Panel Stack Safety Holder

Abstract

A holder apparatus (10,10′,110,210) for safely holding one or more construction material panels (52) at a work site within a building under construction. The holder rests on flooring (100) and is locatable adjacent a selected wall structure (102) and includes a base (12,12′,112,212) having a top load-bearing surface (14,114,214) canted at a small angle upwardly extending away from the adjacent wall. First and second stop rails (20,24) parallel to the wall define inner and outer stops for bottom edges (54) of a panel stack placeable onto the holder to be leaned against the wall (102), to assure that their bottom edges seated on the top surface (14,114,214) are at least a safe distance from the wall to prevent toppling, and a maximum distance to assure against sliding of the bottom panel edges away from the wall. An anti-tilt frame (40,40′,140,240) extends upwardly from the base beyond the second stop rail (24) and angled toward the wall to prevent toppling of the panels (52).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Applications Ser. Nos. 61 / 073,801 filed Jun. 19, 2008 and 61 / 077,619 filed Jul. 2, 2008.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This relates to the field of building construction and more particularly to apparatus used therein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Building construction commonly utilizes panels of materials for interior wall construction, such as drywall and plywood, that are four feet by eight feet, or four feet by twelve feet. Such panels may be handled singly but are conveniently handled in bundles or stacks to the work site and also to the interior of the building under construction; once within the building the stack can be either placed flat on a floor area or leaned against a wall. The Gypsum Association Publication GA216 cautions against stacking drywall panels on their edges against a wall, as does the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, due to the danger of...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]Briefly, the present invention is a holder for assuredly holding a stack or bundle of construction panels vertically or on edge, with the holder preferably placed at a location adjacent a selected wall or a wall frame. The holder, of rugged robust construction, includes a base having a load-bearing top surface on which side edges of the panel stack will rest, with the top surface canted at a selected small angle from horizontal and rising extending away from the adjacent wall. The base's top surface includes a first or inner stop such as a rail so positioned that when the holder is securely positioned along a wall, the first stop is at least six inches from the wall, and further includes a second or outer stop such as a rail so positioned from the inner stop to provide clearance for the stack to be placed therebetween; the second stop will stop any sliding movement of one or more of the panels along the top surface. Preferably, the holder includes an anti-tilt railing extending upwardly from the base outwardly of the second stop, oriented parallel to the adjacent wall, to a selected height and preferably angled toward the adjacent wall to prevent tipping away from the adjacent wall of one or more of the panels away from the wall by engaging and stopping an upper portion of the adjacent panel. Preferably, also, the holder includes a wall-adjacent plate enabling bolting of the holder to the wall's frame prior to placement of the panel stack thereonto.

[0007]The holder of the present invention provides the advantage of enabling safe stacking of panels on their side edges in an orientation angled for leaning against a wall or wall frame during construction, preventing sliding of the panels and preventing toppling of the panels.

Problems solved by technology

Too shallow an angle can result in the panels slipping to the floor, such as at an angle exceeding 35 degrees from vertical.

Flat or floor stacking has a disadvantage in that back injuries frequently occur from workers bending over a stack to work on a panel or lift a panel from the stack.

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