GB2277542A - Foldable support for stepped staging - Google Patents

Abstract

A support structure for staging comprises front decking-support means 10 extending upwardly at a rearward inclination and rear strut means 11, the lower and regions of the respective means being joined by one or more tie elements 9, in which at least one of the decking-suppont means and strut means comprises a rectangular frame an edge of which is hinged to the other of said means about a lateral axis for folding movement between a storage position in which the said means lie substantially contiguous and an in use position in which the said means are splayed apart, the tie element or elements being hingeably connected to at least one of said means for folding together therewith in the storage position. Two or more such support structures may be arranged together to provide double-height staging, decking members 16, 17 being disposed on stepped bracket members removably attached to the upwardly- and rearwardly-inclined decking-support means. <IMAGE>

Description

STAGING This invention relates to staging for use in group photography, of the type including two or more support structures which in use are arranged on the ground laterally spaced apart from each other, decking members spanning between adjacent pairs of support structures to support stepped rows of people to be photographed.

According to the invention, a support structure for staging is provided, the structure in use comprising front decking-support means extending upwardly at a rearward inclination and rear strut means, the lower end regions of the respective means being joined by one or more tie elements, in which at least one of the deckingsupport means and strut means comprises a rectangular frame an edge of which is hinged to the other of said means about a lateral axis for folding movement between a storage position in which the said means lie substantially contiguous and an in use position in which the said means are splayed apart, the tie element or elements being hingeably connected to at least one of said means for folding together therewith in the storage position.

Preferably, each of the decking-support means and strut means comprises a rectangular frame having longitudinal side members and transverse top and bottom members, the frames being hingeably connected together along their respective top members about the lateral axis. In use, therefore, the support structure adopts a triangular configuration when viewed from the side, preferably an isosceles triangle with the tie element or elements forming the longest side.

The tie element or elements serve to determine the angular spacing of the decking-support and strut frames in use. Preferably, a pair of tie elements are employed, each comprising two portions hingeably connected at their outer ends respectively to the decking-support and strut frames and attachable or hingeably connected together at their inner ends, whereby the portions fold inwardly to lie against the decking-support and strut frames when the structure is in the storage position.

The triangular configuration is most preferably that of a right-angled isosceles triangle, thus rendering the angle of rearward inclination of the decking-support means to be 450, which is considered to be the ideal angle for group photographic purposes. Additionally, with such a construction, two support structures according to the invention can be removably attached together to form a composite structure with their respective strut frames contiguous, the second structure having been inverted with respect to the first, to double the effective length of the decking-support means.In such an arrangement, the bottom member of the deckingsupport frame of the second structure becomes the topmost transverse member of the composite structure and the tie elements of the second structure are vertically-disposed and are under compression, whereas in the first structure they are horizontally-disposed and are under tension. In order to resist any tendency for the tie elements to buckle under compression, brace members may be provided between a middle part of the tie elements and the transverse top member of either the decking-support or strut frame.Preferably the brace members are hingeably connected at one end to the tie elements, for folding ability with the other elements of the structure in the storage position, the other end of the brace member being preferably removably clamped to the top member in the in use position and to the bottom member of the frame in the storage position. To enhance the overall rigidity in use, the brace members may include elements which diagonally link between respective opposed side regions of the structures.

One way of removably attaching together two support structures is to provide lugs or tongues on one side of the strut frames and apertured housings on the other, such that the lugs or tongues will cooperatively engage in the housings when the structures are correctly oriented and offered to each other for use in the doubleheight mode.

To accommodate decking members in use, the deckingsupport means includes stepped bracket-members which may be either formed integrally with the support means or may be removably attachable thereto, for example by means of cooperating tongues and housings. Decking members, either as individual strip elements for each tier forming treads or risers or, preferably for safety and rigidity purposes, as pre-formed stepped elements including treads and risers, may then be removably attached thereto, once the support structures have been erected at desired spaced-apart locations, together with any ancillary items such as balustrading. Conveniently the balustrading, if used, may be attached to the same bracket members as the decking, although it could be attached direct to the support structure, using a similar arrangement of cooperating tongues and housings.

Optionally, staging when assembled from support structures according to the invention includes horizontally-disposed restraint bars carried on legs attached either to the support structures or the decking members, to prevent people standing on the decking from falling forwards under the influence of the "domino effect", if a person in an upper row of decking faints or is pushed or otherwise falls on the person immediately in front of and below him.

Suitable materials from which staging according to the invention may be made include metallic materials such as aluminium or alloys thereof and composite materials such as carbon fibre and glass-reinforced plastics.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which; Figure 1 is a perspective view showing, schematically, assembled first and second support structures in the double-height configuration with decking in place, Figure 2 is a side exploded view of the first and second structures in the double-height configuration, including decking brackets; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the first and second structures in the double-height configuration, before the addition of decking brackets; and Figures 4a and 4b show schematically the folding mechanism of a support structure.

With reference to Figure 1, the double-height configuration formed from assembled first and second structures 1, 2 is shown. Upper decking 3 has been added to the upper structure 2, the decking of the lower structure 1 being omitted for clarity. Decking 4, 5 from adjacent structures (not shown) is attached by means of engagement between spigots 50 and holes 51. The decking member 4 comprises a single preformed tread and riser whereas the decking member 5 comprises five preformed treads and risers, sufficient for one of the first and second structures.

Conveniently, the spigots 50 also serve to engage any balustrading for handrails which may be used (not shown), although such balustrading may be attached in other ways, for example as shown in Figure 2.

