GB2373814A

GB2373814A - Support for safety apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2373814A
Application number: GB0104224A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony James Peter Carden; Marcus John Anthony Carden
Original assignee: Shire Precast Erection Ltd
Current assignee: Shire Precast Erection Ltd
Priority date: 2001-02-21
Filing date: 2001-02-21
Publication date: 2002-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 2021-02-21
Also published as: GB0104224D0; GB2373814B

Abstract

The support 10, primarily for use with fall arrest equipment in the construction or maintenance industries, comprises a base part 11 and a support arm 12 attached to the base part with the arm being provided with engagement means 23 to engage a catching element. The support is preferably provided with a telescopically extendible part 12a, 12b, upon which the engagement means is provided, and the support arm is preferably pivotally attached to the base part and is movable between a collapsed and an erected position. The support may comprise holding means 14 to hold the support arm in a selected one of a plurality of erected positions and the engagement means may comprise a roller. The base plate may be provided with at least one connection means to engage a spacing element, preferably formed from a pair of orthogonally arranged connection means, and at least one further connection means may be provided arranged orthogonally to the first connection means. The support may be provided with a clamp to clamp the extendible part in a desired location relative to the base part. Also claimed is a safety apparatus comprising a number of supports and a catching element, with the supports arranged located at corners with spacing elements positioned between and, if desired, additionally at locations between the corners. The catching element is preferably a sheet material such as a net and may comprise a rope which extends around the periphery of the net and which is received by the supports.

Description

Title: Safety Apparatus and a Support Therefor Description of Invention This invention relates to a safety apparatus and a support therefor, particularly not exclusively for use as a fall arrest apparatus in the construction or maintenance industries.

It is a requirement that when working above head height, a safety apparatus should be provided to arrest a fall, whether of a person or of debris.

The safety apparatus should also serve to protect anyone below the working position from falling objects.

It is known to use a complex false floor system which requires a large number of supports and, due to the support structure, a totally cleared area below. Such a system is time consuming to install, due to the necessity of clearing the area first and due to the erection of the support structure. It is also known to provide a cushioned floor covering, but this again also requires that the area of the covering is totally cleared and will be prone to damage. The cushioned area will also be impassable and may result in an unacceptable distance of fall before fall arrest occurs An object of the invention is to provide a new improved safety apparatus and support therefor.

According to a first aspect of the invention we provide a support for a safety apparatus, the support comprising a base part, a support arm attached to said base part, the arm being provided with engagement means to engage a al s catching element.

The support may be provided with a telescopically extendible part, and the engagement means may be provided on said extendible part.

The support arm may be pivotally attached to the base part, and may be movable between a collapsed position and an erected position.

The support may comprise holding means to hold said support arm in the erected position, and preferably in a selected one of a plurality of erected positions.

The engagement means may comprise a roller.

The base plate may be provided with at least one connection means to engage a spacing element.

The support may comprise a pair of orthogonally arranged connection means.

The base plate may be provided with at least one further connection means disposed transversely to said pair of orthogonally arranged connection means.

The support may be provided with clamp means to clamp the extendible part in a desired position relative to the base arm part.

According to a second aspect of the invention we provide a safety

apparatus comprising a plurality of support means according to the first aspect of the invention and a catching element supported by said support means.

The safety apparatus may comprise at least one spacing element engaged with a connecting means of a support.

At least two of said supports may be connected by one or more spacing elements.

At least two of said supports may be interconnected by a plurality of spacing elements, the spacing elements being connected in end to end relationship by an auxiliary connector.

The safety apparatus may comprise four comer supports disposed one at each comer of said catching element.

The safety apparatus may further comprise at least one further support disposed between said comer supports to support an edge part of the catching element.

The catching element may comprise a sheet material such as a net.

The sheet material may comprise a rope extending around the periphery of thereof, and wherein the rope may be received in the engagement means of the supports.

The invention thus provides a safety apparatus which is simple, but efficient and robust, and where the safety net can be located immediately below the working area, thus keeping the distance of free fall to a minimum and permitting the provision of the safety apparatus in situations where no other vertical or horizontal support exists.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein FIGURE 1 is a side view with some features omitted of a support for a safety apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention, FIGURE 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1, FIGURE 3 is a side view of part of the support of Figure 1, FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a safety apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention FIGURE 5 is a side view of the safety apparatus of Figure 4, and FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a safety apparatus according to a second aspect of the present application provided with additional supports.

