hook-shaped finger portions 21a and 22a automatically shall hook over the bars that form the first and second lower hooking surfaces 15, 17, whereas the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion 21b remains forwardly blocked by the bar that forms the upper hooking surface 17.

[0060] Each time after seating frame cross-carriers 20 have thus been coupled at respective levels between stepped main frame side-carriers 7, other components of the tribune grand stand construction 1 can each time be put in place.

[0061] Fig. 1 shows for example that floor plates 30 are laid at respective ones of the stepped height levels upon the horizontal profile sections 7a of the main frame side-carriers 7. See also fig. 5. Furthermore, fig. 1 shows that rows of foldable seats 31 are hung to the upper beams 20b of the seating frame cross-carriers 20 at the left side of the tribune grand stand construction 1. At the right side of the tribune grand stand construction 1, it is shown that intermediate stairs 32 are hung to the lower upper beams 20a of the seating frame crosscarriers 20.

[0062] Fig. 1 also shows that side fencings 34 and rear fencings 35 are put in place at the sides and back of the rows of seating positions and stairs. For this use is made of fencing poles 37. For the connection of those fencing poles 37 to the construction also advantageous use is made of the male and female coupling parts MCP, FCP according to the invention. This is shown in fig. 6.

[0063] Besides the shown and described embodiments, numerous variants are possible. For example the dimensions and shapes of the various parts can be altered. Also it is possible to make combinations between advantageous aspects of the shown embodiments. Instead of using hollow square or cylindrical profile sections, other kinds of profiles can be used for the main frame side-carriers and seating frame cross-carriers, like for example U-shaped profiles. All kinds of materials can be used for the various components. Preferably however the male and female coupling parts as well as the rest of the main frame side-carriers and seating frame cross-carriers are made of metal, like steel or aluminium. Besides coupling the seating frame cross-carriers and the main frame side-carriers with each other, other components of the modular tribune grand stand construction also can be equipped with the inventive coupling means, like for example the fencing poles.

[0064] It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and therefore will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Tribune grand stand construction, comprising: an understructure (2); main frame side-carriers (7) configured to be detachably connected upon the understructure (2) at opposing sideways spaced apart positions; and seating frame cross-carriers (20) configured to be detachably connected between the opposing sideways spaced apart main frame side-carriers (7), wherein each outer end of the seating frame cross-carriers (20) is equipped with male coupling parts (MCP), and each main frame side-carrier (7) is equipped with complementary female coupling parts (FCP) that are configured to be coupled with each other in a coupled state, wherein the male coupling parts (MCP) comprise a first backwardly projecting connector (21) that has a first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (21a), wherein the female coupling parts (FCP) comprise a first forwardly facing insertion opening (12) that at its lower side is delimited by a first lower hooking surface (15) that is configured for the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (21a) to hook behind in the coupled state, characterized in that, the first connector (21) further has an upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b), and the first insertion opening (12) at its upper side is delimited by an upper hooking surface (16) that is configured for the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) to hook behind in the coupled state, wherein a distance (d1) between a free lower end of the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (21a) and a free upper end of the upwardly extending hookshaped nose portion (21b) of the first connector (21) is larger than a height (y) between the first lower and upper hooking surfaces (15, 16) of the first insertion opening (12), and wherein a distance (d2) between the free lower end of the first downwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21a) and an inner lower end of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) is smaller than the height (y) between the first lower and upper hooking surfaces (15, 16).

2. Tribune grand stand construction according to claim 1, wherein a back side of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) and first downwardly extending hookshaped finger portion (21a) of the first connector (21) together define a convexly curved guiding face (2T).

3. Tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an inner side of the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) defines a concavely curved guiding face (21b1).

4. Tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more of the hooking surfaces (15, 16, 17) are formed by bars extending in horizontal direction behind a front wall (14) that is equipped with the insertion opening (12, 13).

5. Tribune grand stand construction according to claim 4, wherein the bar that forms the lower hooking surface (15, 17) lies directly behind the front wall (14).

6. Tribune grand stand construction according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the bar that forms the upper hooking surface (16) lies at a larger distance (x) behind the front wall (14) than the bar that forms the lower hooking surface (15).

7. Tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the male coupling parts (MCP) further comprise a second backwardly projecting connector (22) that is positioned underneath the first connector (21) and that has a second downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (22a), and wherein the female coupling parts (FMC) further comprise a second forwardly facing insertion opening (13) that is positioned underneath the first insertion opening (12) and that at its lower side is delimited by a second lower hooking surface (17) that is configured for the second downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (22a) to hook behind in the coupled state.

8. Tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the insertion openings (12, 13) that are provided in front walls (14) of the main-frame sidecarriers (7) are slit-shaped and have left and right side edges that are configured to limit side faces of the connectors (21, 22) in the coupled state.

9. Tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the male coupling parts (MCP) are made out of plate-shaped material.

10. Tribune grand stand construction according to claim 9, wherein the connectors (21 , 22) are formed by backwards bent segments of the plate-shaped male coupling parts (MCP).

11. Tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the seating frame cross-carriers (20) comprise upper and lower beams (20a, 20b) fixedly connected to the male coupling parts (MCP).

12. Tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, wherein rows of seating positions, in particular seats (31), are hung to the seating frame cross-carriers(20), and / or wherein intermediate stairs (32) are hung to the seating frame cross-carriers 20.

13. Tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising fencing poles (37) that are also equipped with said male coupling parts (MCP) configured to be coupled with said female coupling parts (FCP) of the main frame sidecarriers (7).

14. Tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) is configured to hook behind the upper hooking surface (16) during a slanted upwards directed insertion of the first connector(21) into the first insertion opening (12), wherein the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) is configured to hinge around the upper hooking surface (16) during a backwards directed insertion of the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (21a) into the corresponding first insertion opening (12), andwherein the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) is configured to guide the first connector (21) along the upper hooking surface (16) during a downwards directed hooking of the first connector (21) with its first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (21a) behind the first lower hooking surface (15), while the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) remains hooked behind the upper hooking surface (16) in the coupled state.

15. Method for building a tribune grand stand construction according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps for coupling the male coupling parts (MCP) on the seating frame cross-carriers (20) to the female coupling parts (FCP) on the main frame side-carriers (7):• an upwards turning in / hooking movement of the seating frame cross-carrier (20) such that the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) of the first connector (21) gets inserted into the first insertion opening (12) and hooks behind the upper hooking surface (16);• a backwards swinging movement of the seating frame cross-carrier (20) such that the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (21a) gets inserted into the first insertion opening (12); and• a downwards sliding / hooking-movement of the seating frame cross-carrier (20) such that the first downwardly extending hook-shaped finger portion (21a) gets hooked behind the first lower hooking surface (15), while the upwardly extending hook-shaped nose portion (21b) remains hooked behind the upper hooking surface (16) in the coupled state.

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