AU2005205836A1

AU2005205836A1 - Scaffold plank

Info

Publication number: AU2005205836A1
Application number: AU2005205836A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Leigh Charles Martin
Original assignee: MASTA SCAFFOLD Pty Ltd
Current assignee: MASTA SCAFFOLD Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-09-07
Filing date: 2005-09-06
Publication date: 2006-03-23

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT MASTA SCAFFOLD PTY LTD LEIGH CHARLES MARTIN CALLINAN LAWRIE, 711 High Street, Kew, Victoria 3101, Australia SCAFFOLD PLANK The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:- 06/09/05,rrl 4263.specie.cs,1 The present invention relates to scaffold systems used in building (1) construction/renovation and to a floor plank for use in such scaffold systems.

0 Conventional floor planks are either timber or metal planks and, in the case of M€ timber planks, in use they are placed over cross-members (transoms) forming 0part of the scaffold framework, in an overlapping manner, in order to provide

(N

Vt) a continuous walkway or load bearing platform. A problem arises where the Stimber planks overlap as the thickness of the planks causes a change in level requiring a non-trip ramp to be provided at the level change, to avoid a hazardous situation. Even with the ramp in place the level change creates a hazardous area because of the relatively sudden changes in level. The metal planks have a downturned perimeter edge for strength, giving them a thickness similar to the timber planks and whilst, in use, they are connected flush with the transoms thereby avoiding an overlapping situation, a problem still arises at corners where overlapping is unavoidable and the consequent hazardous level changes occur.

In addition, Occupational Health and Safety Regulations now require a vertical kick rail or kickboard in addition to the floorboards when the scaffold is above a certain height and the current method of providing such a kickboard is to use existing floor planks on their edge to form the kickboard. This involves additional materials and additional installation time. The thickness of existing floor planks also renders them bulky and cumbersome to package and transport.

As will be evident above there are a number of compromises necessary in the use of existing scaffold planks, not the least of which is brought about by the fixed lengths and thickness of the planks.

06/09/05,rr 14263.comspecie,2 NAccordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a scaffold plank Sthat overcomes or avoids one or more of the problems of existing planks or at least provide a useful alternative.

0 ID 5 Thus, the invention provides a scaffold plank of thin sheet material having a 00 flat base, an upstanding wall along one longitudinal side of the said base to provide a kickboard and a downturned edge along the other longitudinal side t of said base, said kickboard comprising a lower wall section substantially Snormal to said base and an upper wall section extending from said lower wall section and shaped to add strength and rigidity to said plank whilst enabling a plurality of like planks to be nested in a stack for storage and/or transportation.

A further form of the invention provides a scaffold system including a scaffold plank as defined in the preceding paragraph and a cross-member for supporting said plank and a further like plank in a manner wherein the planks combine in parallel opposed relationship to form a walkway or platform with their kickboards along the respective outsides of the walkway or platform and their bases substantially co-planar, said cross-member comprising an elongate plate for extending transversely of said walkway or platform and having a recess therein for receiving the respective downturned edges of said planks, said plate having an upper edge for supporting the base of each plank and being adapted to connect to, or form part of, a transom of a scaffold structure.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood particular embodiments will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of part of a scaffold system according to one embodiment of the invention, shown in exploded form; 06/09/05,rr14263.comspecie,3 4- Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1 but with some parts omitted for clarity and a viewed from a different direction; SFig. 3 is a part perspective view of a second embodiment of the 0invention providing an alternative cross-member and floor plank arrangement for a wider walkway or platform; M Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3 but shows a third embodiment facilitating a still wider walkway or platform; t Fig. 5 is an end view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 3; SFig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. Fig. 7 is a schematic end view of a series of floor planks according to the invention showing the nesting arrangements of the planks for storage and transport; and Fig. 8 is a schematic end view of a series of intermediate floor planks for use in the scaffold system of the invention, showing a stacking arrangement for storage and transport.

