GB2430461A - Safety Platform Assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A safety platform assembly comprises two base units 1 2 and a bridging member 3 for spanning the gap between the base units when the base units are placed in a spaced apart relationship on an underlying supporting surface. The base units and bridging member have complementary interlocking connectors which, in use, engage each other to prevent the bridging member from being horizontally removed from each base member. The assembly is thus relatively safe since lateral forces on the assembly will not tend to detach the bridging member from either base unit. Handrails and kickboards may be provided.

Description

1 2430461 Title: Safety Platform Assembly

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a safety platform assembly and to a base unit and a bridging member therefor.

Background to the Invention

The invention is particularly applicable to the construction industry, in which there is a widely felt need for a low-level platform assembled from portable components. The provision a platform at height of 0.5 to 1 meters above a support surface (e.g. a floor) greatly facilitates the work of various workers in the construction industry, including installers of dry liners, plasters, decorators, plumbers, electricians and bricklayers, as the platform would enable the worker to reach the top of most interior walls in a building. This need has in the past been met by various improvised "hop ups" such as plastic milk bottle crates, a single board on two blocks stood on their edges, or a structure formed from nailed together pieces of wood.

The known types of improvised platform can be unstable and/or prone to collapse, as a result of which many injuries are caused by personnel falling from such arrangements.

Summary of the Invention

According to the invention, there is provided a safety platform assembly comprising two base units and a bridging member for spanning the gap between the base units when the latter are placed in a spaced apart relationship on an underlying supporting surface, wherein the base units and bridging member have complementary interlocking connectors which, in use, engage each other to prevent the bridging member from being horizontally removed from each base member.

The connecting members provide a structure which is relatively safe since lateral forces on the assembly will not tend to detach the bridging member from either base unit, whilst also providing an arrangement which can be far more readily assembled and disassembled than, for example, a wooden structure held together by nails.

Preferably, the connectors are so arranged that they can be brought into engagement with each other by lowering the bridging member onto the base units and disengaged by raising the bridge member from the base units.

This feature greatly facilitates the assembling and dismantling of the assembly.

Preferably, each base unit is free standing.

This ensures that the assembly is relatively stable.

Preferably, the connectors comprise male and female connectors which matingly engage each other.

Preferably, each female connector includes a shoulder for supporting the bridging member on the base units. Such a shoulder could be provided on the underside of the bridging member, immediately above a respective female connector, but the female connectors are preferably provided on the base units so that said shoulder is at the bottom of the female connector.

With this arrangement, the user's view of the connectors is not blocked by the shoulder while the user is lowering the bridging member into place. Thus the user can easily properly align the base unit and bridging member while lowering the latter into position.

In order to prevent horizontal movement of the bridging member relative to the base units, the male and female connectors may conveniently be tapered or dovetailed.

Alternatively, the male connectors may comprise headed protuberances, the female connectors having a complementary shape, or the male and female connectors may be any other shape which defines the space between the male connector and the adjacent edge of the bridging member into which space a portion of the base unit extends in the assembled arrangement.

Preferably, each base unit has a polygonal platform portion which, with the platform assembled, is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the bridging member. Thus the platform portion and said upper surface can form a Continuous composite platform so that the bridging member does not need to extend across the whole of the upper surface of the base unit. This, in turn, reduces the required size of bridging member needed to provide a given surface area of platform.

Preferably, the platform portion is spaced from the edge of the base unit, thereby to define a ledge on which, in use, a bridging unit rests.

This helps to improve stability of the structure, and reduces or removed any bending load on the connectors.

Preferably, the connecting members are provided on two or more sides of the base unit.

This allows the base unit to engage two or more bridging members so that three or more base units can be used with two or more bridging members to provide an extended platform assembly.

Preferably, each base unit has connectors on at least three sides, to allow multiple base units and bridging members to be connected together to form a platform defined by an extensive two dimensional grid.

For example, the base units may be four sided with connecting members on all four sides so that a platform having a right angled grid structure can be assembled.

The platform assembly may to advantage include a base unit having a step at a height intermediate that of the platform portion and a support surface on which the base unit is placed.

This makes it easier for a user to climb onto or to get off the platform.

The intermediate step may conveniently be detachable from its base unit.

The base units are preferably stackable, and to that end may be hollow and tapered from bottom to top.

Preferably, the platform assembly includes a handrail assembly detachably mountable on the bridging member.

In this case, the bridging member may conveniently include one or more apertures for receiving one or more posts of the handrail assembly.

The platform assembly may to advantage include a kickboard attached, in use, to the lower region of the handrail assembly.

