WO1985002642A1

WO1985002642A1 - Scaffolding

Info

Publication number: WO1985002642A1
Application number: PCT/GB1984/000421
Authority: WO
Inventors: Henry Reed
Original assignee: Henry Reed
Priority date: 1983-12-09
Filing date: 1984-12-07
Publication date: 1985-06-20
Also published as: AU3675784A; GB8332889D0; GB2152992B; GB2152992A

Abstract

Scaffolding arranged for easy erection and removal comprises a number of platforms (12) each connected at its corners with suspension chains (14), from each the scaffolding can be suspended. Winches (24) can pay out or winch in cables (25) secured to the lowest platform and guides in relation to the intermediate platforms. Electrical, welding, or fire fighting services (44) are fed to guide rails (32) through flexible lines to be available as soon as the scaffolding is erected. The rails (32) are secured to the chains (14) and are automatically erected with the scaffolding.

Description

SCAFFOLDING. This invention relates to scaffolding which can be easily erected and removed even though it may extend over a substantial height of a surface to be worked on. 5. One example of such scaffolding is the subject of British Patent Specification Ng. 1340487 in which is described a collapsible assembly consisting of a number of platforms in combination with flexible chains for suspending them in a vertical array 10 one spaced from another while allowing them to be collapsed on one another in a stack for storage or transport. In a preferred arrangement there are four vertical chains secured at the corners of identical rectangular platforms so that by lifting 15. the top platform by a crane, the platforms in the stack can be separated from one another and lifted and moved to the required location perhaps at the side of the hull of a ship or a drill rig where they can be secured in position. 20. According to one aspect of the present invention the scaffolding includes service passages extending generally parallel with the platforms and connected to flexible vertically extendible supply lines. The services can be of various kinds For 25 example an electrical supply can be provided by means of electrical cables extending horizontally in channels on or just below the platforms and connected to outlet sockets at appropriate positions with the ends of the cables being connected to 30. or continuous with flexible electrical cables which

OMPI extend vertically when the scaffolding is erected between adjacent platforms or can be generally horizontal when the scaffolding is collapsed.

Again the service could be a supply of welding

5. gas or compressed air, and that could run in flexible conduit on or just under the platform, or could indeed run in horizontal tubes fastened to the platforms and leading to valve-controlled supply nozzles. Again there will be flexible vertical connections

10. so that each of the horizontally extending passages can be in communication with a source of gas or air at deck level, or elsewhere where it is convenient.

Another service is the supply of water or other fluid for fire fighting and that could conveniently

15. be arranged in horizontally extending guide rails which can in fact be in the form of tubular steel with sealed ends and then there would be water sprinklers spaced along the guiderails. Again the supply of fluid would be through flexible vertical

20. pipes.

Of course any of the services could be led through pipes formed within the platforms or through the guiderails.

According to a second aspect of the invention

25. guiderails are secured to the flexible chains or equivalent suspension means between the platforms so that when the scaffolding is collapsed the guiderails are also collapsed and tend to stack between the platforms but when the scaffolding is erected the

30. guiderails are automatically raised to the correct positions extending horizontally between the platforms. They can be stabilised by being located on guides for winding cable as described in British Patent Specification No. 8330190, and the guiderails can carry services as described above. 5. According to the invention, the subject of

British Patent Application No. 8330190 scaffolding comprises a number of platforms and flexible chains or equivalent suspension means or suspending them in a vertical array, one spaced from another, while 10. allowing them to be collapsed on one another in a stack for storage or transport, and includes at least one additional cable secured to the lowest platform and capable of sliding - preferably in guided relation - to the other platforms by winding 15. in, so that the lowest platform secured to the additional cable or cables can be lifted and stacked against the platform above it, and by further winding in those platforms can be lifted against the next lowest platform and so on. 20. A winch may be included at the top of each additional cable, perhaps on the top platform, but whether such a winch is used or an external winch, it will be clear that at least the lowest platforms can be very quickly raised merely by 25. winching in if for example the sea becomes very rough quickly. It is only necessary for people on the lowest platforms to climb up to higher platforms before winching can commence. In general there will be no necessity to release any connections. 30.

O PI In a preferred form of the invention there are two additional cables one at the middle of each end of the platforms, which are rectangular.

The additional cable or cables can pass through

5. guide sleeves on the various intermediate platforms so that they cannot move laterally in relation to the platforms but can move easily vertically when the lowest platforms are tp be winched in or lowered. Such guide sleeves conveniently have

10. conical or other lead-in portions so that an end of a guide sleeve on one platform can be located in and held located in the other end of a guide sleeve on the next platform to prevent lateral movement of the platforms in relation to each other

15. when they are stacked.

