Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Roofing Safety Rail System
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(i) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rafter pin for supporting roofing safety
apparatus, and more
particularly, to a rafter pin for a roofing safety system for use on sloped
roofs.
(ii) Description of the Related Art
Worker safety while working at heights is an important aspect of productivity
and
regulation in the construction. industry in recent years. Traditional safety
equipment
including safety belts, lanyards and tube scaffolding erected from the ground
up are often
not satisfactory. And also, when working at heights, ladders and tube
scaffolding often
lack utility.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,558,425 issued October 20, 1925 describes a hanging staging
bracket for
supporting a staging. The staging bracket has a vertical member with an upper
end in the
form of a gooseneck having an angularly adjustable attaching front for
anchoring to a
roof. The vertical member is connected to a horizontal member adapted to
receive the
staging thereon. The horizontal member has an adjustable arm projecting from
it for
engaging a wall of a building.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,926,207 issued September 12, 1933 discloses a safety gutter
bracket for
roofers. The safety bracket has an anchor plate for anchoring to a roof that
has an end
projecting beyond the roof with an aperture, a hook for engaging the aperture
and a
vertical bracket to which the hook is fastened. The bottom of the vertical
bracket has an
adjustable horizontal bracket for resting against the side of a house. The top
of the
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vertical bracket supports a stage flooring to which a toe board and hand rail
support are
attached.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,308,142 issued January 12, 1943 is for a portable scaffold
having a
vertical member suspended from a roof and having a number of horizontal
members
extending therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,223 issued November 24, 1964 describes a scaffold support
having
an elongated element with a straight body portion and a curved portion at the
top that
ends in means for gripping a roof. The elongated element bottom end has a
spacing arm
attached thereto and extending laterally therefrom to engage the side of a
building.
Scaffolding support elements are also attached to the lower part of the
elongated element.
Elements for attaching a guard rail extend from the middle of the elongated
member and
from the scaffolding support elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,185 issued September 18, 1990 describes a hanging roof
scaffold.
The roof scaffold has a roof cleat and bracket supported therefrom by an angle
member
that is attached to an upright member. The bottom of the upright member is
attached to a
horizontal member that supports a plank. The horizontal member also has an
extension
leg for contacting a wall and a rail support upright mounted on it.
Canadian Pat. No. 2,150,578 issued February 7, 2006 discloses a building roof
eave
mounting guard structure. The guard structure comprises a roof cleat hingedly
connected
to an elongated support member for retaining a toe board. The elongated
support member
has a back rail support member mounted on it for the retention of back rail
supports.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,481 issued August 26, 1975 is for a safety barricade for a
roof that
can be used as a safety railing. The barricade includes a series of spaced
supports each
comprising a tubular support pivotably and lockably connected to a secured
plate. Pipes
are inserted in the tubular supports and horizontal rails are connected to the
pipes.
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U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,971 issued May 19, 1992 describes an adjustable roofing
jack having
a frame for engaging the surface of a roof. An adjustable scaffold support is
attached to
the frame for supporting a scaffold board of a selected width.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,296 issued September 1, 1970 discloses a portable staging.
The
portable staging comprises a plurality of inclined braces disposed against a
slant roof, the
upper end of each brace being hook-shaped for overlying the roof peak and
having a pad
pivotably connected at the end for securing the brace. Vertical braces are
attached to the
inclined braces. Horizontal cross braces attached at one end to the tops of
the vertical
braces and at the other end to the hook end of an associated inclined brace. A
platform is
positioned across the parallel cross braces.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide for a rafter pin that can be used
to support
different roofing safety apparatus individually and in combination.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a number of roofing safety
apparatus
assemblies for use with the rafter pin.
In its simplest embodiment, the invention provides a rafter pin for supporting
roofing
safety apparatus. The rafter pin has a roof cleat and fastening means for
fastening said
roof cleat to a roof of a building. An extended end of the roof cleat extends
beyond an
edge of the roof and has a hinge attached thereto. A vertical pin is connected
to and
suspended from the hinge and the hinge is pivotable about an axis parallel to
the edge of
the roof. The vertical pin has a base portion extending downwards from the
hinge when
the vertical pin is in a vertical operative position and a bottom housing is
attached to the
bottom of the base portion. The rafter pin has a horizontally adjustable
member
extensible from the bottom housing towards a vertical exterior surface of the
building for
engagement of a contact end of the adjustable member thereto such as to
pivotally
position the vertical pin and means to secure the adjustable member end when
the vertical
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pin is in the vertical operative position whereby the vertical pin can be held
fixed in the
vertical operative position. The vertical pin has an upper portion directed
upwards from
the base portion for mounting a roofing safety apparatus component.
The invention further provides the roof cleat being a metal plate that defines
openings
therethrough for receiving fasteners. More particularly, the metal plate has
an upper end
opposite and elevated relative to the extended end, and the openings comprise
at least two
parallel slots extending at a selected angle inwards from a side of the metal
plate and
upwards to the upper end. It is preferred that the slots be of two alternating
lengths such
that a plurality of fasteners can be set in a staggered lengthwise pattern.
The invention further provides the bottom housing defining an internally
threaded bore
having an open end opposed to the vertical exterior surface or side of the
building and the
adjustable member having a shaft with at least a threaded lengthwise portion
correspondingly and externally threaded for fit within the internally threaded-
bore such
that an installed adjustable member has the threaded lengthwise portion engage
the
internally threaded bore. The installed adjustable member is mounted for axial
travel
concentric within the internally threaded bore in direction perpendicular to
the vertical
exterior surface. A projecting portion of the adjustable member projects from
the
threaded bore towards the vertical exterior surface of the building. A grip is
attached to
the adjustable member for rotational movement thereof, whereby the contact end
can be
moved towards or away from the vertical exterior surface. The contact end of
the
adjustable member has a foot plate that is rotatable with respect to the
adjustable member.
The foot plate can define apertures for receiving fasteners.
Broadly stated, the rafter pin for supporting roofing safety apparatus
comprises a metal
plate roof cleat and means for fastening it onto the roof of a building, an
extended end of
the roof cleat extending beyond an edge of the roof and having a hinge
attached thereto
and
the hinge being pivotable about an axis parallel to the edge of the roof. An
upper end of
the roof cleat is opposite and elevated relative to the extended end. At least
two parallel
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slots for receiving fasteners extend inwards and upwards towards the upper end
from a
side of the roof cleat plate. A vertical pin is connected to and suspended
from the hinge,
the vertical pin having a base portion extending downwards from the hinge when
the
vertical pin is in a vertical operative position and a bottom housing attached
to the bottom
of the base portion. The bottom housing defines an internally threaded bore
having an
open end opposed to a vertical exterior surface of a building. The bottom
housing has a
horizontally adjustable member providing a shaft with at least a threaded
segment
externally threaded for fittingly mounting the threaded segment within the
bore. The
adjustable member is mounted within the bore with a projecting portion of the
adjustable
member projecting from the threaded bore towards the vertical exterior surface
of the
building. An end of the projecting portion closest to the vertical exterior
surface provides
a contact end having a foot plate. A grip is attached to the shaft for
rotating the
adjustable member to result in movement of the contact end relative to the
vertical
exterior surface, whereby the projecting portion can be extended for
engagement of the
foot plate against the vertical surface to pivotally position the vertical
pin. The vertical
pin has an upper portion directed upwards from the base portion for mounting a
roofing
system safety component.
Another aspect of the invention provides support assembly for a hanging
scaffold. The
support assembly has the rafter pin as previously set forth and further
comprises a collar
slidingly installable on the upper portion of the vertical pin and an
intermediate member
connecting the collar to a downwardly directed front vertical member that is
spaced apart
from a side of the building when the vertical member is vertically orientated.
The bottom
end of the front vertical member is attached to a top surface of a horizontal
base member,
preferably by an inverted T-joint. The horizontal base member has an
extensible
adjustment arm extending therefrom towards the side of the building and the
adjustment
arm has an end distal from the horizontal base member with a bearing foot
attached
thereto for contacting the side of the building. The support assembly has
means for
securing the adjustment arm relative to the horizontal base member. The
horizontal base
member has a back end distal from the side of the building with a back upright
extending
upwards therefrom. The front vertical member and the back upright are spaced
apart
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such that the horizontal base member can transversely receive a scaffold
thereupon. The
back upright has a loop attached thereto for receiving and supporting a guard
rail running
parallel to the edge of the roof. It is also provided that the front vertical
member has a
hoop attached thereto for receiving and supporting a guard rail running
parallel to the
edge of the roof. The back end of the base member has an upwardly directed
base pin
upon which the back upright is removably mountable and means for securing a
mounted
back upright. The support assembly further provides that the adjustment arm
has a
plurality of longitudinally spaced arm apertures, the base member has a base
aperture for
selectively aligning with the arm apertures, and an arm retaining pin is
receivable by the
base aperture and an aligned arm aperture to secure the adjustment arm whereby
an arm
aperture can be selected for leveling the base member.
In another aspect, the invention provides a guard rail support for a safety
guard rail. The
safety guard rail support has the previously disclosed rafter pin and further
comprises
a guard rail post that is removably mountable upon the vertical pin upper
portion
and the guard rail post has a hoop attached thereto for receiving and
supporting a guard
rail running parallel to the edge of the roof. The vertical pin upper portion
has an
aperture for aligning with a corresponding post aperture in a mounted post to,
form
aligned apertures. A post retaining pin is receivable by the aligned apertures
for securing
the post.
In yet another aspect the invention provides a roof jack for supporting a
plank. The roof
jack has the rafter pin as previously set forth and further comprises a jack
bar collar
rotatably attached to a collar end of a jack bar and slidingly installable on
the vertical pin
upper portion. The jack bar is disposed against the sloped roof above the
rafter pin and
secured by the collar. The roof jack has means to install and attach a
generally triangular
brace to a top surface of the jack bar, and an installed triangular brace has
an
approximately horizontal top support member. The top support member has an
upper
surface for receiving and supporting a plank. The roof jack further provides
that the
triangular brace and the jack bar have alignable corresponding apertures for
receiving a
triangular brace retaining pin for securing the triangular brace to the jack
bar.
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It is further provided the roof jack has a hollow receiving end opposite to
the collar end
and higher in elevation when installed. A stanchion bar has a narrow end
portion for
mounting within the hollow receiving end. The stanchion bar is disposed
against the top
of the roof and received by the hollow receiving end of the jack bar. The
roofjack has
means to attach and install a generally triangular brace to a top surface of
the stanchion
bar and an installed triangular brace has a top support member with an
approximately
horizontal upper surface for transversely receiving and supporting a plank
thereupon.
In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a skid (or pallet)
platform support for an
inclined roof. The skid platform support has the rafter pin previously
disclosed and
further comprises a platform post that is removably mountable upon the
vertical pin upper
portion and has a platform post hoop attached to a top end thereof for
receiving a
horizontal rafter. The horizontal rafter runs perpendicular to the edge of the
roof and
extends from the platform post hoop towards the top surface of the roof. The
skid
platform has a roof plate that has a hoop base attached thereupon, a rafter
hoop attached
to the hoop base and a means for selectively attaching the roof plate to the
roof to align
the rafter hoop with the platform post hoop for receiving the horizontal
rafter such that
the horizontal rafter can be received and supported by both the platform post
hoop and
the rafter hoop. The horizontal rafter has a top surface for supporting a
skid.. As is
obvious, the skid platform support is not limited to supporting skids (or
pallets) and could
be used to support other things. The invention further provides the roof plate
is a
longitudinal roof cleat that has a roof cleat higher end and that at least two
parallel slots
for receiving fasteners and that extend inwards and upwards towards the roof
cleat higher
end from a side of the longitudinal roof cleat.
The present invention embodies a roofing safety system that has the disclosed
rafter pin
and that further comprises the support assembly for a hanging scaffold
installed in
combination with the guard rail support for a safety guard rail.
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The present invention also embodies a roofing safety system having the
disclosed rafter
pin and that further comprises the support assembly for a hanging scaffold
installed in
combination with the roof jack for supporting a plank.
The present invention also embodies a roofing safety system having the
disclosed rafter
pin and further comprising the guard rail support for a safety guard rail
installed in
combination with the roof jack for supporting a plank.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of
example
only, having reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a rafter pin being installed;
FIG. 1A is an isometric view of an installed rafter pin;
FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the support assembly for a hanging scaffold;
FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a pair of installed guard rail supports with
safety guard rail
extending between them;
FIG. 4 is an isometric view showing a combination of installed hanging
scaffold support
assemblies and guard rail supports;
FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a roof plate with a hoop base and a rafter
hoop;
FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a skid platform support; and
FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the roofjack for supporting a plank.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIGS. 1 and 1A show an embodiment of rafter pin 10 for supporting roofing
safety
apparatus. The rafter pin has roof cleat 12 and fastening means for fastening
said roof
cleat to roof 11 of a building. An extended end 14 of the roof cleat extends
beyond edge
20 of the roof and has hinge 16 attached thereto. Vertical pin 18 is connected
to and
suspended from hinge 16 which is pivotable about an axis parallel to edge 20
of the roof.
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Vertical pin 18 has base portion 22 extending downwards from hinge 16 when the
vertical pin is in a vertical operative position (FIG. 2) and bottom housing
24 is attached
to the bottom of base portion 22. The rafter pin has horizontally adjustable
member 26
extensible from bottom housing 24 towards vertical exterior surface 28 of the
building for
engagement of contact end 30 of adjustable member 26 thereto such as to
pivotally
position vertical pin 18. In general terms, the invention includes means to
secure
adjustable member 26 when vertical pin 18 is in the vertical operative
position whereby
vertical pin 18 can be held fixed in the vertical operative position. The
vertical pin has
upper portion 32 directed upwards from base portion 22 for mounting a roofing
safety
apparatus component. Upper portion 32 extends above the level of edge 20.
It is preferable that roof cleat 12 comprises a metal plate that has openings
therethrough
for receiving fasteners. More particularly, the metal plate has upper end 36
opposite and
elevated relative to extended end 14, and the openings comprise at least two
parallel slots
34 extending inwards from a side of the metal plate and upwards to upper end
36. It is
envisioned that rafter pin 10 will be used on roofs that slope at different
angles and
possibly with some flat roofs. It is preferred that roof cleat 12 be installed
above a roof
rafter. The slots 34 are of two alternating lengths such that a plurality of
fasteners 38 can
be set in a staggered lengthwise pattern. The fasteners could possibly be
nails, screws or
spikes.
Rafter pin 10 is installed from the bottom before the worker has to go on roof
11, unlike
some prior art safety systems that require a worker to go to the peak of roof
11 for
installation.
The invention further includes the bottom housing defining internally threaded
bore 40
having an open end (not shown) opposed to vertical exterior surface 28 of the
building
and adjustable member 26 having shaft 42 with at least a threaded lengthwise
portion
correspondingly and externally threaded for fit within internally threaded
bore 40 such
that installed adjustable member 26 has the threaded lengthwise portion engage
internally
threaded bore 40. Installed adjustable member 26 is mounted for axial travel
concentric
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within internally threaded bore 40 in a direction perpendicular to vertical
exterior surface
28. A projecting portion of adjustable member 26 projects from threaded bore
40
towards vertical exterior surface 28 and ends with contact end 30. Adjustable
member
26 can be rotated using attached grip 44, whereby contact end 30 can be moved
towards
or away from vertical exterior surface 28. Contact end 30 of adjustable member
26 has
foot plate 46 that preferably is rotatable and pivotable with respect to
adjustable member
26. Foot plate 46 can define foot apertures 48 for receiving fasteners. Foot
apertures 48
are preferably 1/8 of an inch in diameter.
In the illustrated embodiment, the means to secure adjustable member 26
comprise the
engaging threads of threaded base 40 and the threaded lengthwise portions of
shaft 42. It
is possible for adjustable member 26 to have something other than a threaded
shaft and
for the means to secure to vary. In its preferred embodiment, the dimensions
of rafter pin 10 allow it to be installed at the
edge 20 of some roofs that have eaves troughs, but the dimensions can vary.
Different roofing safety apparatus that can be installed on rafter pin 10 will
now be
described.
Making reference to FIG. 2, the invention includes support assembly 50 for a
hanging
scaffold. The support assembly has rafter pin 10 as previously set forth and
further
comprises collar 52 slidingly installable on upper portion 32 of vertical pin
18.
Intermediate member 53 connects collar 52 to downwardly directed front
vertical
member 54 that is spaced apart from side 55 of the building with bottom end 56
of front
vertical member 54 being attached to a top surface of horizontal base member
58 by an
inverted T-joint. Horizontal base member 58 has extensible adjustment arm 60
extending
therefrom towards vertical exterior surface 28 or the side of the building and
adjustment
arm 60 has an end distal from the horizontal base member with bearing foot 62
attached
thereto for contacting the side of the building. Support assembly 50 has means
for
securing adjustment arm 60 relative to horizontal base member 58. Horizontal
base
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member 58 has a back end distal from vertical exterior surface 28 with back
upright 64
extending upwards therefrom. Back upright 64 has loop 68 attached thereto for
receiving
and supporting a guard rail (not shown) running parallel to edge 20 of roof
10. The back
end of base member 58 has upwardly directed base pin 72 upon which back
upright 64 is
removably mountable and means for securing a mounted back upright. Front
vertical
member 54 and back upright 64 are spaced apart such that base member 58 can
transversely receive scaffold 66 thereupon. It is also provided that the front
vertical
member has hoop 68 attached thereto for receiving and supporting a guard rail
70 running
parallel to edge 20 of the roof.
Support assembly 50 further provides that adjustment arm 60 has a plurality of
equidistant longitudinally spaced arm apertures 74, the base member has a base
aperture
(not shown) for selectively aligning with arm apertures 74, and arm retaining
pin 76 is
receivable by base aperture 74 and an aligned arm aperture to secure
adjustment arm 60.
