Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title t ~ORTA~hE wALAY ~YSTEPi~
Field of the Tnvention
This invention relates to portable or temporary
walkways akin to scaffolding. More particularly it
05 relates to a °'kit" and procedure for erecting a walkway
that may be used to pour concrete into a preformed wall.
Background to the Invention
Walkways based on scaffolding customarily
require erection of a frame to support planks that form
the walking surface. At construction job sites, the
transport and erection of fabricated scaffold units is
costly and inconvenient.
Tn the erection of poured concrete walls based
on the ease of lightweight foamed plastic blocks with
hollow cores, a walkway of from ~ to 8 feet in height is
usually sufficient. The cores of such walls -- °'foam-
form" walls -- are then filled with poured concrete by
standing on the walkway. This class of poured concrete
wall is distinct in that before the concrete is poured,
the wall~forms are fragile and cannot support
substantial weight.
Typical.. construction job sites consume
substantial quantities of standard sire lumber. This
lumber, typically of a °'2 by ~'° format (presently 1-1/2
.~" ~ sr 'v .i
_ 2
inches by 3-1/2 inches in North America), forms a
standard component in the framing of interior walls.
Lumber of this type is therefore generally available on
a job site, or can be brought in, by the time that the
05 concrete walls are to be poured.
This invention provides a system for utilizing
standard job site lumber on a temporary basis to form a
walkway. Tt does so in a manner which allows such
lumber to be incorporated into the building without
being wasted. Furthermore, the invention is based on a
"kit" that is compact, easily transported and fully re-
useable.
The invention in its general form will first be
described, and then its implementation in terms of
specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to
the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are
intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention,
and the manner of its implementation. The invention in
its broadest and more specific forms will then be further
described, and defined, in each of the individual claims
which conclude this Specification.
Summary of the Tnvention
The invention in its most general sense is
directed to a kit of parts for erecting a temporary
~5 walkway, the kit comprising:
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(.1) walkway brackets to carrying a lumber walking
surface;
(2) a fastening rang for attaching the brackets to
a vertical piece of lumber to be re-used
05 subsequently, and optionallya
(3) clamps for producing extended lengths of lumber
from shorter pieces, whereby such extended
lengths may be used as braces.
0n the job site, a walkway according to the
invention is erected by installing vertical posts,
preferably formed by nailing together pairs of two by
four lumber pieces. These posts, in one variant, are
notched on one side, the side to face the wall to be
worked-on, with a shallow notch which is intended to
receive the fastening ring. Tn the case of paired 2 ~ 4
lumber posts this ring may be rectangular and
dimensioned to just slide down the vertical posts. At
the notch, one the side of the ring is dropped in,
allowing a space to develop on 'the other side of the
ring.
The walkway brackets axe each provided with an
engaging leg that fats between the post and 'the ring.
The brackets also have a horizontal bar to serve as a
walkway lumber support, a downwaxdly angled brace, and a
~5 past-contacting thrusting flange at the lower end of the
brace.
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By hooking the walkway bracket engaging leg onto
the fastening ring and placing the thrusting flange
against the support post beneath this connection, a
sturdy support bar is formed that can carry walkway
05 lumber to form a walkway.
The support posts may be braced perpendicularly
along side the wall to be poured by pieced-up 2 ac 4
lumber held together by the clamps.
Along the face of the wall to be poured, or the
form work for such wall, °'hat-shaped" wall brackets may
be placed around the support posts. Flanges formed on
the wall brackets may then be fastened to the form-work
for the wall to provide vertical support for the posts.
Tn the case of foam-form walls, it is important
that the wall brackets be fastened to steel
reinforcement or other solid stiffeners that are
incorporated into the wall. This may conveniently be
done by using self-tapping screws.
Another feature of foam-form walls is that the
foam forms will often settle during the pouring of
concrete. The system of the walkway supports of the
present invention is particularly suited to such cases
because the top--hat shaped wall brackets, if not
fastened to the support posts, will allow the wall to
subside or compress vertically without impairing the
integrity of the support provided to the walkway.
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For the same reasons the walkway support system
of the invention may be used to erect a walkway adjacent
to a structurally weak vertical structure, such as a
chain-link fence. Its use is not, therefore restricted
05 to foam wails, although this is a preferred application..
The above system, once a wall has been poured,
may be readily disassembled. 6~7hhere walls of several
stories height are to be constructed, the internal flooring
is generally added progressively. each floor as it is
added may serve as a base to erect the walkway system to
suppoxt a further concrete pour.
At the conclusion of the concrete-pouring
portion of the job, the lumber used to support the
walkway may be returned for use as structural framing.
