GB2274305A - A scaffolding deck board clamp - Google Patents

Abstract

A clamp for holding down a deck of boards (17) laid side-by-side across a scaffolding structure, (10, 11, 12) prevents the boards (17) from rising. The clamp comprises an elongate substantially flat steel bar (20) adapted to be laid across the deck boards (17) and having an upright thickness of no more than 10mm. At one end of the bar (20) an upstanding strut (24) maintains a toe board (19) against an outer upright member (11) of the scaffold. Clamps (25, 26) maintain the bar (20) in fixed disposition on the scaffolding structure. The clamp provides a safeguard to prevent the deck boards from rising, to maintain the toe hoard in direct contact with the outermost deck board and is of such a low profile as to permit the safe passage of personnel and wheelbarrows. <IMAGE>

Description

A SCAFFOLDING DECK BOARD CLAMP THIS INVENTION concerns scaffolding and in particular a clamp for holding down a deck of boards laid side-by-side along the structure, thus to prevent the boards from rising.

In a typical scaffolding structure, horizontal deck is laid to provide a working platform and usually consists of four or more decking boards or planks laid side-by-side, supported by and extending between outstanding horizontal members of the structure. These boards are laid inside the outer uprights of the structure and thus prevented from moving outwards but there is always a tendency for them to lift either as a result of a weight being placed on one end of a board, or in very windy conditions.

It is quite common practice to rely upon the weight of the boards to hold them in place or alternatively to place across the top of the boards a length of scaffolding tube which is clamped to the adjacent inner and outer uprights of the structure. This can lead to accidents resulting from workmen tripping over the tubes which stand some 50mm in diameter above the surface of the boards, and furthermore the existence of scaffolding tubes makes it difficult to manoeuvre a wheelbarrow along the scaffold.

In the erection of scaffolding, it is usually a requirement that a toe board be placed vertically at the outer extremity of the decking to prevent tools or other heavy objects being accidentally dislodged from the edge of the decking and causing injury or damage to personnel or equipment beneath. If a toe board is installed where a length of scaffolding tube has been used to hold down the boards, inevitably the toe board must sit on top of these tubes thus leaving a gap of some 50mm beneath the toe board, through which objects may pass.

Scaffolding is divided typically into two kinds, one of which is known as "independent access scaffolding" and is located against a vertical wall. The other is "free-standing scaffolding" such as a tower structure which may be erected in any position to gain access to an elevated level, not necessarily against a vertical wall.

In the case of independent access scaffolding there are inner and outer standards or upright members, the inner of which stands away from the wall usually by the width of one decking board and so it is required to place such a board between the inner standard and the wall, with the usual toe board upstanding against the outer standards.

In the case of free standing scaffold a pair of toe boards should be installed against the inner and outer standards respectively thus to prevent objects from falling from either side of the decking.

In very high structures, particularly where a scaffold is erected above a pedestrian area, a so-called fan-like extension may be established at each level of decking and extending outwardly and inclined upwardly from the outer standards and similarly provided with longitudinal decking to act as a second safeguard against objects falling from the upper decking.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a decking board clamp which will secure decking boards on any of the aforementioned scaffolding types and permit a toe board to be installed in contact with the decking boards, and which substantially overcomes the disadvantages of the common use of lengths of scaffolding to maintain the boards in place.

According to the present invention there is provided a scaffolding deck board clamp adapted to lie transversely across a plurality of deck boards of a scaffold to prevent the boards from rising, and comprising an elongate bar of a rigid material and having an upstanding thickness considerably less than that of a scaffolding tube, and carrying adjacent each end thereof a clamp for attachment to an upright member of the scaffold.

Preferably, at least at one end of the bar there is attached an upright strut of sufficient height to lie adjacent to and maintain a toe board, a clamp for attachment to an adjacent upright member of the scaffold, being provided in the upper region of the of the upright strut.

Preferably also, the bar includes a member adapted to extend around and inwardly from an adjacent inner upright member of a scaffold thus to lie over a deck board placed between said inner upright member and an adjacent wall.

The bar is preferably substantially flat with an upper structure curved upwardly from each longitudinal side edge towards its centre line.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a scaffolding structure having horizontal decking and an upstanding toe board, and incorporating a clamp made in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the assembly illustrated in Fig.

1; Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are schematic end views of clamps made in accordance with the invention for application to various types of scaffolding structure; Fig. 6 is an enlarged view taken on the line VI-VI of Fig.

2.

and Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 6 illustrating a modified form of clamp for use in so-called system scaffolding as will be described.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates a typical independent access scaffold comprising inner and outer upright members or standards 10 and 11, outwardly extending transverse members 12, and longitudinally extending inner and outer horizontal members 13 and 14. Usually, the scaffold would also include a number of inclined or diagonal members (not shown) to render the entire structure rigid.

The members which make up the scaffolding structure are usually of tubular steel having a diameter in the region of 50mm, and the various members are fixed together using bolted steel clamps 15.

The structure is erected usually with the inner standards 10 spaced outwardly from an adjacent wall 16 by a distance of some 250mm.

To provide a working platform on the scaffold it is common to lay a plurality of decking boards 17 side-by-side across the transverse members 12 and a typical deck of four boards is located between the standards 10 and 11 with one or more inner boards 18 located between the inner standard 10 and the wall 16.

A toe board 19 is used in many cases to prevent objects from being accidentally kicked over the side of the scaffold and thus to prevent injury or damage to personnel or equipment beneath.

It is preferable if not essential to ensure that the boards 17, 18 and 19 cannot rise or be dislodged accidentally once they are installed. In accordance with the invention this is prevented by a board clamp generally indicated at 20 which overlies the deck extending transversely across it, and consisting of a generally flat steel bar of a length selected in accordance with the transverse extent of the decking and having a width in the region of 50mm.

