Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ADJUSTABLE AND TRANSPORTABLE SCAFFOLDING
The present invention relates to an adjustable and
transportable scaffolding and more particularly to an
s adjustable leg support mechanism which provides ease of
leveling a scaffolding on an irregular ground support
surface.
Scaffolding devices comprising interconnectable
tubular frame members are well known in the art whereby to
io support people and material in an elevated position whereby
to facilitate working on structures such as building
structures or working adjacent elevated ceilings. When
working on scaffolding outdoors, often the ground area
adjacent the structure is irregular and it is therefore
i5 necessary before climbing such scaffolding or building such
scaffolding that the ground be preferably level or else the
vertical corner posts of the scaffolding are shimmed by
using all sorts of material whereby the space of the
scaffolding lies substantially in a planar horizontal plane.
2o A problem with such shimming is that often it becomes
disengaged and this can cause the scaffolding to collapse
resulting in injuries to personnel working on such
structures.
Another disadvantage of scaffolding is that once
25 erected they are difficult to transport to relocate at a
different site. Usually the entire scaffolding structure is
disassembled and re-assembled at the new site where again it
may be required to shim the corner vertical post to re-level
the structure prior to assembly thereof.
3o Solutions have been proposed to remedy these
problems and reference is made to U.S. Patent 4,171,033
which proposes such solutions. One solution is to mount the
scaffolding on wheels which may be retracted, as illustrated
in U.S. Patent 5,937,967. In order to maintain the working
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platform of the scaffolding substantially horizontal at a
desired position, telescopic legs have also been proposed as
described and shown in U.S. Patent 4,171,033. However, such
proposed solution is very time-consuming and is permanently
s adapted to a specific scaffolding platform. There is
therefore a need to also provide a scaffolding which
incorporates features of adjustability and transportability
and which is easy to disassemble and assemble and which can
be transported by small transport vehicles such as a pick-up
to truck or the like small vehicles . There is also a need to
provide an adjustable and transportable scaffolding which is
safe to use and which can be erected very quickly and easily
displaceable from site to site.
It is therefore a feature of the present invention
is to provide an adjustable and transportable scaffolding which
substantially overcomes the disadvantages of the above
mentioned prior art and which provides for the required
needs.
Another feature of the present invention is to
2o provide an adjustable leg support mechanism which is
securable to vertical corner posts of a scaffolding
structure and which is easy to connect thereto, which is
quick and easy to adjust by a single person.
Another feature of the present invention is to
2s provide an adjustable leg support mechanism to which is
connectable wheels whereby to transport and displace and
assembly scaffolding from site to site.
Another feature of the present invention is to
provide a scaffolding and wherein the wheels can be
3o displaced about the scaffolding corner posts for ease of
displacing the scaffolding.
According to a still further feature of the
present invention there is provided a support foot for a
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scaffolding which is slidingly displaced over a ground
support surface even when covered with snow.
According to the above features, from a broad
aspect, the present invention provides an adjustable leg
s support mechanism for a scaffolding having vertical corner
frame members connected to horizontal frame members and
cross-braces. The mechanism is characterized in that it
comprises an open-ended sleeve adapted to receive a support
rod therethrough and wherein the support rod has at least a
io longitudinal toothed edge section and a bottom support foot.
A tooth engaging member is pivotally secured to the sleeve
and has a tooth engaging head biased against the toothed
edge inside the sleeve for supporting the sleeve about the
bottom support rod while permitting upward displacement of
15 the sleeve about the rod. Means is provided to unbias the
tooth engaging head from the toothed edge to permit downward
displacement of the sleeve about the rod. Arresting means
is provided to lock the tooth engaging head in arresting
position with the toothed edge. Attachment means is
2o provided for securing the sleeve for support engagement with
one of the vertical corner frame members of a scaffolding.
According to another broad aspect of the present
invention there is provided a support foot for a scaffolding
having vertical corner posts. The support foot is
25 characterized by a slide plate having a bottom ground
engaging face and opposed upwardly angled end flanges. A
vertical connector is disposed substantially central on a
top wall of the slide plate for removable connection with a
lower end section of a vertical corner post.
