Pivotal leg assembly

#THIS INVENTION relates to a pivotal leg assembly for use on a sawhorse. Accordingly, the invention will be described in this context. However, it should be appreciated that the pivotal leg assembly may be used on other articles, such as tables, chairs, benches or the like.

#Sawhorses are a common tool that is found on a building site. A standard sawhorse typically has a cross member with a pair of legs that is fixed to each end of the cross member. A brace often extends between each pair of legs to provide additional reinforcement to the legs. When a load is placed on the cross member, the brace prevents the legs splaying.

#Sawhorses are usually needed to be transported to and from different building sites and taken home each night by their owner. They are normally transported using a vehicle. An inherent problem with standard sawhorses is that they take up considerable space when placed within a vehicle. Standard sawhorses cannot be efficiently stacked on top of each other to reduce space. They are not very stable when placed in a normal operating position within the vehicle, as they often fall over or out of a vehicle when the vehicle travels around a corner.

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sawhorse according to a first embodiment of the invention.

#FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a cross member.

#FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the sawhorse of FIG. 1.

#FIGS. 1 to 5 show a sawhorse 10 comprising two pivotal leg assemblies 20 attached to a cross member 30. The cross member 30 is a hollow channel section having a top stay 31 with two depending side stays 32. The cross member is made from laminated wood and has two slots 33 located in the top stay 31. A pair of holes 34 are located at each end of the top stay 31. On each side stay 32, there is an upper hole 35 and a lower hole 36.

#Each pivotal leg assembly 20 includes a pair of legs 40, a mounting body 50 and a locking mechanism 60. The legs 40 are tubular and rectangular when view in transverse cross-section. They are made from steel or other suitable materials. A hole 41 is located through an end of the leg to pivotally mount the leg.

#The mounting body 50 includes a bridging member 70, first support bracket 80 and second support bracket 90 as shown in FIG. 5. The bridging member 70, first support bracket 80 and second support bracket 90 are all constructed of high grade steel plate or other suitable high strength material.