Scaffolding support bracket

Abstract

A mortar board support comprises a rigid one-piece open frame 3 and a scaffolding clamp 12. In use, the frame is mounted in a horizontal plane to support a mortar board. The frame is further provided

Description

This disclosure relates to scaffolding support brackets. Bricklayers commonly use mortar boards as a temporary surface to hold and manage mortar during the bricklaying process. Typically, these mortar boards are placed either on the ground or on scaffolding boards. In either case, the bricklayer must repeatedly bend down to scoop up mortar. This constant bending and straightening, especially when coupled with the lifting of a heavy trowel loaded with mortar, puts considerable strain on the lower back muscles and the spine. This, in turn, contributes to higher rates of back injury in bricklayers. It is evidently desirable to avoid this where possible, not least to reduce the number of lost workdays among construction workers. A number of prior proposals have attempted to address the issue of situating the mortar board more conveniently. However, each of these proposals presents significant drawbacks, as discussed below. GB660458A (David Geoffrey Coryn) concerns a mortar board construction involving a right-triangular frame mounted in a vertical plane. One side of the triangular frame is located vertically adjacent the scaffolding pole and coupled at either end to a scaffolding clamp. Another side of the triangular frame extends horizontally and supports a mortar board. The construction can be slidably adjusted on the scaffold pole to any level as may be required by the bricklayer. While this structure may be capable of supporting a mortar board, the use of multiple clamps and a triangular frame makes this arrangement harder to use and needlessly complicated. Moreover, the mortar board is supported only by one horizontally extending portion of the right-triangular frame and so lacks stability. The structure illustrated appears insufficiently robust to support heavier loads such as bricks, a pile of mortar or lengths of timber. GB2434825A (Prentice Kenneth William) is concerned with a mortar board detachable from a vertical support pin that attaches via a scaffolding clamp to a scaffolding pole. The pin is pivoted in the scaffolding clamp so that the supported mortar board is rotatable about the axis of the pin. Whereas this arrangement allows versatility in the positioning of the mortar board, maintaining the mortar board in a horizontal plane will not be easy and the structure appears insufficiently robust to support a heavy pile of mortar, bricks, or lengths of timber. The pivot mechanism and the detachable nature of the mortar board add to this arrangement’s overall complexity, all while further detracting from its long-term durability and ability to handle heavier loads. GB2366827A (Fowler Stephen) discloses an arrangement of a mortar board detachable from a rigid support arm that attaches to a scaffold pole via a clamp. In this arrangement, the support arm includes a hollow vertical sleeve for receiving a corresponding protrusion on the underside of the mortar board when the support is attached to a scaffold pole at a desired height. Again, the disclosed structure is not intended, nor is it suitable, for handling anything more than the weight of a relatively small amount of mortar centrally placed on the mortar board. As before, the emphasis on adjustability and detachability unnecessarily adds to design complexity while simultaneously compromising the arrangement’s ability to handle heavier loads. The present disclosure represents an entirely different approach to the problem of supporting a mortar board, or other objects such as bricks or timber at height at a position convenient for use by a construction worker. According to a first aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a scaffolding support bracket comprising: a rigid one-piece open frame defining sides of a base adapted to be mounted with the base in a horizontal plane to support a load, such as a mortar board, the frame being provided with at least one support arm extending from a first side of the base; and a scaffolding clamp welded to the end of the support arm distal from the base for releasably securing the frame to a scaffolding pole. By welding the clamp to the rigid frame, the scaffolding support bracket provides an almost-entirely rigid structure, the only moving parts involved being those of the clamp. Moreover, by providing the support arm with the base in a horizontal plane, the overall structure of the bracket is substantially planar. Thus, the bracket is simpler in design and capable of handling loads much heavier than was possible with the prior proposed mortar board constructions. The open frame may be formed by welding together a number of tubular portions. Preferably the number of tubular portions welded together is four so as to define the base as generally square-shaped. The tubular portions may be tubular mild steel of square cross-section, typically 25 mm by 25 mm or 30 mm by 30 mm. The tubular portions may be welded together at 45° angled joints cut at each end of the tubular portions, the support arm being welded to the first side of the base. Alternatively, one of the tubular portions may be significantly longer than the remaining tubular portions, so that that one tubular portion serves both as a side of the base and as the support arm. The scaffolding clamp preferably comprises a flat portion for easier welding to the support arm. According to a second aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a scaffolding support bracket comprising: a rigid open frame defining sides of a base adapted to be mounted with the base in a horizontal plane to support a load, such as a mortar board, the frame being provided with at least one support arm integral with the frame and extending from the frame; and at least one scaffolding clamp welded to the at least one support arm distal from the base and adapted to be clamped to a scaffolding pole with a predetermined orientation (for example, horizontal, vertical, or at an angle to the vertical) so that, when so clamped, the base extends in a horizontal plane. According to a third aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a method of temporarily supporting a load, for example a mortar board, in a horizontal plane upon a base formed by an open rigid frame from scaffolding, the frame being integral with a support arm, which, in turn, is welded to a scaffolding clamp at a position remote from the base so that when the scaffolding clamp is clamped to a scaffolding pole with a predetermined orientation (for example, vertical, horizontal, or at a predetermined angle to the vertical) the base is horizontal, the method comprising clamping the scaffolding clamp to a scaffolding pole with the said predetermined