Abstract:
A scaffolding shelter having at least one wall and at least partially enclosing a scaffolding made of scaffolding sections. The scaffolding shelter comprises a plurality of self-supporting wall panels, each wall panel defining edges and being adapted to form at least a portion of a wall of the scaffolding shelter; and connectors adapted to provide engagement of the wall panels side by side, and one atop another; whereby the width and the height of the wall is adaptable by adjoining and superposing the wall panels side by side and one above another, respectively.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1) Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The invention relates to the field of scaffolding, and more particularly to a shelter for scaffolding.  
         [0003]     2) Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Scaffolding is well known to the field of construction. It consists of a temporary structure which is erected in front of a surface to work on and allows workers to climb to their work area and to do their work at the desired elevation with much more ease than when using a ladder, for example. Although many advantages result of using a scaffolding, a need has been felt to have a shelter provided in combination with the scaffolding for workers to be shielded against inclement weather. Furthermore, since many masonry products are more efficiently used at a controlled atmosphere (temperature, humidity, etc.), a shelter would be desired in which the desired atmosphere could be maintained at reasonable costs.  
         [0005]     It is known in the art to provide shielding by fastening tarpaulins to the scaffolding or to suspend sheets or fabric from the scaffolding structure. However, such shelters are often found to loosen when submitted to wind pressure and wind induced vibrations, and are often undesirably complicated to install. Further, gaps are often created between adjacent layers of the tarpaulins, and the breaches they form are hard to seal, especially when attempting to maintain a controlled atmosphere inside the shelter. Since know-how is important when installing such shelters, inexperienced technicians may end up having to take everything down and starting over with the hope of succeeding the second time, which results in undesired costs for the contractor.  
         [0006]     From the above, it can be seen that a need is strongly felt in the art for a temporary scaffolding shelter which could be easily installed and removed.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     One object of the invention is to provide a scaffolding shelter which at least partially overcomes some of the inconveniences of the prior art  
         [0008]     One object of the invention is to provide a weather resistant scaffolding shelter with easy to assemble walls formed of self supporting panels supported from below.  
         [0009]     One object of the invention is to provide a scaffolding shelter in which a controlled atmosphere can be maintained.  
         [0010]     In accordance with one aspect, the invention provides a kit for providing a scaffolding shelter having at least one wall and at least partially enclosing a scaffolding made of scaffolding sections. The kit comprises: a plurality of self-supporting wall panels, each wall panel defining edges and being adapted to form at least a portion of a wall of the scaffolding shelter; and connectors adapted to provide engagement of the wall panels side by side, and one atop another. The width and the height of the wall is adaptable by adjoining and superposing the wall panels side by side and one above another, respectively.  
         [0011]     In accordance with another aspect, the invention provides a method of providing a shelter at least partially covering a scaffolding. The method comprises the steps of: erecting a wall panel on a substantially horizontal support surface, by supporting it from below, the erected wall panel defining at least a portion of a wall of the shelter; and attaching the erected wall panel to the scaffolding.  
         [0012]     In accordance with still another aspect, the invention provides, in combination with a scaffolding, a scaffolding shelter at least partially enclosing the scaffolding. The scaffolding shelter comprises: at least one shelter wall having a plurality of self-supporting wall panels supported from the bottom and mating with one another in a substantially air-tight manner and covering the scaffolding, the wall panels being adapted to be disassembled and reassembled in different configurations to adapt to different scaffolding configurations.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a scaffolding shelter in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the scaffolding without the shelter of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a wall panel of the scaffolding shelter of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view, enlarged, of a base member of the scaffolding shelter of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a wall panel connector of the scaffolding shelter of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a corner connector of the scaffolding shelter of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view, enlarged, of a roof of the scaffolding shelter of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
       [0021]     It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0022]     In accordance with a one embodiment, an exemplary weather resistant scaffolding shelter  10  used to maintain a controlled atmosphere within a scaffolding work area is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The scaffolding shelter  10  is constructed of a plurality of easily assembled components, as will be seen hereinafter, and which can be provided as a shelter-making kit. The scaffolding shelter  10  includes a front wall  12 , a side wall  14 , a roof  16 , and is adapted to enclose the temporary structure of a scaffolding  17 , which is shown without the shelter  10  in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0023]     Many types of scaffolding currently exist, the scaffolding  17  depicted in  FIG. 2  is one of the most frequently used in North America and is commonly referred to as “Mason scaffolding”. The preferred scaffolding shelter  10  is particularly suited for sheltering this type of scaffolding  17 , but can be adapted to other types of scaffolding as well. Scaffoldings are typically made of one or more superposed or side-by-side scaffolding sections  18 . For example, the scaffolding  17  illustrated in  FIG. 2  can be seen to include four such scaffolding sections  18   a ,  18   b ,  18   c  and  18   d . The sections  18   a ,  18   b ,  18   c  and  18   d , are repeated in width and in height to adapt the scaffolding  17  to the height and width of the surface to work on. As it will be seen, the scaffolding shelter  10  can be easily adapted to the particular size of a scaffoldings  17  having a specific number of sections  18  in height and in width. Each scaffolding section  18  of the scaffolding  17  has two frames  19   a , and  19   b  held apart from one another by two cross-braces  20 . A second scaffolding section  18   b , is added to a first scaffolding section  18   a  laterally by joining a third frame  19   c  to the frames  19   a  and  19   b  of the first section  18   a  using two cross-braces  20 . To add an upper section  18   c , two frames  19   d  and  19   e  are mated atop the two frames  19   a  and  19   b  of a lower section  18   a , and the two mated frames  19   d  and  19   e  are secured to one another by two cross braces  20 . When the scaffolding is erected, planks  21  are used between two frames  19  to provide walking support to the workers.  
