Roof scuttle safety railing system
A roof scuttle safety railing system is provided for an existing or new roof scuttle which railing may be installed on the roof scuttle by unskilled labor without compromising the integrity of the weather seal of the roof scuttle. In one embodiment, pivotal corner brackets are secured to the capflashing of a roof scuttle with the vertical members of the safety railing being inserted in openings in the brackets. In another embodiment, an elongated bracket is used along two opposed sides of the roof scuttle which brackets are firmly held against the outside walls of the roof scuttle by tie rods, a strap or a cable. The elongated bracket has vertical openings at its distal ends for securing the vertical members of the safety railing and horizontal openings or slots for the tie rods, straps or cables. A hinged gate is also provided which preferably has a self-closing hinge.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to horizontal hinged door assemblies such as roof scuttles and, in particular, to a safety railing which may easily be installed on new and existing roof scuttles by unskilled labor without compromising the integrity of the weather seal of the roof scuttle.
2. Description of Related Art
Horizontal hinged (covers) doors are commonly used for roof scuttles, automatic fire vents, ceiling access doors, basement doors and other access doors. The present invention will be directed for convenience to single door roof scuttles which are used to provide access to a roof but it will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that the invention is applicable to other horizontal hinged doors such as double leaf roof scuttles for which a safety railing around the door is desired.
Roof scuttles are ruggedly built for long, dependable service and generally comprise a rectangular frame extending above the roofline and which surrounds the opening to be covered. A door is hinged to the frame for motion of the door between an open and closed position. The conventional roof scuttle has a vertical sheet metal inner wall with an outwardly extending 90° horizontal anchoring flange at the bottom of the wall, which flange is nailed or otherwise secured to the roof deck through holes provided in the flange. Rigid fiberboard insulation extends around the inner wall and forms the outer wall of the frame. A capflashing is connected to the top of the inner wall usually by welding and extends downward over the top portion of the outer wall. Roofing materials are then used to waterproof the outer wall of the frame typically by rolling the roofing along the roof surface and then up the vertical outer walls (curb) of the frame and securing the roofing material to the curb. When the roofing material is secured a weather resistant installation is complete.
Securing the roofing material to the roof scuttle frame requires experienced and skilled labor to properly waterproof the scuttle. A number of patents have issued in this area relating to forming a waterproof seal between a waterproof roofing material and the scuttle frame surrounding a roof opening. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,596, a roofing device is shown for sealing the roofing material to a roof scuttle having a curb wherein the roofing material is wrapped over an elongated resilient filler piece which is snuggly inserted into a filler channel between the wall and a top flange of the capflashing of the scuttle. A conventional roof scuttle of the prior art is shown schematically herein in
Use of a roof scuttle necessarily leaves an opening in the roof when the door of the roof scuttle is open as shown in
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is one object of the present invention to provide a roof scuttle for enclosing a roof opening which roof scuttle has a safety railing attached thereto which is easily installed by unskilled labor on any size new or existing roof scuttle without compromising the integrity of the weather seal of the roof scuttle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods for installing a safety railing on a new or existing roof scuttle without compromising the integrity of the weather seal, which methods are easily performed by unskilled labor.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe above and other objects, which will be apparent to those skilled in art, are achieved in the present invention which relates in one aspect to a roof scuttle and safety railing system for enclosing a roof opening comprising:
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- a rectangular roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof, the vertical curb having front, rear and opposed sides, a door hinged to the scuttle for moving to an open or closed position and a capflashing on the top of the curb which has a horizontal member extending outward from the curb and at least one vertical member extending downward toward the roof surface with a space between the outside wall of the curb and the inside wall of the vertical member, the capflashing extending around the periphery of the curb;
- two pairs of brackets secured to the vertical member of the capflashing with each bracket proximate each corner of the scuttle, each pair of brackets having at least one bracket which is pivotable laterally about a vertical axis and preferably having a vertically disposed pivot pin plug spaced away from the vertical member and one or more arms pivotally mounted thereto, each arm having at least one vertically spaced opening for holding and securing a vertical member of a safety railing and the other bracket of each pair also being pivotable or fixed extending outward from the vertical member and having at least one vertically spaced opening therein for holding and securing the other vertical member of the safety railing;
- one or more safety railings, each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a bracket opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
Another aspect of the invention is a roof scuttle and a safety railing system for enclosing a roof opening comprising:
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- a roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof having front, rear and opposed sides and a door hinged to the scuttle for moving the door to an open or closed position;
- opposed elongated brackets, preferably channel shaped, running either along the front and rear sides or the opposed sides and having their distal ends extending outward from each edge of the curb, each end of the brackets having at least one vertically spaced through opening to hold and secure a vertical member of a safety railing and one or more horizontal through openings away from the edge of the curb; and
- one or more elongated tie rods running along each side of the curb not having a bracket, the ends of each rod passing through the horizontal through openings and being fastened to the brackets holding the brackets firmly against the vertical curb; and
- one or more safety railings each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a bracket vertical opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
