Patent Application
20110204307
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sidewalk sheds used as a temporary barrier around construction sites for protecting pedestrians on the sidewalk and preventing debris from falling onto the sidewalk.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical sidewalk shed known in the art is a timber fence that surrounds a construction site, which is provided with a reinforced timber and steel roof surrounded by a timber parapet to prevent debris from construction processes falling onto the pedestrians on the sidewalk.
Conventionally; a sidewalk shed is fixed to the scaffold structure erected around the construction site, either for the sole purpose of supporting such a sidewalk shed, or as part of the scaffold that provides access during the construction of a building.
For safety reasons, fire-retardant timber is used for building sidewalk sheds. However, the timber used for building such sidewalk sheds, and thus the classification stamped onto the timber, is often painted over and/or covered by bill posts, and documents certifying the timber as fire-retardant may be misplaced, making it difficult to ensure such a safety procedure has been put in place.
Moreover, during construction work, timber panels and planks are likely to deteriorate with the weather or get damaged through the activity at the site, making them unsuitable for reuse. Often, when the construction is complete and the sidewalk shed is no longer required, the timber would be scrapped.
It is therefore desirable to provide sidewalk sheds that are not only fireproof but also durable and require little maintenance. In addition, it is desirable to provide a system for erecting sidewalk sheds that takes advantage of durable materials and allows the structure to be reused.
The present invention provides a system and a method for erecting temporary fencing or hoardings in the form of sidewalk sheds which surround a construction site. The temporary fencing is compatible with conventional scaffold structures and so no adaptations to existing scaffold structures and conventional scaffolding methods are required.
A temporary fencing system, for use with a scaffold, comprises at least one channel, at least one coupler for coupling a channel to the scaffold, and at least one panel having at least one straight edge, wherein the channel is adapted to receive the straight edge of the at least one panel, thereby forming a fence adjacent to the scaffold. The channel and the panel are preferably formed from metal, in particular steel.
In particular, the scaffold may include a plurality of vertical posts. Thus, a temporary fencing system for use with a scaffold which includes a plurality of vertical posts comprises at least one channel, at least one channel-post coupler for coupling a channel to a lower part of the plurality of vertical posts so as to form a lower channel, and at least one panel having at least one straight edge, wherein the lower channel is adapted to receive the straight edge of the at least one panel, thereby forming a fence adjacent to the plurality of vertical posts.
The scaffold may include a horizontal platform. Thus, a temporary fencing system for use with a scaffold which includes a horizontal platform comprises at least one channel, at least one channel-platform coupler for coupling a channel to the horizontal platform so as to form a lower channel, and at least one panel having at least one straight edge, wherein the lower channel is adapted to receive the straight edge of the at least one panel, thereby forming a parapet perpendicular to the horizontal platform.
Thus, the present invention provides a sidewalk shed system for use with a scaffold which includes a plurality of vertical posts and a horizontal platform, the temporary fencing system comprising at least two channels, at least one channel-post coupler for coupling a first channel to a lower part of the plurality of vertical posts forming a first lower channel, at least one channel-platform coupler for coupling a second channel to the horizontal platform forming a second lower channel, at least two quadrangular panels, wherein a lower edge of a first panel is to be inserted into the first lower channel, thereby forming a fence adjacent to the plurality of vertical posts, and a lower edge of a second panel is to be inserted into the second lower channel, thereby forming a parapet perpendicular to the horizontal platform.
The present invention also provides a method of erecting a sidewalk shed for an existing scaffold, which includes a plurality of vertical posts and a horizontal platform, using the above-described temporary fencing system, the method comprises the steps of coupling a channel to a lower part of the plurality of vertical posts to form a first lower channel, coupling a channel to the horizontal platform to form a second lower channel, inserting at least one panel into the first lower channel, and inserting at least one panel into the second lower channel.
The present invention is described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers and designations refer to like elements.
An embodiment of the temporary fencing system according to the present invention comprises a range of brackets and clamps for coupling a plurality of steel channels, into which steel panels or sheets are inserted, to an existing scaffold structure around a construction site. The steel panels/sheets will typically be straight-edged and rectangular in shape, although it would be possible for the free edge of the panel/sheet to have a sloping or curved shape. The term “channel” refer to any elongated member, typically in the form of a strip having a U-shaped section, suitable for receiving an edge of a sheet so as to retain the same. The steel panels thus mounted may therefore provide a continuous barrier around the construction site. Below, the term “fence” is used, for convenience, to refer to any such barrier structure.
