SCAFFOLD BOARD RETAINER

Abstract: A scaffold board retainer for retaining boards onto scaffolding comprising a flexible length of webbing (17) incorporating at one end a loop (18) for attaching to an adjacent scaffold pole (11), the free end of the webbing (17) being clamped by means of an attachment means (21) to a scaffold pole (11), the attachment means including a clamp means (24) for engagement with the webbing and to hold the webbing in place overlying scaffold boards to retain them.

Description: SCAFFOLD BOARD RETAINER The present invention relates to a scaffold board retainer. Sc f olding is widely used in the construction industry both during the construction of buildings and in the repair and maintenance of buildings, the scaffolding comprising a framework of, usually, steel poles attached to one another surrounding the building so as to render the outside of the building accessable during- construction operations. Scaffold boards are provided on a scaffolding so that someone using the scaffolding can stand or walk comfortably about the scaffolding. The boards are usually wooden and are laid over horizontal scaffold poles. There have been a number of accidents over the years-in which unsecured scaffold boards have been lifted from the scaffolding by the wind and fallen to the ground. It is therefore clearly desirable to provide means to retain the boards to the scaffolding. In a practical environment, however, it is essential that any scaffold board retainer should be simple to operate since otherwise they will not always be used and also they should not protrude any more than is necessary above the surface of the board so as to reduce the possibility of a person tripping over the scaffold board retainer. Hitherto, where scaffold boards have been retained by a retaining means, this has been typically by means of a piece of wire simply looped around the scaffold poles and over the top of scaffold boards. Typically, such pieces of wire cannot be properly attached to the scaffold poles, but rely on simply knots, and because of the dif iculty of attaching them they tend not to be used, although they are often supplied to the operative. Furthermore, because of the difficulties of undoing the knot in the wire they tend not to be used more than once and are, therefore, not reuseable and become expensive. The present invention provides a scaffold board retainer comprising a flexible elongate member incorporating, at one end, means for attaching the elongate member to a scaffold pole and an attachment means connectable to a scaffold pole, said attachment means incorporating clamp means for engagement with the elongate member the arrangement being such that the elongate member may, in use, overlie scaffold boards to be retained, said attachment means including means adapted to be attached to a scaffold pole, and the clamp means of the attachment means is, in use, cla pingly engaged with the flexible elongate member and the attachment means is engaged with a scaffold pole to clamp the flexible elongate member in a position overlying the scaffold boards to thereby retain them. The flexible elongate member may comprise flexible wire or preferably a flexible webbing, and the means for attaching the webbing to a pole may comprise a ring attached to the webbing or a loop formed in one end of the webbing. The attachment means may comprise a separate member formed of a rigid material such as steel, plastics or the like and the ttchment means may incorporate a slot through which the webbing may pass, and the clamp means may. comprise a screw clamp means which may clamp the webbing to the attachment means. The attachment means may incorporate a circular portion which may be slipped over a scaffold pole to retain the attachment means to the scaffold pole. The scaffold board retainer to be described may be clamped to the scaffolding very quickly so as to facilitate its. use;and thereby encourage ■ safety on the scaffolding. Furthermore it is cheap to produce and simple to store. A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a scaffold board retainer according to the invention in use, Figure 2 is a perspective view, partly in section, of the scaffold board retainer of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a front view of the attachment means of the scaffold board retainer of Figures 1 and 2. Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a typical arrangement of scaffolding with four scaffold boards 10 laid on horizontal poles 11, the horizontal poles 11 extending between vertical poles 12. The scaffold boards 10 form a pathway 13 and opposite edges of the pathway 13 are supported by further horizontal poles 14. There are also illustrated two scaffold board retainers 16 which extend from side to side of the pathway 13 and above the boards 10 to hold them down. The scaffold board retainer is attached to horizontal poles 11 at each side of the -pathway 13. As is illustrated in the Figures the scaffold board retainer comprises two parts, a flexible elongate member in the form of a length of plastic (eg nylon or polypropylene) webbing 17, and as is illustrated more clearly in Figure 2 the webbing 17 includes means