Collapsible scaffolding

Claim 1

IN AN ARTICULATED SCAFFOLDING ASSEMBLY, THE COMBINATION OF A PLURALITY OF SPACED AND VERTICALLY EXTENDABLE COLUMNS HAVING A LOWER CYLINDRICAL PORTION FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH A SUPPORTING SURFACE AND A TELESCOPING UPPER PORTION, A MODIFIED HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING LAZY-TONG LINKAGE FORMING A SPACING AND STABILIZING CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID VERTICALLY EXTENDING COLUMNS IN WHICH THE EXTENSION OF SAID LAZY-TONG LINKAGE WILL DETERMINE THE EXTENSION OF SAID TELESCOPING UPPER PORTION, A VERTICALLY EXTENDING TELESCOPING STRUT INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE UPPER AND THE LOWER LINKS OF SAID LAZY-TONG LINKAGE BY WHICH THE EXTENSION OF SAID LAZY-TONG LINKAGE AND THE SPACING OF SAID COLUMNS MAY BE FIXED BY THE EXTENSION OF SAID TELESCOPING STRUT WHEN THE SCAFFOLDING IS IN USE, A PAIR OF CROSSED STRUTS AS A STABILIZING MEANS AT THE OTHER OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID ASSEMBLY, WHEREBY THE SCAFFOLDING MAY BE COLLAPSED ALONG ITS LAZY-TONG EXTENDED DIMENSION INDEPENDENTLY OF THE LATERALLY SPACED DIMENSION OF SAID COLUMNS, AND CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT THE SINGLE STABILIZING MEANS AT THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SCAFFOLDING ASSEMBLY CONSISTS OF TWO PIVOTLY RELATED DIAGONALLY EXTENDING STRUTS, EACH SECURED AT ONE END OF THE BASE OF THE LATERALLY SPACED VERTICALLY EXTENDING COLUMNS AND SLIDABLY MOUNTED AT THEIR UPPER END TO THE TELESCOPING PORTION OF SAID COLUMNS BY A SLIDABLE COLLAR THROUGH WHICH THE TELESCOPING PORTION OF SAID COLUMNS EXTEND.