AU719821B2

AU719821B2 - Pivot bracket

Info

Publication number: AU719821B2
Application number: AU75319/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bradley Allan Jones; Manuel John Papas
Original assignee: BRAD INVESTMENTS Pty Ltd; PAPARD Pty Ltd
Current assignee: BRAD INVESTMENTS Pty Ltd; PAPARD Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1996-12-12
Filing date: 1996-12-12
Publication date: 2000-05-18
Anticipated expiration: 2016-12-12
Also published as: AU7531996A; WO1998026141A1

Description

P/00/01i1 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT 6.

a Invention Title: "PIVOT BRACKET" a.

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:- 1 2 "PIVOT BRACKET" THIS INVENTION relates to a pivot bracket which may be utilized for supporting uprights or cross members of a scaffold, balustrade or guard rail assembly (hereinafter for convenience referred to as "balustrade") thereby facilitating the installation of a balustrade to a support surface or support surfaces of a building frame or building. Such support surface(s) may constitute an upper horizontal surface of a concrete slab, a plurality of upright wall studs, a vertical surface of a wall, a roofing sheet, purlin assembly or a roof frame in a simple and efficient manner.

When attaching balustrades to roofing frames or roofing sheets, it was usually necessary to build a suitable support structure from the ground to attach the balustrade thereto or if the building comprised a multiplicity of stories or levels, it was usually necessary to attach a support frame to a level or storey of the building below the roof. This was found to be time consuming and expensive to install.

Attempts have been made to overcome this problem and i thus reference may be made to Australian Patent 652609 which refers to a stanchion assembly for a timber frame building which comprises a support post capable of receiving a structure to be carried by the stanchion assembly and a support assembly for the support post. The support assembly comprises a bracket having a base and spaced legs projecting therefrom which are adapted to receive a timber frame member of the frame building such as a roof rafter between the base and the 2e/a t 3 spaced legs. The spaced legs have free ends which releasably receive a closure member which closes the bracket. The support post is supported by or attached to the closure member.

The aforementioned stanchion assembly was utilized to support balustrades on sloping roofs or roof frames but was disadvantageous in regard to installation to roof angles which were relatively steep. In this context, while the same support bracket and support post could be utilized, it was necessary to utilize a different closure member to compensate for an increase in the roof angle. This meant that installation of the balustrade to the sloping roof was time consuming and complicated and a different closure member had to be *utilized for each different angle in relation to varying roof angles to *o horizontal.

Reference may be made to U.S. Patent 4826122 which refers to a bracket which may form the base for a scaffolding post and includes a rectangular receiving box with an open top which receives the scaffolding post. The receiving box pivots about a horizontal axis ~established by a pin held in a base member of the bracket. The base member includes a flat nailing plate which is used to secure the bracket to a pitched roof. The pin allows a free pivoting of the receiving box with respect to the angle of the pitched roof to which the nailing plate is attached. However, in relation to this bracket, there was no locking mechanism provided to lock the receiving box at a desired pivot angle.

S Also, because of the inclusion of the flat nailing plate, the bracket of U.S.

,-yA) Patent 4826122 was not readily attachable to roofing sheets or roof frame members, such as purlins, and was therefore only of limited application.

Reference may be made to DE2637298 which refers to a pivot bracket assembly which interconnects a building frame member, such as a roof rafter, and an upright of an adjacent scaffolding frame wherein there is provided a post attached to the upright by a pair of end brackets. The post at a top end thereof has a pair of spaced straps attached thereto wherein each strap includes an attachment aperture as well as a pivot aperture located above the attachment aperture. There is also provided a pivot plate having an arcuate row of spaced attachment apertures and a top channel or tube welded to the pivot plate which a engages with the roof rafter. The arrangement is such that an attachment pin extends through each attachment aperture of the straps and through a selected aperture of the row of attachment apertures of the pivot plate to 15 orient the roof rafter at a desired angle to horizontal. There is also provided a pivot pin which extends through each pivot aperture of each ol strap and a co-aligned aperture located in the pivot plate.

However, the pivot bracket assembly described in DE2637298 by employing a body part having a single plate was strictly limited in its application and thus could not be used, for example, in relation to a clip for attachment to a roofing sheet or to an upright post of a building frame because of the fact that the single plate was attached to the pair of spaced straps which would have been inappropriate in such S applications. Thus, the pivot bracket assembly of DE2637298 was limited strictly to the single application described above.

It also was to be appreciated that the pivot bracket assembly of DE2637298 would probably fracture in the ase of excessive lateral forces because the single plate was welded to the top mounting channel or tube. This is especially important when connecting a rafter to an upright of a balustrade.

