The present invention relates to a hanging scaffold for attachment at the eaves area or facade area of a build- ing from which structural roof parts project out from the body of the building, said scaffold including at least two framework structures each of which can be hung from a respective roof projection and which are intended to support a guard rail or balustrade, wherein each of the framework structures has a general.

U-shape -and includes a balustrade post which is supported at one end by a horizontal beam which, in turn, is connected at its other end to a hanging stan¬ chion comprising a first rod which is connectable to an attachment on the roof projection so as to hang from said attachment.

A scaffold constructed in the manner indicated above is known from DE-A1.334 103, for instance.

This known scaffold includes a stanchion which is suspended at its upper end by a bolt which passes through a roof truss rafter and the bottom end of which supports against the facade of the building, and in which a framework structure intended to carry a guard rail, or balustrade, and a floor is •displaceable along the stanchion.

This method of hanging the scaffold is unsatisfactory with respect to load safety.

Furthermore, it is unsatisfactory to stabilize the framework structure, by supportive abutment of the bottom end part of the stanchion with the facade of the building, because the facade can be readily damaged as

a result of its contact with the facade support of the stanchion. The facade is also liable to be damaged when an anchoring device is fitted in order to prevent the bottom part of the stanchion from swinging away from the facade.

One object of the invention is to provide a hanging scaffold with which at least one of the aforesaid drawbacks is avoided, either totally or partially.

This object is achieved with a hanging scaffold defined in the following Claim 1. Thus, according to the inven¬ tion, in the case of a hanging scaffold of the type described in the introduction, each attachment device has the form of a substantially U-shaped bracket which is intended to straddle a rafter or ceiling joist forming part of a roof truss in the building roof structure, and a bolt which passes horizontally through the roof truss part and also through the bracket legs located on respective opposite sides tehreof and from which the upper end of the first rod included in a framework struc¬ ture can be hung. The remaining part of the framework structure can be guided for movement along the first rod and capable of being locked in different positions thereon. As a result of this arrangement, the attachment devices are ideally carried directly by the load-carrying roof-truss parts and are located completely beneath the roofing of the building. The hanging scaffold can, of course, be used immediately the roof truss is in position and can therewith also be used in work carried out on the building subsequent to fitting the roof truss in posi¬ tion. By constructing the substantially . U-shaped bracket in separate parts, i.e. in the form of two generally L-shaped members which together define the bracket, the members can be fitted by hammering the

bracket legs, which rest against the upper side of the roof truss part, in between the upper side of the rafter and a roof covering mounted on top of the rafter.

The arrangement described in Claims 2 and 3 provides optimum support for the attachment device against the roof truss part, while the arrangement according to Figure 3 affords favourable absorption of the load to which the roof truss part is subjected through the attachment device.

The arrangement, according to Claim 4, provides favour¬ able distribution in the roof truss part of the load applied via the attachment device.

The arrangement according to Claim 5 affords the ad¬ vantage that the connecting pieces can be left to form a permanent part of the roof projection, which is particularly advantageous in the case of roof projec¬ tions whose undersurfaces are faced with board. In this case, the attachment is unaccessible behind the facing board, whereas the connecting pieces are accessible, wherein the slots enable the connecting pieces to be moved to locations in which they are hidden from view, when the remainder of the scaffold is dismantled.

Claims 6-8 define advantageous arrangements which enable the hanging scaffold to be adapted favourably to different buildings and to different kinds of work carried out thereon while using permanently mounted attachment devices and optionally permanent connecting pieces on these buildings.

The object of the invention is also to provide a hang¬ ing scaffold which does not require any form of support against the facade of the building, but which is solely mounted on the roof projection parts, while still enabling the scaffold to be adapted readily to roof projections of mutually different configurations and to roofs of different pitche angles. Such a scaffold finds particular use as an eaves guard or a scaffold for working in the region of the eaves.

To this end, the inventive hanging scaffold is charac¬ terized in that the hanging stanchion, in addition to said first rod, also includes a second rod which sup¬ ports against the roof projection (for instance, the rafter of a roof truss) from beneath and at a point which is located between the suspension point of the first rod on said attachment device and the body of the building. This enables the second rod to be anchored to the roof projection part through the intermediary of an attachment device fitted on said part, so as to stabil¬ ize the framework structure against swinging in a direction perpendicular to the facade.

Preferably, the second rod has a pivot joint at one end and one of the two rods has an adjustable length so that the position of the framework structure relative to the roof projection part can be adjusted and there¬ with adjust the framework structure and the scaffold to the desired position in relation to the building, irrespective of the pitch of the roof or the con¬ figuration of the part of the roof projection con¬ cerned.

