The present invention relates to method for improving the safety of a building. The present invention also relates to a safety device for attachment to an object or member of the building and relates particularly, though not exclusively, to a safety device for attachment to a railing or edge of a balcony of the building.

Background of the Invention

Balcony rails and balustrades are used around balcony and other elevated surfaces to prevent a person from falling from the balcony. Balcony rails typically have an upper rail, supported about 1 metre above the balcony floor, which is supported by panels or vertical posts.

People, in particular children, may be inclined to lean or lift themselves over the balcony rails and

subsequently the person may fall from the balcony. Such falls are typically from a significant height and may lead to serious injury or death.

In an attempt to address this problem, balcony rails and balustrades are often support by smoother vertical rails or vertical sheets of glass that makes them difficult to climb, in particular, the children. Other attempts to address this problem include ensuring that no other climbable objects such as chairs are left near the balcony rails and balustrades which may allow a child to climb over the balcony rails and balustrades. However, despite these smooth vertical rails or vertical sheets of glass or keeping climbable objects away from balconies, each year many persons, and in particular, children, manage to climb over balcony rails and balustrades and fall .

Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of improving the safety of a building, the method comprising applying a safety device to a member or object of the building, the safety device comprising: a body portion;

at least one projection projecting from a surface of the body portion, the at least one projection having a cross-sectional shape that reduces in diameter in a direction towards an apex of the projection;

wherein the safety device is applied to the building such that the projection projects outwardly. The member or object may be an edge of a wall or panel of a balcony or a railing of a balcony of the building. In one specific embodiment of the present invention the method is conducted such that weight bearing handling of the member or object is discouraged and a likelihood that a person, such as a child, can climb over the edge or railing of the balcony from the inside of the balcony is reduced thereby reducing risk of potentially fatal accidents . The building may be a multi-storey building and the method may comprise applying the safety device typically

horizontally to a balcony, such as to an upper edge of a member or railing of the balcony. The method may comprise applying the safety device to one or more balconies of an upper or upper most level of the multi storey building. The multi-storey building may have more than 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 50 stories.

Further, the method may comprise applying the safety device to the object or member of the building at a height of more than 2m, 5m, 10m, 20m, 50m or even 100m above a ground plane.

The method may comprise attaching the safety device to the object or member, typically in a horizontal orientation, of the building using adhesive, string, cable-ties, wire, rope or the like. The device may comprise a plurality of projections and may be attached such that at least some of the projections project upwardly.

In a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a safety device for attachment to a member of an object or building, the device comprising:

a body portion arranged for attachment to the member or object of the building;

at least one projection projecting from a surface of the body portion, the at least one projection having a cross-sectional shape that reduces in diameter in a direction towards an apex of the projection, and being positioned such that, when the device is attached to the object or building, the projection projects outwardly thereby discouraging weight bearing handling of the member or object.

The member may be a railing of a balcony of a building. Alternatively, the member may be a balustrade, wall or panel or the like having an upper edge and the device may be arranged for attachment to the upper edge.

The at least one projection may have a cross-sectional shape that is tapered in diameter in a direction towards an apex or tip of the projection. The apex or tip may be rounded .

The at least one projection is in one specific embodiment one of a plurality of projections.

Each projection may be spike-like and may have a height to width aspect ratio less than about 2:1 and may have a conical in shape. The conical shape may have a base diameter that approximately equals the height of the conical shape.

The projections may be arranged in a plurality of staggered rows extending between opposite ends of the body. Each projection may be spaced apart from the or another projection by a distance at least equal a height of the projection. The projections may be distributed substantially evenly over an outer surface of the body. The body may comprise a polymeric material, such as a rubber material.

The body may be elongated and may have an arc-or substantially flat c r o s s - s e ct i o n a 1 shape.

Alternatively, the body may have a substantially c- or U- shaped cr o s s - s e ct i o n a 1 shape. The body may also have a generally circular cr o s s - s e ct i o na 1 shape, but has a lengthwise extending slot arranged to receive a portion of the member of the building, such as an edge of a balustrade or a railing of a balcony. The body may have ends and may have extensions and

recesses that are arranged to inter-fit with recesses and extensions of the or another device such that a plurality of the devices may be locked together in a lengthwise direction. The body may also have snap-fit portions at the ends of the body such that a plurality of the devices may be locked using the snap-fit portions in a lengthwise direction . The safety device may be one of a plurality of devices, each device may have a body portion that is arranged to couple to one or two adjacent devices in a lengthwise direction such that a string of the devices can be formed. The safety device is in one specific embodiment generally transparent and at least the body of the safety device may be flexible.

The safety device that the method in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention applies may be the safety device in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the present invention may be more clearly ascertained, embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a safety device for a balcony rail or balustrades in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2a is a top view illustrating the safety device of Figure 1;

Figure 2b is a detailed top view illustrating

the safety device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view illustrating the

safety device of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional side view illustrating a

component of the safety device of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is an end view illustrating the safety device of Figure 1.

