EP0581825A1 - Scaffolding unit and work platform. - Google Patents

Scaffolding unit and work platform.

Info

Publication number
EP0581825A1
EP0581825A1 EP92909112A EP92909112A EP0581825A1 EP 0581825 A1 EP0581825 A1 EP 0581825A1 EP 92909112 A EP92909112 A EP 92909112A EP 92909112 A EP92909112 A EP 92909112A EP 0581825 A1 EP0581825 A1 EP 0581825A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
swaged
belled
work platform
post
scaffolding
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP92909112A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0581825B1 (en
EP0581825A4 (en
Inventor
Christopher Binyon
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
ADWIN PRODUCTS PTY Ltd
Original Assignee
ADWIN PRODUCTS Pty Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by ADWIN PRODUCTS Pty Ltd filed Critical ADWIN PRODUCTS Pty Ltd
Publication of EP0581825A1 publication Critical patent/EP0581825A1/en
Publication of EP0581825A4 publication Critical patent/EP0581825A4/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0581825B1 publication Critical patent/EP0581825B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E04—BUILDING
    • E04G—SCAFFOLDING; FORMS; SHUTTERING; BUILDING IMPLEMENTS OR AIDS, OR THEIR USE; HANDLING BUILDING MATERIALS ON THE SITE; REPAIRING, BREAKING-UP OR OTHER WORK ON EXISTING BUILDINGS
    • E04G1/00—Scaffolds primarily resting on the ground
    • E04G1/14—Comprising essentially pre-assembled two-dimensional frame-like elements, e.g. of rods in L- or H-shape, with or without bracing
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E04—BUILDING
    • E04G—SCAFFOLDING; FORMS; SHUTTERING; BUILDING IMPLEMENTS OR AIDS, OR THEIR USE; HANDLING BUILDING MATERIALS ON THE SITE; REPAIRING, BREAKING-UP OR OTHER WORK ON EXISTING BUILDINGS
    • E04G7/00—Connections between parts of the scaffold
    • E04G7/30—Scaffolding bars or members with non-detachably fixed coupling elements
    • E04G7/301—Scaffolding bars or members with non-detachably fixed coupling elements for connecting bars or members which are parallel or in end-to-end relation

Definitions

  • This invention relates to scaffolding arrangements and more particularly to scaffolding arrangements which can be assembled to make work platforms constructed of a number of scaffolding units.
  • Scaffolding arrangements are very important in all facets of building construction. They can be used on the outside buildings for instance for bricklayers and painters and also can be used inside buildings for plasterboard fixers, ceiling painters and the like. To be useful for building constructions however scaffolding units must be light and easy to transport easy to assemble and when assembled be sufficiently strong for their required purpose.
  • This invention proposes a scaffolding unit and a work platform made up of scaffolding units which is economic to construct and is sufficiently strong and sturdy for building work.
  • This invention proposes a method by which these problems can be overcome.
  • a scaffolding unit comprising two vertical posts and at least two horizontal cross bars, the cross bars being rigidly fastened at their respective ends to respective posts each post being hollow and cylindrical and having an upper end swaged into a reduced diameter and a lower end belled out to an increased diameter such that the swaged upper end fits into a corresponding belled end of an adjacent scaffolding unit, the post and bars being constructed from thin walled steel tubing.
  • the work platform may further include a locking bar including saddles at each end adapted to fit over the cross bars of parallel spaced apart scaffolding units.
  • each scaffolding unit may each extend for approximately 10% of the length of the vertical posts.
  • the important feature of such a scaffolding unit is to be able to get rigid joints between adjacent scaffolding units and this is done by swaging one end of the thin walled steel tubing of the post and belling the other end so that the two fit accurately together.
  • the length of the swaged portion is equal to the length of the belled portion on each post such that the lower end of the vertical post bears against an external shoulder of the swaged portion of a connected post and the upper end of the vertical post bears against an internal shoulder of the belled portion of a connected post whereby to provide rigidity to the work platform.
  • the thin walled steel tube may have an outer diameter of 44.5mm with a 1.6mm wall of thickness.
  • the swaged ends may be reduced to 41.4mm in diameter and the internal diameter of the belled portion may be increased from 41.3mm to 42.4mm. This allows 1 mm of free play for ease of assembly and disassembly.
  • FIG. 1 shows a side view of a scaffolding unit according to this invention
  • FIG.2 shows a cross sectional view of one post of a scaffolding unit according to this invention
  • FIG.3 shows a cross sectional detail of the joining of two posts, arad
  • FIG.4 shows a work platform assembled using scaffolding units of the present invention.
  • a scaffolding unit as shown in Fig. 1 comprises vertical posts 1 and horizontal cross bars 2.
  • the cross bars 2 are welded to the vertical posts 1 by welding at 3.
  • Preferably the ends of the cross bars are flattened to facilitate welding to the cylindrical posts.
  • the post 1 comprises a thin walled 4 steel tubing with a swaged upper end generally shown as 5 and a belled lower end generally shown as 6.
  • the swaged upper end 5 has a region 7 of reduced diameter which fits into a region 8 of the belled portion of increased diameter.
  • a work platform construction may comprise pairs of scaffolding units 20 joined together to provide a vertical construction in this case four scaffolding units high.
  • planks 21 on the cross bars may be placed on the cross bars to provide a work platform and to maintain the top of the work platform rigid and to put side rails there may be a locking bar 22 extending between parallel spaced apart cross bars 23.
  • a scaffolding unit which is relatively simple to construct but can be used to provide a rigid structure for making a work platform for building construction and the like.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Mutual Connection Of Rods And Tubes (AREA)
  • Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)
  • Movable Scaffolding (AREA)