A plurality of channel brackets are affixed to a row of scaffold posts using standard stud clamps near the ground and above head-height.
At the end of a row of scaffold posts, another row of scaffold posts may continue at right angle following a corner of a building or construction site. In this case, either an external corner channel bracket or an internal corner channel bracket can be used at the corner to bring the channels on either side of the corner together.
A top view of an external corner channel bracket 30 is shown in
A top view, the front view and the rear view of the internal corner channel bracket 50 are shown in
Once the channel brackets are in place, an upward-facing steel channel is laid inside the channel brackets along the ground and a downward-facing steel channel is laid inside the channel brackets above. The lower and upper channels are then secured in place by fastening the lock nuts of the respective channel brackets, and the channels in turn provide the means for securing a plurality of steel panels to the scaffold posts.
Box-profile (hollow) steel panels, used in the embodiment for a strong yet light-weight fencing, are placed along the channels. The upper steel channel is preferably deeper than the lower steel channel. A panel is first inserted into the upper channel; when the steel panel is inserted, it is lifted above and over the front edge of the lower steel channel. Once the panel clears the front edge of the lower channel, it is dropped into the lower steel channel.
When the panels are in place, the upper steel channel is lowered onto the panels by loosening the stud clamps 100 and adjusting the height of the channel brackets along the scaffold posts. The stud clamps 100 are then tightened to secure the upper channel above the panels. Thus, by means of the stud clamps 100, channel brackets 10, 20, 30, 50, and a plurality of steel panels, a strong and durable temporary fencing can be erected easily.
In general, a scaffold structure along a length of sidewalk comprises two rows of scaffold posts, one row on either side of the sidewalk, with a timber platform built across the two rows of scaffold posts which prevents debris from falling onto pedestrians on the sidewalk.
The timber platform of the scaffold may be built at a height above that of the fencing panels, leaving a gap between the top of the temporary fencing and the platform. It is therefore desirable to provide a system for flexibly filling the gap between the top of the fencing panels and the timber platform.
In the embodiment, a soffit infill system is provided which includes a plurality of infill brackets and a plurality of steel infill sheets, wherein the plurality of infill brackets are configured to accept the plurality of infill sheets and to the upper steel channel, which is coupled to the scaffold posts as described above.
An example of such infill bracket is shown in
The channel bracket of an infill bracket 60 may either be the same as a channel bracket 10 that is used in conjunction with a stud clamp 100 for coupling a channel to a scaffold post, or a bracket adapted to the size and shape of a steel channel and specifically configured as a part of an infill bracket 60 such as the channel bracket 62.
According to the present embodiment, the channel bracket 62 is detachably coupled to the body 61, fastened for example with a lock nut 66, to allow the channel bracket 62 to slide freely along the length of the body 61, such that when the infill bracket 60 is mounted onto the upper channel, the coverage of the infill sheet held by the returns of the body 61 can be flexibly adjusted to suit different sized gaps between the upper channel and the platform.
For convenience, a handle 63 is provided and attached to the top side of the body 61, such that when the infill bracket 60 is mounted onto the upper channel, the body 61 of the infill bracket 60 can be easily adjusted to the optimum position by pushing the handle 63 up to the platform. However, the handle 63 is not essential to the infill bracket 60.
Moreover, a lock mechanism such as the lock nuts 61-1 and 61-2 is provided at the return at the top and bottom ends of the body to ensure that an infill sheet is secured in place.
The safety of the pedestrians on the sidewalk can be further improved by providing a parapet around the platform, such that falling debris from construction work is prevented from bouncing off the platform onto pedestrians using the sidewalk.
Thus, in the embodiment, a plurality of parapet clamps are provided, an example of which is shown in
Each parapet clamp 70 comprises a lower channel bracket 72-1 and an upper channel bracket 72-2, such that, once the plurality of parapet clamps 70 are in place, an upward-facing steel channel may be laid in and secured by the lower channel bracket 72-1, and a downward-facing steel channel may be placed in and secured by the upper channel bracket 72-2, of the parapet clamps 70 along the platform 300, providing means for securing a plurality of steel panels perpendicular to the platform.
In particular, the parapet clamp 70 comprises a body 71, onto which a lower channel bracket 72-1 and an upper channel bracket 72-2 are coupled (but not necessarily fixed). Two lock nuts 73-1 and 73-2 are provided to the lower channel bracket 72-1 and upper channel bracket 72-2 respectively for securing steel panels in place. The parapet clamp 70 is provided with a horizontal member 74 welded onto the body 71. A reinforcing bar 75 is provided, with one end welded onto the body 71 and the other onto the horizontal member 74 thus forming a triangle, to reinforce the parapet clamp 70.
