Patent Publication Number: US-6908075-B1

Title: Safety railing system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/378,296, filed May 6, 2002, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a system that provides one or more horizontally extending safety rails adjacent to a top plate in conventional framing construction, allowing workers to stand on the top plate adjacent to the rails, without unduly interfering with roof framing. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   During the framing phase of construction, exterior walls are built over a flat surface such as the first story floor or concrete slab, then raised and braced in the upright position. Exterior wall sheathing may be applied before or after raising the wall. Similarly, completely or partially prefabricated walls may be set and braced in the upright position, prior to framing of the roof. Roof framing can be by trusses or “stick framing” which includes setting the rafters. Typically workers perform much of the roof framing work (fastening the trusses/rafters to the top plates of the wall and installation of blocking between the trusses/ rafters) while standing on the top plate. This exposes the worker to a fall hazard to both the inside and outside of the wall. 
   Roof-mounted lifeline fall protection systems do not provide adequate structural strength until after the roof understructure has been cross-braced and sheathed. Other possible fall protection systems, such as masonry scaffold or exterior wall-supported scaffold, can be costly and time consuming to set up. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a fall protection system usable during roof framing. The system provides one or more safety railings above and to the outside of the top plate. In one aspect of the invention, upright stanchions with supports for removable rails have bottom end portions supported on brackets that, in turn, are secured to the wall framing. The brackets can be easily installed on the wall framing by fasteners that attach the brackets to the wall studs from the inside of the wall. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing and other aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic top perspective of a safety railing system in accordance with the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged top perspective of components of the safety railing system of  FIG. 1 , with some parts shown in exploded relationship. 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevation of components of the safety railing system in accordance with the present invention, with the parts assembled. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   With reference to  FIG. 1 , a framed and raised wall W has uniformly, laterally spaced upright studs  10  and a horizontal top plate  12  (in this case, a double top plate) supported on the upper ends of the studs. The safety railing system of the present invention is supported from the studs and top plate. As described in more detail below with reference to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the components of the present invention include: bottom brackets  14  secured to the studs at the inside of the wall; upright stanchions  16  supported on the brackets  14 ; and horizontal rails  18  supported on the stanchions  16 . 
   With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , each of the brackets  14  has a U-shaped lower or base portion  20  with opposite upright sides  22  and an inside web  24  connecting the sides. The sides  22  and web  24  embrace the opposite sides and the inside face of a single stud  10  near its top. The bracket  14  is secured to the stud, such as by  16   d  nails. For this purpose, the sides  22  can be provided with holes  26 . Double-headed nails can be used so that the bracket  14  is more easily removable following completion of any part of the construction which requires that a worker stand on the top plate  12 . 
   The web  24  extends upward to a horizontal plate  28 . Plate  28  fits flush on the top plate  12  and extends horizontally outward therefrom. A support member  30  has a horizontal portion  32  secured beneath the outward extending plate  28 . The inner end of the support member horizontal portion  32  preferably is spaced outward from the exterior side of the stud  10 . An outside upright plate  36  extends downward from the horizontal plate  28 , close alongside the outer face of the stud  10 . A triangular gusset  38  reinforces the connection of the outside plate  36  with the horizontal segment  32  of the support  30 . 
   From its horizontal segment  32 , the support  30  has an angled segment  40  leading to a short upright segment or stub  42 . The upright stub is secured to or fits within a sleeve  44  which forms an upward opening socket for the lower portion of a stanchion  16  of the railing system. The bottom end of the stanchion fits within the socket in a snug, sliding fit, and the stanchion extends essentially vertically upward therefrom. A short stop flange  46  can be provided on the lower end of the stanchion to limit its insertion into the sleeve  44 . The stanchion carries angle brackets or supports  50  including bottom sections  52  and outside upright sections  54 . The preferred support  50  is mounted on the outside of the stanchion as shown at the right of  FIG. 3 , but inside brackets and rails could be provided instead. Long rails  18  fit in the supports  50 . The width of each support  50  is sufficient to receive overlapping end portions where one rail end fits alongside an end portion of another rail. In an alternative embodiment, the brackets can be of sufficient depth (vertically) to receive both end portions, one on top of the other, rather than side by side. 
   The composite supports of the railing system can be spaced along a wall during framing, either before or after the wall has been raised, and either before or after installation of the wall sheathing. The supports can be spaced approximately 8 feet apart. In a representative embodiment, the horizontal railings were standard 2×4 stock; the brackets  14 , plates  28  and  36  and gusset  38  all were {fraction (3/16)} inch mild steel plate; the support bar  30  and stanchions  16  were solid 1 inch mild steel square tube; the sleeves  44  were ⅛ inch square tube; and the brackets  50  were ¼ inch mild steel plate. The parts were secured together by welding. 
   The base component can be manufactured in several sizes to accommodate any top plate dimension. Consequently, the stanchions can be used with multiple base components. The telescoping connection of the stanchions to the base components allows easy set up, reduced bulk in shipping, and replacement of damaged components without scrapping an entire composite unit. Attachment of the base component or bracket  14  to a stud, in combination with the outside upright plate  36  and gusset  38  provides substantial rigidity and assists in transferring force applied to the rails and stanchions to the top plate and wall stud. The use of two angle bends, i.e., the angled segment  40  between the horizontal support  32  and vertical stub  42 , has a shock absorbing capability that reduces stress and allows the component to deflect when a force is applied to the guard rail, thus reducing structural damage or rail failure. 
   The system of the present invention will not substantially interfere with installation of exterior wall sheathing, siding, etc. All components can be conveniently removed when the railing is no longer needed, usually after roof trusses have been installed. If necessary, one or more sections of stanchions and railings can be detached to allow entrance or movement of framing materials, followed by quick and easy deployment of those sections for safety. 
   While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.