In another aspect of the invention a roof scuttle and safety railing system for enclosing a roof opening is provided comprising:
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- a roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof having front, rear and opposed sides and a door hinged to the scuttle for moving the door to an open or closed position;
- opposed elongated brackets, preferably channel shaped, running either along the front and rear curb or the opposed sides and having their distal ends extending outward from the edge of the curb each edge of the bracket having at least one vertically spaced through opening to hold and secure a vertical member of a safety railing and one or more horizontal through openings away from the edge of the curb; and
- a flexible strap or cable running around the periphery of the curb and passing through the horizontal openings in the brackets, which strap or cable is fastened to hold the brackets firmly against the side of the curb; and
- one or more safety railings each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a bracket vertical opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
In another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for installing a safety railing on a new or existing roof scuttle used to cover a roof opening comprising the steps of:
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- providing a roof scuttle surrounding a roof opening, which scuttle has a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of the opening in the roof, the vertical curb having front, rear and opposed sides and the scuttle is weather proofed and installed on the roof, the roof scuttle having a capflashing on the top of the curb having a horizontal member extending outward form the curb and at least one vertical member extending downward toward the roof surface with a space between the outside wall of the curb and the inside wall of the vertical member, the capflashing extending around the periphery of the curb;
- securing two pairs of brackets to the vertical member of the capflashing with each bracket proximate each corner of the scuttle, each pair of brackets having at least one bracket which is pivotable laterally about a vertical axis and preferably having a vertically disposed pivot pin plug away from the vertical member and one or more arms pivotally mounted thereto, each arm having at least one vertically spaced opening for holding and securing a vertical member of a safety railing and the other bracket of each pair also being pivotable or fixed extending outward from the vertical member and having at least one vertically spaced opening therein for holding and securing the other vertical member of the safety railing;
- providing one or more safety railings each railing comprising two spaced apart vertical members and connecting cross members;
- inserting the vertical members of each safety railing into the vertical bracket openings on the opposed sides of the scuttle; and
- optionally providing a gate hingedly connected to at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the vertical members of the safety railing for movement to and away from the roof opening.
- securing each vertical member in each vertical bracket opening.
In a further aspect of the invention a method is provided for installing a safety railing on a new or existing roof scuttle used to cover a roof opening comprising the steps of:
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- providing a roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof having front, rear and opposed sides and a door hinged to the scuttle for moving the door to an open or closed position;
- positioning opposed elongated brackets, preferably channel shaped, running either along the front and rear sides of the curb or the opposed sides of the curb, which brackets have their distal ends extending outward from the edge of the curb, each end of the brackets having at least one vertically spaced opening to hold and secure a vertical member of a safety railing and having one or more horizontal through openings away from the edge of the curb; and
- securing one or more tie rods running along the sides of the curb not having the brackets, the ends of each rod passing through the horizontal openings and fastened to the brackets holding the brackets firmly against the vertical curb;
- one or more safety railings each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a vertical bracket opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
In another aspect of the invention a method is provided for installing a safety railing on a new or existing roof scuttle comprising the steps of:
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- providing a roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof having front, rear and opposed sides and a door hinged to the scuttle for moving the door to an open or closed position;
- positioning opposed elongated brackets, preferably channel shaped, running either along the front and rear sides of the curb or the opposed sides of the curb, which brackets have their distal ends extending outward from the edge of the curb, each end of the brackets having at least one vertically spaced openings to hold and secure a vertical member of a safety railing and having one or more horizontal through openings away from the edge of the curb; and
- running a flexible strap or cable around the periphery of the curb through each of the horizontal bracket openings and then fastening the strap or cable together to hold the brackets firmly against the sides of the curb;
- one or more safety railings each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a bracket opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
The features of the invention believed to be novel and the elements characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The figures are for illustration purposes only and are not drawn to scale. The invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, may best be understood by reference to the detailed description which follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
In describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention, reference will be made herein to
Referring to
The capflashing 16 is an integral structure comprising a horizontal top curb 17 having an inner lip 17a (not shown), vertical upper outer wall 18, an angular flange 20 which is connected to a vertical flange 21 and which ends in a downwardly outwardly extending drip edge flange 22. The roof scuttle has an outside curb 18a ending at nailing flange 23 (with nail openings 23a) which nailing flange is formed by bending the inner wall 19 90° at the lower end. The curb 18a is typically rigid fiberboard insulation and the inner wall 19 sheet metal generally about ⅛ inch thick. The lip 17a of the capflashing is typically welded to the inner frame wall 19 to secure the capflashing to the door assembly. The capflashing is made from sheet metal and is generally about ⅛ inch thick.
