Safety scaffold for metal melting furnaces

Claim 2

A scaffold for supporting a workman with respect to a top opening in a metal melting furnace, which comprises: platform means of a size adapted to fit over and rest on the walls surrounding a furnace opening, said platform means having a central opening conforming to the opening in the furnace, and further including ducts extending around said platform opening having first vent openings facing the platform opening, and a second opening facing away from the platform opening; means secured about said second opening for exhausting fumes from said duct means; a plurality of spaced posts extending upwardly from the outer periphery of said platform means; a track secured to the posts and running from a first to a last of said posts to leave an entry between said first and last posts; a trolley mounted on and movable along the track; and lanyard means secured to the trolley and adapted to be attached to a workman on the platform means, said lanyard means being of such length as to restrict movement of the workman to positions adjacent to the platform opening.

Claim 3

A scaffold as defined in claim 1, which includes: a plurality of lugs secured to the duct means about said platform opening and adapted to be connected to a number of hoist cables.

Claim 4

A scaffold for mounting about the periphery of an opening formed in a supporting structure, which comprises: a platform having a centrally located opening conforming in size to the size of the opening in the structure; a first conduit secured to the underside of the platform, said conduit having a series of slots facing said platform opening, and a second slot facing away from said platform opening; a second conduit secured about said second opening and adapted to conduct fumes from the first conduit; a series of plates secured to and spaced about the underside of the platform; a plurality of posts individually secured to said plates and extending through said platform; a rail secured to the ends of the posts; a trolley mounted on said rail for movement therealong; and lanyards attached to said trolley and adapted to be secured to a restraint worn by a worker for limiting the worker's movement toward said platform opening.

Claim 5

A scaffold for mounting about the periphery of an opening formed in a supporting structure, which comprises: a platform having a centrally located opening conforming in size to the size of the opening in the structure; a first conduit secured to the underside of the platform, said conduit having a series of slots facing said platform opening, and a second slot facing away from said platform opening; a second conduit secured about said second opening and adapted to conduct fumes from the first conduit; a series of plates secured to and spaced about the underside of the platform; a plurality of posts individually secured to said plates and extending through said platform; a rail secured to the ends of the posts; a trolley mounted on said rail for movement therealong; and lanyards attached to said trolley and adapted to be secured to a restraint worn by a worker for limiting the worker's movement toward said platform opening.

Claim 6

A scaffold for use on a furnace having a vertically extending top opening, which comprises: a duct shaped to extend about the furnace opening, said duct having first slots facing the furnace opening and a second slot facing away from the furnace opening; a conduit secured to said duct about said second slot and adapted to conduct fumes from said duct; a platform mounted on said duct and having a central opening shaped to encompass the furnace opening; vertically mounted plates secured to the underside of the platform and spaced about the underside of the platform to extend radially from said platform opening; posts secured to the outer edges of the plates and extending upwardly about the outer periphery of the platform; a horizontal guide rail secured to the top of the posts and running from a first to a last of said posts to leave an entry opening between the first and last posts; a trolley means having two sets of rollers spanning the guide rails; lanyards attached to the trolley means and adapted to be attached to a workman on the platform to restrict the workman's movement toward the opening in said platform; and stop plates attached to the ends of the guide rails for confining movement of the trolley means to a path along said guide rail.

Claim 7

A scaffold for use on a furnace having a vertically extending top opening, which comprises: a duct shaped to extend about the furnace opening, said duct having first slots facing the furnace opening and a second slot facing away from the furnace opening; a conduit secured to said duct about said second slot and adapted to conduct fumes from said duct; a platform mounted on said duct and having a central opening shaped to encompass the furnace opening; vertically mounted plates secured to the underside of the platform and spaced about the underside of the platform to extend radially from said platform opening; posts secured to the outer edges of the plates and extending upwardly about the outer periphery of the platform; a horizontal guide rail secured to the top of the posts and running from a first to a last of said posts to leave an entry opening between the first and last posts; a trolley means having two sets of rollers spanning the guide rails; lanyards attached to the trolley means and adapted to be attached to a workman on the platform to restrict the workman's movement toward the opening in said platform; and stop plates attached to the ends of the guide rails for confining movement of the trolley means to a path along said guide rail.