GB2154298A

GB2154298A - Scaffolding element

Info

Publication number: GB2154298A
Application number: GB08500702A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michel Goubaud
Original assignee: Dimos Batiment Distribution de Materiel Outillage et Securite pour le Batiment
Current assignee: Dimos Batiment Distribution de Materiel Outillage et Securite pour le Batiment
Priority date: 1984-01-13
Filing date: 1985-01-11
Publication date: 1985-09-04
Also published as: IT8567029A0; IT8567029A1; DE3500977A1; GB2154298B; GB8500702D0; BE901486A; NL8500063A; AT381545B; ATA7885A; IT8552840V0; FR2558199B1; FR2558199A1; CH662149A5; IT1182354B

Abstract

The invention relates to a scaffolding element of the kind comprising, so that any other element can be secured to it, on the one hand, a joining piece (25), with which the said other element can, for the purposes of positioning, be engaged. and, on the other hand, transversely in relation to the said joining piece (25), so that the said other element can be locked in position, at least one bore (26) which is suitable for the insertion of a pin through the latter and is located at a distance from the joining piece (25). According to the invention, the bore (26) is located on an element extending from the opposite side of the crossbeam (12) which carries it, in relation to the joining piece (25) with which it is associated. Applicable, in particular, to scaffolding brackets. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Scaffolding element The present invention relates generally to the elements which must be used in order to form a scaffolding on the top of any building on which work is to be carried out, in particular where the construction or repair of the roof is involved.

It deals more particularly, but not necessarily exclusively, with the brackets used to make a guard-rail and, if necessary, a floor along or on such a roof.

Even more precisely, the present invention is concerned with the case where, so that any other scaffolding element such as a guard-rail rod or stanchion, or another scaffolding bracket, can be secured to it, such a scaffolding bracket comprises, on the one hand, a joining piece, with which the said other scaffolding element can, for the purposes of positioning, be engaged, in practice by simply fitting the said piece and the said element together, and, on the other hand, transversely in relation to the said jointing piece, so that the said other scaffolding element can be bolted in position, at least one bore suitable for the insertion of any fixing means, for example a pin, through the latter.

Such a scaffolding bracket is, for example, described in the French Patent Application filed on 14th April 1975 under No.

75/11494 and published under No.

2,307,937.

In practice, in this French Patent Application, the bore thus associated with a joining piece is directly located on the said joining piece.

As a result, this joining piece must itself perform the double function of positioning and fixing the scaffolding element capable of being engaged with it.

This arrangement has provided and is still able to provide a satisfactory solution, at least for certain applications.

However, it has the drawback that it subjects the joining piece to considerable stresses when the scaffolding element engaged with it is itself subjected to a load or impact of any kind.

In most cases the joining piece is simply welded onto a supporting crossbeam.

The stress to which it may be subjected obviously has an effect on its connection to its supporting crossbeam, and weld which forms this connection can therefore itself be subjected to a shearing action which may cause it to break.

For safety reasons, it is therefore necessary in such a case to strengthen considerably such a joining piece and its weld, at the cost of complicating the overall design.

Moreover, it is known, for example from German Patent Application No. 2,1 38,483, to establish, at a distance from a joining piece, the bore associated with the latter for the insertion of a fixing means.

However, the corresponding scaffolding elements have a structure which is very different from the structure of those dealt with in the present application, and the joining piece which they have is more a simple locating pin, suitable only for checking the relative position of two of these elements in succession, rather than an actual joining piece which is used for positioning and which alone is able to secure these elements to each other in a stable manner by simply fitting them together.

The general subject of the present invention, however, is the application of an arrangement of the same type, with a joining piece and a bore located at a distance from the latter, to a scaffolding element of the kind dealt with here.

More precisely, it relates to a scaffolding element, in particular a bracket, of the kind comprising, so that any other element can be secured to it, on the one hand, a joining piece, with which the said other element can, for the purposes of positioning, be engaged, and, on the other hand, transversely in relation to the said joining piece, so that the said other element can be bolted in position, at least one bore which is suitable for the insertion of a fixing means, for example a pin, through the latter, and which is located at a distance from the said joining piece, this scaffolding element being generally characterised in that, while the joining piece projects from any supporting crossbeam, on a first side of the latter, the bore is located on another element, a tubular section for example, also projecting from the said supporting crossbeam, but on the other side of the latter.

The positioning and fixing functions which must be performed are therefore advantageously separated from each other, the positioning function being the only function performed by the sleeve, whereas the fixing function is performed by another element associated with the latter.

As a result, the sleeve is advantageously provided.

Moreover, since two connections are performed, at a distance from each other, between, on the one hand, the attached scaffolding element, and, on the other hand, the scaffolding element bearing the latter, the hold of the first element on the second element is advantageously enlarged, thus increasing safety.

