GB2188666A - Staging - Google Patents

Abstract

The staging comprises a planar deck member 3, e.g. of plywood supported directly by two, elongate support members 2. The support members are each in the form of a length of rectangular hollow section tubing e.g. extruded aluminium and are each secured to the underside of the deck member adjacent the longitudinal edges of the deck member, the deck member constituting the sole interconnection between the support members. The members may be secured by rivets, nuts and bolts or screws. The support members may have lateral flanges (8, Fig. 3) to increase contact area between deck and support. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to a staging THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a staging, such as is often used by builders.

A staging is a particularly robust type of platform which is used by workmen to form a temporary working surface, usually at levels above floor level. A staging is often used in connection with scaffolding when a building is being constructed or demolished. The staging is usually laid horizontally across scaffolding members which have been connected together to form an elevated structure. The staging then provides an elevated surface from which the workmen may work. Alternatively, the staging may be positioned on the scaffolding members so as to form an inclined ramp down which work materials or the like may be passed. Alternatively the staging may be supported on two large trestles in order to form an elvated working platform up to 12 feet above floor level. A further application of stagings is to form a working platform inside a roof of a building.In this application a staging may be laid across the bottom chords of two roof trusses to provide a platform from which access to the inside surface of the roof or to skylight windows may be gained. When used to form any type of horizontal working surface, such a staging must be capable of withstanding relatively heavy loads. For example, it may be necessary for the staging to support the weight of several men.

In the past such stagings have usually been of a lightweight timber construction, comprising two longitudinal support members or stiles, interconnected by a plurality of cross members, which in turn support a plurality of longitudinal slats which form a planar surface or deck. It has recently been proposed to provide such stagings with aluminium stiles in an attempt to reduce the production cost of the stagings.

Whilst prior art stagings satisfy strength requirements and perform their function adequately these stagings are expensive to produce, partly because of the cost of the timber used and partly because of the large number of components which have to be assembled.

Each cross member is connected with each of the two longitudinal stiles and the longitudinal slats are each fixed to the cross members.

The present invention attempts to provide a simplified staging construction which is cheaper to manufacture and assemble, but which is strong and reliable.

According to the present invention there is provided a staging comprising a deck member defining a substantially planar surface and at least two, elongate support members, each support member extending longitudinally of the deck member and being secured directly to the deck member, the deck member constituting the sole interconnection between said support members.

Surprisingly it has been found that such a staging construction, i.e., with the deck member forming the sole interconnection between the two support members, has a strength which is comparable with more complex, prior art constructions and which performs equally as well as prior art designs. This particular type of construction reduces the number of components drastically, thus making assembly of the staging quicker and reducing the overall cost of the product. With far fewer components the staging is also lighter than prior art designs which is of importance when the staging has to be raised manually to be located on top of a scaffold.

Preferably the deck member is a substantially rectangular member, the thickness of the member being small relative to the overall dimensions of the member.

Advantageously said support members are parallel with the long edges of the rectangular member.

Conveniently said support members are located at the long edges of the rectangular member.

Preferably the deck member is formed of wood, for example, plywood.

Conveniently said staging is provided with only two said support members, each support member defining a web which lies adjacent the deck member and cooperates with securing means which secure the support member to the deck member.

Advantageously the securing means are rivets passing through aligned apertures in the web and in the deck member.

Preferably each support member is in the form of a length of rectangular, hollow section tubing.

The tubing may be provided with at least one flange co-planar with a portion of the tubing, said flange and said portion of the tubing comprising said web.

Conveniently the length of each support member is substantially equal to the length of the deck member.

Preferably the support members are formed of aluminium.

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a staging according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view on the line ll-ll of the staging shown in Fig. 1; and Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view corresponding to the view shown in Fig. 2, showing an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Referring initially to Fig. 1, a staging 1 com prising two longitudinal support members or stiles 2 and a deck member 3 is shown.

The stiles 2 are in the form of elongate, rectangular hollow section, extruded aluminium members. The deck member 3 is in the form of a rectangular, elongate sheet of plywood.

The thickness of the deck member is small relative to the overall dimensions of the member, and the member defines a planar upper face and a planar lower face.

The staging 1 is assembled by intially locating two stiles 2 in the desired position relative to the deck member 3, and he stiles are then clamped in position. Holes are then drilled through the deck member and the adjacent side walls of the stiles. The holes, thus drilled, constitute bore holes 4 formed, in the illustrated embodiment, in the upper shorter sides 5 of the stiles 2, and bore holes 6 in the deck member 3. Of course, the bore holes 4 and 6 are co-aligned. The bore holes may be located at any desired position, and may extend in a single line down each stile, or may be arranged in a staggered fashion.

Rivets 7, such as "pop-rivets" may pass through the co-aligned holes 4 and 6 and may then be clenched in order to secure the stiles 2 to the deck member 3.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative type of stile 2 which may be used with a plywood deck member 3. This alternative stile is in the form of an elongate, rectangular hollow section member, with one shorter side of the rectangular section being provided with flange portions 8. The flange portions 8 extend outwardly from the said shorter side, at right angles to the longer sides of the rectangular section. The flange portions, together with the intermediate portion of the tube constitute a web. When this particular stile is located on the surface of the deck member 3, the flange portions 8 provide a larger contact area than with the previously described stile. With this particular arrangement it is possible to secure the stile 2 to the deck member 3 by providing rivets through each of the flange portions 8, to give a more secure connection.In this case two lines of bore holes would be provided on each side of the deck member 3 to correspond with the holes provided in the flange portions 8 of the stile 2.

It will be appreciated that many minor modifications may be made to the specific design described, without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the stiles 2 may be connected to the deck member 3 at positions spaced away from the edges of the deck member. Various means of connecting the stiles 2 to the deck member could also be used. For example, it would be possible to connect the stiles 2 to the deck member 3 using nuts and bolts or self-tapping screws which pass through the deck member 3 and into the stiles 2. The precise design of the stile 2 may also be varied, so long as a suitable web is provided for connecting to the deck member 3. It would also be possible for the deck member to be formed from a material other than plywood and for the stiles to be formed from a material other than aluminium.

Claims (16)

1. A staging, comprising a deck member defining a substantially planar surface and at least two, elongate support members, each support member extending longitudinally of the deck member and being secured directly to the deck member, the deck member constituting the sole interconnection between said support members.

2. A staging according to Claim 1, wherein the deck member is a substantially rectangular member, the thickness of the member being small relative to the overall dimensions of the member.

3. A staging according to Claim 2, wherein said support members are parallel with the long edges of the rectangular member.

4. A staging according to Claim 3, wherein said support members are located at the long edges of the rectangular member.

5. A staging according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the deck member is formed of wood.

6. A staging according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the deck member is formed of plywood.

7. A staging according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said staging is provided with only two said support members.

8. A staging according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each support member defines a web which lies adjacent the deck member and cooperates with securing means which secure the support member to the deck member.

9. A staging according to Claim 8, wherein the securing means are rivets passing through aligned apertures in the web and in the deck member.

10. A staging according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each support member is in the form of a length of rectangular, hollow section tubing.

11. A staging according to Claim 8, wherein each support member is in the form of a length of hollow section tubing, the tubing being provided with at least one flange coplanar with a portion of the tubing, said flange and said portion of the tubing comprising said web.

12. A staging according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the length of each support member is substantially equal to the length of the deck member.

13. A staging according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support members are formed of aluminium.

14. A staging substantially as herein de scribed, with reference to and as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

15. A staging substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Fig.

3 of the accompanying drawings.

16. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.