Abstract:
A toeboard for a raised working platform advantageously cooperates with known construction systems to simplify securement and allow efficient setup. Each toeboard has connectors at either end of an elongate body member. Each connector has two fingers extending in a manner to intersect with a longitudinal axis of the elongate member. The connectors at opposite ends of the elongate body have an opposite orientation of said fingers where the fingers of one connector are 180 degrees out of alignment with the fingers of the other connector. This arrangement allows toeboards to connect easily in an end to end manner as well as in a perpendicular manner.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to scaffolding systems and in particular, to toeboard systems used to provide perimeter protection about a raised working surface.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     One of the main purposes of scaffolding is to provide a safe raised working surface used during the construction, repair or maintenance of a structure. Once the raised platform reaches a certain height, it is recommended or required that the working surface have a toeboard or restraint system to reduce the possibility of tools or material on the work platform accidentally being forced off the platform. As can be appreciated, many tools and/or materials can present a serious hazard if they fall from a platform and strike a person on the ground or on any lower work surface.  
         [0003]     Many toeboard systems are merely of a wooden two by six fabricated construction while other toeboard systems are specifically designed to engage and be received in slots of upright members of the scaffolding system. Such integrated systems have not been readily accepted, probably due to the difficulty in using the system and the substantial increase in cost in manufacture of the uprights.  
         [0004]     The present invention provides a toeboard system which is easy to use and takes advantage of the existing features of the common scaffolding systems for effective securement of the toeboard to the scaffolding system.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     A toeboard for a raised working platform according to the present invention comprises an elongate member with connectors at opposite ends thereof with these connectors extending in line with and beyond the elongate body member. Each connector has two adjacent fingers at the free end thereof and the fingers extend in a manner to intersect with a longitudinal axis of the elongate member. The connectors at opposite ends of the elongate member have an opposite orientation with the fingers one connector orientated in a first direction and the fingers of the opposite connector orientated in a direction 180 degrees to the first direction.  
         [0006]     According to an aspect of the invention, the outermost finger of each connector is offset relative to the adjacent finger of the connector such that the outermost finger is located to one side of the other finger.  
         [0007]     According to a further aspect of the invention the elongate body is made of a metal and is generally L-shaped in cross section. This L-shape is defined by an upright portion and a foot portion.  
         [0008]     In yet a further aspect of the invention, the connector is a metal plate secured to the upright portion on the side thereof above the foot portion.  
         [0009]     In yet a further aspect of the invention, each connector terminates within a height dimension of the upright portion.  
         [0010]     In yet a further aspect of the invention, the outermost finger is shorter than the inner finger.  
         [0011]     In yet a further aspect of the invention, the elongate body has a series of securing holes spaced in the length thereof and these securing holes are used for engaging the toeboard during lifting thereof.  
         [0012]     The present invention is also directed to a toeboard system used to provide perimeter protection about a working platform. The toeboard system comprises a series of connected toeboards where each toeboard comprises an elongate body member with connectors at opposite ends thereof. Each connector extends in line with and beyond the elongate body member with two adjacent fingers at the free end thereof. These fingers extend in a manner to intersect with the longitudinal axis of the respective elongate member. The connectors at opposite ends of each elongate body have an opposite orientation with the fingers of one connector orientated in a first direction and the fingers at the opposite connector orientated in the opposite direction. Each toeboard is connected to adjacent toeboards due to engagement of the connectors of adjacent toeboards.  
         [0013]     In yet a further aspect of the invention, the toeboards of the system are connected one to the other such that cooperating connectors of the toeboard are interengaged and the interengaged connectors are positioned in a gap between a wedge member and upright support member of the scaffolding system.  
         [0014]     In yet a further aspect of the invention, the toeboard system has the toeboards connecting in an end to end manner using the outermost fingers of the connector and the innermost fingers are used for connection of toe boards at an intercept angle one to the other. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, wherein:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the scaffolding system with two defined working surfaces;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a toeboard used as part of the toeboard system;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a top view of a toeboard;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the toeboard;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a partial perspective view showing connection of two toeboards at a scaffold support member where the toeboards are aligned one with the other;  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  shows the connection of two toeboards at a right angle corner;  
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is a partial perspective view showing the right angled toeboards and the upright support standard;  
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is a view of a corner connection similar to  FIG. 7 ;  
         [0024]      FIG. 9  is a partial perspective view of the toeboard system with an additional safety gate as part of the scaffolding system;  
         [0025]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a safety gate and a connected swinging toeboard; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a swinging portion of the safety gates;  
         [0027]      FIG. 12   a  is a perspective view of an “L” shaped securing bracket; and  
         [0028]      FIG. 12   b  is a perspective view of an alternate securing bracket. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]     Scaffolding systems such as the system  2  shown in  FIG. 1 , are used for the construction, repair and maintenance of buildings, bridges or other structures which are accessed by means of a raised work surface  10 .  