Because the notch formed in the support posts is
shallow, no significant loss of strength occurs.
As a variant, the fastening rang may be in the
form of a dasmantleable rectangle whereby one side may
be slid through a hole drilled in the support post. As
such a hole may be small in diameter, it will not
preclude subsequent use of sucks lumber for structural
framing. Use of such a hole is convenient where the 2 x
4 posts are to be moved and it is desired to ensure that
the fastening ring will remain in place during any
transfers.
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An advantage of the invention is that upon
conclusion of use of the walkway, only a small amount of
hardware needs to be removed from the job site, for
subsequent re-use. Further, the lumber that is required
05 is not consumed, but rather is only temporarily
°°borrowed°° .
The foregoing summarizes the principal features
of the invention and some of its optional aspects. The
invention may be further understood by the description
of the preferred embodiments, in conjunction with the
drawings, which now follow.
Summar~~ of the Figures
Figure 1 is a side view of a walkway bracket
engaged to a fastening ring held by a vertical post.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a wall against
which a series of vertical posts with walkway brackets
have been braced by triangularly extending braces.
Figure 3 is a plan view of a rectangular
fastening ring with a removable bolt.
Figure 4 is a face view of a foam-form wall
based on AR~IS~L ATM) type blocks, against which a
vertical support post has been fastened by a brackets.
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Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Figure 1 shows a walkway bracket 1 having an
engaging leg 2, a walkway-lumber support bar 3, a brace
element 4 and a thrusting flange 5. The engaging leg 2
05 is hooked into the outer side of a fastening ring 6
which is hanging from a shallow channel on notch 7 in a
vertical post 8.
The vertical post 8, as shown in Figure 2, is
preferably made-up by nailing two lengths of 2 x 4
lumber together. The notch 7 is formed in the side of
the post 8 facing a wall or form 9 to be worked-on. It
need be no deeper than that sufficient to retain the
ring 6 and provide slack to receive the engaging leg 2.
The ring E is preferably rectangular as shown in
Figure 3, and sized to just slide over the post.
Optionally, one side of the rectangle may be a removable
bolt 11, while the other side (24) may be fixed, as by
welding. This permits the fastening ring (6) to be
placed in a bola 12 formed in the post 8 to prevent
separation during transport. As this hole may be small
and placed near the edge, it may be used in place of the
notch 7 as an alternate form of channel and will not
weaken the lumber excessively.
The post 8 is braced in the direction
perpendicular to the lane of the walkway lumber 14 by
triangularly placed lengths of lumber serving as braces
13 that extend to the ground where they are fastened, as
',
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by stakes 15. These braces may be pieced-up from 2 x
4's using °°C" clamps as shown in Figure 2. As the
lengths of 2 x 4's are overlapped and clamped, they are
not damaged and may be used subsequently for other
05 purposes.
When a foam-form wall 16 as shown in Figure 4 is
being constructed, the posts 8 may be retained in a
vertical position against the wall by hat-shaped
brackets 17. These brackets 17 should be fastened, as
by self-taping screws 18, to reinforcing (not shown)
within the foam-form wall 16.
An example of a wall 16 particularly suited to
this invention is the AR6TSOL (TP~i) wall-produced by The
Greenblock Company Ltd. of Woodland Park, Colorado,
U. ~u.~l. The blOCk 1~ prOVl.ded by this Company has a
metal flange 22 imbedded within the foam, into which the
screws 18 may engage. Other products may provide a
flange attached to a rail that is laid between each
course of blocks, or some equivalent structure.
~0 because the brackets i7 have a sliding fit
around the posts 8, as the foam-form wall is is filled
with concrete, it is free to settle. While the brackets
17 subside with the wall, they merely slide along the
posts 8, continuing to provide lateral support.
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The invention allows a "kit" consisting of
walkway brackets l, fastening rings 6, optionally but
preferably "C" clamps 25 and hat-shaped brackets 17, to
be carried to a job site where lumber is to be found.
05 From this a walkway can be temporarily
constructed that can easily be disassembled for re-use
of all its companents.
Conclusion
The foregoing has constituted a description of
l0 specific embodiments showing how the invention may be
applied and put inta use. These embodiments are only
exemplary. The invention in its broadest, and more
specific aspects, is further described and defined in
the claims which now follow.
15 These claims, and the language used therein, are
to be understood in terms of the variawts of the
invention which have been described. They are not to be
restricted to such variants, but are to be read as
covering the full scope of the invention as is implicit
20 within the invention and the disclosure that has been
provided herein.
