GB2431192A

GB2431192A - Safety apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2431192A
Application number: GB0519440A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony James Peter Carden
Original assignee: Shire Precast Erection Ltd
Current assignee: Shire Precast Erection Ltd
Priority date: 2005-09-23
Filing date: 2005-09-23
Publication date: 2007-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 2025-09-23
Also published as: GB0519440D0; GB2431192B

Abstract

A safety apparatus comprising a attachment part to engage a structural beam, a barrier part extending upwardly of the structural part and a connection part extending downwardly of the attachment part.

Description

Title: Safety Apparatus

Description of Invention

This invention relates to a safety apparatus, more particularly, but not exclusively to a support structure for a hand rail or a safety net for use in modular building construction.

It is known to build buildings such as hotels around a steel frame of structural beams. The building is erected by constructing the steel frame upon which prefabricated concrete modules can then be placed. The concrete modules may provide a floor part, or may provide the walls of a room unit.

When building personnel are working above head height, for example, on the top of a building structure, it is a requirement that safety equipment be provided to prevent or arrest a fall of a person from the building. It may also be required to provide means to prevent equipment or debris falling onto any S...

S* people on the ground or the floors below. S...

20 Conventional scaffolding, erected around the exterior of the building structure, can be used to provide a safety handrail around the top of the structure, but as *:*:.* the height of the building increases, for example when a new floor or module is added to the building structure, it is necessary also to increase the height of * SIS. S * the scaffolding. Assembling a new scaffolding layer each time a new floor is added, in order to provide a safety handrail, is labour intensive and time consuming. Where external scaffolding is not available or is impractical, it is possible for a handrail to be installed at the edge of a new floor, but the personnel installing the handrail must be attached to the building by a safety harness. ..DTD: As a primary aim of using a pre-fabricated, modular building structure is reduce the time required to erect a building, this is a significant disadvantage.

An aim of the present invention is to provide a safety apparatus, such as a safety handrail, which may be quickly and easily installed as the height of the building structure increases.

According to the present invention, we provide a safety apparatus comprising a attachment part to engage a structural beam, a barrier part extending upwardly of the structural part and a connection part extending downwardly of the attachment part.

The attachment part may be connectable to a structural beam such that the safety apparatus is suspended from the beam.

The attachment part may comprise a clamp to engage the beam. I... S...

The attachment part may comprise a hook part to engage a flange of the beam

S

I 5155. * S

* The clamp may comprise a part moveable relative to the hook to engage a further flange of the beam.

S.....

S S

The barrier part may extend upwardly such that, when the safety apparatus is engaged with the beam, the barrier part extends past a floor located on the beam.

The barrier part may comprise a frame and a barrier supported on the frame.

The barrier may comprise a mesh.

The safety apparatus may comprise a transversely extending part connected between the barrier part and the connection part wherein the attachment means are provided on the transversely extending part.

An attachment part may be provided at each side of the transversely extending part.

The transversely extending part may comprise a frame and a horizontal part supported on the frame.

The connection part may comprises a elongate element connectable to a part of the structure.

The elongate part may be connectable to a guardrail fixed to the structure. S.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein; S. *

S S * .*

: * * , 20 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a safety apparatus embodying the present invention, and a..... . . . . . * * Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of the safety apparatus of Figure 1 in use.

Referring now to Figure 1, a perspective view of a safety apparatus embodying the present invention is shown at 10. The safety apparatus 10 comprises a barrier part 11 and a correction part 12 with a transversely extending transverse part 13 connecting the barrier part 11 and connection part 12. Mounted on the transverse part 13 are a pair of attachment parts 14, here located one at each side of the transverse part 14. The attachment partsl4 each comprise a hook part 15 to engage a structural beam and a clamp part 16 to engage the beam and hold the attachment parts 14 in place adjacent to the beam. In the present example, the clamp part 16 is moveable in a direction towards and away from the hook part 15 as indicated by arrow A to enable the attachment part 14 to be engaged with and clamp onto the lower flanges of a structural beam comprising an I-shaped beam as discussed in more detail below. The clamp part 16 may be moveable by any means as desired, for example by sliding in a track and moveable by the workmen 34 pulling on a rope, but any appropriate mechanism may be moved as desired.

The barrier part 11 comprises a peripheral frame 20 which supports a barrier 21. The barrier 21 may comprise a wire mesh in known manner, or may comprise bars, an open space with a kick board at the bottom or any other appropriate barrier as desired. The barrier part 11 extends upwardly of the attachment part by such a distance that, when the attachment part 14 is engaged with a structural beam, the barrier part 11 extends upwardly from the : ** attachment part 14 alongside a wall located above the structural beam, such S...

that an upper rail 22 of the frame 20 is at the height above the floor required for a handrail or other guard rail as required by law or otherwise as appropriate. 20

* The transverse part 13, in like manner to the barrier part 11, comprises a peripheral frame 23 which supports a horizontal part 24. In this example, the * S....