Another disadvantage of the pivot bracket assembly of DE2637298 was that this assembly was subject to fracture on impact or collision and thus this bracket assembly would not have passed strict building regulations that require complete compliance with health and safety guidelines.

Reference may be made to US Patent 5558312 which refers to to an adjustable safety bracket for use in roof construction, having an .o to attachment channel and a support tube pivotally attached to the 15 attachment channel at an outer end thereof. The attachment channel o includes a yoke in which the support tube is pivotally supported. There is *Oq* ~also provided an aligned rectilinear set of openings in the attachment t channel and a lateral extension of the support tube to retain the support tube at a desired pivot angle relative to the attachment channel. However t o

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20 the amount of pivotal movement of the support tube relative to the attachment channel is restricted and only a limited number of pivot angles are possible. This safety bracket is also complicated in construction having a redundant safety mechanism in regard to pivotal movement of i' the support tube which limits said pivotal movement.

It therefore is an object of the invention to provide a pivot bracket which may alleviate at least one of the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art.

The invention includes a pivot bracket engageable with a balustrade member, said pivot bracket having mounting means attachable to a building structure, building frame or balustrade, a body part having a pair of spaced walls extending away from the mounting means, a support member carried by the body part between said spaced walls which support member is associated with the balustrade member; and pivotal attachment means for attaching the support member to said body part and arcuate retaining means for retaining the support member in a desired orientation relative to said mounting means.

ooo. The mounting means may be of any suitable type for 0S *S attachment to a building frame member or balustrade member such as an upright or cross member thereof. Thus, in one form, there may be 0 ee provided a mounting tube telescopically engageable with the adjacent 0000 member or, alternatively, a mounting channel may be utilized in lieu of the 0 0 mounting tube.

S

Suitably, in relation to the pair of spaced walls, there is 0 provided a base web or bottom wall to provide a recess for accommodation of the support member. Preferably, each wall has a peripheral edge that is arcuate for convenience but such peripheral edge may be square, rectangular or polygonal in shape, if desired.

1 The support member may comprise a support rod, support tube or support channel. However, a support tube is preferred.

The retaining means may comprise a multiplicity of spaced apertures having an arcuate orientation in the or each wall of the body part and the support member may have one or more retaining apertures which are aligned with the spaced apertures so that the support member may be retained at a desired pivot angle in use. In another form of retaining means, the or each wall may have an arcuate retaining track which engages with a protrusion of the support member at a desired pivot angle.

Reference may now be made to a preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in the attached drawings, wherein:- FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a pivot bracket oooeo '.•constructed in accordance with the invention and associated support rod for attachment to a roofing sheet; FIG. 1A is a similar view to FIG. 1 showing a modified support bracket constructed in accordance with the invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pivot bracket and support rod of FIG. 1 attached to a roofing sheet; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an elongate clip assembly for ooooo use in attachment of the pivot bracket of FIG. 1 to longitudinal ribs of a roofing sheet; 6 FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an elongate clip assembly for use in attachment of the pivot bracket of FIG. 1 transversely of longitudinal ribs of a roofing sheet; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a roofing sheet having the pivot bracket attached thereto using the clip assembly shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a balustrade attached to a roofing sheet using the clip assembly shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a coupling utilized to interconnect adjacent cross members located at a corner of a balustrade; FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of an attachment assembly utilized for attachment of the pivot bracket of FIG. 1 to an adjacent upright or cross member of a balustrade; FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an attachment bracket utilized for attachment of the pivot bracket of FIG. 1 to a roof purlin; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a different attachment bracket to that shown in FIG. 9 in relation to attachment of the pivot •"bracket of FIG. 1 to a roof purlin; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another form of attachment bracket in relation to attachment of the pivot bracket of FIG. 1 to a roof purlin; FIG. 12 is a side view of the attachment bracket of FIG. FIG. 13 is a side view of the attachment bracket of FIG. 11; 9 FIGS. 14-17 are various views of a balustrade attached to a roof purlin using the attachment brackets shown in FIGS. 10-13; FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a balustrade attached to an assembly of parallel roof purlins using the attachment brackets shown in FIGS. 10-13; FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of an attachment assembly in regard to attachment of the pivot bracket of FIG. 1 to a frame member of a building frame; and FIG. 20 is a view of a building frame utilizing the attachment assembly of FIG. 19.

The pivot bracket 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a body part 11 having a pair of spaced arcuate walls 12 interconnected by a web 13.

