Scaffold-Clamped Debris Chute Assembly for Swing Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing debris chutes constructed from plywood are labor-intensive and lack durability, and those made of sheet metal often swing due to wind or other forces, leading to damage and dust release.
Innovation Solution
A debris chute assembly with wall and corner members secured to a scaffold using clamping mechanisms, eliminating the need for threaded fasteners and ensuring fixed positioning, thereby preventing swinging and gap formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If plywood debris chutes are constructed to mount within scaffolds, then they can be assembled, but they are labor intensive to construct and plywood is not as durable as sheet metal
Solution Approach 1:
The debris chute is divided into modular components including wall members, corner members, and hopper sections that can be independently manufactured and assembled. This segmentation allows for easier construction while maintaining durability through standardized metal components that can be quickly attached to scaffold structures.
2Reliability
If sheet metal debris chutes are used, then durability is improved, but the wall members are likely to swing due to wind or other forces without further attachment or locking mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
Corner members serve as intermediary components that connect wall members to the scaffold structure. These corner members include locking mechanisms that positively engage with the scaffold standards, preventing wall members from swinging while maintaining the overall structural integrity and durability of the sheet metal construction.
3Reliability
If threaded fasteners are used to fasten corner and wall members, then secure attachment is achieved, but the creation and alignment of holes in the corner and wall members would be required
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening mechanism is extracted from the wall and corner members themselves and transferred to separate clamp components. These clamps attach to the scaffold standards and secure the corner and wall members without requiring holes to be created or aligned in the metal members, thereby maintaining secure attachment while simplifying the installation process.
4Device complexity
If wall members are not fixedly secured to the scaffold, then assembly is simpler, but debris can cause damage to the wall members and gaps form between wall members allowing dust or objects to escape
Solution Approach 1:
Corner members with locking mechanisms act as intermediaries that firmly secure wall members to the scaffold structure. This fixed attachment prevents wall members from moving or swinging, thereby protecting them from debris impact and eliminating gaps that would allow dust or objects to escape, while maintaining relatively simple assembly procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
A debris chute assembly for removing debris from a height during construction or similar activity includes a scaffold, a plurality of wall members, and a plurality of corner members. The wall members hang on ledgers of the scaffold in tubular sections which align with each other. The corner members attach to standards of the scaffold and retain the wall members in fixed positions with respect to the scaffold. Various embodiments of corner members are provided which attach to the scaffold by various fastening means.