Abstract

A work platform and scaffolding unit are disclosed. The work platform is made up of a number of scaffolding units assembled in various configurations. Each scaffolding unit has two posts (1) and at least two cross bars (2). The posts have a belled lower end (6) and a swaged top (5) which fit together to provide the assembly. Rigidity is obtained by two spaced apart points of contact in the joints.

Description

SCAFFOLDING UNIT AND WORK PLATFORM
This invention relates to scaffolding arrangements and more particularly to scaffolding arrangements which can be assembled to make work platforms constructed of a number of scaffolding units.
Scaffolding arrangements are very important in all facets of building construction. They can be used on the outside buildings for instance for bricklayers and painters and also can be used inside buildings for plasterboard fixers, ceiling painters and the like. To be useful for building constructions however scaffolding units must be light and easy to transport easy to assemble and when assembled be sufficiently strong for their required purpose.
There have been proposed scaffolding units made from aluminium tubing but these can be very expensive and have to be of a heavy construction because of the physical characteristics of aluminium.
It would be convenient to be able to construct a scaffolding unit from thin walled steel tubing but such an arrangement has problems with assembly of a structure with such tubing.
This invention proposes a scaffolding unit and a work platform made up of scaffolding units which is economic to construct and is sufficiently strong and sturdy for building work.
A further problem exists with the use of thin walled steel tubing in the construction of scaffolding units in that thin walled steel tubing is made by rolling a strip of tubing and forming it by welding into a tube. Such a method of construction can give an inaccurate diameter and a weld line inside the tube.
This invention proposes a method by which these problems can be overcome.
In one form therefore although this may not necessarily be the only or broadest form the invention is said to reside in a scaffolding unit comprising two vertical posts and at least two horizontal cross bars, the cross bars being rigidly fastened at their respective ends to respective posts each post being hollow and cylindrical and having an upper end swaged into a reduced diameter and a lower end belled out to an increased diameter such that the swaged upper end fits into a corresponding belled end of an adjacent scaffolding unit, the post and bars being constructed from thin walled steel tubing.
It will be seen that by this method of construction there is provided a scaffolding unit which can be used assembled with a number of similar scaffolding units to provide a work platform.
Preferably, the work platform may further include a locking bar including saddles at each end adapted to fit over the cross bars of parallel spaced apart scaffolding units.
In a preferred embodiment the swaged end and a belled end of each scaffolding unit may each extend for approximately 10% of the length of the vertical posts.
The important feature of such a scaffolding unit is to be able to get rigid joints between adjacent scaffolding units and this is done by swaging one end of the thin walled steel tubing of the post and belling the other end so that the two fit accurately together. Preferably the length of the swaged portion is equal to the length of the belled portion on each post such that the lower end of the vertical post bears against an external shoulder of the swaged portion of a connected post and the upper end of the vertical post bears against an internal shoulder of the belled portion of a connected post whereby to provide rigidity to the work platform.
This form of construction with two points of contact on adjacent connected posts spaced apart vertically at the joining point gives particularly good bracing to the work platform structure comprised of a plurality of scaffolding units.
In one preferred embodiment, the thin walled steel tube may have an outer diameter of 44.5mm with a 1.6mm wall of thickness. The swaged ends may be reduced to 41.4mm in diameter and the internal diameter of the belled portion may be increased from 41.3mm to 42.4mm. This allows 1 mm of free play for ease of assembly and disassembly.
A typical scaffolding unit may have a height of 550mm and an overall width of 730, 1090 or 1590mm. The length of the swaged and belled portions may be 50mm. This gives a modular system in which different sizes may be joined together to give different configurations.
It may be particularly noted that by belling the lower end of each of the posts the problem with the welded join of the thin walled steel tubing will be overcome as this will be pushed out during the belling process to provide an even internal diameter for the swaged end of the posts.
This then generally describes the invention but to assist with understanding the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show a preferred embodiment of the invention.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 shows a side view of a scaffolding unit according to this invention,
FIG.2 shows a cross sectional view of one post of a scaffolding unit according to this invention,
