WO1989004411A1

WO1989004411A1 - Roof staging piece

Info

Publication number: WO1989004411A1
Application number: PCT/GB1988/000942
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roy Leonard Davis
Original assignee: Roy Leonard Davis
Priority date: 1987-11-04
Filing date: 1988-11-03
Publication date: 1989-05-18
Also published as: GB8725845D0

Abstract

A roof staging piece for supporting one end of a staging board (41) has a main member (7) with hooks (25) at its upper end for hooking over a roof batten (28). At its lower end of the main member is pivoted to a rigid part (10) which is cushioned at its ends by flexible plastic tube sections (30), which rest on the roof. Legs (9), which are fixed to the tube (10) are pivotally connected to the outer end of a support member (8), the inner end of which is pivotally connected to a sleeve (16), which is adjustable along the main member (7), so that the support member (8) is horizontal for supporting the board (41), irrespective of the pitch of the roof.

Description

DESCRIPTION

ROOF STATINS PIECE

The invention relates to a support piece for use in supporting an end of a scaffold plank or other staging board on a pitched roof to provide staging for a workman. Various stagings support pieces have been proposed in the past, some being arranged to hook onto a batten after displacement of one or more tiles or slates, and others having provision for adjustment to the pitch of the roof. However, there is still a need for improvement in terms of simplicity of construction, light weight combined with strength, security, and easy manipulation by one man.

In accordance with the present invention, a roof staging piece, for use in supporting one end of a staging board extending along a pitched roof, comprises an elongate main member which is arranged to extend down the slope of the roof, the main member having at its upper end at least one hook for hooking over a roof batten and being connected at its lower end to a mid part of a horizontal base member which has a cushioned exterior for resting along the roof; and a support member which is connected at an inner end to, and at an adjustable position along, the main member, and which is pivotally connected adjacent to its other outer end to the upper end of at least one leg which is connected to and extends upward from the base member; the interconnections between the main member, leg(s) and base member being such that the main member is pivotal relatively to the leg(s) to accommodate adjustable positioning of the inner end of the support member along the main member and thus enable the support member to be positioned with its upper surface substantially horizontal to carry, a board, irrespective of the slope of the roof.

There are preferably two of the legs, which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the outer end of the support member, and which are splayed apart, straddling the main member. The relative pivotal action between the main member and leg(s), at its/their interconnection(s) with the base member, is preferably provided by attaching one of the main member or leg(s) rigidly to a rigid solid or tubular part extending substantially the full length of the base member, and attaching the other of the main member and leg(s) to a sleeve or sleeves which is or are rotatable around the rigid part. When there are two legs which straddle the main member, it is prefered that the lower ends of the legs are rigidly attached to the rigid part and the lower end of the main member is rigidly attached to the sleeve, which is then captive on the rigid part between the lower ends of the legs. The cushioning on the exterior of the base member may be soft material secured to the previously mentioned rigid part. Alternatively, the cushioning may be provided by surrounding the rigid part with a

--_• flexible plastics tube, having an inner diameter greater than the outer dimension of the rigid part, and fixing the plastics tube in contact with an upper part of the rigid part so that the plastics tube is normally spaced from a bottom part of the rigid part. The plastics tube, which may be longitudinally slit at an angular position remote from the rigid part so that it tends to curl up with one longitudinal edge overlapping the other, will deform under load in use to provide a greater area in contact with the roof, and hence reduce the pressure on the tiles or slates. It is only necessary for the plastics tube to be provided in sections one adjacent to each end of the rigid part or, alternatively to be provided with cut outs to accommodate the connection between the main member and leg(s) to the rigid part and sleeve.

