Formwork support scaffold structure

Abstract

This invention relates to a formwork support member, and a scaffold structure formed from at least a pair of adjacent formwork support members. The formwork support member comprises at least two spaced vertical members, at least one connecting member bridging said vertical members to form thereby a rigid formwork support member, each vertical member including a plurality of attachment means at spaced intervals there-along for releasable attachment thereto of at least one brace member extending between adjacent formwork support members to form the scaffold structure.

Claims

1. A formwork support member comprising; at least two spaced vertical members; and at least one connecting member extending between and fixed to said vertical members to form a rigid formwork support member, each vertical member comprising; a plurality of attachment means at spaced intervals there-along adapted for releasable attachment thereto of a plurality of brace members extending between adjacent formwork support members to form a rigid structure; and at least a pair of latch pins spaced apart along the vertical member; and wherein each of the attachment means comprises a ring around its vertical support member, the ring comprising a plurality of apertures spaced apart around the ring.

2. The formwork support member as in claim 1, further comprising a forked element atop of each vertical member.

3. The formwork support member of claim 2, wherein the vertical support member comprises jacking means for raising and lowering the forked element.

4. The formwork support member as in claim 1, wherein an upper end of each vertical member is adapted to support a second formwork support member atop of it, where each vertical member is attached to an adjacent lower vertical member of the lower formwork support member.

5. The formwork support member of claim 1, wherein each latch pin comprises a movable gravity pin for attaching a diagonal brace.

6. A scaffold structure comprising: at least a pair of adjacent formwork support members, each formwork support member comprising; at least two spaced vertical members; at least one connecting member extending between and fixed to said vertical members, each vertical member comprising: at least a pair of latch pins, each latch pin adapted for releasable attachment thereto of a diagonal brace; and a plurality of attachment means at spaced intervals along the vertical member, each of the attachment means comprising; a ring around the vertical member, the ring comprising a plurality of apertures spaced apart around the ring, and the scaffold structure further comprising: at least a pair of diagonal brace members, each of which extends between and is releasably attached to a lower latch pin on one of the formwork support members, and an upper latch pin on the adjacent formwork support member.

7. The scaffold structure of claim 6, comprising a plurality of brace members extending between and releasably attached at each end thereof to attachment means of the adjacent formwork support members.

8. The scaffold structure of claim 6, wherein the pair of formwork support members are secured to one another by four diagonal braces comprised of two pairs of diagonal brace members, one pair each extending between two spaced vertical members.

9. The scaffold structure as in claim 6, further comprising at least one horizontal brace member extending between and releasably attached at each end thereof to attachment means of the adjacent formwork support members.

10. The scaffold structure of claim 6, further comprising at least one deck element bridging any one of a pair of connecting members, a pair of horizontal brace members, or a connecting member and a horizontal brace member.

11. The scaffold structure as in claim 6, wherein each attachment means is adapted for releasable attachment thereto of a plurality of connecting members and/or brace members.

12. The scaffold structure as in claim 6, further comprising a forked element atop of each vertical member.

13. The scaffold structure of claim 12, wherein the vertical support member comprises jacking means for raising and lowering the forked element.

14. The scaffold structure of claim 6, wherein an upper end of each vertical member may be used to support a second formwork support member atop of it, where each vertical member is attached to an adjacent lower vertical member of the lower formwork support member.

15. The scaffold structure of claim 6, wherein each latch pin comprises a movable gravity pin for attaching a diagonal brace.

16. An assembly of scaffold structures comprising at least a pair of the scaffold structures of claim 7, and at least one brace member extending between and releasably attached at each end thereof to the adjacent formwork support members.

17. The assembly of scaffold structures of claim 16, wherein the pair of scaffold structures comprises a lower ground engaging scaffold structure and a second scaffold structure stacked atop the lower ground engaging scaffold structure.

18. An assembly of scaffold structures comprising a scaffold structure of claim 7 stacked atop of a second scaffold structure, said second scaffold structure comprising at least a pair of adjacent formwork support members, each formwork support member comprising at least two spaced vertical members, at least one connecting member bridging said vertical members, each vertical member including a plurality of attachment means at spaced intervals there-along, the scaffold structure further comprising at least one brace member extending between and releasably attached at each end thereof to the adjacent formwork support members.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the present invention will be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is an end view of a scaffold structure according to a first embodiment;

(3) FIG. 2 is a side view of the scaffold structure of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the scaffold structure of FIG. 1 in plan view;

(5) FIG. 4 is an end view of a scaffold structure according to a second embodiment;

(6) FIG. 5 is a side view of the scaffold structure of FIG. 4;

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the scaffold structure of FIG. 4 in plan view;

(8) FIG. 7 is an end view of a scaffold structure according to a third embodiment;

(9) FIG. 8 is a side view of the scaffold structure of FIG. 7;

(10) FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of the scaffold structure of FIG. 7 in plan view;

(11) FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken at 1-1 of FIG. 1, and detailing attachment means;

(12) FIG. 11 is an end view of an assembly of scaffold structures;

(13) FIG. 12 is a side view of the assembly of FIG. 11;

(14) FIG. 13 is a schematic representation of the assembly of scaffold structures of FIG. 11 in plan view;

(15) FIG. 14 is an end view of the assembly of FIG. 11, further comprising decking members;

(16) FIG. 15 is a side view of the assembly of FIG. 11, further comprising decking members;

(17) FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the scaffold structure of FIG. 4;

(18) FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an assembly of scaffold structures; and

(19) FIG. 18 is a detail view of an attachment point between a brace member and a pair of vertical supports.

(20) In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the figures.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(21) Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 9 and 16, where there is shown in each case a scaffold structure 10 each having a common width of 903 mm and a common depth of 1800 mm, but differing heights.