* horizontal part 24 comprises a wire mesh in like manner to the barrier 21, but may comprise a net, continuous sheet or other material as desired.

The connection part 12 extends downwardly from the transverse part 13 to enable the safety apparatus 10 to be connected to a rigid part of the structure or other support. The connection part 12 in the present example comprises a peripheral frame 25 which can advantageously be connected to, for example, a handrail fixed to a floor of the structure without requiring any variation in the height of the connection part 12.

The safety apparatus 10 is used as illustrated in Figure 2 as follows. As illustrated in the upper part of Figure 2, a safety apparatus 10 is engaged with a structural beam 30 of a building structure generally indicated at 31. The structural beam 30 is I-shaped in cross-section and has a first lower flange 32 and a second lower flange 33. The hook part of the attachment part 14 is engaged with the inwardly directed flange 32 of the structural beam 30. The clamp part 16 of the attachment part 14 is in a disengaged or released position to enable the flanges 33, 32 to be introduced into the attachment part 4.

Advantageously, a workman generally shown at 34 can offer the safety apparatus 10 up to the beam 30, and once the first flange 32 is engaged with the hook part 15, rotate the safety apparatus in a generally clockwise direction as shown in the diagram by arrow B such that the flange 33 may be engaged by the clamp part 16. As illustrated in the lower part of Figure 2, the safety S... . apparatus 10 can be fixed in place by moving the clamp part 16 to engage the flange 32 such that the attachment part 14 is securely connected to the structural beam 30. S.... * .

The connection part 12 is then connected to a handrail or other support 5:'..: generally shown at 40 fixedly connected to a floor 41 of the structure 31, for S.....

* * example by a conventional scaffolding clamp as shown at 35 to lock the safety apparatus 10 in place.

The barrier part 11 is of such height that it extends upwardly of the transverse part 13 and attachment part 14 past the structural beam 30 and past a floor 42 located above or supported on the structural beam 30, to such a height that it acts as a guardrail or barrier in accordance with appropriate safety or legal requirements. The barrier part 11 will thus act as a safety barrier to prevent a person or object falling off the floor 42 whilst the horizontal part 24 of the transverse part 13 will catch any tools or other object which roll off the edge of the floor slab 42.

The safety apparatus allows a barrier to be safely located at the edge of a new floor of the structure 31. As is clear from Figure 2, the safety apparatus 10 may be put in place from a location below the new floor slab. Once the safety apparatus 10 is in place, a workman may safely go on to the floor in order to install a handrail or other barrier 40 attached to the floor slab. That handrail or barrier 40 may itself in turn serve as an attachment point for the safety apparatus 10 to protect the next floor above.

It is clear that once a handrail 40 is in place, the safety apparatus 10 protecting that floor may be left in place or may alternatively be removed and used again in the building structure 31. The safety of workers in the building structure 31 can be insured without requiring the erection of external scaffolding or requiring safety lines or other fall arrest equipment. By providing a plurality of safety apparatuses 10 of a particular length, for example 2 meters, a row of such safety apparatuses 10 can be used to provide a continuous barrier along the edge of a floor.

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

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 safety apparatus comprising a attachment part to engage a

structural beam, a barrier part extending upwardly of the structural part and a connection part extending downwardly of the attachment part.
2. A safety apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the attachment part is connectable to a structural beam such that the safety apparatus is suspended from the beam.
3. A safety apparatus according to claim I or claim 2 wherein the attachment part comprises a clamp to engage the beam.
4. A safety apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the attachment part comprises a hook part to engage a flange of the beam S.

S
5. A safety apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the clamp comprises a part moveable relative to the hook part to engage a further flange of the beam.

S * S S.
6. A safety apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the barrier part extends upwardly such that, when the safety apparatus is engaged with the beam, the barrier extends past a floor located *1S1 on the beam.
7. A safety apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the apparatus comprises a frame and a barrier supported on the frame.
8. A safety apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the barrier comprises a mesh.
9. A safety apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the safety apparatus comprises a transversely extending part connected between the barrier part and the connection part and wherein the attachment part are provided on the transversely extending part.
10. A safety apparatus according to claim 9 wherein an attachment part is provided at each side of the transversely extending part.
11. A safety apparatus according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the transversely extending part comprises a frame and a horizontal part supported on the frame.
12. A safety apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the connection part comprises a elongate element connectable to a :: partof the structure. I (q *
13. A safety apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the elongate part is connectable to a guardrail fixed to the structure. * 0

* .
14. A safety apparatus substantially as described herein and/or with reference to the accompanying drawings.
15. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings