AU667061B2 - Scaffolding system - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Details of Associated Provisional Applications: KAGAR DEVELOPMENTS

LIMITED(

GRAEME ROSS CARRICK REX HAYES CARRICK KENNETH JAMES CARRICK Patent ztzny N~ational Ba-nk-4Iu-s- C, -2 55A-Aeade-&t-r-eet- ~CS BRISBANE QbB-, 4000 Q LuZ 031'O-Be--3-125, BRI-SBANE-r-40O-1) "SCAFFOLDING SYSTEM" No: PK9702, ied 26 Jb,1A1 1991 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: THIS INVENTION relates to a scaffolding system, and been devised particularly but not necessarily solely to provide a scaffolding system for use adjacent walls of houses or other buildings so as to permit work on the wall The manner of providing and erecting scaffolding up to the present time has followed conventional techniques involving the building up of a scaffold structure from the ground or other support surface, with stacking, interlocking and bracing of components. To ensure strength, rigidity and safety, great care must be taken and relatively expensive components used, particularly where the wall extends well above the ground or where it is difficult to locate the scaffolding on a rigid and fairly flat base surface. This is disadvantageous.

oe I It is an object of the present invention to provide a scaffolding system which will obviate or minimise the foregoing disadvantages in a simple yet effective manner or S2: which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Accordingly in one aspect, the invention consists in a scaffolding system adapted to be used adjacent a wall, comprising a plurality of support brackets adapted in use to be secured at or near the upper extremity of said wall; said support brackets being made so that the said support bracket can be permanently attached to the wall at spaced intervals .o•.ei S"there along; elongated hanger bars adapted to be connected at their upper ends to respective said support brackets and to depend therefrom, said hanger bars having a plurality of apertures therein, and scaffold frame assemblies having lugs to enter said apertures and engage said hanger bars for releasable connection of said scaffold frame assemblies to said hanger bars, said scaffold frame assemblies providing support for platform members disposed horizontally when two or more scaffold frame assemblies are mounted at the same vertical height on respective hanger bars.

~In a furthier aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of mounting scaffolding adjacent a wall to be treated or worked on, including the steps of providing a scaffolding system securing at least two support brackets in spaced relationship at or near the upper end of the wall; releasably securing to each said support bracket a depending hanger bar of such length as to extend for the wall height to be treated and releasably securing to said hanger bars respective scaffold frame members adapted to extend clear of the wall by engaging said lugs into said receiving apertures, and releasably securing to said scaffold frame members foot platform means and hand rail means.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the basic components of a scaffolding system according to the invention, shown in separated relationship for convenience.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show to larger scale in side elevation and front elevation respectively one of the support brackets included in Fig. 1; FIG. 4 shows in side elevation to larger scale the upper end of a hanger bar; FIG. 5 shows the attachment block on the hanger bar of Fig. 4 being a cross section of in Fig. 4; 0*S*S FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show in elevation, plan and end view respectively a wallengagement member usable at the foot of the hanger bar to engage a wall; and FIG. 9 is a side elevation of a hanger bar extension usable in the invention.

To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

As shown in the drawings, the scaffolding system utilises multiples of three basic components, namely a support bracket 10, a hanger bar assembly 11 and a scaffold frame assembly 12, the latter having a horizontal arm 13 to support planks or other platform members and an upstanding arm 14 with means 15 for supporting hand rails. These means may comprise a tubular member affixed to arm 14 through which a hand rail may pass. A screw 16 may be tightened to secure the rail (not shown). Other rail fixing devices could be used.

The support bracket 10 has an upper horizontal ann 17 to engage over a frame member at the top of a wall indicated in outline at 18, a locking lug 19 being provided for stability. The lug 19 may therefore enter the cavity of a cavity block wall or lie adjacent the inner face of the wall or top beam. An integral vertical arm 20 extends down the front face of the wall 18 and the support bracket 10 can be secured to the wall 18 by a screw 21 (see Fig. 1) passed through a slot 22 in the arm 20. The arm 20 carries at least at one end preferably a pair of headed hook members 23, each having a cylindrical shank 24 and larger cylindrical head 25 as illustrated. The locking lug 19 may have a sloped face 26 at its distal end to aid positioning, but some vertical face 27 should remain to substantially prevent accidental removal. If necessary the support bracket 10 may be initially positioned substantially in a horizontal plane and the lug passed across a wall top or part thereof. Rotating the support bracket 10 to a substantially ,ertical plane will cause the lug 19 to be caught in the desired positioned.

The hanger bar assembly 11 has a preferably uniform rectangular-section beam or bar 28 adapted to extend vertically down the wall, an affixed mounting bar 29 at its top being provided with at least one and preferably two keyhole slots 30 to accommodate the headed hook members 23 and acting in use to space the top of the hanger bar 28 from the wall to permit access to the latter for painting or the like. This spacing also compensates for any wall surface irregularities which might otherwise prevent the intended disposition 0 of the bar being achieved, In the preferred form of the invention the lower end of the bar 28 is similarly spaced from the wall. Thus the lower assembly may be as indicated at 35 in Figs. 6 to 8, including an apertured wall-attachment plate 36 welded to a U-shaped bar 37 having a web 38 and two oppositely disposed holes 39 whereby the assembly may be secured by a pin 40 when located at a desired position along the bar 28 which has spaced apertures such as apertures 41 for that purpose. Alternatively a fixed foot member may be provided.

