GB2299827A

GB2299827A - Guardrail support

Info

Publication number: GB2299827A
Application number: GB9507583A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Garth Peet
Original assignee: J P Whelan & Sons
Current assignee: J P Whelan & Sons
Priority date: 1995-04-12
Filing date: 1995-04-12
Publication date: 1996-10-16
Anticipated expiration: 2015-04-12
Also published as: GB2299827B; GB9507583D0

Abstract

A guardrail support (10) comprises a post (11) for attachment thereto of a guardrail (12) and a foot (14) for supporting the post relative to a roof surface. The foot comprises a plate (15) for resting on the surface and a sleeve (16) extending from the upper side of the plate and slidably receiving the lower end portion of the post. The lower end face of the post (11) rests on a removable stop pin (19) extending through the sleeve, and the post and sleeve are locked together by a threaded clamp pin (20). On removal of the stop pin and release of the clamp pin, the foot can be slid upwardly along the post to allow access to the roof surface below for resurfacing for repair work. The stop pin (19) provides positive location of the post in the sleeve in a repeatable position and ensures maintenance of a miminum spacing between the lower end of the post and the underside of the plate (15).

Description

GUARDRAIL SUPPORT The present invention relates to a guardrail support, especially a support for use in a guardrail system incorporating at least one handrail held by a plurality of posts.

It is common practice, and frequently obligatory under safety regulations, to provide guardrail systems around the perimeter or part of the perimeter of the roofs of buildings, such as multistorey buildings with roof access for attention to storage tanks, lift winding gear and other services. Such guardrail systems are normally constructed in situ in accordance with the profile and size of the roof perimeter or part perimeter and are often freestanding due to lack of convenient attachment points. In the case of a free-standing system extending around only a part of a perimeter it is essential to ensure that the system cannot be readily dislodged or toppled. Stability of the system can be achieved by supporting its posts on the roof surface by way of support feet constructed or arranged to cause the system to be weighted against tipping in a direction outwardly of the roof perimeter.For example, each foot can be provided with a weight spaced from the associated post in a direction opposite to the direction of tipping. Alternatively, each post can be inclined relative to its foot so that it leans away from the perimeter and thus allows the weight of a guardrail fastened near the post upper end to produce a moment opposite to that arising if the post is tipped outwardly of the perimeter.

In either case the support foot engages the roof surface over an appreciable area and consequently represents something of a nuisance if the roof has to be repaired, recovered or otherwise resurfaced. To overcome this difficulty it is known to construct the foot as a separate component able to be unlocked from the associated post and slid up the post until clear of the roof surface. If this operation is carried out one foot at a time, the post affected continues to be held in place by the attached guardrail or guardrails and the adjacent post or posts in the guardrail system. In one such system employing counterweighted feet, each foot is firstly separated into a counterweight part and a socket part, the latter then being slid up its post.The post is normally clamped in the socket in a freely selectable axial position, so that the horizontal alignment or realignment of the guardrail may have to be carried out as a separate operation.

Moreover, the lower end of the post could rest directly on the roof surface. In another system, the foot is separable into a counterweight part and a plug part which, after unlocking, slides up inside the post. Guardrail alignment is again a separate operation. In both systems, telescoping of the post and foot is prevented by the foot-to-post lock alone, in each case a clamping lock securing by friction rather than by a mechanically positive action.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a guardrail support which is of relatively simple and economic construction and which, when in use in a guardrail support system, can be operated to provide clearance relative to a supporting surface, while allowing secure and repeatable height positioning of a post of the support. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a guardrail support comprising a guardrail support post for attachment thereto of at least one guardrail of a guardrail system incorporating a plurality of such posts, and a foot for supporting the post relative to a surface, the foot comprising a member for engaging the surface at an underside of the member, a sleeve extending from the member at an upper side thereof and slidably receiving a lower end portion of the post, stop means engageable with the post and the sleeve to so limit axial movement of the sleeve along the post in direction towards an upper end portion thereof that a fixed minimum spacing is maintained between the free end of the lower end portion of the post and the upper side of the member, and securing means for securing the post and sleeve against relative axial movement, the stop means and securing means both being releasable to permit movement of the sleeve along the post in said direction thereby to allow the foot to be raised from the surface when the post is attached to the at least one guardrail of the system.