As can be seen in Figure 1, the support structure 1 consists essentially of rectangular frames assembled together to form a right-angled triangle, frame 6 being horizontal (in use, disposed on the ground) and frames 7 and 8 being angled upwardly and defining the right angle between them at the apex of the triangle. In the doubleheight configuration shown, the structure 1 is arranged with a similar structure 2 (in which the frame corresponding to frame 6 is disposed vertically) so as together to form another right-angled triangle, the hypotenuse of which is constituted by frame 7 of structure 1 together with a like frame of structure 2 and forms a support which bears the upper decking number 3 and similar lower decking member.

With reference to Figure 2, side members of frames 6, 7 and 8 are shown respectively at 9, 10 and 11 and corresponding sides of the frames which constitute structure 2 are shown respectively at 12, 13 and 14.

With particular reference to structure 1, it can be seen that side member 9 is formed in two parts hingeably connected together at 15, frame members 10 and 11 being hingeably connected together at their upper ends and hingeably connected at their lower ends to the remote ends of member 9. Stepped bracket members 16, 17, are attached respectively to structures 1 and 2 via tongues which cooperatively engage in housings 18, 19 respectively on structures 1 and 2. The stepped bracket members are provided with spigots 20, 21. Gussets or plates 22, 23 are provided for attachment of balustrading for hand rails, if required.

Each structure is rendered foldable for storage and transportation purposes by virtue of the hingeable connections between the respective frames, by folding the two parts of frame 6 inwardly about pivot axis 15, whereby frames 7 and 8 fold together about the pivot axis between them. The joint which embodies pivot axis 15 is preferably provided with locking means to maintain it in the open position. In use, starting from the folded condition, each structure is opened out and structure 1 is placed in the desired position with frame 6 on or adjacent the ground. Structure 2 is then inverted and attached to structure 1 by engaging lugs 24, attached to side members 11 of frame 8, in housings 25 attached to side members 14 of the corresponding frame of structure 2.The stepped bracket members 16, 17 are then attached to the respective structures, and decking members may then be attached by engaging holes formed therein with spigots 20.

Figure 3 shows the structures of Figure 2, modified by the addition of reinforcing elements, for use where the structure is large or is expected to bear considerable weight.

Parts which have already been described with reference to Figure 2 are given the same reference numerals.

As shown in Figure 3, the double-height configuration of the staging structure comprises support structures 1 and 2 assembled as previously described. The structures 1, 2 further include cross-brace reinforcement members 26, 27 to add rigidity to each structure. The cross-brace members 26, 27 are attached at their proximal ends to respective base members 28, 29 which are pivotably mounted between the tie-bars of each structure, preferably adjacent the hinge axis 15. In the closed configuration (not shown) the distal ends of the crossbrace members 26, 27 engage with clamps 30, 31. In the open, in use, configuration, the distal ends of the cross-brace members 26, 27 are located with cross-members 32, 33 of the structure 1, 2 by means of hooks 34 which engage with brackets 35, shown in inset detail.

With reference to Figure 4a, the structure 1 as illustrated in Figure 3 is folded for storage by initially disconnecting the cross-brace reinforcement member 26 from the cross-member 32 and pivoting the cross-brace member until its distal end engages with clamps 30. The side members 9 of the frame 6 are then pivoted about axis 15 towards the apex of the triangle, the frames 7 and 8 thereby pivoting together through an intermediate position, illustrated in Figure 4b, until the folded structure is essentially flat.

The invention includes staging for use in group photography, the staging comprising two or more support structures as hereinbefore defined, arranged on the ground laterally mutually spaced apart and including decking members spanning between adjacent pairs of said support structures.

Claims (14)

1. A support structure for staging, the structure in use comprising front decking-support means extending upwardly at a rearward inclination and rear strut means, the lower end regions of the respective means being joined by one or more tie elements, in which at least one of the decking-support means and strut means comprises a rectangular frame an edge of which is hinged to the other of said means about a lateral axis for folding movement between a storage position in which the said means lie substantially contiguous and an in use position in which the said means are splayed apart, the tie element or elements being hingeably connected to at least one of said means for folding together therewith in the storage position.

2. A support structure according to claim 1, in which each of the decking-support means and strut means comprises a rectangular frame having longitudinal side members and transverse top and bottom members, the frames being hingeably connected together along their respective top members about the lateral axis.

3. A support structure according to claim 1 or claim 2, including a pair of tie elements each comprising two portions hingeably connected at their outer ends respective to the decking-support and strut frames and attachable or hingeably connected together at their inner ends, whereby the portions fold inwardly to lie against the decking-support and strut frames when the structure is in the storage position.

4. A support structure according to any preceding claim, in which the decking-support means, the rear strut means and the tie elements define a right-angled isosceles triangle when viewed from the side.

5. A staging support structure comprising two structures as defined in claim 4, the two structures being removably attached together to form a composite structure with their respective strut frames contiguous, the second structure having been inverted with respect to the first.

6. A support structure according to any preceding claim, further including brace members between a middle part of the tie elements and the transverse top member of either the decking-support or strut frame.

7. A support structure according to claim 6, in which the brace members are hingeably connected at one end to the tie elements, the other end of the brace member being removably clamped to the top member in the in use position and to the bottom member of the frame in the storage position.

8. A support structure according to claim 7, in which the brace members include diagonally-disposed link elements.

9. A support structure according to any preceding claim, including decking-support means.

10. A support structure according to claim 9, the decking-support means including stepped bracket members removably attachable to the support means.

11. A support structure according to any preceding claim, including decking members formed as stepped elements including treads and risers.

12. A support structure according to any preceding claim, including balustrading means.

13. A support structure according to any preceding claim, further including horizontally-disposed restraint bars.

14. Staging for use in group photography, the staging including two or more support structures according to any preceding claim in use arranged on the ground mutually laterally spaced apart, decking members spanning between adjacent pairs of support structures to support stepped rows of people to be photographed.