NODE COUPLER FOR ATTACHING HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL BARS TO A VERTICAL BAR IN A SCAFFOLDING SYSTEM

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a node connection for attaching horizontal and diagonal struts to a vertical strut in a scaffolding system, the node connection comprising a cage mounted on the vertical strut and configured for receiving the fastening members of the horizontal and diagonal struts.

[0002] Currently, coupling devices for joining structural parts as mentioned above are known wherein a cage arrangement located on the vertical structural part is used for receiving a hook means located on the horizontal structural part. In addition, structural parts in the form of wedge elements, for example, are used which are blown into the connection area in order to stiffen the connection.

[0003] Typically, the prior art coupling devices of the above type are specially designed, intended for their unique scaffolding system only. Thus, a scaffolding system cannot be used together with different scaffolding systems.

[0004] Another problem with the prior art solutions is that the wedge element is a separate part which is not permanently attached or easily accessible during assembly of the coupling device.

[0005] Also, the insertion and removal of the wedge element into/from the coupling device may be difficult, hence presenting a great challenge for the operator.

[0006] EP 3315691 A1 discloses a system comprising a first head, with a horizontal slot and a vertical passage and at least one plate with an annular body having central hole and a plurality of holes for connection of the head. CA 2297148 A1 discloses a discoid, substantially circular holding device, fitted with holes into which scaffold elements can be fixed. WO 85/01976 A1 describes a generally cylindrical mounting formation, located substantially wholly within a cylindrical envelope containing the elongate portion of a diagonal brace. DE 8806128U1 describes a coupling device with a coupling head having a cross hole and a cross plugg that can be inserted in the cross hole.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a node connection for attaching horizontal and diagonal struts to a vertical strut preferably in a scaffolding system, the node connection being designed so as to be adapted for use with most major scaffolding types such as spire scaffolding, frame scaffolding, rolling scaffolding, stair towers, framework for tarpaulin covering, tents, plastic halls and support/formwork. Hence, the different systems shall be useable together with each other in different load classes and for different purposes.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a coupling device that is reliable and stable and provides a rigid interconnection.

[0009] Another object is that an operator shall be able to assemble the coupling in a simple and quick manner.

[0010] Moreover, the coupling device shall not be comprised of detached structural parts. Each structural part needed shall be bound to the structural parts to be assembled so that the operator does not have to spend time locating unattached elements during assembly. A further object is that the coupling shall allow for a simple and quick disassembly. This applies in particular to the removal of the wedge element, which may often present a great challenge to the operator.

[0011] The objects of the present invention are achieved by a node connection for attaching horizontal and diagonal struts to a vertical strut in a scaffolding system according to claim 1.

[0012] Preferred embodiments of the node connection are set forth with more particularity in claims 2 through 8.

[0013] The present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a node connection according to the invention for attaching horizontal and diagonal struts to a vertical strut in a scaffolding system.

Fig. 2 shows the node connection in a top view,

Fig. 3 shows the cage to be mounted on the vertical rod,

Figs. 4a-d show a horizontal strut having a fastening member according to the invention in the various positions, i.e. from the resting to locking positions,

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the cage used for receiving fastening members of another existing scaffolding system,

Fig. 6 shows the node connection of Fig. 5 in a top view, and

Fig. 7 shows the cage of Fig. 5 in a top view.

[0014] Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, an embodiment of a node connection 1 is shown used in the joining of horizontal struts 350 to a vertical strut 40 in a scaffolding system. The vertical strut 40 has a cage in the form of a circular rim plate 5 mounted thereon. The horizontal strut 50 with fastening members 51 is shown fixedly mounted or locked to rim plate 5 so that a reliable and stable node connection is obtained. Rim plate 5 is also shown to include additional hole formations 9 for receiving any fastening members of other systems.

