JP7655733B2 - Fall prevention device for falling objects on scaffolding - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for receiving falling objects and preventing them from falling to the ground when they fall from the work space of a scaffolding structure toward an outside space during high-altitude work in the work space of the scaffolding structure at a construction site or the like.

When working at height in the work space of a scaffolding structure, there is a risk that tools, work equipment, and other items used by workers may accidentally fall into the outer space outside the work space during work. Such falling objects may hit people passing by on the ground, potentially resulting in personal injury.

The applicant has therefore proposed a fallen object receiving device called Morning Glory, as described in Patent Document 1. This fallen object receiving device protrudes from the scaffolding structure towards the outer space, and is fixed in a position with its free end facing diagonally upwards so that it can easily receive fallen objects. Depending on the site, soundproof sheets, soundproof panels, or other covering materials may be selectively attached to the outer surface of the work space facing the outer space of the scaffolding structure for soundproofing purposes, etc.

However, when work needs to be suspended due to bad weather, for example, the falling object receiving device is at risk of being blown around by strong winds, so it is desirable to configure it so that it can be stored. For this reason, as in Patent Document 1, the falling object receiving device is configured so that its base end is pivoted to the scaffolding structure via a horizontal shaft and its position can be changed between an operating position in which the free end protrudes toward the outside space, and a stored position in which the free end faces upward and is superimposed on the vertical surface of the scaffolding structure.

However, because the fallen object receiving device is attached and fixed to the support pillars of the scaffolding structure via a bracket having a pivot structure, it is inevitable that a small gap will occur between the edge of the base end of the fallen object receiving device and the outer surface of the work space of the scaffolding structure, and if small items such as bolts, nuts, or screws fall, they may pass through the gap.
As a result, the original purpose cannot be fully achieved.

For this reason, the applicant has proposed an invention in Patent Document 2 in which a shielding device is provided at the base end of the falling object receiving device, the shielding member being provided to cover the gap.

Patent No. 4658021 Patent No. 5919408

According to the device proposed in Patent Document 2, any object that an operator accidentally drops into the outer space is received by the falling object receiving device while it is still falling. At this time, the mounting base at the base end of the falling object receiving device is provided with a shielding member that covers the above-mentioned gap, so even small objects such as screws cannot pass through and can be received appropriately.

When not in use, the shielding member can be folded by rotating it toward the mounting base at the base end of the falling object receiving device and stacked on top of the mounting base, making it convenient for storage and transportation.

However, in the examples of the invention in Patent Document 2, the shielding member is pivotally connected to the mounting base at the base end of the falling object receiving device by a hinge-type pivoting means, so there is still room for improvement from the perspective of reducing production costs.

In the case of Patent Document 2, the shielding member is configured to be freely rotatable, which has the advantage that the gap can be covered simply by changing the angle at which the shielding member stands depending on the size of the gap. On the other hand, if the shielding member stands close to a vertical position, there is a risk that it will be rotated toward the mounting base at the base end of the load receiving device and fall over when blown by wind, which means that there is a risk of opening up the gap.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a device that solves the above problems by revising the invention proposed in Patent Document 2.

The present invention provides a means for solving the above problems by providing a falling object receiving device that protrudes from a scaffolding structure that forms a working space toward the outside space, and a shielding device that covers the gap between the base end of the falling object receiving device and the scaffolding structure, the shielding device being composed of a shielding sheet that extends from the mounting base of the base end of the falling object receiving device toward the scaffolding structure, and the shielding sheet being equipped with a base portion attached to the mounting base and a shielding portion that extends from the base portion and can be bent upward to fit the scaffolding structure.

In this case, the shielding portion is formed to cover the gap in a bent and deformed state, and inside the gap, it forms a bent portion facing the scaffolding structure and an upright portion extending upward along the scaffolding structure.

It is preferable that the base of the shielding sheet is removably attached to the mounting base by a releasable fastening means.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the shielding sheet is provided with a mooring means on at least both the left and right sides of the portion near the tip of the shielding portion, which can be freely attached to and detached from the constituent members of the scaffolding structure.

According to the present invention, a shielding device 18 is provided that can cover the gap S formed between the outer surface X of the work space in the scaffolding structure 1 and the base end of the falling object receiving device 4.

