NZ731013B - A void platform and a method for providing a platform support across a building void - Google Patents

Abstract

Void platforms are used to provide temporary platform support across a building void during construction. Some prior art void platforms are difficult to use when a timber frame extends along one side of the void. A void platform is disclosed having a support strut that includes an elongate support member having floor mounting brackets mounted on each end. Each floor mounting bracket includes an angle section including a wall plate and a flange extending transversely away from an end thereof, and a support formation projecting from the wall plate. The flange of the floor mounting bracket can extend across an upper surface of a bottom plate of a frame, or can be inverted and mounted directly on the floor. The support formations have a central axis positioned halfway up, a combined height of the bottom frame plate and the thickness of the flange, on the wall plate so that when it is inverted and mounted directly on the floor the support formations of the two floor mounting brackets will be positioned at the same height and the elongate support member extending between them will extend horizontally. member having floor mounting brackets mounted on each end. Each floor mounting bracket includes an angle section including a wall plate and a flange extending transversely away from an end thereof, and a support formation projecting from the wall plate. The flange of the floor mounting bracket can extend across an upper surface of a bottom plate of a frame, or can be inverted and mounted directly on the floor. The support formations have a central axis positioned halfway up, a combined height of the bottom frame plate and the thickness of the flange, on the wall plate so that when it is inverted and mounted directly on the floor the support formations of the two floor mounting brackets will be positioned at the same height and the elongate support member extending between them will extend horizontally.

Description

A VOID PLATFORM AND A METHOD FOR PROVIDING A PLATFORM SUPPORT ACROSS A BUILDING VOID FIELD This disclosure relates to a void platform for covering a void in a building. It also extends to a method of providing a platform support across a void in a building.

This disclosure relates particularly but not exclusively to a void platform for providing a temporary floor across a void for a stair case, a lift shaft or an atrium in a building, e.g. a high set house during a construction process. The disclosure also relates particularly to a method of providing a platform support that extends across a void in a building during a construction process. It will therefore be convenient to hereinafter describe the disclosure with reference to this example application. However at the same time it must be recognized that the disclosure is capable of broader application. For example the teaching in the disclosure could also be used in applications other than buildings under construction.

DEFINITIONS In the specification the term “comprising “shall be understood to have a broad meaning similar to the term “including” and will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. This definition also applies to variations on the term “comprising” such as “comprise” and “comprises”.

In the specification the term “floor mounting bracket” is to be interpreted broadly and shall be understood to mean a bracket that can be mounted on the floor and also on other components. However the bracket is not limited to being mounted on the floor and for example can also be mounted on a plate of a wall frame.

In the specification the term “tube” is to be very broadly interpreted and is not limited to hollow members. For example it includes within its scope members that are solid and not hollow. It also includes members that are not circular in cross sectional shape.

In the specification the term “swivel” shall be interpreted broadly and shall include within its scope a pivoting action where a member undergoes an angular movement in a plane relative to a stationary member.

BACKGROUND A void in a building is a space that is created in a building which occupies more than one level of the building. Voids are created in buildings to accommodate stair wells, atriums and elevators. Very often there is a considerable vertical drop in a void space and safety measures are required to resist construction workers from falling into the void and suffering harm. In fact there are strict workplace health and safety measures to protect workers by making voids safe during building construction.

Some safety systems that are used in voids are scaffolds, hand rails and the like.

However these systems have their shortcomings and do not prevent a tradesman or builder from falling into the void. Further they do not provide workers with access to the building structure in the region of the void including wall and ceiling structures. This is a significant limitation because often work has to be done in these areas. For example plasterboard is often applied to the full height of wall surfaces in the void. Further, once plasterboard is applied to the full height of wall it needs to be plastered and painted. Yet further services, e.g. electrical and mechanical services, need to be installed on walls and ceilings around the void.

One approach to these challenges has been to provide a temporary void platform extending across the void. This provides a temporary floor support broadly at the same level as an upper level floor that extends across the void which prevents workers from falling through the void. The void platform also provides a working deck to provide workers with access to the walls and ceilings of the structure adjacent the void, e.g. to apply plasterboard, paint walls and provide electrical and mechanical services. The additional benefit of providing a useful work platform over the other prior art solutions has caused it to be the preferred solution by tradesmen and construction workers and this has led to a large uptake of void platforms by builders.

One prior art void platform is the FLEXISAFE SYSTEM ™ by OLDFIELDS.

Another prior art system was developed by Liggins, Flaus and Mackinnon.

However these prior art void platforms have significant limitations. In particular they are difficult to install and many are not failsafe. Further they are not very versatile and flexible and they cannot easily be adapted to different shapes and sizes of voids.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE Voids in modern buildings come in different sizes and shapes and Applicant has recognized that void platforms need to be able to adapt to different sized void spaces and also different shaped void spaces. Applicant recognizes the benefits if the void platform could be installed quickly and efficiently to provide a horizontally extending working deck. Further Applicant has also recognized the need for void platforms to be failsafe so that if there is a failure it is not catastrophic.

According to one aspect of the disclosure there is provided a support strut for supporting a void platform in a void of a building, the support strut including: at least one elongate support member having a first open end and an opposed second open end; one floor mounting bracket mounted on the first end, and a further floor mounting bracket mounted on the second end, each floor mounting bracket including an angle section and a support formation, each angle section including a wall plate from which the support formation projects, and a flange extending transversely away from one end of the wall plate, wherein the support formation of each floor mounting bracket is received within the associated end of the elongate support member, and the flange of the floor mounting bracket can be positioned above the wall plate for extending across an upper surface of a bottom plate of a frame, or the flange of the floor mounting bracket can be inverted so it is positioned below the wall plate for extending across a floor.

One or more of the support formations may be in the form of tubes having a central axis. Optionally the tubes may be cylindrical having a circular cross section with a central axis. Further, optionally the tubes may conveniently be hollow to save weight but they are not required to be hollow to implement the disclosure.

Each tube may be positioned on the wall plate such that the elongate support member extends horizontally when one floor mounting bracket is mounted on a bottom plate of a wall frame on a floor support, with the flange positioned uppermost extending across an upper surface of the plate, and the other floor mounting bracket is inverted relative to said one floor mounting bracket, with the flange positioned lowermost and mounted directly on the floor support. This ensures that the support strut extends horizontally when installed by virtue of the design without any skill being required of the installer.

The central axis of the tube on the wall plate may be positioned halfway up a combined height of the wall plate and the thickness of the flange so that when the floor mounting bracket is inverted and mounted directly on the floor support the tubes of the two brackets will be positioned at substantially the same vertical height. This causes the elongate support member extending between the two brackets, and the support strut as a whole, to be substantially horizontally extending, without any intervention by the installer.

The support formation that is a tube has a central axis that may be positioned a distance of 35-40mm from the end of the wall plate adjacent to the flange to correctly position the tube, e.g. 37-39mm. This correctly positions the tube when stud timber having a height of 70mm is being used for the bottom plate for the frame and the flange has a thickness of 1 to 8mm, e.g. 6mm.

The support formation on each floor support bracket may have a length of 100mm-300mm, and the extent to which the tubes on the floor mounting brackets ends of the elongate support member are received within the ends of the elongate support member is selected to match the width of the void, e.g. so that the support strut spans the void. That is the support formation may be axially displaced into the open end of the support member to an extent appropriate to span the void being covered.

The support strut may include a locking element towards each end thereof for locking the support formation of each floor mounting bracket in a selected position on the support member.

The locking element may include a screw threaded bore formed in the elongate support member and a screw threaded element which is screwed through the screw threaded bore to frictionally engage the support formation received in the end of the support member and lock it, e.g. a terminal end of the threaded element engages the support formation of the floor mounting bracket and frictionally locks it in position.

The floor mounting bracket may further include a swivel formation positioned intermediate the support formation and the angle section that permits the support formation to be pivoted relative to the angle section and thereby extend away from the angle section at a range of different angles. This enables the support formation to extend at different angles to the angle section and is useful in void spaces having sides that are not rectilinear.

The support formation may pivot in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis whereby to maintain the horizontal orientation of the support strut.

The swivel formation may include a swivel mounting formation projecting from the wall plate of the angle section and a complementary swivel mounting formation projecting away from an adjacent end of the support formation, which said one and complementary formations interact to pivot relative to each other.

The one and complementary swivel mounting formations may have aligned apertures through which a swivel pin is passed which permits the support formation of the floor mounting bracket to be pivoted in a horizontal plane while the angle section thereof remains stationary, e.g. mounted on an adjacent bottom plate or floor support.

Each angle section may include at least one aperture formed therein for passing a fastening element there through for fixing the floor mounting bracket to an external support, e.g. a horizontal floor support or a side surface of a bottom plate of a timber frame.

In particular each angle section may include at least one aperture on the wall plate of the angle section, e.g. for receiving a fastener mounting the floor mounting bracket to a side surface of the bottom plate.

Further each angle section may include at least one aperture on the flange for mounting the floor mounting bracket directly to a horizontally extending surface of a floor support, e.g. for receiving a fasteners therein for fastening the angle section to the floor support.

The elongate support member may comprise two elongate sections arranged end to end, and a connector operatively coupling the two elongate sections to each other, to increase the length of the elongate support member, e.g. to span a building void of greater distance than standard elongate support members.

The connector may have an external configuration that is sized and configured to be received in the open end of the elongate support member with some clearance.

The connector may further include a radial outward projecting stop formation for limiting travel of the connector within the end of the elongate support member.

According to another aspect of this disclosure there is provided a floor mounting bracket panel including, an angle section and a support formation, each angle section including a wall plate from which the support formation projects, and a flange extending transversely away from one end of the wall plate.

The floor mounting brackets may include any one or more of the features of the floor mounting bracket defined in the preceding aspect of the disclosure.

According to yet another aspect of this disclosure there is provided a void platform for providing a working deck across a void in a building adjacent to a floor support, the void platform including: at least one pair of support struts as defined in any one of the preceding aspects of the disclosure, mounted directly or indirectly on the adjacent floor support spaced from each other; and at least one decking panel having strut engaging formations mounted on the spaced support struts to form the working deck.

The support struts may include any one or more of the optional or preferred features of the support strut defined in the preceding aspect of the disclosure.

Each end of the support strut has a floor mounting bracket thereon and the floor mounting brackets may be mounted on a bottom plate of a wall frame on the floor support adjacent to the void and/or directly on the adjacent floor support.

Each decking panel may have a first end and an opposed second end, and strut engaging formations may be positioned at each of the first and second ends which engage the spaced support struts to support the decking panel.

The strut engaging formations may be configured to retainingly engage the elongate members on the support struts while also permitting the decking panels to be manually released from the support struts, e.g. by a movement in a certain direction.

The void platform may include a hatch panel defining a hatch opening which is mounted on a pair of further support struts alongside the decking panels, and the hatch panel may include a hatch door pivotable between an open position providing access to the working deck and a closed position closing off the hatch opening.

The hatch panel may have releasable attachment formations along opposite sides of the hatch opening, and the hatch door may have complementary releasable attachment formations, so the hatch door can be selectively and releasably mounted on either side of the hatch opening to suit a given application, e.g. so that the hatch door does not interfere with use of the hatch when pivoted to an open position.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a support strut for supporting a void platform in a void of a building, the support strut including: an elongate support member having a first end and an opposed second end; at least one deck joiner bracket engaged with the first end and a further bracket engaged with the opposed end of the support member, the deck joiner bracket includes a support formation and a wall plate extending therefrom, the wall plate having a pair of parallel extending plates extending perpendicularly away therefrom for receiving an edge region of a deck panel there between.

The parallel extending plates are configured and spaced from each other so as to receive an edge of a decking panel therein with a sliding or working clearance and securely engage the edge of the decking panel so that the void platform can carry its rated load.

The support formation may be in the form of a tube, e.g. a hollow tube, which is received within one end of the elongate support member.

The further bracket mounted over the opposed end of the support member may often be a further deck joiner bracket having the same features as said one deck joiner bracket.

Instead the further bracket may be a floor mounting bracket, a masonry mounting bracket or a transverse strut mounting bracket. The floor mounting bracket, masonry mounting bracket or transverse strut mounting bracket may include any one or more of the features of these brackets defined in the other aspects of the disclosure.

According to another aspect of this disclosure there is provided a deck joiner bracket including, a support formation and a wall plate extending therefrom, the wall plate having a pair of parallel extending plates extending perpendicularly away therefrom for receiving an edge region of a deck panel there between.

The deck joiner bracket may include any one or more of the features of the deck joiner mounting bracket defined in the preceding aspect of the disclosure. In particular the support formation may be in the form of a tube.

According to another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a support strut for supporting a void platform in a void of a building, the support strut including: an elongate support member having a first end and a second opposed end; a transverse strut mounting bracket engaged with the first end and a further bracket engaged with the opposed second end of the support member, the transverse strut mounting bracket includes a support formation for engaging one end of the support member and a saddle formation extending away from the tube that can be removably mounted over an elongate support member of another support strut extending transverse to said one strut.

The saddle formation may be configured to complement the elongate support member over which it is mounted, e.g. to fit over and around the support member with a small clearance so as to securely retain the support member therein.

Optionally the saddle formation may have a U-shaped configuration. Instead the saddle formation may have a plurality of facets or straight edges much like half a hexagon or half an octagon.

The further bracket may be a floor mounting bracket, a masonry mounting bracket or a deck joiner bracket. The floor mounting bracket, masonry mounting bracket or a deck joiner bracket may include any one or more of the features of these brackets defined in the other aspects of the disclosure. Conceivably the further bracket mounted over the opposed end of the support member may be a further transverse strut mounting bracket but this is less typical.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a transverse strut mounting bracket including, a support formation for engaging an end of an elongate support member, and a saddle formation extending away from the support formation that can be removably mounted over an elongate support member of an adjacent support strut extending transverse to the support strut associated with the transverse strut mounting bracket, whereby to vertically support the support strut. This enables the support member to be supported by a transverse extending elongate support member instead of the adjacent floor support around a void. This assists an installer to design a void platform to fit a particular void configuration.

The transverse strut mounting bracket may include any one or more of the features of the transverse strut mounting bracket defined in the preceding aspect of the disclosure.

According to another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a hatch panel for mounting on two spaced support struts, the hatch panel including a hatch door mounted thereon extending across a hatch opening that can be moved between open and closed positions.

The hatch door may be capable of being removably mounted on said one and opposite side of the hatch opening so it is able to be removed from one side and placed on the other side.

This enables the door to be selectively mounted on the door hatch on a side of the hatch opening that best suits a particular application.

The hatch door may may include hinge formations extending down each side of the hatch opening and a complementary hinge formation extending down one side of the hatch door, and said one and complementary hinge formations on the hatch panel and hatch door respectively can be releasably engaged with each other.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a support strut for supporting a void platform in a void of a building including: at least one elongate support member having one end and an opposed end; and a floor mounting bracket mounted on at least one end of the support member, each floor mounting bracket including an angle section and a support formation extending away from the angle section, and each angle section including a wall plate on which the tube is located and a flange extending transversely away from the wall plate.

The strut may include a further bracket mounted on the other end of the support member, and the further bracket may be selected from: a floor mounting bracket; a masonry wall mounting bracket, the bracket including a vertically extending plate for mounting directly on a masonry wall; a deck joiner mounting bracket for mounting the end of the support member on an adjacent deck panel; and a transverse strut mounting bracket for mounting the end of the support member on an a transverse extending elongate support member.

The masonry mounting bracket may include a flange for mounting on a vertically extending wall surface and a support formation extending transversely to the support formation.

The transverse strut mounting bracket may include any of the features of the transverse strut mounting bracket defined in any preceding aspect of the disclosure.

The deck joiner mounting bracket may include any of the features of the deck joiner mounting bracket defined in any preceding aspect of the disclosure.

The floor mounting bracket and the elongate support member may also include any one or more of the features of floor mounting bracket defined in any one of the preceding aspects of the disclosure.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a masonry mounting bracket for mounting directly on a masonry wall, the bracket including a flange and a support formation extending transversely to the support formation, the flange being for mounting on a vertically extending wall surface.

The support formation may include any of the features described above for the other support brackets. Further the flange may include one or more openings through which a fastening element may be passed the anchor the flange to the wall.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a void platform for providing temporary floor support across a void during a building process, comprising: at least one support strut in accordance with any one of the preceding aspects of the disclosure; and at least one decking panel mounted on the support strut forming a working deck for building workers.

The support struts may include any of the features of the support struts in the preceding aspects of the disclosures. In particular the mounting brackets on the support struts may include any of the features of the mounting brackets defined in the preceding aspects of the disclosure.

The decking panels may include any of the features of the decking panels in the preceding aspects of the disclosures.

The void platform may further include any of the features of the decking panels in the preceding aspects of the disclosures. In particular the void platform may include a hatch panel as defined in any one of the preceding aspects of the disclosure.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a system for providing a void platform across a void in a building, the system including: at least one floor mounting bracket; at least one elongate support member for being operatively coupled to a bracket at each end thereof; and at least one decking panel for mounting on the support member to form a deck.

The system may further include at least one transverse strut mounting bracket.

The system may further include at least one deck joiner bracket.

Yet further the system may include a plurality of masonry wall mounting brackets.

The transverse strut mounting bracket, masonry wall mounting bracket and the deck joiner bracket may include any one or more of the features described above in the preceding aspect of the disclosure.

The system may yet further include at least one ACCRO post mounting bracket.

Optionally the system may include at least one ACCRO post for supporting a building structure.

The system may further include at least one hatch panel for providing building workers with access up onto the void platform.

Yet further the system may include at least one connector tube for operatively coupling two elongate support elements together to form a lengthened elongate support member.

Preferably the system includes a plurality of each of the mounting brackets described above, a plurality of elongate support members, and also a plurality of decking members.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a method of providing a void platform across a void in a building adjacent to a floor support, the method including: selecting two mounting brackets and mounting them on first and second ends of a support member; and selecting two further mounting brackets and mounting them one and opposed ends of a further support member; and mounting a deck panel on the one and further support members.

The method may include repeating the method steps above to cover a building void.

The step of selecting may include spacing the brackets a suitable distance apart from each other so that the support member spans the void and then fixing the brackets in position using a locking arrangement.

The disclosure also extends to a building including a void platform as defined in any of the preceding aspects of the disclosure.

The void platform may include any one or more of the features of the support struts defined in the preceding aspects of the disclosure. In particular the void platform may include any of the support brackets or support struts described above in the other aspects of the disclosure including the optional features thereof.

The building may include wall and floor structure defining a building void and the void platform may be mounted on the wall and floor structure.

The building may be a high set house and the building void may be a staircase void.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A support strut, a void platform and a system for providing a void platform in accordance with this disclosure may manifest itself in a variety of forms. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe several embodiments of the disclosure in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Additionally a method of constructing a void platform will also be discussed. The purpose of providing this detailed description is to instruct persons having an interest in the subject matter of the disclosure how to carry it into practical effect. However it is to be clearly understood that the specific nature of this detailed description does not supersede the generality of the preceding broad description. In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a prior art work platform extending across a building void; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a floor mounting bracket and elongate member for a support strut for a void platform in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure; Fig. 3 is an upper perspective view of a connector tube having elongate support members mounted on each end thereof to form a support strut of increased length; Fig. 4 is an upper perspective view of two support struts mounted in position extending across a void of a building structure; Fig. 5 is a schematic front view of a support strut shown in Fig. 3 showing its horizontal orientation when extending between a plate member and a floor; Fig. 6 is an upper perspective view of the support struts of Fig. 4 with two decking panels mounted thereon extending across a building void; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a horizontal swivel bracket that is a variation on the floor or horizontal mounting bracket in Fig. 2; Fig. 8 is a plan view of a support strut including the horizontal swivel bracket of Fig. 7 mounted on one end thereof and extending across the void; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a deck joiner bracket for joining an elongate strut to an adjacent deck panel; Fig. 10 is an upper perspective view of a void platform showing the deck joiner brackets of Fig. 9 joining an elongate strut to the adjacent deck panels; Fig. 11 is a transverse strut mounting bracket which is used for mounting a deck panel transversely to an adjacent deck panel; Fig. 12 is an upper perspective view of a void platform including two support struts having transverse strut mounting brackets at the ends thereof for mounting the struts on a further perpendicularly extending strut instead of on a support surrounding the void; Fig. 13 is a perspective view of an ACCRO mounting bracket; Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a masonry mounting bracket; Fig. 15 is an upper perspective view of a void platform extending across a void including an ACCRO support prop and also a masonry mounting bracket; Fig. 16 is an upper perspective view of a platform assembly in accordance with the disclosure showing different brackets being used to perform different functions; Fig. 17 is an upper perspective view of an example platform assembly in accordance with the disclosure being used to cover a void in a building; Fig. 18 is an upper perspective view of a hatch panel with a hatch door in a closed position; Fig. 19 is an upper perspective view of the hatch panel of Fig. 18 with the hatch door in an open position opening from the right side; and Fig. 20 is an upper perspective view of the hatch panel of Fig. 18 with the hatch door opening from the left side.

Fig. 1 illustrates a prior art void platform extending across a building void to provide a safe working platform for building workers. This prior art void platform has been discussed in the background section above and will not be discussed further in the detailed description below.

Fig. 2 illustrates a floor or horizontal mounting bracket 10 and elongate member 22 for a support strut 20 in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure.

The floor or horizontal mounting bracket 10 comprises an angle section 12 and a tube 14 with an open end extending away from the angle section 12. The tube 14 is sized to be received within an elongate support member 22 with a working clearance so that the support member can be displaced within the tube 14.

The angle section 12 in turn comprises a wall plate 16 on which the tube 14 is located and a flange 18 extending transversely away from an end of the wall plate 16. The angle section 12 further has holes or apertures 19 formed therein on each of the wall plate 16 and flange 18 for receiving fasteners therein in use. The fasteners are used to fix the bracket to an external support structure such as stud timber or a floor as will be described in more detail below.

The floor or horizontal mounting bracket 10 has left and right hand versions to provide flexibility when installing a void platform to adapt it to suit the configuration of the surrounding building structure. If the clearance on a plate frame member 25 is greater on one side of a support strut than another, then the left or right version of the bracket 10 that suits this can be chosen.

The elongate support member 22 has two ends and the floor or horizontal mounting brackets 10 are mounted on each end thereof. The tubes 14 of the brackets 10 are received within the open ends of the support member 22 with a working clearance that permits displacement relative thereto. This enables the overall length of the support strut 20 to be adjusted or adapted by sliding the brackets 10 out until they match the width of the void being covered. The brackets are then fastened on the elongate member 22 in these positions by fastening a locking nut 24 at each end thereof to lock the floor brackets 10 in a fixed position at each end.

Fig. 3 also illustrates a connector tube 30 for connecting the two elongate support members 22 together. In practice this is done to extend the effective length of the support member in a support strut 20 to enable it to span a void that is longer than the length of one support member 22 and the associated floor or horizontal mounting brackets 10 at its ends.

The connector tube 30 comprises a tube section 32 having two open ends that are sized to receive a said elongate support member 22 thereon with some clearance.

Each end of the tube section 32 extends over and around an end of an adjacent support member 22 as shown in the drawings. This connector tube 30 enables the overall or effective length of the support member to be extended while still providing the appropriate vertical load support. The tube section 32 has an external ring 34 mounted thereon that is centrally positioned that acts as a stop formation. This limits the extent to which each support member 22 can be received over the tube section 32.

Fig. 4 shows two support struts mounted in position extending across a void of a building structure.

The flange 18 of the horizontal mounting bracket on the left is positioned uppermost and extends across an upper surface of a stud timber forming a plate member 25 of a building frame. The other horizontal mounting bracket on the right side is inverted with its flange 18 positioned lowermost extending across a floor 26 adjacent to the void.

The horizontal mounting brackets 10 are configured and dimensioned so that the elongate support member 22 extends horizontally from said one end to the other end when the bracket 10A is mounted on the plate member 25 and the bracket 10B is inverted and mounted on the floor 26. This is effectively achieved by the specific location of the tube 14 on the wall plate 16 of the angle section 12 when the bracket 10 is fabricated. That is a central axis of the tube 14 is positioned midway up the height of the wall plate 16 when the bracket 10 is mounted on the plate member 25. That way when it is inverted the central axis is at the same height. This is very convenient because it ensures that the support strut 20 is horizontally extending without any effort or skill being required of the installer. It follows that if both the support struts 20 are at the same height and are horizontally extending, a deck mounted on the support struts 20 will automatically be horizontally extending. Importantly the horizontal orientation does not rely on the skill of the installer to mount the brackets 10 so that the strut 20 is horizontally extending. It uses the standard dimensions of stud timber used for building timber frames for houses to provide a bracket 10 that positions the tube 14 at the same height whether it is upright or whether it is inverted.

Fig. 5 shows a piece of stud timber forming a plate member 25 mounted on a slab with the floor or horizontal support bracket 10 at one end mounted on the plate 25.

The other floor or horizontal bracket 11 is inverted and mounted on the floor 26 on the other side of the void. As shown in the drawings the support strut 20 extends horizontally without any levelling action being required by an installer. This is due to the design and positioning of the tube on the wall plate of the angle section.

Fig. 6 illustrates a part of a void platform which is indicated generally by the reference numeral 40 for providing a temporary floor support across a void 42 during construction. The void platform 40 includes two parallel extending support struts 20 as described above and illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The support struts 20 extend parallel to each other across a width of the void 42 and are spaced apart along the length of the void 42. Each strut 20 comprises an elongate support member 22 having horizontal mounting brackets 10 at each end thereof as described above and illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

The void platform 40 further includes a plurality of decking panels 44 mounted on the support struts 20. The decking panels 44 collectively form a deck surface for builders, tradesmen, certifiers, and engineers (hereinafter referred to as building workers) working on the construction. It provides a continuous working surface that extends across the void and prevents building workers from falling through the void. It also provides a useful work platform enabling building workers to reach work surfaces above the platform that they otherwise could not reach without a ladder or scaffold.

Each decking panel 44 has a first end and a second end, and mounting formations 46 on these ends for engaging the support struts 20. The mounting formations 46 are configured to engage the elongate members 22 in retaining fashion on the support struts 20 by having a curved engagement surface which fits over and around the support member 22.

In use, the void platform 40 is used to extend across a void 42 formed in a building and provide a working platform. In a typical application on a high set or double story home the void platform 40 is mounted at the same height as the upper level floor. A hatch door can be used to facilitate access to the void platform from the ground level by means of a ladder or the like.

The mounting brackets 10 are used to mount spaced pairs of support struts 20 on the building structure around the void and then decking panels 44 are mounted on these support struts. The struts 20 and panels 44 are formed and arranged so as to substantially cover the space defined by the void 41. Once the void platform 40 is constructed it can be used by building workers to access wall and ceiling surfaces above the platform without risk of falling through the void onto a lower level. Once building work on the void is complete the void platform can be quickly and easily removed. A staircase or elevator can then be installed in the void.

Fig. 7 illustrates a swivel mounting bracket which is indicated generally by reference numeral 50 for a support strut in accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure. The mounting bracket 50 has some similarities with the mounting bracket in Fig. 2 above and accordingly the following description will focus on the difference between this bracket and that in Fig. 2. Further unless otherwise indicated the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same components.

The swivel mounting bracket 50 has a swivel mounting formation 52 projecting out from the wall of the angle section 12 and a similar mounting formation 54 which is a tube received in an adjacent end of the support member 22. These formations 52, 54 have aligned apertures through which a swivel pin 56 is passed. This enables the support member 22 to be pivoted or swiveled relative to the angle section 12 in a horizontal plane while still providing vertical load support. The swivel mounting formation 52 does not permit the height of the tube 22 to be altered and only the angle at which the tube 14 extends horizontally away from the edge or side of the void 42 can be adjusted. This bracket 50 enables the angle at which the elongate support member 22 extends away from the side of the void 42 to be selected to suit a given application.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the swivel mounting bracket 50 in use mounted on a wall plate 25. For example as shown in Fig. 8, the corner of the void has a diagonal edge and the swivel bracket is able to accommodate this feature. In the illustrated embodiment, the support member 22 extends at thirty to sixty degrees, e.g. at about forty-five degrees, to the side of the void 42 on which the associated swivel mounting bracket 50 is mounted. The void platform 40 needs to be able to adapt to the architectural features in place on a building and often a void 42 might have a side that extends at an acute angle to its other sides. The swivel mounting bracket 50 enables the attached support member 22 to extend at any angle between about five degrees and ninety degrees to the adjacent side of the void.

This bracket 50 therefore confers significant versatility in enabling a void platform to be provided for different configurations of building voids. The mounting bracket (not shown) used at the other end of the support member 22 to the bracket 50 will typically be a conventional horizontal mounting bracket like that shown in Fig. 2.

However if required by the particular void configuration another or second swivel mounting bracket 50 can also be used.

Fig. 9 is an upper perspective view of a deck joiner bracket 60 in accordance with the disclosure.

The deck joiner bracket 60 is used to receive and support a decking panel therein to vertically hold and support the decking panel in position on the void platform 40.

That is it enables an end of a support strut to be supported by a deck panel instead of an external support surrounding the void. The deck joiner bracket 60 includes a hollow tube 62 for being received in an end of a support member 22 like the other brackets 10 described above and a wall plate 64 extending perpendicularly to the tube 62. Further it also includes a pair of spaced parallel extending plates 66, 68 extending perpendicularly away from the wall plate 64 for receiving an edge region of a deck panel there between. The parallel plates 66, 68 are configured and spaced to receive an edge region of a deck panel sandwiched there between with a tight fit.

The deck joiner bracket 60 is useful because it enables a support strut 20 to be supported at one or both ends by an adjacent deck panel 44. Thus instead of being mounted on the building structure around the void, the strut 20 can be supported by an adjacent panel 44 using this bracket 60. Basically the parallel plates 66 and 68 receive an edge region of the adjacent deck panel 44 therebetween. Thus the support strut 20 and its associated deck panel mounted thereon are vertically supported on their adjacent deck panels 44. Sometimes space limitations within the void make it difficult to have a support strut 20 extending across the full extent of the void from one side to another and in this scenario the deck joiner bracket 60 is most useful.

Fig. 10 is an upper perspective view of a void platform showing two deck panels that are mounted in position on the void platform using the deck joiner bracket 60.

A short stub support member 22 has a deck joiner bracket mounted on each end thereof. An edge region of each adjacent deck panel 44 is inserted between the pair of outward facing engaging plates 66, 68 and is sandwiched there between with a tight fit. It will be appreciated that the pair of engaging plates 66, 68 are designed with sufficient depth and width to receive enough width of the deck panel 44 to provide appropriate and safe support for the void platform 40. In the drawing the deck joiner bracket 60 is used to support one smaller deck panel 44 in position in between two longer deck panels 44. In this application the deck joiner bracket 60 is used to help in filling in smaller areas of the void platform. For example the smaller area may be defined by a point corresponding to an intermediate landing on a stair case where the stairs change direction as shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 11 is an upper perspective view of a transverse strut mounting bracket 70 used for mounting or hooking one support strut 20 onto a transverse extending support strut 21. This ability can be useful when designing a void platform to cover certain shapes of voids in a building. The transverse saddle mounting bracket 70 includes a hollow tube 72 for engaging an end of a support member 22 like the other brackets 10 described above. It also includes a saddle 74 which has a U-shaped configuration for mounting over an adjacent support member 22 of a transverse support strut 21.

Fig. 12 is an upper perspective view of a void platform showing two pairs of orthogonally extending deck panels 44 mounted in position on the void platform using the transverse saddle mounting bracket 70. This bracket enables an end of a support strut 22 to be supported by a transverse extending support strut 21 instead of an external structure outside the void. The bracket 70 enhances the versatility of the system because it enables a designer arrange groups of deck panels 44 orthogonally to each other to cover the building void.

Fig. 13 is an upper perspective view of an ACCRO post mounting bracket 80 which is used for providing post support at an intermediate point along the length of a support strut. The ACCRO post mounting bracket 80 includes a hollow tube 82 with an open end for receiving an upper end of a vertically extending support member 22. The tube 82 is sized and configured in a similar way to the tubes for the other brackets 10 described above. Further the bracket 80 includes a U shaped channel 84 mounted on a closed end of the tube 82. The U shaped channel 84 is sized and configured for receiving a support member 22 of a strut 20 therein to vertically support the member 22 at that point.

Fig. 14 is an upper perspective view of a masonry wall support bracket 90 which is used for mounting a support strut 20 directly on a vertically extending masonry wall. The masonry wall mounting bracket 90 comprises a flat wall plate 92 and a tube 94 extending perpendicularly away from the flat wall plate 92. The tube 94 is similar to the tubes described above for the other brackets and is configured to be received in an end of a support member therein with a working clearance. The flat wall plate 92 has two openings 19 formed therein through which fasteners, e.g.

DYNABOLTS, are passed to fix the bracket to the masonry wall.

Fig. 15 is an upper perspective view of part of a void platform 40 showing the brackets 80 and 90 in use. A support bracket 84 with an ACCRO prop 80 is used for supporting an elongate support member 22 at an intermediate point along its length. The prop 80 extends up from a floor support, e.g. concrete slab, on a level below the void platform 40 and a downward opening tube 82 is mounted on an upper end of the ACCRO prop. This arrangement is typically used where the length of the support strut 20 is longer than a certain distance, e.g. where the void platform is rated for 200kg and the support strut spans a length that is greater than 4m. As the structure and functioning of ACCRO props is well known in the building industry it will not be described in further detail in this description.

Further in Fig. 15 one of the support struts 20 is mounted directly onto a vertically extending masonry surface using a masonry wall mounting bracket 90. The bracket 90 is mounted directly on the wall with the wall plate 92 lying up against the wall surface and fasteners passed through the openings 19 in the wall plate and into the wall.

A masonry swivel mounting bracket (which has not been shown in the drawings) is very similar to the swivel mounting bracket in Figs. 7 and 8 and is used to directly mount the bracket onto a vertically extending masonry wall. This masonry swivel mounting bracket has a vertically extending wall plate (like the mounting bracket shown in Figure 14) instead of the wall plate 16 and flange 18 extending transverse to the wall plate 16 of the timber frame mounting bracket described above with reference to Figures 7 and 8. This bracket functions in a similar way to that described above apart from the manner in which it is fixed to its external support.

Figs. 18 to 20 illustrate a hatch panel indicated by numeral 100 in accordance with the disclosure. The hatch panel 100 is configured like the other decking panels 44 and has a hatch door 102 mounted on the hatch panel 100 that can be pivoted between open and closed positions to open and close a hatch opening.

The hatch door 102 is removably mounted on the hatch panel by means of a hinge formation 105 on the hatch door 102 and a complementary hinge formation 106A extending along a side of the hatch opening. The hatch panel 100 has a further complementary hinge formation 106B extending along an opposing side of the hatch opening. The removable hatch door can then be mounted on either side of the hatch panel depending on what side is selected to suit any given application.

Further in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 19, the hatch door 102 can be mounted in two different positions on each side of the hatch panel 100. One position is closely adjacent to the side of the hatch panel 100. Another position is spaced inward thereof closely adjacent to the hatch opening in the hatch panel 100.

Figures 16 and 17 show two example void platforms using many of the features of this disclosure as described above and shown in the preceding drawings. Fig. 16 is an exploded upper perspective view of part of an example void platform in accordance with the disclosure. This drawing illustrates how the various mounting brackets described above can be used to form a platform extending across a void for workers.

Fig. 17 is an exploded upper perspective view of a building void having a void platform in accordance with the disclosure mounted thereon. Fig. 17 illustrates how the various brackets in the system are used to build a void platform that covers across a building void having a complex shape. Significantly the void platform 40 is able to substantially cover the full void using the brackets and deck panels described above and illustrated in the preceding drawings. As shown in the drawing the deck panels form a continuous deck across the void on which tradesmen and construction workers can safely work.

In the illustrated embodiment the void platform includes a hatch for providing access from a lower level up to the working deck. The hatch is formed by a hatch panel 100 forming part of the void platform 40 which has a hatch door 102 that is pivoted up into an open position. As shown the hatch can be lifted up to permit a ladder to be passed there through to provide ladder access up to the working deck. Further the hatch door can be mounted on either side of the hatch panel.

This feature enables the hatch door to be positioned so that it opens to an edge of the void platform and does not obstruct the platform deck.

A working advantage of the void platform and system for building a void platform in the detailed description described above with a reference to the drawings is that the horizontal and swivel mounting brackets provide support struts that extend horizontally across a building void without any effort by the installer to make them level.

The swivel mounting bracket also achieves this advantage while enabling the angle section to be mounted to a plate or floor support that does not extend orthogonally to the elongate support member of the support strut. The swivel mounting bracket accommodates a range of angles while still maintaining a strict horizontal orientation.

Another working advantage is that the system is very versatile and permits a designer and installer of a void platform to substantially cover a complex void with deck panels using the brackets described above and illustrated in the drawings.