The invention also lies in a base unit or a bridging member for said platform assembly.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of an assembled safety platform formed from an assembly in accordance with the invention, the assembly comprising two base units separated by a bridging member; Figures 2 and 3 are respective side and plan elevations of one of the base units; Figures 4 and 5 are views, corresponding to Figures 2 and 3 of the other of the base units; Figures 6 and 7 are respective plan and side elevations of the bridging member; Figure 8 is a plan view of an enlarged version of the assembly, also in accordance with the invention, formed from four bridging members and four base units; Figure 9 is a plan view of a modified type of bridging member and part of a corresponding modified type of base unit; Figure 10 is a side elevation of the bridging member of Figure 9; Figures 11 and 12 are respective front and end elevations of a handrail assembly for the platform assemblies shown in the preceding figures; Figure 13 shows various components of handrail assembly, when the latter is dismantled; Figure 14 shows the handrail assembly in place on platform assembly; Figure 15 is a plan view of four handrail assemblies connected together; Figure iSA is a plan view of four handrail assemblies connected together in a generally s- shaped formation and a plan view of a correspondingly shaped platform to which the handrail assemblies may be attached; Figure 16 is a side view of a base unit of a further embodiment of safety platform in accordance with the invention, Figures 17 and 18 being sectional views taken along the lines A-A and B-B respectively of Figure 16; Figures 19 and 20 are respectively plan and isometric views of the base unit of the further embodiment; Figure 21 is an isometric view showing two such base units stacked together; Figure 22 is a rear view of a detachable step for use with the base unit of the further embodiment; Figure 23 is a side view of the step; Figure 24 is a section along the line A-A of Figure 22; Figure 25 is a plan view of the step; Figure 26 is an isometric view of the step. ; Figure 27 is a plan view of a bridging member of the further embodiment; Figures 28 and 29 are sectional views taken along the lines A-A and B-B respectively of Figure 27; Figures 30 and 31 are respective end and side views of the bridging member; Figure 32 is a more detailed view of part of the bridging member; and Figures 33 and 34 are isometric views, respectively of the underside and top, of the bridging member.

Detailed Description

With reference to Figure 1, the components of a safety platform assembly in accordance with the invention are formed from a suitable plastics material by process of plastic pressure moulding, and comprise two base units 1 and 2 which are, in use, placed on a supporting surface in a spaced relationship, and releasably support a flat bridging member 3 which spans the gap between the two base units I and 2.

With reference to Figures 2 and 3, base unit 2 is formed as an integral plastics moulding, and has four side walls 4, 6, 8 and 10 extending up from the base of the unit 2. At each end of the side walls there is provided a respective foot, for example the feet 12 and 14 in the wall 6, on which, in use, the base unit stands on the supporting surface. It will be appreciated that the foot 14 adjoins a perpendicular foot in the bottom of the side wall 8, that a similar perpendicular foot in the bottom side wall 4 adjoins the foot 12 and that this arrangement is mirrored in the other side of the base unit 2. The overall height of the base unit 2 is 500mm, but the base is provided with an intermediate step 16 at the top of the wall 8, the step 16 being at height of 250mm from the base of the feet 12 and 14. This step helps a user to climb up or down from the platform defined by the assembly.

The step 16 leads to a further side wall 17. The walls 4, 6, 8, 10 and 17 are all inclined in such a way that base unit 2 is tapered, the bottom of the base unit 2 being wider than its top.

This enables one such unit to placed over a similar base unit so that the two units nest together, so that a number of those units can be readily formed into a stack.

At the top of the base unit 2 there is provided a square platform portion 18 which, in the assembled platform, is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the bridging member 3. With the exception of the side adjacent the step 16, each of the sides of the platform portion 18 has a respective pair of dovetailed female connectors, referenced 20-25 in Figure 3. Each of the side walls 6 and 10 also includes a recess portion, such as portion 26 in the wall 6, which acts as a handle to facilitate carrying and positioning of the base unit.

At the base of each of the dovetailed female connectors 20-25 there is provided a respective shoulder 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38. The shoulders provide support for bridging members when the latter are attached to the base unit.

The base unit 1 is shown in more detail in Figures 4 and 5 and has many features identical to the corresponding features of the base unit 2. These features are denoted by the reference numerals used in Figures 2 and 3, raised by 100. In this case, however, there is no intermediate step so that wall 117 extends for the full height of the base unit 1. Additional female dovetailed connectors 140 and 142 with associated shoulders 144 and 146 are provided in the side of the platform portion 118 at the top of the wall 117.

Each of the female connectors is of a shape which complements that of each of four male connectors at the ends of the bridging member 3. With references to Figures 6 and 7, the male connectors are denoted by the reference numerals 158-161, and are arranged in pairs, one at each respective end of platform 3. The spacing between the members of each pair of male connectors, and the spacing between each adjacent pair of female connectors is the same. The rest of the member 3 takes the form of a flat rectangular plate which includes through bores 162 and 164 for accepting a handrail assembly (described below).