Referring now to the Figures 1 to 3, a support 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown. The support 10 comprises a base plate 11 and an arm 12. The arm ! 2 is pivotally attached to a pair of upstanding lugs 13 attached to the base plate 11. Preferably, the arm 12 is moveable to a collapsed position whereby the arm 12 lies alongside the base plate 11. To support the arm 12 in an erected position, a holding means 14 comprising two generally parallel limbs 14 each pivotally connected to a lug 15 attached to the base plate 11 is provided. Each limb 14 has an aperture 16 at its end remote from the lug 15. A pin 17 is passed through the apertures 16 and through corresponding apertures 18 provided in the arm 12 to rigidly hold the arm 12 at a desired angle, for example at about 600 to the horizontal. As best seen in Figure 2, in the present example the base plate 11 comprises a square plate. The limbs 14 and arm 12 are disposed to extend generally diagonally of the plate 11 so that the support 10 is generally symmetrical about an axis 19.

The arm 12 in the present example is telescopic, comprising a lower part 12a and an upper part 12b slidably received within the lower part 12a. A clamping means 20 is provided to clamp the upper part 12b in a desired position relative to the lower part 12a. As seen in Figure 3, the upper part 12b comprises a tubular member 21 provided with a sleeve part 22 attached to the upper end thereof. Attached to the upper end of the sleeve part 22 is an engagement means 23, in the present example comprising a roller 24 which is rotationally movable about an axis 25 extending generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the upper pmi 1212. The roller 24 is mounted on a pin 25 held within a frame part 26, enclosing the roller. Also mounted on the sleeve 22 is a hook 27 disposed with its mouth extending in a generally upwards direction. Mounted on the lower part 1212 is a further hook 28 disposed with its mouth extending in a generally downwards direction.

To interconnect and locate a plurality of such supports 10 relative to one another, the base plate 11 is provided with a plurality of connection means 29, 30, 31 32. The connection means 29, 30 are disposed orthogonally to one another, each extending along an outer edge of the base plate 11 and adapted to receive connection means in directions A, B respectively. The connection means 31,32 are disposed generally parallel to one another, one either side of the arm 12 and holding means 14, and generally parallel to and equidistant from the axis 19. The connection means 31, 32 are adapted to receive connecting elements in the directions C, D respectively. The connection means 29,30, 31,32 may comprise sleeves to receive an end part of a spacing element or may comprise clamps or any other appropriate means as desired. It is envisaged that the connection element could comprise lengths of scaffolding, in which case appropriate clamps may be used. Alternatively, where the connection elements comprise sections, the connecting elements may comprise sleeves to receive the end parts of the spacing elements in a sliding manner.

Referring to Figures 4 and 5, a safety apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is shown. As apparent from Figure 4, the safety apparatus generally indicated at 40 comprises four support elements 10 disposed in a generally rectangular arrangement. The supports 10 are arranged such that the arms 12 project mutually outwardly and such that the connection means 29,30 of each adjacent support 10 are aligned. To interconnect the supports 10 spacing elements 41,42 are provided. In the present example the spacing elements 41 comprise a single spacing element is received in the connection means 29, 30 of a pair of supports 10 to define the end parts of the rectangular arrangements. To provide the longer sides of the rectangle, a pair of spacing elements 42 are provided interconnected by an auxiliary connector 43 in end-to-end relationship. The free ends of the connected spacing elements 42 are then received in a connection means 29, 30 of the supports 10. The supports 10 are thus held in a fixed relationship to one another.

To further anchor the supports and provide additional stability, the further spacing elements 44 are provided, one received in each connection means 31,32 of the supports 10. The spacing elements 44 thus project

inwardly of the apparatus as shown in Figure 4 in the opposite direction to the z : l arms 12.

To erect the apparatus, the arms 12 are pivotally raised to their desired angle and then held in the desired position by passing a pin 16 through the limb 14 and corresponding holes 18 provided in the arm 12. The upper parts 12b of the arms 12 are extended to their desired length, and then clamped in their desired position by means of the clamp 20. A catching element 45, in the present example comprising a net is provided. A rope or cable or other elongate flexible member 46 is threaded along one side of the net and through the engagement means 23 of one arm, where it sits over the roller 24. The rope is then threaded along the next side of the net, and then through the engagement means 23 of the next support 10. This is continued until the net is supported on all sides by the rope 46 which itself passes through each engagement means 23.

