US3286788A - Sawhorse or trestle - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent O 3,286,788 SAWHORSE R TRESTLE Frank B. Swanson, Glendale, Calif., assgnor to Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association, administrator Filed June 14, 1965, Ser. No. 463,823 7 Claims. (Cl. 182-15S) This invention relates to carpenters sawhorses and like trestle-like supporting devices and more particularly to a new and novel form thereof capable of being folded into compact form for purposes of stora-ge and transportation. Also, the invention, While primarily useful in the capacity indicated, is useful also as a trestle in the support of temporary scaffolding such .as used by painters, plasterers or others While working on ceilings and upper portions of wall surfaces or, for that matter, any use in which an elevated Working surface for standing on or for material Ibeing worked on is desirable. Accordingly, tlhe term sawhorse as herein employed shall be deemed to include .all equivalent supporting devices whether they be called a sawhorse, a trestle or any other name.

The conventional sawhorse or trestle comprising an elongated main member supported at each end by a pair of rigidly .aflixed, downwardly diverging legs is employed by carpenters `and others both to support material being worked on -or to support one or more boards or the like to form a surface either for the support of one or more persons or to support mate-rial Ibeing worked. Such sawh-orses .are bulky and clumsy to be carried from job to job .an-d to be stored when not in use and among tlhe principal lobjects of the present invention are: to provide a sawhorse device which is readily folded into a compact form; which, while formed lfrom light Weight metal, is st-ur-dy and rigid; which is readily supplied with a replaceable wood surface; which is formed from a minimum number of parts, many of which are identical land all of which are of simple design; and 4which is both economical to manufacture, and satisfactory for its intended purposes.

With the foregoing objects in view, together with such .additional objects and advantages as may subsequently appear, the invention resides in the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts described, by way of example, in the following specification of a presently prefer-red embodiment of the invention, reference being had t-o the accompanying drawings which for-m a part of said specification and in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sawhorse constituting a presently preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged scale, fragmentary, side elevational view of one end of the sawhorse shown in FIG. 1 as open for use,

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary end elevation of the sawhorse as open'for use showing details of the yhinging of the legs and the cross brace means extending between a paia of legs,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged scale transverse sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view on the same scale as FIG. 2 but showing the lleg element as folded for storage or transportation,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged scale transverse sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of FIG. 2 an-d showing details of the cross brace latching means for one pair of legs,

and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the sawhorse fol-ded up .for transportation or st-o-rage.

`Before going into a detailed description of the illusice trated embodiment of the invention it should be menti-oned that the replaceable wood top rail R shown in certain of the figures in phantom lines is for those uses of the device in which the use of such .a top rail is necessary to protect the teeth of saws and the like. These top rails are replaced as wear and tear make replacement desirable, but for uses of the device confined to scaffold or platform support or the like, this wooden top rail may not and need not be used.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated embodiment of the device comprises .a main frame member 1 preferably formed from a length of inverted channel aluminum stock having a flat top surface 2 and depending side flanges 3, 3 diverging from each other at the angle of divergence of the four leg elements 4 by which the main frame is supported in position of use. The leg elements 4 lare preferably formed from `shallow channel aluminum and each leg is pivotally secured to one each of the side flanges 3 at the ends thereof by a rivet 5 passing through `the web portion of the upper end of the leg and through the side flange 3 of the main member and also preferably through a dry lubricant means such as a relatively lchick nylon Washer 6 interposed between the adjacent faces of the leg and main member flange. Preferably, the distal end-s of the legs are cut at such an angle as to be parallel to the floor or other surface on wihich the device is supported in use. Additionally, to permit the hinging action of the leg .about its pivotal mounting, the upper end of the leg is rounded as at 7 as best illustrated in FIGS. 2 .and 5 and the washer 6 possesses an additional function to lbe later referred to.

