Patent Publication Number: US-2007117442-A1

Title: Guard rail base and guard rail support

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
      This invention relates to safety barriers used in the construction of high-rise and other buildings, and more particularly, relates to a base for a guard rail of the kind which is constructed from lumber.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The construction of modem high-rise buildings usually requires temporary barriers to be erected on the building perimeter for all floors as the work progresses until exterior walls are in place. The barriers must be secure to ensure the safety of the persons working at the construction site and preferably, the barriers should be easy to install and to remove for reuse. Conveniently, guard rails are constructed from lumber which is inexpensive and readily available in the form of posts having standard dimensions of two inches by four inches (2×4). Transverse wood rails are nailed to the posts to complete the assembly of the guard rail. The support surface on which the guard rail is erected may be a concrete deck but may also be a wood form forming part of a shoring platform to provide a base for poured concrete.  
      In known devices, the lumber pieces comprising upright posts for the guard rail are secured to the support surface using a base fabricated from steel which has a socket dimensioned to receive the lumber and extending from one side of a planar base member. Both the socket and base member are apertured to receive threaded wood fasteners for securing the base to the lumber and to the support surface respectively. Where the support surface is concrete, a wood base is first secured to the concrete so that the base member can be screwed to the wood base. Preferably, the socket is formed at one end of the support base so that the base is more stable and cannot readily be pried away from the support surface.  
      An object of this invention is to provide a base which is easily installed and removed for reuse and a more convenient guard rail support.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In accordance with this invention, there is provided a base for a vertical post forming part of a guard rail system, the base having an open socket dimensioned for receiving the post and a base member. The socket has a transversely extending notch pin rotatably mounted between opposite sides of the socket and adapted to engage the post upon rotation thereof to cut a notch in the post. A locking lever fixed to the notch pin is provided to rotate the pin into and out of engagement with the post.  
      The invention also provides a nail guide in the base member which has a plurality of nail guiding apertures oriented to receive fasteners from opposite directions so that the fasteners may bite into an underlying support surface.  
      In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the base member is provided with an integral post to replace the socket, the post having at least one bracket vertically spaced from the base and adapted to receive and locate a transversely disposed removable barrier. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In order that the invention can be more clearly understood, a preferred embodiment is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a guard rail system with a base in accordance with the invention assembled on a deck;  
       FIGS. 2   a  to  2   c  are side elevation views of the base in accordance with the invention showing various positions of a locking lever and partly cut away to show a notch pin;  
       FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the base in accordance with the invention;  
       FIG. 4   a  is a side elevation view of a post of lumber notched by the invention (exaggerated for illustration);  
       FIG. 4   b  is a perspective view of the post of  FIG. 4   a;    
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the base being installed on a wood deck;  
       FIG. 6  is a side elevation view, partly sectioned, showing the nail entry position into the base through a wood deck;  
       FIG. 7  is a similar view to  FIG. 5  showing the base being installed on a concrete deck;  
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention showing a post with support brackets formed integrally with the base;  
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing a pair of posts according to the invention in use to support a removable barrier in the form of rails, and  
       FIG. 10  is a similar view to  FIG. 9  showing a pair of posts according to the invention in use to support a removable barrier in the form of a fence. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS WITH REFERENCE TO DRAWINGS  
      A guard rail system coupled to a base  20  in accordance with the invention is shown in  FIG. 1  assembled on a wood deck  22 . The guard rail consists of a safety fence  24  mounted on the interior side of a building under construction and braced by a support post in the form of a piece of lumber  26  disposed on the exterior side of the building. Conveniently, the piece of lumber  26  is made of soft wood such as pine and has conventional dimensions of 2 inches by 4 inches (2×4). The base  20  has an upwardly extending socket  28  which is of rectangular cross-section and is dimensioned to receive the piece of lumber  26 . It will be noted that the socket  28  is somewhat larger than the piece of lumber  26  and in this case is approximately 5 inches long.  
      As will be seen in the top plan view of  FIG. 3 , the socket  28  is formed by two pairs of opposite sides  30 ,  32  and  34 ,  36 . Between opposite sides  30 ,  32  there is a transversely extending notch pin  38  which is rotatably mounted at one end of the socket. It will be noted that the notch pin  38  is asymmetric and has a flat side  40  which is aligned with an axis of rotation for the pins  38  as indicated by reference numeral  42 . A locking lever  44  is fixed to the notch pin  38  on the exterior of the socket  28  and is adapted to rotate the notch pin  38  into and out of engagement with the piece of lumber  26  as illustrated by the drawings of  FIGS. 2   a ,  2   b  and  2   c . It will be appreciated that such rotation of the locking lever  44  as indicated by arrows  46 ,  48  will cause the notch pin to carve a notch  50  into the lumber as shown in  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  where the notch  50  is somewhat exaggerated for purposes of illustration. Simultaneously with such engagement into the lumber piece  26  of the notch pin  38 , the piece of lumber  26  will be moved downwardly as indicated by arrows  52 ,  54  so as to be seated into the socket  28 . A stop pin  55  ( FIG. 2   c ) disposed inside the socket  28  beneath the notch pin operates to limit displacement of the post  26  inside the socket. Conveniently, a viewing aperture  56  is provided in one of the sides  32  for visual inspection of the socket  28  and to ensure that the piece of lumber  26  is properly seated. The viewing aperture  56  will also operate to drain any rain water from the socket  28  thereby minimizing the likelihood of the piece of lumber  26  becoming rotten from excess moisture build up in the socket.  
