EP2625350A2

EP2625350A2 - Scaffold safety rail and method of assembly

Info

Publication number: EP2625350A2
Application number: EP11782190.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mark Edward Bowman
Original assignee: Advanced Guard Ltd
Current assignee: Advanced Guard Ltd
Priority date: 2010-10-06
Filing date: 2011-10-05
Publication date: 2013-08-14
Also published as: GB2484395A; WO2012046049A3; GB201117103D0; WO2012046049A2; GB2484395B; GB201016793D0

Abstract

A scaffold safety rail system is described comprising at least one safety panel and at least two mounting members for mounting the panel on a scaffold, each mounting member (12) having a body portion (14), spaced, apart upper and lower panel brackets (20, 22) for engaging respectively upper and lower regions of the panel and spaced apart upper and lower scaffold tube brackets (16a, 16b) for releasable attachment to a scaffold tube (10). After the mounting members are attached to the tubes in this way, the panels can be lifted into position, locating firstly under the upper panel brackets (20) and then onto the lower panel brackets (22) and the safety rail can be completed simply and with minimum effort at a height above the level at which the operative is currently standing. The next platform above can now be constructed, using supports such as planks for example, and the operatives can ascend to the new level, with a safety rail already in place. All that remains to be done when standing at the next level is tightening of wedge (18) securing the upper bracket (16a).

Description

B2011/051896

Scaffold Safety Rail and Method of Assembly.

The present invention relates to a safety rail for a scaffold and to a method of assembling a safety rail for a scaffold.

Scaffolding is used as a temporary structure to support personnel and/or materials during construction, for example, of a building. The scaffold comprises a combination of tubes, couplers for joining together the tubes, and boards. The tubes, which are usually of metal, are attached together using the couplers to form a framework onto which the boards are secured to form platforms at vertically spaced apart levels, called lifts. The horizontal extents between adjacent upright tubes are called bays. The upright tubes are usually referred to as "standards" and the horizontal tubes are either referred to as "ledgers" if they are generally parallel to the structure (e.g. the building) or "transoms" if they are generally perpendicular to the structure. Safety regulations require that at each level a safety rail, or guard rail, comprising at least two fixed, horizontally spaced tubes, is mounted on the uprights, to help prevent an operative from falling from the side of the scaffold. Increasingly strict safety rules are insisting that a safety rail is put in place before an operative is allowed to mount the platform. This requires the rail to be installed from below i.e. the safety rail for the next level above must be installed from the current, lower level which has already been made safe, so that operatives are protected at all times.

Various attempts have been made to produce a temporary safety rail system which can be easily installed on a higher level by an operative standing at a lower level. Some prior systems utilise temporary tubes which extend telescopically . Others involve a step or platform which must be secured to the lower level and which is to be stood upon by the installer whilst a safety rail is manoeuvred into position above his head.

All of the prior systems are unsatisfactory in one or more respects. Most are expensive and easily damaged and/or unwieldy and time-consuming to install. Furthermore, many of the previously considered systems require an operative to be attached to the scaffold by a harness or similar whilst assembling the safety rail. However, such an individual safety approach is deemed far less effective than a solution which provides so called "collective fall prevention", in which all operatives are protected regardless of whether they have taken individual responsibility for their own safety.

Embodiments of the present invention aim to provide a safety rail for a scaffold, and a method of installing a safety rail, in which some or all of the aforementioned drawbacks are eliminated or substantially reduced.

The present invention is defined in the attached independent claims to which reference should now be made. Further, preferred features may be found in the sub-claims appended thereto.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a safety rail system for a scaffold, the safety rail system comprising at least one safety panel and at least two mounting members for mounting the panel on a scaffold, each mounting member having a body portion, upper and lower panel brackets for engaging the panel and upper and lower scaffold tube brackets for releasable attachment to a scaffold tube. The upper panel bracket preferably comprises a first peg portion attached to and extending substantially away from the body portion. In a preferred arrangement the first peg portion comprises an arm portion extending substantially away from the first peg portion for engaging an upper part of the panel.

The first peg portion may comprise a moveable gate portion for retaining an upper part of the panel.

