AU2008100621A4 - Guard rail bracket - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

O

O

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: ATF Hire Group Pty Limited Alfonso Massuger Address for Service: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, 1 Nicholson Street, Melbourne 3000, Victoria, Australia Innovation Patent specification for the invention entitled: "Guard rail bracket" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 0 QOPERMXC\DmflmnS\335479 rd ml bmcckl nros' AppdocA)1/2IN)A 00 -1- Guard Rail bracket FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bracket for supporting a guard railing structure from the edge of a building roof. The present invention also relates to a related method of installing 00 a guard railing structure from a roof edge.

The invention has been devised particularly, though not solely, for buildings, such as industrial buildings, having roofs and walls comprising sheeting, such as corrugated steel sheeting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is common practice to install guard rails around the perimeter of a roof when erecting a building to prevent people falling from the roof while work on the roof including installation of roof covering, is being performed.

Guard rail structures must meet certain safety standards, particularly relating to their structural integrity. Therefore, guard rail structures must be mounted to secure structural members in a manner that provides adequate strength to meet the relevant standards.

Currently, guard railing structures may be secured to roofing purlins by brackets which are slung under and around the purlins. Such brackets generally obstruct the installation of wall covering, necessitating removal of them a time-consuming and sometimes difficult task before installation of wall covering can proceed.

A requirement accordingly exists for a way of securely mounting a guard rail structure to a building such that, when the structure is in place, installation of wall covering or guttering is not precluded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bracket for 0 PER\MXCDafWO435479 Guard mlj bikdl 2no Appdo-3/072MlS 00 -2supporting a guard railing structure from a roof member at a roof edge, the bracket comprising a mounting configured with a securing member arranged to extend between the roof member and roof covering overlying the roof member to be fixed to the roof member, and further comprising a support which projects outwardly from the mounting to be exposed for connection of the guard railing structure thereto.

00 In extending between the roof covering and roof member to be fixed to the roof member, r the securing member can thus be fixed, for example by bolts or alternative fastening elements, to the roof member at a position which will be covered not exposed at the roof edge) when the bracket is mounted and the roof covering is installed.

Preferably, the securing member has a thickness which is sufficiently small to enable the securing member to be sandwiched between the roof member and roof covering which is attached to the roof member. The roof covering may comprise sheeting, such as steel sheeting, which is, correspondingly, deformable enough to accommodate the securing member beneath itself whilst being attached against the roof member at positions to either side of the securing member.

Preferably, the securing member is adapted to be fixed to the roof member at a position between the roof member and roof covering. Preferably, the securing member is adapted to be fixed to an upper face of the roof member. Preferably, the securing member is configured as a flange or tongue.

Preferably, the mounting is configured to be positioned inward of guttering supported from the roof edge when the bracket is mounted. Preferably, the support is arranged to be positioned above an inner wall of the guttering and to be clear of an outer wall of the guttering. In this way, the guttering may be installed without being interfered with by the bracket.

Preferably, the mounting is configured to abut a side face of the roof member. Preferably, the mounting is configured to be fixed against the side face. Preferably, the mounting O:\0PERVAXC%1)nflWO435479 Gud rail bcke, Iwic, App doc-3/07/2M) 00 -3comprises a further securing member extending downwardly from the support to be fixed against the side face. Preferably the securing member is formed from a single piece of plate and the further securing member and support are defined by respective arms of a generally L-shaped member to which the single piece of plate is attached. Preferably, each arm of the generally L-shaped member is formed from a length of square hollow section.

00 It will be appreciated that abutment between the mounting and the roof member may ,i involve contact between the mounting and roof member or may be non-contact, i.e.

indirect.

Preferably, the further securing member is receivable in a space between the side face and guttering.

Preferably, the support is arranged to be concealed by the guttering so as to be invisible from ground level. Preferably, the support is arranged to be received within the gutter.

Preferably, the support is arranged for connection of the guard railing structure thereto in a way which does not interfere with the gutter. Advantageously, the bracket may thus be left attached to the building for future re-attachment of guard railing thereto.

