Patent Application
20180328050
The invention (referred to in the proceeding narrative as “current invention”) relates to performance stages or platforms designed for permanent placement and use outdoors in a home setting by developing performing artists.
The utility of prior art (Pat. Application No. JP3185536U, and Pat. No. CN205502649U, U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,241, U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,596, U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,425, U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,004 A, U.S. Pat. No. 7,452,586 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,592) separately addresses topics pertinent to the current invention such as surface qualities of stage floors, an outdoor ambience for a stage performance, and the value of weatherable materials for outdoor floors. While prior art creations may serve purposes they address, they are not suitable for an individual performance stage or platform designed for permanent placement and use outdoors in a home setting so young, developing dancers or like performing artists can practice their art.
Japanese Pat. Application No. JP3185536U discloses an indoor-outdoor dance platform (a stage) capable of being rotated through power provided by an electric motor and designed to serve multiple or a group of entertainers. The purpose of this invention is to afford spectators, regardless of where they are seated around the stage, an enface view of performers. The motor that rotates the floor 360 degrees is installed under the performance platform and the motor's speed is controlled by performers using a foot-switch. This performance stage is designed to serve multiple performers and is not intended for individual use at home. Although this invention could be placed outdoors, there is no indication in the disclosure that the stage would endure environmental conditions if left outdoors on a permanent basis.
Chinese Pat. No. CN205502649U, entitled “360 Theater is Performed in All Weather to Multistage Open-Close Type,” refers to an outdoor performance stage that is part of a large covered auditorium with movable walls engineered to transform an enclosed screen theater into a covered performance stage that exposes the audience to an open-air environment. Though capable of presenting a partial outdoor setting to a large audience, this theater's vast size and its design to entertain through screen-to-performance stage and stage-to-screen venues serve a different purpose than that addressed by the current invention. This “360 theater” is not designed for personal or home use.
Max (U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,241), addressing quality of personal dance floors, discloses a stage designed for tap dancers with a surface that reproduces the sound of tap dancing and reflects this sound to the dancer. In addition to sound transmission, a practical quality targeted in the stage's construction is that it is capable of being moved from one site to another by the user. Max's prior art is a folding, two-piece, 24-foot square smooth surfaced dancing platform made of hardwood parquet squares glued over a plywood base that folds into two opposing three-by four-foot sections. Hinges are used to connect the two sections together and handles are attached to assist the user in moving the platform from one dance site to another. Clearly, this dance floor emits and transmits appropriate sounds from floor to dancer, and possesses optimal size for portability. However, this prior art is designed for tap dancers, to the exclusion of other performing artists. Through its purpose and construction, the stage is meant for indoor use. Being susceptible to outside environmental elements, this platform would not last if placed in an outdoor setting on a permanent basis.
Leslie and Jines (U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,596), with concern for surface quality of a dance stage, disclose, as one of many embodiments, a smooth surfaced octagon-shaped performance platform in which the height can be adjusted to make it level, regardless of the surface where it is placed. The stage's surface is made of eight pie-shaped or isosceles triangular segments connected at their apexes through use of a unique connecting hub. An adjustable web or belt extends around the outer periphery of platform to hold the segments together. Each segment, is supported by a leg that can be adjusted to raise or lower the segment to achieve a level stage. The octagon-shaped embodiment is one of many where the triangular segments that comprise basic building blocks can be arranged in different configurations to change the size and shape of the dancing surface. By design, this dance stage can be assembled to adapt the final structure to different performance areas. Though temporary outdoor use is a possibility, the purpose of this stage is to provide an adjustable height dance platform that is portable and adaptable in size to fit available indoor space. This prior art is designed to provide a temporary, not permanent, stage.
Cova (U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,425), discloses prior art representing modular designed performance floors. Noted are that dance performances held in areas not normally used for dance necessitate a temporary floor construction that must be portable. Thus, a targeted purpose of this prior art is portability. Elaborated on in construction of this prior art is the smooth, continuous, firmness needed in a dance floor, qualities strived for in this invention of a floor comprised of a plurality of similar plywood surfaced pallet-like modules. These modules are designed to be placed on top of another floor surface, not suitable for dancing. Modules are treated like large tiles, laid and connected in a continuous floor pattern that meets user needs. This modular floor, like others in the field, is designed for portability and use indoors. Outdoor use would be possible, but only on an interim basis.