orientation and placing the load on the base. Alternatively, the support arm could be omitted and the scaffolding clamp or clamps welded directly to the frame itself. Reference may now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure lisa perspective view showing a scaffolding support bracket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure clamped to a short length of scaffolding pole for illustration purposes; Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the scaffolding support bracket of Figure 1 in use; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a scaffolding support bracket according to a second embodiment of this disclosure; and Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the scaffolding support bracket of Figure 3. For ease of reference, like parts will be denoted by like reference numerals throughout the drawings. Turning first to Figs. 1 and 2, a scaffolding support bracket 1 comprises a rigid one-piece open frame 2. The frame 2 is formed by welding together four elongate tubular portions 3 each of square cross-section and having a length of 40 cm. The tubular portions 3 are tubular mild steel and are 30 mm by 30 mm in cross section. The tubular portion 3 are each cut on both ends with 45° angled joints, and welded together at their respective angled joints to provide a square base 4 for operationally supporting a load 5 (Fig. 2), such as a mortar board 6 and mortar 7, or alternatively bricks, lengths of timber and the like. By making use of square cross section tubular portions 3, the resultant base 4 is flat in a horizontal plane aiding such support. The frame 2 defines four peripheral sides 8 of square base 4, each side 8 having a length of 40 cm. The frame 2 is also provided with a support arm 9 having two flat ends 10, 11, being welded at a first flat end 10 to one of the sides 8 of the base 4. The support arm 9 is typically 10 cm in length and formed of the same material as tubular portions 3. As will be readily appreciated, any other suitable material and dimensions may be used for the tubular portions 3 and support arm 9. For example, tubular portions 3 may be 25 mm by 25 mm in cross-section, the resultant frame 2 being lighter while still retaining an effective load-bearing capacity. A scaffolding clamp 12 is welded to the other flat end 11 of the support arm 9 distal from the base 4, the clamp 12 being welded in an alignment suitable for releasably securing the frame 2 to a vertical scaffolding pole 13. Of course, clamp 12 could instead be welded in an alignment suitable for securing the frame 2 to a horizontal scaffolding pole (not shown), or to a scaffolding pole extending at an angle to the vertical (also not shown). In this embodiment, clamp 12 is a pressed half coupler clamp having a flat portion (not shown) to allow for easier welding to the support arm 9; although other available scaffolding clamps could be used. In use, a user operates the scaffolding clamp 12 of the bracket 1 in a conventional manner to secure the frame 2 to a vertical scaffolding pole 13 at a desired height. The user then places a mortar board 6 on base 4, as shown in Fig. 2, for later convenient use. While, in Fig. 2, the bracket 1 is shown to carry a mortar board 6, it will be appreciated that the construction of bracket 1 is sufficiently robust for a scaffolding board to be placed thereupon to support bricks, lengths of timber or other loads, or to serve as a hop up platform for a user to climb. In the alternative embodiment depicted in Figs. 3 and 4, the support arm 9 is provided by choosing one 14 of the tubular portions 3 to be longer than the other three tubular portions 3. In this embodiment, the longer tubular portion 14 is 50 cm in length. When assembling the frame 2 by welding the tubular portions 3,14 together, the additional 10 cm of length of the longer tubular portion 14 extends out from the otherwise generally square perimeter of base 4, and it is this extension of the longer tubular portion 14 that serves as the support arm 9, the arm 9 therefore comprising an extension of the side 8 of the base 4 defined by the longer tubular portion 14. Accordingly, only one end of the longer tubular portion 14 is cut with a 45° angled joint, the other extending end remaining flat for welding to the clamp 12, and the end of the tubular portion 3 welded adjacent to the support arm 9 will similarly remain flat so as to be welded to the longer tubular portion 14 at its side, as shown in Fig. 4. Thus, the resultant frame 2 is generally square shaped with the exception of the longer tubular portion 14 extending out from the otherwise generally square perimeter of base 4. Clamp 12 is then welded to the support arm 9 as described above. In this embodiment, after the clamp 12 is welded to the support arm 9, a yellow powder coating is applied to the frame 2, which increases visibility and thus safety. In a further alternative embodiment (not shown), the support arm 9 is welded to one side 8 of base 4 so as to extend from that side 8 at an angle to the horizontal plane defined by base 4. The angle may be around 90°, allowing support arm 9 to be welded to frame 2 at a flat end, which simplifies manufacture and assembly. While, in this embodiment, the support arm 9 does not extend parallel to the horizontal plane of base 4, the support bracket still provides an almost-entirely rigid structure that is robust and capable of handling loads much heavier than was possible with the prior proposed mortar board constructions. Persons skilled in this field will readily appreciate that the embodiments of scaffolding support bracket described and illustrated above are more robust and versatile in their utility, being capable of supporting a significant weight such as lengths of timber, bricks, a mortar board and mortar, and even the weight of a person using the base 4 and a board placed thereupon as a hop up platform. Moreover, the illustrated structure is simple in design, and easy to manufacture. While the embodiments described above employ frames made from four lengths of tubular portion and a single straight support arm, more complex frames could readily be constructed from more pieces of tubular portion, for example providing additional support at the center of the base. A triangular base with just three sides would also be feasible. Although the illustrated embodiments use only a single support arm, arrangements with two or more support arms are also feasible. More than one scaffolding clamp 12 may be welded to one or more support arm 9 in multiple alignments to allow a user to releasably secure a single frame 2 to either a horizontal or a vertical scaffolding pole, or to a pole extending at a selected angle to the vertical. Scaffolding clamp 12 could be welded to the support arm 9 near flat end 11 rather than at it, for example, to one of the side faces of support arm 9.