Preferably, the support has an outer end configured for inward receipt of an attachment which connects the guard railing structure to the support.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of mounting a guard railing structure to a roof member at a roof edge, the method comprising: mounting to the roof member at least one bracket according to the first aspect; mounting a guard railing structure to the at least one bracket; and laying roof covering such that the roof covering overlies the roof member, whereby the securing member of the or each bracket is received between the roof member and roof covering.

Q 0PERNXO mA00435479 God rail bmckct Ino Appdoc-3A17/21, 00 -4- SBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bracket according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is an exposed perspective view of the bracket in situ, showing a flange of 00 the bracket being received between a roof purlin and roof sheeting; ri Figure 3 is a perspective view of the bracket in situ, showing the flange being received in a corrugation of the roof sheeting; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a partially assembled guard rail structure incorporating brackets according to the preferred embodiment; and Figure 5 is an exposed front view of the bracket in situ, corresponding with Figure 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Figure 1 illustrates a guard rail bracket 1 according to the preferred embodiment. The guard rail bracket 1 is constructed from two lengths of mild steel 32mm x 32mm x 3mm box hollow section arranged perpendicular to each other and welded together to form an inverted generally L-shaped piece, and a rectangular mild steel plate (10mm thickness) welded on top of that piece, thus defining a mounting portion 2, comprising a tongue or flange 3 and a downwardly extending member 4, and further defining a support extending outwardly from the mounting portion 2, in an opposite direction to the flange 3.

The downwardly extending member 4 is provided adjacent its lower end with a hole 6 (see Figure 5) for receiving a fastener, and is trimmed at its lower end with a chamfer 30 to provide access to hole 6. Mounting holes 22 are also provided through the flange 3 for receiving fasteners.

Figure 2 illustrates the guard rail bracket 1 mounted onto a roof purlin 11. The flange 3 is fixed to the upper face 7 of the purlin 11, by means of four bolts 23 received through holes 22, and lies between the purlin 11 and corrugated roofing sheets 12 attached to the purlin Q OPER\VXC\Dfls\354379 Gd ml bwkct Inno App dc-3mI1/28 00 11. In addition, the downwardly extending member 4 is fixedly attached to the outer side face 8 of the purlin 11, by means of a single bolt (not shown) received through hole 6 (see Figure

INO

5 Depending on corrugation size and the placement of the bracket 1 along the purlin 11, the flange 3 may be accommodated within a corrugation below a peak of the corrugations) 00 as shown in Figures 3 and 4, or underneath (partially or completely) the corrugation (i.e.

I below a trough of the corrugations) with the sheeting 12 deforming around it such that the sheeting 12 lies substantially flat along the purlin 11, owing to the flange 3 and bolt heads being of relatively small overall thickness (see Figure To improve the degree of contact between the roofing sheets 12 and both the guard rail bracket 1 and purlin 11, the roofing sheets 12 may be rolled in the regions directly beside the flange 3 to deform the roof sheeting. To reduce the overall height of the flange 3 and bolts fixing it to the purlin 11, the holes 22 may be configured such that the bolts are countersunk.

A detailed description of a preferred method of installing roof and wall covering on a building, employing brackets 1 according to the preferred embodiment and the associated guard rail structure, will now be described.

Following the assembly of the building frame work, and before installation of the roof sheeting 12 and wall sheeting 13, brackets 1 are mounted to the box purlin(s) 11 at spaced positions there along i.e. by means of fasteners received through holes 23 and 6.

With the bracket 1 in position, the guard rail structure 40 is erected (see Figure 4, though noting the sheeting and guttering shown in that drawing are not installed at this stage). The guard rail structure 40 comprises a plurality of upright post 42 and upper 44a and intermediate 44b railings releasably fixed to the posts 42. The guard rail structure further comprises a plurality of attachments 46 which attach the posts 42 to the brackets 1.