         [0024]     As it is seen in  FIG. 2 , the width “W” of a scaffolding section  18  is defined by the width of the scaffolding frames  19 , and the height “H” of a scaffolding section  18  is defined by the height of the scaffolding frames  19 . The length “L” of a scaffolding section  18  is defined by the length of the cross braces  20 . In the scaffolding section  18 , 5′×5′ frames are used with 10′×4′ braces, which results in scaffolding sections  18   a ,  18   b ,  18   c , . . .  18   n  having an overall length of 10′, height of 5′, and width of 5′. Such scaffolding frames  19   a ,  19   b ,  19   c . . .  19   n  and cross braces  20  are commonly used and can be purchased from United Access, Texas.  
         [0025]     Turning back to  FIG. 1 , the front wall  12  of the scaffolding shelter  10  can be seen to include four wall panels  22   a, b, c, d . Each wall panel  22  corresponds to a different scaffolding section  18  shown in  FIG. 2 . The lower wall panels  22   a ,  22   b  are supported from the bottom by a base member  24  which has been leveled on the uneven ground by levelers  25 . The upper wall panels  22   c ,  22   d  are superposed onto the lower wall panels  22   a ,  22   b  and are supported by the latter. The upper wall panels  22   c ,  22   d  are engaged with the lower wall panels  22   a ,  22   b  via connectors  26 . Left hand side panels  22   a ,  22   c  are also engaged with right hand side panels  22   b ,  22   d  via connectors  26 . A wall panel  22   e  is used in upright position to form a side wall  14 . The side wall  14  and the front wall  12  are joined together at the corner via a corner member  36 . A roof  16  is provided atop the shelter  10 . The roof  16  includes roof supports  34  and roof panels  32   a ,  32   b . The front wall  12  is connected to the roof panels  32  by roof connectors  30 .  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  illustrates a self supporting wall panel  22  in more detail. To adapt to the dimensions of the scaffolding sections  18 , wall panel  22  has a 5′ high by 10′ long rectangular frame  40  made of lightweight weather resistant material, resistant to rotting or corrosion, and preferably aluminum tubing. To increase structural resistance, a reinforcing member  42  connects the upper frame to the lower frame portions at mid length of the panel. A membrane  44  covers the entire panel  22 , and has its edges secured to the frame  40  in a manner for the membrane  44  to be stretched across the surface of the panel  22 . The membrane  44  is also made of weather resistant material, and is preferably made of laminated polyethylene weave, a material commonly used to make tarpaulins for construction and camping and which is easy to find. Attachments  45  are provided onto the frame  40  to provide for securing the erected panel  22  to the scaffolding using suitable fasteners, and to keep the erected panel from tipping over when exposed to wind, or the like.  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  shows a preferred base member  24  used to support the erection of a first wall panel  22   a  from below. The base member  24  has a square U shaped support channel  23  adapted to receive the lower edge of a wall panel  22  within the channel  23 . The base member  24  has levelers  25  extending opposite to the support channel  23 , and which are used to level and adjust the height of the support channel  23  when the scaffolding shelter  10  is mounted on uneven ground. When the scaffolding shelter  10  is mounted on even ground, one can do away with the base members  24  and erect the wall panels  22   a ,  22   b  directly on the ground. The lowermost wall panels  22   a ,  22   b  can also be mounted directly on the scaffolding levelers. The levelers  25  preferably consist of a foot  45  with a threaded stem  46 , and the threaded stem  46  being screwed into a socket  47  in the base member  24 . The height of the support channel  23  relative to the foot  45  can then be adjusted by screwing or unscrewing the foot  45 . A leveler  25  is preferably provided at each end of the elongated base member  24 , and the length of the base member  24  is preferably that of the panels  22 . The base member  24  is preferably also provided with attachments  48  such as press buttons or holes on one side to receive a tarpaulin  38  (see  FIG. 1 ) used to seal the area between the channel  23  and the ground.  