The upper surface of the bar 21 is either flat or upwardly curved to provide a ramped surface, but in any case it should have a maximum thickness of no more than a half of the diameter of a scaffolding tube, i.e. about 25mm, and preferably no more than about 10mm .

As can be seen from Fig. 2, the bar extends transversely between inner and outer standards 10 & 11, towards its inner end and is formed with a portion 22 shaped to extend around the standard 10, and continues as an inner portion 23 having a length approximately equal to the extent of the inner board or boards 18.

At the outer end of the bar 21 there is attached an upstanding portion 24 having a height at least as great as that of the toe board 19. The portion 24 may be welded to the bar or hingedly attached thereto.

Upstanding from, and welded to, the portions 22 and 24 of the bar 21 are a pair of tube clamps 25 and 26 respectively, for attachment to the respective inner and outer standards 10 and 11.

Preferably, the portions 21, 22, 23 and 24 of the clamp are fabricated by welding together appropriate lengths of the steel bar.

The board clamp may be constructed to accommodate various widths of decking and various numbers of inner boards and/or heights of toe board.

A section or length of decking typically may be between 1.5m and 4m, and two board clamps will be provided for each section spaced inwardly somewhat from the ends thereof.

The clamps may be dipped in paint or plastics for protection against corrosion and may be brightly coloured and/or patterned to render them readily visible in use.

Referring now to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of the arrangement in Figs. 1 and 2, but Fig. 4 illustrates how such a clamp may be applied to a free-standing scaffold with upstanding portions at each side thereof to accommodate a pair of toe boards extending along opposite sides of the decking. In this case, no inner boards are provided.

Fig. 5 illustrates a so-called fan-type arrangement of decking boards disposed on an inclined plane, usually at or beneath a working level and outwardly from the platform to act as a safeguard against objects falling therefrom. In this case, the clamp includes two opposed upright portions each disposed other than at a right angle to the main part of the clamp, to support toe boards (as in Fig. 4) at the inner and outer extremities of the fan-type decking.

Referring now to Fig. 7, there is shown a type of structure known as system scaffolding which includes, mounted on the uprights or standards a transom strip 30 of inverted tee-section on which are mounted the adjacent ends of decking boards 31 with a narrow gap therebetween as determined by an upright member 32 of the transom 30.

In this case, preferably though not necessarily the clamp 20 includes a vertical web 33 on its underside which is located in the upper part of the slot or gap between the ends of the decking boards.

Whilst, as in the other embodiments the device will be attached by clamps to the upright members of the structure, the vertical web 33 further assists in the placing of the clamp within the assembly. The member 33 is not essential, however, since a clamp of the kind described in relation to Figures 1 to 5 may also be used without having any part locating within the gap between the boards.

In some scaffolding arrangements the steel clamps 15 are of the so-called half lap type a part of which stands slightly above the level of the transverse members 12 causing the inner and outermost decking boards to be inclined upwardly towards their inner and outer extremities respectively. In order to accommodate this slight inclination, the underside of the bar in these regions may be of tapering reduced thickness thus to ensure that the remainder of the bar 21 is held in close contact with those decking boards which are not lifted by the half lap type clamps.

It will be appreciated that a board clamp made in accordance with the invention provides a safeguard to prevent decking boards from rising and to enable a toe board to be maintained in direct contact with the outermost decking board or boards. The clamp is of considerably reduced thickness (approximately one fifth) when compared with the conventional use of scaffolding tube for this purpose, and being pre-formed with portions such as 22 and 24 may also serve as a template when erecting a scaffolding structure to ensure a uniform width between the upright members or standards of the structure.

It is not intended to limit the invention to the above examples only. For example, the clamp may be made from a nonferrous alloy or from a moulded synthetic resinous material of a rigid form and having the attachment clamps 25 and 26 attached thereto after moulding by bolts or other fixing means.

Claims (10)

1. A scaffolding deck board clamp adapted to lie transversely across a plurality of deck boards of a scaffold to prevent the boards from rising, and comprising an elongate bar of a rigid material and having an upstanding thickness considerably less than that of a scaffolding tube, and carrying adjacent each end thereof a clamp for attachment to an upright member of the scaffold.

2. A scaffolding deck board clamp according to Claim 1, wherein at least at one end of the bar there is attached an upright strut of sufficient height to lie adjacent to and maintain a toe board, a clamp for attachment to an adjacent upright member of the scaffold being provided in the upper region of the upright strut.

3. A scaffolding deck board clamp according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the bar includes a member adapted to extend around and inwardly from an adjacent inner upright member of a scaffold thus to lie over a deck board placed between said inner upright member and an adjacent wall.

4. A scaffolding deck board clamp according to any preceding claim, wherein the bar is substantially flat with an upper surface curved upwardly from each longitudinal side edge towards its centre line.

5. A scaffolding deck board clamp according to any preceding claim, wherein said elongate bar has a maximum upstanding thickness of no more than 25mm.

6. A scaffolding deck board clamp according to any preceding claim, wherein said elongate bar has a maximum upstanding thickness of no more than lOmm.

7. A scaffolding deck board clamp according to Claim 3, wherein said bar is fabricated from lengths of steel bar welded together.

8. A scaffolding deck board clamp according to any preceding claim, wherein on an underside of said bar there is provided a web extending downwardly at right angles thereto thus in use to be disposed vertically and to be located in a slot or gap between adjacent ends of an aligned pair of deck boards.

9. A scaffolding deck board clamp according to any preceding claim, which is of tapering thickness in at least one end region thereof thus to accommodate a deck board lying at an inclined angle therebeneath while the entire bar is adapted to remain in contact with or close proximity to the plurality of deck boards.

10. A scaffolding deck board clamp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.