Referring initially to Figs. 1 and 2 the system consists essentially of planks and cross-members 11 that combine with the components of a conventional scaffold system to provide the improved system of the invention. The planks 10 are formed from steel or aluminium which may be extruded or rolled from sheet material and consists essentially of a flat base 12 with an upstanding kickboard 13 extending along one side of the base 12. The kickboard 13 comprises a lower wall section 14 extending generally normal to the base 12 and formed integral therewith, and inwardly inclined upper wall section extending from the lower wall section 14 and an outwardly and upwardly inclined top wall section 16 extending from the upper edge of the upper wall section A downturned edge 17 is formed integral with and extends along the other longitudinal edge of the base 12. The downturned edge 17 has an outwardly 06/09/05,rr 14263.comspecie,4 extending lower ledge 18 formed integral therewith. The lower ledge 18 is Soptional and may be omitted in an alternative form of the planks

IND

C In order to provide a walkway or platform, a pair of planks 10 are arranged in opposed relationship with the downturned edges 17 closely adjacent to each M other and the lower ledges 18 in overlapping relationship. In this manner a narrow groove or channel extends longitudinally of the walkway or platform.

t In order to extend the walkway or platform a further pair of planks 10 are Soverlapped at the end of the initial pair of planks and are arranged in a similar manner. Support for the planks 10 is provided by the cross-members 11 which are adapted for connection on existing transoms 19 forming part of a conventional scaffold system.

The cross-members 11 consist essentially of an elongate plate 20 for supporting the base 12 of the planks 10. The plate 20 has a central recess 21 and outstanding flanges 22. The flanges 22 have aligned holes 23 (Fig. the purpose of which will be apparent herein below. In order to support the plate on a transom 19 an inverted U-shaped bracket 24 is welded at each end of the plate 20. On the other side of the plate 20 opposite each bracket 24 a short length of pipe 25 is also welded to the plate 20. In use, each of the pipes accommodates a vertically extending post 26 facilitating the provision of a handrail along the length of the walkway or platform. Each of the pipes 25 is provided with a locking screw 27.

As is evident in the drawings the transoms 19 are a box section tube of square or rectangular section. The brackets 24 are adapted to fit over the transoms 19 so as to support a cross-member 11 on a transom 19 in the manner shown in Fig. 6. The brackets 24 have holes 28 for receiving a pin or bolt 29 to secure the cross-member in position on the transom. In this manner the cross- 06/09/05,rr 14263.comspecie,5 1 N member may be slid longitudinally on the transom for alignment purposes before being secured by the pin or bolt 29.

IND

0 Each plank 10 has a series of spaced holes 30 along the downturned edge 17 and when the planks are placed in position so as to extend between two spaced M cross-members 11 the holes on opposed planks 10 are aligned so that a pin or bolt 31 may be placed through aligned holes and through the holes 23 in V) flanges 22 to secure the planks in position on the cross member 11. For this Spurpose the holes 30 are sufficiently larger than the diameter of the pins or bolts 31 to allow for some misalignment of the holes as will occur when the lower edge 18 of one plank 10 rests on the lower ledge 18 of the opposed plank 10. The overlapping of the lower ledges 18 results in one plank of an opposed pair being slightly raised relative to the other plank but since the planks are made from relatively thin material this misalignment is of no consequence. As mentioned above, the lower ledge 18 may be omitted from the planks in which case there will be no misalignment of the holes. The lower ledge 18 is merely for the purpose of providing some additional strength to the planks It should be evident that to provide an extended platform longitudinally aligned planks may be overlapped to any extent necessary for the purpose of providing the required length of walkway or platform and this is particularly useful in forming corners where a special plank (not shown) is provided having an end portion with no kickboard 13. This enables a further similar plank to be overlapped at a right angled corner to form a continuous walkway or platform.

Referring now to Figs. 3, 4 and 5 it can be seen that in alternative embodiments of the invention a wider walkway or platform is facilitated. This is achieved by providing intermediate planks 32 and cross-members 33 or 34 06/09/05,I 4263.comspecie,6 Nhaving two or three recesses 21, respectively. The intermediate planks 32 Scomprise a flat base 35 and downturned edges 36 extending along each edge of the base 35. Each downturned edge 36 has an outwardly extending ledge 37 similar to the lower ledge 18 of the main planks 10. Again, the ledge 37 may be omitted. The downturned edges 36 of each intermediate plank 32 have 0 a series of spaced holes 38 for the same purpose of the holes 30 of the main planks SOne of the many advantages of the planks 10 is their ability to nest when stacked one on top of the other. This provides a considerable advantage for storage and transportation purposes. The nesting arrangement is shown schematically in Fig. 7, and Fig. 8 shows schematically a stacking arrangement for the intermediate planks 32 which is again relatively efficient for storage and transportation purposes.