Mitchell (U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,004 A) and Vershum (U.S. Pat. No. 7,452,586 B2) provide disclosures that exemplify floor coverings specifically created for use outdoors. Mitchell discloses a floor designed for impact attenuation and cushioning to be used for children's playgrounds to reduce injuries from accidental falls. This floor involves blocks of molded rubber secured to a resilient supporting structure. Blocks are connected by creatively designed fasteners. Mitchell's invention provides a surface system, that can be made using known rubber molding methods, includes a novel method to fasten the rubber blocks together without use of tools, and results in a surface that is long-wearing and long-lasting outdoors and safe for playground users. Vershum discloses a plastic floor covering for outdoor use that allows air and moisture to pass through it. In one of multiple embodiments, the floor covering has a first layer made of a low-density polyethylene foam connected to a second layer made of a polyethylene film. This floor covering is permeable. A plurality of perforations is designed into the covering that extend through the first and second layers to allow air and moisture to pass through. Both Mitchell's and Vershum's prior art disclosures focus on the use of weatherable floor coverings suitable for outdoor use, rubber in one case and plastic in the other, but do not specifically address the utility of using these coverings for a stage to be placed outdoors on a permanent basis for personal use at home.
Andres (U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,592) discloses a weatherable polyvinyl chloride (PVC) co-extrusion substrate to use for floor assemblies, such as an outdoor residential deck. The assembled floor consists of a plurality of PVC extrusions butted together and mounted on snaps connected to wood joists that serve as a rigid support. Andres, in envisioning extended utility of a floor comprised of the PVC extrusions, mentions potential use for boat docks, enclosed patios, and dance floors. As declared, the assembled floor, because of its PVC surface with multiple depressions between extrusions, is slip resistant. Suggestion that an assembly of these PVC extrusions may potentially serve as a dance floor is confounded by multiple seams or depressions in the floor. Such obtrusions would prevent full expression of performance-related body movements of users and present potential safety issues, especially regarding footwear.
While prior art creations are imaginative and suitable for purposes intended, they do not serve the purpose addressed by the current invention. Conception of the current invention emerged from the desire to build a personal, home-based, outdoor stage for developing performing artists to practice their art, the specific utility of which thus far is lacking in the field. Like successful sports figures who require fields, courts, gyms or special facilities to hone skills, young, developing dancers and related performers, such as baton twirlers, require special accommodations to practice and gain proficiency in their arts. A common remedy to satisfy user needs for such a practice site is to procure time in a gymnasium or indoor studio. However, such venues can be costly, require time-consuming travel, and are conditioned by scheduling availability, often leading to inconvenient and irregular rehearsals. An assumed correlation between a user's desire to practice and timely access to a practice site that affords maximum opportunity to improve proficiency, is the central tenet on which the desire to provide a home-based stage was pursued.
A home stage, besides ready availability, must meet other requirements, such as providing proper performance space. While dancers require horizontal space, other performing artists, such as baton twirlers, additionally require vertical space free of overhead obstructions. Such space is available outdoors. In considering an outdoor site for a performance stage, requirements in addition to adequate space must be met. Universal among these is that the performance floor must be flat, smooth and firm to promote performance-related motions and actions, and these floor qualities must be sustainable. Because safety is important, a suitable performance stage must facilitate user actions without harm to body or performance-related wear, such as shoes. Further requirements are that the stage must be sturdy, easy to maintain between usages, and withstand constant environmental vicissitudes. Relative to these requirements, commonly available outside venues only partially meet desired needs as a practice site.
Concrete surfaces, such as driveways, sidewalks, or stoned patio and poolside areas provide a flat surface, are enduring and require minimal upkeep, but do not possess other performance-related qualities found at users authentic practice sites. The roughness and rigidity of concrete or stoned surfaces inhibit routines and imaginative movements of performers and damage delicate footwear. Wooden decks made of weather-resistant lumber and painted to resist outside environmental elements are flat, sturdy and enduring, but present too many obtrusive seams and warp or splinter over time, hindering performance-related body movements and presenting safety issues. Clearly, depressions and protrusions in a performance floor are considered flaws that must be mitigated.