(22) Each scaffold structure 10 comprises two formwork support members 1, where each formwork support member 1 comprises two spaced vertical members 11, and a pair of horizontal connecting members 13 extending between and welded to the vertical members 11. This combination of the vertical members 11 and connecting members 13 forms a rigid formwork support member 1.

(23) Each of the vertical members illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 9 includes a plurality of attachment means 14 at spaced intervals there-along, and a fork 12 at the upper end thereof. Each fork 12 is supported on a jacking extension comprising a screw threaded portion with a rotatable collar 18 against which the base of the fork 12 abuts to enable the fork to be raised or lowered to the required position.

(24) The attachment means 14 take the form of locking rings 14 for releasable attachment thereto of at least one brace member (diagonal and/or horizontal) extending between adjacent formwork support members 1 to form a rigid scaffold structure 10.

(25) With reference to FIG. 10, it can be seen that each locking ring 14 has an inner diameter which equals the outer diameter of the vertical members 11 so that each locking ring 14 can be slid into position prior to fixing by welding. Each locking ring 14 comprises eight (8) single apertures 15 equally spaced around the locking ring 14. In this way, the ends of multiple brace members can be attached thereto, with these brace members extending at various angles as required.

(26) In addition to a number of locking rings 14 spaced along each vertical member 11, each vertical member 11 has a pair of latch pins 16 that are used for securing a diagonal brace 17, although diagonal braces 17 could be attached via locking rings 14. Each latch pin 16 comprises a pin secured to the vertical members 11 with a movable gravity pin located at its end. The gravity pin can be held in a horizontal position parallel to the main pin to make it easy to attach the diagonal brace 17 whereupon once the diagonal brace 17 is located on the pin, the gravity pin can be moved from its horizontal position where it drops to a vertical position to thereby prevent release of the diagonal brace 17. Each diagonal brace 17 has a pin aperture at each end which enables rapid attachment of the diagonal braces between adjacent formwork support members.

(27) In order to assemble a scaffold structure 10 like that illustrated in FIG. 16, a pair of formwork support members 1 are held in a vertical position and a diagonal brace 17 is attached to a lower latch pin 16 on one of the formwork support members 1, and is then attached to an upper latch pin 16 on the adjacent formwork support member 1. In this way, four diagonal braces 17 extend between a pair of formwork support members 1 to thereby form a scaffold structure 10.

(28) FIGS. 1 and 16 also show an aluminium formwork pan 19 sitting on the four forks 12 of the scaffold structure 10. The pan 19 uses one finger from each of the four forks 12 on the scaffold structure 10.

(29) Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, where there is illustrated an assembly of scaffold structures 10, where additional formwork support members 21 are positioned adjacent to the scaffold structures 10 and held in place by horizontal brace members 22 and additional diagonal members 23. These additional formwork support members 21 comprise a single vertical member 11 supporting locking rings 14 and one fork 12.

(30) With reference to FIG. 18, it can be seen that the brace members 22 and 23 are secured at each end to a respective aperture 15 in a locking ring 14 by way of comprising bifurcate ends, both parts of which include an aperture for alignment with the required aperture 15 in the locking ring 14; in this way these aligned apertures can receive a downwardly inserted wedge shaped pin 24 to secure the brace member 22 or 23 to the locking ring 14.

(31) Alternatively, the additional formwork support members 21 can be free standing and supported only by way of the fork 12 at its upper end engaging with the formwork pan 19 that extends from the adjacent scaffold structure 10.

(32) The resultant assembly of scaffolding structures 10 assembly has a number of evenly spaced forks 12 which enable placement of formwork pans 19 onto the structure to provide a continuous formwork surface on which to pour concrete.

(33) As seen in FIGS. 11, 12 and 17, the scaffold structures 10 can be stacked (in pairs in this case) one on top of the other. Dowel joiners (illustrated with dashed lines in FIG. 17) are used to secure the upper scaffold structure 10 to the lower one. The joiner 25 is located into the upper end of the vertical member 11 is bolted in place and the upper vertical member 11 is located over the extending joiner 25 and again bolted into place. As such, the upper scaffold structure 10 can be quickly and easily positioned on top of the lower scaffold structure 10.

(34) Likewise, the additional formwork support members 21 can be assembled in a similar manner using the joiners 25.

(35) Referring now to FIGS. 14 and 15, where there is illustrated the assembly of scaffolding structures 10 of FIGS. 11 and 12, with deck elements 26 extending horizontally through the rigid scaffolding structure 10. The deck elements 26 comprise a panel with a u-shaped connector at each of the panels with the u-shaped connector sitting on top of the connecting members 13. This provides a continuous walkway through adjacent scaffold structures 10. In this arrangement, the deck elements 26 are positioned between adjacent formwork support members comprising single scaffold structure 10, and additional deck elements 26 extend between adjacent scaffold structures 10. This provides an elevated working surface which gives required access to the upper portions of the lower scaffold structures 10 in order to place the upper scaffold structures 10 in place and provide access to the forks 12 and the fork extension elements. Finally, it provides a safe working surface in order to locate the formwork pans 19 within the respective forks 12.

(36) A brace member 22 extends between adjacent scaffold structures 10 with wedge pins located through each end of the brace member 22 and a u-shaped metal strip 27. The wedge pin locks the joint between the brace member 22 and the u-shaped metal strip 27 to form a solid joint and the wedge pin may be provided with a safety locking pin at its lower end to prevent accidental release of the wedge pin.

(37) Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words comprise and include and variations such as comprising and including will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

(38) The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

(39) It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present invention restricted in its preferred embodiment with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted herein. It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims.