FASTENING DEVICE, COVERING MEMBER AND METHOD FOR PREVENTING OF A FALL BY A PERSON OF ELEVATED SXJRFACE

The present invention relates to a securing device for preventing persons from falling from an elevated surface. The present invention further relates to a covering member for covering an elevated surface. The present invention also relates to a method for arranging a securing device according to the present invention. Different solutions are known for preventing falls from elevated surfaces such as roofs. The inventor of the present invention is also inventor of an invention described in WO2005/061818 Al. Described in this document is a securing device for preventing persons from falling from a roof wherein an eye is connected to a net incorporated in a bitumen layer of the roof. Once the bitumen roll has been arranged on a roof, a lifeline can be fastened to such an eye which can prevent a fall of a person attached to the lifeline. The solution specified in this document provides an example for providing such a securing device. A significant drawback of such a solution is that use thereof in existing methods of processing bitumen rolls meets with practical difficulties. During or after production thereof a bitumen roll is rolled up in the usual manner, wherein the eyes according to this document are a problem, since the bitumen with the eyes cannot be rolled up without damage. For this and other reasons a product according to the invention of this document has been abandoned, or at least not been brought onto the market.

In order to provide a product without the known prior art problems, the present invention provides a

securing device for preventing persons from falling from an elevated surface such as a roof, comprising:

- a fastening member for fastening thereto of for instance a lifeline, - an engaging member for engaging on an underside of a covering member of the surface, wherein the covering member is suitable for this coupling by means of a hole in the covering member,

- a connecting member for connecting the fastening member, wherein the connecting member is suitable for passage of at least a part thereof through the hole of the covering member.

An advantage of such an invention is that, by means of connecting the securing device to a hole in a covering member of the surface, such a securing device can be placed by means of a direct connection to the covering member of the surface. This avoids the prior art problems since the covering member can be stored and handled in known manner . In a first preferred embodiment the securing device comprises covering means for covering a part of the covering member in the vicinity of the hole. Such covering means can be embodied for instance as a round plate. Such a plate provides additional strength in the case of obliquely exerted tensile forces, which will usually occur when the invention is for instance used on roofs.

In a further preferred embodiment the cover device of the securing device comprises a bitumen roll for roof covering, this bitumen roll being provided with at least one hole for the purpose of applying the connecting member. It hereby becomes possible to apply the securing device with commonly used bitumen rolls, wherein a difference from the prior art is that holes have been or

are arranged therein. An advantage hereof is however that a roofer can work in a manner familiar to him, wherein the securing device can be arranged in simple manner, and it is therefore possible to work safely after arranging of the securing device.

The securing device preferably comprises strengthening members in the covering member comprising wires and/or fibre material for the purpose of providing an improved tensile resistance of the covering member. An advantage of such an embodiment is that, through the use of bitumen rolls reinforced in this way, the roofer does not have to adapt his method, while an improved tensile resistance is obtained whereby the engaging member can be held with a higher tensile resistance by the covering member. A high degree of safety is hereby obtained in simple manner.

In a further preferred embodiment the securing device comprises a closing member for providing a water barrier for the covering member and the securing device. It hereby becomes possible to obtain a watertight closure of the hole. It is not necessary here to utilize the melt properties of the bitumen, thereby further simplifying arranging of the securing device.

The closing member preferably comprises a material which displays fluid properties under pressure load. Such an embodiment has the advantage that while the fastening operation is being performed, for instance by tightening the fastening member onto the connecting member, the closing member is pressed down whereby material thereof will exhibit the fluid properties resulting in the water- repellent properties. Obtaining a water-repellent closure does not therefore require any extra operations.

The engaging member preferably has substantially the form of a propeller, or at least comprises a central core and tensile members protruding therefrom. In addition to providing a resistance to tensile force, such a form has the advantage of being easily recognizable between other substantially plate-like building materials present at a construction site.

A further aspect of the present invention relates to a covering member for covering an elevated surface, such as a roof, for co-action with a device according to one or more of the foregoing claims, comprising:

- weather and water-resistant material such as bitumen,

- at least one strengthening member comprising wires or fibre material for the purpose of providing the covering member with a tensile resistance for holding the engaging member in place in robust manner, and

- at least one hole for passage of the connecting member for the purpose of connecting a fastening member to the engaging member.

Such a covering member will in practice be relatively often embodied as a roll of bitumen material as applied in known manner in making roofs weather-resistant. An advantage of arranging a hole herein is that the securing device can hereby be arranged in simple manner. It should be noted that irregularities in such bitumen material per se, and holes in particular, are absolutely undesirable in the prior art and must be prevented. A covering member according to the present invention can therefore be recognized in relatively simple manner.

A further advantage of such a covering member is that by means of the strengthening member a tensile resistance is obtained which is relatively high compared

to that of known bitumen material, whereby the engaging member of the securing device can be firmly anchored around the hole on the underside of the strengthened bitumen roll . In a further preferred embodiment the strengthening member is designed such that, owing to a predetermined pattern of arrangement of the wires or the fibre material, it is suitable particularly for absorbing tensile forces around the hole. A relatively efficient arrangement of the wires can hereby be obtained, whereby the amount of reinforcement can be greatly reduced compared to a random pattern of arrangement.

