Scaffold securement device
A locking device, spring loaded, for use for holding scaffolding trusses and their walk board secured to the end frames for the scaffold assembly, a locking device incorporating a pin for locking the scaffolding sleeve to its associated end frame, the pin having integrally formed a closed handle at its inward end, opposite from where the pin locks into the end frame, and there being a slot for accommodating a detent pin or the locking device that prevents its inadvertent disengagement while the scaffold assembly is being used or moved.
This provisional application claims priority to the non-provisional application having Ser. No. 60/934,187, filed on Jun. 12, 2007 which claims priority to the continuation-in-part patent application having Ser. No. 10/884,350, filed Jul. 2, 2004, which claims priority to the continuation application having Ser. No. 10/103,242, which was filed on Mar. 22, 2002, which is a continuation of the application having Ser. No. 09/729,618, filed on Dec. 4, 2000; which is now U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,067, which application is a non-provisional application filed upon the provisional application having Ser. No. 60/169,217, filed on Dec. 6, 1999, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,067, all said applications owned by a common entity.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates primarily to scaffolding, and more specifically pertains to means for securement of the end frames of scaffolding to its temporarily elevated platform(s) to allow workers to perform various tasks at a convenient elevation that cannot ordinarily be reached from the ground.
Generally, scaffolding has been around for many years, and primarily to make it convenient for a worker to operate at higher levels, such as elevated upon a wall, or upon a ceiling, and have ample room for movement, upon the scaffolding platform, which cannot otherwise be attained by simply working on these types of projects high up upon a ladder.
Prior art devices, as can be seen in
Most spring loaded pins simply rely upon the pressure generated by the spring to hold the pin securely in place, as can be noted in
Despite the improvements as shown in earlier patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,761, which discloses the use of a threaded nut to secure a pin in place, such as can be noted in the prior art disclosed in
Often a worker is required to adjust the platform height with no assistance from others. Thus, while a worker may stand in front of and face an end frame, while reaching both arms around the end frame and placing both of his or her thumbs within the handles, and thereby grasping the gussets with the remaining fore fingers, slippage of the hands or the thumbs can disengage one or both of the shown latch pins, allowing both trusses, with its platform or walk board, to freely move vertically upon the end frame, which can move with some speed, to the detriment of the worker. The worker tries to repeat this process at the opposite end, until the platform becomes level. The problem, though, with current methods is that the worker's hands must be positioned in the center of the shown handles, in order to distribute equal pressure and easily disengage the attaching latch pins. If the worker positions his thumbs in handles slightly off center, the pins may become bound up and fail to disengage, which prevents the scaffolding from being adjusted, or if disengagement occurs, and the scaffolding has excessive weight upon it, it could quickly descend, which could be hazardous to the worker standing just adjacent the end frames for the scaffolding under adjustment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe current invention consist of a scaffolding assembly having two ladder like vertical structures, commonly referred to as end frames, where the end frames are made up of two vertical columns, and rungs expanding transversely therebetween, to form a scaffolding platform supporting structure. The platform, also generally referred to as a walk board, can be fixed in place through the use of attachment means. Truss means is fastened to the end frames, but can be locked into position by means of detent pins, to assure that the end frames remain in place for supporting their walk board, during sustained usage. But, by removing the locking detent pins, grasping the handles provided locking device, and pushing the handles towards its associated gusset, this allows the user to relocate the position of the truss and its walk board, during adjustment. It is the convenience of the shown handles that allows the worker to place their thumbs into the center of the handles, which cannot easily be disengaged therefrom during manipulation, and can remain fixed in position, as the walk board and trusses are being elevated or lowered, during adjustment of the scaffold assembly.
It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention is to provide scaffolding, capable of being adjusted, a unique handle means that assures to the worker that while adjustment is being performed, there is little chance for support or inadvertent shifting of the walk board and supporting trusses during usage.
Another object of this invention is to provide a very stable like scaffolding assembly that incorporates safety means which assures permanent locking of the walk board and its trusses to the end frames, and which cannot be disengaged, inadvertently, due to their affixing through the usage of detent safety pins.
Another object of this invention is to provide a scaffolding assembly that can be quickly and easily assembled, and readily utilized by a single worker, assured of maximum safety.
These and other objects may become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the summary of the invention as provided herein, and upon undertaking a study of the description of its preferred embodiment, in view of the drawings.
In referring to the drawings,
In
The structure of each truss moving locking device 7 includes the gussets 10, at the lower end of which engages with a U or box channel 18, and which engages at its upper end with the truss 5, as can be noted. Thus, when the pin 12 is pulled rearwardly, it frees the channel member 18 to shift vertically upon their associated vertical columns 2 of the end frames 1. Also noted are the arcuate supports 19 that hold all of the operative components of the handles 9, the outer casing 11 of the pin 12, and the arcuate member 19 is secured, at its two ends, with channels 18, as can be readily seen.
As shown in
As shown in
Variations or modifications may be considered by those skilled in the art upon review of the invention as described herein. Such variations, within the spirit of this development, are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the invention as defined. The disclosure of the invention in the drawings is set forth for illustrative purposes only.
Claims
1. A scaffolding securement device including trusses, said trusses supporting a walk board, sleeves connecting to each end of the trusses, end frames, each sleeve provided for sliding vertically upon the end frames, a locking device, the locking device incorporating a pin, one end of the pin capable of locating through the sleeve and the associated end frame, the opposite end of said pin having a handle, and a detent means provided for locking the end frame to the trusses, to prevent their inadvertent disconnection.
2. The scaffolding securement device of claim 1 wherein said detent means comprises a detent pin.
3. The scaffolding securement device of claim 1 wherein said detent means comprises a padlock.
4. The scaffolding securement device of claim 1 wherein a closed handle is integrally formed at the inner end of the detent means, and is capable of being grasped by a workers hand when adjusting the height of the walk board and its supporting trusses relative to the end frames.
5. The scaffolding securement devise of claim 1 and including a gusset interconnecting between each sleeve and a truss, a support structure provided within the gusset and connecting at each end with a sleeve, said support structure provided for holding the locking devise in place during its manipulation and when applied for locking a truss to its associated end frame.
6. The scaffolding securement devise of claim 5 and including a pair of vertical columns provided within each end frame, and the sleeve provided for sliding engagement upon each vertical column during its support of the trusses and a walk board.
7. The scaffolding securement devise of claim 1 and wherein said sleeve is a “U” shaped sleeve.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 9, 2008
Publication Date: Dec 18, 2008
Inventor: Mark C. Chick (Florissant, MO)
Application Number: 12/157,409
International Classification: E04G 7/00 (20060101);