Since the rivets 5 extend at right angles to the planes of the legs and of the side flanges 3, the pairs of legsat each end of the main member 1, when opened out at right angles to the length thereof diverge from one another and since they are mounted on the inner faces of the flanges 3, when they are folded, they fold inside of these flanges as best illustrated in FIG. 7. The outermost side flanges of each pair of legs carry a detachable cross brace means operative when engaged, to hold the.

legs in a spread condition in which they are slightly farther apart than the angle determined by the main member side flanges 3 and rivets 5. The cross bracing means comprises a resilient metal bar 8 pivotally mounted by a rivet 9 on the inner face of the outermost side flange of one leg of the pair at about the mid-length of the leg, said brace member being laterally distorted so that the opposite end thereof normally occupiesra position outwardly from the leg on which it is mounted. At its opposite end,

the member 8 carries a latching detent means comprising a laterally outwardly projecting -dowelpin 10 engageable in a complementary latch receiving means comprising a hole 11 formed in the outer side flange of the other leg of the pair, the lateral distance between the rivet 9 and dowel pin 10 being such that when the brace is extending between the legs as shown in :full lines in FIG. 3the legs will be slightly stretched apart to impart rigidity to the legs. For convenience in locating the brace so that the pin 10 readily engages the hole 11, the leg 4 having the hole 11 carries a stop member 12 comprises a pin extending across the inner face of the web of the leg between the side flanges thereof at a position such that when contacted by the end of the brace as it is swung in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 into locking position, the rounded end 13 of the brace will cam the leg slightly outwardly and when the brace 5 encounters the stop pin 12, the dowel pin 10 will snap into the hole 11 and be held therein by the spring bias of the brace deriving from the free end thereof having been forced laterally inwardly from its said normal position.

Each leg 4 is provided with aseparate means including a brace 14 for locking it in its unfolded position and a description of one of said locking means will serve for all. Each brace 14 comprises a metal bar having one end thereof pivotally secured by a rivet 1S to the outer face of the web portion of the leg with which the brace is associated at about the midlength of the leg and preferably, but not necessarily, slightly above the plane of the cross brace 8. The opposite end of the brace 14 carries a 4stud element 16 which projects outwardly through and is adapted to slide along a longitudinal slot 17 in the main member side ange to which the leg is attached by its rivet 5, said stud exteriorly of the side ange 3, having a head 18 and carrying a compression spring means 19 reacting between said head and the outer surface of the main member side flange 3. Additionally, this end of the brace 14 carries an outwardly projecting stud or dowel 20 which, when the leg is opened out sufficiently to engage the end of the slot 17 which is adjacent the end of the main member 1 to which the leg is hinged, will enter a complementary hole 21 in the side flange 3 by virtue of the bias of the spring means 19 and thus automatically lock the leg in its extended position.

In those instances in which it is desired to reduce the width of the main member as much as possible, the length of the inner side flanges of the legs 4 may be reduced as best indicated at 22 in FIG. 6. The width of the legs 4 is substantially equal to the depth of the channel in the main member 1 or, to be more exact, equal to the width of the side flanges 3. The length of the main member must of course be not less than twice the length of the legs measured from their pivot points to their distal ends so that they may be housed within the channel of the main member in end-to-end relation when folded. The main member may, of course, be any length greater than this indicated minimum length. It will be noted that the rivets 15 are axially parallel to the rivets 5 wherefore, the leg when folded into the main member will lie parallel to the associated brace. The washers 6 being of substantially the same thickness as the thickness of the brace members 14 serve to position the legs so that there is clearance for the braces 14 when the legs are folded into the channel of the main member. Thus, as above indicated, these washers not only serve as a lubricating means to prevent scoring of the aluminum but also serve as spacers for the proper folding in of the legs as above indicated. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the web portion of the main member 1 may support a wood rail R which may be removably and replaceably secured thereto by any appropriate means as, for example, lag screws S extending through holes 23 in the main member.

