GB2424442A

GB2424442A - Ramp forming attachment for a plank

Info

Publication number: GB2424442A
Application number: GB0605639A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David John Head
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-03-22
Filing date: 2006-03-21
Publication date: 2006-09-27
Also published as: GB0505823D0; GB0605639D0

Abstract

An attachment for a plank 34 has a fitting portion 12 and a tongue portion 14 projecting from the fitting portion 12. The tongue portion 14 has a support surface for resting in use on a support. The fitting portion 12 is arranged to be releasably fined to an end of the plank 34. In use with the major faces of the plank 34 uppermost and lowermost the tongue portion 14 projects from the end of the plank 34 with its support surface lowermost and at an obtuse angle to the longitudinal direction of the plank 34. The fining 12 and tongue 14 portions may be rigid with respect to each other or may be moveable between different configurations. The fining portion 12 may be capable of being fitted partway along the plank so that the end of the plank 34 projects beyond it.

Description

TITLE

Plank attachment

DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to an attachment for a plank, such as a scaffold board, that has various uses and particularly, but not exclusively, to enable the plank to be used as a ramp, for example for a wheelbarrow, when loading a vehicle or waste skip, or for a motor cycle when loading or unloading the motor cycle onto or from another vehicle such as a van or trailer.

A simple length of scaffold board is often used for these purposes. One end of the board is placed on the ground and the other end of the board is rested, near its extreme end, on the edge of the skip or the edge of the floor of the van or trailer so that the board ramps up to the edge of the skip or vehicle floor. This is a dangerous practice, because the upper end of the board can slip from the skip or vehicle floor potentially causing damage and injury. Furthermore, when used to unload a barrow or motorcycle from a vehicle floor, the more the overhang of the end of the board over the vehicle platform, the greater is the height of the step up from the vehicle platform to the extreme end of the board. The greater the height of the step, the more is the force that is applied to the board to dislodge it when the barrow or motorcycle mounts the step. If the step is too high, it may be impossible to mount the step with the barrow or motorcycle.

This problem of slippage has been recognised in the past in connection with the loading of skips using wheelbarrows. Patent document GB2206635A proposes an attachment for a plank.

The attachment has a fitting portion that can be fitted to one end of the plank and a downwardly- facing channel portion, below the fitting portion, that can receive the edge of the skip. It is unclear from GB2206635A how the attachment can, in practice, be fitted to the end of the plank, but if it can be satisfactorily fitted, then it would appear that GB2206635A provides a solution to the slippage problem when loading skips. However, GB2206635A does not recognise the problem when loading onto and unloading from a vehicle floor. Even if the attachment of GB2206635A were used in these circumstances, it might provide an improvement over the mere use of the plank only if the vehicle floor had some sort of ledge at its edge that could be received by the downwardly-facing channel portion. However, many, if not the vast majority, of van, truck and trailer floors do not have any such ledge. If used with a vehicle floor that is flat all the way to its edge, the height of the channel portion of GB2206635A would add to the height of the step that An aim of the present invention, or at least of specific embodiments of it, is to provide an attachment that can be used with skips and vehicle floors and deals with the problems of slippage and step height discussed above.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an attachment for a plank has a fitting portion and a tongue portion. The tongue portion projects from the fitting portion and has a support surface for resting on a support (such as an edge of a skip or the edge of a floor of a vehicle). The fitting portion is arranged to be releasably fitted to one end of the plank so that, with the faces of the plank uppermost and lowermost, the tongue portion projects from that end of the plank with its support surface lowermost and at an obtuse angle to the longitudinal direction of the plank. Because of the use of a tongue portion, rather than a channel as in GB2206635A, the attachment can be used more satisfactorily with a vehicle floor and yet can also be used with a skip.