Each attachment 46 comprises an upwardly extending sleeve 48 which receives a lower end of the post 42, and a grub screw 48a provided through a wall of the sleeve for clamping the post 42 in the sleeve 48. Each attachment further comprises a transverse 0 XOPER\MXCOfts\30435479 Gwod milbkcl In- App docdM7IMMS 00 -6sleeve 49 extending inwardly towards the interior of the building) from a lower end of the sleeve 48, the transverse sleeve 49 being receivable over the outer end of the support as can best be seen at Figures 2 and 3. Transverse sleeve 49 is also provided with a grub screw 49a, through its lower wall, for clamping the sleeve 49, and thus the guard rail structure 40, to the support 5. It will be noted that the support 5 and sleeve 49 are complementarily profiled, i.e. the outer cross-sectional configuration of the support 1 is 00 matched to the square interior cross-sectional configuration of the sleeve 49 such that the ,IC latter cannot move on the former when the grub screw 49a is tightened.

With the guard rail structure 40 in place, the roof sheeting 12 is laid, such that the sheeting 12 is received against the upper face 7 of the purlin 11 and the outer edge of the sheeting overhangs the purlin by a few inches or so. The sheeting 12 is fixed to the upper face 7 at spaced positions there along using appropriate fasteners received through the sheeting 12 and purlin 11. As indicated previously, the sheeting 12, in positions where troughs of the corrugations encounter flanges 3 and bolts 23, may be rolled or otherwise deformed so as to increase the degree of contact between the sheeting 12 and purlin 11 to either side of the flange 3 (as can best be seen at Figure With the roof sheeting 12 in place, the wall sheeting 13 and guttering 14, is then installed, as can best be seen in Figures 2 to 4. The wall sheeting 13 is fixed at it's upper end to the front face 8 of the purlin, and also the front faces of horizontal support members 50 of the building frame work provided at base positions below the purlin 11 so that the sheeting 12 can be fixed against the outer face 8 of purlin 11, slots 52 (see Figure 5) are cut into the sheeting at appropriate positions, though it will be appreciated that the cutting required to this end is not extensive because the downwardly extending member 4 and support 5, as viewed front-on (see Figure 5) are narrow.

The guttering 4 is fixed to the sheeting 14 at its upper end. It will be noted that the wall sheeting 13 is corrugated, with the guttering 14 being attached to the outermost extent, or peaks, of the corrugations such that it is spaced from the outer face 8 of the purlin 11 (i.e.

the downwardly member). Advantageously, the portion of the bracket 1 which is received 0 %0PER\MXC\Dr2fl.'O4l479 Gw d rail brkca Ino Appe do.3A)7/2 00 -7c, against the outer face 8 of the purlin 11 is sufficiently slender, as viewed side-on, to be accommodated in its entirety in the space between the gutter 14 and the purlin 11, i.e. its thickness is less than the peak-to-trough distance of the corrugations.

It can be seen that the inside upper edge 16 of the guttering 14 sits at a lower level than the outside upper edge 15. This allows the guard rail bracket 1 to be accommodated within the 00 gutter 14, and be hidden from external view, particularly from ground level. No trimming of the guttering 14 is required, as the bracket 1 is accommodated within the vertical corrugations of the wall covering 13.

When the wall sheeting 13 and gutter 14 are installed the guard rail structure 40 is no longer required and the structure 40, including the attachments 17, is detached from the guard rail brackets 1. Each guard rail bracket 1 can, advantageously, remain in position, as it does not interfere with the gutter 14 and is concealed from view, thus being conveniently available for renovating of the guard rail structure 40 thereto at a later time, such as for maintenance purposes.

The embodiments have been described by way of example only and modifications are possible within the scope of the invention disclosed.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

Claims (4)

1. A bracket for supporting a guard railing structure from a roof member at a roof edge, the bracket comprising a mounting configured with a securing member arranged to extend between the roof member and roof covering overlying the roof member to be fixed to the roof member, and further comprising a support which projects outwardly from the 00 mounting to be exposed for connection of the guard railing structure thereto.

2. A bracket according to claim 1, wherein the securing member is adapted to be fixed to an upper face of the roof member.

3. A bracket according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the mounting is configured to be positioned inward of guttering supported from the roof edge when the bracket is mounted.

4. A bracket according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the mounting is configured to be fixed against a side face of the roof member. A method of mounting a guard railing structure to a roof member at a roof edge, the method comprising: mounting to the roof member at least one bracket according to claim 1; mounting a guard railing structure to the at least one bracket; and laying roof covering such that the roof covering overlies the roof member, whereby the securing member of the or each bracket is received between the roof member and roof covering.