         [0030]     The specific scaffolding system  2  shown in the Figures, is formed by connecting a series of standards  4  to form the upright members of the scaffolding system and these standards are connected one to another by a series of horizontal ledgers  6 . Diagonal bracing can also be provided. The raised work surface  10  is defined by the manufactured planks  12  which extend to and are supported by the ledgers  6 . The standards  4  include a series of rosettes  8  which are at fixed positions on the standards  4  for connecting with the ledgers  6 . As shown in FIG.  7 , the ledger  6  has a connector  9  which is positioned either side of the rosette  8  and a wedge connector  11  passes through one of the series of ports  15  in the rosette to secure the ledger  6  to the standard 4. Each ledger is connected to a rosette in a similar manner. The wedge  11  is spaced slightly outwardly of the standard 4 and the toeboards will advantageously make use of the gap between the wedge  11  and the standard 4 for securing of the toeboard about the perimeter of the work surface  10 .  
         [0031]     Details of the toeboard are shown in  FIG. 2 . The toeboard  20  has a connector  28  at one end thereof and an oppositely orientated connector  30  at the opposite end of the toeboard. The elongate body of the toeboard is defined by the upright portion  54  in combination with the foot portion  56  and the reinforcing channel  58 . The elongate body has a generally L-shaped cross section and is preferably made of metal. Each of the connectors  28  and  30  are secured to the upright portion  54  using rivets or other fasteners  50 .  
         [0032]     The connectors  28  and  30  are the same connector but have opposite orientations. Each connector has a connecting plate  34  used to secure the connector to the upright portion  54  and an outer finger  36  and an inner finger  38  positioned beyond the upright portion  54 . The outer finger  36  is slightly offset from the plate by means of the bend  44  as shown in  FIG. 2 . The outer finger  36  and the inner finger  38  have a slot  40  therebetween which is used to secur two toeboards in an end to end manner as shown in  FIG. 1 . Inner finger  38  cooperates with the connecting plate  34  to define a further connecting slot  42 . This slot is used for connecting toeboards in a perpendicular manner or in an intersecting manner.  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , toeboard  20  is of a longer length than the toeboard  22 . The scaffolding system  2  has one dimension for positioning standards  4  and in a direction perpendicular the first direction, the standards are positioned at a different spacing. Scaffolding systems of the type shown in  FIG. 1  have standard modular dimensions. Two different spacings are used and two different sized toeboards are used. With the toeboard as shown in  FIG. 2 , the only difference between the long toeboards and the short toeboards is the length of the elongate body portion. The connectors will be the same. The toeboards will be of a length such that the space between the two securing slots  40  of a toeboard are such that they will align with the center of the upright standards. Typically, the modular spacing in length and width are multiples. For example, the width could be one third or one half of the length of the module.  
         [0034]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the outer slots  40  are used to connect the two toeboards such that these toeboards connect generally on the center of the standard 4. The connecting plates due to the offset and due to the opposite orientation of the connecting plates interconnect and form an overlapping non pivotting finger type connection. In addition the plates are trapped between the standard 4 and the wedge  11  of the ledger  6 . With this arrangement, the toeboards are connected one to the other and the elongate body portions of the connected toeboards are positioned either side of the standard 4. Each foot of the toeboard overlaps with the working surface  10  and is partially supported on this surface. Any gap between the work plank  12  and the ledger which would be parallel to this plank, is covered by means of the foot portion  56 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 6  shows the connection of the toeboards at an end of the work surface  10 . As can be appreciated from a review of  FIG. 6 , the connection point of the toeboard is at an inner edge of the standard 4 and is not on a centerline as would be the case with respect to  FIG. 5 . For this inside connection, the inner fingers  38  are used and the connecting slot  42 . With this arrangement, the outer finger  36  of each of the connecting brackets extends across the face of the standard 4 and is trapped between a wedge  11  and the standard 4 as shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 8  also shows how on one side of the standard 4 wedge  11   a  traps the connecting bracket between the wedge and the standard 4 and the other connecting plate is trapped between wedge  11   b  and the standard 4. Thus, the system for mechanically securing the ledgers  6  to the rosettes is also used to retain the connecting plates of the toeboards adjacent the standard.  
