GB2552992A

GB2552992A - Guard

Info

Publication number: GB2552992A
Application number: GB1614176.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mervyn Clark Alan
Original assignee: Sureguard Scaffold Products Ltd
Current assignee: SUREGUARD SCAFFOLD PRODUCTS LTD
Priority date: 2016-08-19
Filing date: 2016-08-19
Publication date: 2018-02-21
Anticipated expiration: 2036-08-19
Also published as: GB201614176D0; GB2552992B

Abstract

A scaffolding guard 24 comprises a panel 296 with upper edge 64 and lower edge and at least two hook members 28, 30 for engagement with a scaffolding member. The hook members 28, 30 have a hook portion (40, Fig 7) and a coupling portion (42, Fig 7). The coupling portions are coupled to an upper region of the panel, such that the hook portions protrude from the top edge 64 of the panel and are rotatable between an operable position at an angle to the plane of the panel and a storage position parallel to the plane of the panel. Preferably the upper region of the panel is provided with a socket 36, 38 whereby the coupling portion of the hook member is coupled to the panel. The panel may comprise at least one retaining member 32, 34 to retain a scaffolding member at its lower end. The panel may comprise an opening 52, 54 at its lower edge, wherein a limb of the retaining member may be accommodated within an opening 52, 54 on adjacent panel when stacked with other scaffolding guards.

Description

(54) Title of the Invention: Guard Abstract Title: Scaffolding guard (57) A scaffolding guard 24 comprises a panel 296 with upper edge 64 and lower edge and at least two hook members 28, 30 for engagement with a scaffolding member. The hook members 28, 30 have a hook portion (40, Fig 7) and a coupling portion (42, Fig 7). The coupling portions are coupled to an upper region of the panel, such that the hook portions protrude from the top edge 64 of the panel and are rotatable between an operable position at an angle to the plane of the panel and a storage position parallel to the plane of the panel. Preferably the upper region of the panel is provided with a socket 36, 38 whereby the coupling portion of the hook member is coupled to the panel. The panel may comprise at least one retaining member 32, 34 to retain a scaffolding member at its lower end. The panel may comprise an opening 52, 54 at its lower edge, wherein a limb of the retaining member may be accommodated within an opening 52, 54 on adjacent panel when stacked with other scaffolding guards.

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Guard

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention provides a guard for use in scaffolding. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention provides a brick guard, which in use forms a protective side to a working surface of a scaffolding structure.

BACKGROUND

Scaffolding is a temporary structure to support work in the construction and maintenance of buildings and other structures, such as bridges. Scaffolding typically has three main components: standards, ledgers and transoms. The standards are upright components, which are joined by horizontal braces called ledges. Transoms are horizontal components which rest on the ledgers, at right angles. The standards, ledgers and transoms are typically made of metal tubing and connected together by scaffolding couplers, such as clamps. Scaffolding boards are placed onto the transoms to provide a working surface for the workers.

In order to ensure the safety of both scaffolding workers and members of the public in the scaffolding environs, scaffolding must have several safety features. Guard rails are provided to prevent the workers from falling from the scaffolding; these are horizontal component mounted on the standards on the outer edge of the scaffolding. Toe boards are boards positioned adjacent the scaffolding boards to provide both safety for workers on the scaffolding and prevent material on the scaffolding boards from being kicked off its surface; these are mounted on the outer edge of the scaffolding.

A further safety feature is a panel, known as a scaffolding guard or brick guard, which forms a barrier against material falling from the scaffolding. It typically extends between the guard rail and the toe board. The brick guard gives further protection against bricks and the like falling from the scaffolding.

An example of a known scaffolding guard comprises a metal mesh screen, with hooks welded to the upper side to enable the mesh screen to be hooked over the guard rail.

Brick guards made from plastics material are becoming more popular but conventional methods of joining metal mesh screens to scaffolding are not generally suitable for mesh panels made from plastics materials.

GB2412140 relates to a brick guard including a steel wire screen and a pair of steel wire hook members. The hook members have an elongate body portion, with a C-shaped hook portion at one end to hook over a scaffolding pole, and a retaining portion at the other end to hook over the toeboard. The hook members are attached to the screen by fasteners which allow rotation of the hook member.