In such a support, the releasable stop means forms a datum allowing the post and foot to be disposed in a defined axial relationship which facilitates erection of the guardrail system and is repeatable after each raising and lowering of the foot. At the same time, it is ensured that a certain minimum spacing is maintained between the lower end of the post and the underside of the foot, so that when the foot is raised a sufficient clearance will also exist between the post lower end and the supporting surface. Safety is enhanced, as the support does not depend solely on the releasable securing means to prevent an unintended telescoping of the support if a downward pressure is applied to an attached guardrail and the securing means then fails in its function.

The member preferably has an opening so arranged in alignment with the base of the sleeve that the post can pass through the member when the sleeve is moved along the post in said direction.

This allows the foot to be raised well clear of the supporting surface so that work can be carried out below the post with little or no obstruction. If so desired, the member can be turned on the post and secured, while still raised, in a position largely away from the support surface.

Preferably the stop means extends in the bore of the sleeve to engage the post at its lower end. The stop means conveniently has the form of a removable pin passing through openings in the wall of the sleeve. In use, the lower end of the post can bear on the pin and thus be located at an exactly defined spacing above the supporting surface. If so desired, a series of openings can be provided in the sleeve wall so that the pin can be inserted in different axial positions. In an alternative arrangement, the stop means can be, for example, a removable pin extending through the post and bearing on the top end face of the sleeve.

For preference the securing means is ooerable to clamp the post to the sleeve and can be, for example, a presser element for pressing the post against the surface of the sleeve bore. This presser element can have the form of a threaded pin with a handle.

The foot member can have various forms, for example it can be a substantially flat plate suitable for distributing load over the supporting surface. The member can be elongate and the sleeve disposed to extend from the top side of the member adjacent to one end of the member. If the guardrail support is intended for a system with inclined posts, the sleeve, and the portion of the member between its other end and the sleeve, can include an acute angle, so that a guardrail or guardrails can be attached to the side of the post leaning towards the member and exert a leverage force on the post.

The member can be provided on its upper side with means defining at least one slot for reception of a toe board and the post can be provided with attachment means for guardrail attachment.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a guardrail system comprising a plurality of posts each in accordance with the first aspect of the invention and at least one guardrail attached to the posts.

An embodiment of the invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a guardrail support embodying the invention, with an attached guardrail: Fig. 2 is a sectional side view, to enlarged scale, of the support; and Fig. 3 is a side view, to reduced scale, of the support in a different operational configuration.

Referring now to the drawings, in Fig. 1 there is shown a guardrail support 10 intended for a free-standing temporary or permanent guardrail system to be erected around the perimeter or part of the perimeter of the roof of a building and to find support on a surface at the roof, whether the edge of a flat roof surface, a walkway around a pitched or pent roof or any other part at the top of the building. The principal components of the support 10 are a tubular post 11 of galvanised metal to which a guardrail 12, or more usually two such guardrails, of a guardrail system can be attached each by a releaseable clamp 13, and a galvanised metal foot 14 for supporting the post relative to the surface.

The foot 14 comprises an elongate flat plate 15 intended to rest at its underside on the surface and a sleeve 16 extending from the upper side of the plate adjacent to one of its ends and slidably receiving the lower end portion of the post. The sleeve is inclined relative to the plate upper side such that an acute angle of, for example, about 750 is included between the sleeve and the portion of the plate between its other end and the sleeve.

Mounted on the upper side of this portion are two similarly inclined bars 17 defining a slot for reception of a toe board (not shown). The plate has an opening 18 aligned with the bore of the sleeve 16 so that, as explained further below, the foot can be slid along the post to such an extent that the post emerges from the underside of the plate.

The foot also includes a stop for limiting movement of the sleeve along the post in direction towards its other end, so that a fixed minimum spacing of seven to eight centimetres is maintained between the lower end of the post 11 and the underside of the plate 15, and a securing device for securing the post and sleeve against relative axial movement. The stop has the form of a removable stop pin 19 which is located in openings in the wall of the sleeve and extends diametrally across the sleeve bore to engage with the lower end face of the post. The stop pin is shaped so that when removed it can hook around the sleeve and thus be conveniently to hand for reinsertion into the openings. The securing device has the form of a threaded clamp 20 which is engaged in a threaded bore in the sleeve wall and is provided with a handle to allow convenient operation without special tools.By means of the handle the clamp pin 20 can be tightened against the post 11 so as to press the post against the surface of the sleeve bore.

In use of the guardrail support 10, for example in erection of a guardrail system consisting of a number of the supports at a pitch spacing of about two metres and a linking guardrail or guardrails 12, the support is placed in a desired position with the underside of the foot plate 17 resting on a supporting surface at or near the perimeter of a building roof and with the post 11 resting on the stop pin 19 extending through the sleeve 16. The or each guardrail can then be fastened to the post 11, and to the posts of adjacent supports, by means of a respective clamp 13.