The upper surface of the bridging member 3 and the platform portion 18 have a lattice like pattern to improve the grip between those surfaces and a user's footwear.

In order to assemble the platform, the user first positions the base units I and 2 at a distance corresponding the length of the bridging member 3, and aligns the base units I and 2. The user then lowers the bridging member 3 down onto the base units 1 and 2 with the male connectors 159-161 each is registry with a respective female connector. The male and female connectors have a constant section in plan (i.e. are not vertically tapered) so that the male connectors simply slot into the female connectors as the bridging member is lowered until the male connectors abut the shoulders at the bases of the female connectors. The dovetailed shape of the connectors results in them interlocking so that the platform 3 cannot be pulled horizontally out of engagement with either of the base units 1 and 2. As a result, the platform formed from the assembly is of a robust and stable construction. However, the platform can be easily disassembled simply by lifting the bridging member 3 from the base units 1 and 2.

Since the platform portions on the tops of the base units 1 and 2 form part of the platform surface, the assembly yields a relatively large area of platform for a given length of bridging member.

In addition, the provision of connectors on at least two sides of the base units enables larger platform assemblies to be created from a larger number of base units and bridging units. For example, Figure 8 shows a square configuration of platform formed from the base unit 2, the base unit I and two further base units 200 and 201 identical to the base unit 1. All the base units are arranged at the corners of a square, and are connected together by four bridging members, the bridging member 3 and three identical bridging members 202, 203 and 204.

Thus the platform assembly provides a relatively extensive square shaped platform which is particularly useful if work needs to be done on extensive overhead areas, for example on a ceiling. Since the base units have spare female connectors on the sides not abutted by bridging units, further bridging units can be attached to these connectors (and supported by further base units) to give an even more extensive platform structure, for example in the shape of a right angled grid.

The components of the embodiment of assembly shown in Figure 9 are identical in many respects to the corresponding components of the assemblies shown in Figure 1-8, and like parts are indicated by the reference numerals of the corresponding components raised by 300. Thus, in this case, the bridging unit is denoted by reference numeral 303 whilst base unit denoted by reference numeral 301.

Instead of dovetailed connectors, however, this embodiment has connectors in the form of headed protuberances from the bridging member 303 which extend into corresponding recesses in the base unit 301. Since the headed protuberances are identical only one will be described. The protuberance 458 comprises a cylindrical head 466 mounted at the end of a metal neck 468. The headed promberances and complementary recesses interact in a similar fashion to the dovetailed connectors of the other embodiment.

As has been mentioned above, the bridging members have holes for accepting a handrail assembly. An example of such an assembly is shown in Figure 11, and comprises two end posts 500 and 502 which support upper and lower horizontal bars 504 and 506. Towards the lower end of each post 500 and 502 there is provided a respective collar 508 and 510 which supports the handrail assembly on the bridging member with the lower ends of the posts (the ends extending beyond the collars 508 and 510) extending into the apertures in the bridging member.

Figure 13 shows a handrail post and two different lengths of horizontal bar for the handrail assembly (enabling the assembly to be used with bridging members of differing lengths).

The Figure also shows an optional kickerboard 512 which includes apertured lugs 514 and 516 via which the board can be attached to the posts 500 and 502.

Figure 14 shows a handrail assembly with the kickerboard 512 installed on the platform assembly.

One of the components shown in Figure 13 is a 90 handrail connector, referenced 520. This takes the form of two cylindrical sockets 522 and 524 which extend at 90 to each other and include apertures 528 and 530 for fixing screws. In use, the connector fits onto the end portions of two handrails (which protrude beyond the posts which support the handrails), and are held in position by means of fixing screws. Thus the connector fixes the two handrails together at 90 to each other. Figure 15 shows four such connectors 5 13-534 which connect together four handrails 535-538 in a generally square configuration. Each of the handrails forms part of an assembly such as is shown in Figure 11, but the other components of the handrail assemblies which would be visible (notably the posts) have been omitted for the sake of clanty. In use, four handrails assemblies connected together in this way can be used on the configuration of platform shown in Figure 8. Since each handrail assembly has two handrails, one above the other, it will be connected to its neighbouring handrail assemblies by means of four connectors, so that each of the handrails of the assemblies is connected at its ends to the neighbouring handrail.

Figure 15A shows a similar arrangement of handrail assemblies but in this case there are just three handrail assemblies, connected together in a generally s-shaped configuration by means of four connectors, two of which are shown at 538 and 540. Reference numeral 542 denotes a correspondingly configured arrangement of platform formed from four base units and three bridging members.

The further embodiment, shown in Figures 16 - 34 has many features in common with the first described embodiment, and these features are denoted by reference numerals of Figure 1 -7 raised by 600.

The base and bridging units of the further embodiments are formed from super linear polyethylene, and have walls of thickness of 4.5mm.

