Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
F~LE, ~t~ THIS ~ ENDE~
IE~TRA.~ .TION 2 1 9 1 ~ 8 1
PLATFoRM FICORING FOR SCAFF01DING
The invention relates to a platform for
sca~foldings, in p~rticular scaffoldings for the
construction industry or the like, whereby the platform
ls ~as~mhlP~ out of one support fr~me forming its
longitudinal sides and its L~urlDv~r~ side6 perpendic~lar
thereto, and defines and locks a flooring serving as a
treading surface of the platform, and at least two one-
piece hollow-sectlon bars, which are r~le~qably connected
~ith one another at their longitudinal sides to form the
flooring, whereby the hollow-section bars are constructed
as closed extrusions, the side surfaces of uhich abut one
another and are parallel with the longitudinal sides of
the support frame, the side surfaces have a continuous
groove parallel with the side surface on the one side of
the respective hollow-section bar, and an elastic tongue
~ ntarily formed with respect to the groove on it~
other side. ~wo adjacent hollow-sectlon bars can bc
connected with one another by the groove of the one
hollow-section bar receiving the elastic tongue of the
other hollo~-section bar therein. Furthermore, the
longitudinal sides of ~he support frane are also formed
by a similarly connectable hollow-section bar, which on
its side - for~lng the outer boundary of the support
fra~e - has a side surface of any desired design,
pre~erably of A smooth design, however, it is equipped on
the respective other side surface facing an adjacent
hollow-section bar with a groove or an elastic tongue.
F~Ul~ ~, the tr~nsverse sides of the platform are
each provided with a support section, on whieh the
flooring rests and whioh is used to fasten the platform
to the l inln~J scaffolding.
A plat~orm for a scaffolding or the like Ls already
3~ known from the Off~nl~r~ngssrh~ift DE 43 23 381 Al. The
hollow-section bars are recessed over the entire length
and are r~o~,~ shaped such that they can, using these
2! 91 881
recesses, he nested into one another. ~ single section
is suf~icient in order to assemble - together with
~itting head pieces - one complete platform. Beads are
provided, which provide inherent stability and provide
for the aonn~ct;nn of adjacent hollow-section bars.
~ owever, ths known arrangement requires th~t the
n~CsAry inherent ~tability i~ created during assembly
in such a manner that the ad~acent hollo~-section bars
are riveted together because otherwise the vall
th;~ csec woUld have had to be significantly increased
due to the continuous recesses in the participating
S~r~ i nn~ . The beads are t~l~uuyhuuL inwardly directed in
order to enable sultable lockings of adjacent hollow-
section bars so that they cannot contribute to
st~bi11~;ng the position during the stacking of several
platforms. It is also not possible to nest as many
hollow-section bars into one ~nother as desired, rather
only t~o can be nested together at a time.
A further platform is known from the Patent
Application FR 2 501 26? Al, in which the hollow-section
bars can be connected with one another through grooves
and fitting elastic tongues. The ledgelike elastic
tongues have thereby a continuous head ledge, which must
be moved into a groove Or the aqjacent hollow-section
bar. The larg~ head ledge can have a round, triangular
or recta~gular cross section complementary ~ith the
groove.
The elastic tongues are thereby char~cterized in
this design by a material accumulation, ~hich is
detrimental for a tension-free ~anufacture of the hollow-
section bars, which are moreover manufactured with
overall approximately the same wall thic~ness. ~owever,
it is particularly unfavorable that the asse~bly of the
hollow-sectlon bars brings about significant problems
because these ~ust be inserted against one another
par~llel to their longitudinal axes in order to create
the connection between a groove and an elastic tongue.
2791881
The piecing together of the hollow-section bars to form a
flooring is therefore very time consuming. In addition,
the individual hollow-seation bar~, just like the
completed platforms, are not secured during stacking.
S Whereas $t is also already known from the Patent
Application EP 0 300 399 A3 to e~uip the longitudinal
supports, which lie on the outsids of a platform and are
~ n~d as hollow-seation bars, with longitudinal and
stacking ribs. With the help of the ribs, several
lo platforms can be stacked one on top of the other, and can
thereby be locked transversely to their longitudinal
axis. It i~ actually obvious to provide ~uch an
~ rt also in the case of hollow-section bars, from
which a flooring for such a platform can be assembled.
1~ The large ~ LLu~Lion of the longitudinal and stacking
ribs, however in turn, result~ in an undesired material
~n~ 1 ~tion in this area and increases the danger of the
for~ation of cracks after manufacture.
~herefore the basic purpose of the invention is to
design a platform of the type identified in detail above
with simple means safely operated, whereby large material
~ccumulations are avoided, and to ~onaLLu~L said platform
in such a manner that additional ~nnn~tl ng elements
between the hollow-section bars are not needed, and the
platforn can still be assembled to be inherently stable.