Alternatively, or additionally, the upper panel bracket may be shaped so as to engage the panel, and in one preferred arrangement the upper panel bracket and the panel itself have complementary engaging profiles.

Preferably the lower panel bracket comprises a second peg portion attached to and extending substantially away from the body portion.

The second peg portion may comprise a moveable latch portion for retaining a lower part of the panel. The moveable latch may comprise a captive cotter. At least one of the upper and lower scaffold tube brackets may comprise a collar member arranged for releasable

engagement with a scaffold tube. The, or each, collar member may be arranged to be secured to a scaffold tube by a progressive friction engagement, such as a wedge passing through at least one aperture on the collar member.

One advantage of such a fitting is that it requires little or no maintenance, as would be the case with a conventional scaffold tube coupler, for example. In a preferred arrangement at least the upper scaffold tube bracket is arranged in use for sliding engagement with a scaffold tube. The panel preferably comprises a frame portion and a mesh portion .

The invention also includes a mounting member for a scaffold safety rail, the mounting member comprising a body portion, spaced apart upper and lower panel brackets for engaging respectively upper and lower regions of a safety panel and spaced apart upper and lower scaffold tube brackets for releasable attachment to a scaffold tube. In another aspect, the invention provides a method of assembling a scaffold safety rail, the method comprising: attaching a safety rail mounting member to each of two upright scaffold tubes, sliding the mounting members upwards on the tubes to a predetermined height and engaging panel brackets of the mounting members with a safety panel to form the safety rail.

The method may comprise engaging upper panel brackets of the mounting members with an upper portion of the panel, and then engaging lower panel brackets with a lower portion of the panel .

Preferably the method comprises attaching an upper scaffold tube bracket of each of the mounting members to a respective tube, then sliding the mounting members upwards on the tubes, then attaching lower scaffold tube brackets of the mounting members to the respective tubes, then engaging panel brackets of the mounting members with a safety panel to form the safety rail. The invention may comprise any combination of the features or limitations referred to herein, except a combination of such features as are mutually exclusive. A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows schematically a mounting member for a safety rail, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows schematically in front view a safety rail including overlapping safety panels and a mounting member, secured to an upright scaffold tube, according to an embodiment of the present inventions- Figure 3 shows schematically the safety rail of Figure 2 in side view; Figure 4 shows schematically the safety rail of Figures 2 and 3 in plan;

Figures 5a to 5e show schematically a sequence of steps during assembly of the safety rail of Figures 2 to 4 , by an operative;

Figure 6 shows an alternative embodiment of mounting member according to the invention; and Figure 7 shows, in plan view, an upper portion of a further alternative embodiment of mounting member, according to the invention . Turning to Figure 1 this shows generally at 10 an upright steel scaffold tube such as is used as part of a larger scaffolding structure (not shown) . In use such tubes are connected together using coupling devices to form a framework which can support working platforms for operatives to stand on whilst undertaking construction or maintenance of property or machinery, for example.

Attached to the tube 10 is a mounting member 12 for a safety rail. The mounting member comprises a main body 14, having upper 14a and lower 14b ends, of box-section steel or aluminium and upper and lower steel or aluminium tube brackets, 16a and 16b respectively, for securing the mounting member 12 to the tube 10. The brackets 16a and 16b are simple steel or aluminium collar fittings, welded or otherwise fixed to the body 14, which are shaped to receive the tube 10 and which retain the tube by driving wedge members 18 through holes in the ends of the brackets. Once driven, the wedge members are then held in place by friction.

