HANDRAIL, SCAFFOLD, METHOD OF ERECTING A SCAFFOLD AND USE OF A HANDRAIL IN A SCAFFOLD

Abstract

A guardrail for a scaffold, which has at least at one end a coupling section for coupling with a coupling element of a vertical post or vertical frame of the scaffold, wherein the coupling section is flat and is penetrated by an elongate opening which extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the railing member and which has a constant width as far as an extension at the end.

A scaffold comprising a guardrail, a method for erecting a scaffold and a use of a guardrail.

Claims

1. A guardrail for a scaffold, having at least at one end a coupling portion for coupling to a coupling member of a vertical post or of a vertical frame of the scaffold, wherein the coupling portion is flat and is penetrated by an elongate opening which extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the railing spar, which has a constant width up to an end widening.

2. The guardrail according to claim 1, wherein, in top view of the coupling portion, the opening and/or the extension is/are arranged centrally with respect to the longitudinal axis.

3. The guardrail according to claim 1, wherein the end-side widening is arranged at the end of the opening facing the railing spar, wherein, in top view of the coupling section, the opening is widened on one side only.

4. The guardrail according to claim 1, wherein, in top view of the coupling section, the extension is guided in a slot-like manner up to a side edge of the coupling section.

5. The guardrail according to claim 1, wherein the end-side widening is arranged at the end of the opening facing away from the railing spar, wherein, in top view of the coupling section, the opening is widened on both sides, is formed mirror-symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis.

6. The guardrail according to claim 5, wherein, in top view of the coupling section, the extension is rounded, circular or part-circular.

7. The guardrail according to claim 5, wherein the coupling section has a reduced width at its end facing away from the railing spar, wherein, for reducing the width, the coupling section has a recess on both sides.

8. The guardrail according to claim 1, wherein the coupling portion has, in top view, two straight side edges and an arcuate end edge connecting the two side edges, wherein the arcuate end edge is concentric with a rounding at the outer end of the opening.

9. The guardrail according to claim 1, wherein the guardrail is formed from a metal tube which has a circular cross-sectional shape and/or is plastically deformed at least at one end to form or receive a coupling portion.

10. The guardrail according to claim 1, wherein the guardrail has a coupling section at both ends and wherein the two coupling sections are of the same or of different design.

11. A scaffolding having at least one guardrail according to claim 1 and at least one vertical post or vertical frame, which has at least one coupling element for coupling to a coupling section of the guardrail spar.

12. The scaffolding according to claim 11, wherein the coupling element is substantially L-shaped and has a first section connected to the vertical stem or vertical frame and a second section arranged at right angles thereto, which second section extends vertically upwards in the position of use of the vertical stem or vertical frame.

13. The scaffolding according to claim 12, wherein the first portion and the second portion of the coupling element each have a circular cross-sectional shape and/or the second portion has a bead-like projection which extends only over a partial circumferential region.

14. The scaffolding according to claim 13, wherein the bead-like projection is arranged at least on the side of the second portion facing the vertical stem or the vertical frame, so that the distance between the second portion of the coupling element and the vertical stem or the vertical frame is reduced by the projection.

15. A method of erecting a scaffold in which a guardrail according to claim 1 is connected to an already assembled first vertical post or frame and a second vertical post or frame yet to be assembled, comprising: a) coupling a first coupling portion of the guardrail rail to a coupling member of the first vertical post or frame, b) coupling a second coupling portion of the guardrail rail to a coupling member of the second vertical post or frame, c) positioning the railing post with the aid of the second vertical post or frame, which is moved into its position of use for this purpose, the railing post being pivoted about the coupling element of the first vertical post or frame.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein in step a) and/or in step b) the coupling element of the vertical post or frame is brought into engagement with the opening of the respective coupling portion of the railing rail.