In general the platforms will be secured against movement in relation to the length of the flexible chains or suspension means, of which there might be three or preferably four, one at each

20. corner of each platform, but those chains can just collapse onto the platforms or at the edges of the platforms as platforms are raised in relation to the ones above them.

Each platform may have a manhole associated

25 with a ladder so that workers can move up or down between platforms and in a preferred arrangement a ladder is pivoted at the top adjacent a manhole in an upper platform and can fall freely at its lower end against the lower platform where there

30. may be a roller at that lower end of the ladder so that the ladders can be collapsed at the underside of an upper platform or dropped into a working position automatically as the platforms are raised or lowered.

. OMPI Safety rails for each of the platforms can be merely secured to the flexible chains so that they collapse with the chains when platforms are raised, and it is not necessary to have any additional assembling

5. and dis-assembling steps before or after scaffolding is used.

At the top the suspension meari's may be provided with shackles either for securing to fittings on the construction where the scaffolding is to be erected,

10. or for support on hooks of a crane or possibly also on a trolley or the equivalent capable of horizontal movement along a rail so that the complete set of scaffolding can be moved horizontally when necesary whether in the dropped, stacked, or partly-dropped

15. state.

The present invention may be considered to be any of the features of International Application No.PCT/ GB84/0038 in combination with either or both aspects of the present invention as defined above.

20. International Application No.PCT/GB84/0038 was filed 9th November 1984 and claims priority from British Patent Application No.8330190 filed 11th November 1983.

OMH The invention may be carried into practice in various ways, and one embodiment will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 5. FIGURES 1,2,3 and 4 are perspective views of multi-platform staging respectively during transport to site, during suspension at site; while being positioned, and in the final position;

FIGURE 5 is an end view to an increased scale 10. of the top platform;

FIGURE 6 is a side view of the end of the top platform;

FIGURES 7,8, and 9 are sketches of details of chain connections; 15. FIGURE 10 is a plan view of a guard rail for one of the platforms of the staging;

FIGURE 11 is a detail of FIGURE 10 showing how the guard rail can be located in relation to a cable guide; 20. FIGURE 12 is anelevation of <3. detail of FIGURE 11 ;

FIGURE 13 is an elevation to an increased scale showing how the guard rail is located in relation to a suspension chain; 25. FIGURE 14 is an elevation of a part of the staging of FIGURES 1-4 showing three of the platforms;

FIGURE 15 is a plan view of FIGURE 14; and

FIGURE 16 is an end view to an increased scale of the platforms of FIGURES 14 and 15. 30. In the example being described the scaffolding comprises nine platforms including a top platform 11, seven intermediate platforms 12, and a bottom platform 13. They are arranged to be suspended

5. one above the other as shown in FIGURE 4 by means of four vertical chains 14 one at each corner of all the platforms which are vertically in line with each other, and spaced apa,rt by more than the height of a man. That arrangement is generally

10. as described in British Patent Specification No. 1340487 and it will suffice here to say that each chain 14 is connected at the corresponding corner to each of the platforms 11-13 in such a way that a platform cannot move vertically in relation to

15. the chains it is secured to. The connection for an intermediate platform 12 is as shown in FIGURE 8 where two closely spaced horizontal plates 15

can be seen one on either side of one link in the chain, while they are connected together by an upper transverse plate 16. Suspension is from the chain and the platform is seated on a lower

5. link shown at 17 in FIGURE 8 where the undersides of the plates 15 embrace the link_^above that . For the top platform 11, the chain 14 is secured at the corner in a somewhat similar manner, but there is an additional chain 18 extending to

10. a position above the mid-point of the end of the platform where- it meets the corresponding chain from the other corner of that end of the platform to form one of two suspension points 19 from which the weight of the complete set of staging can be

15. suspended.

The two suspension points could be supported from a crane or from shackles as shown at 21 in FIGURE 5 and FIGURE 6 which may be secured to fixed points, or may be secured to a carriage capable

20. of running on a continuous horizontal runway beam to enable the scaffolding to be moved horizontally whether in a straight or a curved path.

Also suspended from each of the shackles 21 by a cable 23 is a winch 24 which could be a

25. manual winch or a hydraulic, pneumatic, or other, type of powered winch.

A cable 25 depends from the winch 24 and extends down outside the ends of all the platforms to the bottom platform where it is secured at 26.

30. The cable 25 passes through a guide 31--.secured at the middle of the end ofeach* platform, it is in

O the form of a cylindrical tube above a conical member which can acco_nmodate the upper end of the tube of the lower platform when two platforms are collapsed one on the other.