At the upper end 14a a top panel bracket 20, for retaining the top of a safety panel (not shown) , is welded to the body 14. The top panel bracket 20 comprises a first, horizontal peg portion 20a which extends away from the body 14, and therefore from the tube 10, substantially at right angles thereto. The peg portion 20a then bends substantially through ninety degrees downwards to form an arm portion 20b. A gate portion 20c is pivotally mounted at the region of the bend. At the lower end 14b a lower panel bracket 22, for retaining the bottom of a safety panel (not shown) is welded to the body 14. The lower panel bracket comprises a horizontal peg 22a which extends substantially at right angles away from the body 14. At the end of the peg 22a furthest from the body 14 a captive cotter 22b, sometimes referred to as an "anti loose" or "anti-luce" fastener, pivotally engages with the peg. The captive cotter 22b is able to slide up and down on the peg, generally vertically, and projects above and below the peg 22a in a rest position. At the limit of its upward movement it may also pivot to a substantially horizontal orientation (not shown) whilst remaining always connected to the peg 22a. The captive cotter 22b rests horizontally until it is raised manually to a vertical orientation. The lower panel bracket 22 also comprises a substantially horizontal rest portion 22c which extends outwardly from the body portion 14 beneath the peg 22a and which is arranged to support a panel in use, as will be described below. In the embodiment shown, the collar shaped tube brackets 16a and 16b face away from each other for ease of mounting. However, the brackets 16a and 16b may be arranged to face the same way in applications where this is more convenient. When the mounting member 12 is to be positioned on the tube 10, first the upper bracket 16a is located on the tube 10 and the wedge portion 18 is loosely inserted into one or both of the holes in the bracket to loosely retain the tube 10 therein. Then the mounting member may be slid upwards on the tube 10 to a desired height, before a second wedge portion is driven into the holes in the lower bracket 16b. This will be enough to hold the mounting member on the tube 10 temporarily. In each case the wedge portions may be retained on the collars even when loose, by retaining pins or chains (not shown), so that the wedge portions cannot inadvertently become completely detached, whereupon they may present a falling hazard. A safety panel (not shown in Figure 1) can then be mounted on the mounting member, as will now be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Turning to Figures 2 to 4, these show schematically the mounting member 12 of Figure 1, attached to the scaffold tube 10. In addition these figures show overlapping rectangular safety panels 24 mounted on the mounting member 12. Each panel 24 comprises a tubular aluminium frame 26, a mesh 28 of steel rods welded thereto, and an aluminium toe board 28a at the lower end of the panel. The panels are held securely on the mounting member 10 at their upper and lower edges respectively by the panel brackets 20 and 22.

To mount the panel 24 on the mounting member 12, firstly the upper edge of the panel frame 26 is located under the upper panel bracket 20, within the arm portion 20b and beyond the pivoting gate portion 20c. Then, the lower edge of the panel 24 is advanced towards the lower panel bracket 22. The captive cotter 22b is firstly slid upwards and then, when it is able to do so, is pivoted into a substantially horizontal configuration where it rests. Now the captive cotter 22b and peg portion 22a can then be slid though rods of the mesh 28 so that the mesh 28 comes to be supported on the peg 22a and/or the rest portion 22c. The cotter 22b is then pivoted to a substantially vertical configuration and then lowered to the position shown in Figures 2 and 3. The safety panel 24 is then securely held on the mounting member 12 where it can move neither up nor down, nor sideways, nor away from the mounting member The upper and lower panel brackets 20 and 22 are sufficiently large to accommodate a second, overlapping panel 24, as shown in Figures 2 to 4, which is mounted in the same way.

If a mounting member is mounted on each of a plurality of upright scaffold tubes then a plurality of safety panels, overlapping as necessary, can be put together to form a substantially continuous safety rail system extending horizontally along a scaffold. Since the panels can be made to overlap to variable degrees the system is inherently flexible, and different spacing between upright tubes can readily be accommodated without the need to provide panels of different lengths.

As described above, the mounting members 12 can be attached to the tubes 10 at their upper ends (i.e. upper mounting brackets 16a) before being slid upwards to a desired height, corresponding to a maximum reach of an operative. When sliding the mounting members upwards they must be held at an angle to the upright tubes until the lower ends of the mounting members clear any nearby horizontal scaffold tubes, as will be described below with reference to Figures 5a to 5e. Then the lower brackets 16b can be secured to the tubes 10.

After the mounting members are attached to the tubes in this way, the panels 24 can be lifted into position, locating firstly under the upper panel brackets 20 and then onto the lower panel brackets 22, and the safety rail can be completed simply and with minimum effort at a height above the level at which the operative is currently standing. The next platform above can now be constructed, using supports such as planks for example, and the operatives can ascend to the new level, with a safety rail already in place. All that remains to be done when standing at the next level is tightening of the wedge 18 securing the upper bracket 16a.

