Reusable temporary safety rail post

The present invention relates to a reusable temporary safety rail post. Specifically, the present safety rail post is an apparatus for constructing safety fences for containing elevated work areas during residential or commercial construction. The post can be installed temporarily with minimal effort and is reusable on multiple construction projects.

It is commonplace, and required by law in many jurisdictions, to construct a temporary safety fence around raised work areas. This provides fall protection for workers working above the ground. Occasionally, workers construct temporary railings made of lumber found around a typical construction site. However these temporary wooden railings lack strength, are susceptible to weathering, waste valuable lumber and are not based on a single proven design to ensure safety.

The prior art describes a number of solutions to address this problem.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,075 to Nichols discloses a safety rail system designed for residential housing constructions having cantilevered second stories. The Nichols safety rail is cantilevered away from the first floor walls to allow for the overhanging second story, and once the separate rail posts are linked together using rails constructed from dimensional lumber, the elevated work area is contained. However, the Nichols safety rail attaches to the first floor studs by means of wood screws in a semi-permanent manner and cannot be easily removed once the cantilevered second story floor is installed. This results in the Nichols safety rail being difficult to remove once the second story is complete and the safety rail is no longer necessary.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,167 to Holloman discloses a temporary rail structure designed to attach to the floor joist header of the second story. This temporary rail utilizes common lumber to construct the railings as in Nichols and attaches via a U shaped yoke that clamps tightly to the outer floor joist header. Linking multiple Holloman posts together with lumber rails of typical lumber results in a safety rail that contains the work area, however the aforementioned U shaped yoke does not allow plywood subflooring to be installed while the rail is in place. Therefore, the Holloman rail must be removed when the subflooring is installed, which typically occurs at a time when the safety rails are still required, as the second floor walls have not been completed.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,131 to Kettelcamp, Sr. et al. discloses an adjustable guard rail stanchion which clamps to the underside of a roofing truss. The Kettelcamp guard rail stanchion is easily installed and removed, however it is particularly designed for a roofing application and cannot be readily modified for the needs of second story work area containment.

Accordingly, there is a need for a safety rail post that is quick and easy to install and remove, reusable, strong and adaptable to different types of residential house constructions.

The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior ad by providing a safety rail post that can be easily installed during construction and quickly removed after the safety rail is no longer necessary. It does so without limiting access to the work structure while providing an effective safeguard against an inadvertent fall by a worker.

The reusable temporary safety post is comprised of an upright stanchion with a bottom bracket arrangement. During use, the safety rail posts are installed on the work structure, the method of doing so varying depending on the type of construction employed, as discussed below. Once installed in place, the separate reusable safety posts can be linked together using rails consisting of typical construction lumber, which fit into angular railing brackets provided on the upright stanchions. The rails are easily secured in place using nails or wood screws inserted through a hole provided in the angular railing brackets.

In the case of a typical two story house construction, the reusable safety posts are secured to the work structure according to a first aspect of the invention. Specifically, a slotted female plate is secured near the top of the first story wall sheathing on the outside. This slotted female plate mates with an insertable male plate located near the bottom of the upright stanchion. Each post is additionally further secured to the lower wall structure by means of a lower support plate located at the bottom of the upright stanchion. Two by four safety rails may then be installed to span the gaps between adjacent posts. Removal consists of the preceding steps carried out in reverse order.

Another aspect of the present invention, which involves a reusable temporary safety rail post with a cantilevering bottom bracket, is used in applications where the structure\'s second story is cantilevered out from the first story. In this arrangement, the cantilevered bottom bracket is designed with an inverted U-shaped yoke that fits over the header of the first floor wall. The cantilevered design extends the reusable safety post away from first floor wall such that it does not interfere in the construction of the overhanging second story floor. The two by four rails are installed between adjacent posts in the same manner as described above. Removal is accomplished by simply removing the rails and “unhooking” the safety posts from the top of the first story wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail and will be better understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the reusable temporary safety rail post adapted for use in typical two story residential house construction;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the mating male and female plates of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the safety rail post in an installed position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a plurality of safety rail posts pre-installed on a wall section which is then rotated into an upright position;

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