for attaching the scaffold board retainer to the horizontal poles 11 in the form of a loop 18 formed at one end of the webbing 17, the loop 18 being of a diameter somewhat larger than the diameter of the poles 11, the loop actually being formed by stitching the end of the webbing 17 back on itself by means of stitching 19. The opposite end of the webbing 17 is free. The scaffold board retainer 16 also comprises an attachment means for attaching the webbing 17 to a pole, the attachment means being as illustrated at 21. The attachment means 21 which may be of steel or alternatively of plastics material sufficiently strong for the purpose, comprises a ring portion 22 which is of such a diameter as to slide easily over the poles 11, and attached to the upper end of the ring portion 22 and spaced therefrom by a distance 23 there is attached a clamp means 24. The clamp means provides means whereby the webbing 17 may be clamped to the attachment means 21. The clamp means 24 comprises a slot 26 through which the webbing 17 may extend as shown in Figure 2 and a screw member 27 which may be screwed down so as to clamp the webbing 17 to the base wall of the slot 26. A screw member 27 is mounted in a screw threaded socket 28 in the upper wall of the clamp means 24 and the screw member itself comprises either a bolt 29 having a bolt head as illustrated or a hand turnable lange. To the lower end of the bolt 29 is attached a plate 31, the plate 31 being rotatably attached to the bolt 29 so that during the clamping operation the force of the bolt 29 is spread across the webbing 17 and there is no relative rotation between the plate 31 which bears on the webbing and the webbing itself thereby preventing damage to the webbing 17. The bolt 29 has a head of a size the same as other bolts used in the construction of the scaffolding which overcomes the necessity for the use of a separate spanner. It will be understood that the distance 23 approximates to the thickness of a typical scaffold board 10 so that the' webbing 17 can extend directly off the top of a scaffold board and into the clamp means 24. The use of the scaffold board retainer will be clear from Figure 1. The loop 18 is looped over one end of the pole 11, and the attachment means 21 is passed over the other end of the pole 11, the webbing 17 is threaded through the slot 26 and the bolt 29 is tightened to clamp the webbing to the attachment means 21. The webbing 17 extends over the top of the scaffold boards and prevents them from lifting. The apparatus may be quickly and easily used. The free end of the webbing may be tied around an adjacent pole to prevent the danger of tripping over the webbing. The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing example. In an alternative arrangement, the plate 31 may extend ins.ide the ring portion 22 so that the webbing may be passed between the ring portion 22 and the scaffold pole and be clamped by the plate 31 between the plate 31 and the scaffold pole.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A scaffold board retainer comprising a flexible elongate member (17) incorporating, at one end, means (18) for attaching the elongate member (17) to a scaffold pole (11), and an attachment means (21 ) connectable to a scaffold pole (11), said attachment means (2H incorporating clamp means (24) for engagement with the elongate member (17), the arrangement being such that the elongate member (17) may, in use, overlie scaffold boards (10) to be retained, said attachment means (21) including means (22) adapted to be attached to a scaffold pole (11), and the clamp means (24) of attachment means (21) is, in use, cla pingly engaged with the flexible elongate member (17) and the attachment means (21) is engaged with a scaffold pole (11) to clamp the flexible elongate member (17. in a position overlying the scaffold boards (10) to thereby retain them. 2. A scaffold board retainer as claimed in Claim 1 in which the flexible elongate member (17) comprises flexible webbing (17), and the means (18) for attaching the flexible elongate member (17) to a pole (11) comprises a loop (18) in one end of the webbing. 3. A scaffold board retainer as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 in which the attachment means (21) comprises a separable member formed of rigid plastics. 4. A scaffold board retainer as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3 in which the attachment means (21) S incorporates a slot through which the flexible elongate member (17) passes. 5. A scaffold board retainer as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4 in which the clamp means (24) comprises a screw clamp means (27, 31) which clamps the flexible elongate member (17) to the attachment means (21). 6. A scaffold board retainer as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 5 in which the attachment means (21) comprises a circular portion (22) which, in use, is slipped over a scaffold pole (11) to retain the attachment means (21) to the scaffold pole (11).

Inventors: JONES THOMAS, SMART ROBERT WILLIAM, JONES, THOMAS, SMART, ROBERT, WILLIAM
Applicants: SCAFFOLDING LTD T & R
Application year: 1986
Main classification: E04G7
IPC codes: E04G7