GB2440399A

GB2440399A - Scaffolding erection conveyor

Info

Publication number: GB2440399A
Application number: GB0614795A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gavin Agar
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-07-26
Filing date: 2006-07-26
Publication date: 2008-01-30
Also published as: GB0614795D0

Abstract

A conveyor apparatus 10 for conveying sections of scaffolding is formed in sections that include a frame on which are mounted a series of pairs of rotating elements 16 such as wheels that rotate in opposite directions. One of the wheels in at least one of the pairs is driven to convey the scaffolding sections held between the wheels. Sections of the conveyor 18,20 may be adapted for the conveying of poles and boards respectively. The sections of conveyer may be added at the bottom of the scaffold, and lifted as the scaffold is built, with further conveyor sections added at the bottom (figure 1b).

Description

Conveyor Apparatus The present invention relates to a conveyor

apparatus and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a conveyor apparatus for use in conjunction with scaffolding and to a method for constructing the scaffolding structure.

The use of scaffolding in the construction and maintenance of buildings and other structures is well known.

Scaffolding is used to allow easy and safe access to the outside of a building or structure and generally is primarily constructed from steel poles which are connected together by connectors to form a skeleton structure with wooden boards used to form a floor and where necessary walls or partial walls.

The structure is typically built in layered stages with a first layer closest to the ground being initially constructed and further layers built on top. For the higher layers of the scaffolding structure the poles, boards and connectors must be lifted up the structure. For poles and boards this is generally done by a team of people, one on each scaffolding layer, who pass the poles and boards up to each other using a so-called tIhand_over_handI technique. Such a technique requires significant manpower, is slow and has inherent dangers of poles and boards being dropped.

Alternatively, boards and poles can be attached to a rope or cable which is looped over a pulley and lifted manually or using a winch. This technique can also be used to lift pole connectors and other more components by loading them into a bucket which is attached to the rope or cable. This method also has the disadvantage that it is slow in lifting the structural components and safety concerns also arise since friction is generally used to attach the rope or cable to the board or pole.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome disadvantages of the prior art, including, but not limited to, those set out above.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveyor section for use as part of a conveyor apparatus, the conveyor section comprising:-at least one frame; and at least one pair of object engaging devices connected to said frame for engaging therebetween at least one surface of an object to be conveyed, wherein one of the or each pair of object engaging devices is adapted to rotate in a first sense opposite to the other of the or each pair and at least one of at least one pair of said object engaging devices is driven thereby causing said object to be conveyed.

When a conveyor section, of the type set out above, is used as part of a conveyor apparatus, the advantage is provided that a conveyor, for moving scaffolding components can be constructed in a sectional form corresponding to the height of the scaffolding. As a result, the conveyor can be used irrespective of the height of the conveyor by simply adding more sections. As a result, scaffolding components, and in particular poles and boards, can be safely and quickly conveyed to create further layers of scaffolding. This is of particular importance on large buildings and in dangerous environments such as around pylons, power stations and furnaces. The conveyor can also be used horizontally where scaffolding is to be used on bridges. It can often be the case that vehicle access can only be gained to the ends of a bridge, or other similar horizontally large structure, and transferring scaffolding parts to the centre of the bridge is extremely time consuming and labour intensive. These advantages equally apply to the dismantling of the scaffolding structure.

In a preferred embodiment at least one surface engaging device comprises at least one wheel.

In another preferred embodiment at least one said wheel comprises a toothed wheel.

By using a toothed wheel, the advantage is provided that the poles and boards can be easily introduced between the wheels when initially introduced to the first conveyor section.

In a further preferred embodiment at least one said driven object engaging device is driven by a belt drive.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a conveyor apparatus comprising:-a plurality of conveyor sections as defined above; at least one drive for driving at least one driven object engaging device; and at least one connector for connecting at least one pair of -conveyor sections.

The conveyor apparatus may further comprise at least one lifting device for lifting each conveyor section to allow another conveyor section to be added to the apparatus.

In a preferred embodiment at least one connector further comprises at least one drive transfer for transferring drive from a drive object engaging device on one conveyor section to a driven object engaging device on an adjacent conveyor section.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided method of constructing a scaffolding structure, comprising the steps of:-a) constructing a first layer of a scaffolding structure; b) attaching a conveyor apparatus defined above to said scaffolding structure; C) using said conveyor apparatus to convey part of a scaffolding structure to said constructed layer; d) constructing a new layer of scaffolding on top of said constructed layer; e) lifting at least part of said conveyor apparatus to said new layer of scaffolding and attaching thereto; f) adding at least one conveyor section to said conveyor apparatus; and g) repeating steps c) to f) until said scaffolding structure is complete.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now * 30 be described, by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-Figures la an& lb are side views of an apparatus of the present invention; /4 35: Figure 2 is a close-up view of part of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view inside a section of conveyor of the apparatus of the present invention; Figure 4 is a view inside the section of conveyor of Figure 3; Figures 5 -12 are front and side views of gripping wheels of the apparatus of the present invention; Figure 13 is a perspective view of a connector of the apparatus of the present invention; and Figures 14 -19 are perspective views of the apparatus of the present invention showing the use of the apparatus.