'00:0 There is also provided a mounting channel 14 provided with a plurality of mounting apertures 15. Each wall 12 is provided with a plurality of *attachment apertures 16 arranged about but spaced from each arcuate 15 edge 17. There is also provided a support tube 18 which is pivotally attached to body part 11 by a pivot joint 19 comprising a pivot pin O00o C.o.

rigidly secured, such as by welding or by bolts, to each arcuate plate 12 which is inserted through a pivot sleeve 22 welded to a bottom end of 0 support tube 18.

The support member 18 may be pivoted within recess 23 of the pivot bracket 10 from a vertical position as shown to a selected angular position which makes an acute angle with the vertical wherein the support member 18 may be maintained in the angular position by an attachment pin 30A (shown in FIG. 2) being inserted through a pair of f(.

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a i S cc 8 aligned attachment apertures 25 located in support member 18. The pivot sleeve 22 in being attached to the bottom end of support tube 18 increases the amount of pivotal movement or travel of support tube 18 within recess 23 compared to the situation if it was attached to a central part of support tube 18. (If preferred, the pivot pin 20 could pass through the central part of support tube 18 and the pivot sleeve 22 omitted.) In FIG. 1, there is also provided a support rod 26 for attachment to a roofing sheet 27 as shown in FIG. 2. The support rod 26 includes a series of opposed upper and lower slots 28 as well as a plurality of mounting apertures 29 which are aligned with corresponding apertures 15 by bolts or pins 30 so that the pivot bracket 10 may be mounted to an adjacent rib 31 of roofing sheet 27. Roof fasteners 32 may extend through opposed upper and lower slots 28 to attach support rod 26 to rib 31. Roofing sheet 27 as shown in FIG. 2 is supported on 15 battens, rafters, purlins or other such supporting members 33 and attached thereto by fasteners 32.

In FIG. 1A, the pivot bracket 10A includes body part 11A having a pair of spaced arcuate walls 12A interconnected by a web 13A.

There is also provided a mounting channel 14A provided with a plurality of apertures 15. Each wall 12A is provided with a plurality of attachment apertures 16 arranged about but spaced from each arcuate edge 17.

There is also provided a support tube 18 provided with a strengthening collar 18A. There is also provided a pair of spaced ears or projections 18A also provided with attachment apertures 16A. Also shown is stop 3 3 ~lr_.

iSi- 8a 18C.

The function of ears 18B and associated apertures 16A is to provide a greater adjustment facility in relation to apertures 16 whereby depending upon the position of tube 18, apertures 16A may be located between a pair of adjacent apertures 16. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1A without apertures 16A, there is 150 between each aperture 16 in relation to pivotal movement of tube 18. With the incorporation of apertures 16A, there is now 7 1/2 between each aperture. There is also provided a balustrade member 19A for telescopic engagement with support tube 18.

In FIG. 3, there is shown a clip assembly 34 having a top ii attachment tube 35 having attachment apertures 36 which is welded or otherwise rigidly attached to elongate clip 37 having opposed jaws 38 :o and 38A and abutment flanges 39. Clip 37 is provided with adjacent s: 15 fasteners 40. It will be noted that jaw 38A is adjustable relative to fixed 0 0 0 jaw 38 by adjustment fasteners In FIGS. 4-5, there is shown another clip assembly 41 having a transverse attachment member 42 provided with attachment apertures 43 and retaining strap 44. There is also provided a pair of bolts 45 which extend through apertures 46 in supports 47 which are attached to attachment member 42. Each bolt 45 is utilized for adjustment of member 42 as may be required.

In FIG. 5, there is also shown the attachment of clip assembly 34 to roofing sheet 47A wherein jaws 38 and 38A engage with opposed sides of rib 46A. The pivot bracket 10 may be attached to either clip assembly 34 or 41 as may be required. In regard to attachment to clip assembly 41, there are provided a pair of clip assemblies 41 interconnected by mounting member 41A to which is attached bracket as shown by mounting channel 14.

S. 15 In FIG. 6, there is shown balustrade 48 comprising spaced o uprights 49 attached to cross members 50 by couplings 51. Each upright engages telescopically within an associated support member 18 of pivot oooo bracket 10. There is also provided attachment sleeves 47A.

In FIG. 7, there is shown coupling 52 including attachment coo• 20 collars 53A and 53B interconnected by chain 54. Chain 54 is attached to spaced lugs 55 of attachment collar 53A and a single attachment lug of attachment collar 53B. Chain 54 is attached to spaced lugs 55 by fastener 56 extending through opposed apertures 57 and retained therein -AL by washer 58 and spring clip 59 whereby the length of chain 54 may be V\by washer 58 and spring clip 59 whereby the length of chain 54 may be adjusted as required. Each collar 53A and 53B may receive a respective cross member 50 of a balustrade 48 as shown in FIG. 18 and is attached thereby by a fastener (not shown) extending through aligned apertures 58A which is inserted through aperture 55A of fastener 56.

