AU2005201613B2

AU2005201613B2 - A fall prevention structure

Info

Publication number: AU2005201613B2
Application number: AU2005201613A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Carl Henry Williams
Original assignee: Scafhold Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Scafhold Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2005-04-18
Filing date: 2005-04-18
Publication date: 2005-08-25
Anticipated expiration: 2025-04-18
Also published as: AU2005201613A1

Description

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AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT A FALL PREVENTION STRUCTURE The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me: 0 A FALL PREVENTION STRUCTURE 00 5 TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a fall prevention structure for preventing a workman from falling from the roof of a building.

The present invention also relates to a kit for assembling the fall prevention ostructure, a fall prevention system and a method of assembling the fall prevention structure.

BACKGROUND

Working on the roof of a building can be quite hazardous. Workplace standards often require that safety guards be installed at worksites for guarding workmen, and roofers in particular, from falling from the roof.

US patent no. 6,345,689 discloses a rooftop fall protection system for preventing a workman from falling from the roof of a building. The system includes a plurality of vertical stanchions which are attached to the roof, and between which a plurality of horizontal guardrails extend. Typically, the base of the stanchions would be securely bolted to the roof and, accordingly, the system is quite labor intensive to install, remove and transport. In addition, the bolts can damage the building during removal which is highly undesirable.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fall prevention structure for a roof of a building which minimises damage to the building.

SSUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

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0 According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fall prevention structure for preventing a workman from falling from the roof of a building, the structure including: a support which extends from a base of the building and supports a C, guard above the edge of the roof; Ithe guard for guarding the workman from falling from the roof; and oa spur means arranged at the upper end of the structure so that, when S 10 the workman falls against the guard, the movement of the guard away from o the roof is impeded and thereby prevents the workman from falling from the roof.

The guard is supported by an independent support which rests on the ground.

Accordingly, the guard need not be bolted to the building and any damage to the building is thereby minimised.

For the purpose of the description and appended claims, the word "spur" means an oblique reinforcing prop.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fall prevention system including a plurality of the fall prevention structures.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fall prevention structure for preventing a workman from falling from the roof of a building, the structure including: a support dimensioned to span from a base of the building to above the edge of the roof; a guard fast with the upper end of the support; and a spur means arranged at the upper end of the structure which provides bracing sufficient to prevent the workman falling from the roof upon contact with the guard.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kit 0 ofor assembling the fall prevention structure.

ci According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling a fall prevention structure for preventing a workman from falling from the roof of a building, the method including the steps of: n providing a support for extending from a base of the building and for Nsupporting a guard above the edge of the roof; ofastening the guard to the support; and bracing the guard, either directly or indirectly, using spur means o arranged at the upper end of the structure so that when the workman falls against the guard, the movement of the guard away from the roof is impeded and thereby prevents the workman from falling from the roof.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling a fall prevention structure for preventing a workman from falling from the roof of a building, the method including the steps of: providing a support for extending from a base of the building and for supporting a guard above the edge of the roof; erecting the support; bracing the upper end of the support using spur means; and fastening the guard to the support; wherein, when the workman falls against the guard, the movement of the guard away from the roof is impeded and thereby prevents the workman from falling from the roof.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fall prevention structure assembled in accordance with any one of the foregoing methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient if information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed SDescription is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:

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ci 0 o Figure 1 is an end view of a house showing a first stage of assembling a fall prevention structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 00 Figure 2 is an end view of a house showing a second stage of assembling a fall prevention structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is an end view of a house showing a third stage of assembling a fall oprevention structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is an end view of a house showing a fourth stage of assembling a fall prevention structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 5 is a side view of a house showing a fifth stage of assembling a fall prevention structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a fall prevention structure 2 as shown in Figure 5. The fall prevention structure 2 is assembled immediately adjacent to a house 10 using a plurality of elongate metal tubes 4, 20, 22, 26, 28 and couplers fittings) 14, 15, 17. The fall prevention structure 2 is free-standing so that it does not rely on any part of the house 10 for support. A method for assembling the fall prevention structure 2 is sequentially described below with reference to Figures 1 to Referring to Figure 1, there is depicted a house 10 which extends above the ground 13. The house includes a wall 16 that supports a roof 11. The roof 11 tfl is constructed so as to have eaves 8 which extend laterally from the wall 16. A

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o gutter 6 is attached to the eaves 8 of the house 10 at the edge 12 of the inclined roof 11. The height of the edge 12 of the roof 11 generally corresponds to the height of the top of the gutter 6 and is typically about 00 5 metres from the ground 13 in the case of a single storey house.