A staaking aid for the platform i8 also desired.
Furthermora, the number of the parallel hollow-section
bars can be any number as is desired so that an
ad~antageous width of the platform does not depend on the
width of the hollow-section bars. ~he hollow-section
bars, howe~er, are able to be quickly coupled to one
another, whereby such a coupling gains stability for a
load on the platform.
The purpose is attained according to the invention
in such a manner that on the one hand a parallel,
vertical ~eb i5 formed Ln one piece on the elastic
tongue, which web can be introduced into a parallel
2 1 9 1 88 1
secondary groove leceaaed into the lower ~idew~ll of the
groove, whereas on the other hand both the elastic tongue
and also the groOve end ln edge ledges, ~hich are
parallel to one another and are approximately flat. The
heights of the web or rather of the cPrnh~ry groove are
adjusted to the heights of the elastia tongue or rather
of the groove in such a manner th~t the elastic tongue
can be swung into the groove when the web is introduced
into the ~ y groove.
A platform of the invention can be A~ 'led out of
individual hollow-section bars without any advanced
tenhnjt~l knowledge and can be fiYedly connected through
the groove and tongue cnnr~ ion in such a manner that a
stable walkable surface can be a~embled of very light
extruded parts. The parts Are neither screwed nor
riveted together and can be joined together in any
desired number. In the case o~ light construction
~ti~n~, a narrow separation thereb~L~en guarantees,
through the large number of the vertical crosspieces of
the individual hollow-section bars which crnccpl~n~c
determine the woment of resistance, a high supporting
capacity of the platform.
The rlooring can now be ~Cst~hl~ very quLckly out
of the indlvidual hollow-section bars, because their
elastic tongue can be lateraIly guided easily into the
respective s~nn~ry groove and can be placed into same,
whereafter the bollow-sectlon bars must only be s~ivelled
with respect to one another about a swivel axis, which is
ao~ r~ by the p~iring of elastia tongue / sec~n~ry
groove. Such a swivelling asse~bly reguires very little
ti~e. When the edge ledge~ of the elastic tongue and of
the groove are placed one on top Or the other, then the
position o~ use has been reached. It aan easily be
understood that with a load on the platform through the
~5 continuously existing swivelllng car~hility of the
hollow-section bars about the swivel axis, the locking Or
said hollow-section bars with respect to one another is
2 1 9 1 88 1
further reinforced and the applied loads are distributed
through the edge ledges onto all adj~cent hollow-section
bars. A further advant~ge of the arr~rJ ~t consists in
both the bending resistance in the longitudinal direction
and also the inherent stability in the transverse
~lirection of the platform being improved.
The hollo~-section bars can be constructed
essentially ~ith an all around, approximately constant
wall ~hlr~nr~e5 including the areas of groove and el~stic
tongue. Such a design is technologically favorable
becau~e thermal stress is avoided as much as possihle
during their manufacture, which thermal stress can occur
with variations in the wall thickness.
It is particularly useful when the outer edge
hollow-section bars forming the longitudinal sides of the
support frane are prouided on their top surface, which
serves as the stepping surfacs, and the bottom surface,
which lies opposite said top surface and has identical
di~ensions, each with at least one bead, which is
adjacent and parallel to the smooth side surface. In
particular, when the bead is raised ln the top surface
and the one in the bottom surface is reGessed - but for
the imprGved inherent stability - the condition is
created for the beads to be dimensioned such that, when
the platforms are placed one on top of the other, they
aat as a stacking aid by engaging one another and
preventing reciprocal transverse shifting of the
platforms.
~he platform is completed, in an advantageous
manner, when the support section is dr~sir3nr~rl as a U or
L-shaped ~ection and the hollow-section bars rest on the
lo~er horizontal belt following the vertic~l crosspiece
of the U or L-~haped section, whereby the hollow-section
bars can be fastened with their end areas, at least
partially, to the support section. It can already be
sufficient to fasten the outer edge hollow-section bars
to the support seG~iQnc and to merely place the others on
2 ~ 9 ~ 88 1
the support sections therebetween, in particular when
using ~-shaped ~~t; n~.
The platfor~ Or the lnvention makes it possible to
construct the hollow-section bars forming the
longitudinal sides of the platform the s2me or mirror
imaged with respect to the opposite side. It is
advantageous in the latter casel when a hollow-section
~ar on both ~ide surfaces either iG provided on eaGh side
with a groove or instead each side with ~n elastic
tongue.