Referring now to
Any self-closing hinge may be used for the gate of the roof scuttle of the invention. A helix hinge can be used whereby the offset hinge mechanism elevates the center of gravity of the gate during opening and likewise provides for the automatic return of the gate to the closed position.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Right safety railing vertical members 29a and 29b and left safety rail vertical members 34a and 34b are positioned in their respective bracket openings 65a and 65b. The right safety railing has cross members 30a and 30b and a central vertical support 31. The left safety railing has cross members 35a and 35b and central support 63. The gate 48 of
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
A swivel bracket member shown in
In use, as shown in
Referring now to
Referring to
Referring now to
Referring now to
While the present invention has been particularly described, in conjunction with a specific preferred embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any such alternatives, modifications and variations as falling within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1-8. (canceled)
9. A roof scuttle and a safety railing system for enclosing a roof opening comprising:
- a roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof having front, rear and opposed sides and a door hinged to the scuttle for moving the door to an open or closed position;
- opposed elongated brackets running either along the front and rear sides or the opposed sides and having their distal ends extending outward from each edge of the curb, each end of the brackets having at least one vertically spaced through opening to hold and secure a vertical member of a safety railing and one or more horizontal through openings away from the edge of the curb; and
- one or more elongated tie rods running along each side of the curb not having a bracket, the ends of each rod passing through the horizontal through openings and being fastened to the brackets holding the brackets firmly against the vertical curb; and
- one or more safety railings each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a bracket vertical opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
10. The roof scuttle and safety railing system of claim 9 wherein the elongated brackets are channel shaped.
11. The roof scuttle and safety railing system of claim 9 wherein the gate has a self-closing hinge.
12. A roof scuttle and safety railing system for enclosing a roof opening comprising:
- a roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof having front, rear and opposed sides and a door hinged to the scuttle for moving the door to an open or closed position;
- opposed elongated brackets running either along the front and rear curb or the opposed sides and having their distal ends extending outward from the edge of the curb each edge of the bracket having at least one vertically spaced through opening to hold and secure a vertical member of a safety railing and one or more horizontal through openings away from the edge of the curb; and
- a flexible strap running around the periphery of the curb and passing through the horizontal openings in the brackets, which strap is fastened to hold the brackets firmly against the side of the curb; and
- one or more safety railings each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a bracket vertical opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
13. The roof scuttle and safety railing system of claim 12 wherein the elongated brackets are channel shaped.
14. The roof scuttle and safety railing system of claim 12 wherein the gate has a self-closing hinge.
15-22. (canceled)
23. A method for installing a safety railing on a new or existing roof scuttle used to cover a roof opening comprising the steps of:
- providing a roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof having front, rear and opposed sides and a door hinged to the scuttle for moving the door to an open or closed position;
- positioning opposed elongated brackets running either along the front and rear sides of the curb or the opposed sides of the curb, which brackets have their distal ends extending outward from the edge of the curb, each end of the brackets having at least one vertically spaced opening to hold and secure a vertical member of a safety railing and having one or more horizontal through openings away from the edge of the curb; and
- securing one or more tie rods running along the sides of the curb not having the brackets, the ends of each rod passing through the horizontal openings and fastened to the brackets holding the brackets firmly against the vertical curb;
- one or more safety railings each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a vertical bracket opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the elongated brackets are channel shaped.
25. The method of claim 23 wherein the gate has a self-closing hinge.
26. A method for installing a safety railing on a new or existing roof scuttle comprising the steps of:
- providing a roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof having front, rear and opposed sides and a door hinged to the scuttle for moving the door to an open or closed position;
- positioning opposed elongated brackets running either along the front and rear sides of the curb or the opposed sides of the curb, which brackets have their distal ends extending outward from the edge of the curb, each end of the brackets having at least one vertically spaced openings to hold and secure a vertical member of a safety railing and having one or more horizontal through openings away from the edge of the curb; and
- running a flexible strap around the periphery of the curb through each of the horizontal bracket openings and then fastening the strap together to hold the brackets firmly against the sides of the curb;
- one or more safety railings each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a bracket opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
