The present invention relates to workpiece supports such as stands and sawhorses.
Sawhorses are often used to support workpieces, tools and the like. However, many sawhorse designs occupy a lot of space, particularly when being shipped and/or stored. Further, many existing sawhorses are heavy, making them expensive to transport and difficult to move.
Accordingly, it is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.
One aspect of the invention is a workpiece and/or tool support, such as a sawhorse.
In one embodiment, the sawhorse has a body. The body includes a first end support, a second end support, and a plurality of rails extending between the first and second end supports. The sawhorse also includes a first pair of hinged legs pivotally connected to the body, and a second pair of hinged legs pivotally connected to the body. The first pair of hinged legs and the second pair of hinged legs are each configured to move from a stowed position to an extended position, with respect to the body.
In another embodiment, the sawhorse has a body including a first end support, a second end support, a central support disposed between the first and second end supports, and a plurality of rails. The sawhorse also includes a first pair of legs pivotally connected to the body, and a second pair of legs pivotally connected to the body. The plurality of rails includes a first plurality of rails extending between the first end support and the central support, and a second plurality of rails extending between the second end support and the central support.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention over the prior art will become apparent from the detailed description of the drawings which follows, when considered with the attached figures.
The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference numerals may indicate similar or identical items. Various embodiments may utilize elements and/or components other than those illustrated in the drawings, and some elements and/or components may not be present in various embodiments. Elements and/or components in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Throughout this disclosure, depending on the context, singular and plural terminology may be used interchangeably.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough description of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.
One embodiment of the invention is support for workpieces, tools and the like. In one embodiment, the support may be referred to as a sawhorse.
One embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to
The end supports 28 may, as shown in
In one embodiment, the rails 26 extend between the end supports 28. In one embodiment, the rails 26 may directly extend between a pair of end supports 28 (e.g. where the ends of the rails 26 terminate at the end supports 28; although in other embodiments, the one or more of the rails might extend beyond the end support(s) 28). In other embodiments, a first set of rails 26 may extend between a first of the end supports and a central support 34 (or one or more intermediate supports), and one or more other sets of rails 26 may extend from the central support 34 to the second end support 28 (this allows, for example, for the sawhorse 20 to be broken into components of smaller dimensions, such as for shipping). This is discussed below in association with
In one embodiment, the rails 26 comprise extruded members as well, such as tubular piping (so as to be lightweight). For example, the rails 26 may include generally square tubing of metal, fiberglass, etc. In one embodiment, the body 22 has first and second upper rails 26a,b and first and second lower rails 26c,d, such as illustrated in
In one example, the lower rails 26c,26d and the upper rails 26a,26b extend between the first and second end supports 28 and define corresponding lower and upper channels. Additionally, it will be appreciated that each of the pair of lower rails 26c,26d and the pair of upper rails 26a,26b includes an end configured to be slid into a corresponding opening (e.g., openings 29 shown in
The body 22 of the sawhorse 20 is preferably supportable by the one or more legs 24. In one embodiment, the legs 24 comprise first and second pairs of legs 40a,b. As best illustrated in
Further, in a preferred embodiment, each pair of legs 40a,b may be moved from a stowed position (
In one embodiment, this is accomplished by movably mounting each pair of legs 40a,b to the body 20. For example, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, when the pairs of legs 40a,b are moved to their stowed position, the legs fit into the space between the rails 26 at each side of the body 22. The pairs of legs 40a,b may be maintained in the stowed position by one or more leg locks. The leg locks may comprise, for example, a first fixed leg lock 50 which is associated with the central support 34 (see
For example, a first of the pairs of legs 40a,b may be moved under the fixed leg lock 50 to capture it (and prevent that pair of legs 40a,b from moving outwardly away from the body 22). The second sliding leg lock 52 may then be slid along the rail 26 to engage the second pair of legs 40a,b, which at the same time keeps the first pair of legs 40a,b under the first leg lock 50. In particular, in one embodiment, the distance between the first and second leg locks 50,52 is smaller than the width of the pairs of legs 40a,b and 40c,d, such that once the sliding leg lock 52 is moved into place, neither pair of legs can move between the leg locks and away from the body 22.