Figures 5a to 5e show schematically the assembly of a safety rail according to the embodiment described above. Referring to Figure 5a, this shows an operative 30 attaching a mounting member to each of four upright scaffold tubes 10a, 10b, 10c, and lOd. Also shown are horizontal ledger tubes lOf and horizontal transom tubes lOg (these are omitted from Figures 5b to 5e for reasons of clarity) . There are four stages of attaching the mounting member 12, and these are each shown separately, so that viewing Figure 5a from left to right shows the sequence of attachment. In the first stage the upper tube bracket 16a is located on the tube 10. In the second stage the wedge 18 is loosely pushed through the holes in the bracket 16a. In the third stage the mounting member is slid up the tube 10 above the head of the operative 30, whilst holding the mounting member at an angle to the upright until its lower end has cleared the ledger tube lOf.In the fourth step the operative drives the wedge through the holes in the lower tube bracket 16b, to hold the mounting member securely on the tube 10.

Turning to Figure 5b, with all of the mounting members 12 secured to the upright tubes 10, a pair of operatives lifts the panels 24 into position. Each panel 24 is lifted through the legers and transoms, and slid upwards against the body portions 14 of the mounting members 12. The upper edge is firstly located on the upper panel bracket 20, under the peg portion 20a, beyond the arm 20b and gate 20c. Then the lower edge of the panel 24 is located on the lower panel bracket 22, manipulating the captive cotter 22b as described above, so that the weight of the panel 24 comes to be supported on the peg 22a and/or rest portion 22c. The panels are made to overlap so that adjacent panels can share a common mounting member as necessary.

In Figure 5c panels 24 have been mounted between each of the tubes 10a to lOd and also rearwardly to tube lOe. The operative 30 is beginning to construct a platform above the one on which he is currently working, using planks 32.

In Figure 5d the platform, now labelled 34, has been constructed and the operative 30 is now able to work on the next level up whilst already enjoying the protection of the safety rail that had been installed from the level below. All that remains in order to complete the safety rail is to drive the wedges through the holes in the upper brackets 16a to secure tightly the upper ends of the mounting members to the tubes, for example using a mallet or hammer.

Figure 5e shows operatives 30 standing on the platform 34 and beginning the installation of the safety rail for the next level up, in the same manner as described above.

Figure 6 shows an alternative embodiment of mounting member 12 in which the upper and lower panel brackets, 20 and 22 respectively, have a different configuration. In this embodiment the upper panel bracket 20 comprises a peg 40 having a profile which is substantially M-shaped and is arranged to receive the upper frame portions (not shown) of two overlapping panels in a snug fit. The lower panel bracket 22 has a rest portion 22c, as in the previous embodiment, but in this case the portion 22c has a pair of raised bumps 42 which divide the portion 22c into two discrete areas for supporting the two separate, overlapping panels (not shown) . The details of the upper and lower panel brackets 20 and 22 may differ from those shown but are preferably adapted to accommodate the overlapping panels. In one such variation

(not shown) at least the upper panel bracket 20 is provided with a profile that is arranged to engage with a complementary profile on an upper portion of a panel, so that the panel may be retained securely on the bracket. Such arrangements help to prevent movement of the panel, particularly where there is only a single panel.

Figure 7 shows, in plan view, an upper part of a further embodiment of mounting member 12. The mounting member 12 of Figure 7 is similar to that of the Figure 6, though it could be of the type described with reference to Figure 1. The embodiment of Figure 7 differs from the previously described embodiment in that short spacers 50 of rectangular tube steel are provided between the body 14 and the upper and lower tube brackets 16a and 16b (only the upper end is shown in Figure 7) . The short spacer tubes 50 serve to provide an increased gap between the body 14 of the mounting member and an adjacent scaffold tube (represented by broken lines in Figure 7). This allows the mounting member to be mounted on the upright tubes of so called system-type scaffolds, which sometimes include permanent fixtures at spaced nodes for the attachment of other tubes. The short spacers 50 are only used at the location of the tube brackets and are dimensioned to provide suitable clearance from any system scaffold fixture across the span of the mounting member.