Referring to Figures 1 -12, a conveyor section 10 is used to form part of a conveyor apparatus 12. The conveyor section 10 has a frame 14 on which are mounted pairs of object engaging devices or gripping wheels 16. The gripping wheels are aligned in pairs into rows 18 and 20 in which the pairs of gripping wheels 18 are differently spaced apart to accommodate different objects to be conveyed. The pairs of gripping wheels 16 in row 18 are approximately 2 inches (5 cm) apart, as measured from the most distant parts of gripping surfaceS 22 of wheel 16. The gripping surfaces 22 have a concave form and are for gripping the cylindrical external surface of a gcaffolding pole (not shown).

In the second row 20 the pairs of gripping wheels 16 are separated by approximately 9 inches (23 cm) when measured at the gripping surface 24. The gripping surface 24 is flanked by ridges 26 which together form a channel that supports a scaffolding board which is conveyed between the pairs of gripping wheels 16 in row 20. In each pair of gripping wheels when they have an object between them, one of the gripping wheels will rotate in a first sense or rotational direction S1, whilst the opposite gripping wheel 16 rotates in the opposite rotational direction S2. This results in the object being conveyed in directionD. A rotational drive is applied to one or more of the gripping wheels 16. It can be the case that only one of the gripping wheels within a single conveyor io section 16 needs to be driven with all of the other gripping wheels 16 acting to guide the object in direction D. However, two or more of the gripping wheels 16 can be driven and in Figure 3 it can be seen that belts 28 are used to drive the gripping wheels 16. The belts 28 drive wheels 30 which are directly connected to the gripping wheels 16 by an axle (not shown). The drive wheels 30 are present on one side of frame 14 with the gripping wheel 16 on the other.

The conveyor apparatus also includes a track 32 which supports and carries the conveyor sections 10 and is attached to the scaffolding structure. The track 32 is connected to a base 34 which has supports 36 which are in contact with the ground. Each conveyor section 10 has four wheels 37 which engage that track 32 allowing the conveyor section to run up or down the track. An upper part 38 of base 34 has feeding apertures (not shown) through which the scaffolding components to be conveyed are fed into the conveyor sectionS 10.

At the upper end of the or the uppermost conveyor section 10 is a receiving box 40 which has a trapdoor 42. As scaffolding components reach the top of the conveyor apparatus, they push open the trapdoor 42. As the trapdoor is pushed open a cut off switch is activated which cuts the drive so as to prevent the object passing further through the trapdoor 42. In order to reactivate the drive a further switch, operated *by a foot control, must be pressed. This mechanism acts as a safety device preventing the top of the conveyor operating if it is left unattended. By requiring the further switch to be pressed to reactivate the drive this prevents the further safety provided by the foot operated switch being permanently activated by leaving a weight on it. The apparatus also includes a bin 44 which can be used to lift small items such as scaffolding connectors or netting. The bin 44 has two wheel engaging sections which are dimensioned to be similar to a short section of scaffolding pole and a short section of scaffolding board. These portions are used to engage the gripping wheels 16 so that the bin 44 can be transferred along the conveyor in the same manner as a scaffolding pole or board.

The bin 44 has an extending portion 46 which opens the trap door 42 in the manner described above.

Referring to Figure 2, the bin 44 can be seen in two positions. In the upper position, with the bin 44 shown with the cross-hatch markings, the extension portion 46 causes the trap door 42 to open. In the lower position, shown with the bin 44 unshaded, the extension portion 46 has not engaged the trap door 42 which as a result is shut.

Referring to Figure 13, a connector 48 for connecting a driven wheel of one conveyor section 10 to a wheel of another conveyor section so as to provide power drive to that other conveyor section is shown. The connector 48 has a pair of wheels 50, the axles of which are attached to a handle 52. A toothed belt 54 engages the wheels 50 so that rotation of one wheel causes rotation of the other wheel in the same direction.

The wheels 50 are adapted to engage the drive wheels 30 of adjacent conveyor sections so that the rotation of the driv wheel in one conveyor section causes rotation of the drive wheel in the adjacent conveyor section which in turn drives the other drive wheel aligned to it. In the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4, four connectors 48 would be used to connect one conveyor section 10 to an adjacent conveyor section.

In use, the first layer of scaffolding structure is constructed and the first section of track 32 and the base 34 are securely attached thereto. The receiving box 40 is attached to a first conveyor section 10 and these are introduced onto track 32 so that wheels 37 are engaged with track 32. This step is shown in Figure 14. Once in position, as seen in Figure 15, the conveyor section 10 is locked relative to track 32 which is in turn fixed relative to the scaffolding structure.