3o A preferred embodiment of the present invention
will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a simplified side view, partly
fragmented, showing a section of a scaffolding and to which
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is secured an adjustable leg support mechanism to each of
two vertical corner posts of the scaffolding for ease of
adjustment of the scaffolding on an irregular ground
surface;
FIGURE 2 is a side view, partly sectioned,
illustrating the construction of the open-ended sleeve and
some of its component parts for displaceable connection
about a support rod;
FIGURE 3 is a top view of the open-ended sleeve
to substantially as illustrated in Figure 2;
FIGURE 4 is a side view illustrating the support
sleeve and its rod connector and attachment means to secure
to a vertical connecting post of a scaffolding structure;
FIGURE 5 is a side section view similar to
Figure 2 but showing the support rod having a serrated edge
and extending through the open-ended sleeve;
FIGURE 6 is a side view, partly sectioned, of
the sliding foot plate and its vertical connector to secure
to the bottom of a hollow corner frame member of a
2o scaffolding;
FIGURE 7A is a side view showing the support rod
secured to the foot plate;
FIGURE 7B is an end view of Figure 7A;
FIGURE 8 is a partly sectioned side view of the
sleeve showing a support wheel secured thereto as well as an
adjustable rod connector secured to the sleeve;
FIGURE 9 is a top view illustrating the
construction of the arcuate horizontal lock flange;
FIGURE 10 is a side view of Figure 9 illustrating
3o the disposition of the lock flange relative to a pivot
connecting flange secured to the open-ended sleeve;
FIGURE 11 is a top view showing an adjustable leg
support mechanism with the attachments as shown in Figure 8
and secured to a telescopic horizontal rod;
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FIGURE 12 is a side view showing the other side
of a tandem arrangement of two adjustable leg support
mechanisms with wheels secured together by the telescopic
rod;
FIGURE' 13 is a top view illustrating the
construction of a carriage assembly secured to the
adjustable leg support mechanism of a tandem arrangement;
and
FIGURE 14 is a view similar to Figure 13 but
io showing the wheels interconnected to the adjustable leg
support mechanism at different angles with respect to the
corner post of a scaffolding whereby to pull the scaffolding
sideways or at an angle.
Referring now to the drawings and more
i5 particularly to Figure 1, there is shown generally at 10,
typical scaffolding structure constructed of tubular frame
members. Only a bottom end section of a scaffolding
structure is illustrated and it comprises of vertical corner
frame members 11 and 11' connected to horizontal frame
2o members 12 and to cross-braces 13, as is well known in the
art, whereby to construct a stable and rigid scaffolding
assembly. Usually the bottom section of a scaffolding
assembly is assembled on a ground surface 14 with the
vertical corner frame members shimmed to level the lower
25 section. After being leveled, further sections 15 are
assembled on top of the bottom section.
The present invention provides for an adjustable
leg support mechanism 20 which is connectable to one or more
of the vertical corner frame members 11. The adjustable leg
3o support mechanism will now be described with further
reference to Figures 2 to 5.
The adjustable leg support mechanism 20 comprises
an open-ended sleeve 21 which is adapted to receive a
support rod 22 therethrough and wherein the support rod 22
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has at least a longitudinal toothed edge section 23 and is
adapted to secure to a bottom support foot 24, as
illustrated in Figure 6. A tooth engaging member 25 is
pivotally secured to the sleeve 21 and has a tooth engaging
head 26 which is biased against the toothed edge 23 inside
the sleeve 22 for supporting the sleeve about the support
rod 22 at a desired location therealong. The tooth engaging
member is a ratchet-like member and permits upward
displacement of the sleeve 21 about the support rod 23 by
to simply pulling the sleeve upwardly along the rod 22.
The tooth engaging head 26 is mounted on a pivot
pin 27 and is provided with a lever arm 28 integrally formed
therewith and which constitutes a means to unbias the tooth
engaging head from the toothed edge 23 to permit downward
i5 displacement of the sleeve 21 about the rod 22. The lever
28, due to its own weight, biases the tooth engaging head
inwardly of a rectangular passage of the open-ended sleeve
through an aperture 30 formed in a side wall 31 of the
sleeve 21. It is pointed out that the support rod 22 is of
2o square cross-section and received in close sliding fit
within the rectangular passage 29 of the sleeve.
As shown in Figure 5, the saw tooth formations 23
each define a horizontal support ledge 32 and an outwardly
sloping wall section 33. The tooth engaging head 26 has an
25 engaging projection 34 which is of wedge-shaped formation
and defines a flat bottom wall 35 for seated engagement on a
support ledge 32 of the saw tooth formation and a rearwardly
sloping upper wall 36 for frictional sliding engagement
against the outwardly sloping wall section 33 when the
3o sleeve is retracted upwardly along the support rod and
thereby providing the ratchet effect.
As better illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the
tooth engaging head 26 is pivotally secured by the pivot pin
27 which is supported between a pair of support flanges 37
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secured to the sleeve 21 and hereinshown as forming an
integral part thereof extending beyond the rectangular
passage 29. In order to disconnect the sleeve from the
support rod, it is merely necessary to pull the lever arm 28
s upwardly in the direction of arrow 38, as shown in Figure 2
thereby causing the wedge shape formation 34 to retract
outwardly of the rectangular passage 29 through the aperture
30.