The second rod preferably extends substantially perpen- dicular to the bottom beam and the balustrade post is

substantially parallel to the second rod.

The means for attaching the second rod preferably has the form of a U-shaped bracket which straddles the roof projection part from beneath and is locked against sliding along said part, said roof projection part normally comprising at least one wooden beam of rectan¬ gular cross-section.

The second rod of the framework structure may be tele¬ scopic and includes a sleeve which is fixed to the bottom beam/floor beam, and a bar which is displaceable vertically through the sleeve and which can be locked in selected positions relative thereto and the upper end of which supports against the roof projection part.

The balustrade post may be vertically adjustable rela¬ tive to the bottom beam and the bottom beam may have an adjustable length at right angles to the facade, so as to enable the balustrade to be positioned immediately above and adjacent the bottom edge of the roof and function as a barrier against snow, ice and debris slipping from the roof.

The invention and further developments thereof are characterized by the features set forth in the follow¬ ing Claims.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to a number of exemplifying embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic view in vertical section of part of a building on which an inventive scaffold is hung;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the upper part of the scaffold;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view which illustrates the mutual connection of profiled members, which form part of the inventive scaffold shown in Figure 1, with a remaining framework structural part; Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through adjacent ends of two mutually connected profiled mem¬ bers; Figure 5 is a schematic vertical-section view of an upper part of a building having a roof projection which is covered with board on the undersurface thereof, and also shows the inventive scaffold attached to the building; Figure 6 is a schematic side view of a framework struc¬ ture which forms part of a second embodiment of the inventive scaffold;

Figure 7 is a partially sectioned view taken on the line VII-VII in Figure 6; Figure 8 is a partially sectioned view taken on the line VIII-VIII in Figure 6; and Figure 9 illustrates an alternative attachment device.

Mutually coinciding or essentially coinciding members illustrated in the various Figures of the drawings have been identified with the same reference signs.

Figure 1 illustrates schematically part of a building structure, which includes a roof truss comprising a rafter 10, upper and lower stories 11 and 12, flooring 13 separating the stories, and a facade 14. The build¬ ing further comprises an outwardly projecting roof construction part or roof projection which extends from the actual body of the building, beyond the facade 14. Suspended from the roof projection is a hanging scaf-

fold, which includes planks 15 which form a floor and a back support and which are supported by and extend between two or more frameworks disposed along the facade 14, each of said frameworks being detachably hung from a respective rafter 10 in the region of the roof projection. Only one rafter with a framework suspended therefrom is shown in Figure 1. It is as¬ sumed, however, that additional rafters 10 are located along the facade 14 and that a framework or frameworks is/or are hung from one or more of these rafters, in complete agreement with the rafter and framework il¬ lustrated in Figure 1. These further rafters and frameworks are consequently not shown in Figure 1.

The framework illustrated in Figure 1 includes a first post which comprises a number of elongated profiled members 16 which are arranged in line with one another and of which the upper end of the upper profile members 16 is detachably suspended from an attachment device carried by the rafter 10, through the intermediary of connecting pieces 17. This can be seen more clearly from Figure 2, from which it will also be seen that the attachment device has the form of a substantially U- shaped bracket which straddles the rafter 10, so that each leg of the bracket 18 is located on a respective side of the rafter 10. More specifically, the legs 18 and the web 19 of the U-shaped bracket are straight and flat, wherewith the legs 18 extend substantially at right angles to the web 19 and the web and the legs abut flatly with the upper surface of the rafter 10 and respective vertical side surfaces thereof. Extending horizontally through a transverse hole in the legs 18 and the rafter 10 is a screw-threaded bolt 20 having a head 21 and coacting with a nut 22, this bolt forming part of the attachment device. The profiled members 16

are suspended from the bolt through the intermediary of the connecting pieces 17. The bottom ends of the con¬ necting pieces 17 are rigidly connected to the profiled members by means of bolts 23 which pass through said connecting pieces and the upper profiled member 16, said profiled member being detachably suspended from the bolt 20 on a respective side of the rafter 10. More specifically, the connecting pieces 17 are located between the outer surface of an associated leg and the bolt head 21 and the nut 22 respectively. The bolt 20 passes through an opening or a vertical slot 24 in each of the connecting pieces 17, which may be mounted for pivotal movement around the horizontal bolt axle. Shims or the like 25 may be used to compensate for any dis- similarities in the distance between the outer surfaces of the legs 18 and in the distance between those sides of the profiled member 16 which face towards the con¬ necting pieces 17.