The adjustable positioning of the inner end of the support member along the main member may be provided by means of a sleeve which is slidable along the main member and to which the inner end of the support member is pivotally connected, the sleeve being lockable in a selected position along the main member. There may be a number of discrete selectable positions, each determined by engagement of at least one lug or detent in the sleeve with a selected one of a plurality of detents or lugs respectively, positioned along the main member. The engagement between a selected lug and detent may be achieved by providing the sleeve with a larger internal transverse dimension than the corresponding outer dimension of the main member, so that the sleeve may be displaced to one side and then slid along the main member so that the lug or lugs ride past the detent or detents. When locking is required, the sleeve is then drawn laterally relatively to the main member, for example by a hand-operated screw which is advanced relatively to the other side of the sleeve and by an engagement with the adjacent side of the main member, forces that other side of the sleeve away from the main member. The lugs may be welded or otherwise fixed to, or may be integral projecting portions deformed out of, the main member or sleeve. The detents may be holes or recesses, such as integral depressions. This way of locking the sleeve avoids compression of the sleeve around the main member to provide a frictional lock, which would require the main member to be made of a heavy rugged, even solid, material, and enables the main member to be made of a comparatively light, thin walled hollow section. Preferably, when the detents are holes, the lugs are on the main member and the hole(s) is/are in the sleeve to avoid weakening the main member.

The hook at the top of the main member is preferably arranged to extend over the top of, and down the back of, a selected batten, which has been exposed, if necessary by removing or sliding upwards a tile or slate. Preferably, there are two outwardly splayed hooks which are arranged to hook over, and down the back of, a batten one on each side of a rafter. Preferably, the two hooks are provided by the ends of a bar, which is fixed to the underside of, and extends transversely across, the main member in order to rest on top of the batten in use.

The other end of the support member may be provided with a coupling for a vertically extending guardrail support post, the coupling being arranged to allow the post to rotate about its vertical axis. The rotary coupling allows staging, consisting of two of the roof staging pieces supporting a board and a guardrail system, to be "walked" up or down the roof, one end at a time, without any dismantling or stressing. The guardrail post then preferably has rigidly fixed to its upper end two mutually perpendicular couplings, one for an end of a longitudinal guardrail to extend horizontally along the roof, and the other for an end of aft end guardrail to extend horizontally towards the roof, fixing of a longtitudinal guardrail at its ends by two posts then locks the posts against rotation and ensures that end rails axe held firm projecting from the posts back towards the roof overlying the staging pieces. This prevents a workman walking onto the end of a board projecting beyond a staging piece where his weight could tip up the board. A roof staging piece constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the staging piece folded for carrying, but showing how guardrails may be fitted;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the staging piece in use on a roof;

Figure 3 is a plan of part of the interconnection between the main and support members;

Figure 4 is an elevation from the left hand side of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a section taken on the line V-V in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic side view at the upper part of the main member in use;

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view corresponding to Figure 6, but as seen perpendicular to the roof; and.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view corresponding to Figures 6 and, but as seen down the roof;

Figure 9 is an end view of an alternative base member; and.

Figure 10 is an end view of the alternative base member under load.

The illustrated staging piece has a main member

7, a support member 8 and two legs 9, all formed of steel tubes of square cross section. The lower ends of the legs 9 are welded to a steel tube 10 and the lower end of the main member 7 is welded to a steel sleeve 11 which is rotatable around the tube 10 and captive between the legs 9. The legs 9 are interconnected by, and welded to, a steel bar 12 of square cross section. The outer end of the support member 8 is welded to a steel bush 13 which is rotatably mounted on the centre portion of the bar 12 between the legs 9. The inner end of the support member 8 has welded to it a steel sleeve 14 which is rotatable around a central portion of a steel bar 15 of square cross section which is welded at its ends to the upper face of a sleeve 16, that is loosely slidable along the main member 7. The upper wall of the sleeve 16 is provided with an aperture 17 to accomodate the sleeve 14. The staging piece can thus be folded to a flat carrying position shown in Figure

1, or erected to a working position shown in Figure

2, by sliding the sleeve 16 along the central straight portion of the main member 7. The sleeve 16 may be locked in a selected position along the main member by means of disk shaped projections 18 which are welded to one face of the main member 7. The disks are mounted in pairs with a gap between adjacent pairs corresponding exactly to that necessary to accomodate a further disk if all the disks were mounted at equal intervals along the main member 7. The sleeve 16 is provided in one side wall with a pair of complementary circular openings 19, each of which is sized to receive one of the disks 18. The internal width of the sleeve 16 is greater than the external width of the main member 7 so that the sleeve can be slid along the main member past disks 18 and then locked in position in which one or two of the disks 18 are accommodated in the complementary hole or holes 19, by forcing the sleeve to the appropriate side of the main member. This is achieved by screwing up an internally tapped cap 20, over a screw .threaded boss 21 on the side of the sleeve 16 remote from the holes 19, so that a soft plastics plug 22 within the boss is forced against the adjacent wall of the main member 7. The skirt of the cap 20 will eventually abut the side wall of the sleeve to prevent overtightening. The plug 22 engages the side wall of the main member so that the forces are transmitted into compression of the top and bottom walls of the main member and deformation by depression by the plug of the side wall of the main member is avoided.

The upper end of the main member 7 is chamfered and the chamfer undersurface 22 carries a seating plate 23. Welded to the plate 23 is a transverse bar 24 which terminates hooks 25. In order to fit the staging piece to a roof, an appropriate number of tiles 26 are removed, and if necessary roofing felt 27 is peeled back, to expose a batten 28 and rafter 29. The nose at the leading end of the member 7 can then be inserted beneath a lowermost tile, to lever up the tile an enable the hooks 25 to be hooked over the batten, one on each side of the rafter. In some cases this can be done without actually removing any of the tiles but simply displacing one or more of them. The bar 24 then rests on the top of the batten to provide additional security as shown in Figures 7 and 8. With the slider 1-6 fixed at an appropriate position along the main member 7 so that the support member 8 is virtually horizontal irrespective of the pitch of the roof, the two ends of the steel tube 10 are supported on a lower portion of the roof via cushioning provided by surrounding flexible plastics tube sections 30, each of which has a larger internal cross section than the outer cross section of the tube 10 and is fixed by rivets 31 at its uppermost part to the top of the tube 10. The bottom parts of the tubes 30 are thus spaced from the bottom of the tube 10 and provide a cushioning effect when resting on roof tiles 26 as they deform slightly to spread the load. The extreme bottom part of each plastic tube 30 may be longitudinally split so that the longitudinal free edges 32 curl one inside the other to improve the cushioning effect.

Alternatively the tubes 30 may be unslit, as shown in Figure 9, in which case they will deform roughly in the shape of an ellipse as shown in Figure 10 when under load. At its outer end, the support member 8 has rigidly welded to it an upwardly facing steel socket 33 lined with a piece of plastics tubing 34. This is to support rotatably the lower end of a guardrail support post 35, having at its lower end an integral spigot 36 which is arranged to fit into the liner within the socket. The upper end of the steel post

36 has rigidly welded to it a pair of steel sockets

37 and 38 which extend in mutually perpendicular directions, and of which the socket 37 may also be lined like the socket 33. The socket 37 is arranged to receive the end of a longitudinal guardrail 40 and the socket 38 is arranged to receive as a frictional push fit a spigot 39 at the end of an end guardrail 41.

A scaffold plank or other staging board 42 can then be rested at one end on the support 8 and, usually, at its other end on another of the staging pieces positioned further along the roof and supporting the other end of the longitudinal guardrail 40. The board may be caused to climb up or down the roof by moving the staging pieces alternately up or down the roof one or more battens at a time. This pivotal couplings between the posts 35 and sockets 33 allow the misalignment resulting from one end of the staging being temporarily higher than the other end.