Description of an Embodiment of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a method of improving the safety of a building. The method comprises applying a safety device to a member or object, such as an edge or railing of the balcony of the building.

The building may be a multi-storey building and the method may comprise applying the safety device to a balcony of an upper or upper most level of the multi storey building typically many tens of metres above a ground plane.

The safety device comprises a body portion and projections projecting from a surface of the body portion. The

projections have a cross-sectional shape that is tapered in a direction towards and apex of the projections. The safety device is applied to the building such that the projections project outwardly thereby discouraging weight bearing handling of the member or object. The safety device may be applied to the member or object or the building using adhesive, string, cable-ties, wire, rope or another suitable method. The method is conducted such that likelihood that a person, such as a child, can climb over the edge of a wall or panel of the balcony or a railing of the balcony from the inside of the balcony is reduces thereby reducing risk of accidents.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the safety device, will now be described in further detail with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Figures 1 to 5 show the safety device 10 for application to an upper edge of a wall or balustrade of a balcony or railing of a balcony (not shown) . The device 10 has an elongated body 12 with an outer surface 14. The device 10 is arranged to be received and fit with the balcony edge or railing so as to extend along the balcony edge or railing, and a

plurality of projections or spikes 15 provided at spaced apart locations along and across the body 12.

The device 10 has projections or spikes that are shaped to be slightly painful to weight bear on such as when a child attempts to lift themselves over the rail or balustrade, however, the shape is preferably not

sufficiently sharp to cause injury such as by piercing the skin. Accordingly, the device provides a deterrent, which may be retrofitted, which assist to inhibit a person, in particular, a child from climbing over and potentially falling from a balcony.

The body 12 includes a lengthwise slot 16 along its underside 19 so as C-shaped in cross section, as best shown in Figure 3, and the body 12 may be fitted to a balcony railing or balustrade by simply passing the balcony railing or balustrade through the slot 16 and abutting the balcony railing or balustrade against the underside 19. The underside 19 may include an adhesive or other be fixed to the balcony railing or balustrade. The slot 16 is typically arranged facing directly downwardly and provides clearance of any glass or posts on which the rail or balustrade is supported. As a person skilled in the art will appreciate, the elongate body 12 may also have other cross-sectional suitable shapes such as a square or rectangular, arc-like or substantially flat shape.

The device is attached to the edge of the balcony or railing of the balcony using a suitable adhesive, rope or cable ties. Turning now to the projections or spikes or 15 in more detail, the projections or spikes 15 are arranged to inhibit or deter a person, in particular a child, from holding and weight bearing on the rail or balustrade. In particular, the shape and spatial density of the spikes 15 is such that the cover 12 is uncomfortable to touch but not so sharp as to break or pierce the skin of a person .

Accordingly, the projections or spikes 15 have a conical shape and a relatively low aspect ratio being relatively stubby rather than elongate, as is best shown in Figure 4. The projections or spikes 15 are also provide in an offset grid type pattern. As shown in Figure 2b, the distance "A" between adjacent lengthwise and horizontal rows of spikes is about 10mm and the distance "B" between spikes in the same row, either lengthwise rows or radial rows, is about 20mm. This ensures that every projection or spike 15 generally has about 4 neighbouring projections or spikes 15 which are about distance "F" away. The length or vertical projected height of the projections or spikes 15 is less than the distance between the

projections or spikes, and in this example, the distance between the projections or spikes 15 is about the same as twice the length or vertical projected height of the projections or spikes 15. In this example, the length or vertical projected height "D" is about 5 mm and the diameter "C" at the base of the conical shaped projection or spike 15 is about 5mm. However, the height the diameter may be in the range of 3mm to 10 mm depending on the application. In cross section, the projections or spikes 15 may be triangular and taper from a base 27 to a free end tip 29.

In this example, the projections or spikes 15

substantially uniformly cover the external face 23 of the device 10 and extend both lengthwise and around and across the C- shaped body 12. Accordingly, the

projections or spikes 15 skirt the upper and sides of the railing or balustrade in use. However, in other examples, the projections or spikes 15 may be predominately applied to the upper side 25 of the body 12 so as to extend along a top the railing or balustrade in use. In some examples, if the elongate body 12 has a square or rectangular channel cross-sectional shape, then the projections or spikes 15 may be on the top and lateral sides of the body 12.

Opposite ends 20 of the device 10 may be adapted to couple with likewise complimentary arranged devices 10. More specifically, the opposite ends 20 may include end couplings or grooves 21 in the form of interlocking tabs 22 and recesses 24 which when engaged give a generally seamless appearance of multiple coupled devices 10.

However, the cover 12 may be provided without end couplings 21 in which case multiple covers may simply be abutted end-to-end with one another. The device 10 and spikes 15 may be formed from a moulded plastic material such as UV resistant clear flexible plastic, vinyl and polycarbonate .