Patent Application
20220298814
The present invention relates generally to a fall arrest/protection device usable at a construction site to prevent a user from falling, and more particularly to such a device which attaches to reinforcing bar.
Fall protection is an important aspect of worker safety in the construction industry. Novel devices for protecting workers against falling during construction of upstanding concrete structures which are formed from concrete and embedded reinforcing bar are desirable.
According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a device for attaching to exposed ribbed reinforcing bar at a construction site to form an anchor for a safety line comprising:
a tubular body extending from a first open end to a second end and defining therebween a substantially cylindrical interior cavity communicated with an exterior of the body at the first open end and diametrically sized and shaped in a manner substantially corresponding to a length of the reinforcing bar so that the interior cavity can be snugly received over the length of the reinforcing bar passing through the first open end and into the cavity;
an attachment location defined on the tubular body for connecting the safety line; and
a plurality of grooves defined at the interior cavity and arranged to matably receive ribs of the reinforcing bar so as to secure the device in fixed location along the reinforcing bar.
This provides a relative simple arrangement for providing a fixed anchor point to support a worker during construction work.
In the illustrated arrangement, the tubular body comprises a plurality of separate portions each extending from a first angular location relative to an axis of the tubular body to a second angular location relative thereto and defining a portion of the interior cavity, the separate portions being movable relative to each other so as to provide a cavity-forming condition in which the separate portions collectively form the interior cavity around the reinforcing bar.
In the illustrated arrangement, the separate portions include a first portion and a second portion which are hingedly interconnected about a pivot axis which is substantially parallel to the axis of the tubular body to be movable between an open position in which distal sides of the first and second portions relative to the pivot axis are in spaced relation to one another and a closed position in which the distal sides are brought to touch and the first and second portions are secured to one another so as to provide the cavity-forming condition.
In the illustrated arrangement, the grooves comprise a first set of parallel grooves and a second set of parallel grooves which are transversely oriented to the first set of parallel grooves so as to form a plurality of pairs of intersecting grooves.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of constructing an upstanding structure comprising concrete and reinforcing bar, the method comprising:
attaching an anchor for supporting a worker during construction work to exposed reinforcing bar which is fixedly supported;
after a safety line is attached to the anchor and the anchor is attached to the reinforcing bar, attaching the worker to the safety line so that the worker is supported thereby for subsequently performing the construction work;
after completion of the construction work, releasing the worker from the safety line; and
embedding the reinforcing bar with the anchor attached thereto in concrete so as to form the upstanding structure.
Preferably, the method includes releasing the safety line from the anchor after completion of the construction.
The invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
In the drawings, like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
There is schematically shown in the accompanying figures a device 10 for attaching to exposed ribbed reinforcing bar 1 at a construction site to form an anchor for a safety line 2 (
Reinforcing bar, which in industry is commonly known as rebar, comes in different length but is generally of uniform cross-sectional size and shape along its full length. The device 10 described herein is preferably suited for use with reinforcing bar having a bar number 20M, 25M, 30M or 35M as is known in the art and represented by the following table.
Ribbed reinforcing bar comprises a main shaft 3 and a plurality of ribs 4 protruding outwardly from an outer surface 5 of the shaft. Each rib 4 is located at a longitudinally spaced location from the other along the shaft and extends circumferentially of the bar, which is normally circular in cross-sectional shape, so as to be oriented transversely to a longitudinal direction of the bar along which it is elongated. The ribs 4 may also extend longitudinally of the shaft so that they are inclined relative to the longitudinal direction of the shaft.
Referring to
An attachment location 19 is defined on the tubular body 12 externally of the cavity 16 for connecting the safety line 3 to the device 10. In the illustrated arrangement, the attachment location 19 is provided by an aperture 21 defined by an upstanding tab 22 connected to the tubular body 12 suited to receive a length of safety line therethrough or a removably attachable clip secured to the safety line.
Additionally, the device 10 includes a plurality of grooves 24 defined at the interior cavity 16 that are arranged to matably receive the ribs 4 of the reinforcing bar so as to secure the device in fixed location along the reinforcing bar. That is, the grooves 24 define recesses which are communicated with the cavity 16 and are sized and shaped to substantially correspond to the ribs 4 of the rebar so as to snugly receive the same when the tubular body 12 is received over the rebar. Basically, the grooves 24 mesh with the ribs 4 to resist longitudinal movement of the device when the body 12 is attached to the rebar. When the ribs 4 are separate from one another, so as to be disconnected and not to form a continuous, for example helical, thread about the shaft 2, the intermeshing of the grooves 24 and the ribs 4 also maintains the device in fixed angular relation about the rebar so as to prevent the device from rotating around the rebar.
In order to locate the body 12 over the rebar when it is arranged to snugly receive same, the tubular body 12 comprises a plurality of separate portions such as first and second portions 30, 31 each extending from a first angular location relative to an axis 18 of the tubular body to a second spaced angular location relative thereto and defining a portion of the interior cavity 16. The separate portions 30, 31 are movable relative to each other so as to provide a cavity-forming condition as shown in
For convenient attachment to the rebar, the first and second portions 30, 31 are hingedly interconnected about a pivot axis 35 which is substantially parallel to the axis 18 of the tubular body to be movable between an open position in which distal sides 37, 38 of the first and second portions, relative to the pivot axis 35, are in spaced relation to one another and a closed position in which the distal sides 37, 38 are brought to touch and the first and second portions are secured to one another so as to provide the cavity-forming condition of
In
The tubular body 12 is made from stainless steel or forged steel so as to provide suitable strength and durability. The body 12 is sized so as not be much larger in outer diameter than an outer diameter of the rebar measured between diametrically opposite locations of the rebar ribs 4.
In use of the device 10 when constructing an upstanding structure 8 as shown in
The worker W may then attach themselves to the safety line 2 that is attached to the anchor which is in turn attached to the reinforcing bar 1, and be supported against falling to a height exceeding a length of the safety line supported by the anchor device 10 such that the worker W can proceed to perform their construction work.
After completion of the construction work, the worker W releases themselves from the safety line 2 so as to be detached therefrom. At this time the safety line 2 also may be released from the anchor 10.
Thereafter, the anchor 10 may be left attached to the reinforcing bar 1 and same may be embedded in concrete so as to form the upstanding structure.
This provides a relative simple arrangement for providing a fixed anchor point to support a worker during construction work. After use to support a worker the device may remain attached to the reinforcing bar and the remainder of the structure may be cast in concrete to embed that length of reinforcing bar without the device substantially affecting structural integrity of the formed structure.
The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the specification as a whole.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CA2020/050816 | 6/12/2020 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62860330 | Jun 2019 | US | |
| 62899199 | Sep 2019 | US |
