GB2350859A

GB2350859A - Scaffolding fixtures

Info

Publication number: GB2350859A
Application number: GB0009225A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Charles Dorian Thomas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-04-14
Filing date: 2000-04-14
Publication date: 2000-12-13
Also published as: GB0009225D0; GB9908464D0

Abstract

A hand rail/kickboard supporter 10 comprises a semi-cylindrical shell 12 designed to fit against a scaffolding standard in use. The supporter has at its lower end two hooked portions 14 designed to hook over a transom or horizontal scaffolding bar in use to locate the foot. At the upper end of the supporter, there is quick release clamp 16 for connecting around the scaffolding standard 19. On the other side, the supporter includes respective upper and lower swivelable quick release fastenings 22 and 24 for receiving a hand rail and a guard rail at a required safety spacing relative to the walkway defined by the scaffolding. The supporter also includes a bracket 30 for retaining a kickboard. Also described are two different forms of board supporter for retaining the boards making up a walkway on a scaffold.

Description

2350859 Scaffoldinq Fixtures This invention relates to scaffolding

fixtures and in particular, but not exclusively, to scaffolding fixtures for assisting the rapid and safe erection of scaffolding structures incorporating handrails, and horizontal boards defining walkways.

In the erection of scaffolding structures, safety is paramount but commercial pressures require that the structure be erected and dismantled rapidly. One of the requirements of existing legislation is that walkways on the scaffolding structure above ground level must be protected by handrails and guardrails running horizontally at the appropriate height. In a conventional structure, the handrails are fitted to the standards of the scaffolding structure by individual swivel fittings, but this means that the swivel fittings must be attached at the correct height on each standard and aligned with each other. Two handrails are normally required and this increases the erection time. Accordingly I have designed a scaffolding fixture which may be fitted to the scaffolding standard to present attachment means at the appropriate height (or heights) with respect to an associated transom and also optionally to locate a kickboard.

Accordingly, in one aspect of this invention, there is provided a scaffolding fixture comprising an elongate member adapted in use to be secured against a scaffolding standard other generally vertical scaffolding member, and including 2 at least one attachment means for supporting a handrail and/or other guardrail at a predetermined height.

Preferably said fixture includes transom location means for locating against a transom member, wherein the spacing between said transom location member and the handrail attachment means is selected in accordance with the required spacing between the transom and the handrail in use.

where required, the scaffolding fixture may include a plurality of rail attachment means for supporting a plurality of hand or guardrails at respective pre-set heights.

Preferably the fixture also includes a kickboard support member adapted to support a kickboard in proximity to said transom member.

Preferably said elongate member is shaped to conform to the profile of a typical scaffolding standard; for example said elongate member may be shaped as a part -cylindrical shell member.

The scaffolding fixture is preferably secured in use at its lower end by engagement means which engage said transom member and at its upper end with releasable servicing means. Said releasable servicing means may comprise a quick release clamp e.g. a toggle or over-centre clamp arrangement or the like.

Preferably the or each handrail attachment means is angularly fixed with respect to said elongate member, to support said handrail at substantially 900 with respect to the elongate member. Alternatively, where said scaffolding 3 fixture is to be used to support handrails at an angle inclined to the horizontal (for example adjacent the gable ends of a roof), the handrail attachment means may be angularly adjustable with respect to said elongate member. 5 Preferably said fixture includes a projecting bracket for co-operation with a board retention device as defined below. Under current scaffolding practice, it is usual to secure the boards making up a walkway, for safety. I have developed a further scaffolding fixture for securing the boards of the walkway.

Accordingly in another aspect of this invention there is provided a scaffolding fixture for securing boards on a scaffolding structure, said fixture comprising an elongate is member for being positioned across a plurality of boards to retain said boards, said elongate member having means for securing it to the scaffolding structure.

The securing means may include attachment means for attaching the fitting to a transom or standard or other scaffolding member.

Preferably said scaffolding fixture includes projecting means for engaging and/or supporting a kickboard in use.

Preferably the means for securing the elongate member to the scaffolding structure includes a bracket or projection on a further member, such as the handrail support device described above.

Whilst the invention has been described above it extends to any inventive combination of the features set out 4 above or in the following description.

The invention may be performed in various ways and, by way of example only, embodiments thereof will now be described in detail, reference being made to the 5 accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a general perspective view of a handrail/kickboard supporter in accordance with this invention; Figure 2 is a view of an erected scaffolding structure, looking outboard on the handrails and kickboards supported by the device of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view on a scaffolding standard fitted with a device of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view of a scaffolding structure adjacent a gable end, incorporating a fixture of Figure 1; Figures 5(a), (b), and (c) are side, opposite side, and underneath views respectively of a board holder of this invention; Figure 6 is a side view of a board holder of this invention in conjunction with a handrail and kickboard f ixture; Figures 7 (a) and (b) are side and opposite side views of a further embodiment of board holder of this invention, and Figure 8 is a side view of a third embodiment of board holder of this invention.

Referring initially to Figures 1 to 3, the handrail/kickboard supporter 10 comprises an elongate part- cylindrical shell 12 which carries at its lower end two hooked portions 14 and its upper end a quick release mechanism 16. As seen in Figure 3, the hooked portions of the fixture 10 hook over a horizontal scaffolding bar 18 to locate the lower end of the fixture whilst the shell 12 extends upwardly part way round a standard 19 and the upper end is secured therearound by means of the quick release f ixing 16. The quick release f ixing 16 here is shown as a toggle clamp device but any other suitable f ixing could be used. With the hooked portions 14 in position and the toggle clamp 16 closed, the fixture is securely located against the standard. The fixture includes upper and lower handrail and guardrail clamps 22, 24 respectively, which are spaced to ensure that the handrail 26, and lower guardrail 28 are supported at the required heights. In this arrangement the clamps 22, 24 are swivelable although they could be fixed. Between the lower guardrail clamp 24, and the hook portions 14 is a downwardly directed bracket 30 to retain the upper edge of a kickboard 32. The downwardly directed bracket 30 may be swivelable between an open, sideways, or upwardly directed position and a kickboard locking, downwardly projecting position.

