Scaffold securement device

Abstract

A locking device, spring loaded, for use for holding scaffolding trusses and their walk board secured to the end frames for the scaffold assembly, a locking device incorporating a pin for locking the scaffolding sleeve to its associated end frame, the pin having integrally formed a closed handle at its inward end, opposite from where the pin locks into the end frame, and there being a slot for accommodating a detent pin or the locking device that prevents its inadvertent disengagement while the scaffold assembly is being used or moved.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This continuation application claims priority to the regular patent application having Ser. No. 12 / 157,409, filed Jun. 9, 2009, which claims priority to the non-provisional application having Ser. No. 60 / 934,187, filed on Jun. 12, 2007 which claims priority to the continuation-in-part patent application having Ser. No. 10 / 884,350, filed Jul. 2, 2004, which claims priority to the continuation application having Ser. No. 10 / 103,242, which was filed on Mar. 22, 2002, which is a continuation of the application having Ser. No. 09 / 729,618, filed on Dec. 4, 2000; which is now U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,067, which application is a non-provisional application filed upon the provisional application having Ser. No. 60 / 169,217, filed on Dec. 6, 1999, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,067, all said applications owned by a common entity.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates primarily to scaffolding, and more specifically pertains to means for ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]The current invention consist of a scaffolding assembly having two ladder like vertical structures, commonly referred to as end frames, where the end frames are made up of two vertical columns, and rungs expanding transversely therebetween, to form a scaffolding platform supporting structure. The platform, also generally referred to as a walk board, can be fixed in place through the use of attachment means. Truss means is fastened to the end frames, but can be locked into position by means of detent pins, to assure that the end frames remain in place for supporting their walk board, during sustained usage. But, by removing the locking detent pins, grasping the handles provided locking device, and pushing the handles towards its associated gusset, this allows the user to relocate the position of the truss and its walk board, during adjustment. It is the convenience of the shown handles that allows the worker to place their thumbs into the center of the handles, which cannot easily be disengaged therefrom during manipulation, and can remain fixed in position, as the walk board and trusses are being elevated or lowered, during adjustment of the scaffold assembly.

[0009]It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention is to provide scaffolding, capable of being adjusted, a unique handle means that assures to the worker that while adjustment is being performed, there is little chance for support or inadvertent shifting of the walk board and supporting trusses during usage.

[0010]Another object of this invention is to provide a very stable like scaffolding assembly that incorporates safety means which assures permanent locking of the walk board and its trusses to the end frames, and which cannot be disengaged, inadvertently, due to their affixing through the usage of detent safety pins.

[0011]Another object of this invention is to provide a scaffolding assembly that can be quickly and easily assembled, and readily utilized by a single worker, assured of maximum safety.

Problems solved by technology

Or, the spring of the holding pin itself can simply break.

Because scaffolds are manufactured to be assembled and disassembled with facility, the tolerance is found between the truss and the end frame connections can be extreme, causing excessive lateral shifting or movement between the two, after repeated usage.

Over time, such repeated movements can force the pin to become disengaged, causing the scaffolding to collapse, sometimes with disastrous results.

Despite the improvements as shown in earlier patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,761, which discloses the use of a threaded nut to secure a pin in place, such as can be noted in the prior art disclosed in FIG. 2, such structure has proven to ineffective because it is difficult to visually confirm that its lock nut is secure and tight, or that the threads upon the pin become worn, damaged, or stripped, or become so covered with foreign matter such as plaster, concrete, construction glue, etc., so as to become rather unusable, and inefficient.

In this embodiment, the pin is designed to be locked in place by a hook mechanism, being lodged against a metal bracket, after it has been fully engaged into the end frame, but such structure has also proved to be unreliable due to the fact that the locking mechanism also relies exclusively on springs, as can be noted, which can easily break and cause failure to the structure of the scaffolding, much to the detriment of any workers upon the same, or any workers that may be moving the scaffolding, from one workplace to another.

The problem, though, with current methods is that the worker's hands must be positioned in the center of the shown handles, in order to distribute equal pressure and easily disengage the attaching latch pins.

If the worker positions his thumbs in handles slightly off center, the pins may become bound up and fail to disengage, which prevents the scaffolding from being adjusted, or if disengagement occurs, and the scaffolding has excessive weight upon it, it could quickly descend, which could be hazardous to the worker standing just adjacent the end frames for the scaffolding under adjustment.

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