Claims

1. A scaffolding support bracket comprising:a rigid one-piece open frame defining sides of a base adapted to be mounted with the base in a horizontal plane to support a load, such as a mortar board, the frame being provided with at least one support arm extending from a first side of the base; anda scaffolding clamp welded to the end of the support arm distal from the base for releasably securing the frame to a scaffolding pole.

2. A scaffolding support bracket according to Claim 1, wherein the open frame is formed by welding together a number of tubular portions.

3. A scaffolding support bracket according to Claim 2, wherein the number of tubular portions welded together is four.

4. A scaffolding support bracket according to any one of Claims 2 or 3, wherein the tubular portions are made of tubular mild steel of square cross-section.

5. A scaffolding support bracket according to any one of Claims 3 or 4, wherein the tubular portions are welded together at 45° angled joints cut at each end of the tubular portions.

6. A scaffolding support bracket according to any one of Claims 2-5, wherein the support arm is welded to a first side of the base.

7. A scaffolding support bracket according to any one of Claims 2-5, wherein one of the tubular portions is significantly longer than the remaining tubular portions, and serves both as a side of the base and as the support arm.

8. A scaffolding support bracket according to any one of the previous Claims, wherein the scaffolding clamp comprises a flat portion for easier welding to the support arm.

9. A scaffolding support bracket comprising:a rigid open frame defining sides of a base adapted to be mounted with the base in a horizontal plane to support a load, such as a mortar board, the frame being provided with at least one support arm integral with the frame and extending from the frame; andat least one scaffolding clamp welded to the at least one support arm distal from the base and adapted to be clamped to a scaffolding pole with a predetermined orientation so that, when so clamped, the base extends in a horizontal plane.

10. A method of temporarily supporting a load, for example a mortar board, in a horizontal plane upon a base formed by an open rigid frame from scaffolding, the frame being integral with a support arm, which, in turn, is welded to a scaffolding clamp at a position remote from the base so that when the scaffolding clamp is clamped to a scaffolding pole with a predetermined orientation (for example, vertical, horizontal, or at a predetermined angle to the vertical) the base is horizontal, the method comprising:clamping the scaffolding clamp to a scaffolding pole with the said predetermined orientation; andplacing the load on the base.A

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