Sawhorse brackets

Abstract

Sawhorse brackets include a pair of rigid metal bodies. Each body has a receptacle with an axis and two legs that depend from the body. The legs are positioned along a plane which is transverse to the axis and diverge from the axis. The rigid legs increase the strength of the resulting sawhorse.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a pair of brackets that are used to fabricate a sawhorse

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In order to avoid having to transport complete sawhorses between worksites, sawhorse brackets have been developed. These sawhorse brackets enable workmen to quickly fabricate a sawhorse at a worksite using readily available construction materials. Examples of such sawhorse brackets are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 860,161 (Thomas 1907), 2,753,222 (Foresta et al 1956) 4,770,274 (Middleton 1988), and 5,484,037 (Neumarkel 1996).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to an alternative configuration of sawhorse brackets.

[0004] According to the present invention there is provided sawhorse brackets which include a pair of rigid metal bodies. Each body has a receptacle with an axis and two legs that depend from the body The legs are positioned along a plane which is transverse to and diverge from the axis.

[0005] The sawhorse brackets, as described above, enables a sawhorse to be readily assembled by inserting a 2×6 member in a bridging position between the receptacles of two brackets. The resulting sawhorse has rigid legs fabricated from either plastic or metal, and is, as a consequence, much stronger than sawhorses that could be assembled using previously known sawhorse brackets. The convenience of ease of transport is maintained. The strength of the assembled sawhorse can be increased by doubling up or otherwise reinforcing the 2×6 member used for bridging between two brackets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:

[0007] FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a saw horse bracket constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

[0008] FIG. 2 is an end elevation view of the saw horse bracket illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0009] FIG. 3 is side elevation view of a sawhorse fabricated using the sawhorse bracket illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0010] FIG. 4 is an end elevation view of the sawhorse bracket illustrated in FIG. 1, stacked on a second sawhorse bracket.

[0011] FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the sawhorse bracket illustrated in FIG. 1 stacked on a second sawhorse bracket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0012] The preferred embodiment, a saw horse bracket generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 5.

[0013] Structure and Relationship of Parts:

[0014] Referring to FIG. 3, there is provided sawhorse brackets 10 which include a pair of rigid metal bodies 12. Each body 12 has a receptacle 14 and two legs 18 which depend from body 12. Each receptacle has an axis 16. Referring to FIG. 2, legs 18 are positioned along a plane 20 which is transverse to axis 16, with legs 18 diverging from axis 16. Referring to FIG. 1, in the illustrated embodiment, foot pads 22 are provided on legs 18 to prevent legs 18 from sinking into soft ground at a construction site.

[0015] Operation:

[0016] The use and operation of a sawhorse bracket 10 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 5. Referring to FIG. 3, sawhorse brackets 10, as described above, enable a sawhorse 24 to be readily assembled by inserting a wooden member 26 (2×6) in a bridging position between receptacles 14 of two brackets 10. Referring to FIG. 1, in the illustrated embodiment, an aperture 28 that is adapted to receive a screw 30 is provided on body 12 for securing wooden member 26 against accidental withdrawal from receptacle 14. Referring to FIG. 3, resulting sawhorse 24 has rigid legs 18 that are made from metal or plastic and, as a consequence, much stronger than sawhorses that could be assembled using previously known sawhorse brackets in combination with scrap lumber legs. Referring to FIG. 2, in the illustrated embodiment, the strength of the assembled sawhorse 24 is increased by securing a second wooden member (2×4) 32 to wooden member 26 used for bridging between two brackets 10, although alternative materials can also be used to reinforce member 26.

[0017] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, sawhorse brackets 10 can be stacked on top of one another for ease of storage or transportation. In the illustrated embodiment, two sawhorse brackets 10, are shown as being stacked, however it will be appreciated that numerous sawhorse brackets 10 could be stacked in this manner.

[0018] In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

[0019] It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the claims.

Claims

1. Sawhorse brackets, comprising:

a pair of rigid metal bodies, each body having:

a receptacle with an axis; and

two legs which depend from the body, the legs being positioned along a plane which is transverse to the axis, the legs diverging from the axis.

2. The sawhorse bracket as defined in claim 1, wherein the bodies are capable of stacking for transportation and storage.