An Improved Portable Scaffold for the use of Decorators and others.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Apr., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 28th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 3rd Dec., 1892.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Portable Scaffold for the use of Decorators and
others.
I, GEORGE AYLING, of Wisborough Green, Billingshurst in the County of
Sussex, Builder and Contractor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention relates to an improved portable scaffold designed to be used by
decorators and others instead of the trestles and planks heretofore usually
employed.
In carrying out my invention I employ two pairs of detachable legs or standards
and upon each pair of legs I arrange a sliding frame adapted to be adjusted in any
desirable position upon the legs according to the height of the scaffold and to
support the plank or planks of the scaffold.
In practice the legs of the scaffold are made somewhat of a wedge shape and the
apertures in the frames through which the said legs slide are of a corresponding
shape so that, when set screws placed in the outside of the frame are tightened, the
latter will be firmly fixed relatively to the legs.
The plank or planks when in use is or are connected to the supporting frames by
means of hinge or other joints and the end supports and plank or planks are retained
in their proper relative positions by means of struts connected to the frames and to
the plank or planks. In order to give great steadiness I sometimes provide a tie
or ties between the two frames.
To permit of readily mounting the scaffold I provide steps which are adjustable
upon the legs.
When it is desired to move the scaffold the legs can be readily withdrawn from
the frames and the frames themselves may be detached from the plank or in the
case of a single plank folded down upon the same by means of the hinged joint.
Dated the 8th day of April 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Portable Scaffold for the use of Decorators and
others.
I, GEORGE AYLING, of Wisborough Green Billingshurst, in the County of
Sussex, Builder and Contractor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to an improved portable scaffold designed to be used by
decorators and others instead of the trestles and planks heretofore usually
employed.
In carrying out my invention I employ two pairs of detachable legs or standards
and upon each pair of legs 1 arrange a sliding frame adapted to be adjusted in any
desirable position upon the legs according to the height of the scaffold and to
support the plank or planks of the scaffold.
In practice the legs of the scaffold are advantageously made circular in cross
section and the apertures in the sliding frames through which the said legs slide are
formed of segments of two circles the larger portions of which allow the legs of the

page_text: scaffold to move freely therein when adjusting or removing the frames, while the
smaller portions fit the legs of the scaffold, so that when set screws placed in
the outside of the frame are tightened, the latter will be firmly fixed relatively to
the legs.
The plank or planks when in use is or are connected to the supporting frames by
means of hinge or other joints and the plank or planks has or have additional
support by means of struts connected to the frames and to the plank or planks. In
order to give great steadiness I sometimes provide a tie or ties between the two
frames.
To permit of readily mounting the scaffold I provide steps which are adjustable
upon the legs.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how it can
be carried into practical effect by reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which :-
Figures 1 and 2 are a side and end elevation respectively of a portable scaffold
constructed according to my invention and provided with a single plank.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the sliding supporting frames and
Figure 4 is a plan of the said frame.
Figures 5 and 6 are a side and end elevation respectively of a portion of the
scaffold with the plank hinged to the supporting frames, and
Figure 7 is a section on the line 7 7 Figure 5.
Figures 8, 9 and 10 are a plan, a longitudinal section and a transverse section
respectively of a detail relating to Figures 5, 6 and 7.
Figure 11 is a view illustrating the arrangement of three planks on my scaffold.
Figures 12 and 13 are an elevation and a transverse section respectively illus
trating one of the adjustable steps.
Figures 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are drawn to larger scales than Figures 1, 2, 3,
5, 6 and 7.
Similar reference letters indicate similar or corresponding parts throughout the
drawings.
c, c are
a, a, a, a, are the legs or standards and b, b the sliding frames thereon.
the screws for fixing the frames in position on the legs a, a, a, a, which legs are
advantageously circular in cross section. d, d, Figure 4, are the apertures in the
frames b, b, through which the legs pass the said apertures being of the shape shewn,
that is to say, of the form of segments of two circles. The larger portions of the
apertures d, d allow the legs a, a, a, a to move freely therein when adjusting_or
removing the frames b, b whilst the legs are caused to fit tightly in the smaller
portions of the apertures when the screws c, c are tightened.
In Figures 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 a single plank e supported on the frames 6, b is shewn,
while. in Figure 11 three planks are shewn, but it will be obvious that two or other
convenient number may be employed.
The planks e, e may be connected to the frames b, as shewn in Figures 1, 2
and 11, by being gripped thereon by a bar fhinged at one side of the plank as at f¹
and held by a screw g, the said screw being preferably formed with an enlargement
at its lower end to prevent its withdrawal from the nut into which it screws.
Figure 11 the middle plank is maintained in position between the other two without
a fastening.
In
Instead of the arrangement just described for fixing the planks, they may be
hinged to the frames as shewn in Figures 5, 6 and 7 the portion of the hinge which
embraces the hinge pin being left open so that when the legs a, a, a, a are with-
drawn from the frame by moving the said frame in the direction of the arrow
Figure 5 it will be moved into a position whereby it can be detached if required
from the said pin h or folded against the plank.
In the arrangement shewn in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the planks are additionally
supported by means of struts i, i hinged to the frames b, band connected at their
free ends to the said frames by chains j, j. In Figures 5 and 6 a single strut is
used, the said strut being fixed at one end to the frame b while the other end is

page_text: provided with a dove tailed block k, Figure 10, carrying a screw 1, the said block
being designed to engage a correspondingly shaped recess in a shoe m, Figures 5, 6,
8, 9 and 10, fixed to the plank e so that the strut can be fixed to the said plank.
I sometimes as shewn in Figure 1, provide a tie n (or ties) connecting the two
frames b, b thereby giving the scaffold great steadiness. And when using such tie
or ties one strut only is required arranged on the inner sides of the frames b, b.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that when it is desired to move the
scaffold the legs can be readily withdrawn from the frames and the frames them-
selves may be detached from the plank or folded down upon the same by means of
the hinged joint.
o, o are the steps which I employ for mounting the scaffold. These steps as
shewn most clearly in Figures 12 and 13 are advantageously formed of a triangular
frame the lower and upper portions of which have side extensions p, p and 9, 1'
respectively adapted to partly embrace the leg of the scaffold. Each step is firmly
secured to the leg by suitable means such as by the device shewn in the said
figures, which device comprises a lever hinged to the extension and a chain s
which passes round the leg a and is connected at one end to the extension g¹ and at
the other end to the lever near its fulcrum by a ring s¹. With this arrangement
it will be seen that by moving the lever r from the position shewn in dotted lines in
Figure 13 to that shewn in full lines, the chains will be caused to firmly grip the
leg a and hold the step in position. To maintain the lever r in the said latter
position a ring t hinged to the extension ql is provided, which ring is moved over
the end of the lever r as shewn.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. A portable scaffold comprising legs or standards and sliding frames adapted to
be adjusted and secured upon the said legs and a plank or planks fixed to or adapted
to be fixed to the said frames, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated
in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
2. The arrangements for fixing the planks to the frames as hereinbefore described
and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 and Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the
accompanying drawings.
3. The improved steps for mounting scaffolds constructed substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 12 and 13 of the accompanying
drawings.
4. The combination of parts forming the improved portable scaffolds hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 28th day of October 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.