Platform made of pails and brackets

Abstract

The present raised platform includes at least two pails (also called “buckets” herein), a board, and two brackets for securing a bottom of the top pails to opposing ends of the board. The buckets and board are commonly found at construction sites. The brackets are particularly low-cost and easily transported such that they are basically a throwaway item that can easily be carried to job sites by a construction worker. With minimal effort and using self-tapping screws or other mechanical fasteners, the raised platform can be easily quickly constructed, used, and disposed of without consuming worker time in an inefficient manner.

I claim:  
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising: 
 at least two pails;    a board;    self-tapping fasteners; and    a bracket for each pail, the bracket including at least one hole receiving the self-tapping fasteners to attach the bracket to an associated one of the pails and to the board.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the bracket has an edge defining a diameter about equal to but slightly less than the bottom of the pail.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one hole includes a center hole located in a center of the bracket.  
     
     
         4 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , including first and second screws, and wherein the at least one hole includes first holes for receiving the first screws to attach the bracket to the board, and includes second holes for receiving the second screws to attach the bracket to the pail.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the bracket includes a flat panel body with a dished center.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus defined in  claim 5 , wherein the body of the bracket is ring-shaped.  
     
     
         7 . The apparatus defined in  claim 6 , wherein the body includes a large center cutout area.  
     
     
         8 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the pails each have a bottom with a bottom rim forming a cavity under the bottom when the pail is set with the rim on a floor surface, and wherein the bracket is shaped to mateably engage the bottom of pail.  
     
     
         9 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the bracket includes bosses at the at least one hole.  
     
     
         10 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the bracket defines apertured attachment flanges that extend outwardly from a bottom of the pail.  
     
     
         11 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fasteners are wood screws.  
     
     
         12 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the bracket is made of polymeric material.  
     
     
         13 . The apparatus defined in  claim 12 , wherein the bracket is molded.  
     
     
         14 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the bracket includes assembly instructions for constructing the raised platform, the instructions being on a side of the bracket.  
     
     
         15 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the at least two pails include first and second pails that are spaced apart, and including additional pails that are mateably engaged with the first and second pails to form two spaced-apart stacks of nested pails.  
     
     
         16 . The apparatus defined in  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus includes only the following: two of the pails, a single one of the boards, two of the at least two brackets, and a sufficient number of self-tapping screws to attach the brackets to the board and to the pails.  
     
     
         17 . In combination, a pail having a particularly-sized bottom, and a pre-fabricated round bracket adapted to retain a board to the pail, the bracket including a body being planar and disk shaped that is sized to mateably engage the bottom of the pail; the body having holes for receiving self-tapping screws to attach the body to the bottom of the pail and to a flat side of the board.  
     
     
         18 . A method of constructing a raised platform useful for painting and performing work on residential interior walls while standing on the raised platform, comprising steps of: 
 providing first and second empty pails, at least three to five gallons in size;    providing a board having opposing ends;    providing first and second preformed brackets; and    attaching each pail to one of the brackets and to one of the opposing ends.    
     
     
         19 . The method defined in  claim 18 , including a step of increasing a height of the platform by adding additional pails stacked nestingly into the first-mentioned pails.