In FIG. 8, there is shown upright 49 and cross member 50 of a balustrade 48 (shown in FIG. 6) wherein there is provided a number of alternative couplings 51A, 51B and 51C which may be utilized in interconnection of uprights 49 and cross members 50. Coupling 51A is a fixed coupling wherein vertical component 60 is welded to horizontal component 61. Coupling 51B is a swivel coupling wherein component 62 is pivotally attached to component 63.

Coupling 51C is a different type of coupling wherein each of components 64 and 65 are pivotable with respect to each other and of the same length. Uprights 49 and cross members 50 are provided with 15 spaced attachment apertures 66 which may register with attachment o apertures 67 of couplings 51A, 51B or 51C and be attached thereto by suitable fasteners (not shown).

oo coo• S. Alternatively, cross members 50 may engage with mounting channel 14 of pivot bracket 10 as shown wherein appropriate fasteners 20 (not shown) may interconnect aligned apertures 15 and 66. In another coo, arrangement, there also may be provided a base plate 68 having attachment apertures 69 so that base plate 68 may be rigidly attached to a concrete slab or other rigid surface (not shown). Base plate 68 may also include attachment tube 70 welded thereto having attachment 11 apertures 15A which also may be aligned with apertures The versatility of the pivot bracket 10 is clearly demonstrated in FIG. 8. Not only can pivot bracket 10 be attached to base plate 68 as described above but support member 18 may engage with an adjacent cross member 50 or upright 49 as may be required.

Cross member 50 may also engage with a vertically oriented attachment plate 70A which has an attachment tube 71B and attached thereto by fasteners (not shown) extending through aligned apertures 66 and 71A.

Also, cross member 50 may engage telescopically with adjacent connection sleeve 47A having spaced attachment apertures 66.

In FIG. 9, there is shown a coupling 72 which is to be attached to an adjacent purlin 73 shown in phantom. Purlin 73 includes flanges 74 and 75 on opposed sides of web 76. Coupling 72 may be attached to either flange 74 or 75. In this regard, part of flange 74 and 15 external lip 77 may be inserted through channel 78 which is located in Cshaped component 79 of coupling 72 and retained therein by screw Coupling 72 also has tubular support components 81 and 82 for engagement with uprights 49 or cross members 50 of a balustrade 48 as may be required. This may be achieved by fasteners (not shown) •*oo 20 extending through aligned attachment apertures 83, 84 and 66 as may be a required.

In FIGS. 10-13, there are also shown couplings 72A or 72B which may be used instead of coupling 72 depending upon the required 'orientation of upright 49 or cross members 50. Coupling 72A includes orientation of upright 49 or cross members 50. Coupling 72A includes 12 tubular support components 86 and 87 as well as C-shaped component 88 having abutment 89. There is also provided attachment apertures 91 and 92 as well as fastener 93 extending through support 94 as well as Cshaped component 88.

Coupling 72B includes C-shaped component 95, fastener 96 extending therethrough and support tube components 97 and 98. There is also provided attachment apertures 99 and 100. The engagement of couplings 72A and 72B with an adjacent purlin 73 are shown inFIGS. 12- 13 which is in a similar manner to that shown in FIG. 9.

In FIG. 14, there is shown a balustrade 48 which is inclined at an angle to the horizontal to compensate for the required slope of a roof frame. Balustrade 48 comprises uprights 49 and cross members o interconnected by couplings 51. Pivot brackets 10 are also illustrated .*too: showing that the attached upright 49 may be pivoted from a position S: 15 normal to cross members 50 to an acute angle thereof as indicated by the arrow in full outline. There is also indicated purlins 73 attached to bottom .oo cross member 50. Purlins 73 are also attached to cross members 50 by couplings 72A or 728.

In FIG. 15, there is shown a perspective view of balustrade 48 shown in FIG. 14 where pivot brackets 10 are located at spaced a intervals.

FIG. 16 shows upright 49B attached to an aligned cross member 50 by fixed coupling 51D and FIG. 17 is a detailed view of coupling 72A interconnecting cross members 50 which are normal to each coupling 72A interconnecting cross members 50 which are normal to each other.

