Patent ID: 6477972
Filing Date: 2002-11-12
Classification: E02D,E04G

Abstract:
A safety rail assembly for an access hatch of a kind comprising a hatch frame which defines an opening, said safety rail assembly being adapted to extend around at least a part of a hatch frame thereby to safeguard personnel from inadvertent entry into the hatch opening from at least two mutually perpendicular directions, said safety rail assembly comprising guard members which in use extend at least in part substantially horizontally, and support members for supporting the guard members at a position elevated above the hatch frame, said support members each having associated therewith a foot portion for resting in a free-standing manner on a support surface surrounding the hatch frame, said support members having a resistance to toppling in a direction towards or a direction away from the opening defined by the frame, wherein said support members have a resistance to toppling in a direction towards or away from the opening defined by the frame by co-operation of the safety rail assembly with an abutment surface defined by the hatch frame, wherein the support member comprises an interlock member for engagement with a confronting surface of the frame, and wherein the access frame comprises a rim section which outwardly overhangs from a core section of the frame to define an overhang the underneath surface of which acts as an abutment for engagement by a confronting surface of an interlock member associated with a support member.