[0015] Referring to Fig. 3, the rim plate 5 is shown with its characteristic form having an inner circumference 5a surrounding the vertical strut 40 and a wavy outer circumference 5b. The above-indicated hole formation 9 for receiving other types of systems is shown. Also shown, with arrows, are hole formations 8 for receiving fastening member 51. The hole formations 9 are formed in such a manner that fastening members of other systems can also be used in said hole formations, providing flexibility with respect to use with other systems. In the embodiment, the rim plate 5 shown has eight hole formations 8, 9 adapted so as to be useable with fastening members of most existing scaffolding systems etc. Said eight hole formations 8, 9 include four first hole formations 8 and four second hole formations 9, with the first and second hole formations 8, 9 being different from one another. Said first four hole formations 8 and four second hole formations 9, respectively, are offset 90 degrees from each other. Said four first and four second hole formations 8, 9 are offset 45 degrees from each other. Typically, rim plates 5 will be mounted to the vertical strut 40 with a spacing of preferably 0.5 meters. Normally, rim plate 5 will have a thickness of preferably 10-15 millimetres.

[0016] Figs. 4a-d show the fastening member 51 fitted to the horizontal strut 50. Fastening member 51 has a generally C-profile configuration comprised by a web plate 52 with a fixed upper flange plate 53 and an articulated lower flange plate 60. The upper and lower flange plates 53, 60 are provided with slit openings 54, 61 for receiving a wedge body 70. Fig. 4a shows fastening member 51 in a resting position in which wedge body 70 of the fastening member is in a resting position in a groove in the upper region of vertical strut 50. Figs. 4b and 4c show the C-profile as it is inserted around rim plate 5, whereby the wedge body 70 is displaced from the resting position and passed through upper flange plate 53, hole formation 8 of rim plate 5, and lower flange plate 60, respectively, whereby the fastening member is locked to rim plate 5 as shown in Fig. 4d. In order to move the wedge body 70 from the resting position to the locking position the articulated lower flange plate 60 is provided with grooves 62 at the lateral edges thereof for receiving a movable fork device 80, where the shaft 82 of fork device extending through a longitudinal slit opening 52a of the web plate 52. The shaft 82 is movably mounted to wedge body 70, whereby, when the fork device 80 impacts the rim plate 5 during insertion, the wedge body 70 is moved from a horizontal resting position over upper flange plate 53 to a vertical locking position in which fastening member 51 is locked to rim plate 5. Hence, when inserted around the rim plate, fastening member 51 will automatically lock thereto. Optionally, to further secure the connection, the wedge 70 may be given a light blow at the upper end thereof. During disassembly of the node connection the lower end of the wedge can be given a light blow using a hammer, which will loosen and push the wedge upwardly, after which wedge 5 can be pulled up and laid back into the resting position.

[0017] Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, the cage according to the invention is shown mounted on a vertical strut and used with fastening members of a different scaffolding system. In this case, the hole formations 9 of rim plate 5 are used and a stable and reliable connection is obtained. Fig. 7 shows, with arrows, the hole formations 9 for receiving the fastening members of this system.

[0018] The node connection 1 has a wide area of application as it can also be used in connection with a large number of existing systems. Moreover, through the use of the disclosed fastening member 51, a simple and time-saving "automatic" locking between the rim plate and strut will be achieved with no detached structural parts.

Claims

1. A node connection (1) for attaching horizontal and diagonal struts (50) to a vertical strut (40) in a scaffolding system, the node connection (1) comprising fastening members (51) of the horizontal and diagonal struts, the node connection (1) further comprising a cage mounted on the vertical rod (40) and configured for receiving the fastening members (51) of the horizontal and diagonal struts, the cage taking the form of a generally circular rim plate (5) having an inner circumference (5a) surrounding the vertical rod (40) and a wavy/undulated outer circumference (5b) with a number of hole formations (8, 9) between the inner and outer circumferences (5a, 5b) for receiving the fastening members (51) of the various horizontal and vertical struts,
characterized in that the fastening members (51) of the horizontal and diagonal struts have a generally C-profile configuration comprised of a web plate (52) with an associated fixed upper flange plate (53) and an articulated lower flange plate (60), said upper and lower flange plates (53, 60) being provided with slit openings (54, 61) for receiving a wedge body (70), said articulated lower flange plate (60) being provided with grooves (62) at the lateral edges thereof for receiving a movable fork device (80), the shaft (82) of the fork device extending through a longitudinal slit opening (52a) of the web plate (52) and said shaft (82) being movably mounted to the wedge body (70), whereby, when the fork device (80) is introduced over and impacts the rim plate (5), said wedge body (70) will move from a horizontal resting position above the upper flange plate (53) to a vertical locking position in which said fastening member (51) is locked to the rim plate (5).