It i8 possible to Ztc~mhlP with ~he platfor~ o~ the
invention platforms with very different widths out of the
same basia structural element. The manufacture and the
storage can, in this manner, be limited to few different
structural Pl ts and can accordingly be simplified.
The invention will ~te dicCllcc~d in greater detail
herelnafter in conn~rtion with one exemplary Pttt~o~;r -t
and the &a~ings, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a hOlloW-section bar for a
platform of the inYentlon,
~ igure 2 illustrates a further hollow-section bar,
Figure 3 illustrates two stacked hollow-section
bars,
~ igure 4 illustrates ~ narrow platform Or the
lnYention, and
Figure 5 illustrates a similar, howeYer, wide
platform, all il}ustrated in cross section and
simplified.
A h~tll~t~: _cction bar 1, according to Figure l, is
manufactured in an extrusion process and has an
~prvsl~t~-ly rectangular cross section. A groove ll is
recessed in a fir~t side surface la so that a
longittl~intlly continuously Pytpn~;ng ledge 12 or 1} is
positioned at the top and at the bottom. The lower ledge
13 is thick, however, a secondary groove 13a is recessed
therein so as to open into the grooYe la, and is
separ~ted from the side surface la by a crrt~cr~p~p 13b.
~ 2 ~ 9 1 88 1
A second side surface lb is provided - complimentarily to
the groove 11 - uith a raised elastic tongue 14 so that a
longit~;n~lly continuously extending resldual space 15
or 16 remains at the top and at the bottom thereof. ~
web }4a projects into the lower residual space 16, which
web has a crcss section shaped complementary to the
secondary groove 13a. A top sur~aoe lc and a bottom
surface ld extend between the side surfaces to complete
the cross section of the hollow-section bar 1. The top
sur~ace lc is ~a~u ed such that it is safe for a
person to step on it.
Figure 5 shows that as many hollow-section bars 1 as
desired can be provided side-by-side with the groove 11
raceiving the elastic tongue 14. The secondary groove
13a receives the web 14a, and the upper residual spaces
15 are each filled in with an upper ledge 12. The
hollow-~ection bars 1 are in this ~anner securely
connected with one another. ~he ledges 12 rsst after the
assembly and the swinging in of the hollow-section bars 1
with their (lower~ horizontal edge ledges on the ~upper)
edge ledges of the elastic tongue 14
Another hollow-section bar 1' only slightly
different from the one of Figure 1 is illustrated in
cross section in Figure 2. It is used for receiving an
elastic tongue 14 on both sides ahd is thus e~uipped with
a groove 11' on both side surfaces la', whereby the
grooves 11' are designed symmetrical about a central
vertioal axis, houever, otherwise, they do not differ
~rom the groove 11 of Figure 1. A ledge 13' is
~ ~Lical about the central vertical axis and is below
the top surface lc~- ~he residual spaces 15, 16 do not
exist here on the hollow-section bar 1~. Figures 4 and 5
clearly show that the platform of the invention requires
at ~ost one hollow-section bar 1', either (~igure 4)
between two outer edge hollow-section bars 1" or
~Figure S~ between an "inner" hollou-section bar 1 and
cne o~ the outer sdge hollow-secticn bars ln.
2191881
The outer edge hollow-section bars 1" at the outer
longitudinal edge of the plat~orm of the invention are
illustrated - placed one above the other - in Figure 3
They differ ~rom the hollow-section bars 1 and 1' only by
not having an elastic tongue 14 on the associated side
surface lb", instead it is ~o~eq as a smooth wall
~urface. Both side D~rf~c~s lb" are thus parts o~ the
platfor~, which are formed as ~-s~aped or L-shaped
support se~t1~nC on the sides facing the transverse
lo direction of the platform, on which support sections
other hollow-section bars are ~ VL L~d. In the simplest
design, they rest on the tlouer) belt of the respective
support section, and are connected - at le~st the outer
edge hollow-section bars 1" - positlvaly or with self
locking to the respective support section. ~o~ever, the
details can be designed relatively as desired, are not
directly connected with the invention and are not shown
in the drawingS.
~he top sur~ace lc" and the bottom surface ld"
2G adjacent the vertical smooth side surfaces Lo~ includes
beaas }7 or 18 The beads 1~ of the top surface lc" are
raised and the ~eads 18 in the bottom surfaces ld" are
recassed. They are equally spaced ~rom the next side
surface lb" and are shaped such that they, when the
Z5 hollow-section bars l~ are stacked and, accordingly, the
platforms are also stacked, engage one anothOE in such a
manner that the top and ~ottom surfaces 1cr lc', lc" and
ld, ld~, ld" rest on one another in a rlat c~ ing
arrangement. It is thereby at the sama time assured that
transversely directed mo~ements of the stacked hollow-
section bars or platforms are prevented