The base units also include vertical strengthening ribs, such as the rib 800 shown in Figure 16 and recesses, such as recess 802 in the form of inverted Us in the portions of the lower walls between the corner feet of the base units.

As can be seen from the drawings, in particular Figure 19, the female connectors on the base unit (e.g. the connector 725) are generally mushroom shaped so that they co-operate with the a male connector (on the bridging unit) having a flattened head 804 (Figure 32) connected to the body of the bridging unit via a neck 804 forming part of a substantially S-shaped curved portion leading from the head 802 to the bridging unit.

The platform portion 718 is formed from a lattice array of strips, which give improved stability and strength, as well as providing good grip. The platform 718 is set back from the edge of the base unit so that there is defined a ledge 806 extending around the base unit. In use, the bridging member edge rests on this ledge which therefore provides additional support over and above that provided by the shoulders in the bottoms of the female connectors.

The base units according to the further embodiment are tapered (in the same way as the first embodiment) so that they may be stacked together as shown in Figure 21.

The base units may also be used with an intermediate step of the sort shown in Figures 22 - 26. The step has an upper surface 808 which is similar to the surface 718 and a connector 810 for releaseably connecting the step to a base unit. The connector 810 has a head 812 connected to the rest of the step through a neck 814. The step, head and neck between them define a gap in which the wall defining an inverted U-shaped recess, such as the recess 802, in the base unit is a friction fit. Thus, the step is attached to a base unit by lowering the base unit towards the step with the wall in which the U-shaped recess is defined in alignment with the neck 814 until the portion of the wall at the recess fits into the space between, and is gripped by, the head 812 and the opposing portion of the step 616. As with the base unit, the step 616 is formed with strengthening ribs, such as 816.

The bridging member is a rectangular, integral unit having a solid peripheral strip 820 which bounds an array of M-sectioned webs, such as web 822 which defme a lattice array of triangular recesses 824. These strips are integrally formed with a lower plate 826 having series of drainage holes, for example 828, each disposed in the central portion of a respective triangular recess.

It will be appreciated that the present invention includes within its scope both an assembled platform assembly (referred to herein as a platform) and a kit of initially separate components (i.e. at least two base units and one bridging member) to be assembled into such an assembly.

Claims (21)

1549.00/C Claims 1. A safety platform assembly comprising two base units

and a bridging member for spanning the gap between the base units when the latter are placed in a spaced apart relationship on an underlying supporting surface, wherein the base units and bridging member have complementary interlocking connectors which, in use, engage each other to prevent the bridging member from being horizontally removed from each base member.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the connectors are so arranged that they can be brought into engagement with each other by lowering the bridging member onto the base units and disengaged by raising the bridging member from the base units.

3. An assembly according to claim! or claim 3, in which each base unit is free standing.

4. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims, in which the connectors comprise male and female connectors which matingly engage each other.

5. An assembly according to claim 4, in which each female connector includes a shoulder for supporting the bridging member on the base units.

6. An assembly according to claim 5, in which the female connectors are provided on the base units each said shoulder being at the bottom of its respective female connector.

7. An assembly according to any of claims 4 to 6, in which the male and female connectors may conveniently be tapered or dovetailed, so as to prevent horizontal movement of the bridging member relative to the base units.

8. An assembly according to any of claims 4 to 6, in which the male connectors comprise headed protuberances, the female connectors having a complementary shape.

9. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims, in which each base unit has a polygonal platform portion which, with the platform assembled, is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the bridging member.

10. An assembly according to claim 9, in which the platform portion is spaced from the edge of the base unit, thereby to define a ledge on which, in use, a bridging unit rests.

11. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims, in which the connecting members are provided on two or more sides of the base unit.

12. An assembly according to claim 11, in which each base unit has connectors on at least three sides, to allow multiple base units and bridging members to be connected together to form a platform defined by an extensive two dimensional grid.

13. An assembly according to claim 12, in which the base units are four sided with connecting members on all four sides so that a platform having a right angled grid structure can be assembled.

14. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims, in which a base unit has a step at a height intermediate that of the platform portion and a support surface on which the base unit is placed.

15. An assembly according to claim 14, in which the intermediate step is detachable from its base unit.

16. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims in which the base units are stackable.

17. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims, in which the platform assembly includes a handrail assembly detachably mountable on the bridging member.

18. An assembly according to claim 17, in which the bridging member includes one or more apertures for receiving one or more posts of the handrail assembly.

19. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims, in which the platform assembly includes a kickboard attached, in use, to the lower region of the handrail assembly.

20. A kit of parts comprising a bridging member and two base units for assembling into a platform assembly.

21. A platform assembly substantially as described herein with reference to arid as illustrated in Figures 1 to I 5A or 16 to 32 of the accompanying drawings.