WO1991012130A1

WO1991012130A1 - Safety fabric for construction sites

Info

Publication number: WO1991012130A1
Application number: PCT/AU1991/000053
Authority: WO
Inventors: Herbert Willem Musch
Original assignee: Herbert Willem Musch
Priority date: 1990-02-14
Filing date: 1991-02-14
Publication date: 1991-08-22

Abstract

A fabric for encasing construction scaffolding which comprises at least one central layer (1) of load sustainable mesh such as wire mesh, sandwiched between adjacent layers (2) of cloth substantially impervious to airborne dust. The layers (1, 2) are secured together by rows of stitching (3) along the length or width of the fabric. The fabric may comprise an ultra-violet resistant plastic weave. The fabric may be stitched by a bank of sewing machines arranged across the width of the fabric, and driven in unison.

Description

SAFETY FABRIC FOR CONSTRUCTION SITES

This invention relates to building materials and more specifically although not exclusively discloses a fabric for encasing construction scaffolds.

Building safety regulations require that the outside face of construction scaffolds be encased with fabric. The purpose of this is to prevent debris from falling off the scaffold and also to reduce the spread of dust and fumes from the construction site. To provide a sufficiently strong and impervious fabric it is common practice to apply layers of sack cloth and chain link mesh over the scaffolding. These layers are then fixed at prescribed points to the scaffold structure. Such existing techniques however are inefficient as the labour cost is increased by having to apply and fix these layers separately. Also, unless the mesh and sack cloth are tied together at closely adjacent points over their area the cloth tends to flap and tear in the wind. In addition, the fixing of the chain mesh tends to be a dangerous operation and imposes a heavy loading on the scaffold structure.

It is therefore an object of this invention to ameliorate the aforementioned disadvantages and accordingly this invention discloses an improved fabric for use in construction applica¬ tions which comprises at least one load sustainable flexible mesh layer sandwiched between adjacent layers of cloth weave substantially impervious to airborne dust. The currently preferred form of this invention will now be described with reference to the attached illustrations in which:

Figure 1 shows a section of fabric according to this concept,

Figure 2 shows a schematic view of an apparatus for manufacturing this fabric, and

Figures 3 and 4 show end and sectional views of the apparatus of figure 2.

The fabric may comprise a central layer of light guage wire mesh 1 (for example .55 mm galvanized wire formed onto 13 mm openings) sandwiched between adjacent layers of plastic cloth weave 2 of the type commercially available for sun screens. One suitable type of plastic weave is produced by Hytech Plastics Pty. Ltd. of Blaxland New South Wales Australia and sold under the name "70% Shade Cloth". While these particular materials have been found to provide a suitably strong, flexible and impervious fabric for most building applications the invention however is not limited to any specific type of mesh or weave.

Preferably as shown the layers are held together by ultra-violet resistant polyester thread stitching -.

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3 at intervals of about 200 mm. Although not shown in the drawings the edge sections of the fabric are preferably double stitched for increased strength.

In use it is envisaged that strips of said fabric having a width of say 1.8 meters could be uncoiled down the height of a scaffold and fixed in overlapping fashion against the structure by inserting conventional nylon ties through the weave. This procedure would enable substantial savings in labour over conventional methods which require the installation of chain link and cloth separately.

The currently preferred apparatus for manufacturing the fabric according to this invention may comprise a frame 4 with a bank of sewing machines arranged across its width. The sewing heads 5A to 5F and separate bases 6 are mounted on a subframe 4A and driven from a single motor 7. In order to ensure operation in unison between the respective sewing heads and bases they are both chain driven from a multidirectional box 8. More specifically the sewing heads are cranked via a common chain 8A which loops around driven sprockets

9 on each machine and a single driving sprocket

10 on the box 8. The bases are powered by separate chain drives 11 from a common horizontal shaft 12 extending across the underside of the subframe 4A. This shaft is in turn driven from a second sprocket on the box 8.

As best shown in figures 3 and 4 the mesh 1 and plastic weave 2 are drawn by rollers 13 (which are driven off shaft 12 by chains 13A and 13B) from respective supply rolls in bins 14, 15 and 16, and thence through feed rollers 17 to pinch the layers together before they pass under the sewing heads. The lengths of weave and mesh are thus continuously sewn together to form a single length of construction fabric according to this invention which is then wound onto take up roller 18. Although not shewn in the drawings the end sewing heads 5A and 5F are preferably each fitted with two needles so as to provide a double stitch along each side of the fabric .

It wi l l thus be appreciated that this invention at least in the form of the embodiment described provides a novel and useful fabric for construction sites where a strong and f lexible dust/debris barrier is required over the scaffolding. Clearly however the particular example described is only the currently preferred form of this invention and a wide variety of modifications may be made which would be apparent to a person ski l led in the art . For example the aperture size of the weave and mesh , the type of material from which they are made and the method of fastening the layers

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together can all be varied according to application. Also the apparatus used to construct the fabric is not limited to any specific type or number of sewing machines or the shape and configuration of the supporting framework.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A fabric for encasing construction scaffolding, said fabric comprising at least one layer of load sustainable flexible mesh sandwiched between adjacent layers of cloth substantially impervious to airborne dust, said layers being secured together by rows of stitching along the length and/or width thereof.

2. The fabric as claimed in claim 1 wherein said load sustainable flexible mesh is a wire mesh.

3. The fabric as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cloth layers comprise an ultra-violet resistant plastic weave.

4. The fabric as claimed in claim 3 wherein the edges thereof are double stitched.

5. An apparatus for producing the fabric of claim 1, said apparatus comprising a frame with a bank of sewing machines^* arranged across the width thereof, said sewing machines each comprising a separate sewing head and sewing base which are driven in unison from a common power source, draw roller means for drawing the layers of mesh and cloth from supply rollers and through said sewing machines and take up roller means for winding Up the sewn fabric.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the sewing heads are driven by a common chain.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the sewing bases are powered by separate chain drives from a common shaft.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the end most sewing machines are adapted for double stitching.

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