5. That is how they are seen in FIGURE 1 with the scaffolding collapsed for storage and for transport to site. The chains 14 between successive platforms are collapsed and the winch cables 25 are wound in. The chains 18 and suspension points and shackles

10. 21 are collapsed in the middle of the top platform

11. The assembly is lifted by a crane at the suspension points 19 and the shackles 21 are secured to the desired fixing positions or the trolley on the horizontal rail if such is to be used .

15. Then the winches 25 are operated to pay out the cable 25 equally at both ends, so that with the top platform 11 suspended at the correct height, the lower platforms are lowered from it with them all resting on the bottom platform 13 until the

20. chains supporting the second platform from the top are fully extended when the remaining platforms continue to drop as the winches pay out more cable.

FIGURE 3 shows the situation when the third platform from the top has reached its final position with

25. the suspension cables 14 hanging vertically.

Eventually all the platforms reach their final positions as shown in FIGURE 4, and it has been found that if the surface against which the scaffolding is assembled is a vertical surface,.

30. it is not necessary to secure the bottom platform or any of the intermediate platforms against that surface, because the scaffolding remains stably

^■ - in position under its own weight.

Between each pair of platforms 12 are two horizontal rings of guard rails 32 which are secured -at their ends to the suspension chains 14 so that

5. they move into the correct position automatically during lowering. The guard rails.32 can have manually removable pivotal connections so that if need be someone on a platform can have access to an adjacent horizontal surface.

10. Each platform has a manhole at a position as indicated generally at 30 in FIGURE 4, from which is pivotally supported a ladder 33 leading down to the next platform. That ladder has a nylon horizontal roller at the bottom so that during

15. lowering the ladder drops and rolls into the correct position automatically while it can be automatically folded up against the bottom of the platform supporting it during lifting. When the chains 14 are straight the ladder is at the correct angle for safety.

20. It is necessary to provide a separate guard rail arrangement 40 around the top platform because there are no vertically extending suspension chains such as 14 from which it can be supported. The components of such a guard rail assembly can be

25.. carried on the top platform 11 when it is in the stacked state of FIGURE 1, and then erected by hand, but apart from that it will be appreciated that lowering the platforms from the top platform and lifting them again, can be done without making

30. or breaking any connections, but merely by operation of the winches 24. The conical guides 32 ensure that as lower platforms are lifted they engage correctly in lateral relationship to the platforms above them, and are then retained in that lateral location when stacked, as shown in FIGURE 1, so

5. that the stack is stable.

In one embodiment it has been found possible to lift all the lower platforms up to the bottom of the upper platform 11 in no more than twenty minutes which is quite fast enough for most applications,

10. Of course as soon as the weather improves the lower platforms can be lowered again just as easily.

It may be noted that although the suspension chains 14 at the top have to be strong enough to carry the full weight of all the platforms below

15. them, the winching additional cables 25 have to be strong enough to carry not only the bottom platform 13 to which they are attached at 26, but all the platforms above that bottom platform and the ladders and suspension chains as they become stacked on

20. the bottom platform during lifting as shown in FIGURE 3. The bottom platform is strengthened for that purpose.

One scaffolding assembly has been designed to give access to a vertical surface over a height 25. of 140 feet and that assembly includes 21 platforms with a spacing of seven feet between successive platforms.

30.

OMPI FIGURE 10 shows how a guard rail is in the form of a rather flat 'U' in plan view with a long arm on the outer long side of the platform and two shorter arms at the ends of the platform. There

5. is no guard rail at the other long side so that someone on the platform can work on a surface against which the platform is resting. The guard rail is generally of hollow circular tubing and half way along each short side it has welded to it a location

10. ring 41 which is a clearance fit around the tubular part of the guide 31 for the winch cable 25. At the corners of the platform, the guard rail 32 is secured to the suspension chains 14 in the manner shown at FIGURE 13. Thus, there is a lug 42 welded

15. to the guard rail, and linking with a short length of chain 43 which is also linked to one of the links of the suspension chain 14.

Examination of FIGURE 16 shows that when the staging is collapsed as shown by the bottom 20. two platforms 12 in FIGURE 16, the suspension chains 14 are slack and the guard rails 32 stack one on another on the lower platform 12. However when the scaffolding is erected as shown by the top two platforms 12 in FIGURE 16, straightening of

25 the chains 14 automatically lifts the guard rails 32 to their correct positions . During stacking the guard rails are conveniently located as the rings 41 slide over the guides 31 at the middle of each end of each platform.

30. The ladders 33 in FIGURES 14 and 15 are a modification of the ladders shown in FIGURES 1- 4 in that for each platform there are two ladders 33 side by side at the centre but inclined in different 5. directions so that one can be used for ascending and one for descending. Nevertheless when the scaffolding is collapsed the ladders fold flat on the upper surface of the lower platform in the manner already described with reference to FIGURES 10. 1-4.

