Patent Application
20150216312
Over time, the collection of sports memorabilia has grown from a childhood hobby into a multi-billion dollar industry. Stadium seats that were once part of famous arenas around the country, such as the original BUSCH STADIUM (BUSCH STADIUM is registered trademark #2050640 of Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated, a Missouri corporation, located as One Busch Place, St. Louis, Mo. 63118) (colloquially and hereinafter known as Old Busch Stadium) or the recently renovated DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY is registered trademark #0986222 of the International Speedway Corporation, a Florida corporation, located at One Daytona Boulevard, Daytona Beach, Fla. 32114), are now highly sought after sports memorabilia by sports enthusiasts and/or collectors that wish to own a piece of sports history. Typically, while in use stadium seats are mounted directly onto the rise of the step or bleacher behind the seat through a vertical bracket or are mounted directly onto a horizontal surface, such as by bolting the two spaced apart vertically extending up-stands to the concrete step floor. When removed from a stadium or sports arena, a stadium seat is typically not able to stand on its own as there is no base or stand affixed to the chairs themselves. In other words, most stadium seats only have two legs or no legs at all. See
When NASCAR ((NASCAR is registered trademark #1908112 of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., a Florida corporation, located at One Daytona Boulevard, Daytona Beach, Fla. 32114), hereinafter ‘NASCAR’) tracks are torn down or renovated, fans rally at the opportunity to acquire actual seating from NASCAR tracks for convection and private use, just like football and baseball fans have done in the past. This is especially true for NASCAR, since speedway renovations are very rarely done, making speedway seats ultra-rare. However, NASCAR seats are so different from actual pre-designed stadium seats, as they are essentially legless folding chairs with angle irons welded onto their bottom portions for engaging bleacher plans. Accordingly, there is currently no good mechanism for utilizing the NASCAR seats in private seating. Thus, there is a need for an improved stabilizing base for retired stadium seats that has an extended surface area and which increases marketing value through the use of customization and personalization. The present novel technology addresses this need.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the novel technology, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the novel technology is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the novel technology as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the novel technology relates.
To provide increased stability of, and to enhance sales for, stadium memorabilia seats the present novel technology relates to a system 5 for stabilizing and supporting NASCAR-style recovered legless folding stadium seats 45. The system 5 converts a piece of sports memorabilia (in particular a NASCAR-style stadium seat 45 as retired from service and recovered) that would be inoperable outside of a sports arena into a useful memorabilia article, such as a chair, that can be used outside of a stadium. In addition, the system 5 enhances the appearance of retired stadium seats 45 before adding to the sport memorabilia aspect of the stadium seat while also providing sufficient stabilization to allow the seat 45 to be freestanding.
One embodiment of the present novel technology, as shown in
The chair 45 typically includes an assembly for engaging the chair 45 to the bleacher planks. When the chair 45 is removed from a bleacher plank, the chair 45 typically includes a pair of chair support members 40 (e.g., angle irons), each attached to the lip 46 of the bottom 48 of the chair 45, to define a volume for engaging a plank. Each respective chair support member 40 spaced apart extends from the lip 46 of the chair 45 across the bottom 48 of the chair 45 to define a flange for the chair 45 to grippingly engage a bleacher plank. There is typically an empty volume between the chair bottom 48 and the chair support members 40 except for at the lip 46.
A chair attaching assembly 35 is typically positioned above the top portion 25 of the side mounting frame 10, or may be the top portion 25 of the side mounting frame 10. The chair attaching assembly 35 may include one or more (typically two) elongated attachment members 36 disposed between the bottom 48 of the chair 45 and the top of the chair support members 40, having one or more apertures therethrough for engaging a plurality of fasteners with the top portion 25. The chair attaching assembly 35 typically includes two holes in each top portion 25 and elongated attachment member 36 to fasten (such as with nuts 37 and bolts 38) the side mounting piece 10 to the chair 45. Likewise, a floor attaching assembly 30 positioned below the first side 15 also is typically elongated and rectangular in shape, with holes formed there through for fasteners 32, 33 to extend through (typically nuts 32 and bolts 33) the side mounting frame 10 (typically via the bottom portion 15) into a support member 50. The support member 50 is typically longer and wider than the first portion 15 of the side mounting frames 10 in order to increase the balance and stability of the chair 5 when in the freestanding position. The support member 50 typically includes rubber or like pads 55 thereto for engaging the floor, for added comfort, height and durability. The system 5 may still operate without the inclusion of the support bottom 50 and/or the rubber pads 55 connected to the support bottom 50 and instead simply have the bottom portion 15 of the side mounting frame 10 directly engage the floor with or without rubber pads 55 connected thereto.
The seat assembly 5 is typically made out of wood or metal, although any convenient structural material may be selected, and is of sufficient surface area to stabilize and support the weight of the stadium seat 15 with the addition of body weight thereon. Typically, the assembly 5 is made of ¼″, ⅛″, 3/16″ thick, or the like, steel. Generally, the seat assembly 5 typically spans no more than about 30% of the surface area under a stadium seat 45, more typically no more than about 25% of the surface area under a stadium seat 45, and still more typically no more than about 15% or less of the surface area under a stadium seat 45 with the remainder of the surface area under the seat 45 being open or free. The span of the seat assembly 5 and, more specifically, the mounting frames 10, underneath the stadium seat 45 provides for greater surface area stabilization compared to conventional methods for chair support. Additionally, stadium seats 45 are not inherently well balanced, as they are designed to be bolted down in normal use. Independent balance and support are not important stadium seat 45 design considerations since the seats are normally not designed to be free standing. By design, NASCAR-style stadium seats 45 commonly do not have legs or the like extending therefrom and (the chair support members 40) have at most two areas of contact with their support surface and cannot stand above ground on their own. Without a stabilizing seat assembly 5 extending from the chair 45 to the ground and that covers a sufficient area under the stadium seat 45, a stadium seat 45 cannot stand alone.
The following example is merely representative of the work that contributes to the teaching of the present novel article and is not to be restricted by the following example.
Example of typical dimensions for a typical embodiment of the present novel technology:
The floor attaching assembly 30 on the bottom is 18 ½″ long, 3″ wide, and is made of 3/16 inch thick steel, with rubber pads 55 on the bottom. The side mounting pieces 10 are each 14″ long and 2″ wide and are made of ¼ inch thick steel. The assembly 5 is typically crescent shaped, or, in other words, shaped like a ‘C’ or sideways ‘U’, and the total perimeter length is about 39.75 inches. The chair attaching assembly 35 has a piece that is recessed into the space defined by the skirt extending from the seat, has an elongated rectangular shape and is 10″ long, 2 inches wide, and ¼ inch thick steel. It has one 7/16″ square aperture formed therethrough and one 7/16″×⅞″ rectangular aperture formed through the other end. There are four total 3″ carriage bolts 33/38 and flange nuts 32/37 (both ⅜″) connecting the mounts to the seat.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character. It is understood that the embodiments have been shown and described in the foregoing specification in satisfaction of the best mode and enablement requirements. It is understood that one of ordinary skill in the art could readily make a nigh-infinite number of insubstantial changes and modifications to the above-described embodiments and that it would be impractical to attempt to describe all such embodiment variations in the present specification. Accordingly, it is understood that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.
This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/936,515, filed Feb. 6, 2014.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61936515 | Feb 2014 | US |