It should be apparent from the above that the floor plank of the present invention provides a lightweight plank that is sufficiently strong for use as a walkway and can be constructed of metal with sufficient thickness to provide a load supporting platform. Planks may be joined in overlapping fashion to provide an extended walkway or load bearing platform without causing the hazardous level changes that occur with existing scaffold planks. The amount of overlapping may vary considerably thus providing flexibility in the spacing between transoms. Furthermore the floor planks are able to be stacked in a far more efficient manner for storage and transportation. The unique crossmember for supporting the planks provides a convenient means for installing the planks on an existing scaffold structure.

In a variation to the described embodiment a plate may be welded or otherwise affixed to one end of the plank to provide a support similar to the elongate plate 20 and this variation will necessitate a variation in the transom 19.

06/09/05,rr 14263.comspecie,7 Clearly, modifications may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. As a further example, the cross sectional shape of the planks may be varied insofar as the shape of the kickboard 13 and the downturned edge 17 is concerned. Also, the cross-member 11 may take various different forms dependent on the cross 0sectional shape of the transom 19 and other variations which may be readily Seffected in order to accommodate varying scaffold structures. In a still further variation the holes 30 and 38 may be provided in spaced relationship along the lower ledge 18 instead of along the downturned edges 17. This variation to enables the pins or bolts 31 to be inserted vertically from above which is likely to be more convenient from a construction point of view. It is envisaged that the thickness of the plank 10 would vary in the order from 1.0 mm to 3 mm depending on the required strength.

06/09/05,rrl4263.comspecie,8

Claims

2. A scaffold plank as defined in claim 1, wherein said upper wall section is inclined upwardly and inwardly from said lower wall section.
3. A scaffold plank as defined in claim 2, wherein a top wall section extends from said upper wall section, said top wall section extending upwardly and outwardly from said upper wall section.
4. A scaffold plank as defined in claim 3, wherein said downturned edge extends for a short distance below said base and has a series of spaced holes along the length thereof, said downturned edge being adapted, in use, for accommodation in a recess within a cross-member for supporting said plank.
5. A scaffold plank as defined in claim 4, said plank being formed of steel or aluminium that is extruded or rolled into the required shape.
6. A scaffold plank as defined in claim 5, wherein a lower ledge extends from the extremity of said downturned edge, said lower ledge being in a plane substantially parallel to said base. 06/09/05,rr 14263.comspecie,9
7. A scaffold system including a scaffold plank according to any one of claims 1 6 and a cross-member for supporting said plank and a further 0 like plank in a manner wherein the planks combine in parallel opposed relationship to form a walkway or platform with their kickboards along 00 the respective outsides of the walkway or platform and their bases substantially co-planar, said cross-member comprising an elongate t plate for extending transversely of said walkway or platform and Shaving a recess therein for receiving the respective downturned edges of said planks, said plate having an upper edge for supporting the base of each plank and being adapted to connect to, or form part of, a transom of a scaffold structure.
8. A scaffold system as defined in claim 7, wherein said plate is adapted to connect to a transom of a scaffold structure and has brackets adjacent each end for fitting over said transom and being secured thereto.
9. A scaffold system as defined in claim 8, wherein said cross-member has a vertically extending tube fixed to each end of the said plate for accommodating a post for supporting a handrail. A scaffold system as defined in claim 9, wherein a flange extends from said plate at one or both sides of said recess, said flange or flanges having a hole therethrough for alignment with one of the holes in each plank that, in use, is supported on said plate, to facilitate insertion of a bolt or pin for securing the planks to said plate.
11. A scaffold system as defined in claim 10, wherein said plate has one or more further said recesses spaced along the length thereof, and said system includes intermediate scaffold planks comprising substantially 06/09/05,rr 14263.comspecie, shallow U-shaped planks of thin sheet material, the sides of which are accommodated in respective said recesses to extend the width of said walkway or platform.
12. A scaffold plank, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
13. A scaffold system, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this day of September, 2005. MASTA SCAFFOLD PTY LTD By their Patent Attorneys: CALLINAN LAWRIE W ~/AA$N o 06/09/05,rr 4263.comspecie,l I