An aperture 74 can be selected for leveling base member 58.
Making reference to FIG. 3, the invention includes guard rail support 80 for
safety guard
rail 70. Safety guard rail support 80 has previously disclosed rafter pin 10
and further
comprises guard rail post 82 that is removably mountable upon vertical pin
upper portion
32. Guard rail post 82 has hoop 68 attached thereto for receiving and
supporting guard
rail 70 running parallel to edge 20 of the roof. Guard rail support 80 also
provides that
vertical pin upper portion 32 has an aperture (not shown) for aligning with
corresponding
post aperture 84 in mounted post 82 to form a pair of aligned apertures. Post
retaining
pin 86 is received by the aligned apertures to secure post 82.
Making reference to FIG. 7, the invention includes roofjack 90 for supporting
plank 92
on an inclined roof. Roof jack 90 has rafter pin 10 as previously set forth
and further
comprises jack bar collar 94 rotatably attached to a collar end ofjack bar 96.
Collar 94 is
slidingly installable on vertical pin upper portion 32. Jack bar 96 is
disposed against
inclined roof 11 above rafter pin 10 and secured by collar 94, such that the
end of jack bar
96 opposite to the collar end is elevated. Roof jack 90 has means to install
and attach
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generally triangular brace 98 to a top surface ofjack bar 96, and installed
triangular brace
98 has approximately horizontal top support member 100. Top support member 100
has
an upper surface for receiving and supporting plank 92. It is preferred that
triangular
brace 98 and jack bar 96 have alignable corresponding apertures for receiving
a retaining
pin for triangular brace 98 for securing triangular brace 98 to jack bar 96.
Roof jack 90 has a hollow receiving end 102 opposite to the collar end and
higher in
elevation when installed. Stanchion bar 104 has narrow end portion 106 for
mounting
within hollow receiving end 102. An installed stanchion bar 104 is disposed
against the
top of roof 11 relatively closer to the peak and received by hollow receiving
end 102 of
the jack bar. Roof jack 90 has means to attach and install triangular brace 98
to top
surface of stanchion bar 104 and installed triangular brace 98 has top support
member
100 with approximately horizontal upper surface for transversely receiving and
supporting plank 92 thereupon.
Making reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the invention includes skid platform
support 110 for
inclined roof 11. Skid platform support 110 has rafter pin 10 previously
disclosed and
further comprises platform post 112 that is removably mountable upon vertical
pin upper
portion 32 and has platform post hoop 114 attached to a top end thereof for
receiving
horizontal rafter 116. Horizontal rafter 116 runs perpendicular to edge 20 of
the roof and
extends horizontally from platform post hoop 114 towards a top surface of roof
11. Skid
platform support 110 has roof plate 118 that has hoop base 120 attached
thereupon, rafter
hoop 122 attached to hoop base 120 and means for attaching roof plate 118 to
roof 11
whereby rafter hoop 122 is aligned with platform post hoop 114 for receiving
horizontal
rafter 116. Horizontal rafter 116 has a top surface for supporting a skid (not
shown) or
some other suitable platform.
The invention further provides roof plate 118 is a longitudinal roof cleat 12
that has roof
cleat higher end 124 and that at least two parallel slots 34 for receiving
fasteners and that
extend inwards and upwards towards roof cleat higher end 124 from a side of
longitudinal roof cleat 12. It is preferred that installed longitudinal roof
cleat 12 be
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located above a rafter. An alternative embodiment is to replace roof plate 118
with a base
or plate that could attach to the top ofjack bar 96 or stanchion bar 104.
In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, upper portion 32 of rafter pin
10 has a
constant diameter that allows for it to receive collar 52 of support assembly
50, jack bar
collar 94, mountable guard rail post 82 and platform post 112 either
individually or in
combination. It would also be possible for upper portion 32 to be narrower at
the top and
still receive more than one component.
As seen in FIG. 4, the present invention also embodies a roofing safety system
that has
disclosed rafter pin 10 and that further comprises support assembly 50 for a
hanging
scaffold installed in combination with guard rail support 80 for safety guard
rail 70.
The present invention further embodies a roofing safety system having
disclosed rafter
pin 10 and that further comprises support assembly 50 for a hanging
scaffold'installed in
combination with roof jack 90 for supporting plank 92. Another possibility is
a roofing
safety system having rafter pin 10 and guard rail support 80 for safety guard
rai170
installed in combination with roof jack 90 for supporting plank 92.
It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made in the
embodiment of the
invention described herein without departing from the scope and purview of the
invention
as defined by the appended claims.