With further reference to Figures 2 and 5, there
to is illustrated an arresting means in the form of a locking
lever 40 which is hingedly connected to the sleeve support
flanges 37 by a pivot connection 41 and the locking lever 40
has an arresting formation 42 for removable engagement with
the tooth engaging head 26 to prevent displacement of the
i5 lever arm 28 and disengagement of the engaging projection 34
with the toothed edge section 23 of the support rod 22.
This locking lever has a finger engaging formation 43 to
provide disconnection of the arresting formation 42 from a
notch 44 provided in a rear top portion of the tooth
2o engaging head 26.
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a rod connector 50 in
the form of a tubular member is secured to the sleeve 21 for
connection to a transverse tubular rod 51, as will be
described later in detail, whereby to interconnect two
25 opposed leg support mechanisms 20 together as illustrated in
Figure 1.
Attachment means in the form of a vertical
connecting post 52 is also secured to the sleeve and herein
to the connector 50 on a top wall thereof and projects
3o upwardly on a vertical axis which is parallel to the
longitudinal axis 53 of the sleeve. The connector 50
extends on a transverse longitudinal axis 54. The vertical
post 52 is structured for release engagement with a hollow
tubular end section 55 of a vertical corner frame member,
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herein a hollow tubular frame member 11 as illustrated in
Figure 6.
The sleeve 21 is further provided with locking
means in the form of a spring-bias lock pin 56 which is
spring-biased inside the rectangular passage 29 by a spring
57 whereby to lock the support rod with the sleeve at one or
more predetermined positions as dictated by holes 58
provided in a wall 59 of the support rod opposed to the
toothed edge section 23. Accordingly, when the sleeve is
to displaced upwardly or downwardly it will be arrested from
the displacement when the pin enters one of the holes 58
delimiting the upward and downward projectory of the sleeve
over the support rod 22. The lock pin 56 is further
provided with a retracting finger engaging head 59 to
i5 disengage the pin 56 from the hole 58. This pin is
constantly urged against the wall 59 of the support rod and
slides therealong during the displacement bf the sleeve
thereabout.
Referring now to Figure 8 it can be seen that a
2o support wheel 60 is also securable to the sleeve by support
means herein an attachment sleeve 61 projecting along the
horizontal axis 54 and secured thereto by a lock pin 62.
The wheel is mounted with its planar axis of rotation 63
extending parallel to the longitudinal axis 53 of the sleeve
25 and transverse to the axis 54. By removing the lock pin 62
the wheel is easily removable from the bracket or attachment
sleeve 61 permanently secured to the open-ended sleeve 21.
Referring now to Figures 8 to 12, there is shown a
further embodiment wherein the rod connector 50 is
3o constructed differently than that illustrated in Figures 3
and 4. As hereinshown, the rod connector comprises a
horizontal lock flange 70 which is secured to the sleeve 21
and has an arcuate outer edge 71 (see Figure 9) provided
with two or more locking cavities 72 disposed therealong. A
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pivot connecting flange 73 is secured to the sleeve 21 and
is disposed a predetermined distance above the horizontal
lock flange 70 and extends parallel thereto. Both the lock
flange and pivot flange are provided with through bores 70'
and 73', respectively, to receive a pivot pin 74
therethrough, see Figure 8. The horizontal rod 51 is
provided with a transverse bushing 75 at an end thereof and
constitutes a rod connector which is simply connected
between the lock flange and the pivot connecting flange by
io the pivot pin 74 as illustrated in Figure 8. As also shown
in Figure 8, the vertical connecting post 52 is herein
secured adjacent the connecting end of the horizontal rod 51
for release engagement with the hollow tubular end 55 of a
vertical corner frame member of a scaffolding assembly.
i5 A position arresting pin 76 interconnects the rod
connector or rod end 51' to the lock flange 70 when the pin
is received in one of the locking cavities 72. The position
arresting pin 76 is provided with finger engaging means in
the form of a tap handle 77 to retract the arresting pin
2o from one of the locking cavities for disengagement
therewith.