The rope 46 is then pulled taut to tension the net. Any free length of the rope 46 can be wound around the hooks 27,28 on one of the supports 10 to maintain the tension in the net.

Where the area or shape of the apparatus is such that the edges of the catching element 45 will require support, a pair of additional supports 10'may be provided as shown in Figure 6. The additional supports 10'are of the same configuration as the supports 10 in the safety apparatus of Figure 4. The additional supports 10'are interconnected by a pair of spacing elements 47 each of which is engaged with the connection means 31 of one support 10'and the connection means 32 of the othel-additional suppolt 10. The arms 12 of the additional support means 10'are arranged such that the rope 46 is received in the engagement means 23 of each additional support means 10 at around a mid-point of the longer sides of the support apparatus 40.

It will thus be apparent that the invention provides a safety apparatus which is simple and efficient to erect and, being collapsible, is easy to transport. The configuration of the Support 10 is such that the catching element 45 can be disposed in a comer of a structure immediately below the working area, and can for example, directly abut a wall or other vertical surface. The adjustable angle and length of the arms 12 permits the catching element 44 to be raised to a desired height and ideally immediately below the working area,

thus keeping the distance of free fall to a minimum.

The safety apparatus as described herein is further advantageous in that the area below the catching element 45 is not obstructed and so will permit passage in an emergency. The area below the apparatus 40, does not have to be completely cleared, but only to the extent necessary. The area covered by the safety apparatus 40, may also of course be varied by adjusting the angle and extension of the arms 12 and the size and tension of the catching means 45.

Where a larger area is desired to be covered, it will be apparent that an assembly of any number of supports 10 interconnected as seen in Figure 6 or otherwise as appropriate may be provided. Multiples nets can be placed side by side or end to end and the edges of adjacent nets connected.

Whilst the invention has been described specifically in relation to the support of the safety net in connection with the building industry, it will be understood that the apparatus may also be used as a safety cover for walkways etc. from protection from falling debris.

Although this description refers to"a net"as the catching element, it will be apparent that any suitable sheet material may be provided as desired, whether or not tensioned by a peripheral rope.

In the present specification"comprise"means"includes or consists of' and"comprising"means"including or consisting of.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A support for a safety apparatus, the support comprising a base part, a support arm attached to said base part, the arm being provided with engagement means to engage a catching element.

2. A support according to Claim 1 wherein the support is provided with a telescopically extendible part, and the engagement means is provided on said extendible part.

3. A support according to Claim I or Claim 2 wherein the support arm is pivotally attached to the base part, and is movable between a collapsed position and an erected position.

4. A support according to Claim 3 comprising holding means to hold said support arm in the erected position.

5. A support means according to Claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the holding means is operable to hold the support arm in a selected one of a plurality of erected positions.

6. A comer support according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein n the engagement means comprises a roller.

ZD 7. A support according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the base plate is provided with at least one connection means to engage a spacing element.

8. A support according to Claim 7 comprising a pair of orthogonally arranged connection means.

10. A support according to claim 9 wherein the base plate is provided with at least one further connection means disposed transversely to said pair of orthogonally arranged connection means.

11. A support according to Claim 2 or any one of Claims 3 to 10 where dependant on Claim 2 wherein the support is provided with clamp means to clamp the extendible part in a desired position relative to the base arm part.

12. A support described herein and or with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. A safety apparatus comprising a plurality of support means according to any one of the preceding claims and a catching element supported by said support means.

14. A safety apparatus according to Claim 13 comprising at least one spacing element engaged with a connecting means of a support.

15. A safety apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein at least two of said supports are connected by one or more spacing elements.

16. A safety apparatus according to Claim 16 wherein at least two of said supports are interconnected by a plurality of spacing elements, the spacing elements being connected in end to end relationship by an auxiliary connector. 17. A safety apparatus according to any one of Claims 13 to 16 comprising four comer supports disposed one at each comer of said catching element.

17. A safety apparatus according to Claim 16 further comprising at least one further support disposed between said comer supports to support an edge part of the catching element.

18. A safety apparatus according to any one of Claims 13 to 17 wherein the catching element comprise a sheet material such as a net.

19. A safety apparatus according to Claim 18 wherein the sheet material comprises a rope extending around the periphery of thereof, and wherein the rope is received in the engagement means of the supports.

20. A safety apparatus as described herein and/or with reference to the accompanying drawings.

21 Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein

and/or in the accompanying drawings zn I-