Patent Application
20210404206
This invention relates in general to the provision of two-piece apparatus for use as a crowd control stanchion or as an umbrella stand or for the simultaneous use for both of these functions. Such an apparatus provides for the comfort and and for the control and direction of outdoor crowds to amusement park rides, ticket booths, stadium entry gates and other locations where large numbers of people must get in queue and wait for their entry to the event or attraction.
The control, management and direction of crowds is well known and is typically accomplished by the provision of several spaced-apart stanchions between which rope lines, chains or ribbons are provided to direct the crowd in a desired location in an orderly manner. The stanchions can be permanently embedded into the ground or can be movable by providing a heavy base member which will support the upright stanchion. Movable stanchions have the advantage of being movable so that different flow arrangements can set up for different conditions. The provisions of a heavy base, however, can become a hazard in large crowds where people are very close together and cannot easily see the ground because of the density of the crowd. At many events, such as amusement parks, sporting events or concerts, individuals may sometimes have to wait a significant period of time before moving through the whole queue and reaching the entrance. In situations, where the event goers must queue in the blazing hot sun or in the rain, it may be beneficial to provide large umbrellas to provide relief to the individuals waiting and moving through the queue. However, particularly in dense crowds, the provision of separate stanchions for a rope line and additional cylindrical tube supports for umbrellas creates too many obstacles, interferes with the efficient movement of individuals through the queue, and greatly distracts from an uncluttered aesthetic environment which event promoters and planners greatly prefer.
A unique two-piece pole stand assembly is described in Apple, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,989, the specification of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference thereto. The present invention is an improvement to this two-piece pole stand. In short, the existing Apple patent describes a two-piece self-locking pole stand assembly including a sleeve base that is secured into the ground and a short tubular insert that fits snugly into the base, housing two pivot arms that engage the base and automatically lock the insert to it upon insertion of the pole. This two-piece stand assembly has been successfully used as a crowd control stanchion and as an umbrella pole stand. More specifically, American Holtzkraft, Inc. sells a commercially available version of a two-piece pole assembly for use as a crowd control stanchion (Model #609 Crowd Control Stanchion and #608 Base) and also sells a separate product for use as an umbrella stand (Model #612 Quick-Coupling Umbrella Sleeve and #611 Base). Prior to the present invention, however, separate devices were needed depending upon which of these two functions was desired.
Other known devices are believed to be of only general interest. For example, Volin, U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,513 disclosed a multi-adjustable, rotating and opposite-double-locking umbrella-stanchion system. This device is quite complex and only serves the function of an umbrella stand and does not teach or suggest the use of such a device as a crowd control stanchion.
Oster, U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,420 discloses a retractable crowd control barrier. Similarly, Eaton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 10,011,963 disclose a crowd control stanchion with chain storage. Both of these devices serve the function of a crowd control stanchion but do not teach or suggest the use of such devices as an umbrella stand.
The present invention has solved the problem and eliminated the requirement of having separate stanchions including an upright member for a crowd control rope line and a pole stand and for an umbrella by providing a single two piece apparatus which serves both of these functions. The existing prior art had the primary objective to eliminate the risks involved with unwarranted disconnection of a two-piece pole stand assembly while the pole is intact and reduce the time and effort necessary to fasten a pole stand tube into an in-ground sleeve by designing a tubular insert that automatically locks into its in-ground sleeve upon insertion of the pole. The sleeve base consisted of a cylindrical tube fixed to a small flat at one end and a cylindrical collar of greater diameter and thickness than the tube attached to the other end, a length of which is bored out establishing a groove on the inside between the top edge of the tube and the collar. The sleeve is secured into the ground with its top edge flush with the ground surface. The stand insert of the prior art device and the crowd control and umbrella stanchion of the present inventions each consists of a cylindrical tube having an outside diameter that allows for a sliding fit between the tube insert (or in the case of the present invention, the crowd control and umbrella stanchion) and sleeve, a collar fixed along the length of the tube on its outside that acts as a stop between the two mating members, and a self-locking device incorporated into the collar. The self-locking device consists of two pivot arms with heels of thickness slightly less than that of the sleeve's groove that swing outward and latch into the base groove when the tubular stand or crowd control and umbrella stanchion is inserted into the sleeve base.
Because the pivot arms automatically lock the tubular stand or crowd control and umbrella stanchion into the sleeve base upon insertion of the pole, there is no risk of the two members separating until the pole is removed. In addition, assembly time is reduced.
The improvement of the present invention is the provision of a crowd control and umbrella stanchion which replaces detachable tubular insert of the former two-piece pole stand assembly. The crowd control and umbrella stanchion, which is inserted into the in-ground sleeve, allows an umbrella pole to be inserted in the upper end of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion and also has a pair of upper loops welded on opposite sides of an upper portion thereof which allows for attachment of crowd control ropes or chains. Thus, the single crowd control and umbrella stanchion simultaneously act as a stanchion upright for crowd control chains, ropes or ribbons and allows an umbrella pole to be secured into an upper end of the same stanchion upright.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds. A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following embodiment and accompanying drawings.
Referring first to the prior art of
Referring now to
A crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50 is provided which is comprised of a length of steel tubing having an upper portion 52 and a lower portion 54 and having a top end 56 and a bottom end 58. As indicated, a tubular extension collar 70 is welded to the lower portion 54 of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50. The bottom end 58 of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion is inserted into the in-ground sleeve 12 to a depth shown as the ground level by the dashed line 80 in
The tubular extension 50 has a pair of upper loops 60 which are preferably semicircular in configuration and are welded on opposite sides of said upper portion 52 of crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50. The crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50 provides a stanchion upright which allows attachment of crowd control rope, chain or ribbon 90. The crowd control and umbrella stanchion also provide for the insertion of an umbrella pole 100 of umbrella 102 to allow for the umbrella to be secured in the same location as any crowd control and umbrella stanchion upright 51. As shown, the crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50 also preferably has a pair of lower loops 62 welded on opposite sides of said lower portion 54 of said tubular extension 50.
While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is understood that this is capable of modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.