A pair of uprights 4 each being of 6.5 metres in length are initially rested on a respective base plates 24a and against the gutter 6. The base plates 24a oprevent the lower ends of the uprights 4 from sinking into the ground 13. Each upright 4 is positioned vertically so as to extend about 1 metre above the edge 012 of the roof 11. A single coupler 14a is fastened to each upright 4 and includes a lip which extends from the upright 4 and hooks over the edge of the gutter 6. The single coupler 14a acts as a restraint which engages with the gutter 6 so as to restrain the movement of each upright 4 away from the gutter 6. The pair of uprights 4 are spaced apart by about 4 to 5 metres along the wall 16 and, together with the base plates 24a, form a support for supporting a guard 18 as described in detail below.

Referring to Figure 2, three double couplers 15a, 15b, 15c are next fastened to each upright 4 above the edge 12 of the roof 11. Each lower double coupler is located about 259 mm above the edge 12 of the roof 11. Each middle double coupler 15b is located about 273 mm above the lower double couplers Each upper double coupler 15c is located about 383 mm above the middle double couplers 15b. Hence, the upper double couplers 15c are located about 915 mm above the edge 12 the roof 11.

As can best be seen in Figure 5, three guard rails 20a, 20b, 20c are subsequently fastened at opposing ends to each upright 4 using respective pairs of double couplers 15a, 15b, 15c (numbered in Figure The guard rails 20 are co-parallel and substantially horizontal, and effectively combine to form a guard 18 for guarding any workman who may be working on the roof 11 from falling from the roof 11 and onto the ground 13. In practice, the upper double couplers 15c, and hence the upper guard rail 20c, should not be 7 located less than 900 mm above the edge 12 the roof 11 so as to minimise

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the possibility of a workman falling over the upper guard rail Referring Figure 3, a pair of spurs 22 are each fastened to a respective 00 5 upright 4 using a swivel coupler 17a. Each swivel coupler 17a serves to pivotally fasten a spur 22 to an upright 4 so that the spur 22 can freely pivot nwith respect to the upright 4. In the described embodiment, the top end of Ieach spur 22 is fastened to the upright 4 at a location just above the upper oguard rail 20c, and the bottom end of each spur 22 rests on the a base plate 24b so as to form a lean-to type fall prevention structure 2. Each spur 22 acts oas an oblique reinforcing prop which is used to brace the guard 18, either directly or indirectly, and is held in compression when the workman falls against the guard 8. Elaborating further, the guard 18 is indirectly braced by spurs 22 due to their being fastened to the uprights 4) so that when a workman falls against the guard 18, the movement of the guard 18 away from the roof 11 is impeded thereby preventing the workman from falling from the roof 11.

In an alternative embodiment, the top end of each spur 22 may fastened to the upper guard rail 20c using a double coupler so as to directly brace the guard, and the lower end of the spur 22 may rest upon the ground 13. The angle Q formed between each spur 22 and corresponding upright 4 is between about 200 and 400.

Referring to Figure 4, a fastener is provided for respectively fastening each upright 4 and corresponding spur 22 together so as to impede their relative movement at ground level 13. The fastener includes a pair of struts 28 of about 1.5 metres in length, which are each fastened between an upright 4 and a spur 22 on opposing sides of the fall prevention structure 2. Each strut 28 is fastened to a spur 22 using a swivel coupler 17b and an upright 4 using a double coupler 15d. The struts 28 are co-parallel and are fastened in a substantially horizontal orientation at about 2 metres above the ground 13.

The uprights 4, spurs 22 and struts 28 effectively form a pair of frames which serve to support and brace the guard 18 against lateral movement. The tf struts 28 prevent the base of the spurs 22 from sliding away from uprights 4

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o thereby increasing the angle Q) when a workman falls against the guard 18.

00 5 Referring to Figure 5, the fall prevention structure 2 includes a sway brace in the form of pole 26 for impeding the twisting of the support formed by the two uprights 4 when, for example, a workman falls against the guard 18. The pole 26 has its lower end fastened at the ground end of one upright 4a and its oupper end fastened at the guard end of the other upright 4b. The pole 26 is fastened to the uprights 4 using a pair of swivel couplers 17c.