Assuming that the device is folded up as shown in FIG. 7 and it is desired to be unfolded for use, each of the four legs is swung out to the limit permitted by the braces 14 with incident automatic locking of the legs in the extended position. As each pair of legs is thus extended, the cross brace means which, in the folded position has been folded to lie along the inner face of the leg side ange to which it is pivotally attached is swung on its pivot toward the hinged end of the other leg after having been sprung inwardly to be disposed on the inner surface of the web of the other leg of the pair `and as it is thus swung and encounters the stop pin means 12 of the other leg, the spring bias thereof causes the dowel pin to enter the hole 11 in the said other leg. Thus the device is quickly opened and rigidly locked in position of use automatically as an incident to thus moving the legs to the extended position. When it is desired to fold the device up again for storage or transportation, the cross brace of each pair of legs is first disengaged by pressing it inwardly to effect disengagement of the dowel pin 10 from the hole 11 and it is swung down into parallelism with the leg to which it is pivoted. Thereafter, the pair of legs can be disengaged from their locked position by pressing inward- 1y on the heads 18of the stud 16 associated therewith to disengage the dowel pins 19 from the holes 20 in the main member after which the legs are folded into the channelV the precise details of construction thus disclosed by way of Y example and it will be understood that the invention includes as well all such changes and modifications in the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall come within the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

.1l A sawhorse comprising an elongated main Iframe member of inverted channel metal having downwardly -divergin-g side flange portions and a pair of foldable leg assemblies at each end thereof Aand Imovable between a folded position housed between said diverging side ange portions and an extended posit-ion -supporting said frame member, each of said leg assemblies comprising a pair of legs each having one end thereof sepanately pivotally connected to one each of the ends of said side flange portions of said main member and movable on said pivots between said folded position parallel to said main member between the side flange por-tions thereof and an extended position substantially at right angles thereto in said extended position, a separate, manually releasable brace having means associated with each leg operable automatically to lock the associated leg in extended position and a :pair yof manually releasable cross braces associated one each with each of said pairs of legs; each of said cross braces being pivotally mounted on an inner face of one of the legs of the pair with which it is associated and being inherently tensioned and having means to automatically lock itself upon the other leg of the associated pair of legs in a position spreading the legs engaged thereby at a predetermined distance apart when said legs are moved to said extended position.

2. A sawhorse -as claimed in claim 1 in which the brace means associated with each leg inclu-des a latching detent means engageable with -a detent receiving opening in the side flange of sa-id main member to which the associated leg is pivotally connected, and in which la spring means carried by said brace means operates automatically to elect engagement of sai-d detent means with said detent receiving opening upon movement of the associated leg to its extended position.

3. A sawhore as claimed in claim 1 in which said legs are formed of metal channel, in which said c-ross braces are formed Ifrom .a resilient bar having one end thereof pivotally att-ached to the side flange of one leg of a pair of legs, in which said bar intermediate its ends is bent to cause the distal end thereofnormally to lie in a plane outwardly of thecorrespondi-ng flange of the other leg of the pair, and in which interengaging latch means carried by said distal end of said resilient bar and the other leg of the pair are 4constructed and arranged to be held in releasable engagementby the resilience of said bar incident to bei-ng distorted out of its said normal position to effect enga-gement of said latch means.

' 4. A sawhorse comprising a main member formed of a length of inverted channel metal having the side flanges thereof diverging yfrom each other land said member presenting a substantially at top surface, supporting means for .said frame member comprising pairs of divergi'ng legs dlsposed one pair yat each end of said member, the legs of each pair being separately pivoted, one each to the inner face of each of the flanges 'of said main member whereby, when extended, the legs diverge from each other at the angle of divergence of said Han-ges from each other and when folded, win be sai-d main member side flanges, a :pair of brace means associated one each with each of .said legs constituting a pair and each of said brace means including a locking means operative automatically upon extension of the leg disposed within the confines of f with which it is associated to lock the leg in extended position, means for separately manually releasing the locking means of each of said brace means to permit folding of the associated leg, means affording clearance for reception of each of said Ibraces between the inner lface of Ithe main member Yflange to which the associated leg is pivoted and the outer face of the associated leg when that leg is `in its folded positi-on and a relcas'able cross brace means pivotally mounted on one of said legs constituting a pai-r and having automatic latching engagement With the other leg to interconnect the extended legs of that pair in a predetermined divergent relation t-o each other.

5. A sawhorse as claimed in claim 4 in which each of said first named Ibrace means compurises a rigid elongated member having one end thereof pivotally connected 'to the outer face of the leg with which it is associated and its opposite end slidingly connected to and disposed at the inner face of the main member flange to which it is pivoted, and in which the hinged mounting of the leg includes a spacer interposed between the adjacent faces of th-e mai-n member flange `and the side sunface of the leg, said spacer having a thickness dimension not substantially less than the thickness of the associated brace means and serving to space the leg, when folded, ffrom the main member iiange to form a clearance for reception of the associated .brace mean-s.