17. Use of a guardrail spar according to claim 1 in a scaffold, in a modular or frame scaffold, for forming a leading guardrail.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] Preferred embodiments of the invention and their advantages are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures. These show:

[0050] FIG. 1 a perspective view of a vertical post and rail of a modular scaffold,

[0051] FIG. 2 a top view of a vertical post with the handrail rail of FIG. 1,

[0052] FIG. 3 a perspective view of a modular scaffold having a plurality of vertical posts and guardrail rails corresponding to the guardrail rail of FIG. 1,

[0053] FIG. 4 a side view of the guardrail of FIG. 1,

[0054] FIG. 5 a side view of a second guardrail,

[0055] FIG. 6 a perspective view of a vertical post with a railing rail already assembled and a railing rail yet to be assembled, according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention,

[0056] FIG. 7 a perspective view of the vertical post and guardrail rails of FIG. 6 in advanced assembly, and

[0057] FIG. 8 a top view of a coupling portion of a guardrail rail according to FIGS. 6 and 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a guardrail post 10 according to the invention in connection with a vertical post 30 of a modular scaffolding 100. In FIG. 1, the vertical post 30 is in its position of use. In this position it is vertically aligned. On the outer circumferential side, the vertical stem 30 has a plurality of coupling elements 40 which are arranged at different height positions. The coupling elements 40 are each L-shaped, so that they form a kind of hook. In the region of a coupling element 40, the railing rail 10 is hooked. In this position, the railing post 10 can be connected to a further vertical post (not shown) and brought into its position of use with the aid of the latter (see FIG. 3). The further vertical post 30 is mounted at the same time. In this way, a forwardly extending railing can be formed.

[0059] The railing post 10 shown in FIG. 1 is made of a metal tube 13 which is plastically deformed at each of its two ends 11, 12 and has a coupling section 20. The coupling sections 20 (see FIG. 4) are each flat and have an opening 21. An extension 22 is provided at one end of the opening 21. Via the extension 22, the coupling element 40 can be brought into engagement with the opening 21 of the coupling section 20.

[0060] In particular, as can be seen from FIG. 2, the opening 21 of the coupling portion 20 has a width b1, which is slightly greater than the diameter of the coupling element 40 outside a bead-like projection 43. Accordingly, the bead-like protrusion 43 is engaged behind by the coupling portion 20 of the railing spar 10 when the railing spar 10 is rotated from a position of use such that it assumes the position shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the railing spar 10 cannot be unintentionally unhooked. To do so, the railing post 10 would first have to be displaced in such a way that the coupling element 40 reaches the other end of the opening 21, which has the extension 22. However, this is not possible in the position of use of the guardrail post 10 (see FIG. 3).

[0061] For easy hooking of the guardrail post 10, the extension 22 is a slot extending to a side edge 24 of the coupling section 20. Accordingly, the extension 22 opens the opening 21 towards the side edge 24. For easy threading of the coupling element 40, the extension 22 is chamfered on both sides in the region of the side edge 24. Apart from the extension 22, the opening 21 is arranged centrally with respect to the longitudinal axis A of the guardrail spar 10, so that webs of equal width are obtained on both sides, each having a width a1. The width a1 is slightly smaller than the distance between the coupling element 40 and the vertical post 30, allowing the guardrail post 10 to be rotated about its longitudinal axis A or an axis parallel thereto, if required, without the guardrail post 10 being unhinged.

[0062] As shown by way of example in FIG. 3, the coupling elements 40 of the vertical posts 30 are designed to receive a plurality of, in particular two, guardrail posts 10. For this purpose, each coupling element 40 comprises a first section 41 and a second section 42 arranged at right angles to the first section 41. The second section 42 thereby extends vertically upwards. That is, the second section 42 extends parallel to the vertical stem 30. The second section 42 also forms the bead-like projection 43. In the position of use, the guardrail posts 10 are each supported by the first section 41 of the coupling element 40 so that the coupling sections 20 of the guardrail posts 10 are vertically aligned. Thus, two railing spars 10 can be arranged side by side. In this case, the coupling sections 20 of the two railing spars 10 lie flat on top of each other.