      The socket  28  extends from one side of a base member and the base member is apertured to receive fasteners to secure the base to a support surface, as will be described. Conveniently, the socket  28  is formed from a tubular steel section which is welded at one end to a bottom plate extending forwardly and rearwardly from opposite sides  34 ,  36  to define a rearward wing  58  and a forward wing  60  and a closed bottom  62  for the socket  28 . Each section of the bottom plate is apertured with apertures  64 ,  66 ,  68  respectively for receiving anchors  70  to secure the base  20  according to the invention to a concrete deck  72  as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . In order to increase stability and rigidity of the base  20 , a transverse brace  74  extends between the top of the socket  28  and a forward end of the forward wing  60 . Conveniently, a security cable (not shown) may be threaded through the opening formed by the brace  74  and the socket  28  to connect a shipment of guard rail bases made in accordance with the invention and to discourage pilfering.  
      It will be observed that the locking lever  44  has a free end which is spaced from the brace  74  by a bend in the lever of sufficient width to accommodate a user&#39;s hand between the lever and the brace and socket arrangement. The rearward wing  58  spaces a nail guide identified by reference numeral  76  which is used to secure the base to a wood deck  22  as illustrated by  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The nail guide is in the form of a steel rod bent into a C-shaped configuration and having a plurality of nail guiding apertures  78  spaced from each other along the length of the rod and oriented to receive nails  80  from opposite directions so that the nails may bite into the underlying wood deck  22 . The number of nails used will in part depend on the condition of the wood deck as fewer nails would be required for a new plywood underlay, for example. The nail guiding apertures  78  are sufficiently spaced from each other that the underlying wood deck is not shredded and will continue to hold the nails as illustrated schematically in  FIG. 6 . In addition, the nail guiding apertures are oriented to receive the nails  80  at an angle of 30 to 60 degrees relative to the support surface, an angle of 45 degrees having been found to be adequate to allow the nails to penetrate into the wood and also withstand accidental prying which would loosen the guard rail base  20  from the deck. The nail guiding apertures  78  nearest to the rearward wing  58  of the bottom plate are also angled at 20° as seen in the plan view of  FIG. 3  in order to provide sufficient clearance between the nail guide  76  and the socket  28  for a hammer.  
      In most applications, eight nails will be sufficient but additional nail guiding apertures  78  are provided should the need arise to use more nails. Still further security is provided by the nail guiding apertures  78  formed in lateral nail guide portions  82 ,  84  which extend parallel to the rearward wing  58 . Conveniently, the lateral nail guide portions  82 ,  84  may be used as a carrying handle for manually carrying the base  20  at a job site.  
      In some applications, it may be desirable to use other fasteners such as wood screws instead of nails.  
      In use, pieces of lumber  26  are selected for use as bracing posts to form part of a guard rail system and are spaced around the perimeter of the building under construction. At selected locations, the base  20  made in accordance with the invention will be secured to the underlying deck using nails in the case of a wood deck or anchors in the case of a concrete deck. Once secured to the deck, a piece of lumber  26  is inserted into the receiving socket  28  and the locking lever  44  is rotated to bring the notch pin  38  into engagement with the lumber so as to secure the piece of lumber in the socket. When dismantling the guard rail, the lever  44  is rotated in the opposite direction to release the piece of lumber  26 . The base member is then released from the deck by removing the anchors  70  or the nails  80  so that the base can be reused at another location on another floor of the building or at another construction site.  
      In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a post generally indicated by reference numeral  100  in  FIG. 8  to  10  in which the socket  28  of the first described embodiment is replaced by a longitudinally extending post in the form of a tube  102  having a square cross-section and welded at one end to a base  104  in the form of a plate similar to the base  20  of the first embodiment. The base extends forwardly and rearwardly from opposite sides of the tube  102  to define a rearward wing  106  and a forward wing  108 . Each section of the base is apertured with apertures  110  to receive anchors (not shown) for securing the base  104  according to the invention to a concrete deck or alternatively to a plywood underlay  112  as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . In order to increase the stability and rigidity of the tube  102 , a transverse brace  114  extends between the tube  102  and the forward wing  108 .  
      The rearward wing  106  spaces a nail guide identified by reference numeral  116  which is used to secure the base to the plywood underlay  112 . The nail guide is in the form of a steel rod bent into a C-shaped configuration and has a plurality of nail guiding apertures spaced from each other along the length of the rod and oriented to receive nails  118  from opposite directions so that the nails may bite into the underlying wood. As in the first described embodiment, the nail guiding apertures are oriented to receive the nails  118  at a preferred angle of  450  to allow the nails to penetrate into the wood and to withstand accidental prying which would loosen the guard rail base  104  from the deck. In some applications, it may be desirable to use other fasteners such as wood screws instead of nails.  
      The tube  102  defines an integral post with the base  104  for receiving and locating a transversely disposed removable barrier. In the embodiment illustrated, a pair of brackets  120  longitudinally spaced from each other along the length of the tube  102  are provided and the brackets form a U-shaped channel with the body of the tube  102 .  
      In use, as illustrated by  FIG. 9  of the accompanying drawings, lengths of lumber in the form of 2×4&#39;s may be disposed transversely between a pair of posts  100  in order to form a removable barrier. It will be noted that the brackets  120  have apertures  124  through which nails may fasten the lumber to the post  100 .  
      Alternatively, the barrier may be defined by a fence panel  126 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 10 , three posts  100  in accordance with the invention are shown supporting a pair of fence panels  126  between them in an overlapping fashion.  
      It will be understood that several variations may be made to the above-described preferred embodiment of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.