GB2137275 relates to a scaffolding guard comprising a metal screen and member for attaching the screen to a scaffolding pole. The member has a stem which lies in the plane of the screen and a hook which protrudes from the screen. The hook is rotatable between a hooking position and an inoperative position. The stem has a flattened portion at one end, positioned at the bottom of the panel, which limits longitudinal movement of the member relative to the screen.

GB2507847 relates to a brick guard having a panel and two hangers. The panel has a housing extending a small amount rearward of the panel with a recess for the hanger. When not in use, each hanger lies in a first orientation within its recessed housing, substantially coplanar with the panel. In a second orientation, the hangers are at an angel to the plane of the panel, so deploying its hook formation to loop over a horizontal member of the scaffolding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect ofthe present invention provides a scaffolding guard for use in scaffolding, comprising:

a panel, the panel having upper and lower edges;

at least two hook members for engagement with a scaffolding member, said hook members comprising a hook portion and a coupling portion;

wherein the coupling portions are coupled to an upper region ofthe panel, such that the hook portions protrude from the top edge of the panel and are rotatable between an operable position at an angle to the plane of the panel and a storage position parallel to the plane of the panel.

The operable position may be substantially transverse to the plane of the panel, for example between 80° and 100° or preferably about 90°. The operable position and/or the storage position may be defined by stops between the coupling portion and the upper region of the panel.

The panel may comprise a plurality of spaces. This has the advantage of allowing wind to pass through and reducing weight. The panel may comprise a mesh panel. The panel may comprise plastics material.

The coupling portion may be coupled to the upper region of the panel using a male/female coupling. For example, the coupling portion may comprise the male and the upper region of the panel may comprise the female. The upper region of the panel may be provided with a socket and wherein the coupling portion of the hook member may be coupled to the socket in the panel.

The at least two hook members may be removable from the panel. This enables broken hook members to be easily replaced.

The at least two hook members may be coupled to the upper region of the panel in an interlocking arrangement. In one embodiment, the interlocking arrangement is a snap-fit arrangement, such as for example annular, torsional or cantilever snap fit arrangements.

The at least two hook members may be coupled to the upper region of the panel by an interference fit, for example in which the coupling members are held in a socket in the upper region of the panel by friction.

The coupling portion may comprise two spaced legs. The legs may be resilient. The coupling portion may comprise an outwardly extending protrusion at the lower region of at least one leg. The coupling portion may comprise an outwardly extending portion, such as an annular rim in the region of the junction between the coupling portion and the hook portion. One or both of the outwardly extending protrusions hold the coupling portion in place in the socket.

The hook portions may protrude from the top edge of the panel in both the operable and storage positions.

The hook member may be made from a material selected from metal and plastics. Suitable materials include Nylon, polypropylene and steel.

In one embodiment, the hook portion comprises a hook with a proximal end connected to the coupling portion and a distil end, wherein the distance between the upper edge of the panel and the lower surface of the top of the hook is less than 65mm, or preferably less than 60mm.

The panel may be configured so that the upper edge comprises a recess at the location where the hook member connects to the panel.

The panel may comprise at least one retaining member to retain a scaffolding member at its lower end. The at least one retaining member may be integral with the panel. The at least one retaining member may be independent of the two or more hook members.

The retaining member may comprise a limb which extends from within the body of the panel towards an edge of the panel, at least a portion of the limb being offset from the plane of the panel. The limb may be resilient. The panel may comprise an opening at its lower edge and wherein the limb extends across the opening towards the edge of the panel. The retaining member may comprise a joining portion and an offset portion, wherein the offset portion is offset from the plane of the panel and substantially parallel to the plane of the panel and wherein the joining portion joins the offset portion to the panel body. The opening and limb may be arranged such that when two or more scaffolding guards are stacked, the limb of one panel lies in the opening of an adjacent panel.

The panel may comprise a plurality of spaces, configured so that at least a part of a retaining member in one scaffolding guard can fit through one of the plurality of spaces of a second scaffolding guard. The plurality of spaces may be positioned at a height from the bottom of the panel that corresponds to the height of at least part of the retaining member, such as the joining portion. This enables two scaffolding guards to be positioned with panels partially overlapping, with the retaining member of one scaffolding guard protruding through one of the plurality of spaces in a panel of a second scaffolding guard.