2. The node connection (1) of claim 1,
characterized in that the rim plate (5) has eight hole formations (8, 9).

3. The node connection (1) of claim 2,
characterized in that said eight hole formations (8, 9) comprise four first hole formations (8) and four second hole formations (9), said first and second hole formations (8, 9) being different from each other.

4. The node connection (1) of claim 3,
characterized in that said four first hole formations (8) are offset 90 degrees from each other.

5. The node connection (1) of claims 2 or 3,
characterized in that said four second hole formations 5 (9) are offset 90 degrees from each other.

6. The node connection (1) of claims 2-5,
characterized in that said four first and four second hole formations (8, 9), respectively, are offset 45 degrees from each other.

7. The node connection (1) of any one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the rim plates (5) are mounted to the vertical strut (40) with a spacing of preferably 0.5 m.

8. The node connection (1) of any one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the rim plate (5) has a thickness of preferably 10 to 15 mm.

Ansprüche

1. Knotenverbindung (1) zum Anbringen von horizontalen und diagonalen Streben (50) an einer vertikalen Strebe (40) in einem Gerüstsystem, wobei die Knotenverbindung (1) Befestigungselemente (51) der horizontalen und der diagonalen Streben umfasst, die Knotenverbindung (1) ferner einen Käfig umfasst, der an der vertikalen Stange (40) montiert und zum Aufnehmen der Befestigungselemente (51) der horizontalen und der diagonalen Streben konfiguriert ist, wobei der Käfig die Gestalt einer im Allgemeinen kreisförmigen Randplatte (5) annimmt, die einen inneren Umfang (5a), der die vertikale Stange (40) umgibt und einen wellenförmigen/ondulierten äußeren Umfang (5b) mit einer Anzahl von Lochformationen (8, 9) zwischen dem inneren und dem äußeren Umfang (5a, 5b) zum Aufnehmen der Befestigungselemente (51) der verschiedenen horizontalen und vertikalen Streben aufweist,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Befestigungselemente (51) der horizontalen und der diagonalen Streben eine im Allgemeinen C-Profilkonfiguration aufweisen, die aus einer Stegplatte (52) mit einer zugehörigen fixierten oberen Flanschplatte (53) und einer gelenkigen unteren Flanschplatte (60) besteht, wobei die obere und die untere Flanschplatte (53, 60) mit Schlitzöffnungen (54, 61) zum Aufnehmen eines Keilkörpers (70) versehen sind, wobei die gelenkige untere Flanschplatte (60) mit Nuten (62) an den Seitenkanten davon zum Aufnehmen einer bewegbaren Gabelvorrichtung (80) versehen ist, wobei sich die Welle (82) der Gabelvorrichtung durch eine Längsschlitzöffnung (52a) der Stegplatte (52) erstreckt und die Welle (82) an dem Keilkörper (70) bewegbar montiert ist, wodurch, wenn die Gabelvorrichtung (80) über der Randplatte (5) eingeführt wird und diese zusammenpresst, sich der Keilkörper (70) von einer horizontalen Ruhestellung oberhalb der oberen Flanschplatte (53) zu einer vertikalen Verriegelungsstellung bewegt, in der das Befestigungselement (51) mit der Randplatte (5) verriegelt ist.

2. Knotenverbindung (1) nach Anspruch 1,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Randplatte (5) acht Lochformationen (8, 9) aufweist.

3. Knotenverbindung (1) nach Anspruch 2,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die acht Lochformationen (8, 9) vier erste Lochformationen (8) und vier zweite Lochformationen (9) umfassen, wobei sich die ersten und die zweiten Lochformationen (8, 9) voneinander unterscheiden.