In this case, the shielding device 18 forms a shielding section 21 extending from a base section 20 attached to the mounting base 17 at the base end of the falling object receiving device 4, and is configured to cover the gap S by bending and deforming the shielding section 21. Therefore, even if gaps S1 and S2 of different sizes exist depending on the site, it can be flexibly adapted and can always cover the gap in a stable and suitable state.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a scaffolding structure provided with a conventional falling object receiving device. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional falling object receiving device. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a side view, respectively, showing a pivotal connection portion of a conventional falling object receiving device. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a base end portion of a conventional falling object receiving device. 1A is a perspective view showing a state before a shielding device is attached to a base end portion of a falling object receiving device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing a detachable fastening means. Regarding the first embodiment, (A) is an oblique view showing the state in which the shielding device is attached to the base end of the falling object receiving device, and (B) is an oblique view showing the part where the base of the shielding sheet is attached to the mounting base by an attachment means. FIG. 11 is a side view showing the state in which the first embodiment is used on a scaffolding construction to which a sheet material such as a soundproof sheet is attached. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the state in which the first embodiment is used on a scaffolding construction to which a sheet material such as a soundproof sheet is attached. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the state in which the first embodiment is used on a scaffolding construction to which a panel material such as a soundproof panel is attached. 11A is a perspective view showing a state before a shielding device is attached to a base end portion of a falling object receiving device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11B is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of the shielding device after it is attached.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(Configuration of scaffolding structure and fallen object receiving device)
As shown in Figure 1, the scaffolding structure 1 is of a known configuration, and although the illustration shows a frame scaffolding, it may be a single-tube scaffolding or other scaffolding, and a work space is formed by arranging scaffolding boards 3 in upper and lower tiers on supports 2 extending in the vertical direction.

At a high position on the scaffolding structure 1, a panel-shaped fallen object receiving device 4 is provided, which protrudes toward the outer space Y outside the outer surface X of the work space formed by the pillars 2 and scaffolding boards 3.

The falling object receiving device 4 is formed to have a width dimension W corresponding to the spacing between the supports 2, 2 in the scaffolding structure 1, is connected along the outer surface X of the work space, and is usually called a morning glory. Note that the falling object receiving device 4 shown in the figure is formed in the shape of a rectangular panel in a plan view, but is formed in the shape of a triangular panel at the corners of the scaffolding structure 1.

Each of the connected falling object receiving devices 4 is installed and used in a position (operating position) inclined upward from the base end to the free end so as to make it easier to receive falling objects from above, but in the event that work needs to be suspended due to bad weather or other reasons, there is a risk of them being blown around by strong winds. Therefore, by rotating as shown by the arrow U in Figure 1, the free end is moved upright, and the falling object receiving device 4 is stored in a position (storage position) superimposed on the outer surface X of the work space.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, the falling object receiving device 4 is pivotally connected to an upper pivoting means 5 and a lower pivoting means 6 that are fixedly attached to the support 2 of the scaffolding structure 1. That is, both ends in the width direction of the base end of the falling object receiving device 4 are pivotally connected to the upper pivoting means 5, and the support means 7, 7 extending downward from both ends on the free end side of the falling object receiving device 4 are pivotally connected to the lower pivoting means 6.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the base end of the falling object receiving device 4 is constructed by protruding pivot pieces 9 from the base ends of side frames 8, 8 arranged on both sides in the width direction, and connecting the base ends of the side frames 8, 8 with a base frame 10. The base frame 10 is formed, for example, from an extruded aluminum material, and is positioned between the pivot pieces 9, 9 and has a flat plate portion 10a facing the outer surface X of the work space.

Therefore, the flat plate portion 10a is formed so that the gap S between the outer surface X of the working space of the scaffolding structure 1 and the base end of the falling object receiving device 4 is as narrow as possible, but since the falling object receiving device 4 is configured to be freely rotatable, the formation of a gap S as shown in the figure is unavoidable.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper pivoting means 5 is configured with a support bracket 13 having a fastening means 11 such as a clamp metal fitting at the top and a locking means 12 at the bottom, and a pivot 14 is provided on the support bracket 13. As shown in the figure, the fastening means 11 is detachably fixed to a predetermined position on the support column 2, and the locking means 12 is mounted on a beam material 2a fixed to the support column 2 and supported on the side of the support column 2. The fallen object receiving device 14 is pivotally connected to the upper pivoting means 5 by inserting the pivot 14 through the pivot piece 9.

In the illustrated example, the lower pivoting means 6 is of the same configuration as the upper pivoting means 5, and is detachably fixed to a predetermined location on the support 2 below the upper pivoting means 5. The lower end of the support means 7 is then pivoted to the lower pivoting means 6. The support means 7 is composed of a telescopic rod such as a nested rod as in the illustrated example, and its upper end is pivotally connected to the side frame 8 so as to be freely rotatable.

(Covering member)
As described above, a covering member may be attached to the outer surface X of the work space of the scaffolding structure 1 depending on the site, and the covering member may selectively be a sheet material such as a soundproof sheet or a thick panel material such as a soundproof panel, and forms part of the scaffolding structure 1.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3(B), naturally, the gap S1 formed between the scaffolding structure 1 provided with the sheet material 15 and the base end of the drop receiving device 4 (the tip edge of the flat plate portion 10a) and the gap S2 formed between the scaffolding structure 1 provided with the panel material 16 and the base end of the drop receiving device 4 (the tip edge of the flat plate portion 10a) will be different in size, such that S1>S2.

(Shielding device)
The present invention provides a shielding device 17 that can cover the gap S formed between the outer surface X of the work space in the scaffolding structure 1 and the base end of the falling object receiving device 4 (in the illustrated embodiment, the tip edge of the flat portion 10a of the base frame 10), and in particular, is intended to provide a device that can respond to changes in the size of the gap S as described above, and can always reliably seal the gap.

First Embodiment
4 to 9 show a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4, the falling object receiving device 4 has a base end similar to that of the prior art described above based on Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, and a flat plate portion 10a is extended from a base frame 10 connecting side frames 8, 8.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, the flat plate portion 10a forms the mounting base 17, and the shielding device 18 is provided on the mounting base 17.

The shielding device 18 is composed of a shielding sheet 19 that extends from the mounting base 17 toward the scaffolding structure 1. In this case, the mounting base 17 is formed to have a width W1 (see FIG. 6) that is approximately equal to the width W (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) of the fallen object receiving device 4, and the shielding sheet 19 is formed to be a size that spans almost the entire width of the mounting base 17, that is, as shown in FIG. 6, the shielding sheet 19 is also formed to have the same width W1.

The shielding sheet 19 has a base 20 that is attached to the mounting base 17, and a shielding portion 21 that extends from the base 20 and can be bent and deformed. The shielding sheet 19 can be made of any material selected from resin sheets such as polyethylene, cloth sheets such as woven fabrics, mesh sheets, and other sheet materials.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the base 20 of the shielding sheet 19 is detachably attached to the mounting base 17 by a detachable attachment means 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the attachment means 22 is composed of a stopper 23 that is erected by inserting a bolt shaft into the mounting base 17 and fastening a nut, and an engagement hole 24 provided in the base 20 of the shielding sheet 19. Therefore, when the stopper 23 is inserted into the engagement hole 24 and the retaining piece 23a of the stopper 23 is rotated to engage in a retaining state, the base 20 of the shielding sheet 19 is attached to the mounting base 17.

When the base 20 is attached to the mounting base 17, the shielding sheet 19 extends so as to overhang the mounting base 17, leaving the shielding portion 21 in a free state, i.e., in a state in which it can be bent and deformed freely, and has anchoring means 25 formed by eyelets on at least both the left and right sides near the tip of the shielding portion 21.

Regarding the use state of the shielding device 18, Figures 7 and 8 show a case where a sheet material 15 such as a soundproof sheet is provided on the outer surface X of the working space of the scaffolding structure 1. In this case, a gap S1 is formed between the base end of the falling object receiving device 4 (flat plate portion 10a of the base frame 10) and the scaffolding structure 1, and the gap S1 is covered by the bent and deformed shielding portion 21 of the shielding sheet 19.

By bending and deforming, the shielding portion 21 forms a bent portion 21a facing the sheet material 15 and an upright portion 21b extending upward along the sheet material 15 inside the gap S1, as shown in the figure, thereby blocking the gap S1.

In this state, the mooring means 25 provided on both the left and right sides of the standing portion 21b face the support 2 of the scaffolding structure 1, and the mooring means 25 can be detachably moored to the support 2 by using a rope such as a string (not shown), a clip, or other known mooring aid, thereby maintaining the standing position of the standing portion 21b. Note that the mooring means 25 may be moored to the support 2, or to a grommet hole in the sheet material 15, in addition to being moored to the support 2.

Regarding the use state of the shielding device 18, Figure 9 shows a case where a panel material 16 such as a soundproof panel is provided on the outer surface X of the working space of the scaffolding structure 1. In this case, a gap S2 is formed between the base end of the falling object receiving device 4 (flat plate portion 10a of the base frame 10) and the scaffolding structure 1, and the gap S2 is covered by the bent and deformed shielding portion 21 of the shielding sheet 19. In this case, the gap S2 is smaller than the above-mentioned gap S1.