See, for example,
The pairs of legs 40a,b may have a variety of features. For example, as illustrated, at least one collapsible support 60 (such as comprising first and second struts which are pivotally connected between the legs) may extend between the first and second legs 24 of each pair of legs 40a,b, such as to prevent the first and second legs from moving to an over-expanded position under load. The first and second legs of each pair of legs 40a,b may also be extendable, such as to change the lengths thereof. In one embodiment, as illustrated in
One or more of the legs may also include other features, such as a rotating or pivoting mount 68. The mount 68 might be hingedly or rotatably mounted to the leg 24 so as to be movable between a retracted position in which it extends generally parallel to and along the leg, and an extended position in which it extends outwardly generally perpendicular thereof, thus forming a support (see
A foot may be located at the free end of each of the extendable portion 64 of each leg. The foot may comprise a protective cap or other member, such as which may be extendable or swivel, such as to provide stability to the sawhorse 20 when it is mounted on an uneven surface.
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, the end caps 70 comprise molded plastic or the like. The end caps 70 may include a flange portion 72, such as which is spaced from another portion of the end cap 70 so as to define a space, such as to create a cord wrap 72 or a workpiece support (such as a channel for accepting a portion of pipe, member or the like). The end caps 70 may include other features, such as a tray, handle, etc. In this regard, different end caps 70 might be provided and might be selectively connected to the end caps 28, such as depending upon the desired functionality thereof.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the body 22 of the sawhorse 20 is skeletal in nature (e.g. generally open in the space between the rails 26—both between the rails at opposing sides and between rails on each side). One or more trays 80 or other elements may be selectively located on or be connected to the rails 26 (such as the upper rails 26a,b), such as for defining work supporting surfaces, tool/work piece containing areas, etc. (the trays 80 might be generally planar, or might have depressions which extend down into the body 22 between the rails 26, etc.).
In one embodiment, the sawhorse 20 may include one or more workpiece securing members or elements F46. As one example, the sawhorse 20 may include one or more straps 90. The straps 90 may be associated with the end supports 28, such as for securing a workpiece at one or both ends of the sawhorse 20. The straps 90 may have a first end which is mounted or connected to the end support 28, such as via a fastener (see
In one embodiment, more than one strap 90 may be provided, such as straps 90 at opposing sides of each end cap 28. Further the straps 90 might have other configurations, such as comprising an elongate element with associated hook and loop fastening material, such as which allows the free end of the strap to be extended over the end cap 28, through a slotted connector, and then looped back onto itself where sections of hook and loop material engage the secure the strap 90. In other embodiments, the straps 90 at opposing sides of the end cap 28 may be configured to be engaged to secure a workpiece, such as where the straps 90 at opposing sides are extended towards one another and are connected.
The sawhorse 20 has a number of advantages and may have other features and configurations.
First, the sawhorse 20 is generally modular, wherein it can be constructed from a number of small individual components into a large structure. The skeletal configuration of the sawhorse 20 and the use of lightweight elements such as extruded end and central supports and tubular rails aids in reducing the weight of the sawhorse 20 (for shipping and use, such as when being moved by a user)—such as compared to conventional sawhorses which have a large solid central body mounted between legs.
The body 22 could also include other intermediate supports, such as placed between the end supports and/or the end supports and a central support, such as for increasing the rigidity and strength of the body 22. In one embodiment, one or more of the rails may extend entirely through such a central or intermediate support (instead of having an end mounted thereto).
In some embodiments, the end and central supports and the rails are constructed from metal. However, plastic covers or the like may be placed over or around those components, such as to protect them (or those members might be coated, etc.).