The conveyor apparatus is now ready to convey scaffolding boards, poles and other scaffolding apparatus up to the top of the current level of construction of the scaffolding structure so that the next layer can be built. In practice it might be the case that the first two or three layers of scaffolding are constructed at one time since passing scaffolding poles and boards these short distances is relatively easy.

When the conveyor apparatus is used a motor provides rotational drive to the lowermost of each line of pairs of drive wheels 30 causing them to rotate. The belts 28 cause the remaining drive wheels to rotate which in turn rotate the gripping wheels 16. With the drive wheels 16 rotating in the anti-clockwise and clockwise directions S1 and S2, if a scaffolding pole is introduced between the first pair of gripping wheels 16 in row 18, the scaffolding pole will be gripped between them and cause them to move in direction D. It will then engage the next pair of gripping wheels 16 and will continue to pass in direction D until its end passes between the final pair of gripping wheels 16. By using the gripping wheel 16 shown in Figures 5 -8, the initial introduction of the pole or board between the gripping wheel 16 is eased by the open sections of the toothed wheels shown therein.

Once the next layer of scaffolding has been constructed, the next section of track 32 is attached to the scaffolding and extends above the receiving box 40, as seen in Figure 16. The receiving box 40 and conveyor section 10 are then raised up the track on wheels 37 and are then fixed relative to the new section of track 32 just added, as seen in Figure 17. This is done by running a cable to the conveyor section 10 via a pulley at the top of the newly added section of track 32. The other end of the cable is attached to a winch, either at ground level or on the scaffolding, and the conveyor sections 10 are pulled up the track 32 to their new position. As the scaffolding becomes larger and the number of conveyor sections added increases, it can become necessary to separate the conveyor sections and lift them a few at a time.

Moving the conveyor sections 10 up track 32 leaves a space, as can be seen in Figure 17 and 1B, into which a next conveyor section can be added. The method of raising the conveyor sections to the next level could be undertaken by reversing the direction of the rotation of the gripping wheels 14 and inserting a pole and/or board which are fixed relative to the scaffolding which will cause the conveyor section 10 to lift upwards.

The new conveyor section 10 is locked relative to the track 32 as shown in E'igures 18 and 19. Connectors 48 are used to join the uppermost drive wheel 30 in each of the lowermost conveyor to the lowermost drive wheel 30 in the upper conveyor.

As a resu1t, any rotation of the drive wheels 30 in the lower conveyor section causes rotation of the drive wheels 30 in the upper conveyor section. Thus a continuous conveyor apparatus is provided even with a single drive motor provided at the base.

When the scaffolding is erected, the conveyor apparatus can be removed by removing one conveyor section at a time and lowering the remaining section, reversing the operation set out above.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, the conveyor apparatus can be used in a horizontal instead of vertical arrangement in order to convey scaffolding components over long horizontal distances. For example, where access cannot be gained by a vehicle to a structure such as a bridge, the conveyor allows easy transferral of the scaffolding components. It should also be noted that the power drive can be provided at the top rather than the bottom of the conveyor apparatus and that each conveyor section could be provided with its own power drive thereby removing the need for the connectors 48. A conveyor according to the present invention can also be used in other situations where a temporary conveyor apparatus is required and in particular where a Conveyor of temporarily varying length is required.

Claims

Claims 1. A conveyor section for use as part of a conveyor apparatus,

the conveyor section comprising:-at least one frame; and at least one pair of object engaging devices connected *to said frame for engaging therebetween at least one surface of an object to be conveyed, wherein one of the or each pair of object engaging devices is adapted to rotate in a first sense opposite to the other of the or each pair and at least one of at least one pair of said object engaging devices is driven thereby causing said object to be conveyed.

2. A conveyor section according to claim 1, wherein at least one surface engaging device comprises at least one wheel.

3. A conveyor section according to claim 2, wherein at least one said wheel comprises a toothed wheel.

4. A conveyor section according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one said driven object engaging device Is driven by a belt drive.

5. A conveyor section for use as part of a conveyor apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6. A conveyor apparatus comprising:-a plurality of conveyor sections according to any one of the preceding claims; at least one drive for driving at least one driven object engaging device; and at least one connector for connecting at least one pair of conveyor sections.

7. A conveyor apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising at least one lifting device for lifting each conveyor section to allow another conveyor section to be added to the apparatus.

8. A conveyor apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein at least one connector further comprises at least one drive transfer for transferring drive from a drive object engaging device on one conveyor section to a driven object engaging device on an adjacent conveyor section.

9. A conveyor apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A method of constructing a scaffolding structure, comprising the steps of:-a) constructing a first layer of a scaffolding structure; b) attaching a conveyor apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9 to said scaffolding structure; C) using said conveyor apparatus to convey part of a scaffolding structure to said constructed layer; d) constructing a new layer of scaffolding on top of said constructed layer; e) lifting at least part of said conveyor apparatus to said new layer of scaffolding and attaching thereto; f) adding at least one conveyor section to said conveyor apparatus; and g) repeating steps C) to f) until said scaffolding structure is complete.