Personal experience of the current inventor provides evidence that a stage with a wood performance floor constructed using sheets of plywood to avoid excessive floor seams, or depressions, even when covered with several coats of paint to enhance durability, does not last in an outdoor setting. Glue that holds laminated wood together when chronically exposed to moisture breaks down, causing the wood to warp, crack, delaminate and splinter. Alternatively, composite outdoor dance floors that are made of modular interlocking wood or vinyl segments and which satisfy functional floor qualities can be rented through vendors. However, such floors are made of weather-affected parts that dictate they be used outdoors only on a temporary basis. Such floors must be disassembled after short-term use outdoors and stored indoors to last. If used for an extended period outdoors, these floors must be covered, as under a tent, to protect against weather-related damage.
Present home venues have shortcomings in providing a suitable outdoor practice site for young performing artists. Outdoor performance platforms, stages or theaters in the field, evident in patent disclosures, are appropriate for purposes for which they were designed. However, prior art does not include an outdoor dance stage that is designed for personal use and permanent placement outside the home, that possesses surface qualities like those at authentic sites where users are taught, have recitals or compete, and that can endure outdoors long-term without concern for day-to-day upkeep. In these respects, the current invention departs from concepts and designs of prior art to fill a void in the field. Though combining attributes of prior art, such as imparting surface characteristics to a stage floor desired by performing artists, and providing a weather-resistant surface designed for outdoor use, and targeting purposes for which prior art was created, such as performing in an open-air setting, the current invention imaginatively integrates protean structural and functional qualities into a unique personal performance stage for permanent use outdoors that to date is not available in the field.
The current invention, designed to meet needs of developing performing artists, resulted from achievement of plural objectives.
A primary objective was to provide an outdoor stage that is readily available for users to practice their art.
Another objective was to provide a stage that can be accommodated in a user's home setting.
Another objective was to provide a stage that is sturdy, immobile and safely supports the weight of users.
Another objective was to provide a stage that offers a performance floor possessing qualities found in authentic venues where users practice and compete, one that is spacious, flat, smooth and firm, accommodating user needs to easily execute gliding and turning actions and combinations of body movements that define their art.
Another objective was to provide a stage that is safe, where user actions are facilitated without harm to body or performance-related wear.
Another objective was to provide a stage that, between practices, requires little user intervention to maintain.
Another objective was to provide a stage that when left unattended and uncovered for lengthy periods outdoors is enduring in its capacity to withstand environmental conditions while maintaining original structural and functional qualities.
In accomplishment of these objectives, the invention that embodies desired structural and functional characteristics is portrayed in the accompanying description and drawings.
The preferred embodiment is an open-air 8-foot by 8-foot square stage for home use, designed to be placed in a backyard setting, anywhere there is room for its sixty-four-square foot imprint. The preferred embodiment is comprised vertically of two primary parts, a six and one-half inch high rigid base and a one-half-inch thick performance floor. The two parts are comprised of materials resistant to damage by outside elements and are held together with screws.
Two features highlight the invention's originality. First is the use of sheets of high density polyethylene (HDPE) for its performance floor. This material possesses inherent characteristics that provide sought-after physical and functional qualities for an outdoor performance floor. Second is the way that HDPE sheets are anchored (attached permanently), with screws, to the base. The anchoring process had to meet several requirements. The process had to mitigate possible changes that perceptibly disrupt the smoothness of the stage surface and impede performers' movements. That is, the anchoring process had to mitigate possible changes to the surface caused by attachment hardware or processes used in attaching the performance floor to the stage base. Such changes include those that could present a safety issue to users or to user-related attire, such as shoes. Mitigating these potential pitfalls involved challenges presented by inherent expansion and contraction of HDPE that occurs with shifts in outside temperature. Subsequently, a novel process was derived by the current inventor to secure the HDPE surface material to the stage's rigid base without interfering functionally with the smooth surface of the performance floor for which HDPE was originally chosen, and which accommodated compliance characteristics of the sheets of HDPE.
The finished stage provides a performance floor with desired qualities designed for practice outdoors by developing performing artists. The stage provides service without concern for day-to-day upkeep. This means when left unattended for lengthy periods the stage withstands harsh natural environmental conditions, such as weather changes, constant exposure to rain, high humidity or moisture, ultraviolet sun rays and attacks by insects, all which can potentially cause undesirable changes in the stage's structural and functional qualities. The stage is safe and immobile. The load-limit is defined by its capacity to support the combined weight of ten adults with no perceptible signs of stress to the stage's structure.
