Patent Application
20090194665
The present invention relates generally to the pre-cast concrete wall systems and, more particularly, to a support stand that locates the forms for manufacturing pre-cast concrete walls in an elevated position above the floor.
Pre-cast concrete wall systems are known in the art, as can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,004, issued to Melvin Zimmerman on Dec. 17, 2002. Such pre-cast concrete walls are typically used as basement walls for building structures, for example, houses and commercial buildings. Such walls are manufactured in a production plant by assembling non-concrete components into a form and pouring concrete into the form to encapsulate the non-concrete components. Once the concrete has hardened, the manufactured wall is stripped away from the form and the wall panel is transported to the job site for installation. Typically, a plurality of wall panels is assembled on the job site to form a basement structure of the building to be constructed thereon.
The formation of the pre-cast concrete walls at the production plant requires a form that is typically constructed of steel to support the non-concrete components, such as reinforcement rods, insulation panels, wall studs, etc., and the concrete that is poured into the form to create the pre-cast wall panels. Once the concrete is hardened, the wall can be stripped away. The form is then re-used for subsequent pre-cast wall panel production and the process repeated. An example of the forms for creating pre-cast concrete wall panels can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,194, granted on Aug. 12, 1997, to Melvin M. Zimmerman.
Some forms for the production of concrete wall panels are constructed with a laterally movable side member that can be selectively positioned to adjust the overall width of the pre-cast concrete wall panel to be formed. This movable side member, as well as the remainder of the form, is supported by a steel beam that provides the basic framework for the support of the form at a location above the floor of the production plant to facilitate the use of the form in the manufacture of the pre-cast concrete wall panels. The steel beam frame members are supported above the production plant floor by support legs that are typically welded onto the steel beam frame members. With a fixed form, i.e. one that does not have a movable side member, the form is not typically moved from one location to another within the production plant and fixed length legs are usually sufficient to support the form at the elevated location above the floor in a planar configuration.
The utilization of a laterally movable side member, however, adds some complexity in the stabilization of the forms, as well as maintaining a planar configuration so that the pre-cast concrete walls manufactured therefrom are constructed in a planar shape for proper assembly at the job site. Production plant floors are typically uneven. Thus, when the laterally movable side member is re-positioned to create a pre-cast wall panel that has a different width than the previous one constructed from the form, a fixed length support leg may not provide the proper support of the movable steel beam frame to maintain a planar configuration of the pre-cast wall to be constructed. Thus, when the movable side member is re-positioned, shimming the support leg to maintain proper positioning of the movable side member results in lost production time.
Support legs can also be deformed or bent during the manufacturing process, such as when impacted by machinery used to move the hardend pre-cast concrete wall panels. Since the proper positioning of the form, including the steel beam frame members, is necessary for the manufacture of the pre-cast concrete wall panels, these support legs, which are typically welded onto the steel beam frame members, need to be cut off and a new support leg installed at the correct length or height to maintain the proper configuration of the form.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a support leg structure for a form used in the production of pre-cast concrete wall panels that would facilitate rapid deployment and replacement when the support legs need to be adjusted or replaced.
It is an object of this invention to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the known prior art by providing an adjustable length support stand for use on pre-cast concrete wall panel forms.
It is another object of this invention to provide a support stand for a pre-cast concrete wall panel form that has a frame portion connectable to the form and a leg member movable relative to the frame portion.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a frame portion of a support leg for a pre-cast concrete wall panel form that is detachable from a steel beam frame member of the form.
It is a feature of this invention that the adjustable support stand has a leg member that is movable relative to the frame portion of the support stand.
It is an advantage of this invention that the leg member has a floor engaging foot that can be vertically positioned relative to the frame portion of the support stand.
It is another feature of this invention that the support stand has the leg member threaded into the frame portion of the support stand.
It is another advantage of this invention that the vertically adjustable leg member will permit the pre-cast concrete wall panel form to be leveled irrespective of any variations in the production plant floor.
It is still another feature of this invention that the leg member is formed with an actuator member that enables the leg member to be moved through powered or manually operated tools.
It is yet another feature of this invention that one embodiment of the actuator member is a nut welded to the top of a threaded rod operatively engaged with the vertically movable leg member.
It is still another feature of this invention that another embodiment of the actuator member includes a drive shaft mounted for rotation orthogonally to the threaded rod with a gear set operable interconnecting the drive shaft and the threaded rod engaged with the leg member to permit the transfer of rotation from the drive shaft to the threaded rod for positional adjustment of the leg member.
It is still another advantage of this invention that the movement of the leg member of the adjustable support stand can be utilized to level the pre-cast concrete wall panel form.
It is yet another advantage of this invention that the vertical movement of the leg member can be accomplished easily and conveniently through the manipulation of the actuator member through powered or manually operated hand tools.
It is a further feature of this invention that the frame portion of the adjustable support stand is provided with a clamping apparatus to detachably connect the adjustable support stand to the steel beam frame member of a pre-cast concrete wall panel form.
It is yet another advantage of this invention that the support stand can be detached from the steel beam frame member of the pre-cast concrete wall panel form.
It is still another advantage of this invention that the clamping apparatus enables the support stand to be positioned along the steel beam frame member at a desired or advantageous location.
It is a further advantage of this invention that the clamping mechanism can permit the support stand to be replaced if necessary by releasing the clamping apparatus.
It is a further feature of this invention that the clamping apparatus includes first and second clamp members interconnected by fasteners that can draw the two clamp members together to secure the clamping apparatus on the flanges of a steel beam frame member.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an adjustable support stand for a pre-cast concrete wall panel form that is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use.