Preferably, the tongue portion is thin, and the tongue portion, fitting portion and plank provide a surface, over which a wheel may be rolled, that is devoid of any significant steps. For example, the maximum thickness of the tongue is preferably no more than 15 mm, and in a specific embodiment that will be described below is about 9 mm. Because of this, it is easy to roll a wheel from a vehicle floor over the attachment and onto the plank.

In one embodiment of the attachment, the fitting and tongue portions are rigid with respect to each other. This provides a simple construction.

In another embodiment of the attachment, the fitting and tongue portions are movable with respect to each other to at least one alternative configuration in which the angle between the support surface and the lowermost face of the plank is less obtuse, a right angle or an acute angle or in which the support surface and the lowermost face of the plank are generally parallel. When placed in such a configuration in which the angle is less obtuse or a right angle, the risk of the arrangement slipping when resting on the edge of a skip is reduced even further. In this configuration, the attachment may also be used when it is desired to prevent a scaffold board slipping longitudinally on the transoms of a scaffolding. When placed in a configuration in which the support surface and the lowermost face of the plank are generally parallel, the arrangement may be used in order to prevent a scaffold board lifting from a transom of a scaffold by trapping the transom between the fitting portion and the tongue portion, and may also be used in combination with a padlock and chain to secure a scaffold board to a ladder to prevent unauthorised use of the ladder.

Preferably, the attachment is such that, when in such an alternative configuration, the fitting portion can be positioned partway along the plank so that the end of the plank projects beyond the attachment. When used with a wheelbarrow and skip, this enables the contents of the wheelbarrow to be dumped closer to the centre of the skip.

Preferably, the fitting portion is sized to receive and cooperate as aforesaid with a plank in the form of a standard-sized scaffold board having a nominal cross-sectional size of 9 inches by I V2 inches (about 225 mm by 38 mm), or thicker scaffold boards having a thickness of 2 inches (50 mm) or 2V2 inches (63 mm).

The invention also extends to: a ramp comprising an attachment according to the first aspect of the invention in combination with a plank as aforesaid to which the fitting portion is fitted as aforesaid; the use of such a ramp for loading a skip, with the support surface resting on an edge of the skip; and the use of such a ramp for loading a vehicle, with the support surface resting on a floor of the vehicle.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of a first embodiment of board attachment, and showing an end of a scaffold board in phantom line; Figure 2 is a side view of the attachment and board end of Figure 1, sectioned along the vertical longitudinal centre plane of the board; Figure 3 is a side view, on a reduced scale, of the attachment of Figure 1 together with a scaffold board and the rear end of a truck; Figure 4 is a side view, on a reduced scale, of the attachment of Figure 1 together with a scaffold board and a skip shown in section; Figure 5 is side view of a second embodiment of board attachment in a first configuration, and showing an end of a scaffold board in phantom line; Figure 6 is similar to Figure 5, but showing the attachment in a second configuration; Figure 7 is similar to Figure 5, but showing the attachment in a third configuration; Figure 8 is a side view, on a reduced scale, of the attachment of Figure 5, in the first configuration, together with a scaffold board and the rear end of a truck; and Figure 9 is a side view, on a reduced scale, of the attaclunent of Figure 6, in the second configuration, together with a scaffold board and a skip shown in section.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the first embodiment of board attachment 10 comprises a fitting portion 12 and a tongue portion 14 fabricated by welding from steel strip and steel channel.

The fitting portion 12 has a pair of parallel, mutually-facing, channelsection rails 16,18 tied together by three braces 20,22,24. The internal channel width A of each rail 16,18 is about 1% inches (41 mm), and the spacing B between bases of the channels 16,18 is about 9% inches (238 mm). A pair of strips 26,28 are welded to the upper sides of the rails 16,18 and project beyond one end of the fitting portion 12 so as to form the tongue portion 14, where the strips are tied together by braces 30,32. At the ends of the rails 16,18, the tongue strips 26,28 and bent downwardly through an angle of about 20 to 30 so that the obtuse angle C between the longitudinal directions of the rails 16,18 and the tongue portion 14 is about 150 to 160 .