4. Knotenverbindung (1) nach Anspruch 3,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die vier ersten Lochformationen (8) um 90 Grad voneinander versetzt sind.

5. Knotenverbindung (1) nach Anspruch 2 oder 3,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die vier zweiten Lochformationen 5 (9) um 90 Grad voneinander versetzt sind.

6. Knotenverbindung (1) nach den Ansprüchen 2-5,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die vier ersten beziehungsweise die vier zweiten Lochformationen (8, 9) um 45 Grad voneinander versetzt sind.

7. Knotenverbindung (1) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Randplatten (5) mit einem Abstand von vorzugsweise 0,5 m an der vertikalen Strebe (40) montiert sind.

8. Knotenverbindung (1) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Randplatte (5) eine Dicke von vorzugsweise 10 bis 15 mm aufweist.

Revendications

1. Raccord nœud (1) destiné à attacher des traverses horizontales et diagonales (50) à une traverse verticale (40) dans un système d'échafaudage, le raccord nœud (1) comprenant des éléments de fixation (51) des traverses horizontales et diagonales, le raccord nœud (1) comprenant en outre une cage montée sur le montant vertical (40) et conçue pour recevoir les éléments de fixation (51) des traverses horizontales et diagonales, la cage prenant la forme d'une rosace généralement circulaire (5) ayant une circonférence interne (5a) entourant la tige verticale (40) et une circonférence externe (5b) ondoyante/ondulée avec un nombre de formations de trous (8, 9) entre les circonférences interne et externe (5a, 5b) destinés à recevoir les éléments de fixation (51) des différentes traverses horizontales et verticales,
caractérisé en ce que les éléments de fixation (51) des traverses horizontales et diagonales ont une configuration généralement à profil en C constitué d'une âme (52) avec une semelle de renforcement supérieure (53) associée fixe et une semelle de renforcement inférieure (60) articulée, lesdites semelles de renforcement supérieure et inférieure (53, 60) étant pourvues d'ouvertures fendues (54, 61) destinées à recevoir un corps de clavette (70), ladite semelle de renforcement inférieure (60) articulée étant pourvue de rainures (62) sur ses bords latéraux destinées à recevoir un dispositif de fourche mobile (80), l'arbre (82) du dispositif de fourche s'étendant à travers une ouverture fendue longitudinale (52a) de l'âme (52) et ledit arbre (82) étant monté de manière mobile sur le corps de clavette (70), moyennant quoi, lorsque le dispositif de fourche (80) est introduit sur la rosace (5) et heurte celle-ci, ledit corps de clavette (70) passera d'une position de repos horizontale au-dessus de la semelle de renforcement supérieure (53) à une position de verrouillage verticale dans laquelle ledit élément de fixation (51) est verrouillé sur la rosace (5).

2. Raccord nœud (1) selon la revendication 1,
caractérisé en ce que la rosace (5) a huit formations de trous (8, 9).

3. Raccord nœud (1) selon la revendication 2,
caractérisé en ce que lesdites huit formations de trous (8, 9) comprennent quatre premières formations de trous (8) et quatre secondes formations de trous (9), lesdites première et seconde formations de trous (8, 9) étant différentes les unes des autres.

4. Raccord nœud (1) selon la revendication 3,
caractérisé en ce que lesdites quatre premières formations de trous (8) sont décalées de 90 degrés les unes par rapport aux autres.

5. Raccord nœud (1) selon les revendications 2 ou 3,
caractérisé en ce que lesdites quatre secondes formations de trous 5 (9) sont décalées de 90 degrés les unes par rapport aux autres.

6. Raccord nœud (1) selon les revendications 2 à 5,
caractérisé en ce que lesdites quatre premières et quatre secondes formations de trous (8, 9), respectivement, sont décalées de 45 degrés les unes par rapport aux autres.

7. Raccord nœud (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes,
caractérisé en ce que les rosaces (5) sont montées sur la traverse verticale (40) avec un écartement de préférence de 0,5 m.

8. Raccord nœud (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que la rosace (5) a une épaisseur de préférence de 10 à 15 mm.

Drawing