The scaffolding guard may comprise two or more retaining members. The use of two or more retaining members firmly secures the lower edge of the panel, reducing the likelihood of the panel becoming dislodged by the wind. The combination of two hook members and two retaining members provides a secure fixing for the scaffolding guard.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the words “comprise” and “contain” and variations of the words, for example “comprising” and “comprises”, mean “including but not limited to”, and do not exclude other components, integers or steps. Moreover the singular encompasses the plural unless the context otherwise requires: in particular, where the indefinite article is used, the specification is to be understood as contemplating plurality as well as singularity, unless the context requires otherwise.

Preferred features of each aspect of the invention may be as described in connection with any of the other aspects. Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig 1 is a simplified front view of a scaffolding assembly according to the prior art;

Fig 2 is a simplified front view of a prior art brick guard mounted on the scaffolding assembly of Fig 1;

Fig 3 is a top view of a brick guard according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig 4 is a front view of a brick guard according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig 5 is a side view of a brick guard according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig 6 is a perspective view of a brick guard according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig 7 shows the hook member of the brick guard according to the embodiment of Figures 3 to 6; and

Fig 8 is a front view of brick guard according a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A conventional scaffolding assembly 10 according to the prior art is illustrated in Fig 1. This typically has vertical components called standards 12 and horizontal components called ledgers 14, connected together by scaffolding couplers. Horizontal components called transoms 16 are laid on the ledgers, at right angles. Scaffolding boards 18 are placed onto the transoms to form a working platform.

Figure 2 shows the scaffolding assembly of Figure 1, including conventionally used safety equipment. A guard rail 20 is a horizontal component mounted to the standards at waist height to form a safety barrier, typically at a minimum height above the working surface of 950mm. A toe board 22 is positioned at the edge of the scaffolding boards to provide a safety barrier at foot level; it typically has a height of 225mm. A scaffolding guard 24, known as a brick guard, is mounted between the guard rail 20 and toe board 22 to provide a physical barrier, preventing bricks and other building material from falling off the scaffolding and harming people or property below.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to figures 3 to 6. The scaffolding guard 24 has a panel 26 made of plastics material. Two hook members 28,30 are provided at the top edge of the panel 26 for engagement with a guard rail. Two retaining members 32,34 are provided on the lower edge of the panel 26 for engagement with a toe board.

The panel is made from polypropylene plastics material, formed by moulding. The panel is generally rectangular in shape and has a mesh predominately formed with horizontal and vertical strips defining intermediate spaces.

The top region of the panel is provided with two vertical sockets to accommodate the hook members. The sockets extend into the panel approximately 70mm and the panel is without spaces in the area immediately around the sockets. The sockets are approximately cylindrical in shape. The bottom of the socket has a region of enlarged internal diameter, which in this embodiment is open.

The hook member is shown in more detail in Figure 7. The hook member 28 is made from Nylon and has a hook portion 40 and a coupling portion 42. In use, the coupling portion 42 is received by the socket in the panel. The lower region of the coupling portion is split into two legs 44,46, with a space between them. The lower end of one leg is provided with an outwardly extending lip 48. The junction between the coupling portion and the hook portion is provided with an annular extending rim 50.

The hook portions 40 are pushed into the sockets 36,38 of the panel, with the legs 44,46 resiliently deflecting towards one another as the socket is pushed in place. Once inserted into a socket 36,38, the hook member 40 is held in place by the outwardly extending lip 48 abutting the bottom of the socket at the region of enlarged diameter and the annular rim 50 abutting the top of the socket. This arrangement limits vertical movement of the hook member with respect to the panel but allows rotational movement about the longitudinal axis of the coupling portion. The sockets are approximately cylindrical in shape.

Two retaining members 32,34 are formed at the lower end of the panel 26. At the area of each retaining member 32,34, the panel has a generally rectangular opening 52,54. Each retaining member 32,34 is formed from a limb 56 which extends from the body of the panel, across the opening 52,54 towards the lower edge of the panel. Each limb 56 has a panel section 58, a joining section 60 and an offset section 62. The panel section 58 is joined to the body of the panel, the offset section 62 extends in a plane parallel but offset from the plane of the panel and the joining section 60 joins the panel section and the offset section. The distance between the offset section 62 of the limb and the plane of the panel is sized to accommodate a toe board between them. The limb 56 has sufficient resilience that it may be deflected by a toe board thicker than the offset distance. The deflection causes the limb to be biased back towards its rest position, ensuring a firm hold of the toe board.