0 0 0 *0 0 0 0*0* 0 FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a balustrade 48 having adjacent corner cross members 50 interconnected by couplings 52 illustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 19 shows the attachment of a pivot bracket 10 to an adjacent stud or post 101 of a building frame shown in FIG. 20. In this arrangement, there are provided opposed attachment plates 102 having vertical flanges 103 which are attached to an adjacent surface 104 of posts 101 by fasteners 105 extending through attachment apertures 105A. Pivot bracket 10 has its support member 18 aligned in a generally horizontal orientation and body part 11 may be attached to an adjacent attachment plate 102 by fasteners 103 extending through mounting apertures 15 and through an adjacent notch 106 of a plurality of such notches which all communicate with slot 107. There is also provided 15 support member 108 having an elongate recess 109 which engages with a respective flange 110 of support channel 14 which also has apertures 111 which are aligned with apertures 15 and notches 106 to attach pivot bracket 10 in the required position.

FIG. 20 shows that not only can pivot bracket 10 be 20 attached to an adjacent post 101 but also may be attached to adjacent rafters 112 in similar manner so that a balustrade 48 may be attached to building frame 113 as shown. In regard to each pivot bracket 10, the support tube 18 may engage with a cross member 50B in the case of posts 101 which engages with an adjacent upright 49 as illustrated and, in KAl

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a a a a a a a a a a a 14 the case of rafters 112, each support tube 18 engages with an adjacent upright 49B which engages with cross member 50C which engages with uprights 49 by fixed coupling 51D arranged along a respective rafter 112.

Building frame 113 also includes cross members or noggings 114 and top member 115.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the pivot bracket of the invention by having opposed walls 12 or 12A is extremely versatile in application and can be utilized for installation of balustrades to horizontal or flat planar surfaces such as concrete slabs or surfaces at an angle to horizontal as may be required. The pivot bracket of the invention may also be utilized in the supporting of balustrades to roof frames, inclusive of rafters and joists, roofing sheets, building frame members such as wall studs or noggings. Installation can be carried out extremely quickly and efficiently and can take place regardless of the 15 orientation of the support surface to horizontal.

It will also be appreciated that the pivot bracket of the invention can be utilized for supporting an adjacent frame member of a scaffold or scaffold framework or, alternatively, a guard rail assembly which is described in Australian Patent 652609.

It will also be appreciated that by having a body part having opposed walls that the support tube may be retained between each side wall and thus the pivot bracket assembly of the invention provides an extremely strong and rigid connection between the upright of a balustrade and a roof frame member and thus can withstand excessive lateral forces wIl

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k<ZN 1 1'1 14a and ensure strict compliance with health and safety regulations which are now applicable to scaffolding.

It will also be appreciated that by virtue of the apertures 16 having an arcuate orientation that pivotal movement of the support tube 18 is virtually unlimited relative to walls 12 and 12A and this feature also enhances the versatility of the pivot bracket of the invention as described above.

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Claims

1. A pivot bracket engageable with a balustrade member, said pivot bracket having:- mounting means attachable to a building structure, building frame or balustrade; a body part having a pair of spaced walls extending away from the mounting means; a support member carried by the body part between said spaced walls which support member supports the balustrade member in use; and pivotal attachment means for attaching the support member o to said body part and arcuate retaining means for retaining the support 0 0: to member in a desired orientation relative to said mounting means. S: A pivot bracket as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the mounting means is a mounting channel.

3. A pivot bracket as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the spaced o*o* walls are interconnected by a base web to provide a recess for accommodation of the support member. o. t4. A pivot bracket as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the support member is attached to a pivot joint which interconnects each spaced wall at a location adjacent a bottom end of the support member. A pivot bracket as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each wall has a peripheral edge which is arcuate.

6. A pivot bracket as claimed in any preceding claim wherein r T 16 the support member is a support tube.

7. A pivot bracket as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the retaining means comprises a multiplicity of spaced apertures in one or both walls of the body part, said multiplicity of spaced apertures having an arcuate orientation.

8. A pivot bracket as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the mounting means is attached to the web.

9. A pivot bracket substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A balustrade support assembly including a pivot bracket as claimed in any preceding claim and an auxiliary support member for attachment to a roof sheet. °eee°

11. A balustrade support assembly as claimed in Claim i. wherein the auxiliary support member includes a clip member for attachment to an adjacent rib of the roofing sheet. °e 12. A balustrade having a plurality of balustrade members each of which are supported by a pivot bracket as claimed in any one of Claims 1-9.

13. A balustrade having a plurality of balustrade members each of which are supported by the balustrade support assembly of Claim 10 or 11. DATED this Tenth day of March 2000. PAPARD PTY. LTD. and BRAD INVESTMENTS PTY. LTD., by their Patent Attorneys, FISHER ADAMS KELLY.