[0063] As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the vertical posts 30 may have further coupling elements in the form of perforated discs 50. Scaffolding elements, such as decking ledgers, longitudinal ledgers and/or diagonal ledgers (not shown), can be attached to these. Decking ledgers serve to receive a scaffolding deck 61, which is shown by way of example in FIG. 3.

[0064] In deviation from the embodiment of a railing spar 10 according to the invention shown in FIG. 4, with two coupling sections 20 of identical design, a railing spar 10 according to the invention can also have two coupling sections 20 of different design. This is shown by way of example in FIG. 5. The right-hand coupling section 20 is designed analogously to the coupling sections 20 of the embodiment of FIG. 4. The left-hand coupling section 20, on the other hand, has an opening 21 without an extension 22 at the end. Variations of this design are quite possible.

[0065] Referring to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, a further preferred embodiment of a railing spar 10 according to the invention can be seen. FIGS. 6 and 7 each show a first guardrail rail 10 already connected to a coupling element 40 of a vertical post 30, and another guardrail rail 10 during assembly. As can be seen in particular from FIG. 8, the coupling sections 20 of the railing posts 10 each have an opening 21 with an extension 22 at the end, which does not extend to a side edge 24 of the coupling section 20, but maintains a distance a2 from the two side edges 24 in each case. The extension 22 has a width b2, which, in principle, is greater than the width b1 of the opening 21. The width b2 of the extension 22 is adapted to the bead-like projection 43 of the coupling element 40, so that the coupling section 20 can be guided over the bead-like projection 43 during hooking-in. The coupling section 20 is thereby oriented substantially horizontally (see FIG. 6). Subsequently, by sliding, the coupling member 40 is guided from the region of the extension 22 to the other end of the opening 21 so that the coupling portion 20 engages behind the bead-like projection 43 of the coupling member 40. Beforehand or in the process, the coupling portion 20 may be brought into the vertical position by rotating the railing member 10. The coupling portion 20 thus comes to lie adjacent to the coupling portion 20 of the already assembled guardrail rail 10.

[0066] The rotation of the railing spar 10 requires a certain freedom of movement, which is created in the embodiment example of FIGS. 6 and 7 by the fact that the coupling section 20 has a width B2 at the end, which is reduced compared to a width B1 in the region of the connection to the metal tube 13 of the railing spar 10. For this purpose, the side edges 24 of the coupling section 20 each have a recess 23 (see also FIG. 8).

[0067] In order to enable the railing member 10 to be rotated and/or pivoted even in confined conditions, the coupling section 20 further comprises a circular arcuate end edge 25 connecting the two side edges 24. Since the circular arc-shaped course of the end edge 25 is formed concentrically with the circular arc-shaped course of the extension 22, the distance a2 of the extension 22 from the side edges 24 does not change even in the region of the end edge 25. This means that the same movement clearance is always required when pivoting the guardrail rail 10. The necessary freedom of movement is further provided by the fact that, in the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, the extension 22 of the opening 21 is arranged externally. This is because, if it were arranged on the inside, a collision would occur with the already assembled guardrail post 10, as exemplified in FIG. 7.

[0068] An arcuate end edge 25, which is concentric with a curve at the end of the opening 21, is therefore also present in the coupling section 20 of the guardrail spar 10 of FIGS. 1 to 4 (see FIG. 2).

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0069] 10 guardrail [0070] 11 first end of the guardrail [0071] 12 second end of the guardrail [0072] 13 metal tube [0073] 20 coupling section [0074] 21 opening [0075] 22 expansion [0076] 23 recess [0077] 24 side edge [0078] 25 front edge [0079] 30 vertical handle [0080] 40 coupling element [0081] 41 first section of the coupling element [0082] 42 second section of the coupling element [0083] 43 protrusion [0084] 50 perforated disc [0085] 61 scaffolding decking [0086] 100 scaffolding [0087] A longitudinal axis of the handrail [0088] B1 width of the coupling section [0089] B2 width of the coupling section [0090] a1 distance of the opening 21 to a side edge 24 [0091] a2 distance of the extension 22 to a side edge 24 [0092] b1 width of opening 21 [0093] b2 width of extension 22