FIG.3 shows a cross sectional detail of the joining of two posts, arad
FIG.4 shows a work platform assembled using scaffolding units of the present invention.
Now looking more closely at the drawings it will be seen that a scaffolding unit as shown in Fig. 1 comprises vertical posts 1 and horizontal cross bars 2. The cross bars 2 are welded to the vertical posts 1 by welding at 3. Preferably the ends of the cross bars are flattened to facilitate welding to the cylindrical posts.
As can be seen in more detail in Fig. 2 the post 1 comprises a thin walled 4 steel tubing with a swaged upper end generally shown as 5 and a belled lower end generally shown as 6. The swaged upper end 5 has a region 7 of reduced diameter which fits into a region 8 of the belled portion of increased diameter.
Between the swaged portion 7 and the main portion of the post 1 is an external shoulder 9 and between the belled out portion 8 and the main portion of the post 1 is an internal shoulder 10.
When a post of one scaffolding unit assembled onto the post of another scaffolding unit the upper end 11 of the swaged end bears against the shoulder 10 and the lower end 12 of the belled end bears against the shoulder 9. This provides two vertically spaced apart contact points for the join between adjacent posts of an assembly of scaffolding units into a work platform which arrangement provides particular rigidity.
As can be seen in Fig. 4 a work platform construction may comprise pairs of scaffolding units 20 joined together to provide a vertical construction in this case four scaffolding units high. There may be placed planks 21 on the cross bars to provide a work platform and to maintain the top of the work platform rigid and to put side rails there may be a locking bar 22 extending between parallel spaced apart cross bars 23.
Overall by this invention it will be seen there is provided a scaffolding unit which is relatively simple to construct but can be used to provide a rigid structure for making a work platform for building construction and the like.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS.
1. A work platform comprising a plurality of scaffolding units, each scaffolding unit comprising two vertical posts and at least two horizontal cross bars, the cross bars being rigidly fastened at there respective ends to the respective posts, each post being hollow and cylindrical and having an upper end swaged into a reduced diameter and a lower end belled out to an increased diameter such the swaged upper end fits into a corresponding belled end of an adjacent scaffolding unit, the posts and bars being constructed from thin walled steel tubing.
2. A work platform as in Claim 1 wherein the work platform further includes a locking bar having saddles at each thereof adapted to fit over the cross bars of parallel spaced apart scaffolding units.
3. A work platform as in Claim 1 wherein the swaged end and the belled end of each scaffolding unit extends for approximately 10% of the length of the vertical posts.
4. A work platform as in Claim 1 wherein the length of the swaged portion is equal to the length of the belled portion such that the lower end of the vertical posts bear against an external shoulder of the swaged portion of a connected post and the upper end of a vertical post bears against an internal shoulder of the belled portion of a connected post whereby to provide rigidity to the joint and to the work platform.
5. A work platform substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
6. A scaffolding unit for use in the assembly of a work platform the unit having two vertical posts and at least two horizontal cross bars, the cross bars being rigidly fastened at their respective ends to their respective posts each post being hollow and cylindrical and having an upper end swaged into a reduced diameter and a lower end belled out to an increased diameter such that the swaged upper end fits into a corresponding belled end of an adjacent scaffolding unit, the posts and bars being constructed from thin walled steei tubing.
7. A scaffolding unit as in Claim 6 wherein the swaged end and the belled end of each post each extend for approximately 10% of the length of the vertical post.
8. A scaffolding unit as in Claim 6 wherein the length of the swaged portion is equal to the length of the belled portion such that the lower end of the vertical post bears against an external shoulder of the swaged portion of a connected post and the upper end of a vertical post bears against an internal shoulder of the belled portion of a connected post whereby to provide rigidity to joints between adjacent connected scaffolding units in a work platform construction.
9. A scaffolding unit as in Claim 6 constructed from thin walled steel tube wherein the posts have an outer diameter of 44.5mm and a 1.6mm wall thickness and the swaged ends are reduced to 41.4mm and the internal diameter of the belled end is increased to 42.4mm.
10. A scaffolding unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
EP92909112A 1991-04-26 1992-04-24 Scaffolding unit and work platform Expired - Lifetime EP0581825B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AUPK581891 1991-04-26
AUPK5818/91 1991-04-26
PCT/AU1992/000184 WO1992019870A1 (en) 1991-04-26 1992-04-24 Scaffolding unit and work platform