27. The method of claim 26 wherein the elongated brackets are channel shaped.
28. The method of claim 26 wherein the gate has a self-closing hinge.
29. A roof scuttle and safety railing system for enclosing a roof opening comprising:
- a rectangular roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof, the vertical curb having front, rear and opposed sides, a door hinged to the scuttle for moving to an open or closed position and a capflashing on the top of the curb which has a horizontal member extending outward from the curb and at least one vertical member extending downward toward the roof surface, the capflashing extending around the periphery of the curb and the vertical member having flanges with openings therein;
- two pairs of brackets secured to the flanges of the capflashing with each bracket proximate each corner of the scuttle, each pair of brackets having at least one bracket which is pivotable laterally about a vertical axis and having at least one vertically spaced opening for holding and securing a vertical member of a safety railing and the other bracket of each pair also being pivotable or fixed extending outward from the vertical member and having at least one vertically spaced opening therein for holding and securing the other vertical member of the safety railing;
- one or more safety railings, each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a bracket opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
30. A roof scuttle and safety railing system for enclosing a roof opening comprising:
- a rectangular roof scuttle having a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of an opening in the roof, the vertical curb having front, rear and opposed sides, a door hinged to the scuttle for moving to an open or closed position and a capflashing on the top of the curb which has a horizontal member extending outward from the curb and at least one vertical member extending downward toward the roof surface, the capflashing extending around the periphery of the curb and the vertical member having a flange open at its upper end and a flange open at its lower end;
- two pairs of brackets secured to the flanges of the capflashing with each bracket proximate each corner of the scuttle, each pair of brackets having at least one bracket which is pivotable laterally about a vertical axis and having at least one vertically spaced opening for holding and securing a vertical member of a safety railing and the other bracket of each pair also being pivotable or fixed extending outward from the vertical member and having at least one vertically spaced opening therein for holding and securing the other vertical member of the safety railing;
- one or more safety railings, each railing having two vertical members and one or more horizontal connected cross members running between the two vertical members with each vertical member being held and secured in a bracket opening; and
- optionally a gate hingedly connected at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the safety railing vertical members for movement to and away from the roof opening.
31. A method for installing a safety railing on a new or existing roof scuttle used to cover a roof opening comprising the steps of:
- providing a roof scuttle surrounding a roof opening, which scuttle has a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of the opening in the roof, the vertical curb having front, rear and opposed sides and the scuttle is weather proofed and installed on the roof, the roof scuttle having a capflashing on the top of the curb having a horizontal member extending outward form the curb and at least one vertical member extending downward toward the roof surface, the capflashing extending around the periphery of the curb and the vertical member having flanges with openings therein;
- securing two pairs of brackets to the flanges of the capflashing with each bracket proximate each corner of the scuttle, each pair of brackets having at least one bracket which is pivotable laterally about a vertical axis and having at least one vertically spaced opening for holding and securing a vertical member of a safety railing and the other bracket of each pair also being pivotable or fixed extending outward from the vertical member and having at least one vertically spaced opening therein for holding and securing the other vertical member of the safety railing;
- providing one or more safety railings each railing comprising two spaced apart vertical members and connecting cross members;
- inserting the vertical members of each safety railing into the vertical bracket openings on the opposed sides of the scuttle; and
- optionally providing a gate hingedly connected to at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the vertical members of the safety railing for movement to and away from the roof opening.
32. A method for installing a safety railing on a new or existing roof scuttle used to cover a roof opening comprising the steps of:
- providing a roof scuttle surrounding a roof opening, which scuttle has a vertical curb extending upward from the roof surface and extending around the periphery of the opening in the roof, the vertical curb having front, rear and opposed sides and the scuttle is weather proofed and installed on the roof, the roof scuttle having a capflashing on the top of the curb having a horizontal member extending outward form the curb and at least one vertical member extending downward toward the roof surface, the capflashing extending around the periphery of the curb and the vertical member having a flange open at its upper end and a flange open at its lower end;
- securing two pairs of brackets to flanges of the capflashing with each bracket proximate each corner of the scuttle, each pair of brackets having at least one bracket which is pivotable laterally about a vertical axis and having at least one vertically spaced opening for holding and securing a vertical member of a safety railing and the other bracket of each pair also being pivotable or fixed extending outward from the vertical member and having at least one vertically spaced opening therein for holding and securing the other vertical member of the safety railing;
- providing one or more safety railings each railing comprising two spaced apart vertical members and connecting cross members;
- inserting the vertical members of each safety railing into the vertical bracket openings on the opposed sides of the scuttle; and
- optionally providing a gate hingedly connected to at the front side of the roof scuttle to one of the vertical members of the safety railing for movement to and away from the roof opening.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 25, 2004
Publication Date: Jun 2, 2005
Inventors: Roger Joyce (Guilford, CT), Donald Barker (Sandy Hook, CT), Kenneth Gleason (Woodbridge, CT), James Gleason (Stratford, CT)
Application Number: 10/925,443