Claims

1. A roof staging piece, for use in supporting one end of a staging board (41) extending along a pitched roof, comprises an elongate main member (7) which is arranged to extend down the slope of the roof, the main member having at its upper end at least one hook

(25) for hooking over a roof batten (28) and being connected at its lower end to a mid part of a horizontal base member which has a cushioned exterior (30) for resting along the roof; and a support member (8) which is connected at an inner end to, and at an adjustable position along, the main member, and which is pivotally connected adjacent to its other outer end to the upper end of at least one leg (9) which is connected to and extends upward from the base member; the interconnections between the main member, leg(s) and base member being such that the main member is pivotal relatively to the leg(s) to accommodate adjustable positioning of the inner end of the support member along the main member and thus enable the support member to be positioned with its upper surface substantially horizontal to carry a board, irrespective of the slope of the roof.

2. A roof staging piece according to claim 1, in which there are two of the legs (9) , which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the outer end of the support member (8) , and which are splayed apart, straddling the main member (7).

3. A roof staging piece according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the relative pivotal action between the main member (7) and leg(s) (9), at its/their interconnection (s) with the base member (10), is provided by attaching one of the main member or leg(s) rigidly to a rigid solid or tubular part extending substantially the full length of the base member, and attaching the other of the main member and leg(s) to a sleeve or sleeves (11) which is or are rotatable around the rigid part.

4. A roof staging piece according to claims 2 and 3, in which the lower ends of the legs (9) are rigidly attached to the rigid part (10) and the lower end of the main member (7) is rigidly attached to the sleeve (11) , which is then captive on the rigid part between the lower ends of the legs.

5. A roof staging piece according to claim 3 or claim 4, in which the cushioning on the exterior of the base member is provided by surrounding the rigid part (10) with a flexible plastics tube (30) , having an inner diameter greater than the outer dimension of the rigid part, and fixing the plastics tube in contact with an upper part of the rigid part so that the plastics tube is normally spaced from a bottom part of the rigid part.

6. A roof staging piece, according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the adjustable positioning of the inner end of the support member

(8) along the main member (7) is provided by means of a sleeve (16) , which is slidable along the main member and to which the inner end of the support member is pivotally connected, the sleeve being lockable in a selected position along the main member.

7. A roof staging piece according to claim 6, in which there are a number of discrete selectable positions, each determined by engagement of at least one lug (18) or detent (19) in the sleeve with a selected one of a plurality of detents or lugs, respectively, positioned along the main member.

8. A roof staging piece according to claim 7, in which the the engagement between a selected lug (18) and detent (19) is achieved by providing the sleeve (16) with a larger internal transverse dimension than the corresponding outer dimension of the main member, so that the sleeve may be displaced to one side and then slid along the main member (7) so that the lug or lugs ride past the detent or detents.

9. A roof staging piece according to claim 8, in which, when locking is required, the sleeve is drawn laterally relatively to the main member, by a hand-operated screw member (20) which is advanced relatively the other side of the sleeve and, by an engagement with the adjacent side of the main member, forces that other side of the sleeve away from the main member.

10. A roof staging piece according to any one of claims 7 to 9, in which the detent(s) is/are hole(s)

(19) in the sleeve (16) .

11. A roof staging piece according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there are two outwardly splayed hooks (25) which are arranged to hook over, and down the back of, a batten (28) one on each side of a rafter.

12. A roof staging piece according to claim 11, in which the two hooks (25) are provided by the ends of a bar (24) which, is fixed to the underside of, and extends transversely across, the main member (7) in order to rest on top of the batten in use.

13. A roof staging piece according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the outer ends of the support member (8) is provided with a coupling (33) for a vertically extending guardrail support post (35) , the coupling being arranged to allow the post to rotate abnout its vertical axis.

14. A roof staging piece according to claim 13, in which the coupling has a plastic-lined socket (33).

15. A roof staging piece according to claim 13 of claim 14, in conjunction with the guardrail support post (35), the post having rigidly fixed to its upper end two mutually perpendicular coupling (37,38), one for an end of a longitudinal guardrail (40) to extend horizontally along the roof, and the other for an end of an end guardrail (41) to extend horizontally towards the roof.