Athletic benches are widely used in a variety of sports ranging from football to soccer. Usually, athletic benches, or benches occupied by players during the course of an athletic contest, come in different sizes and designs. Many such benches are made of wood or metal. However, most athletic or player benches share one common characteristic. They are usually large and far from portable. Such conventional player benches are generally functional. But their size and weight restrict their use to essentially one location.
Certain athletic fields such as soccer fields or baseball fields typically used by children or young adults are not provided with player benches. Thus, those players not actually participating usually stand or kneel on the sidelines. This is not an ideal situation, especially for players taking a break from the athletic action.
Therefore, there has been and continues to be a need for a foldable bench that can be folded and carried from on location to another.
The present invention entails a foldable bench having at least two seat sections and an underlying support structure. The underlying support structure includes at least two leg assemblies that are foldable from a folded or retracted position to an extended position. In the extended position the leg assemblies are interconnected by a pair of connectors. Further, the leg assemblies are interconnected by a cable or other interconnecting member.
In one embodiment, when the foldable bench assumes an erect and unfolded position, the connectors extending between the bench and the leg assemblies are maintained in compression while the cable or interconnecting member extended between the leg assemblies is maintained in tension.
In another embodiment, the leg assemblies are connected to the respective seat sections such that during the folding process the connection point between the leg assemblies and the seat section moves. That is, there is provided at least one connecting point between a respective leg assembly and a respective seat section and as the bench is folded the connecting point slides with respect to the seat section.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings, which are merely illustrative of such invention.
With further reference to the drawings, the foldable bench of the present invention is shown therein and indicated generally by the numeral 10. As will be appreciated from subsequent portions of this disclosure, the foldable bench 10 is adapted to assume a folded position, as shown in
Viewing the foldable bench 10 in more detail, the same includes a pair of seat sections, each seat section being indicated generally by the numeral 12. It should be appreciated that the foldable bench 10 could include any number of seat sections 12 but in the case of the embodiment illustrated herein, the foldable bench includes two seat sections. Each seat section includes a top 12A and a bottom 12B. Seat sections 12, and other portions of the foldable bench 10, can be constructed of various materials such as plastic, wood, metal, fiberglass, etc.
To support the foldable bench 10 when the same assumes the unfolded or erect position shown in
With reference to
As seen in
With specific reference to
Therefore, it is seen that the seat sections 12 can be pivoted about the axis of the two pivot pins 60. In one configuration, the foldable bench assumes a folded position (
Finally, each of the brackets 50 and 52 of the hinge assembly include a pair of connector gussets 62. As seen in
Pivotally connected to the connector gussets 66 is the connector 24. A pivot pin 70 in the form of a bolt and nut assembly is extended through the openings within the terminal ends of the gussets 62 and through an opening in one end portion of the connector 24. The other end of the connector 24 is adapted to be inserted into the stub sleeve 40 of one of the leg assemblies 20. This is particularly illustrated in
Further, the leg assemblies 20, in an erect position, are interconnected by a cable 26. It is noted that the cable 26 is secured to the leg 20 by connecting to the tabs 42 extending from the cross member 38. Cable 26 can be connected to the tabs in various ways. For example, the opposed terminals ends of the cable 26 can be secured to a bolt assembly which is in turn connected to an opening formed in the tab 42.
In the folded position, as seen in
When the bench 10 is extended to its erect position shown in
Further, when the foldable bench 10 is disposed in the erect position shown in
Finally, the foldable bench 10 may assume various configurations and designs. In one particular embodiment, the interconnecting member 26, as discussed above, could be in the form of a cable and the cable could be utilized as a carrying strap for the entire bench 10 when the same assumes the folded configuration. Additionally, in the embodiments illustrated herein, the bench is shown as including two seat sections 12. However, it will be appreciated that the foldable bench 10 could include more than two foldable sections.
Turning to
Turning to a discussion of the foldable bench 100, the same comprises a pair of seat sections indicated generally by the numeral 12. More particularly, the seat sections are referred to by numerals 102 and 104. A hinge or pivot pin assembly, indicated generally by the numeral 22, permits the pair of seat sections 102 and 104 to pivot or move towards each other. As seen in
Foldable bench 100 includes at least two leg assemblies 20. In the case of the design shown in
Connected between each leg assembly 20 and a respective seat section 102 or 104 is a first connector or strut 24. In the case of the design shown herein, the first connector or strut 24 is pivotally connected at opposite ends to a leg assembly 20 and a respective seat section 102 or 104. When the foldable bench 100 is disposed in the erect position shown in
A second connector indicated generally by the numeral 26 extends between the leg assemblies 20. Second connector 26 is pivotally connected at opposite ends to respective leg assemblies 20. As seen in the drawings, second connector 26 includes two sections, 26A and 26B. Sections 26A and 26B are pivotally connected together by pivot connection 26C. Thus, it is appreciated that sections 26A and 26B can pivot with respect to each other about the pivot connection 26C. And further, each section 26A can pivot with respect to a respective leg assembly 20.
Each leg assembly is connected to a respective seat section 102 or 104. There is provided at least one connecting point through which the leg assembly 20 connects to a respective seat section. This connecting point can slide back and forth in each seat section. Furthermore, the leg assembly depending downwardly from the connecting point can pivot with respect to the seat section from which it depends. More particularly, each leg assembly includes the pair of legs 20A and 20B with a lower cross member 20C extending between the legs. Secured to the upper portion of each leg of the leg assembly is a connector 110. In the case of the design shown herein, the connector is of a T-bar design and extends upwardly from the top portion of the respective legs that form parts of the leg assemblies. Formed in each seat section 102 or 104 is a pair of tracks 106. The tracks 106 extend in parallel relationship from a terminal end portion of each seat section to an intermediate portion. The top portion of the connector 110 is confined within a respective track 106. As discussed above, the connector 110 in this case includes a T-bar and the upper portion of the T-bar is confined within a respective track 106. Furthermore, as discussed above, the legs that form a part of the leg assemblies 20 are pivotally connected to the connector 110 such that not only can the legs move back and forth within the track, but the legs can also pivot and rotate with respect to the respective seat sections.
In
To transform the foldable bench 100 to a folded position, as shown in
It follows that the foldable bench can be transformed from the folded position shown in
The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the scope and the essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are therefore to be construed in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) from the following U.S. provisional application: Application Ser. No. 60/409,538 filed on Sep. 9, 2002. That application is incorporated in its entirety herein. Furthermore, this is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/659,236 filed on Sep. 9, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,797 B2.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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60409538 | Sep 2002 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10659236 | Sep 2003 | US |
Child | 11055224 | US |