The characteristic features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description, which is given by way of example, with reference to the attached drawings in which Figure 1 is an elevation view of a scaffolding element according to the invention; Figure 2 is a partial view on an enlarged scale and in cross-section, along the line ll-ll in Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a partial plan view of this scaffolding element, along the line Ill-Ill of Fig. 2; Figure 4 is another partial view in crosssection on the same scale as in Fig. 2, along the line IV-IV of Fig. 1; Figure 5 is yet another partial view in crosssection, along the line V-V of Fig. 1;; Figure 6 is a view, on the same scale as in Figs. 2 and 4, showing engagement, with such a scaffolding element, of another scaffolding element according to the invention; Figure 7 is a view partially showing that of Fig. 1 and relating to a variation of embodiment of the scaffolding element in question; Figure 8 is a view similar to that of Fig. 7, but on an enlarged scale, of another variation of embodiment; Figures 9 and 10 are partial views, in crosssection, of this other variation of embodiment, along the lines IX-IX and X-X of Fig. 8, respectively.

These figures show, by way of example, application of the invention to a scaffolding bracket 10 of the kind comprising, in its entirety, an upright 11, a crossbeam 12 mounted at right angles on the upright 11, at the upper end of the latter, and triangulation means 13 connecting the said suppdrting crossbeam 1 2 to the said upright 11.

In practice, in the embodiments shown, the upright 11 and the crossbeam 1 2 each consist of metal tubular sections which have a square cross-section and are suitably joined to each other, by means of welding, in the angle which they form between each other.

Moreover, in these embodiments, the tubular section forming the crossbeam 1 2 is open at both of its ends and, at a distance from one such end, it has, transversely, one or more bores 14 suitable for inserting any fixing means, such as a pin for example.

According to arrangements which, since they are known per se and do not form part of the present invention, will not be described in detail here, it is thus possible to engage, at either end of the crossbeam 1 2 and as indicated by dot-dash lines for one of the ends in Fig. 1, a coupling arm 1 5 which itself has a coupling lug 1 6 and enables the assembly to be coupled to any fastening means, usually called a safety hook, which is provided for this purpose on the building to be repaired, the said coupling arm 1 5 being, of course, bolted to the said crossbeam 1 2 by one or more pins inserted in the bores 14 of the latter.

In view of the above, the tubular section forming t the upright 11 is closed at one of its ends, i.e. its top end, by the crossbeam 1 2.

On the other hand, at its other end, which is therefore its bottom end, or base, it is open.

It forms therefore, at its base, a sleeve 1 8.

For reasons which will become apparent, the said tubular section has, as an extension of this sleeve 18, towards the bottom, two flanges 1 9 which are, for example, attached to it by means of welding, as is shown, and which each have, at a distance from the said sleeve 1 8 and transversely in relation to the latter, corresponding bores 20 suitable for inserting any fixing means, such as a pin for example.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 6, the triangulation means 1 3 comprise, on the one hand, a tubular section 22 which, similar to those forming the upright 11 and the crossbeam 1 2, is attached both to the latter, for example by means of welding, in the angle which these tubular sections form between them, and which extends at 45 relative to them, and, on the other hand, two sections with a T-shaped profile 23 which are each arranged, respectively, on either side of the tubular section 22, at the end of the latter opposite the said angle, whilst being suitably joined to this tubular section 22, for example by means of welding, and one of which connects the said tubular section 22 to the upright 11, while the other one connects the said tubular section to the cross-beam 12, the said sections also being suitably joined, for example by means of welding, to the said upright 11 and the said crossbeam 1 2.

In practice, at the points where they are connected to the upright 11 and crossbeam 12, the shaped sections 23 each have a fold which allows them to follow, over part of their length, the said upright 11 and the said crossbeam 12.

So that any other scaffolding element can be secured to it, the scaffolding bracket 10 thus formed comprises, at at least one point along its crossbeam 12, on the one hand, a joining piece 25, with which another such scaffolding element can, for the purposes of positioning, be engaged, and, on the other hand, transversely in relation to the said joining piece 25, so that the said other scaffolding element can be bolted in position, at least one bore 26 suitable for the insertion of any fixing means, for example a pin, through the latter.

In practice, while such a joining piece 25 projects from the crossbeam 12, on a first side of the latter, in practice from its upper surface, the bore 26 associated with this joining piece 25 is located on an element, described in more detail below, which also projects from the said crossbeam 12, but on the other side of the latter, and hence from the lower surface of this crossbeam 1 2.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 6, two joining pieces 25, which are each arranged respectively at the ends of the crossbeam 12, are provided on the side of the said crossbeam 1 2 opposite to that where the upright 11 is located, the said crossbeam 1 2 thus having a joining piece 25 at each of its ends, and the joining piece present at the end where the upright 11 is located forms an extension of the said upright 11, the associated bore 26 thus being directly located on this upright 11.

Thus, in the case of this joining piece 25, the element with the bore 26 associated with the said joining piece is directly formed by the upright 11 itself.

On the other hand, in the case of the joining piece 25 arranged at the other end of the crossbeam 12, the element with the associated bore 26 consists of a specific tubular section 27 mounted for this purpose, for example by means of welding, on the lower surface of the crossbeam 1 2.

In practice, the shaped section 23 of the corresponding triangulation means 1 3 extends as far as the tubular section 27 and is suitably joined to the latter, for example by means of welding.

In a manner known per se, each joining piece 25 consists of a tubular section, each of the surfaces of which have been hammered-in longitudinally, in their middle zone, and as a result have a star-shaped cross-section, as is more clearly visible in Fig. 3.

Whatever it may be, the distance D1 between the base of a joining piece 25, calculated from the point where the latter is connected to the crossbeam 12, on the one hand, and the axis of the bore 26 associated with it, on the other hand, is determined so as to be at the most equal to, and in practice less than, the distance D2 separating elsewhere the base of the sleeve 1 8 formed at the bottom of the upright 11, on the one hand, and the axis of the bore 20 associated with this sleeve 18, on the other hand.

Using any one of the joining pieces 25 of the bracket according to the invention, it is possible, for example, to secure to the said bracket, as indicated by means of dot-dash lines in Fig. 1, another scaffolding bracket 10' of similar design.

In fact, in order to achieve this, the upright 11 of this other scaffolding bracket 10' need only be fitted, by means of its base, onto the joining piece 25 in question until the sleeve 1 8 formed at the bottom end of such an upright 11 engages with the latter (see Fig.

6).

If it is supposed, as shown, that the joining piece 25 in question is the one arranged at the end of the crossbeam 1 2 opposite the upright 11 of the bracket 10, such a connection leads to the flanges 1 9 of the bracket 10' each covering, respectively, the corresponding sides of the tubular section 27 of the said bracket 10.

Then, once the corresponding bores 20, 26 are aligned, as shown in Fig. 6, it is sufficient to insert any fixing means, for example a pin (not shown), in these bores 20, 26.

Of course, a second such scaffolding bracket 10' can also be mounted, in the same manner as described above, on the joining piece 25 forming an extension of the upright 11 of the bracket 10.

In any case and according to arrangements known per se, the said bracket allows the tiered formation of a scaffolding along a roof, if required.

A guard-rail rod or stanchion 30 can also be connected to either one of the joining pieces 25 of the scaffolding bracket 10 according to the invention, in the same manner as described above, provided that, in the same way as the upright 11 of such a scaffolding bracket 10, this guard-rail rod 30 forms, at its bottom end, or base, a sleeve 1 8 extended by flanges 1 9 with bores 20, as indicated in dotdash lines in Fig. 1.

In this Fig. 1, it was supported that the guard-rail rod 30 had to be mounted on the joining piece 25 forming an extension of the upright 11, but it is obvious that it could also have been mounted on the joining piece 25 arranged at the other end of the crossbeam 12.

If measures similar to those given above are carried out, the scaffolding bracket 10 according to the invention can also be secured to any other scaffolding element comprising a joining piece 25 and a bore 26 associated with the latter.

This is the case, for example, as indicated by dot-dash lines in Fig. 1, with regard to securing such a scaffolding bracket 10 to any support arm 32 suitable for allowing it to rest against one of the walls of the building on which work is to carried out.

Since it is known per se and does not form part of the present invention, such a support arm 32 will not be described in detail here.

It is sufficient to point out that it has a cross-beam 33 and that, according to the invention, a joining piece 25 projects from this crossbeam 33, on a first side of the latter, and, an element 27 also projects from this crossbeam 33, but on the other side of the latter, the said element being a simple tubular section, for example, with the bore 26 associated with the said joining piece 25.

In the variation of embodiment shown in Fig. 7, the crossbeam 1 2 of the scaffolding bracket 10 according to the invention has, on its lower surface, at the opposite end to where its upright 11 is located, a shoe 35 which itself has, hollowed out on its lower surface, a recess extending transversely in the form of an arch 36, so that the assembly can be fastened, if necessary, to any support bar 37, as indicated in dot-dash lines in this Fig. 7.

In practice, in addition to the crossbeam 12, the shoe 35 is joined, for example by means of welding, on the one hand, to the tubular section forming the nearby element 27, and, on the other hand, to the corresponding shaped section 23 of the triangula tion means 13.

In the variation of embodiment shown in Figs. 8 to 10, it is on such a shoe 35 that the bore 26 associated with the overlying joining piece 25 is formed.

In the case in question, the shoe is made by means of moulding and has a web 39, with, on the edge of its upper portion as well as on the edge of its arch-shaped recess 36 and the bore 26, a shoulder 40 extending on both faces of this web 39, perpendicular to the latter.

In the case of the bore 26, this shoulder 40 has, perpendicular to the said web 39, a greater extension than in the case of the upper portion of the latter and the archshaped recess 36.

According to a development of the invention, the bore 26 has an ovoid outline, when viewed in cross-section, with its narrowest part pointing in the opposite direction to the associated joining piece 25.

Thus, once positioned in the top part of this bore 26, in its widest part, as indicated by dot-dash lines 42, in Figs. 8, 9, the engaged pin 42 then moves downwards in the direction of the narrow part of the said bore 26, under the action of the load which is applied to it by the element which it is securing; as indicated by dot-dash lines 42, in Figs. 8, 9, the said pin then wedges itself in the said narrow part of the bore 26, thereby advantageously limiting the transverse play to which the element in question may be subjected, and even eliminating it altogether.

Moreover, in the embodiment shown, a fastening means 44 is associated with the arch-shaped recess 36 of the shoe 35, as indicated by dot-dash lines in Figs. 8 and 10, which fastening means, having an overall semi-circular outline in elevation and mounted in Pivoting fashion on the said shoe 35 by means of a bore 45 located in the latter, is able to click into position on the support bar 37 with which the said shoe 35 is engaged by means of its said arch-shaped recess 36, so as to lock the assembly to this support bar 37.

In order to perform this clicking movement, the fastening means 44 extends preferably through more than 180 and is elastically deformable.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, but encompasses any variation as regards implementation.

In particular, several bores 26, which are for example staggered, can be associated with the same joining piece 25.

Claims

1. Scaffolding element, in particular a bracket, of the kind comprising, so that any other element can be secured to it, on the one hand, a joining piece (25), with which the said other element can, for the purposes of positioning, be engaged, and, on the other hand, transversely in relation to the said joining piece (25), so that the said other element can be bolted to position, at least one bore (26) which is suitable for the insertion of any fixing means, for example a pin, through the latter and is located at a distance from the joining piece (25), characterised in that, while the joining piece (25) projects for a crossbeam (12), on one side of the latter, the bore (26) is located on an element (27) also projecting from the said crossbeam (12), on the other side of the latter.

2. Scaffolding element according to Claim 1, characterised in that it comprises two joining pieces (25) each arranged, respectively, at the end of a same crossbeam (12).

3. Scaffolding element according to either one of Claims 1 and 2, characterised in that it comprises itself, so that it can be secured to another element, on the one hand, a sleeve (18), suitable for fitting onto a joining piece (25) of the said other element, and, on the other hand, as an extension of the said sleeve, two flanges (1 9) which each have corresponding bores (20) located at a distance from the sleeve (1 8) and transversely in relation to the latter.

4. Scaffolding element according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that, in the case of a bracket, it comprises an upright (11), a crossbeam ((12), from one of the ends of which a joining piece (25) projects, on the opposite side to the upright (11), with, associated with the said joining piece (25), transversely in relation to the latter, on the opposite side of the said cross-beam (12), a bore (26), and triangulation means connecting the crossbeam (12) to the upright (11).

5. Scaffolding element according to Claim 4, characterised in that the crossbeam (12) fixed to the end of the upright (11) has a joining piece (25) at each of its ends, the joining piece (25) present at the end corresponding to the upright (11) forming an extension of the said upright (11), and the bore (26) associated with the said joining piece (25) being located on the said upright (11).

6. Scaffolding element according to either one of Claims 4 and 5, characterised in that, at its base, the upright (11) forms a sleeve (1 8), by means of which it can be mounted on a joining piece (25) of any other element, and in that it has, as an extension of the said sleeve (18), two flanges (1 9) which are each provided with corresponding bores (20) located at a distance from the said sleeve (18), and transversely n relation to the latter.

7. Scaffolding element according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterised in that, on the lower surface of its crossbeam (12), it comprises a shoe (35) which itself has, hollowed out on its lower surface, a recess (36) which extends transversely, in the form of an arch, so that the assembly can be fastened to a support bar (37), if required.

8. Scaffolding element according to Claim 7, characterised in that the bore (26) associated with the overlying joining piece (25) is formed on the shoe (35).

9. Scaffolding element according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the bore (26) associated with a joining piece (25) has an avoid outline, when viewed in crosssection, with its narrowest part pointing in the opposite direction to the said joining piece (25).

1 0. Scaffolding element substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.