Patent Application
20180290289
The present disclosure generally relates to sawhorses and, more particularly, to a foldable extended sawhorse.
Sawhorses typically have fixed position legs and a flat, centrally positioned member, such as a two-by-four stud. These types of sawhorses are well known for supporting work during cutting and assembly operations. However, fixed orientation sawhorses have certain drawbacks, including a large footprint that makes storage and transportation of the sawhorses between worksites difficult. The use of construction materials such as lumber also adds significantly to the sawhorse weight. Moreover, the flat top of the centrally positioned member has certain disadvantages. Items placed on the sawhorse for work-related purposes can easily slide on such flat tops, causing costly mistakes and injuries.
A variety of folding sawhorses are also known. These sawhorses allow the legs to be moved between a stored position, having the legs abutting each other, to an extended position, having the legs spaced apart from each other. The foldability of the sawhorse resolves some of the drawbacks established above with respect to fixed position sawhorses. However, such folding sawhorses can suffer from instability, especially when the inner legs are not properly secured. This is especially a concern with folding sawhorses above a certain length, and having more than four legs in order to support the extended length.
There is a continuing need for an extended sawhorse that may be folded to a closed position for storage, but which also offers sufficient support and stability to the inner legs in an opened position. Desirably, the extended sawhorse will also have a top surface capable of gripping and stabilizing items placed between the extended sawhorse and another sawhorse.
In concordance with the instant disclosure, an extended sawhorse that may be folded to a closed position for storage, but which also offers sufficient support and stability to the inner legs in an opened position, and which also has a top surface capable of gripping and stabilizing items placed between the extended sawhorse and another sawhorse, has been surprisingly discovered.
In one embodiment, an extended sawhorse includes a first side body and a second side body. The first side body is rotatably connected to the second side body between a closed position and an opened position. Each of the first side body and the second side body has a first cross member, a pair of second cross members, a pair of outer leg portions, and an inner leg portion. The outer leg portions are connected to the inner leg portion with the first cross member and the second cross members. The extended sawhorse further includes a pair of folding platforms. Each of the folding platforms is hingedly connected to one of the second cross members of the first side body and one of the second cross members of the second side body at connection areas directly adjacent to the inner leg portion. Advantageously, the extended sawhorse of the present disclosure stabilizes the inner legs portions, maximizing strength and stiffness thereof, through the use of the foldable platforms connected to the inner leg portions in this particular manner.
In a further embodiment, the first and second side body include a work support member containing at least one recess configured to hold a support beam. The support beam may be disposed in the recesses, and can also have multiple top indentations or slots to facilitate the formation of a work surface. A further stabilization of extended sawhorse may be further provided by the work support members in this manner.
The above, as well as other advantages of the present invention, will become clear to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings in which:
The following detailed description and appended drawings describe and illustrate various exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description and drawings serve to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. In respect of the methods disclosed, the steps presented are exemplary in nature and, thus, the order of the steps is not necessary or critical.
In the description, relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,”, “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the related drawing. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, such as “connected,” “connecting,” “coupled,” and “coupling” are used interchangeably and refer to one structure or surface being secured to another structure or surface, unless expressly described otherwise.
Referring to
It should be appreciated that the first side body 12 and the second side body 14 may be substantially mirror images of each other, which may facilitate a manufacturing of the extended sawhorse 10. The first side body 12 and the second side body 14 may be formed from a thermoplastic material, for example, using an injection molding process. One of ordinary skill in the art may also select other suitable materials and manufacturing processes for the first side body 12 and the second side body 14 of the extended sawhorse 10, as desired.
Each of the first side body 12 and the second side body 14 includes a first cross member 16 integrally connecting the top of outer leg portions 18 to the top of an inner leg portion 20. Each of the first side body 12 and the second side body 14 also include a second cross member 22 which is oriented substantially parallel to the first cross member 16. The second cross member 22 integrally connects the outer leg portions 18, to the inner leg portion 20 at connection areas 36.
As shown in
For additional stability, the bottom of each of the outer leg portions 18 is integrally connected to a molded foot 40. The inner leg portion 20 is also integrally connected to a molded foot 42 that may be narrower than the molded foot 40 of the outer leg portions 18. Each molded foot 40, 42 includes a face 46 that is configured to be oriented substantially parallel to the floor surface when the extended sawhorse 10 is in the opened position.
Additionally, each of the first cross members 16 of the first side body 12 and the second side body 14 include a work support member 28, which provides a substantially planar upper surface in the opened position. The work support members 28 can include singular, or multiple recesses 30 for supporting a variety of objects. Moreover, the recess 30 can be used to secure objects between two or more sawhorses 10.
The work support member 28 may also have a plurality of spaced-apart raised ridges 56 created along a length of each of the work support members 28. The recesses 30 are formed between the spaced part ridges 56, for receiving support beams 80 as shown in
Multiple hinge members (not shown) may be used to rotatably connect the work support members 28 of the first side body 12 and second side body 14. The hinge members may be snapped together after separately molding the first side body 12 and the second side body 14, for example, to rotatably connect the first side body 12 to the second side body 14. Other means for rotatably connecting the first side body 12 and the second side body 14 of the extended sawhorse 10 may also be employed, as desired.
As shown in
In addition, as shown in
In a particular embodiment, the extended sawhorse 10, as shown in
Referring to
The support beams 80 have a top and bottom side. The top side of the support beams 80 contain multiple slots 82. The slots 82 are configured to hold a variety of items such as wood, pipes, metal and other similar items. Further, the bottom side of the support beam contains an extending portion 84 at each end. The extending portion 84 is configured to contact the work support members 28. The extending portions 84 may also have angled inner surfaces, as shown in
In operation, two sawhorses 10 are placed adjacent to one another and, with the extending portions 84 facing down, the support beam 80 is hoisted into place to match the recess 30 in each opposite sawhorse. The support beam 80 is then secured to both of the extended sawhorses 10 when the beam 80 interlocks with the recess 30 while the extending portion 84 provides a stop to prevent slippage from the work support members 28. The use of multiple support beams 80 adds further stability and support to both of the extended sawhorses 10, as well as providing a work surface for end use.
While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for purposes of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure, which is further described in the following appended claims.
