Fire escape – ladder – or scaffold – Self-sustaining – Connector for horizontal or diagonal brace
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-29
2001-04-24
Chin-Shue, Alvin (Department: 3634)
Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold
Self-sustaining
Connector for horizontal or diagonal brace
C182S186700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220392
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a scaffold, in particular facade scaffolds.
Facade scaffolds are, for example, known from DE 196 33 091 A1 and serve in general the purpose of being erected in front of the facade of a building construction in order to carry out work on it, for example plaster work or painting work. The diagonal supports which serve to stabilize the scaffold against horizontal shifts normally extend from a point directly above one transverse strut to a point of the neighboring vertical support which lies slightly below the transverse strut located above it. The diagonal struts must be secured to the vertical supports so that both tensile forces and also compression forces can be exerted by the vertical supports onto the diagonal supports.
In known scaffolds forwardly projecting tilting fingers are provided for this purpose at the relevant points of the vertical supports, onto which bores complementary thereto at the ends of the diagonal supports are pushed. Another possibility consists in welding onto the vertical supports at the relevant positions suitable fittings with which the ends of the diagonal supports can be brought into the required engagement. The disadvantage of the known scaffolds lies in the fact that, on being loaded, the diagonal supports exert torsional moments onto the vertical supports and in that special components must be mounted on the vertical supports in order to be able to secure the diagonal supports.
A lightweight grid support construction is known from EP-A-0 140 948, which consists of vertical and horizontal support elements and also diagonal struts arranged therebetween. In order to avoid welded connections with this lightweight grid support construction, and to simplify installation, the vertical and horizontal support elements are connected by means of installable node connectors which have a form-locked and force transmitting connection to the vertical and horizontal support elements, with the node connectors each being divided into two half shells, which surround the vertical support elements in force transmitting manner and engage by means of projections in form-fitted manner into corresponding holes of the vertical support elements, and the node connectors furthermore forming connection spigots, onto which the horizontal support elements can be pushed and retained in force transmitting manner.
A scaffold with vertical, horizontal and diagonal supports is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,435,171, in which pairs of vertical sleeves are welded onto the vertical supports in order to receive therein the bent around ends of the diagonal supports.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,233 shows a scaffold having vertical, horizontal and diagonal supports in which holes are provided in the walls of the vertical supports extending perpendicular to the plane defined by the vertical and diagonal supports and in which the bent around ends or fastening pins for the diagonal and horizontal supports are arranged.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,583 discloses a safety catch with which support tubes can be secured to vertical rails provided with openings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a scaffold of the initially named kind in which no special components have to be provided on the vertical supports for the mounting of the diagonal supports and in which at least no substantial torsional moments are exerted by the diagonal supports onto the vertical supports.
An important advantage attained with the present invention is the fact that the diagonal supports can be mounted with their ends via hooks directly in openings provided at the relevant positions, in particular in elongate holes of the vertical supports, with the position of the openings being such that torsional moments are not transmitted to the vertical supports when exerting either tensile forces or compressive forces on the diagonal supports. In this manner not only is the constructional complexity for the scaffold of the invention minimized, but rather the strong design which is otherwise necessary to accommodate torsional moments can be avoided.
Although, as a result of the measures of the invention, a once installed diagonal support is already secured as a result of weight and frictional forces against undesired release from the vertical supports, it is nevertheless preferred when a bolt is provided, to secure the upper hook in particular in its hung-in position.
An advantageous practical embodiment of the invention secures the diagonal support by gravity.
The invention further contemplates arrangements, particularly for embodiments of the actuating lever or of the actuating lug, in which the latched position is secured by gravity, which prevents that the hook of the diagonal which support to be placed at the bottom is unintentionally hung into an opening of the vertical support at the top. If this occurs the hook with bolt securing would now be located at the lower side and could no longer be secured by gravity.
Further, the present invention allows diagonal supports to be optionally mounted at the one or other side of a vertical support at each level.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2752206 (1956-06-01), Kirkpartrick
patent: 3685665 (1972-08-01), Atwater
patent: 4074812 (1978-02-01), Skubic
patent: 4379430 (1983-04-01), Ruschitzka
patent: 4955743 (1990-09-01), King
patent: 5180068 (1993-01-01), Vargo
patent: 1230190 (1966-12-01), None
patent: 2 044 079 (1980-10-01), None
'Peri GmbH
Chin-Shue Alvin
Townsend and Townsend / and Crew LLP
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