The use of wires or fibres of metal or synthetic fibres such as glass fibre, carbon fibre, dyneema or aramid provides a relatively high strength with a relatively low weight or use of material.

A further aspect according to the present invention relates to a method for arranging a securing device according to one or more of the foregoing claims, comprising steps for:

- placing a covering member on an elevated surface,

- placing or arranging an engaging member under a hole, - placing a fastening member above a hole,

- coupling the engaging member to the fastening member by means of the connecting member, and

- providing a watertight closure of the securing device in co-action with the covering member. Such a method has advantages as specified in the foregoing. The watertight closure can be provided in conventional manner, for instance by heating bitumen when bitumen is applied in the covering member. The method is however made relatively

simple if use is made of a closing member in the above described manner.

Further advantages, features and details of the present invention will be described hereinbelow in greater detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

- Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of a first preferred embodiment according to the present invention;

- Fig. 2 shows an exploded cross-section of the embodiment of Fig. 1 with some details changed;

- Fig. 3 shows two further preferred embodiments according to the present invention;

- Fig. 4 shows a further preferred embodiment according to the present invention; - Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of a reinforcing arrangement in a covering material.

A preferred embodiment according to the present invention (Fig. 1) relates to an anchoring device 1 for fastening thereof to a bitumen layer 2, this bitumen layer 2 being used to make a roof weather-resistant.

Anchoring device 1 is constructed according to the embodiment from a lower plate 3 for engaging on bitumen layer 2 from the underside, a connecting member 19 for connecting lower plate 3 to fastening bolt 6 which is provided with an eye to which a lifeline can be attached. An upper plate 14 is optionally further provided for covering a part of bitumen layer 2 around the hole.

Lower plate 3 is shown in different embodiments in Fig. 3. This lower plate can be round but also propeller- shaped. Such a propeller shape can have various advantages, such as the recognizability of the component, material-saving and/or, in combination therewith, a relatively large radius for the purpose of distributing

the forces. The structure of such a propeller-shaped lower plate is a central part 21 extending around the hole 24 for the connecting member. The "propeller blades" 22-26, 27-29 respectively extend from central part 21. Connecting element 19 substantially resembles a bolt with a relatively flat head 4, a bolt part 8 and a screw thread 7. In the position of use the bolt part 8 extends through hole 10 in lower plate 3, optionally water barrier 5, the hole in bitumen layer 2, optionally through the hole of upper plate 14 into nut 6 which is provided with a plate 13 having therein the hole for lifeline 12.

The structure of nut 6 has hereby also been described.

Securing device 1 is optionally also provided with a water barrier 5. This water barrier serves to make watertight the hole in bitumen layer 2 required for passage of bolt 8. This water barrier 5 preferably comprises a material which flows temporarily or permanently and wholly or partially under pressure. This pressure is exerted during mounting of the device by tightening of bolt 6. Owing to the flow the whole space between the lower plate, the bitumen layer and the bolt will be filled by the fluid material. When the material at least partially cures, the connection will be filled with material and watertight.

Water barrier 5 is shown here in a specific form with a bottom wall 12 (Fig. 2), a circular annular wall 13 extending around bolt 8 and upward from bottom wall 12 and an additional annular quantity of material 18 (Fig. 2) on the top side of annular wall 13. It is however possible to envisage many forms of this member which all provide a sufficiently sealed water barrier. Materials other than materials which are pressured over the yield stress under

pressure are also possible in order to obtain a suitable closure.

For the purpose of attaching a lifeline a coupling member 18 is provided. An advantage hereof is that the lifeline can be attached to eye 12 (Fig. 1) by means of a snap mechanism. Other options for attaching a lifeline to such an eye are by means of many per se known hook mechanisms, or even by means of placing a rope through the eye and tying a knot. Fig. 4 shows an example of a piece of bitumen 40 from a roll. A reinforcement 43 by means of a grid of wires and/or fibres is arranged in this bitumen layer. This reinforcement serves to strengthen the bitumen, particularly around holes 41, 42 intended for receiving bolt 8. The reinforcing fibres or wires are preferably arranged such that a relatively small part around the hole can withstand high forces, wherein the forces are distributed over a relatively large part of the bitumen strip. An example hereof is a wave-like pattern of wires which widen in the region of the path between the holes, wherein the individual wires approach each other close to the holes and here also intersect for instance such that the tensile forces from either side are oriented in the direction of the hole.

An example hereof is shown in Fig. 5, wherein wire 46 extends along the upper side of hole 41, then fans out widely to a position close to the bottom side of strip 40, subsequently running back above hole 42 and then returning downward again. Wire 49 has a mirrored pattern relative to wire 46 and runs along the underside of hole 41 to a position close to the top side of strip 40 and back again along the underside of hole 42. Owing to this path of the

wires a relatively large amount of reinforcement is located close to the holes, wherein as further advantage the reinforcement has a number of intersections for combining tensile forces, and wherein the forces between the holes are distributed over a large area of the bitumen strip. Such an effect can of course be achieved with a great number of patterns of paths, such as straight lines intersecting close to the holes or in other manner. The present invention is described in the foregoing on the basis of several preferred embodiments which are not limitative for the understanding of the present invention and the scope of protection of the rights sought. Different aspects of different embodiments must be combined within the understanding of this text and accompanying figures. The rights sought are defined by the appended claims .