GB2167488A

GB2167488A - Clamp assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2167488A
Application number: GB08528489A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Richard Kennedy; Alfred Anthony Powell; Wilfred Bruce Kenyon Battery
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-11-26
Filing date: 1985-11-19
Publication date: 1986-05-29
Also published as: GB8429774D0; GB8528489D0

Abstract

To secure a platform 42 to scaffolding tubes 40, an apertured plate 30 is placed on top. A threaded bolt 20 is passed through an aperture 32 to extend beneath the platform 42 adjacent a tube 40. A hook means 14 is hooked beneath the tube 40. It has a threaded aperture (in an integral bush 12 or separate nut) for engaging a bolt 20, such that rotation of the bolt pulls up the hook means 14, so that the tube 40 and the platform 42 are urged together. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Clamp assembly The present invention relates to a clamp assembly.

It is particularly concerned with a clamp assembly which may be used for retaining a course of planking on scaffolding.

Conventional scaffolding as used by builders has a framework of metal tubes. Often a platform is provided by planks laid side by side, spanning a spaced pair of tubes extending in the same horizontal plane. For the sake of workers using such platform and for people passing by beneath, it is very desirable that the planking should be secured in place. But it is not all that easy to secure planks to scaffold tubes, particularly since the securing means is preferably readily usable with a variety of scaffolding configurations, and is secure in use but readily demountable and simple to employ without elaborate tools. Commonly, planks are secured by roping, but this is far from ideal.

The present invention provides a clamp assembly comprising an elongate retaining member having at least one aperture; and at least one hook assembly comprising a bolt and a hook means, the bolt having a head and a shank, the shank extending in use through a said aperture and being retained by the head; the hook means being engageable with the shank at a variable distance from the head.

Preferably the hook means has a threaded aperture and the shank has a complementary thread.

Preferably the retaining member is a plate with a plurality of apertures. There may be a plurality of hook assemblies.

In another aspect the invention provides a hook assembly per se.

In yet another aspect the invention provides a scaffolding assembly comprising at least a spaced pair of scaffolding tubes with platform means (such as planks) spanning them and retained by a said clamp assembly, whereof the retaining member extends over a surface of the platform means remote from the tubes, at least one said bolt extends through an aperture in that member and projects beyond the platform means, and a respective hook assembly is hooked behind a scaffolding tube and is engaged with the bolt to effect the clamping.

Of course, the hook assembly or clamp assembly may be used for securing things other than planks, and to structures other than scaffolding.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a clamp assembly embodying the invention securing a course of planks to scaffolding; Figure 2 is a plan view of the retaining member; and Figure 3 is a side elevation on a larger scale of the hook assembly.

The hook assembly 10 comprises a bush 12 with a threaded aperture, and a J-shaped hook member 14, whose longer limb 16 is secured, e.g. by welding, to the bush 12 so as to extend parallel to the bore. There may be an abutment plate 18 overlying the tops of the bush 12 and hook 14. Of course, it has an aperture in register with that of the bush 12. The hook 14 is shaped so as to engage partly around a conventional scaffold tube.

The bolt 20 has a long shank 22 having a lower threaded portion 24, complementary to the threaded aperture of the bush 12. The bolt 20 has an enlarged head 26.

The elongate retaining member 30 is a thin, narrow metal plate. The illustrated example has a length slightly greater than five times the width of a plank. It has a plurality (here two) of apertures 32, at locations corresponding to plank widths. To provide tolerances for width variations, the apertures 32 are elongate. Their smaller dimension is sufficient to receive a shank 22 of a bolt 20, but not to allow passage of the head 26.

As can be appreciated from Figure 1, to produce a secure platform bridging a pair of scaffold tubes 40 (which will generally be approximately parallel and horizontal), five planks 42 are placed spanning them, side by side. The retaining member 30 is laid across the planks above a scaffold tube 40. Bolts 20 are passed through the apertures 32 so as to extend between adjacent planks 42 (which may need to be moved slightly apart to permit this). A hook member is placed with its hook engaging beneath a tube 40 generally beneath an aperture 32, and a bolt 20 is screwed into the bush 12. This will generally be done at least two locations of the retaining member, and there will preferably be at least two such clamp assemblies, one at each of the two scaffold tubes 40.

Thus the platform of planks can be quickly and easily secured, without the need for any sophisticated equipment or skill. The clamping assemblies are simple and cheap to produce. They may be all of steel. Of course, the forms of the components could vary from those shown. Different shapes of hook 14 may be appropriate for different uses. The hook 14 and boss 12 may be unitary. The bolt 20 is shown for use with a screwdriver, though it could have, for example, a hexagonal head. The apertures 32 need not be closed as shown, but could be slots extending from an edge of the plate 30 (through this is potentially less safe). Of course ther could be different numbers of slots, or a long, continuous slot which could receive a plurality of bolts. Bolts could be captive on the retaining member 30, e.g. being retained by flanges spaced from the heads 26.

It is desirable that the retaining member 30 and the head 26 of each bolt should be fairly thin, so as not to form obstructions on the platform, on which someone might trip. It will be appreciated that the length of the threaded portion 24 of the bolt means that quite a large range of spacings of the retaining member 30 from the scaffold tube 40 can be tolerated (e.g. to allow for different plank thicknesses), but the fact that it is the upper member which is formed as a bolt which screws down into the hook assembly 10 means that it never projects substan tially above the retaining member.

In an alternative constructional form, the aperture of the bush 12 is not threaded. A separate threaded nut is engaged over the end of the bolt 20 when this projects beneath the bush 12. The bush may extend lower than shown in Figure 3 to faciiitate the engagement, or a spacer may be placed on the bolt before the nut. Of course, such an arrangement could also be applied with a threaded bush 12, the nut then serving as a locknut.

Claims

1. A clamp assembly comprising an elongate retaining member having at least one aperture; and at least one hook assembly comprising a bolt and hook means1 the bolt having a head and a shank, the shank extending in use through a said aperture and being retained by the head; the hook means being engageable with the shank at a variable distance from the head.

2. A clamp assembly according to claim 1 wherein the hook means comprises a hook member with a threaded aperture, and wherein the shank has a complementary thread.

3. A clamp assembly according to claim 1 wherein the shank is threaded and wherein the hook means comprises a threaded nut and a hook member having an aperture, such that an end portion of the shank can be passed through the aperture and retained by the nut.

4. A clamp assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the retaining member is a plate with a plurality of apertures.

5. A clamp assembly according to claim 4 including a plurality of hook assemblies.

6. A clamp assembly substantially as any herein described with reference to andlor as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

7. A scaffolding assembly comprising at least a spaced pair of scaffolding tubes with platform means spanning them and retained by a clamp assembly according to any preceding claim, whereof the retaining member extends over a surface of the platform means remote from the tubes, at least one said bolt extends through an aperture in that member and projects beyond the platform means, and a respective hook assembly is hooked behind a scaffolding tube and is engaged with the bolt to effect the clamping.