Box-profile steel panels are again used, which are inserted into steel channels held by the lower channel brackets 72-1 and upper channel brackets 72-2 of a plurality of parapet clamps 70. However, the box-profile steel panels used here may not necessary be the same depth or height as the box-profile steel panels used for constructing temporary fencing.
The parapet clamp 70 is configured to allow a small range of vertical sliding motion of the upper channel bracket 72-2 by means of a slot in the body 71 and a locking mechanism 76, which can be a bolt or a lock nut. Once a steel panel is inserted into the lower steel channel, the sliding motion of the upper channel bracket 72-2 allows the upper steel channel to be lowered onto the steel panel to secure it in place.
By placing a plurality of steel panels along the length of the lower and upper steel channels coupled to the timber platform by means of a plurality of parapet clamps 70, a parapet can be easily erected along a timber platform of an existing scaffold structure above a sidewalk.
It is common to erect a scaffold in front of a building which is still in use while construction takes place on the exterior of the building, for example, construction work which takes place above a shop may erect a scaffold in front of the shop. In this case, the temporary fencing that surrounds the scaffold structure must allow access to the inside of the shop while clearly indicating to the public the areas of restricted access.
Therefore, the present embodiment includes a cantilever system for easily extending the temporary fencing at right angle into an opening, to create an access to the opening while fencing off the region between the opening and the scaffold structure.
An example of such cantilever system is shown in
The cantilever brace tube 80 allows the distance from the scaffold post 200 to the stop end channel bracket 20 to be adjusted. Further down the scaffold post 100 below the stud clamp 100, an external corner channel bracket 30 is coupled to the scaffold post 100 parallel to the stop end channel bracket 20. A steel channel 400 is then cut to length and placed horizontally across the external corner channel bracket 30 and the stop end channel bracket 20, in which a steel panel can be inserted.
An example of how the embodiment may be used in combination is shown in
The scaffold posts 200 and the platform 300 form the support structure of the temporary fencing. On the right side of the structure, two external corner channel brackets 30, one near the ground and the other further up the same scaffold post 200, are used to secure a first lower channel and a first upper channel running into the page on the left side of the right scaffold post, and a second lower channel and a second upper channel running across the page on the right side of the right scaffold post. Two stop end channel brackets 20 are positioned parallel to the two external corner channel bracket, each supported by a cantilever brace tube 80 coupled to the scaffold post 200. Two steel channels (second lower channel and second upper channel) cut to length are placed in the two sets of external corner channel bracket 30 and stop end channel bracket 20, into which a box-profile steel panel 500 is inserted.
Since the top of the steel panels 500 cannot reach the height of the platform 300, an infill bracket 60 is used to fill the gap between the top of the steel panel 500 and the platform 300. The infill bracket 60 is mounted onto the first upper channel behind the top external corner bracket 30 by means of its channel bracket (shown as a dashed line). A plurality of infill brackets 60 (not shown) are mounted onto the first upper channel along its length. The body of each of the plurality of infill brackets 60 is then pushed towards the platform 300 and secured into position (by lock nut 66, not shown). Steel infill sheets are inserted into the returns of infill brackets 60 and secured (by means of lock nuts 61-1 and 61-2, not shown) forming an extension to the fencing covering the gap.
On the left side of the scaffold structure, a parapet clamp 70 is affixed to the platform 300 by means of horizontal member 74. A plurality of parapet clamp 70 (not shown) are similarly affixed to the platform 300 along the length of the platform. A third lower channel is placed inside and secured by the lower channel bracket of each of the plurality of parapet clamp 70, and a third upper channel is placed inside and secured by the upper channel bracket of each of the plurality of parapet clamp 70. A plurality of (smaller-sized) box-profile steel panels are then inserted into the third lower and upper channel, forming a parapet along the length of the platform 300.
It should be noted that while the embodiment of the present invention has been described using steel as the main material, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other metal, metal alloy, or any suitable material may be used as desired. Moreover, whilst steel sheets are used in the panels of the described embodiment, the use of continuous sheet material is not essential, and an open mesh or the like may be employed instead.
Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that there are other embodiments equivalent to the described embodiment. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrated embodiment, but only by the scope of the appended claims.