In addition to the profiled member 16, the framework includes one or more parts which can be moved guidingly along the profiled members and locked in different positions thereon. Each of these parts includes a sleeve 26 which can be moved along the profiled members and locked in different positions thereon and which, in turn, carries an arm 27, which in the illustrated embodiment has a lattice configuration. This arm 27 forms a support for the planks 15 which form the scaf¬ fold floor, and also carries a post 28 which, in turn, carries the planks or boards 15 forming the ballustade. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a profiled member 16 and a sleeve 26, from which it will be seen that the profiled member and the sleeve have an elongated rec¬ tangular cross-section and that the cross-section of the sleeve conforms with the cross-section of the

profiled member and is guided by and movable along said member. Each profiled member 16 has formed along its length a row of mutually spaced holes 29 and each sleeve 26 is provided with an opening 30 that can be positioned in register with any one of the holes 29.

The profiled member 16 and the sleeve 26 can be mutual¬ ly locked together in any desired position, with the aid of a locking element 31 which passes through the opening 30 and a selected hole 29. In the Figure 3 embodiment, this locking element 31 is a threaded bolt which meshes with a nut 32 welded to the outer surface of the sleeve around the opening 30, the outer end of the bolt 31 being provided with a handle 33 which enables the sleeve 29 to be fixated relative to the profiled member 16 without needing the use of a tool herefor. The bolt 31 passes freely through the holes 29 and the opening 30, and when the bolt 31 in Figure 3 is tightened, the profile member 16 will be urged against the side of the sleeve distal from the nut 32.

Figure l shows two mutually similar profiled members 16 joined together at 34. The manner in which this join is accomplished is shown in more detail in Figure 4, according to which end plates 35 are welded at the mutually adjacent ends of the profiled members. Each plate has a hole provided therein and a bolt 36 which is welded to the top plate extends out through the hole in the top plate 35 and freely through the hole in the bottom plate 35 and meshes with a nut 37 welded to the bottom plate. The profiled member 16 can thus be con¬ nected to one another and detached from one another, by turning the members relative to one another in one or the other direction.

It is realized that the scaffold will have a tendency to swing clockwise around the bolt 20, as seen in Figure 1. Accordingly, in order to avoid contact bet¬ ween the facade 14 and the scaffold, the scaffold is provided at 38 with an adjustable support, in a known manner, therewith enabling the profiled member 16 to be maintained in a substantially vertical position.

When dismantling the scaffold illustrated in Figures

1-4, the bolt 20 is unscrewed and the connecting pieces 17 released from the bracket 18, 19. The bracket 18, 19 is left on the rafter 10, with the bolt 20 optionally replaced, where the bracket is located well protected beneath the roof in readiness for use in future repair work on the building.

Figure 5 illustrates the attachment device, or bracket, of which only one leg 18 is shown, attached to the ceiling joist of a truss part 10' forming a lattice- type roof truss, the undersurface of the roof projec¬ tion being clad with boards 39. In this case, the bolt 20 is difficult to reach once the boards 39 have been placed in position. Consequently, when dismantling the scaffold, which is only partially shown in Figure 5, the bolts 23 are unscrewed and the upper profiled member 16 is released from the connecting pieces 17. Because of the provision of the slots 24, the connect¬ ing pieces can be displaced transversely to the axis of the bolt 20 and then pushed from the downwardly extend¬ ing position shown in full lines to the upwardly dis¬ placed position shown in broken lines, wherein the bottom ends of the connecting pieces are located approximately level with the undersurface of the ceil- ing joist 10'. In this position, the bracket and the

connecting pieces 17 are left well protected beneath the roof in preparation for use in future repairs to the building.

In the case of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 6, the first post includes two parallel profiles 106 which are attached to opposite sides of the bottom beam or the arm 27, and a second post 101 which is secured to the beam 27.

A U-shaped bracket 107 is fitted onto the upper side of the rafter, so that the web 19 and the legs 18 of the bracket are contiguous with corresponding surfaces of the rafter 10. The profiles 106 are pivotally connected to the bracket 107, by means of through-passing headed bolts 20, which extend through bores in the legs 18 of the bracket and through the rafter 10 and also through the profiles 106. A nut 22 is fitted onto the free end of the bolt 21. The bracket 107 takes-up the tensile load acting through the profiles 106 and substantially against the upper surface of the rafter 10, and the bolt 21 forms primarily a pivot for the profiles 106 and a means of anchoring the profiles 106 to the bracket 107. In addition, the bolt 21 functions to prevent the bracket 106 from sliding along the rafter. The second post of the scaffold stanchion is telescopic and includes a sleeve 101, which is attached to the bottom beam 27, and a profiled member 102, which can be moved axially through the sleeve 101 and can be locked thereto in selected positions for adjustment of the second post to a desired effective length above the bottom beam 27. The profiled member 102 carries at its upper end a bracket 103 which is pivotally connected to a tongue 104 on an attachment 105 for the second rod. The attachment bracket 105 includes a web which lies

against the undersurface of the rafter 10, and two legs which lie against the side surfaces of said rafter, said legs being provided with holes which enable the bracket 105 to be secured to the rafter 2 with the aid of screws or the like.