As can be seen from Figures 11 to 12, the
transverse tubular rod 80 is a telescopic rod for adjustment
with scaffolding having vertical corner posts spaced at
25 different distances from one another. This telescopic
tubular rod 80 is capable of adjusting the spacing between
two vertical post connectors 52 at opposed ends of the
tubular rod whereby to interconnect two opposed leg support
mechanisms 20 in a tandem arrangement. The lock pin 81
3o interconnects the two pipe sections 80' and 80" together,
once the tubular rod 80 is of proper length. A handle 82 is
connected to the tubular rod 80 to facilitate the horizontal
adjustment of the tandem arrangement by simply providing a
means to pull up on the opposed leg support mechanisms
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whereby the sleeve 21 rides up on the respective support
rods 22. The level 83 secured to the top of the tubular rod
indicates the proper level of the rod. Of course a further
level, not shown, could also be mounted transverse to the
level 83 to provide for the leveling along the transverse
axis or in a transverse plane when the tandem arrangement is
connected to a scaffolding assembly.
With reference now to Figures 13 and 14 there is
shown the construction of a carriage frame 85 which is
1o secured to carriage connectors 86 and 86' each secured to a
respective one of the wheel attachment sleeves 61 and 61~.
The carriage connectors 86 and 86' are each constituted by
an elongated flange 87 having a slot 88 therein to receive a
free end of a carriage frame connecting rod 89 attached
thereto by a connecting pin element 90 whereby to permit
displacement of the connecting end of the connecting rods 89
along the flange 86.
As hereinshown, the carriage frame 85 has a pair
of these connecting rods 89 and 89' connected to a pivoting
2o frame 91 which is pivotally connected at an end 92 to the
tubular rod 80. The other end of the connecting rods 89 and
89~ are pivotally attached to a forward end of the pivotal
frame 91 on pivot connections 93 and 93', respectively. A
handle 94 is secured to the free end of the pivotal frame 91
whereby to provide ease of pulling a scaffolding secured to
the tandem arrangement. As shown in Figure 3, the wheels 60
of the tandem arrangement are disposed transverse to the
tubular rod 80 but these can swivel about the ends of the
tubular rod by adjusting the angle of the wheels by
3o withdrawing the lock pin 76 from engagement with the
horizontal locking flange 70 and displacing the wheels by
pushing laterally on the pulling handle 94 until the lock
pin 76 falls into the adjacent locking cavity 72 whereby
both wheels can be locked at an angular position. As shown
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in Figure 14, the wheels have been displaced 90 degrees
about the ends of the tubular rod 80 whereby a scaffolding
structure can be easily pulled sideways.
Referring now to Figures 6, 7A and 7B, there will
be described the construction of the bottom support foot 24
which is secured at the bottom of the corner post 11 of a
scaffolding assembly. As hereinshown, the support foot is
formed from a metal plate which is configured to form a
sliding plate defining a contacting bottom wall 100 for
to sliding displacement on a support surface. This slide plate
also has opposed outwardly angled end flanges 101 to permit
the displacement of the scaffolding over an irregular ground
surface as these angled end flanges provide for the sliding
plate to slide over objects or irregularities on a ground
surface. They also provide for the scaffolding to be easily
displaced on a snow covered surface.
The center of the bottom wall 100 of the plate has
a cavitated section 102 whereby to permit the engagement the
securement of a vertical connector 103 herein constituted as
2o a vertical connecting post of the type as previously
described. The vertical connector 103 is disposed
substantially central on the top wall 104 of the slide plate
and provides removable connection with the lower hollow end
section 55 of the corner post 11. It is provided with
spring-loaded prongs 105 to engage within the locking holes
106 provided in the end section 55 of the corner posts 11.
Such interconnection is well known in the art. Accordingly,
the present invention also encompasses a novel support foot
structure for connection directly to the scaffolding.
Referring now to Figures 7A and 7B, there is shown
the slide plate as previously described but wherein the
support rod 22 is secured thereto at a lower end 22' by a
suitable connecting means. Therefore, in order to render a
scaffolding assembly easily displaceable over ground
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surface, a tandem arrangement is secured to one pair of
corner posts of a rectangular scaffolding assembly and the
other pair of corner posts are connected directly to a
respective one of the sliding plates.
s As above described, the present invention provides
an adjustable leg support mechanism which can be easily
assembled and disassembled in component parts for ease of
transport and storage. Also, some of the component parts
are considered to be optional, such as the support wheels or
to the carriage frame and the support wheels can be adapted to
the leg support mechanisms only when required. When it is
required to transport a scaffolding assembly the sleeve 21
is disconnected form the toothed edge of the support rod 22
and the sleeve is lowered therealong until the support wheel
is rests on the ground surface. The support rod 22 is then
pulled upwardly above the ground surface and the sleeve is
relocked thereto to maintain the support foot or slide plate
24 elevated from the ground surface. The tandem arrangement
is then supported on its opposed support wheel 60.
2o It is within the ambit of the present invention to
cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment
described herein, provided such examples fall within the
scope of the appended claims.