         [0028]     To begin mounting the front wall  12  of the shelter on uneven ground, the first step is to level the base member  24  using the levelers  25 . A first wall panel  22   a  is then engaged into the U shaped support channel  23  of the base member  24 , and is thereby supported from below. The erected wall panel  22   a  is then secured to the scaffolding frame  19  or cross-brace  20  using a suitable fastener such as a tie wrap, a metal wire, a strap with clamps at the ends, an elastic with hooks at the ends, or any other suitable fastener selected by one skilled in the art. The fastener is used between an attachment  45  of the panel  22   a  and a pole of the scaffolding frames  19   a  and  19   b  or cross brace  20 . Although the panels  22  are self supporting, fastening them keeps them from tipping over when submitted to transversal forces, such as a gust of wind.  
         [0029]     If the scaffolding  17  to be sheltered is more than one scaffolding section  18  high, the scaffolding shelter wall  12  will correspondingly be more than one panel  22  high to easily adapt to the height of the scaffolding  17 . It is thus desirable that the lower edge of the panels  22   b  be adapted to engage with the upper edge of another panel  22   a . A separate H-shaped connector  26  illustrated in  FIG. 5  is preferably used to provide this engagement. The H-shaped connector  26  has an upper and lower elongated U shaped cross-section channels  49 ,  50 . Both opposed channels  49 ,  50  are adapted to receive a corresponding edge of the panels  22   a  and  22   b  in a mating engagement. When a first panel  22   a  of a shelter front wall  12  is erected, an H shaped connector  26  is engaged onto the upper edge of the erected panel  22   a  by the lower channel  49 . The lower edge of a second panel  22   b  is then engaged in the upper channel  50 , and is thus supported from below by the first panel  22   a . The second panel  22   b  is then secured to the corresponding scaffolding section  18 . Successive panels  22  can then continue to be superposed atop the uppermost secured panel  22   n  in the same manner until a wall corresponding to the height of the scaffolding  17  is obtained. The H-shaped connectors  26  substantially cover the gaps that would remain between the superposed panels  22   a ,  22   c  and provide a substantially impervious junction to the panels. The H-shaped connectors  26  used to provide engagement between superposed panels  22   a ,  22   c  are preferably 9′10″ long to leave a free space near the edges of the panel  22  meant to keep the connecters  26  to interfere with one another.  
         [0030]     To adapt the wall  12  to the number of scaffolding sections  18  in width, wall panels  22   a ,  22   b  are joined side by side using H shaped connectors  26 . The H-shaped connectors  26  used to adjoin the panels  22   a , and  22   b  are preferably 4′10″ long to leave a free space at the upper and lower edges of the panels  22 . The free space is to keep an area at the junction between four panels  22   a ,  22   b ,  22   c ,  22   d  where the connectors  26  do not interfere with one another.  
         [0031]     The width and height of front wall  12  of the shelter  10  can hence be easily adapted to the width and height of the scaffolding  17  to shelter, by using a number of panels  22  corresponding to the number of sections  18  and mating them to one another using the connecters  26 . Once a shelter front wall  12  of the desired width and height is erected, side walls  14  are erected, perpendicularly to the front wall  12 , to cover the sides of the scaffolding  17 . The dimensions of the panels  22  used in the front wall  12  is preferably of 10′ long×5′ high. Since the width of the scaffolding sections  17  is also of 5′, the same wall panels  22   a, b, c, d  used in the front wall  12  with their  10 ′ edge as the base can be used as wall panel  22   e  in the side wall  14  with their  5 ′ edge as the base and correspond to the height of two front wall  12  panels. If a shelter of 4, 6, or 8 sections high is desired, the side wall  14  will include 2, 3 or 4 side wall panels  22   e  superposed along their narrow edge, respectively. The side wall panels  22   e  are superposed using H connectors, as described above. If the shelter is of an uneven number of sections high, 5′×5′ wall panels (not illustrated) are used to complete the side wall  14 . In  FIG. 1 , one wall panel  22   e  is used in upright position to define a side wall  14  perpendicularly to a two-panel high front wall  12 .  
