WO2001033014A1

WO2001033014A1 - Support apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2001033014A1
Application number: PCT/AU2000/001321
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert Gordon Richards
Original assignee: Robert Gordon Richards
Priority date: 1999-10-29
Filing date: 2000-10-27
Publication date: 2001-05-10
Also published as: AU1117501A; AU722213B3

Abstract

Support apparatus (10) is shown which is adapted to be mounted to a sloping roof structure (12). The apparatus comprises an elongate support element in the form of support shaft (14) at the opposing ends of which the apparatus (10) is detachably mounted to a pair of vertically spaced members of or in the roof structure (12). Typically the pair of vertically spaced members respectively comprise a roof rafter (24) and a support member, such as a ceiling joist (20). Alternatively the support member may be in the form of a bracket (60) spaced from and attached to the rafter (24). One end of the support shaft (14) protrudes from the roof structure (12) and is fitted with a coupling element in the form of cap piece (16) located at the uppermost end of the support shaft (14) and able to be rotated with respect to the shaft (14). In use the support apparatus (10) can provide improved safety protection for workers involved in the roofing trade. The apparatus (10) is easily adaptable to a fit a range of roof structure heights, which are of variable dimension depending upon the style of the premises. The device prevents the normal arrester rope entanglement which occurs when more than one worker at a time is located on the rooftop when the cords lying on the roof become crossed.

Description

SUPPORT APPARATUS Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a support apparatus for fastening to a roof structure to act as a safety device for workers involved in roofing maintenance activities. The device can be applied to roofs in domestic or industrial applications and will primarily be described with reference to this context. It should be remembered, however, that the invention has broader use in all manner of building and construction applications where provision of safe working conditions at heights is required.

Background Art The provision of a safe working environment for workers involved in the roofing trade is a difficult task. Sloping roofs during wet weather are particularly hazardous workplaces and workers can frequently slip off the roof to their death if unrestrained. The use of ropes or retractable fall arresters is known in the art, where a worker wears a body harness connected via the cord of the fall arrester to a mounting device, which secures the arrester at one end. The arresters or ropes normally lie on the surface of the roof during use. There are often only limited places to screw or hammer a mounting device into position. Usually large areas of the roof tiles, shingles or sheets need to be removed to create a mounting position for the known mounting devices. The use of alternative devices such as a temporary fence constructed about the circumference of the roof also involves removing large areas of the roofing materials in order to fit the fence into position. This is a time consuming task, which is sometimes unlawfully avoided in the interest of expedience and can also lead to damage of the roof structure.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a support apparatus adapted to mount to a roof structure, said apparatus comprising: an elongate support element at or adjacent opposing ends being adapted to detachably mount to respective of a pair of vertically spaced members of or in the roof structure wherein one end of the elongate support element protrudes from the roof structure; and a coupling element connected to said one protruding end and being adapted to provide attachment for a fall arrester.

Preferably the elongate element at or adjacent opposing ends is adapted to detachably mount to a support member and a rafter respectively. Most preferably the support member is a ceiling joist. Alternatively the support member is in the form of a bracing member spaced from and attached to the rafter.

Preferably the coupling element is rotatably mounted to said protruding end.

Preferably the elongate element is a telescopic or nested shaft.

Preferably one end of the elongate element includes a downwardly facing U-shaped channel that is adapted for sitting on and receiving therein the support member.

Preferably the elongate element is mounted to an upper of the spaced members via one or more fastening elements slideably mounted to the elongate element. More preferably each of the fastening elements includes one or more lateral flanges adapted to be fastened to the roof structure. Preferably the lateral flanges are mounted to one or more roof rafter/s by means of bolts or screws.

Preferably the elongate element comprises a pair of cylindrical sleeve sections with an intermediate cylindrical section being located and nestable between the sleeve pair. More preferably the intermediate section is locked in position relative to the sleeve sections by means of one or more fastening means . Preferably the fastening means is a pin or the like insertable through aligned holes in the sleeves and the intermediate section.

Preferably the coupling element is a rotatable sleeve journalled about a post mounted to an upper sleeve of the sleeve pair. More preferably the rotatable sleeve is seated on a gasket or bearing which separates the rotatable sleeve from the upper sleeve. Preferably the rotatable sleeve has one or more outwardly projecting flanges, each adapted for the attachment of linkage elements, in turn attachable to a given fall arrester.

Alternatively the rotatable sleeve has one or more outwardly projecting flanges, each adapted for the attachment of a pulley or roller, in use the cable of a given fall arrester being passed over the pulley or roller and the portion of the elongate support element which protrudes from the roof structure being adapted for the attachment of arrester linkage elements, in turn attachable to a given fall arrester.

Brief Description of the Drawings Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope of the present invention, preferred forms of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a device, used in position as a support apparatus located in and protruding from a roof, in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 shows an end elevation view of a further embodiment of a device, used in position as a support apparatus located in and protruding from a roof, in accordance with the invention.

Figure 4 shows an end elevation view of a portion of a further embodiment of a device, used in position as a support apparatus located in and protruding from a roof, in accordance with the invention.

Figure 5 shows an end elevation view of a portion of a further embodiment of a device, used in position as a support apparatus located in and protruding from a roof, in accordance with the invention.

Modes for Carrying out the Invention

Referring to the drawings, a support apparatus 10 is shown which is adapted to be mounted to a sloping roof structure 12. The apparatus comprises an elongate support element in the form of support shaft 14 at the opposing ends of which the apparatus 10 is detachably mounted to a pair of vertically spaced members, respectively, of or in the roof structure 12. Typically the pair of vertically spaced members respectively comprise a roof rafter 24 and a support member, such as a ceiling joist 20.

Alternatively the support member may be in the form of a bracing member 60 spaced from and attached parallel to the rafter 24 (see Figure 3) . One end of the support shaft 14 protrudes from the roof structure 12 and is fitted with a coupling element in the form of a rotatable sleeve or cap piece 16 located at the uppermost end of the support shaft 14 and able to be rotated with respect to the shaft 14. The cap 16 shown is fitted with couplings 18 to allow the connection thereto of fall arresting devices 52. It is optional as to whether the cap piece is rotatable, and it is within the scope of the invention for the cap to be fixed in position by a pin or other suitable fastening means .

As shown in Figure 1, the shaft 14 typically is made up of a number of nested or telescopic co-axial sleeve sections and is seated and fastened to a ceiling joist 20 by means of a downwardly facing U-shaped channel 22 joined to the base of shaft 14. Because of its expansion properties, the apparatus 10 is therefore easily adaptable to a fit a range of roof structure heights which are of variable dimension depending upon the style of the premises. To stabilise the mounting of the apparatus 10 in the roof structure 12, the shaft 14 is fastened at an additional position to the rafters 24 of the structure 12. In this regard bracket 26 is mounted on the shaft 14 and can be located at various positions therealong so that different roof sizes and spacings can be accommodated.

Bracket 26 shown has lateral flanges 28 adapted to be fastened to the rafters 24 by inserting bolts or screws through holes 30 in flanges 28, although in other embodiments it is be possible for various shaped flanges to be available depending on the mounting requirements. For example, a flange 70, 72 can project laterally from two respective collars 74, 76 each being fixed to the shaft 14 and the flanges disposed either side of the roof rafter 24 as shown in Figure 5. Fastening to the rafters can be accomplished by inserting bolts or screws through the flanges 70, 72 and into the upper and lower surfaces of the rafter 24. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2 , the support shaft 14 comprises a pair of cylindrical sleeve sections 32, 34 with an intermediate cylindrical section 36 located and nestable between the sleeve pair 32, 34. The sections can also be shaped from square or rectangular hollow sections etc. The intermediate section 36 is able to be fastened in position to each sleeve 32, 34 by two fastening pins 38, 40 or similar. Each fastening pin is insertable through any one of a number of pre-drilled and aligned holes in the sleeves 32, 34 and the intermediate section 36 in order that the shaft 14 can be fastened in position over the height of a given roof space.

The rotatable cap piece 16 is another sleeve section journalled about a post 42 projecting up from and fixed to the upper sleeve 34. The post 42 can also be adjustable in height relative to the upper sleeve 34 in further embodiments in order that the apparatus can protrude to various adjustable heights above the roof line. The cap piece 16 is seated on a nylon bush or bearing 44 which separates the cap 16 from the sleeve 34, the bush acting as a gasket to provide for free rotation of the cap 16 about the post 42. This also reduces or prevents wear of the opposing ends of the cap 16 and sleeve 34. Cap piece 16 has four outwardly projecting flanges 46 with holes 48 adapted for the insertion of couplings 18 capable of attaching fall arresting devices 52 to the flanges 46, although one or any number of flanges 46 can be provided.

In further embodiments of the invention multiple rotatable cap pieces journalled about the post 42 and positioned end to end can be provided which are able to be independently rotated to allow more freedom of movement of roof workers to reach a given part of the roof . In use the support apparatus 10 provides improved safety protection for workers involved in the roofing trade by providing a readily assembled support shaft 14 for mounting of personal fall arrester devices. The device prevents the normal arrester rope entanglement which occurs when more than one worker at a time is located on the rooftop when the cords lying on the roof become crossed. In use the apparatus ensures that cords are raised above roof height and allows the cords to remain taut while the workers are moving about their various positions on the rooftop, reducing the likelihood of any entanglement. Having an optional rotatable upper cap piece 16 provides an additional reduction in any entanglement of cords. As well as its improvement of safety aspects by reducing the risk of workers tripping over entangled cables, the device creates minimum damage to the roof structure of the building during its installation, as only one roof tile is required to be removed to allow the support shaft 14 to project from the roof space 12.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2 , channel 22 is secured onto ceiling joist 20 by means of up to six 100mm long and 12mm diameter screws drilled transversely through the rafter 24. Lateral flanges 28 are secured to rafters 24 by similar screws. The specific number and dimension of screws is dependent on the conditions found in the roof structure 12. In a preferred construction example flanges 28 are 10mm thick plates. Sleeves 32 and 34 are made of 65mm diameter, 6.35mm thick pipe, and the intermediate section 36 and post 42 are made of 50mm diameter, 3mm thick pipe, although these sections can be solid sections. In this example the intermediate section 36 and the post 42 are 3m and lm in length respectively, while sleeves 32 and 34 are 0.6m and 4.0m in length respectively and cap piece 16 is 0.6m in length.

In use when the bracket 26 is fastened to the rafters such as 24 at the apex of the roof structure, the upper end of the apparatus 10 protruding above the roof tiles comprises a portion of sleeve 34, all of the post 42 and all of rotating cap piece 16, which at maximum extended height protrudes 1.8m. This is a convenient maximum height for a worker to reach up and attach a fall arrester 52 to a coupling 18.

In an alternative coupling arrangement, shown in Figure 4, the outwardly projecting flanges 78 of cap 80 can each be adapted for the attachment of a pulley or roller 82 so that in use a fall arrester 52 can be attached to a suitable fastening device, for example a loop or hook 84 etc located at a position near the exterior base of the support shaft 32 which protrudes from the roof structure, and the cable 86 of the arrester 52 can then be passed up over the pulley or roller 82 and then downward to the harness worn by a roof worker. Such a fall arrester position is advantageous because it ensures that cords are raised above roof height and unentangled, and does not require workers to strain their back fitting the arresters to a high point . Such an arrangement also increases the overall stability of the apparatus by placing the heavy arrester items at a low height position.

The materials of construction of the apparatus can comprise any suitable lightweight and strong material which can be shaped, formed and fitted in the manner so described, such as aluminium or steel. Lightweight devices are preferable from the point of view of portability and ease of assembly by an individual. The embodiments of the invention shown provide an easily installed apparatus can provide improved safety protection for workers involved in the roofing trade as well as creating minimum damage to the roof structure of the building. The device is easily adaptable to a range of roof structure heights. The device also prevents arrester rope entanglement when more than one worker at a time is actively located on the roof work space. Additionally the device can be permanently affixed to a roof for future use when roof maintenance is required, only requiring any gaps between the shaft and the edges of adjacent tiles to be temporarily filled to prevent ingress of rain water or other material .

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to a number of preferred embodiments it should be appreciated that the invention can be embodied in many other forms .

In the claims that follow and in the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the words "comprised" or "comprising" are used in the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims

1. A support apparatus adapted to mount to a roof structure, said apparatus comprising: an elongate support element at or adjacent opposing ends being adapted to detachably mount to respective of a pair of vertically spaced members of or in the roof structure wherein one end of the elongate support element protrudes from the roof structure; and a coupling element connected to said one protruding end and being adapted to provide attachment for a fall arrester.

2. A support apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the elongate element at or adjacent opposing ends is adapted to detachably mount to a support member and a rafter respectively.

3. A support apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the support member is a ceiling joist.

4. A support apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the support member is in the form of a bracing member spaced from and attached to the rafter.

5. A support apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the coupling element is rotatably mounted to said protruding end.

6. A support apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the elongate element is a telescopic or nested shaft .

7. A support apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein one end of the elongate element includes a downwardly facing U-shaped channel that is adapted for sitting on and receiving therein the support member.

8. A support apparatus as claimed in claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the elongate element is mounted to an upper of the spaced members via one or more fastening elements slideably mounted to the elongate element .

9. A support apparatus as claimed in claimed in claim 8 wherein each of the fastening elements includes one or more lateral flanges adapted to be fastened to the roof structure .

10. A support apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein the lateral flanges are mounted to one or more roof rafter/s by means of bolts or screws.

11. A support apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the elongate element comprises a pair of cylindrical sleeve sections with an intermediate cylindrical section being located and nestable between the sleeve pair.

12. A support apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein the intermediate section is locked in position relative to the sleeve sections by means of one or more fastening means .

13. A support apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the fastening means is a pin or the like insertable through aligned holes in the sleeves and the intermediate section.

14. A support apparatus as claimed in claims 11 to claim 13 wherein the coupling element is a rotatable sleeve journalled about a post mounted to an upper sleeve of the sleeve pair.

15. A support apparatus as claimed in claims 11 to claim 14 wherein the rotatable sleeve is seated on a gasket or bearing which separates the rotatable sleeve from the upper sleeve.

16. A support apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the coupling element has one or more outwardly projecting flanges, each adapted for the attachment of linkage elements, in turn attachable to a given fall arrester.

17. A support apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein the coupling element has one or more outwardly projecting flanges, each adapted for the attachment of a pulley or roller, in use the cable of a given fall arrester being passed over the pulley or roller and the portion of the elongate support element which protrudes from the roof structure being adapted for the attachment of arrester linkage elements, in turn attachable to a given fall arrester.