Three drawings (
A detailed description is presented so that a person skilled in the art of the field can understand all structural components in relation to intended functions, and a craftsman skilled in the art of building could replicate the invention. The stage's performance floor is crafted from two sheets of HDPE. The rigid base, in the preferred embodiment, is constructed of pressure-treated lumber. Critical is that the HDPE performance floor and base are both weather- and insect-resistant. The type of HDPE used is a black half-inch thick sheet, with a matte finish. The HDPE is a marine grade plastic that does not warp, rot, or deteriorate when exposed to constant humidity or rain. Neither is the HDPE performance floor damaged by UV light, changes in outside temperature, or insects. It is compliant, shrinking slightly in cold- and expanding in hot weather. The HDPE surface layer and wooden base are held together with screws that, in addition to being compatible with treated wood, are rustproof. A critical characteristic is that screws must be long-lasting and ductile.
In the preferred embodiment, the base is made using treated lumber [YellaWood® (Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc., Abbeville, Ala.)]. Key to building the base is that it is square so that the HDPE surface sheets fit snuggly and precisely on top. Outer base boards 6 are standard eight feet long 2-inch×6-inch lumber. To build the square box for the base, two eight-foot long base boards, shortened by cutting off appropriate end pieces (equal to twice the board thickness), are laid in parallel and level on the ground. The other two base boards, are laid perpendicular to and overlap the ends of their grounded counterparts. The two longer, overlapping boards are connected to the two shorter ones with 3.5-inch, star flat-head deck screws (Deck Mate,® distributed by The Home Depot, 2455 Paces Ferry Rd. NW, Atlanta, Ga. 30339) inserted from the outer overlapping boards. Three screws are inserted at each overlap. Assembled, these four boards represent the outer base boards 6 that form the square periphery of the stage's base. Four additional boards, inner base boards 8, each cut on its end to remove a section from its length equal to twice the board thickness, are inserted into the square base, parallel to the two previously cut outer boards, and attached with three 3.5-inch deck screws to opposing outer base boards 6. The base boards 6 and 8 visually separate the base into five similar rectangular compartments, evident in
Screwed to the top of the compartmentalized square base component, perpendicular to the inner base boards 8, are eight-foot long 1-inch thick×6-inch wide boards. These cross boards 9, as illustrated in
On top of the base are laid two sheets of HDPE plastic (54-inch×96-inch and ½-inch thick; manufactured by VYCOM Olefin and PVC Solutions, Scranton, Pa. 18505), comprising the performance floor 1. Each sheet of HDPE weighs 90 pounds. Because the HDPE sheets are 54 inches wide, a 12-inch section is cut off the length of one panel that overlaps the edge of the base, leaving the performance floor 8-feet×8-feet square. This 12-inch “surplus” piece is used to cut the 1-inch bordering trim strips 4 (see
At this point in construction, an 8-foot×8-foot wood base with HDPE performance floor is produced that is sturdy and immobile. Now, ventilation holes 7, one-inch in diameter, are drilled along the outer base boards 6, two inches above the ground and two feet apart. Three ventilation holes 7 on each side of the base allow ground moisture to evaporate and ventilating air to enter behind the baseboards to help keep hidden elements of the base dry. Also, the 2-inch×2-inch side ribs 5, previously cut from lengths of treated 2-inch×4-inch lumber, are attached to outer base boards 6, with their upper surface of the ribs 5 level with the tops of cross boards 9. Attachment is with 3-inch deck screws. As evident in
In the preferred embodiment, the two sheets of HDPE comprising the performance floor 1 and the bordering trim 4 are anchored (permanently attached) to the wooden base and ribs 5, respectively, with stainless steel trim screws.
For screw insertion, pilot holes, equal in diameter to the diameter of the threaded portion of the screw, are drilled through the entire thickness of the HDPE sheets (performance floor). The top part of each pilot hole is reamed (enlarged) by drilling from the exposed surface with a bevel-tipped bit equal in diameter to the diameter of the trim screw head. Multiple pilot holes are used in the anchoring process and consistency in drilling the wider tier of the two-tier pilot hole is accomplished by using a device made by the current inventor for this purpose. The device is made using two cylindrical tubes, assembled into an adjustable-length, single cylinder. One piece is a 2¾-inch long hollow brass cylinder threaded on its outer surface (⅜-inch OD and 5/16-inch ID). The second piece is a ⅝-inch long brass collar (⅜-inch ID and 7/16-inch OD), threaded on the inside, that is screwed over the longer cylinder. Assembled, the result is a cylindrical device, with an adjustable collar on one end and the other end being neat.
