SYSTEM AND COMPONENTS FOR SAFELY ENCLOSING HANDRAILS, STAIRWAYS, WALKWAYS AND PLATFORMS

摘要

Safety barriers such as guardrails, handrails, walkways, and platforms are found in a large variety of industrial commercial, residential and public sites typically consist of an open framework of horizontal, vertical or inclined pipes. However in some cases such open systems do not provide a sufficient barrier to prevent dropped objects such as tools from escaping the confines of the handrail system and creating a hazard. To address this deficiency a system for enclosing a safety barrier has been developed which includes a specially adapted bracket for attachment to posts such as stanchions, hand rails or knee rails and a guard panel which is attached to the bracket and is used to enclose the side walls of the safety barrier to reduce the dropped object hazard. The bracket has an open clipping configuration to allow it to clipped onto the stanchions (or other supports) and left in place. There bracket can then moved into a closed configuration and clamped in place, after which a guard panel can be mounted onto the bracket. The bracket has a number of safety advantages. Firstly as the bracket can be clipped in place the installer can safely work from within the confines of the walkway. Secondly once the bracket is clipped in place, the installer is free to let go of the bracket and can pick up other tools or perform other tasks, and is not required to continue to hold the bracket until it is clamped in place (and risk dropping either the bracket or tools). The system additionally comprises step guards for enclosing the vertical gap (rise) between steps, and floor brackets and flooring sheet for covering grid mesh floors.