In use, the brick guard is positioned on the side of the scaffolding platform. At its lower edge, the toe board is held by the retaining members 32,34, such that the panel sits on one side of the toe board and the offset portion 62 of the limb 56 on the opposite side. At its upper edge, the hook members 28,30 are rotated to be substantially at right angles to the plane of the panel 26 and are hooked over the guard rail.

This invention allows the brick guards to be stacked when not in use. For storage, the hooks are rotated so that they lie within the plane of the panel. When stacked, the offset portion of the limb of one retaining member lies adjacent the offset portion of the limb of an adjacent member, the opening of adjacent panels ensuring there is no obstruction.

The brick guard of the present invention is simple and low cost to manufacture. The hook members do not need to engage with the mesh of the panel, which makes it particularly suitable for plastics meshes.

A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figure 8, which shows a front view of a scaffolding guard. Similar features to the first embodiment are indicated by the same reference numbers.

In this embodiment, the upper edge 64 of the panel 26 is much closer to the hook portion 40 of the hook member 28 than in the first embodiment.

The hook portion 40 has a C-shaped hook 66 with a proximal end 68 connected to the coupling portion 42 and a distil end 70.

The panel 26 is configured such that its upper edge 64 is very close to lower surface of the guard rail over which the hook members are positioned. A guard rail typically has a diameter of 2 inches (48.3mm). In this embodiment there is an 8mm clearance gap between the upper edge 64 of the panel and lower surface of the guard mail. This is a much smaller gap than found in prior art scaffolding guards, which typically have gaps of 30mm for steel wire panels and 20mm to 60mm for plastic panels. The reduced gap improves the safety of the scaffolding guard, ensuring no building materials and debris can fall between the gap between the guard rail and the scaffolding guard.

The reduced clearance gap is achieved by providing recesses 72 in the panel 26 in the region where the hook members 28,30 connect to the panel 26.

The scaffolding guard illustrated in Figure 8 is made of a plastics material, for example polypropylene. It includes reinforced regions 76 which have a greater thickness than the rest of the panel to improve the strength of the panel. The reinforced regions include a vertical reinforcement extending from the region of a hook member to the region of the retaining member.

In both embodiments, the panels 26 comprise a plurality of spaces 74, for example holes created by a mesh structure. The size of at least some of the spaces 74 are such that at least part of the limb of a retaining member 52,54 of one scaffolding guard may be inserted through a space 74 of a second scaffolding guard. This allows adjacent scaffolding guards to overlap. In the first and second embodiments, all of the spaces at the height of the retaining members have a width greater than the width of the retaining member.

Claims

1. A scaffolding guard for use in scaffolding, comprising: a panel, the panel having upper and lower edges;

wherein the coupling portions are coupled to an upper region of the panel, such that the hook portions protrude from the top edge of the panel and are rotatable between an operable position at an angle to the plane of the panel and a storage position parallel to the plane of the panel.

2. A scaffolding guard according to claim 1, wherein the panel comprises a mesh panel.

3. A scaffolding guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the panel comprises plastics material.

4. A scaffolding guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the upper region of the panel is provided with a socket and wherein the coupling portion of the hook member is coupled to the socket in the panel.

5. A scaffolding guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the at least two hook members are coupled to the upper region of the panel in an interlocking arrangement.

6. A scaffolding guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the hook portions protrude from the top edge of the panel in both the operable and storage positions.

7. A scaffolding guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the hook member is made from a material selected from metal and plastics.

8. A scaffolding guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the panel comprises at least one retaining member to retain a scaffolding member at its lower end.

9. A scaffolding guard according to claim 8, wherein the retaining member comprises a limb which extends from within the body of the panel towards an edge of the panel, at least a portion of the limb being offset from the plane of the panel.

10. A scaffolding guard according to claim 9, wherein the panel comprises an opening at its lower edge and wherein the limb extends across the opening towards the edge of the panel.

11. A scaffolding guard according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the retaining member comprises a joining portion and an offset portion, wherein the offset portion is offset from the plane of the panel and substantially parallel to the plane of the panel and wherein the joining portion joins the offset portion to the panel body.

12. A scaffolding guard according to any of claims 10 or 11, wherein the opening and limb are arranged such that when two or more scaffolding guards are stacked, the limb of one panel lies in the opening of an adjacent panel.

13. A scaffolding guard according to claim 7, wherein the at least one retaining member is integral with the panel.

14. A scaffolding guard as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB 1614176.4 Examiner: Mrs Judith Peake