0 The completed fall prevention structure 2 is located parallel to the wall 16 of the house 10 and extends about 6 metres along the wall. The uprights 4 either abut or are located in close proximity to the gutter 6. If a workman should tumble down the roof 11 and fall into the guard 18, the upper portions of the uprights 4 may flex away from the gutter 6. However, the retainer formed by the single coupler 14a, and the spurs 22 will impede the movement of the guard away from the roof 11 and thereby prevent a gap from forming between the guard 18 and the edge 12 of the roof 11 through which the workman can fall. Thus, the workman will be retained at the edge 12 of the roof 11 by the guard 18.

The applicant has found that during a normal fall, the fall prevention structure 2 will not generally slide away from the edge 12 of roof 11 so as to form a gap.

However, in order to minimise the sliding of the structure 2 during a heavy fall, there may be provided fixing means such a peg, for fixing the location of the base of each upright 4 and/or spur 22 relative to the ground.

A fall prevention system may be assembled by respectively assembling a plurality of fall prevention structures 2 such that the structures 2 are arranged in series along the wall 16 of the house.

The foregoing process for assembling the fall prevention structure 2 is relatively quick to perform and so the fall prevention structure 2 of the present t embodiment is readily assembled. Disassembly of the structure 2 can be

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o performed by performing the reverse steps as described above.

ci In view of the foregoing detailed description, the method of assembling a fall 00 5 prevention structure 2 includes the steps of: providing a support for extending from a base of the house 10 and for supporting a guard 18 above the edge 12 of the roof 11; fastening the guard 18 to the support; and o(c) bracing the guard 18, either directly or indirectly, so that when the 0 N 10 workman falls against the guard 18, the movement of the guard 18 away from othe roof 11 is impeded and thereby prevents the workman from falling from the roof 11.

The foregoing method may be undertaken by sequentially performing the steps in the following order: step a, step b, and then step c.

The support may be erected positioned upright) between steps a and b, or steps b and c.

In yet another embodiment, the method may be undertaken by performing the steps in the following order: step a, step c, and then step b. In step c, the guard 8 would not yet be fastened to the support and therefore the support would be braced so as to indirectly brace the guard 18. Subsequently, the guard 8 would be fastened to the support in step b. That is, the method involves the steps of: providing a support for extending from a base of the house 10 and for supporting a guard 18 above the edge 12 of the roof 11; erecting the support; bracing the support; and fastening the guard 18 to the support; wherein, when the workman fails against the guard 18, the movement of the guard 18 away from the roof 11 is impeded and thereby prevents the workman from falling from the roof 18.

SIn one embodiment, the step of bracing involves arranging a one or more

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spurs 22 to brace the guard 18. The support and spurs 22 may be braced together so as to impede their relative movement at the ground. The support may be braced so as to impede the twisting of the support.

00 A person skilled in the art will appreciate that many embodiments and variations can be made without departing from the ambit of the present Iinvention.

In the preferred embodiment, the support included a pair of uprights 4 and 0 o base plates 24a, and was thereby independent of the house 10 whereby it did not include any part of the house 10. In an alternative embodiment, the support may include or rest upon either paving or decking which surrounds the house In the preferred embodiment, the sway brace was formed by diagonally fastening the pole 26 between the uprights 4. However, the upper end of the pole 26 may be fastened to other suitable points such as a guardrail In the preferred embodiment, each spur 22 was fastened to an upper end of an upright 4. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the stability of the fall prevention structure 2 may be prone to variation by varying this fastening point along the length of the upright 4. For example, the upper end of each spur 22 may be fastened to below the mid-way point of the upright 4, however, this attachment point may make the structure 2 less stable and is not recommended.

In the preferred embodiment, a spur means was provided which included a pair of spurs 22 and base plates 24b. In an alternative embodiment, the spur means may include a single planar board spur) which is connected between the two uprights 4 and rests on the ground 13. In yet another embodiment, the spur means may include spurs 22 which each have their upper end fastened to the upright 4, and a fence to which the lower end of each spur is braced.

0 O In the preferred embodiment, the spurs 22 were oriented in a plane which was perpendicular with respect to the wall 10. In yet another embodiment, the spur 4means may include spurs 22 which are oriented in a plane which is not S 5 perpendicular with respect to the wall nin the preferred embodiment, each spur 22 was relatively straight. In Ialternative embodiments the spurs 22 may be bowed.

The preferred embodiment was directed to a fall prevention structure 2 for a ohouse 10. Alternatively, the fall prevention structure 2 can be used for other buildings such as, for example, factories.

in compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A fall prevention structure for preventing a workman from falling from the roof of a building, the structure including: a support which extends from a base of the building and supports a guard above the edge of the roof; the guard for guarding the workman from falling from the roof; and Ia spur means arranged at the upper end of the structure so that, when othe workman falls against the guard, the movement of the guard away from Ithe roof is impeded and thereby prevents the workman from falling from the 0 o roof.

2. A structure as claimed in claim 1, further including a fastener for fastening the support and spur means together so as to impede their relative movement at the ground.

3. A structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the fastener includes a pair of struts which are each fastened between the support and spur means on opposing sides of the structure.

4. A structure as claimed in claim 1, further including a restraint for engaging with a gutter attached to the building so as to restrain the movement of the support away from the gutter.

A structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the restraint includes a lip extending from the support and for hooking over the gutter.

6. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support includes a pair of uprights which are each fastened to opposing ends of the guard.

7. A structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the guard includes one or more elongate rails.

8. A structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein the guard includes a plurality of O oco-parallel rails. Z

9. A structure as claimed in claim 6, further including a brace for impeding the twisting of the support.

A structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein the brace includes a pole having: oone end fastened at the ground end of one upright; and an opposing end fastened at the guard end of the other upright. 0 i

11. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spur means includes one or more spurs each having one end fastened to the support or guard, and an opposing end for resting on the ground or a base plate.

12. A structure as claimed in claim 11, wherein the support and each spur are pivotally fastened together to form an angle of between about 200 and

13. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support includes one or more base plates for impeding the sinking of the structure into the ground.

14. A structure as claimed in claim 1, further including fixing means for fixing the location of the base of the support and the spur means relative to the ground.

A fall prevention system including a plurality of structures according to any one or more of the preceding claims, the structures being arranged in series along a wall of a building.

16. A fall prevention structure for preventing a workman from falling from the roof of a building, the structure including: a support dimensioned to span from a base of the building to above the edge of the roof; a guard fast with the upper end of the support; and a spur means arranged at the upper end of the structure which O oprovides bracing sufficient to prevent the workman falling from the roof upon contact with the guard.

17. A fall prevention structure as claimed in claim 16, wherein the spur means is arranged at a location above the edge of the roof.

I18. A method of assembling a fall prevention structure for preventing a oworkman from falling from the roof of a building, the method including the a steps of: o providing a support for extending from a base of the building and for supporting a guard above the edge of the roof; fastening the guard to the support; and bracing the guard, either directly or indirectly, using spur means arranged at the upper end of the structure so that when the workman falls against the guard, the movement of the guard away from the roof is impeded and thereby prevents the workman from falling from the roof.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the step of bracing involves arranging a spur means to brace the guard.

A method as claimed in claim 19, further including the step of: bracing the support and spur means together so as to impede their relative movement at the ground.

21. A method as claimed in claim 18, further including the step of: bracing the support so as to impede the twisting of the support.

22. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein, between the steps of providing and fastening, the method further includes the step of: erecting the support.

23. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein, between the steps of fastening and bracing, the method further includes the step of: Serecting the support. O 0

24. A method of assembling a fall prevention structure for preventing a workman from falling from the roof of a building, the method including the steps of: providing a support for extending from a base of the building and for Csupporting a guard above the edge of the roof; Nerecting the support; obracing the upper end of the support using spur means; and Ifastening the guard to the support; owherein, when the workman falls against the guard, the movement of the guard away from the roof is impeded and thereby prevents the workman from falling from the roof.

A fall prevention structure assembled in accordance with the method of any one of claims 18 to 24.

26. A fall prevention structure substantially herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

27. A fall prevention system substantially herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

28. A method of assembling a fall prevention structure substantially herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 27 t h Day of July 2005 CARL WILLIAMS by our attorneys Eagar Buck Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys