US3584839A

US3584839A - Construction safety fence post

Info

Publication number: US3584839A
Application number: US845231A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward Earl Dickey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-11-25
Filing date: 1969-07-28
Publication date: 1971-06-15
Anticipated expiration: 1988-06-15
Also published as: GB1255525A

Abstract

A fencepost for supporting a guardrail around the top of a building under construction, the post having a support arm and a downwardly directly spike which may be forced through the metal roof decking, and a disposable sleeve around the spike means which remains captive in the poured concrete of the building structure while permitting the spike and fencepost to be removed for use on a higher floor.

Description

United States Patent Inventor Edward Earl Dickey R. R. #6, Brampton, Ontario, Canada Appl. No. 845,231 Filed July 28, 1969 Patented June 15, 1971 Priority Nov. 25 1968 Canada 036,041

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY FENCE POST 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 256/59, 256/65 Int. Cl E04h 17/18 Field of Search 256/65, 59,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,706,662 4/1955 Brown 182/113 3,084,759 4/1963 l82/106X 3,406,946 10/1968 256/65X 3,351,311 1 H1967 248/226 3,480,257 11/1969 Bourn et al. 256/59 Primary ExaminerDennis L. Taylor Attorney-George A. Rolston ABSTRACT: A fencepost for supporting a guardrail around the top of a building under construction, the post having a support arm and a downwardly directly spike which may be forced through the metal roof decking, and a disposable sleeve around the spike means which remains captive in the poured concrete of the building structure while permitting the spike and fencepost to be removed for use on a higher floor.

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY FENCE POST This invention relates to a self-supporting fencepost for use in the direction of a safety fence on the top floor of a construction site.

Construction safety regulations which are applicable on the majority of construction sites require the use of a safety fence around the top floor of a building while it is under construction. In many cases, such as in the construction of factory or warehouse space for example, the top floor construction is made up of a system of steel troughs arrangedside-by-side over steel girders or joists which span the width of the building between the walls at spaced intervals, and the top floor is completed by pouring a layer of concrete on top-of the steel troughs which is smoothed off and coveredwith suitable flooring material. During the time that the workmen are working on the completion of such a floor, building regulations require that a safety fence be erected around the top floor of the building to reduce accidents. The erection and support of such a fence presents certain problems. The outer walls of the building are usually constructed of an outer layer of bricks and an inner construction made up of insulating blocks of cinders or the like. The joists are usually embedded in the concrete block inner wall, and the steel troughs are overlayed over the joists. As a result, there is little or nothing to which a fence, or posts to support a fence can be fastened. Thus it is generally speaking extremely difficult to fasten any such fence to the steel troughs or the joists since these will normally be covered,

.during the completion of the top floor by a layer of poured concrete followed by other material. Similarly it is generally speaking undesirable to attach anything at all to the bricks themselves since these will form the outer wall of the building, and are in any event somewhat insecurely fastened until the mortar has completely dried.

The present invention provides a'composite fencepost for such a fence which may be erected in position, and attached to the steel trough prior to pouring of the concrete, the concrete setting and hardening around a portion of such fencepost thereby securing the same in position, and permitting a safety fence to be erected thereon during completion of the top floor, after which, a portion of the fencepost remains captive in the concrete, and the remainder may be removed, and is available for reuse at another construction site.

More particularly, the invention seeks to provide a composite fencepost having the foregoing advantages in which a portion of the post, penetrating the poured concrete, is enclosed by a removable disposable sleeve which remains captive in the concrete after removal of the post.

More particularly, it is an objective of the invention to provide a fencepost having the foregoing advantages which incorporates adjustment means permitting the post to be adapted to a variety of different building dimensions.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a fencepost having the foregoing advantages which is provided with bearing surfaces located to contact the brick wall, and support the fencepost during pouring of the concrete, without the need for additional supporting means.

The foregoing and other advantages will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is given here by way of example only with reference to the following drawings in which like reference devices refer to like parts thereof throughout the various views and diagrams and in which;

FIG. 1 is a cut away lower perspective illustration showing the fencepost in position on a building under construction, prior to the pouring of the concrete on the top floor;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged upper perspective view, partially cut away, and showing a portion of the set concrete, and,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the fencepost shown in FIG. 2, partially cut away to reveal its con struction.

As shown in FlGS. l and 2, the present invention which is indicated generally as is shown in use in association with the unfinished top floor of a building such as a factory or warehouse or the like in which the conventional construction methods comprise an outer brick wall indicated as W and an inner lining wall of blocks indicated as B, and having a floor constructed of girders G spanning the building one side to the other and embeded in the upper course of the inner block wall B. Steel troughing indicated as T is lying crossways over the girders G making a continuous covering. It will be noted that the inner lining wall B terminates short of the upper edge of the brick wall W, and that this arrangement ensures that there is a substantial portion consisting of three or four courses of bricks in the wall W rising above the level of the trough T and forming as it were a parapet around the floor space, the purpose of which is to enclose the concrete which will be poured over the trough T. The finishing layers which are normally applied over the upper surface of the set concrete, indicated as C, are not shown, but it is believed that the details of such construction are unimportant to the invention, and are in any case well known and familiar.

The fencepost indicated generally as 10 will be seen to comprise an upright post member or column 11 formed of T-section iron, defining a flat surface 12 facing inwardly towards the outside of the wall-Wfor engaging the same. Two spacedapart ,D-shaped brackets 13 are provided, having holes '14 therein, for supporting wooden bars or rails indicated as R,

. holes 14 permitting the rails R to be secured by nails, wire, ties or the like (not shown). Preferably, brackets 13 are of a sufficient width to permit two such rails R to pass therethrough one above the other in an overlapping manner thereby permitting the erection ofa continuous fence.

In order to support column 11 in its erect position, a horizontal arm member 15 is attached thereto at right'angle between l8 inches and 2 feet from the lower end thereof,

thereby permitting a substantial free portion of column 11 to bend downwardly from the junction with arm 15, and locating the rails R at an advantageous height above the upper edge of the brick wall Wv Arm 15 is preferably of T-shaped iron bar construction, with the center portion of the T, indicated as the blade 16, depending downwardly whereby to provide maximum strength, while minimizing the interference with the upper surface of the concrete C, and permitting free access underneath arm 15 for applying other finishing layers on concrete C if desired. Arm 15 is preferably of such a length as to extend inwardly over the interior of the building and overlap the inner surface of the liner wall B, and may preferably be made adjustable by the means shown in FIG. 3, to adapt the same for different thicknesses of wall construction, although clearly if a sufficient demand exists for post 10 according to the invention, they may be made in a variety of different sizes and this feature may be omitted for reasons of economy. At the inward end of arm 15, a spike member 17 is welded in a vertically downwardly dependent position having a pointed lower free end 18 to ensure easy penetration of the steel of troughs T. A disposable plastic tubular sleeve 19 fits closely around the upper portion of the spike member 17 extending between the lower edge of blade portion 16 of arm 15 and a point about midway down the spike 17. The remainder of spike I7 is left uncovered. Sleeve member 19 is intended to correspond in length to the depth of the concrete C, and forms a disposable captive'sleeve, which is enclosed and surrounded by the concrete during pouring, and permits the removal of spike 17 after the concrete has set and the roofing is finished.

As has been stated above, the provision of an adjustment means for adjusting the length of the arm 15 is not essential, but if desired, it can be made up as shown, by making arm 15 in two parts, 15a and 15b and on one such part providing a T- shaped sleeve 20 welded thereto and having a series of holes 21 therein adapted to receive a locking pin 22, and the free end of bar portion 15b is provided with a series of locking holes 23, the locking pin 22 being removable to permit adjustment by means of moving portion 15b inwardly or outwardly as desired.

In operation, the thickness of the concrete C is determined from the architect plans, and a sufficient number of the posts are prepared with sleeve 19 slipped on the spikes l7 and cut to the appropriate length to provide a complete fence around the upper edge of the building. After the steel troughs T are laid and fastened in position, the fence is erected by simply taking a post 10, and placing the flat surface 12 of column portion 11 in engagement with the outer side surface of the brick wall W, and lowering the post 10 until the point 18 of spike l7 rests on the upper surface ofa trough T. The workman will then simply place his boot on the upper flat surface of arm member 15, and press firmly downwardly forcing point 18 to penetrate and pass through trough T. The post 10 is pressed downwardly until the blade portion 16 engages the upper most course of brick in the wall W, at which point the post 10 is sufficiently secured to be left and the next one erected adjacent to it a suitable distance. After the erection of posts 10 is completed, the rails R are then placed in position, and fastened to the posts 10, by passing them through brackets 13 and nailing them in position through holes 14. Once the rails R are erected and fastened in this way, it will be found that the posts 10 are secured from sideways movement by means of the rails R, and are secured from backwards and forwards movement by the engagement of flat surface 12 with bricks W, coupled with the engagement of spikes 17 through trough T. The concrete C may then be poured and allowed to set, and any other finishing operations required will then be completed with the fence still in position. After all the work has been completed, the rails R are dismantled and the posts 10 may simply be lifted upwardly, thereby drawing spike 17 through sleeve 10 which remains in the concrete C.

All that is then required is to plug the plastic sleeves C in some suitable way for example by pouring liquid concrete down them. i I

It will be understood that while reference herein is made to the top floor" of a building, this phrase has reference to any floor above the ground floor, typically in a bearing wall" type building as shown. There may in fact be 10 or more such floors each of which is to be regarded as the top floor" during its construction and until that floor is completed and the bearing walls erected to surround it. Thus the posts according to the features as described, but comprehends all such variations as come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A construction safety fencepost for the erection of temporary dismountable safety fence around the top floor of a building under the construction above the top edge of the exterior walls thereof and comprising:

a vertical column portion dimensioned to extend above and below said top edge ofsaid building exterior wall;

a wall-contacting face on a lower portion of said column oriented to contact a face ofa said exterior wall;

rail attachment means on an upper portion of said column;

a column support arm attached to said column between said upper and lower portions and extending normal thereto and oriented in the same direction as said wall-contacting face to overlie said exterior wall;

downwardly dependent spike means at the free end of said support arm, and,

disposable sleeve means on said spike means, to prevent bonding to concrete thereto.

2. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vertical column portion is formed of an iron bar of T-shaped cross section, with the upper portion of the T- shape forming the wall contacting face of said column.

3. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 wherein said column support arm includes a downwardly directed edge portion contacting the upper portion of said exterior wall of said building.

4. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 including at least two spaced-apart rail bracket members attached to said other portion of said vertical column one above the other to locate upper and lower rails for said safety fence, and wherein each said bracket means is dimensioned and arranged to receive two such fence rails overlapping one above the other.

5. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 wherein said disposable concrete separation means comprises a sleeve of plastic material slidably fitted over said spike means, and adapted to be retained in concrete to be poured therearound, thereby releasing said spike means for dismantling of said fence.

6. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 including support arm adjustment means incorporated in said column support arm for adjusting the lengths thereof thereby varying the spacing betweensaid column and said spike means.

Claims

1. A construction safety fencepost for the erection of temporary dismountable safety fence around the top floor of a building under the construction above the top edge of the exterior walls thereof and comprising: a vertical column portion dimensioned to extend above and below said top edge of said building exterior wall; a wall-contacting face on a lower portion of said column oriented to contact a face of a said exterior wall; rail attachment means on an upper portion of said column; a column support arm attached to said column between said upper and lower portions and extending normal thereto and oriented in the same direction as said wall-contacting face to overlie said exterior wall; downwardly dependent spike means at the free end of said support arm, and, disposable sleeve means on said spike means, to prevent bonding to concrete thereto.

2. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vertical column portion is formed of an iron bar of T-shaped cross section, with the upper portion of the T-shape forming the wall contacting face of said column.

6. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 including support arm adjustment means incorporated in said column support arm for adjusting the lengths thereof thereby varying the spacing between said column and said spike means.