         [0032]     The front wall  12  and side wall  14  are joined using an L shaped member  36  which defines a corner of the shelter. The L shaped member  36 , which is more clearly depicted in  FIG. 6 , has two opposed flanges  51 ,  52  extending perpendicularly from each other, and attachments  37  disposed along the length of the member  36 , between the two flanges  51 ,  52 . When installed, one flange  51  of the L shaped member  36  abuts the front wall  12  ( FIG. 1 ), and the other flange  51  of the L shaped member  36  abuts the side wall  14 . A suitable fastener is used to secure the attachment  37  to a vertical pole of the scaffolding frame  19  ( FIG. 2 ). The fastener (not illustrated) passes between the front wall  12  and the side wall  14 , and keeps the L shaped member  36  fastened to the scaffolding  17 . The L shaped member  36  seals off the gap between the front wall  12  and side wall  14  and contributes to maintain the walls  12 ,  14  against the scaffolding  17  and to keep the panels  22  from tipping over.  
         [0033]     Now turning to  FIG. 7 , it is seen how a roof  16  to the shelter  10  is provided. The sloped roof  16  includes one or more roof sections, each roof section corresponding to a scaffolding section  18  ( FIG. 2 ). Each roof section includes two roof supports  34  and a roof panel  32   a  or  32   b . Each roof support  34  has a frame of right angled triangular shape with a base  34   a  and a hypotenuse  34   b . The base  34   a  is adapted to securely mate with one of a scaffolding frame  19   d ,  19 , e ,  19   f , and preferably includes studs  37  extending from the base  34   a  and adapted to be inserted into the tubing structure of the scaffolding frames  19   d ,  19   e ,  19   f . One roof support  34  is engaged with each scaffolding frame  19   d ,  19   e , or  19   f  of a scaffolding section  18 . A roof panel  32   a  is then positioned, with each lateral edge thereof against the hypotenuse  34   b  of an opposite roof support  34 . The roof panel  32   b  is then fastened to the roof supports  34  with suitable fasteners, and thus provides an angled roof  16  to the shelter  10 . The roof panels  32  are similar to the wall panels  22  in many aspects, but are made of a height which corresponds to the hypotenuse  34   b  of the roof supports  34 . Preferably, the slope of the roof  16  is between 35 and 40 degrees, and the corresponding height of the roof panels  32  is of 6′4″. An additional roof panel  32   b  and roof supports  34  cover each additional scaffolding section  18  in width. The roof supports  34  that define the edge of the shelter  10  are provided with a membrane to seal the shelter  10 .  
         [0034]     The roof panels  32   a  and  32   b  can be joined to one another using H connecters  26 . The roof panels  32   a  and  32   b  are joined to the wall panels  22   b  and  22   d  ( FIG. 1 ) using roof connectors  30 . The roof connectors  30  are similar to H connectors  26 , but the upper channel is slanted at an angle corresponding to the angle of the roof panel  32 . During installation, the roof connectors  30  are engaged with the uppermost wall panels  22 , and the roof panels  32   a ,  32   b  are then engaged into the upper slanted channel of the engaged roof connector  30 , and positioned against the roof supports  34 , prior to fastening. The roof connectors  30  cover the gap between the roof panels  32   a ,  32   b  and the wall panels  22   c  and  22   d  and contribute to providing an shelter  10  adapted to maintain a controlled internal atmosphere.  
         [0035]     As it is shown in  FIG. 7 , the upper end of the uppermost scaffolding frames  39  extend by about 2″ past the typical 5′ height of the scaffolding sections  18 . This is caused by the fact that the upper ends  39  serve as male members adapted to mate with the lower end of a superposed frame, and which extend from the normal height otherwise. This results in an upper scaffolding sections  18   c  and  18   d  that have a height which is slightly greater than the ones below them. When the roof supports  34  are installed onto the uppermost frames  19   d ,  19   e ,  19   f  (see  FIG. 2 ) and the roof panels  32   a ,  32   b  are secured to the supports  34 , a corresponding gap results between the lower edge of the roof panel  32  and the upper edge of the uppermost wall panel  22 . Preferably, the roof connector  30  is adapted to cover this gap. Alternatively, the levelers  25  can be set slightly above the base of the lowermost scaffolding section  18   a , so that all the wall panels  22  be slightly offset with the scaffolding sections  18  and thus cover the gap. The gap will thus be transferred below the base member  24  instead of above the front wall  12 , where it can easily covered using the tarpaulin  38  (see  FIG. 1 ).  