The reaming drill bit, attached to a drill gun, is inserted into the neat end of the two-piece cylinder and is advanced until stopped by the forward end of the drill gun chuck contacting the neat end of the device. The device's length is then adjusted by hand-twisting the collar on the longer tube until only a ¼-inch of drill bit extends below the collar. At this point a piece of duct tape is wrapped around the juncture of the device's two parts to hold the adjusted position. Then, when used to drill the upper tier of the pilot hole, the bit is stopped from going deeper into the HDPE performance floor 1 than the exposed part of the bit due to the end of the collar contacting the HDPE surface, serving as a stop. Using the device in this disclosed fashion, prevents the bit from going more than half way through the HDPE performance floor 1, providing uniformity in producing multiple two-tiered pilot holes. The shoulder produced where the wider upper tier of the pilot hole meets the smaller diameter lower tier, as illustrated in
The pattern of drilled pilot holes, and subsequently the pattern of trim screws, on the stage performance floor is illustrated in
The insertion of specified stainless steel trim screws into pilot holes arranged in the pattern specified on the stage's performance floor is critical to anchoring the HDPE performance floor to the wooden base. Stainless steel trim screws were chosen in the anchoring process for two primary reasons. These pertain to material characteristics, namely screw length and head diameter, and inherent properties, namely ductile traits, and endurance in harsh weather. Inherently, stainless steel resists corrosion, a factor important in durability outdoors. Considering material characteristics, the length of trim screws is sufficient to securely attach the performance floor 1 to the base by inserting screw shafts through the HDPE performance floor via pilot holes and penetrating the full thickness of the base cross boards 9 (see
The performance floor 1 edges are protected by the bordering trim 4, which surrounds it like a picture frame. After attaching the bordering trim 4, the HPDE and wood corners of the stage are smoothed with sandpaper to remove exposed sharp edges.
When construction of this preferred embodiment of the stage is complete the weight of the stage keeps it firmly on the ground, immobile. The performance floor is well secured. The performance floor, having only a single discreet seam 3, is smooth, firm and hard wearing. The matte finished HDPE surface provides traction for safe walking but facilitates easy voluntary foot movement to allow users to execute smooth gliding moves and routines with ease, confidence and full expression. The HDPE surface allows performers to carry out actions in safety and to use a full range of shoes without damage to delicate materials. The stage is enduring outdoors and requires minimal upkeep. Impermeability to water makes the performance floor easy to clean and dry when needed. Cleaning with water and drying is the only expected between-performance user upkeep required.
The preferred embodiment described is for illustrative purposes and other embodiments are evident, such as increasing or decreasing stage size and shape to change the stage's surface area or height. The rigid wooden base of the stage could be constructed of different woods or man-made simulations, or plastic, such as used for playground equipment. The surface could be made of related HDPE materials of assorted colors and thicknesses. Screws made of different metals and of different configurations could be used to anchor the performance floor. Screws could be inserted in two-tiered pilot holes of sizes different from that disclosed and drilled in different patterns to anchor the HDPE surface. The base of the stage, instead of contacting the ground, could be built on top of a cement slab or paving stones laid on the ground and the HDPE sheets (or partial sheets) could be anchored directly to these grounded structures. Such changes would be evident to those skilled in the craft as obvious modifications and remain within the latitude of the invention's description, scope and claims.
Although designed primarily for home use by developing performing artists, the stage has greater utility. It can be used by homeowners as a site for outdoor tables and chairs or for an umbrella table at poolside. It can serve as a permanent dance floor for outdoor gatherings or a play site for children. It could also be used as an open pavilion on playgrounds or at parks. Support of performance functions for which it is designed, its potential manifold embodiments, its extended utility, its durability outdoors, and its carefree maintenance combine to make the invention unique in its field.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/602,931 filed on May 12, 2017.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62602931 | May 2017 | US |