The mounting member 12 of Figure 7 also differs from the previously described embodiments in that the scaffold tube brackets 16a and 16b are oriented differently with respect to the body portion 14. In particular the tube brackets face away from the panel brackets and therefore from an operative during installation. In this configuration the mounting member may be easier to manipulate.

Whilst the mounting member and panel have been described as of aluminium, the skilled person will realise that they may be made of a number of different materials, including metals and metal alloys. Similarly, the means employed to mount the panels on the panel brackets need not be limited to the specific devices described above, and indeed a panel comprising cladding, or a plurality of parallel tubes or rods, with or without a frame, or a substantially continuous sheet of material, such as of metal or plastics, may be utilised as part of the safety rail, provided that the panel can engage the mounting member broadly as described above, for example by having a portion, such as the peg 22a or captive cotter 22b pass through a mesh or through a pre- formed aperture.

The panels are typically between 950mm and 1050mm, and more preferably 1000mm high, with the toe-board being preferably 150mm high and the mesh (if mesh is used) being 50mm x 50mm.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance, it should be understood that the applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features referred to herein, and/or shown in the drawings, whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

A scaffold safety rail system, the safety rail system comprising at least one safety panel and at least two mounting members for mounting the panel on a scaffold, each mounting member having a body portion, spaced apart upper and lower panel brackets for engaging respectively upper and lower regions of the panel and spaced apart upper and lower scaffold tube brackets for releasable attachment to a scaffold tube.

A safety rail system according to Claim 1 wherein the upper panel bracket comprises a first peg portion attached to and extending substantially away from the body portion.

A safety rail system according to Claim 2 wherein the first peg portion comprises an arm portion extending substantially away from the first peg portion for engaging an upper part of the panel.

A safety rail system according to Claim 2 or Claim 3 wherein the first peg portion comprises a moveable gate portion for retaining an upper part of the panel.

A safety rail system according to any of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the lower panel bracket comprises a second peg portion attached to and extending substantially away from the body portion.

A safety rail system according to Claim 5 wherein the second peg portion comprises a moveable latch portion for retaining a lower part of the panel.

7. A safety rail system according to any of the preceding claims in which at least one of the upper and lower scaffold tube brackets comprises a collar member arranged for releasable engagement with a scaffold tube.

8. A safety rail system according to Claim 7 wherein at least the upper scaffold tube bracket is arranged in use for sliding engagement with a scaffold tube.

9. A safety rail system according to any of the

preceding claims wherein the upper panel bracket is shaped so as to engage the panel.

10. A safety rail system according to Claim 9 wherein the upper panel bracket and the panel are arranged to have complementary engaging profiles.

11. A safety rail system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the panel comprises at least a frame portion and a mesh portion.

12. A mounting member for a scaffold safety rail, the mounting member comprising a body portion, spaced apart upper and lower panel brackets for engaging respectively upper and lower regions of a safety panel and spaced apart upper and lower scaffold tube brackets for releasable attachment to a scaffold tube.

13. A method of assembling a scaffold safety rail, the method comprising: attaching a safety rail mounting member to each of two upright scaffold tubes, sliding the mounting members upwards on the tubes to a

predetermined height and engaging panel brackets of the mounting members with a safety panel to form the safety rail.

14. A method according to Claim 13 comprising first engaging upper panel brackets of the mounting members with an upper portion of the panel, and then engaging lower panel brackets with a lower portion of the panel.

15. A method according to Claim 13 or 14 comprising first attaching an upper scaffold tube bracket of each of the mounting members to a respective tube, then sliding the mounting members upwards on the tubes, then attaching lower scaffold tube brackets of the mounting members to the respective tube, then engaging panel brackets of the mounting members with a safety panel to form the safety rail.

16. A scaffold safety rail system substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings .

17. Ά mounting member for a scaffold safety rail, the mounting member being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. A method of assembling a scaffold safety rail, the method being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.