The hanger bar assembly 11 has the outer face 42 of the bar 28 provided with a closely-spaced series of apertures to receive spaced upper and lower lugs 43 and 44 on the scaffold frame assembly 12. The scaffold frame assembly 12 also desirably has a vertical arm 45 between the lugs 43 and 44 and an inclined arm 46 preferably integral with the previously mentioned vertical arm 14 carrying the rail means 15. Thus the arm extends between arm 13 and inclined arm 46. A locking pin 47 is provided for engagement in a selected locking hole 48 in the hanger arm 11 to substantially prevent accidental disengagement of the lugs 43 and 44. The lugs 43 and 44 are therefore desirably in the form of downwardly directed hooks.

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Figure 9 shows an extension bar 50 similar to the hanger bar 11. The extension bar 50 is used to allow the distance between the support brackets 10 and the scaffold frame assembly 12 to be extended. Thus the extension bar 50 has apertures 51 corresponding to the apertures in the hanger bar 11 so that lugs 42 and 43 of the scaffold frame assembly 12 may be inserted therein as for hanger bar 11.

One end of the extension bar 50 has an extension 52 adapted to engage the lower end 53 in use of the hanger bar 11. The extension may therefore fit within the hanger bar 11 and be secured by a pin (not shown) through aligned apertures 41 in the hanger bar 11 and 54 in the extension bar 50. Apertures 55 at the lower end of the extension bar allow a further extension bar to be engaged at the lower end of the extension bar 50, or the foot 35 to be engaged with the extension bar The manner of erecting the scaffolding will be clear from the preceding description and one advantage of the invention is that house walls can be fitted pennrmanently with the brackets 10 which are at all times unobtrusive but can be used to support the other components from above whenever scaffolding is needed for working purposes. All the components are of relatively light weight and can be assembled or dismantled easily, as well as being able to be moved from site to site. As the components do not have to provide support in the manner of ground-engagement components, safety can be achieved by designs which are lighter and less massive than heretofore.

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Claims (9)

1. A scaffolding system adapted to be used adjacent a wall, comprising a plurality of support brackets adapted in use to be secured at or near the upper extremity of said wall; said support brackets being made so that the said support bracket can be permanently attached to the wall at spaced intervals there along; elongated hanger bars adapted to be connected at their upper ends to respective said support brackets and to depend therefrom, said hanger bars having a plurality of apertures therein, and scaffolding frame assemblies having lugs to enter said apertures and engage said hanger bars for releasable connection of said scaffold frame assemblies to said hanger bars, said scaffold frame assemblies providing support for platform members disposed horizontally when two or more scaffold frame assemblies are mounted at the same vertical height on respective hanger bars. I0

2. A scaffolding system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upper and lower ends of the hanger bars are so arranged that the bars are slightly spaced from the wall face. %o

3. A scaffolding system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said receiving apertures are provided in a closely spaced series along the hanger bar. S*

4. A scaffolding system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein each scaffold frame assembly has a horizontal platform supporting arr- provided at one end with said lug, the other or outer end baving a vertical arm provided with spaced hooks to support safety rails.

A scaffolding system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said support brackets have one or more outwardly extending hook members with enlarged heads, and said hanger bars have at least one "keyhole" slot with the hanger end ouj downward in use to enable engagement between said hanger bar and said support bracket s in use.

6. A scaffolding system substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A method of mounting scaffolding adjacent a wall to be treated or worked on, including the steps of providing a scaffolding system according to any one of the preceding claims securing at least two support brackets in spaced relationship at or near the upper end of the wall; releasable securing to each said support bracket a depending hanger bar of such length as to extend for the wall height to be treated, and releasably securing to said hanger bars respective scaffold frame members adapted to extend clear of the wall by engaging said lugs into said receiving apertures, and releasably securing to said scaffold frame members foot platform means and hand rail means.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein said support brackets have a locking lug and are initially placed in a horizontal position and partly passed across the o* top of said wall said support brackets then being rotated to a substantially vertical position to engage said locking lug with the top of said wall.

9. A method of mounting a scaffolding substantially as herein described with 66* a 0: reference to the accompanying drawings. 0 0 Dated this 18th day of December 1995 KAGAR DEVELOPMENTS LTD By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK CO ABSTRACT There is provided a scaffolding system adapted to be used adjacent a wall comprising a plurality of support brackets (10) adapted in use to be secured at or near the upper extremity of said wall elongated hanger bars (11) adapted to be connected at their upper ends to respective said support brackets (10) and to depend therefrom, said hanger bars (11) having a plurality of apertures therein, and scaffolding frame assemblies (12) having lugs (43,44) to g 00 g* 0 enter said apertures and engage said hanger bars (11) for o o.o releasable connection of said scaffold frame assemblies (12) to said hanger bars, said scaffold frame assemblies providing support for platform members disposed horizontally when two S. or more scaffold frame assemblies (12) are mounted at the 00 same vertical height on respective hanger bars *000e 0 «o