The bottom arm 27 may include a load-supporting profile 110, which may optionally be reinforced with a bottom rod ill and lattice reinforcements 112, particularly when the bottom beam 27 is intended to support planks 15 or the like for a truss scaffold.

The scaffold post 28 may include a member 120, such as a tubular section, which is attached to the bottom arm 27 and which fixedly receives a post 121 which dis- placeably carries a tubular section 122 corresponding to the tubular section 120. The tubular section 122 carries profiled members 15 which bridge two frameworks in a manner to form a ballustade. The tubular section 122 can be locked to the post 121 in selected positions thereon, by means of a locking device 18 which cor¬ responds to the locking device 70 illustrated in Figure 8 and relates to the second post 101, 102.

It will be seen from Figure 8 that the bolt 31 engages a nut 32 attached to the sleeve 101, and extends through a corresponding opening in the sleeve 101 and through an opening in the tubular section 102 in regis¬ ter with said sleeve opening. The front end of the bolt 31 presses against the inner surface of the profiled section 102 and clamps said section into frictional engagement with an adjacent inner-wall part of the sleeve 101.

The profile 102 may be provided with a series of mutu¬ ally spaced openings for accommodating the bolt 31, thereby to ensure that the locking device is effective even should the clamping action afforded by the free end of the bolt be lost.

It will be seen that the whole of the framework can be swung to a desired position in relation to the rafter 10, irrespective of its slope, by extending or shorten- ing the length of the post 101, 102 between the beam 27 and its attachment 105. It is essential that the point at which the second post 101, 102 engages the rafter 10 lies between the point at which the first post engages said rafter and the facade, so that the bending moment exerted on the framework by the load can be taken up by the supportive engagement of the second post 101, 102 with the undersurface of the rafter 10.

When the framework is to be used as an eave guard rail the suspension stanchion and the bottom beam 27 are dimensioned so that the ballustrade 15 can be located in the immediate vicinity of the bottom edge 123 of the roof and extend upwardly therefrom, to form a shield against debris and persons sliding from the roof.

When the framework is to be used as an eave scaffold, the bottom beam 27 shall be given a length such as to enable an appropriately wide support to be formed for floor planks 15 or the like, and the vertical extension of the stanchion 10 shall be such as to enable floor planks to be positioned at appropriate heights in relation to the truss region. The bracket 107 can be fitted to the rafter 2, prior to laying the roof there¬ on. For instance, the bracket or fitting 107 can be fitted onto the rafter 2 in the factory where the

trusses are produced, said bracket 107 and its bolt 45 being fitted to the rafter during said manufacture.

The attachment device 105 may form part of the framewo- rk structure of the hanging scaffold. The attachment device 105 is prevented from sliding along the under¬ surface of the rafter 2 when the posts 106 and 102 are mutually attached in a manner to be flexurally rigid. A hole or bore may be provided in each of the legs of the U-shaped attachment device 105 and, if desired, subsequent to hanging the scaffold framework, a hole can be drilled into or through the rafter 2, via the holes in the legs of said attachment device, and a bolt or a locking pin then inserted into the hole. The bolt or the locking pin may be connected to the attachment device 105 by a piece of wire or the like. Figure 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the attachment device, which straddles the roof projection part from above. In the case of the Figure 9 embodi- ment, the U-shaped attachment bracket is in two parts and has the form of two, substantially identical L-shaped members, each of which includes a first leg 18 having a hole provided therein and intended to lie against a corresponding side surface of the roof pro- jection part, for instance the rafter 10, and also a second leg 19' which extends essentially perpendicular to the first leg 18 and which rests on top of the roof projection part. In the case of the Figure 9 embodi¬ ment, attachment can be established by hooking the legs 19' of the ' L-shaped bracket members onto the rafter 10, or by driving said legs in between said rafter and a roof construction mounted thereon. The bracket attachment illustrated in Figure 9 can there¬ fore be readily dismantled from the rafter 10, even subsequent to covering the rafter with a roof con¬ struction.