The attachment 10 is designed for use with a length of standard scaffold board 34 having a cross-sectional size D x E of 9 inches x 1 V2 inches (about 225 mm x 38 mm). In use, one end 36 of the board 34 is inserted, as far as it will go, into the fitting portion 12 of the attachment 10 so that the edges of the board 34 sit in the rails 16,18.

Referring to Figure 3, the board 34 and attachment 10 can then be used as a ramp for loading to or unloading from the floor 38 of a vehicle 40, with the underside of the tongue portion 14 of the attachment 10 resting on the edge of the floor 38, and the other end 42 of the board 34 resting on the ground 44. The thicknesses of the tongue strips 26,28 and braces 30 are, for example, 4 mm and 5 mm respectively. It will therefore be appreciated that there is a step F of an insignificant amount (about 9 mm) from the level of the vehicle floor 38 up to the upper surface of the tongue portion 14. The thickness of the walls of the channel-section rails 16,18 and of the brace 22 are, for example, 2 mm and 5 mm, respectively. It will therefore also be noted that there is no significant step from the upper surface of the board 34 onto the fitting portion 12.

Referring to Figure 4, the board 34 and attachment 10 can also be used as a ramp for loading a skip 46, with the underside of the tongue portion 14 of the attachment 10 resting on the top edge of a wall 48 of the skip 46, and the other end 42 of the board 34 resting on the ground 44.

Because of the obtuse angle C between the longitudinal direction of the tongue portion 14 and the longitudinal direction of the rails 16,18 and therefore of the board 34, there is less, or no, tendency for the tongue portion 14 to slip off the edge of the skip 46 as compared with the tendency for the board 34 to slip in the case where the attachment 10 is not employed.

It should be noted that the end 36 of the scaffold board 34 is a sliding fit into the fitting portion 12 of the attachment 10 and is held in place in use by friction without being positively locked in place. In tests on a prototype, it was found there was no tendency, during normal use, for the end 36 of the board 34 to slip out of the fitting portion 12 of the attachment 10. However, some form of locking device, such as a clamp screw, may be employed, if desired.

The second embodiment of board attachment 10 will now be described with reference to Figures 5 to 9. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except in the following respects.

Referring to Figures 5 to 7, the tongue portion 14 is not rigid with the fitting portion 12; Instead, the tongue strips 26,28 are separate from the fitting portion 10, and a pair of ears 50 depend from the tongue strips 26,28 at the proximal end of the tongue portion 14 so that the rails 16,18 are sandwiched between the ears 50. A transverse pin 52 is fixed beneath the rails 16,18 and extends through holes in the ears 50 so that the tongue portion 14 is pivoted with respect to the fitting portion 12 about the axis of the pin 52. The attachment may be used in three configurations: (i) as shown in Figure 5, the angle Cl between the longitudinal directions of the rails 16,18 and the tongue portion 14 is obtuse and may be about 150 to 160 similarly to the first embodiment.; (ii) as shown in Figure 6, the angle C2 between the longitudinal directions of the rails 16,18 and the tongue portion 14 is approximately a right angle; and (iii) as shown in Figure 7, the longitudinal directions of the rails 16,18 and the tongue portion 14 are generally parallel, with the tongue portion 14 below the fitting portion. The attachment 10 may be held in its various configurations by various means. For example, clamp nuts (not shown) may be screw-fitted to the ends of the pivot pin 52 and optionally complementary serrated detent elements may fitted between the ears 50 and the rails 16,18. Alternatively, spring-loaded detent pins 54 may be secured to the rails 16,18 and arranged to engage with any of three holes 56 in the ears 50 to define the three configurations.

It should be noted that in the second and third configurations of Figures 6 and 7, the tongue portion 14 does not obstruct the passageway through the fitting portion 12 for the board 34 so that the attachment 10 may be fitted at any position along the board 34.

A clamp screw 58 is screw-threaded through the brace 20 and can be tightened against the board 34 so as to clamp the board 34 in place in the fitting portion 12.

Figure 8 shows an example use of the attachment 10 and board 34 with the attachment 10 in its first configuration of Figure 5. It is similar to the use described above with reference to Figure 3.

Figure 9 shows an example use of the attachment 10 and board 34 with the attachment 10 in its second configuration of Figure 6. It is similar to the use described above with reference to Figure 4, except that is possible to arrange the board 34 so that its upper end 36 projects beyond the attachment and over the skip 46. This enables the contents of a wheelbarrow that is wheeled up the board to be dumped closer to the centre of the skip 46. Of course, care needs to be taken that the board 34 does not tip in the anti-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 9. Furthermore, because the tongue portion 14 projects downwards over the edge of the skip 46, it is impossible for the board 34 to slip.

The second and third configurations shown in Figures 6 and 7 may also be used when it is desired to prevent a scaffold board slipping longitudinally on the transoms of a scaffolding. The third configuration of Figure 7 may furthermore be used in order to prevent a scaffold board lifting from a transom of a scaffold by trapping the transom between the fitting portion 12 and the tongue portion 14. The third configuration of Figure 7 may moreover be used in combination with a padlock and chain to secure a scaffold board to a ladder to prevent tmauthorised use of the ladder.

Many modifications and developments may be made to the embodiments of the invention described above. For example, the fitting portion 12 may be modified to fit to the board in other ways and may be of alternative construction. The tongue portion 14 may be formed as a panel of sheet steel, rather than as a frame. Rather than being a welded fabrication, the attachment 10 may be cast, for example from steel, iron or aluminium alloy.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the invention have been described above purely by way of example and that many other modifications and developments may be made thereto within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An attachment for a plank, wherein: the attachment has a fitting portion and a tongue portion; the tongue portion projects from the fitting portion and has a support surface for resting on a support; and the fitting portion is arranged to be releasably fitted to one end of the plank so that, with the faces of the plank uppermost and lowermost, the tongue portion projects from that end of the plank with its support surface lowermost and at an obtuse angle to the longitudinal direction of the plank.

2. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the tongue portion is thin; and, when the fitting portion is so fitted to the end of the plank, the tongue portion, fitting portion and plank provide a surface, over which a wheel may be rolled, that is devoid of any significant steps.

3. An attachment as claimed in claim 2, wherein the maximum thickness of the tongue is no more than 15 mm.

4. An attachment as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fitting and tongue portions are rigid with respect to each other.

5. An attachment as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fitting and tongue portions are movable with respect to each other to at least one alternative configuration in which the angle between the support surface and the lowermost face of the plank is less obtuse, a right angle or an acute angle or in which the support surface and the lowermost face of the plank are generally parallel.

6. An attachment as claimed in claim 5, wherein, when in the alternative configuration, or at least one of the alternative configurations, the fitting portion can be positioned partway along the plank so that the end of the plank projects beyond the attachment.

7. An attachment as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fitting portion is sized to receive and cooperate as aforesaid with a plank having a nominal cross-sectional size of 9 inches by P/2 inches (about 225 mm by 38 mm).

8. An attachment as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the fitting portion is sized to receive and cooperate as aforesaid with a plank having a nominal cross-sectional size of 9 inches by 2 inches (about 225 mm by 50 mm).

9. An attachment as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the fitting portion is sized to receive and cooperate as aforesaid with a plank having a nominal cross-sectional size of 9 inches by 2'/2 inches (about 225 mm by 63 mm).

10. An attachment for a plank, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

11. A ramp comprising an attachment as claimed in any preceding claim in combination with a plank as aforesaid to which the fitting portion is fitted as aforesaid.

12. The use of a ramp as claimed in claim 11 for loading a skip, with the support surface resting on an edge of the skip.

13. The use of a ramp as claimed in claim 11 for loading a vehicle, with the support surface resting on a floor of the vehicle.