The use of extruded end and central supports has a number of advantages, aside from weight. In one embodiment the use extruded members allows for single-piece construction with easy “slip to fit” assembly of the rails thereto, which simple connections with fasteners. This reduces the number of fasteners, welding steps, bending tools and overall manufacturing process, resulting in as much as 75% reduction in the number of steps to make the sawhorse 20 as compared to conventional designs.
In one embodiment the top rails 26 define an upper channel therebetween. This channel may be configured to hold a 2×4 to allow a saw to be used on it and not cut into the body.
In one embodiment, the sliding leg lock 52 is held in its locked position (thus locking the pairs of legs 40a,b in their stowed position) when the molded tine contacts the central support 34. There may be a protruding static tooth on the opposite side of the sliding leg lock 52 that acts as a secondary leg lock/bracket. The fixed tooth may hold the first pair of legs that is moved to the stowed position. After placing the second pair of legs into the body, the first pair of legs is pushed over and makes contact with the fixed tooth, preventing them from moving.
In one embodiment, the lower rails 26c,d may extend though the end supports 28 to provide a support such as a 2×4 (or other workpiece). The free ends of those rails 26c,d may then be capped, such as with a plastic molded body. The end of those rails might otherwise have an array of cleats applied to the end to help hold a 2×4 in place, including but not limited to sheet meatal bracket, cast zinc or aluminum parts and so on.
In one embodiment, when the pairs of legs 40a,b are stowed, they are located in the body 22 (e.g. between the upper rails 26a,b and the lower rails 26c,d) and the body 22 is generally planar and elongate. The sawhorse 20 then has a reduced dimension, such as for storage. Further, the sawhorse 20 is then easily stacked on another sawhorse, wherein the molded end cap 70 engages the sawhorse below it, allowing it to be stacked securely without the use of a clip system.
In one embodiment, the tray 80 may comprise a panel (such as a metal panel) may be applied to the top of the body 22 that is used for both storage/work surface as well as add some structural rigidity. The longer the unit the more panels may be applied.
In one embodiment, the overall length of the body 22 is made to fit on to a standard pallet, with an overall length being equal to or less than 40″ or 48″.
In one embodiment, the sawhorse 20 may be used to support workpieces, tools and the like. For example, miter saw mounting brackets might be connected to the rails 26, thus allowing the sawhorse 20 to be used as a miter saw stand.
The skeletal nature of the body 22 allows it to easily be gripped (such as by grabbing one of the rails 26) for movement.
In one embodiment, not all of the rails need to be attached to the end supports (such as only the lower rails). Further, in some embodiment, a number of rails other than two upper and two lower rails might be used.
In the above disclosure, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, which illustrate specific implementations in which the present disclosure may be practiced. It is understood that other implementations may be utilized, and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, one skilled in the art will recognize such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
It should also be understood that the word “example” as used herein is intended to be non-exclusionary and non-limiting in nature. More particularly, the word “example” as used herein indicates one among several examples, and it should be understood that no undue emphasis or preference is being directed to the particular example being described.
With regard to the methods described herein, it should be understood that, although the steps of such processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with the described steps performed in an order other than the order described herein. It further should be understood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or that certain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating various embodiments and should in no way be construed so as to limit the claims.
Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments and applications other than the examples provided would be apparent upon reading the above description. The scope should be determined, not with reference to the above description, but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the technologies discussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. In sum, it should be understood that the application is capable of modification and variation.
All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their ordinary meanings as understood by those knowledgeable in the technologies described herein unless an explicit indication to the contrary is made herein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as “a,” “the,” “said,” etc. should be read to recite one or more of the indicated elements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to the contrary. Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments could include, while other embodiments may not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/286,980, filed Dec. 7, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/421,906, filed Nov. 3, 2022, and incorporates by reference said application as if set forth fully herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63421906 | Nov 2022 | US | |
63286980 | Dec 2021 | US |