As described with reference to Figure 8, the shielding portion 21 is bent and deformed to form a bent portion 21a facing the panel material 16 and an upright portion 21b extending upward along the panel material 16 inside the gap S2, thereby sealing the gap S2.

At this time, the standing portion 21b is anchored to the support 2 of the scaffolding structure 1 and other components of the scaffolding structure 1 via the anchoring means 25 on both the left and right sides, thereby maintaining the standing posture.

In this way, the shielding device 18 is configured to close the gap S by bending and deforming the shielding portion 21 of the shielding sheet 19, so it can freely respond to any of the gaps S1 and S2 where S1 > S2 as described above, and can always close the gap appropriately.

As per the standards for temporary scaffolding, the falling object receiving device 4 is formed to have a width dimension W that corresponds to the spacing between the posts 2, 2 in the scaffolding structure 1. Therefore, for the shielding device 18 as well, if the width W1 of the shielding sheet 19 is formed to be approximately the same width and mooring means 25 are provided on both the left and right sides near the tip of the shielding portion 21, the mooring means 25 of the standing portion 21b formed by bending deformation can be positioned close to the post 2, making mooring easier.

Second Embodiment
10 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the configuration of the base end of the falling object receiving device 4 is different from that of the first embodiment, but other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment, so the same components are given the same reference numerals and the above description is incorporated herein.

In the second embodiment, the base frame 10 that connects the base ends of the side frames 8, 8 is made of a frame material formed with a U-shaped cross section, with the upper plate-shaped portion forming a flat plate portion 10b, which serves as the mounting base 17 to provide the shielding device 18. As explained in the first embodiment, the shielding device 18 is composed of a base 20 that is attached to the upper surface of the mounting base 17 via an attachment means 22, and a shielding sheet 19 equipped with a shielding portion 21 that can be bent and deformed.

Other Embodiments
In both the first and second embodiments described above, the mounting base 17 is formed from a part of the base frame 10, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the mounting base 17 may be formed from a separate member provided on the base frame 10, or even from a member unrelated to the base frame 10.

Reference Signs List 1 Scaffolding structure 2 Support 2a Beam 3 Scaffolding board 4 Falling object receiving device 5 Upper pivot means 6 Lower pivot means 7 Support means 8 Side frame 9 Pivot piece 10 Base frame 10a Flat plate portion 11 Fixing means 12 Locking means 13 Support bracket 14 Pivot 15 Sheet material 16 Panel material 17 Mounting base 18 Shielding device 19 Shielding sheet 20 Base 21 Shielding portion 21a Bent portion 21b Standing portion 22 Attachment means 23 Stopper 23a Anti-pullout piece 24 Locking hole 25 Mooring means

Claims (2)

A scaffolding structure (1) that forms a working space and has a covering member selected from a sheet material (15) and a panel material (16) attached to its outer surface, and a panel-shaped fallen object receiving device (4) that protrudes from the scaffolding structure (1) toward the outer space,
A flat plate portion (10a) facing the outer surface of the working space is provided at the base end of the falling object receiving device (4), and the flat plate portion (10a) is used as a mounting base (17) to form a shielding device (18), thereby covering the gap (S) between the flat plate portion (10a) and the covering member to prevent the falling of falling objects ,
The gap (S) is a gap (S2) when the covering member is a panel material (16) and a gap (S1) when the covering member is a sheet material (15), with S2 < S1, whereas the shielding device (18) is configured to cover the gap in response to either of the gaps (S2) and (S1);
The shielding device (18) is composed of a shielding sheet (19) extending from the mounting base (17) toward the scaffolding structure (1),
The shielding sheet (19) includes a base (20) attached to the mounting base (17) and a shielding portion (21) extending from the base and capable of being bent upwardly and deformed to fit the scaffolding structure, and the base (20) is detachably attached to the mounting base (17) by an attachment means (22) in a state where the base (20) is superimposed on the mounting base (17) ;
The shielding portion (21) is formed to cover the gap (S) in a bent and deformed state, and is configured to form, inside the gap (S), a bent portion (21a) facing the scaffolding structure and an upright portion (21b) extending upward along the scaffolding structure, thereby preventing falling objects from falling onto scaffolding. 2. A device for preventing falling objects from falling on a scaffold as described in claim 1, characterized in that the shielding sheet (19) is provided with mooring means (25) on at least both left and right sides near the tip of the shielding portion (21) so that the mooring means can be freely attached and detached to constituent members of the scaffolding structure.

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