GB2196604A

GB2196604A - Platform and ramp for access to container

Info

Publication number: GB2196604A
Application number: GB08625728A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Niall Patrick Lawless
Original assignee: LAWLESS LINDA MARGARET
Current assignee: LAWLESS LINDA MARGARET
Priority date: 1986-10-28
Filing date: 1986-10-28
Publication date: 1988-05-05
Anticipated expiration: 2006-10-28
Also published as: GB8625728D0; GB2196604B

Abstract

An assembly for gaining access to the interior of a high-sided container 8 comprises a platform 10 clamped by means of an associated vice-like clamp 12 to a sidewall 14 thereof. The platform 10 is braced by a strut 28,30. A ramp 16 is hingedly connected to an edge of the platform and extends downwards to meet the ground substantially parallel to the side wall 14 of the container 8, thus eliminating the need to provide space for the ramp 16 to extend perpendicularly away from the container 8. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION An assembly for gaining access to a highsided container The present invention relates to assemblies for gaining access to high-sided containers and, more particularly, to an assembly for gaining access to a transportable rubbish container commonly known as a skip.

On both industrial and domestic sites, particularly where building work is being carried out, use is commonly made of transportable skips. These skips are brought to a site by means of a specially adapted iorry which is also used to take them away when they are full of refuse or are no longer required. The skips vary in size but all generally have a relatively high-sided profile. They are constructed in this way to maximise the volume available for waste material for a given ground area.

The larger skips thus present a loading problem especially when weighty waste material, usually carried in wheelbarrows or the like, is to be deposited in the skip. It is known to overcome this by constructing a makeshift ramp leading up to one side or end of the skip using a stout plank of wood. The wheelbarrow can then be pushed up the ramp above the high walls to allow the rubbish to be tipped into the skip.

A ramp of this sort is liable to be unsafe in itself and is inconvenient in that it does not allow for the wheelbarrow to be manoeuvred.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safe yet simply constructed means of gaining access to a high sided container such as a skip. A "high-sided container" may be considered to be any container having walls which cause significant difficulty in the depositing of material therein by virtue of their height.

According to the present invention there is provided an assembly for gaining access to a high-sided container which comprises a platform and a ramp pivotally connected to the platform, the platform having associated with it clamping means by means of which, in use, the platform is rigidly secured to a side of the container to extend outwards therefrom, the ramp thereby extending from the platform to the ground.

Thus, the assembly is rigidly attached to the side of the container during use, providing a secure ramp and a stable platform on which to manoeuvre a wheelbarrow or the like.

Preferably, the assembly is provided with a strut braced between a first locating point on the platform and a second locating point to support the portion of the platform extending outwardly beyond the plane of the sidewall.

Preferably, the ramp is hinged about an axis which is generally perpendicular to the sidewall of the container to which the platform is attached. In one preferred construction the ramp may be hingedly connectable to both sides of the platform, making the assembly platform accessible from both sides.

By hinging the ramp about a perpendicular axis in this way, the ramp runs generally parallel to the container. In conditions where space is at a premium this feature is particularly advantageous. In prior arrangements wooden planks have tended to run out perpendicularly from the container to remain stable. This has obviously required much more space for the run-up for the wheelbarrow.

This wasted space can be eliminated using an assembly according to the present invention in which the ramp lies close to one side of the container.

Preferably, the clamping means comprise a clamp or vice-like device which, in use, engages the inner and outer faces of the sidewall.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways and one embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a skip container fitted with an assembly according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a platform component of the assembly in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a ramp component of the assembly in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a side elevation of an assembly according to the present invention; and Figure 5 is an under plan view showing a detail of the clamping arrangement used in the assembly in Figure 4.

As shown in the drawings, an assembly for gaining access to a high-sided container, such as a skip 8, as illustrated, comprises a generally rectangular platform 10 clamped by means of a vice-like clamp 12 to the top lip of a sidewall 14 of the skip 8. A ramp 16 is demountably secured to one end of the platform 10 by means of a hinge 18 which allows the ramp 16 to accommodate various different heights of skips with which the assembly may be used.

With reference particularly to Figures 4 and 5, the platform 10 is supported at or about the level of the top lip of the sidewall 14 by means of a top plate 19 which forms part of the clamp 12 and an adjustable telescopic supporting strut 20.

A fixed jaw 22 depends from the top plate to bear against the inner surface of the side wall 14 and a moving jaw 24 engages the outer surface of the lip of the side wall 14.

The assembly is clamped in position by means of two spaced clamping bolts 26 acting through a stock 27 which also depends from the underneath of the top plate 19.

The adjustable telescopic supporting strut 20 comprises an inner rod portion 28 acting inside an outer rod portion 30. The two rod portions 28 and 30 are locked by means of a bolt passing through a slot in the outer rod portion 30 which is tightened through a handwheel 32. The lower end of the strut 20 is provided with a foot 34 which is located in the corner between the base of the wall 14 of the skip 8 and the ground on which it rests.

The upper end of the strut 20 engages a locating socket 36 underneath the platform 10.

Clearly, more than one strut 20 could be provided to equal effect to support the platform 10 and indeed the strut or struts could extend vertically down to the ground. Locating pins 38, also on the underneath of the platform 10, are received into holes in the top plate 19 which extend through the stock to hold the platform 10 in position on the top plate 19.

The platform 10 and jaws 22 and 24 of the vice-like clamp 12 are illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 as being slightly distanced from their normal positions, in use, for the sake of clarity.

The amount which the fixed jaw 22 extends down the inside of the sidewall 14 is limited by the need to remove the clamp 12 easily when the skip 8 is full. To prevent the clamp 12 becoming stuck due to the weight of material in the skip bearing on the fixed jaw 22 in the skip 8, it is generally necessary to confine the fixed jaw 22 to a position near the top of the side wall 14.

The ramp 16 and platform 10 are formed with complementary alternating eye brackets 40 and 42 through which a removable pivot bar extends to create the hinge 18 by which the ramp 16 is secured to the platform 10.

Because of the stable nature of the platform 10, it is possible to mount the ramp on one of the edges running perpendicular to the plane of the sidewall 14 such that the ramp 16 runs parallel to the side of the skip 8.

While one of the advantages of an assembly according to the present invention is that it is possible to dismantle it into a set of component parts which are easy to handle, it is, of course, possible to combine each or any of the component parts into one item. For example, the clamp 12 and platform 10 could be amalgamated into a single unit or the strut 20 could be hingedly fixed to the platform 10 as could the ramp 16.

Claims

1. An assembly for gaining access to a high-sided container which comprises a platform and a ramp pivotally connected to the platform, the platform having associated with it clamping means by means of which, in use, the platform is rigidly secured to a side of the container to extend outwards therefrom, the ramp thereby extending from the platform to the ground.

2. An assembly as claimed in Claim 1 further including a strut extending from the platform to the sidewall and/or the ground in order to support that portion of the platform which extends outwardly beyond the sidewall.

3. An assembly as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the length of the strut is adjustable.

4. An assembly as claimed in Claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the pivotal connection between the ramp and the platform is a hinge whose axis in use, extends substantially perpendicular to the sidewall to which the platform is attached.

5. An assembly as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the ramp is connectable to both edges of the platform which are perpendicular to the sidewall.

6. An assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the platform and the clamping means are releasably connectable.

7. An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the ramp and the platform are releasably connected.

8. An assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the clamping means comprise a clamp having relatively movable jaws arranged to engage the inner and outer faces of the sidewall.

9. An assembly for gaining access to a high-sided container constructed and arranged substantially as described specifically herein with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.