         [0037]     Although the system has been described with respect to the two securing slots with the outer slots used for end to end connection and the inner slots used for an angled connection, there may be circumstances where the spacing between the standard is slightly off or there may be slight damage to one of the toeboards or combination thereof such that the connection is made by means of the other slot. In all cases, the overall length of the toeboards and connector for their respective insertion between spacing of the standards is such that the toeboards are of a slightly greater length to effect overlapping with these standards.  
         [0038]      FIGS. 9, 10  and  11  show a specialized standard 4a and a safety gate  80 . The standard 4a includes a lower securing connector  70  for fastening of the standard to the ledger  6 . As can be appreciated, the standard 4A is to the outside of the connected ledger  6  and the ledger  6  directly thereabove. The standard 4a includes a saddle type bracket  82  which sits on the upper ledger  6 . Immediately above the saddle bracket  82 , the special ledger  4   a  has a bend  84  which merges with a further upright portion  86 . The bend  84  brings upright portion  86  in line with the other standards. The safety bracket  80  includes standard wedge connectors  88  for securing of the safety gate to the rosettes  8 .  
         [0039]     The opposite side of the safety gate  80  is connected to the corner standard 4 using the rosettes  8  thereof and connectors  88  of the safety gate. The toeboard  22  is connected in a slot  83  of the saddle bracket  82 . This slot  83  will either take the bottom edge of the connector or the innermost finger of the connector. The safety gate  80  has two L-shaped brackets  90  extending between the connectors  88  with each bracket  90  having a fixed stopped plate  92  secured thereto. The safety gate is defined by two swinging portions  94  and  96 . Each of these swinging portions swing inwardly and cannot swing outwardly as they are stopped by the plates  92 . The gates have a spring loaded pivot arrangement with the brackets  90  such that they are biased to the closed position as shown. The swing gate is also reversible by rotating the gate 180 degrees to allow opening in the opposite direction. This ability for opposite orientation is required as the work platform could be to the opposite side.  
         [0040]     Extending downwardly from each of the swinging portions  94  and  96  are two tubular members  98  which support a swinging toeboard  104 . The height of the swinging toeboards  104  is determined by the extent that members  98  extend downwardly from the respective swinging portions  94  and  96 . Each of the downwardly extending members  98  have a series of holes  120  cooperating with ports  122  in tube slots  108  of each swinging portion  94  and  96  such that these members can be secured close to the working surface  10  but slightly thereabove to allow inward swinging movement. With the gate in the closed position, the toeboards  104  form a perimeter block below the safety gate.  
         [0041]      FIG. 10  shows a pin and latch member  126  which passes through ports  122  in square uprights  128  of each swinging portion and through an appropriate hole  120  in tubular members  98 . The lower portion of the square tubes  128  are shown in  FIG. 10  as being transparent, such that the adjustable securement of tube members  98  is more easily understood. In this way, the toeboard  104  is easily adjusted in height and is free to swing over the working surface  10 . Ports  122  are also provided on the upper ends of square uprights  128  as each swing portion is reversible in a vertical plane. The connectors  88  can also be rotated 180 degrees such that the captured latch wedge  130  will engage a rosette by being driven downwardly.  
         [0042]     The hinge of each swinging portion  94  or  96  is defined by the tube member  132  and  134  fixed to the stop plate  92  and an axle rod  136  captured at either end by the swinging portion. This axle rod  136  passes through the tube members  132  and  134  and forms a hinge therewith. A helical spring  138  is sleeved on the axle rod  136  in the gap between the tube members  132  and  134 . End  140  of the helical spring is secured to the swinging portion  96  and spring end  142  is secured to the stop plate  92 .  
         [0043]      FIGS. 12   a  and  12   b  show two arrangements for fastening of the swinging portions  94  or  96  to an upright of a scaffolding system.  FIG. 12   a  shows the ‘L’ shaped bracket  90  securable to the stop plate  92  of  FIG. 11  using the bolt and net fasteners  150 . This bracket includes the rotatable captured wedge connectors  88 .  FIG. 12   b  shows a clamp connector  160  having two clamp members  162  of a traditional design mechanically secured to the plate extension  164 . Plate extension  164  has two ports  166  for receiving bolt and nut fasteners  150 . Each arrangement of  FIGS. 12   a  and  12   b  secure to the stop plate  92  shown in  FIG. 11 .  
         [0044]     Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.