The guardrail 12 is located at the side of the post adjacent to the toe board bars 17 and away from the roof perimeter, so that the weight of the guardrail in combination with the angle adopted by the post 11 in the inclined sleeve 16 exerts a movement counteracting any tendency for the support to tilt towards the roof perimeter if the guardrail is pushed against or impacted from within the roof area. The post is locked relative to the sleeve by tightening the clamp pin 20 against the post.If there are any local depressions in the supporting surface, it may be the case that in the assembled system the post of a support in the region of such a depression is lifted slightly off the associated stop pin 19; in that situation the relative axial position of the post and sleeve is secured entirely by the clamp pin 20, but the stop pin 19 still serves to limit downward displacement of the post if the locking provided by the pin 20 should fail, for example if the pin 20 is improperly tightened and a downward load is exerted on the guardrail. The erected system can be completed, if desired, by a toe board inserted into the slot between the bars 17.

If it should be desired to gain access to the portion of roof surface below the plate 17, for example to enable covering with weatherproof roofing felt, the stop pin 19 can be removed from the sleeve of one support 10 at a time and the asssociated clamp pin 20 slackened. The foot 14 of that support is then free to be raised clear of the surface as shown in Fig. 3 and in particular as far as the guardrail or lower guardrail. The foot can be secured in its raised position by the clamp pin 20, if so desired after turning the foot through, for example, 90" to provide additional clearance over the part of the roof surface requiring attention.

The post 11 remains suspended by the guardrail or guardrails and the or each adjacent support. When work below the support 10 has been completed, the clamp pin 20 can be loosened, the foot lowered to its original position, the stop pin 19 reinserted and the clamp pin 20 retightened. The support of the lower end of the post 11 on the stop pin 19 ensures that the original height position of the post, and thus the horizontal alignment of the guardrail or guardrails, is exactly restored without any additional effort on the part of the operator, who can now move to the next support in the series.

Subject to appropriate dimensioning and weights, the described support has shown itself capable, when incorporated in a guardrail system and with the foot lowered or raised, of resisting tilting when the guardrail is subjected to a tip loading or an impact simulating collision by a person of average weight and stature. Telescoping of the post and foot is securely resisted by the mechanically positive lock provided by the stop pin. The support thus provides a required level of safety in both use states and is of simple, inexpensive construction.

Although reference has been made to inclusion in guardrail systems for roofs, such a system can, of course, be erected in other locations.

Claims

1. According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a guardrail support comprising a guardrail support post for attachment thereto of at least one guardrail of a guardrail system incorporating a plurality of such posts, and a foot for supporting the post relative to a surface, the foot comprising a member for engaging the surface at an underside of the member, a sleeve extending from the member at an upper side thereof and slidably receiving a lower end portion of the post, stop means engageable with the post and the sleeve to so limit axial movement of the sleeve along the post in direction towards an upper end portion thereof that a fixed minimum spacing is maintained between the free end of the lower end portion of the post and the upper side of the member, and securing means for securing the post and sleeve against relative axial movement, the stop means and securing means both being releas able to permit movement of the sleeve along the post in said direction thereby to allow the foot to be raised from the surface when the post is attached to the at least one guardrail of the system.

2. A support as claimed in claim 1, wherein the member has an opening so arranged in alignment with the bore of the sleeve that the post can pass through the member when the sleeve is moved along the post in said direction.

3. A support as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the stop means extends in the bore of the sleeve to engage the post at the free end of the lower end portion thereof.

4. A support as claimed in claim 3, wherein the stop means comprises a removable pin passing through openings in the wall of the sleeve.

5. A support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the securing means is operable to clamp the post to the sleeve.

6. A support as claimed in claim 5, wherein the securing means comprises a presser element for pressing said one end portion of the post against the surface of the bore of the sleeve.

7. A support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the member is a substantially flat plate.

8. A support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the member is elongate and the sleeve extends from the upper side thereof adjacent to one end of the member.

9. A support as claimed in claim 8, wherein the sleeve and the portion of the member between the other end thereof and the sleeve include an acute angle.

10. A support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the member is provided on the upper side thereof with means defining at least one slot for reception of a toe board.

11. A support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the post is provided with attachment means for attachment of the at least one guardrail.

12. A guardrail support substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. A guardrail system comprising a plurality of spacedapart posts each as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and at least one guardrail attached to each of the posts.