GB2582203A

GB2582203A - Enclosure and method of assembling an enclosure

Info

Publication number: GB2582203A
Application number: GB2000191.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Edward Bowman Mark
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2019-01-08
Filing date: 2020-01-07
Publication date: 2020-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 2040-01-07
Also published as: GB2582203B; GB202000191D0

Abstract

The anchor apparatus, particularly for use with a hoarding support member (e.g. post) P, comprises two support arms 240 for mounting in relation to a ballast article (e.g. block) B. Each arm is independently adjustable so as to vary its extent from the ballast article. The support arms may be attached to, and optionally adjustable relative to, a mounting member which may have clamp portions, optionally adjustable, for gripping a ballast article and/or a portion 220 arranged to engage with a hole or socket thereof. One or both support arms may comprise a bracket 240c for engaging the hoarding support member. The bracket may be mounted, e.g. threadably mounted, on a brace member 240b of the support arm, and the brace member may be threadably mounted on the mounting member. The bracket may be adjustable in at least two degrees of freedom relative to the mounting member. Also claimed are a system comprising the anchor apparatus and a ballast article, and a hoarding erection method.

Description

Enclosure and Method of assembling an Enclosure The present invention relates to an enclosure, and to a method of assembling the same. It is concerned particularly, although not exclusively, with a temporary enclosure and a 10 method of assembling or erecting such an enclosure.

Temporary enclosures are used in many situations to prevent unwanted or unauthorised access to a space. One such application is on a construction site, where it is often a requirement that members of the public be prevented from accessing the site for reasons of their own safety, and sometimes to prevent theft of plant and/or materials from the site. A temporary barrier, sometimes known as a hoarding, is usually erected around the perimeter of the site.

In the past, such temporary structures have been made of wood, and have comprised a series of wooden posts concreted into holes in the ground at intervals around the perimeter, with plywood sheets or panels then affixed thereto.

One problem with enclosures of this kind is that the wooden panels, and sometimes the posts, become damaged over time due to exposure to the elements, particularly rainwater. This problem becomes greater the longer the site is under construction. Another problem arises when construction ends and the enclosure must be disassembled and removed. It is often difficult and time consuming to remove the panels from the posts, and to remove the posts from the ground, so that the most cost-effective approach is often to destroy the enclosure rather than re-use it.

In our UK Patent Number GB2300435, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, we proposed a temporary fencing system that addresses the above-mentioned problems.

Our UK Patent Number GB2539764B addresses an improvement, in which operatives are able to assemble the hoarding and finalise the positions of the panels thereof whilst avoiding the need to stand on a platform or ladder, which improves safety as well as the speed and efficiency with which a hoarding may be assembled.

Figures la to lc show schematically a sequence in the erection of a hoarding system of this kind. When a post 112 has been fixed in the ground, a slideable bracket 100 is mounted thereon. The bracket supports a panel holder 124 to which it is securely attached by bolts. An operative OP is seen tightening the bolts 108 to ensure a firm connection between the panel holder and the bracket 100. The operative works comfortably at a height only slightly greater than his own. The operative slides in hoarding panels 128 between the panel holders 124 and finally the brackets 100 are lowered and tightened to securely retain the panels between the panel holders 124.

In the prior patents referred to above, the examples of hoardings are those of a type in which the support posts 112 are fixed directly into the ground at their base, by concreting them into sockets that are dug in the earth. There are circumstances when it is desirable to retain the support posts in place without anchoring them in the ground, such as when the ground should not be disturbed. In such circumstances the posts are held in an upright configuration by anchoring to them to heavy concrete ballast blocks that stand on the ground surface. However, the heavy ballast blocks, typically placed by machine, are not always perfectly aligned. The ground may also be uneven, so that it may be difficult to adjust the posts to ensure that they are all vertical.

Prior approaches to solving this problem have included moving the ballast blocks manually, which is difficult and time consuming. Also wedges and packing blocks have been used to adjust the block and/or the positioning of the pole relative to the block, which is also time consuming.

Figures 2 and 3 show examples of the prior art arrangements for mounting a hoarding support pole P in relation to a ballast block B. In Figure 2, the pole P is retained on the block B by a bracket made up of scaffold tubes T, one of which is attached to the block B by fixings F. A hoarding panel H is shown supported by the post P. Wedges W have been manually inserted beneath the block B to adjust the attitude of the post P. Figure 3 shows a variant, in which the scaffold tubes have been replaced by a triangular brace TB. Again, wedges (not shown) are necessary to make fine adjustment to the attitude of the post.

Embodiments of the present invention aim to provide an anchor apparatus for a hoarding support member, and a method of anchoring a hoarding support member, in which the abovementioned problems are at least partly addressed.

The present invention is defined in the attached independent claims, to which reference should now be made. Further, preferred features may be found in the sub-claims appended thereto.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided anchor apparatus for a hoarding support member, the apparatus comprising first and second support arms for mounting in relation to a ballast article in use, wherein the first and second support arms are independently adjustable so that the extent to which they project from the ballast article can be independently set.

The apparatus preferably comprises a mounting member for engaging a ballast article, the support arms being attached 25 to the mounting member.

Preferably one or both of the support arms is adjustable with respect to the mounting member.

In a preferred arrangement the mounting member comprises a clamp having clamp portions for gripping a ballast article.

The clamp is preferably adjustable.

The mounting member may comprise a portion that is arranged to pass through or engage with a hole or socket of a ballast article.

Alternatively, or in addition, the mounting member may be 10 mounted directly to the surface of the ballast article, such as by means of fixings which may comprise expansion fixings.

The support arm preferably comprises a bracket for engaging with the hoarding support member. In a preferred arrangement the support arm comprises a shaft or brace member to on which the bracket is mounted. The bracket may be threadably mounted on the brace member. Alternatively, or in addition, the brace member may be threadably mounted on the mounting member.

The bracket is preferably adjustable in at least one, more preferably at least two, degrees of movement with respect to the mounting member.

The invention also includes an anchor system for a hoarding support member, the system comprising a ballast article and first and second support arms for engaging a hoarding support member, wherein the first and second arms are mountable on the ballast article so as to project therefrom and wherein the arms are independently adjustable with respect to the ballast article.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of erecting a hoarding comprising a plurality of hoarding panels, a plurality of hoarding support 35 members and a plurality of ballast articles, wherein the method comprises connecting each of the support members to a respective ballast article by engaging the support member with first and second adjustable support arms mounted on the ballast article and independently adjusting the support arms with respect to the ballast article to hold the support member in a desired configuration.

The invention may include any combination of the features or limitations referred to herein, except such a combination of features as are mutually exclusive, or mutually 15 inconsistent.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figures la to lc show schematically a sequence in the erection of a hoarding system, according to the prior art; Figures 2 and 3 show schematically apparatus for anchoring 25 a hoarding support, according to the prior art; Figures 4a and 4b show, respectively from a front oerspective and from a rear perspective an apparatus for anchoring a support member of a hoarding, according to a first embodiment 30 of the present invention; Figure 4ec shows a variant of the embodiment of Figures 4a and 4b; Figures 5a and 5b show, respectively from a front oerspective and from a rear perspective an apparatus for anchoring a support member of a hoarding, according to a second embodiment of the present invention; Figures 6a and 6b show, respectively from a front perspective and from a rear perspective an apparatus for anchoring a support member of a hoarding, according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 7 shows schematically a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Turning to Figures 4a and 4b these show, generally at 200, an anchor system for securely mounting a support post P of a hoarding (not shown) in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The post P (omitted from Figure 4b) is mounted on a ballast block B by a mounting clamp 210 comprising a portion of rectangular hollow-section steel. The ballast block B may be of concrete and may typically have dimensions of 1000 mm (width), 600mm (height) and 500 mm (depth). The block may have a typical mass of 750 Kg.

The mounting clamp 210 is securely attached to the block B by a mounting bar 220, which may comprise a scaffold tube, that passes through a bore in the block. Front (Figure 4b), and rear (Figure 4a), collar fixings 230, which may comprise scaffold couplers, retain the bar 220 in the block and also the mounting clamp on the bar 220.

Upper and lower support arms 240 are fixed to the mounting clamp 210. Each of the arms 240 has a proximal base portion 240a, secured to the clamp 210, and comprising a tube with an internal thread or nut welded to the end of a tube, a threaded bar 240b for threadably engaging the base portion 240a and a distal post holder 240c, secured to the threaded bar 240b which, in the example shown, are substantially cylindrical collars that can be made to releasably grip the post. The arms are independently adjustable so that the distances of each of the post holders 240c from the clamp 210 can be varied. In addition, the attitude of the post holders can be adjusted so that, for example, a post thus supported need not extend parallel to the clamp 210. This adjustability means that a post can be securely anchored in a substantially vertical orientation, whether or not the block is placed horizontally on the ground. It also means that adjacent posts in a series of posts can be aligned even if the blocks that anchor them are misaligned.

Figure 4c shows a variant in which the arms 240 are mounted 25 on the ballast block B by a steel mounting plate 212 which is, itself, secured to the block B by expanding concrete anchor bolts 214.

Figures 5a and 5b show another embodiment. In this case there is a variant 310 of the mounting clamp of Figures 4a and 4b. The clamp 310 has a chassis portion 310a that extends over the top of the block B and which is secured to the block B, at a face opposite to the one facing the post, by threaded lock fixings 320, which pass through holes in the clamp 310 and engage with threaded sockets 330 of the block. The post-engaging components are the same as in the previous examples.

Figures 6a and 6b show a still further embodiment. In this embodiment, the clamp 410 is of two-part telescopic construction, comprising a telescopic inner portion 410a and a telescopic outer portion 410b. A handle 420 cooperates with a threaded tightening bar 430 which links the two portions 410a and 410b, and which can be used to draw them together to firmly clamp the block B, or alternatively to separate the portions for release. Again, the post-engaging components are the same as in the previous examples.

Figure 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment the ballast article is not a concrete block, but a gabion G. A gabion is a box or cage filled with ballast such as rubble. It has the advantage of easy transportation and assembly. In this embodiment the mounting clamp is secured to the gabion by a mounting bar 220 and collar 230, as with the Figure 4 embodiment, but in this case the load is spread across the surface of the gabion G using a plate 500.

In another variant, not shown, the mounting clamp itself can comprise a simple plate that can be bolted or otherwise 30 secured to a fixed ballast article, for example an existing structure such as a wall.

In the examples shown, the posts are typically scaffold tubes, which are fully enclosed by the post holders 240c. 35 However, the post holders 240c need not enclose the post entirely, but in some embodiments (not shown) may simply support the post. For example, if the post is a wooden member, such as a length of rectangular-section wood, the post holder 240c may comprise a U-section for receiving at least a part of the post, to which the post may optionally secured by means of self-tapping bolts.

The anchor system described above can be used with any hoarding in which ballast articles, such as the blocks described above, are employed to support posts. The adjustability of the post holding components means that a perfect positioning/alignment of the blocks is not necessary, and also that there is no need to adjust the attitude of the blocks, for example with wedges, in the case of uneven ground.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance, it should be understood that the applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features referred to herein, and/or shown in the drawings, whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Anchor apparatus for a hoarding support member, the apparatus comprising first and second support arms for mounting in relation to a ballast article in use, wherein the first and second support arms are independently adjustable so that the extent to which they project from the ballast article can be independently set.
2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a mounting member for engaging a ballast article, the support arms being attached to the mounting member.
3. Apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein one or both of the support arms is adjustable with respect to the mounting member.
4. Apparatus according to Claim 2 or 3, wherein the mounting member comprises a clamp having clamp portions for gripping a ballast article.
5. Apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein the clamp isadjustable.
6. Apparatus according to any of Claims 2-5, wherein the mounting member comprises a portion that is arranged to pass through or engage with a hole or socket of a ballast article.
7. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein one or both of the support arms comprises a bracket for engaging with the hoarding support member.
8. Apparatus according to Claim 7, wherein the support arm comprises a shaft or brace member to on which the bracket is mounted.
9. Apparatus according to Claim 8, wherein the bracket is threadably mounted on the brace member.
10. Apparatus according to Claim 8 or 9, wherein the brace member is threadably mounted on the mounting member.
11. Apparatus according to any of Claims 7-10, wherein the bracket is adjustable in at least two degrees of movement with respect to the mounting member.
12. An anchor system for a hoarding support member, the system comprising a ballast article and first and second support arms for engaging a hoarding support member, wherein the first and second arms are mountable on the ballast article so as to project therefrom and wherein the arms are independently adjustable with respect to the ballast article.
13. A method of erecting a hoarding comprising a plurality of hoarding panels, a plurality of hoarding support members and a plurality of ballast articles, wherein the method comprises connecting each of the support members to a respective ballast article by engaging the support member with first and second adjustable support arms mounted on the ballast article and independently adjusting the support arms with respect to the ballast article to hold the support member in a desired configuration.