EP1980684B1

EP1980684B1 - Railing for a scaffold opening

Info

Publication number: EP1980684B1
Application number: EP08103529.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Petrus Christianus Johanna Maria Van Oers
Original assignee: Brand Energy Holdings BV
Current assignee: Brand Energy Holdings BV
Priority date: 2007-04-12
Filing date: 2008-04-14
Publication date: 2017-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 2028-04-14
Also published as: NL2001483C1; EP1980684A2; EP1980684A3

Description

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a fence for closing off a passage in a floor of a scaffold, which fence has a mainly rectangular shape and is provided with an elongated side plank that extends in a mainly horizontal direction at a bottom of the fence, at least after placement of the fence in the scaffold. The side plank serves to prevent small objects from slipping off the scaffold and falling down.

Prior art

Such a fence is known from Dutch patent nr. 1011205. A construction of pipes and connectors is used to close off an opening, possibly in combination with a fence that can be turned and is at 90 degrees to the construction.

Summary of the invention

An objective of the invention is to improve the known fence. For this purpose the fence according to the invention is characterised in that the fence, as seen in top view, comprises a first section and a second section that are substantially at right angles to one another, in that the fence is provided with a further elongated side plank at a top of the fence, extending mainly parallel to said first side plank at said bottom of said fence, both side planks being united with an adjacent part of the fence, and in that the fence is asymmetric with respect to an imaginary vertical plane that extends perpendicular to said a longitudinal direction of said side planks, substantially half way through the fence. The fence, seen from above, has two sections mainly at right angles to each other, so that the fence is not only present on one side of an opening, but also partly extends on an adjoining side. In this way one fence according to the invention, with or without a swivel fence acting as a door, can close off an opening, in any event if the opening is in the corner of the scaffold. As the opening can be present in four corners of the scaffold, there should be two different fences to be able to close off the opening in any situation. By now fitting a side plank on both the bottom and the top, the fence can also be used upside down. In this way one embodiment of the fence can be used to close off any opening, regardless of which corner this opening is found.
Preferably both sections of the fence can be extended in the horizontal direction. In this way it is possible to close off openings with different dimensions, so that the range of application is greatly increased.
An embodiment of the fence according to the invention is characterised in that the fence comprises a framework with two vertical pipes, in which there is a connecting tube, which can be slid in a vertical direction, on at least one of these vertical pipes in or near the middle. In this way the fence can be connected to a scaffold near the middle, regardless of which position the fence is attached. The pipe with which the fence is connected to a scaffold is namely not in the middle of the fence. Moreover, this fence can be used with different floor types because the capacity of the connector to slide compensates for different floor heights.
The sliding connecting tube is preferably secured against turning around the vertical pipe. In this way the fence provides even more safety. The fence can thereby not turn if leant against or if anything falls against it.
Another embodiment of the fence according to the invention is characterised in that the fence comprises a framework with two vertical pipes, in which two connecting tubes are fastened on at least one of these vertical pipes, which are positioned apart above and below the middle as a mirror image of each other. The fence can be connected to a scaffold near the middle in this embodiment as well, regardless of the position in which the fence is attached.
Preferably the framework also comprises at least one horizontal pipe extending between the vertical pipes and connected to both vertical pipes, which seen in the vertical direction is present in or near the middle of the fence and is connected to one of the vertical pipes at a distance from the middle via a bridging piece.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will be elucidated more fully below on the basis of the drawings in which embodiments of the fence according to the invention are shown. In these drawings:

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the fence from the side;
Figure 2 shows the fence from above;
Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of the fence from above; and
Figure 4 shows a third embodiment of the fence according to the invention from the side.

Detailed description of the drawings

Figures 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the fence according to the invention from the side and above respectively. The fence 1 is used to close off a passage formed by an opening in a floor of a scaffold. It is desirable for the fence after placement not only to be present on one side of an opening, but also to extend partly on an adjoining side. In this way the fence seen from above comprises two sections, 1a and 1b mainly at right angles to each other, and the fence with respect to an imaginary plane 3 is at right angles to the lengthwise direction of the side plank and is asymmetric through the middle of the fence, see figure 2.
The fence 1 comprises a framework with two vertical pipes 5, 7 and three horizontal pipes 9, 11 and 13 extending between them, in which the middle pipe is connected to pipe 7 via a bridging piece 15, see figure 1. The fence 1 is provided with two side planks 17 and 19 that, after placement of the fence in a scaffold, are present both at the bottom and the top of the fence. The imaginary plane 3 is therefore at right angles to the side planks 17 and 19 and passes through the middle of the fence. In this way the fence 1 can be used even when upside down, so that it makes no difference in which corner of the floor the opening is found. The side planks 17 and 19 form one whole with the rest of the fence 1.
The pipes 9, 11 and 13 can preferably be extended at the position of each section 1a and 1b (not shown in the drawings). In this way the length of each of the sections 1a and 1b can be varied, so that it is possible to close off openings with different dimensions.
The fence 1 also comprises a connector 21, which can be slid along the pipe 7 in the vertical direction. The bridging piece 15 means that the connector 21 can be placed near the middle. This connector 21 is blocked against turning around the pipe 7 by the presence of a guide 22 on the pipe 7, which works with a corresponding recess in the connector 21.
Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of the fence according to the invention from above. All parts that are equal to those of the first embodiment are given the same reference number. In this fence 1', the horizontal pipes 9, 11 and 13 are each formed by three pipes that can be pushed in and out of each other, in which the innermost pipes are fastened to the vertical pipes 5 and 7.
Figure 4 shows a third embodiment of the fence according to the invention from the side. All parts that are equal to those of the first embodiment are given the same reference number. In this fence 23, two connectors 25 and 27, instead of the sliding connector 21, are fastened to the pipe 7. These connectors are present as a mirror image with respect to each other.
Although in the above the invention is explained on the basis of the drawings, it should be noted that the invention is in no way limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings. The invention also extends to all embodiments deviating from the embodiments shown in the drawings within the context defined by the claims.

Claims

Fence for closing off a passage in a floor of a scaffold, which fence has a mainly rectangular shape and is provided with an elongated side plank (19) that extends in a mainly horizontal direction at a bottom of the fence, at least after placement of the fence in the scaffold, characterised in that the fence, as seen in top view, comprises a first section (1a) and a second section (1b) that are substantially at right angles to one another, in that the fence is provided with a further elongated side plank (17) at a top of the fence, extending mainly parallel to said first side plank (19) at said bottom of said fence, both side planks (17,19) being united with an adjacent part of the fence, and in that the fence is asymmetric with respect to an imaginary vertical plane (3) that extends perpendicular to said a longitudinal direction of said side planks, substantially half way through the fence.
Fence according to claim 1, characterised in that both sections (1a,1b) of the fence can be extended in the horizontal direction.
Fence according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the fence comprises a framework with two vertical pipes (5,7), in which a connecting tube (11), which can be slid in the vertical direction, is present on at least one (5) of these vertical pipes (5,7) in or near the middle.
Fence according to claim 3, characterised in that the sliding connecting tube (11) is secured against turning around the vertical pipe.
Fence according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the fence comprises a framework with two vertical pipes (5,7), in which two connecting tubes (9,13) are fastened to at least one of these vertical pipes (5), which are present in a mirror image position with respect to and at a distance from each other above and below the middle.
Fence according to claim 3,4 or 5, characterised in that the framework also comprises at least one horizontal pipe (11) extending between the vertical pipes (5,7) and connected to both vertical pipes, which seen in the vertical direction, is present in or near the middle of the fence and is connected to one of the vertical pipes via a bridging piece (15) at a distance from the middle.