Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02605063 2012-08-20
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a construction safety system and device, and
more particularly,
relates to construction safety system and device for installation on the upper
chord of a roof truss
to reduce the likelihood of falling from the roof during construction and/or
repairs.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Construction safety is an important part of any construction job, particularly
when serious injury
or death may result when insufficient efforts are made to reduce the risks to
a construction
worker. When working at a height off of the ground, for example, when building
a sloped roof, it
is important to have safety systems and tools which are easy to install, easy
to use, and easy to
uninstall, and which significantly reduce the likelihood that a construction
worker working on
the roof will fall from the roof and be injured, or killed.
United States Design Patent No. 254,534 (Glynn et. al) discloses a device
which is designed to
be nailed over the peak of a sloped roof, providing an anchor point for the
attachment of a safety
rope.
It is desirable to have a safety device and system that reduces the likelihood
that a construction
worker working on the roof will fall from the roof and be injured, or killed,
that is easy to install,
easy to use, and easy to uninstall, that does not damage the roof and can be
fully removed from
the roof when the work has been completed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a safety device
and system that
reduces the likelihood that a construction worker working on an open truss
roof will fall from the
roof or between the rafters to the floor surface, and be injured or killed.
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Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety device and
system that is easy to
install on a roof, easy to use, and easy to uninstall from the roof when the
work is completed and
increases the integrity of the upper chord of the truss which is the anchor
point for a fall arrest
system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety device and
system that does not
damage the roof and can be fully removed from the roof when the work has been
completed.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
construction safety device
for temporarily attaching a safety line to a chord of a roof truss,
comprising, a first element
adapted to temporarily and securely engage with the chord; a second element
adapted to
temporarily and securely engage with the first element and the chord; means
for temporarily and
securely engaging the safety line to the first element.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a safety device and
system that reduces
the likelihood that a construction worker working on an open truss roof will
fall from the roof or
between the rafters to the floor surface, and be injured or killed.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides a safety
device and system that is
easy to install on a roof, easy to use, and easy to uninstall from the roof
when the work is
completed and increases the integrity of the upper chord of the truss which is
the anchor point for
a fall arrest system.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides a safety
device and system that
does not damage the roof and can be fully removed from the roof when the work
has been
completed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with
reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
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Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lower element of one embodiment of the
present
invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of an upper element of one embodiment of the
present
invention;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention
positioned on
the upper chord of a truss;
Figure 5 is a perspective view, of one embodiment of the present invention
positioned on
the upper chord of a truss.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a safety bracket is
provided, preferably made
of aluminum or steel and having a lower element as illustrated in Figure 1 and
generally shown
as 2, and an upper element illustrated in Figure 2 and generally shown as 4,
which lower element
2 and upper element 4 may be temporarily and securely attached to the upper
chord 8 of a truss
10 as illustrated in Figures 3, 4, and 5, the lower element 2 being generally
"U" shaped having
three sides against the truss, bottom 8C, front 8B and rear 8C. The bottom 6
of the "U" being
adapted to engage with and against the lower surface 8A of the upper chord 8,
the lower element
2 having a front upwardly directed arm 10 extending therefrom as illustrated
in Figure 1 and
being adapted to engage with and against the front surface 8B of the upper
chord 8, and a rear
upwardly directed arm 12 extending therefrom as illustrated in Figure 1 and
being adapted to
engage with and against the rear surface 8C of the upper chord 8, both the
front upwardly
directed arm 10 and rear upwardly directed arm 12 having holes 14 therein
through which a nail
26 or screw may pass as hereinafter described. A preferably "inverted -U"
shaped element 16,
preferably made of aluminum or steel and having an aperture 18 or opening at
one end thereof, is
welded or otherwise securely fastened to the outer surface of the front
upwardly directed arm 10
as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 (it being understood that alternative
devices may be provided
which may be securely attached to either the lower element and/or upper
element and to which a
safety line may attached as would be understood by a person skilled in the
art).
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper element,
preferably made of
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aluminum or steel, is, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, of a generally
"inverted- U" shaped
design having three sides against the truss top 8D, front 8B and rear 8C. The
top 20 of the
"inverted- U" being adapted to engage with and against the upper surface 8D of
the upper chord
8, the upper element having a front downwardly directed pair of arms 22
extending therefrom as
illustrated in Figure 2 and preferably being adapted to engage with and
against the front surface
of the lower element as illustrated in Figure 3, and a rear downwardly
directed arm 24 extending
therefrom as illustrated in Figure 2 and being adapted to engage with and
against the rear surface
of the lower element as illustrated in Figure 3, both the front downwardly
directed pair of arms
22 and rear downwardly directed arm 24 having holes 15 therein through which a
nail 26 or
screw may pass as hereinafter described. A notch 25 in the top 20 of the
"inverted- U" is
provided to receive the "inverted -U" shaped element 16 when the lower element
and upper
element are assembled on the chord of the truss as illustrated in Figures 4
and 5.
The device of the present invention may be installed on the chord of the truss
of a roof, by first
positioning the lower element beneath the chord and thereafter positioning the
upper element
above the chord, the upper element being positioned so that the holes 15
therein are aligned with
the corresponding holes in the lower element. Thereafter, nails 26 (or screws)
are inserted into
each of the aligned holes and driven into the chord 8 as illustrated in Figure
3 to securely
position the assembled lower and upper elements to the chord as illustrated in
Figures 3, 4 and 5.
A safety line 28 may thereafter be fastened by way of, for example, a clasp 30
through the
aperture 18 in a conventional manner. When no longer needed, the safety line
28 may be
removed by unfastening the clasp and removing the nails 26 (or screws) and
disassembling the
upper and lower elements.
The present invention has been described herein with regard to preferred
embodiments.
However, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that a number of
variations and
modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as
described
herein.
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