6. A sawhorse as claimed in claim 4 in which said first named brace means comprises an elongated rigid member having one end thereof pivotally connected to the associaled leg .at a point intermediate the en-ds of the leg for movement about an axis which is substantially parallel to the axis of the pivotal mounting of the leg on said main frame member flange, and in which the other end of said rigid member is disposed at the inner face of the associated m-ain member flange and carries a stud guided in a slot extending longitudinally of the said associated main member flange, ysaid other end of said rigid member having a latching detent engaging with `detent receiving means on said associated an-ge when the leg is moved to extended position, and in which spring means reacting between said main member fiange and said rigid member is operative automatically t-o effect engagement of said latching detent with -said detent receiving means npon movement of said leg to the extended position thereof.

7. A sawhorse comprising a frame member formed of a length of channel metal including downwardly diverging side flange portions land a substantially flat top surface, supporting means for s-aid frame member comprising pairs of legs disposed one pair at each end of said frame member, Ithe legs of each pair .being separately pivoted one each t-o the inner face of each of said flanges whereby, when extended, the legs diverge Ifrom each other -at the angle of divergence of said side flange portions and when folded, will be disposed within the confines of said side flanges, each of said legs having a separate .brace means associated therewith and each of said brace means constituting a rigid bar having one end pivoted to an outer surface of the associated leg and having the other end thereof slidingly and pivotally engaged with the side flange on which the associated leg is pivote-d and additionally including means operative lautomatically upon extension of the -associated leg to lock the leg in extended position, and means rassociated with the pivotal mounting of the associated leg serving to space the outer face of the leg from the inner face of the flange portion to which it is pivoted with resultant provision of space for reception of the brace member when the leg is in folded position.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,465,947 `8/ 1923 Oetzel 182-155 1,788,566 10/1930 Pitner 182-155 2,144,049 1/ 1939 Forcier 182-225 2,520,469 8/ 1950 Mowrey 182--155 2,824,771 2/1958 Blenski 182-155 3,208,553 9/ 1965 Gray 182--119 REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A SAWHORSE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED MAIN FRAME MEMBER OF INVERTED CHANNEL METAL HAVING DOWNWARDLY DIVERGING SIDE FLANGE PORTIONS AND A PAIR OF FOLDABLE LEG ASSEMBLIES AT EACH END THEREOF AND MOVABLE BETWEEN A FOLDED POSITION HOUSED BETWEEN SAID DIVERGING SIDE FLANGE PORTIONS AND AN EXTENDED POSITION SUPPORTING SAID FRAME MEMBER, EACH OF SAID LEG ASSEMBLIES COMPRISING A PAIR OF LEGS EACH HAVING ONE END THEREOF SEPARATELY PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO ONE EACH OF THE ENDS OF SAID SIDE FLANGE PORTIONS OF SAID MAIN MEMBER AND MOVABLE ON SAID PIVOTS BETWEEN SAID FOLDED POSITION PARALLEL TO SAID MAIN MEMBER BETWEEN THE SIDE FLANGE PORTIONS THEREOF AND AN EXTENDED POSITION SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO IN SAID EXTENDED POSITION, A SEPARATE, MANUALLY RELEASABLE BRACE HAVING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH LEG OPERABLE AUTOMATICALLY TO LOCK THE ASSOCAITED LEG IN EXTENDED POSITION AND A APAIR OF MANUALLY RELEASABLE CROSS BRACES ASSOCIATED ONE EACH WITH EACH OF SAID PAIRS OF LEGS; EACH OF SAID CROSS BRACES BEING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON AN INNER FACE OF ONE OF THE LEGS OF THE PAIR WITH WHICH IT IS ASSOCIATED AND BEING INHERENTLY TENSIONED AND HAVING MEANS TO AUTOMATICALLY LOCK ITSELF UPON THE OTHER LEG OF THE ASSOCIATED PAIR OF LEGS IN A POSITION SPREADING THE LEGS ENGAGED THEREBY AT A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE APART WHEN SAID LEGS ARE MOVED TO SAID EXTENDED POSITION.

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