These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing an adjustable support stand for mounting on a pre-cast concrete wall panel form to facilitate the leveling of the form and the support of the form about the production plant floor. The adjustable support stand includes a frame portion that houses a threaded rod positional fixed for rotation within the frame portion to drive a vertical movement of the leg member in response to rotation of the threaded rod. The adjustable support stand further includes a clamping apparatus that detachably mounts the frame portion to the flanges of a steel beam frame member. The actuator member can be a nut welded to the top of the threaded rod to affect movement of the engaged leg member in response to manipulation with a powered or manually operated hand tool, or a gear set and an orthogonal drive shaft that transfers rotation from a hand tool to the threaded rod.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the detailed description that follows, in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as defining the limits of the invention.
Referring to
The adjustable support stand 10 is preferably constructed of sheet steel welded into the form depicted in the drawings to provide adequate strength in use and economy in manufacture. The adjustable support stand 10 is formed with a frame portion 15 that incorporates a clamping apparatus 20 at the uppermost portion thereof for engaging and mounting to the flanges 8 of the steel beam frame member 5. The clamping apparatus 20 includes a fixed clamp member 22 welded to the frame portion 15 and having a hooked portion 24 that slips around the edge of the flange 8. A movable clamp member 25 is secured to the fixed clamp member 22 by fasteners 26 that interconnect mounting tabs 23, 27 formed on the fixed clamp member 22 and the movable clamp member 25, respectively. The movable clamp member 25 is also formed with a hook portion 29 that engages the opposing flange 8 of the steel beam 5 opposite the hook portion 24 of the fixed clamp member 22. The fasteners 26 are operable to either bring the two mounting tabs together or to draw the two hook portions 24, 29 tight against the flanges 8 of the steel beam 5 to mount the support stand 10 on the steel beam 10.
Placement of the support stand 10 on the steel beam 5 requires that the fasteners 26 be manipulated to separate the movable clamp member 25 away from the fixed clamp member 22 sufficiently to fit around the flanges 8 of the steel beam 5. The hook portions 24, 29 are engaged on the flanges 8 and the fasteners 26 manipulated to draw the movable clamp member 25 toward the fixed clamp member 22 until the clamp apparatus 20 is tightly secured to the steel beam 5. Removal of the support stand 10 is simply the reverse of the installation procedure with the fasteners 26 being loosened until the hook portions 24, 29 can be disengaged from the steel beam 5. Accordingly, the support stand 10 can be easily replaced in the event of damage.
The floor of production plants are typically uneven and the form for the pre-cast concrete wall panel needs to be leveled to allow the poured concrete to level within the form. Accordingly, providing support stands 10 that are capable of vertical adjustment would facilitate initial form set up. Furthermore, some forms are provided with a laterally movable side member (not shown) that can be located, or laterally positioned, to provide varying widths for the pre-cast concrete wall panel being constructed. Each time this movable side member is re-located, the form has to be leveled for proper construction of the pre-cast concrete wall panel. Therefore, the adjustable support stand 10, incorporating the principles of the instant invention, will permit a more rapid deployment of the movable side member, particularly when the production floor is uneven.
As is best seen in
The frame portion 15 includes a top plate 19 that is formed with an opening therein through which a threaded rod 35 is mounted for rotation relative to the top plate 19. Preferably, the threaded rod 35 includes a necked down portion 36 that projects upwardly through the top plate 19. A first bevel gear 39 is fixed on the necked down portion 36 of the threaded rod 35 and rotates with the threaded rod 35. The bevel gear 39 can be utilized to keep the threaded rod 35 in place relative to the top plate 19. The lower portion of the threaded rod 35 is threadably received within the nut 32 such that the rotation of the threaded rod 35 will cause the threaded nut 32 to translate along the length of the threaded rod 35, which in turn moves the leg member 30 vertically relative to the frame portion 15.
The first bevel gear 39 forms part of the actuator mechanism 40 for the support stand 10. The actuator mechanism 40 further includes a drive shaft 45 oriented orthogonally to the threaded rod 35 and rotatably supported on laterally spaced vertical supports 18 extending between the top plate 19 and the fixed clamp member 22. As can be seen in
To adjust the vertical length of the support stand 10, the operator places a hand tool on the fixed nut 42 at the end of the drive shaft 45 and causes the nut 42 to rotate, which in turn causes the drive shaft 45 to rotate therewith. The rotation of the drive shaft 45 drives the second bevel gear 49, which then drives the rotation of the first drive shaft 39. Since the first bevel gear 39 is fixed to the threaded rod 35, the treaded rod 35 rotates to translate the threaded nut 32 along the length of the threaded rod 35. The linear movement of the threaded nut 32 pulls or pushes the leg member 30 through the gussets 16, 17 to retract or extend, depending on the direction of rotation induced to the fixed nut 42.
Referring now to
As is best seen in
In operation, proper support of the frame members 5 can be had by simply causing the threaded rod to rotate via either of the embodiments of the actuator mechanism 40 until the foot 33 (or the lowermost end of the leg member 30 if the foot 33 is not utilized) is engaged with the floor of the production plant. More importantly, however, the adjustable support stand 10 will allow the frame members 5 for the form to be leveled very easily by positionally adjusting the height of the appropriate support stand(s) 10 mounted on the frame members 5. Leveling the initial set-up of the form can be done in a shortened amount of time. Furthermore, leveling a re-positioned laterally movable side member (not shown) is also effectively accomplished in the same manner.
The invention of this application has been described above both generically and with regard to specific embodiments. Although the invention has been set forth in what is believed to be the preferred embodiments, a wide variety of alternatives known to those of skill in the art can be selected within the generic disclosure. The invention is not otherwise limited, except for the recitation of the claims set forth below.