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0581825A1 true EP0581825A1 (en) 1994-02-09
EP0581825A4 EP0581825A4 (en) 1994-10-12
EP0581825B1 EP0581825B1 (en) 1996-12-04

Family

ID=3775367

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP92909112A Expired - Lifetime EP0581825B1 (en) 1991-04-26 1992-04-24 Scaffolding unit and work platform

Country Status (7)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0581825B1 (en)
AT (1) ATE145959T1 (en)
CA (1) CA2109200A1 (en)
DE (1) DE69215670D1 (en)
NZ (1) NZ242482A (en)
WO (1) WO1992019870A1 (en)
ZA (1) ZA922968B (en)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
NL1000890C2 (en) * 1995-07-27 1997-01-31 Sgb Holdings Tube system in particular for use in a scaffolding construction, as well as tube usable in the tube system.
US9393972B2 (en) 2012-05-09 2016-07-19 Wabtec Holding Corp. Modular support frame for railway vehicle equipment
CN115059666A (en) * 2022-06-13 2022-09-16 保利长大工程有限公司 Connection structure and construction support for engineering construction

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2257389A1 (en) * 1972-11-23 1974-06-20 Fix Betonbau Schalung Ruest TECK CONNECTION FOR STEEL PIPE SUPPORTS, PIPE SCAFFOLDINGS AND THE LIKE
EP0004806A1 (en) * 1978-03-29 1979-10-17 SOMEFRAN Société d'Exploitation des BREVETS MEFRAN Scaffolding elements provided with connecting means
EP0348885A2 (en) * 1988-07-01 1990-01-03 Langer, Ruth, geb. Layher A non-vertical scaffolding element with a connecting device

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2043498A (en) * 1934-06-16 1936-06-09 Uecker Equipment Company Scaffold
US2311988A (en) * 1940-11-12 1943-02-23 Twentleth Century Fox Film Cor Scaffolding
BE755152A (en) * 1970-05-28 1971-02-01 Laffargue Jacques RIGID FRAME FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF VARIOUS REMOVABLE BUILDINGS AND ESPECIALLY A SCAFFOLDING-TOWER
GB2087466B (en) * 1980-11-13 1984-05-31 Thomas Ltd Martin Scaffold
FR2529931B1 (en) * 1982-07-06 1985-07-05 Self Lock Echafaudages PREFABRICATED SCAFFOLDING ELEMENT WITH AUTOMATIC GAME COMPENSATION

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2257389A1 (en) * 1972-11-23 1974-06-20 Fix Betonbau Schalung Ruest TECK CONNECTION FOR STEEL PIPE SUPPORTS, PIPE SCAFFOLDINGS AND THE LIKE
EP0004806A1 (en) * 1978-03-29 1979-10-17 SOMEFRAN Société d'Exploitation des BREVETS MEFRAN Scaffolding elements provided with connecting means
EP0348885A2 (en) * 1988-07-01 1990-01-03 Langer, Ruth, geb. Layher A non-vertical scaffolding element with a connecting device

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See also references of WO9219870A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ZA922968B (en) 1992-12-30
EP0581825B1 (en) 1996-12-04
DE69215670D1 (en) 1997-01-16
ATE145959T1 (en) 1996-12-15
WO1992019870A1 (en) 1992-11-12
CA2109200A1 (en) 1992-10-27
EP0581825A4 (en) 1994-10-12
NZ242482A (en) 1994-11-25

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