This largely avoids the need to cut pieces of board and screw them onto the deck panels to fill in spaces between the deck panels to form a complete deck surface.

Many prior art systems of which the Applicant is aware require this.

It will of course be realized that the above has been given only by way of illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto, as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art, are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is herein set forth.

Claims (21)

CLAIMS 1.:

1. A support strut for supporting a void platform in a void of a building including a wall frame including a bottom frame plate mounted on a floor of the building, the support strut including: 5 at least one elongate support member having a first open end and an opposed second open end; one floor mounting bracket mounted on the first end, and a further floor mounting bracket mounted on the second end, each floor mounting bracket includes an angle section comprising a wall plate and a flange extending 10 transversely away from one end of the wall plate, and a support formation projecting away from the wall plate; wherein the support formation of each floor mounting bracket is received within the associated end of the elongate support member, and the flange of the floor mounting bracket can be positioned above the wall plate for extending across 15 an upper surface of a bottom plate of a frame, and the flange of the floor mounting bracket can be inverted so that it is below the wall plate for extending directly across the floor around the void, and the support formations have a central axis that is positioned on the wall plate halfway up a combined height of the bottom frame plate and the thickness of the 20 flange so that when the floor mounting bracket is inverted and mounted directly on the floor the support formations of the two floor mounting brackets will be positioned at substantially the same vertical height above the floor, so that the elongate support member extends horizontally when one floor mounting bracket is mounted on a bottom plate of a wall frame on the floor, and the other floor 25 mounting bracket is inverted and mounted directly on the floor.

2. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to claim 1, wherein the support formations are in the form of tubes.

3. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to claim 2, wherein the support formation that is a tube has a central axis that is positioned a distance 30 of 35-40mm from an end of the wall plate that is adjacent to the flange.

4. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the support formation on each floor mounting bracket has a length of 100mm-300mm, and the extent to which the tubes on the floor mounting brackets ends of the elongate support member are received within the ends of the 5 elongate support member is selected to match the width of the void.

5. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to claim 4, wherein the support strut includes a locking element towards each end thereof for locking the support formation of each floor mounting bracket in a selected position on the support member. 10

6. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to claim 5, wherein the locking element includes a screw threaded bore formed in the elongate support member and a screw threaded element which is screwed through the screw threaded bore to frictionally engage the support formation received in the end of the support member and lock it. 15

7. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the floor mounting bracket further includes a swivel formation positioned intermediate the support formation and the angle section that permits the support formation to be pivoted relative to the angle section and thereby extend away from the angle section at a range of different angles. 20

8. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to claim 7, wherein the support formation pivots in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis whereby to maintain the horizontal orientation of the support strut.

9. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the swivel formation includes a swivel mounting formation projecting 25 from the wall plate of the angle section and a complementary swivel mounting formation projecting away from an adjacent end of the support formation, which said one and complementary formations interact to pivot relative to each other.

10. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to claim 9, wherein said one and complementary swivel mounting formations have aligned apertures through which a swivel pin is passed which permits the support formation of the floor mounting bracket to be pivoted in a horizontal plane while the angle section thereof remains stationary.

11. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to any one of claims 5 1 to 10, wherein each angle section includes at least one aperture formed therein for passing a fastening element there through for fixing the floor mounting bracket to an external support.

12. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to claim 11, wherein each angle section includes at least one aperture on the wall plate of the angle 10 section, and each angle section includes at least one aperture on the flange for mounting the floor mounting bracket directly to a horizontally extending surface of the floor.

13. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the elongate support member comprises two elongate sections 15 arranged end to end, and a connector operatively coupling the two elongate sections to each other, to increase the length of the elongate support member to span the void.

14. A support strut for supporting a void platform according to claim 13, wherein the connector has an external configuration that is sized and configured to be 20 received in the open end of the elongate support member with some clearance, and the connector further includes a radial outward projecting stop formation for limiting travel of the connector within the end of the elongate support member.

15. A void platform for providing a working deck across a void in a building including a wall frame including a bottom frame plate mounted on a floor of the 25 building, the void platform including: at least one pair of support struts as claimed in claim 1 mounted directly or indirectly on the adjacent floor spaced from each other, and at least one decking panel having strut engaging formations mounted on the spaced support struts to form the working deck.

16. A void platform according to claim 15, wherein one or more of the support struts are in accordance with any one of claims 2 to 16.

17. A void platform according to claim 15 or claim 16, wherein each end of the support strut has a floor mounting bracket thereon and the floor mounting brackets 5 are mounted on the bottom plate of the wall frame on the floor adjacent to the void or directly on the adjacent floor.

18. A void platform according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein each decking panel has a first end and an opposed second end, and strut engaging formations positioned at each of the first and second ends which engage the 10 spaced support struts to support the decking panel.

19. A void platform according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the strut engaging formations are configured to retainingly engage the elongate members on the support struts while also permitting the decking panels to be manually released from the support struts. 15

20. A void platform according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein the void platform includes a hatch panel defining a hatch opening which is mounted on a pair of further support struts alongside the decking panels, and the hatch panel includes a hatch door pivotable between an open position providing access to the working deck and a closed position closing off the hatch opening. 20

21. A void platform according to claim 20, wherein the hatch panel has releasable attachment formations along opposite sides of the hatch opening, and the hatch door has complementary releasable attachment formations, so the hatch door can be selectively and releasably mounted on either side of the hatch opening to suit a given application.