         [0036]     Once the walls  12 ,  14  and roof  16  of the scaffolding shelter  10  are installed, there typically remains gaps between the base members  24  and the ground, between the side shelter walls  14  and the building, and between the roof panels  32  and the building. In some applications, these gaps are not significant, however, in applications where it is desired to maintain a controlled atmosphere in the shelter  10 , these gaps present undesired leaks and must preferably be covered. This is achieved by providing one long edge of the wall panels  22   e , the base members  24 , and roof panels  32   a ,  32   b  with a plurality of fastening members  48  such as push buttons, eyelets, or the like and to which a tarpaulin  38  can be fastened to seal the gaps (see  FIGS. 1 and 4 ). The tarpaulin  38  is fastened to the shelter  10  using the fastening members  48 , and secured to cover the gaps in any suitable manner known in the art.  
         [0037]     From the above discussion, the shelter  10  must include several components in quantities which are adjusted depending on the size of the scaffolding  17  to be enclosed. Therefore, the shelter  10  is preferably manufactured in the form of a kit for providing a scaffolding shelter  10  rather than in its assembled configuration. The kit includes self-supporting wall panels  22 , base members  24 , vertical and horizontal H connectors  26 , L shaped members  36 , roof frames  34 , roof connectors  30 , roof panels  32 , tarpaulins  38  and a number of fasteners. Depending of the quantities of the different components in the kit, one can assemble a shelter  10  to a scaffolding  17  of the desired size.  
         [0038]     Although the preferred shelter  10  was described with reference to the drawings, one skilled in the art will understand that many modifications and adaptations can be made within the scope of the invention. For example, the above-described scaffolding shelter kit is adapted to Mason scaffolding made of 10′×5′×5′ scaffolding sections. However, scaffolding frames having 3′×5′, 4′×5′ and  6′4″×5′ are also available, as well as cross-braces having  7′ in length instead of 10′. The shelter of the invention can be adapted to such different sizes by adapting the dimensions of the components, and primarily the panels  22 . The invention can also be adapted to different types of scaffolding.  
         [0039]     Aluminum tubing is preferred to make the frames  40  of panel  22  and the roof supports  34 , because aluminum provides low weight components having the desired structural resistance, and is resistant to corrosion. However, other materials may be used to provide frames for self supporting panels  22 , such as plastic, steel, graphite, wood etc. For the membranes  44 , impervious sheeting material can be used instead of laminated polyethylene weave, such as polyvinyl chloride fabric, and other fabrics or plastic sheets. The membrane material is preferably selected so that the shelter  10  is air and vapor tight to provide controlled atmosphere around the work area. The panels  22  could alternatively be provided without frames  40 , and still be self-supporting. For example plexiglass™ panels could be used.  
         [0040]     As described, the preferred engagement between the panels  22  is achieved using H connectors  26  which are provided separately from the panels  22 . Alternatively, the H connectors  26  can be provided secured onto the edges of the panels  22 . Furthermore, other types of connectors can be used to provide the desired inter-panel engagement, such as providing the panels  22  with opposite mating edges adapted to receive the opposite edge of a superposed or adjoined side-by-side panel  22 . In the latter case, the connector is the mating edges of the panels  22 .  
         [0041]     Furthermore, means other than fastening the panels  22  to the scaffolding can be used to prevent the panels  22  from tipping down. For example, the panels  22  could be held against the scaffolding using an external structure.  
         [0042]     The preferred embodiment of the invention provides for rapid installation of a resistant scaffolding shelter which is substantially air-tight, thus allowing internal control of the atmosphere, and allowing the shelter to be heated during winter. The use of self-supporting panels  22  of the dimensions of the scaffolding sections facilitates the erection of the self-supporting walls of the shelter and allows to quickly adapt the size of the wall to the size of the scaffolding to enclose. The base members  24  allow to level the walls of the shelter on uneven ground independently from the scaffolding, and allows adjustments to be made to the level of the walls even once the shelter is erected. This is particularly suited to compensate for the melting of ice beneath the base members  24  due to heating inside the shelter  10 . The shelter  10  can be mounted easily by an inexperienced worker with only little training or explanation, and the components can be disassembled, stored, and reused in a different configuration at another scaffolding site.  
         [0043]     Many variations and adaptations are possible to the embodiment of the invention described above. Therefore, the description of the preferred embodiment is intended to be exemplary only. The scope of the invention is to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.