In use, once the basic scaffolding structure has been built up of standards 19 and transoms 18 where a walkway is to be constructed, the handrail /kickboard supporters 10 as illustrated in Figure 1 are attached to the standards 19, locating the hooked portions 14 over the transom 18 and securing the supporters 10 by means of the quick release 6 toggle clamp 16. In this way, two aligned rows of handrail /guardrail clamps 22, 24 are swiftly applied to the structure. The handrail 26 and guardrail 28 may then be secured in position using the clamps 22. Once the walkway boards are in position, the kickboard 32 may be laid along the outside edge of the walkway and located in position by means of the downwardly projected brackets 30 on each supporter 10. This arrangement means that the clamps are quickly located at the appropriate heights, together with the kickboard retainer. In addition, because the hand and guard rails are not load-bearing members of the scaffolding structure, the construction of the clamps 22 may be of lighter construction.

Where the scaffolding structure is to be used adjacent is a gable end or the like, with the hand and guard rails following the line of the gable end, the fixture 10 may again be used rapidly to provide an aligned set of clamps 22 for the hand and guard rails 22, 24. In this embodiment also the hand and guard rails 22, 24 are joined by an apex jointer element 32 which comprises two pivoted parts each for fitting into and/or around the end of one of the hand or guard rails respectively.

Referring now to Figures 5 (a) to (c) and 6, the boards 34 making up the walkway are retained in position in this embodiment by means of a board holder device 36. The board holder device 36 comprises an elongate metal strip 38 which may be of corrugated section to Provide enhanced stiffness and which carries at its inner end a clamp 40 for clamping 7 around a scaffolding standard member or a scaffolding transom member. At about its midpoint, the board holder includes a bolt 42 and butterfly nut 44 which enables it to be secured to the centre board. At its outer end, the elongate strip 38 has a downwardly stepped portion 46. In one arrangement this may be retained below the lower edge of a kickboard 32 to secure the board holder device 36 in position, as shown in Figure 5. Alternatively as shown in Figure 6, the stepped portion 46 may be retained beneath a bracket or lug 48 provided on the handrail and kickboard supporter 10.

Referring now to Figure 7 (a) and (b), the second embodiment of board support is similar to that of Figures 5 (a) to (c). However, in this instance the support 50 comprises an elongate metal strip which is provided at one end with a simple hooked coupler - 52 and at its other end with a quick release coupler 54. In use, the hooked coupler 52 is hooked under the ledger 58' nearer the building, and the support 50 swung down over the boards 60 and the other 20 coupler 54 attached to the other ledger 5811. Referring now to Figure 8, this further embodiment is very similar to that of Figures 7 (a) and (b), except that here the quick release coupling is replaced by an L-shaped bracket 66, which fits under a kickboard 68 (shown in phantom).

As previously, the support includes a butterfly 62 on a threaded stem 64, which fits in a gap between the boards and is twisted through 450 to secure the boards to the board 8 support.

9

Claims

1. A scaffolding fixture comprising an elongate member adapted in use to be secured against a scaffolding standard or the like, and including at least one attachment means for supporting a hand-rail at a pre-determined height.

2. A scaffolding fixture according to Claim 1 including transom location means for locating against a transom member, wherein the spacing between said transom location member and the hand-rail attachment means is selected in accordance with the required spacing between the transom and the hand-rail in use.

3. A scaffolding fixture according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 comprising a plurality of hand-rail attachment means for supporting a plurality of hand-rails at respective preset heights.

4. A scaffolding fixture according to any of the preceding Claims including a kickboard support member adapted to support a kickboard in use.

5. A scaffolding fixture according to any of the preceding claims wherein said elongate member is shaped to conform to the profile of a typical scaffolding standard.

6. A scaffolding fixture according to Claim 5 wIlerein said elongate member is shaped as a part - cylindrical shell member. 25

7. A scaffolding fixture according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein said fixture includes releasable securing means for securing said elongate member in use to said scaffolding standard or the like.

8. A scaffolding fixture according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said securing means comprises a quick-release means. 5

9. A scaffolding fixture according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the or each attachment means is angularly fixed with respect to said elongate member.

10. A scaffolding fixture according to any of Claims 1 to 8 wherein said attachment means is pivotally mounted with respect to said elongate member, whereby the hand-rail member may extend at an adjustable angle with respect to said elongate member.

11. A scaffolding fixture according to any of the preceding claims including a board retention device.

12. A scaffolding structure including one or more scaffolding fixtures according to any of the preceding claims.

13. A scaffolding fixture for securing boards on a scaffolding structure, said fixture comprising an elongate member for being positioned across a plurality of boards to retain said boards, said elongate member having means for securing it to the structure.

14. A scaffolding fitting according to Claim 13, including means for attachment to a transom or standard. 25

15. A scaffolding fitting according to Claim 12 or Claim 13, further including marginal means for engaging a kickboard in use.

16. A scaffolding fitting according to any of Claims 12 to 15, wherein said means for engaging comprises a bracket or projection on a further member.

17. A scaffolding structure including one or more fittings as described above.

18. A scaffolding fixture, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, any of the accompanying drawings.