It is advantageous to provide fire fighting means automatically at each platform, and accordingly flexible fire hose 44 hangs down from the top of the staging where it is connected to a source of 15. water on the deck, to a connection at each of the guide rails 32. FIGURE 14 shows how an upper length of hose 44 depends to one end of an upper guide rail 32 and then an intermediate length of hose 45 extends between the two guide rails 32 at the 210. other end after which the next length of hose 46 is connected to thelower guide rail and hangs down to the upper guide rails of the next lower platform. Sprinkler outlets 47 are spaced along the guide rails and it will be clear that in the event of 25. fire it is only necessary to open a valve at the source of water for .-water to be sprinkled from all the sprinkler outlets 47 on all the platforms. When the scaffolding is collapsed the hose can collapse into a loop as shown at 48 in FIGURE 16. 30. It will be appreciated that other services can be provided in a similar manner. Thus, further flexible hose can be used for providing a supply of compressed air, or of a welding gas while it is also possible to provide flexible electrical conductors so that a supply of electricity is available at each platform.

Such vertical hose or conductors can be looped

5. generally as shown at 48 when the scaffolding is collapsed but the horizontal parts can either extend within a guide rail as described with reference to the water sprinklers, or, and preferably, can be fed along at platform level either just above

10. or either just below the surface of the platform to lead to appropriate sockets where a user can easily plug in his apparatus. This conceals a lot of the flexible service supplies so that when the scaffolding is erected each service supply will

15. only be apparent as a single vertical hose or cable leading to all the platforms. Where the supply is in the form of a fluid, it may be sufficient merely to form the guide rail, or a component of the platform as a sealed-ended tube into which

20. the fluid is fed, or it may be preferred to feed a separate flexible hose along the length of appropriate tubing, or in the angle of steel angle member used in the construction of a platform. Again, a separate channel may be provided justabove or just belbwthe

25. platforms.

OMPI

Claims

1. Scaffolding comprising a collapsible assembly of a number of platforms (12) in combination with

5. flexible chains (14) or cables for suspending them in a vertical array one spaced from another while allowing them to be collapsed on one another in a stack for storage or transport; and including service passages (44) extending generally parallel with the

10. platforms and connected to flexible vertically extendible supply lines (44,45).

2. Scaffolding as claimed in Claim 1 in which the services include electrical cables extending horizontally 15. in channels on or just below the platforms (12) and connected to outlet sockets at appropriate positions with the ends of the cables being connectedto or cont- inous with flexible electrical cables which extend vertically when the scaffolding is erected between 20. adjacent platforms or can be generally horizontal when the scaffolding is collapsed.

3. Scaffolding as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the.services include a supply of welding

25. gas or compressed air in flexible conduit on or just under the platform (12) and leading to valve controlled supply nozzles.

4. Scaffolding as claimed in any preceding

30. claim in which the services include a supply of water or other fluid for fire fighting arranged in hori¬ zontally extending guide rails (32) with sealed ends with water sprinklers (47) spaced along the guide rails.

OMPI 5. Scaffolding comprising a collapsible assembly of a number of platforms (12) in combination with flexible cables (14) or chains for suspending them in a vertical array, one spaced from another, while

5. allowing them to be collapsed on one,.another in a stack for storage or transport,and comprising handrails (32) or guide rails secured (at 43} to the flexible chains between theplatforms so that when the scaffolding is collapsed the guide rails are also collapsed and

10. tend to stack between the platforms but when the scaffolding is erected the guide rails are automatically raised to the correct positions extending horizontally between the platforms.

15. 6. Scaffolding as claimed in Claim 5 and any of Claims 1 to 4 in which the services are carried in the handrails or guide rails (32).

7. Scaffolding as claimed in any preceding 20. claim, including at least one additional cable (25) secured to the lowest platform and capable of sliding in relation to the other platforms by winding in, so that the lowest platform secured to the additional cable can be lifted and stacked against the platform 25. above it, and by further winding in those platforms can be lifted against the next lowest platform and so on, and a winch (24) for winding in orpaying out each additional cable. 8. Scaffolding as claimed in Claim 7 in which the additional cable or cables pass through guide sleeves (31) on the various intermediate platforms so that they cannot move laterally in relation to

5. the platforms but can move easily vertically when the lowest platforms are to be winched in or lowered.

<

9. Scaffolding as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which each platform has a manhole

10. (30) associated with a ladder (33) so that workers can move up or down between platforms.

10. A method of servicing a floating vessel, or drill rig in- which scaffolding as claimed in any

15. preceding claim is lowered from a deck or platform, and a worker descends to one of the platforms and uses one of the services.

JUREX;

OMPI