Claims
- 1. A mold in which to cast cementitious posts, said mold including a base having first, second and third adjoining marginal portions extending about said base, a first stationary upstanding wall fixedly secured to and upstanding from one of said marginal portions, second and third upstanding walls, pivot means pivotally supporting said second and third wall along first base upstanding marginal edges thereof from remote upstanding marginal edges of said stationary wall for swinging movement of second free upstanding marginal edges of the second and third walls remote from said first edges toward and away from closely juxtaposed positions, said first, second and third upstanding walls, when said second marginal edges are closely juxtaposed defining a peripherally enclosed mold cavity above said base with the lower marginal edge portions of the second and third walls extending along and disposed in reasonably good sealed relation with said second and third marginal portions, said base defining an upwardly opening socket centrally disposed relative to said cavity, an upstanding reinforcing member having its lower end received in said socket, an upper end portion of said reinforcing member including a plurality of vertically spaced horizontally outwardly projecting shanks supported therefrom, said second free upstanding marginal edges having a plurality of vertically spaced pairs of horizontally registered notches formed therein through which the outer ends of said shanks project, said first stationary upstanding wall being generally planar and including a first mold defining front side outwardly from which said first base upstanding marginal edges of said second and third upstanding sidewall project when said second free upstanding edges of said second and third upstanding walls are disposed in closely juxtaposed positions, said pivot means defining pivot axes for said second and third upstanding walls spaced to the rear of said front side and oppositely outwardly from said remote marginal edges of said first stationary upstanding wall, said first base upstanding marginal edges of said second and third upstanding walls overlying the marginal portions of said front side of said first upstanding wall when said second free upstanding edges of said second and third upstanding walls are disposed in closely juxtaposed positions, said outer end portions of said shanks including outwardly facing enlarged abutments threadedly adjustable thereon and abuttingly engaged with the inner surfaces of the portions of said second marginal edges disposed about said notches, and second abutments threaded upon said shanks and abutted against the outer surfaces of said second marginal edges disposed about said notches.
- 2. The mold of claim 1 including an anchor member carried by the upper end of said reinforcing member by which said reinforcing member and a cementitious casement disposed thereabout may be lifted from above.
- 3. The mold of claim 1 wherein generally horizontally registered remote wall portions of said mold include horizontal openings formed therethrough, and a tubular sleeve disposed within said cavity and having its opposite ends projecting through said openings.
- 4. The mold of claim 3 wherein said reinforcing member extends vertically through said sleeve.
- 5. The mold of claim 4 wherein said sleeve is longitudinally straight.
- 6. The mold of claim 3 wherein said sleeve is generally L-shaped in horizontal plan, said cavity being generally equiquadrangular in horizontal cross section, the opposite ends of said sleeve opening through adjacent sides of said mold.
- 7. The mold of claim 1 wherein one of the wall portions of said mold includes a horizontal opening formed therethrough, a sleeve disposed in said cavity having one inner closed end secured to said reinforcing member and an outer open end opening outwardly through said opening.
- 8. The mold of claim 7 wherein a wall portion of said mold opposite the wall portion thereof having an opening formed therein is also provided with a horizontal opening registered with the first mentioned opening and a second sleeve is disposed in said cavity including an inner closed end anchored relative to said reinforcing member and an outer open end opening outwardly through the second mentioned opening.
- 9. The mold of claim 8 wherein said mold includes a third wall portion extending between the last two mentioned opening equipped wall portions also having a horizontal opening formed therein and a third sleeve is provided including an inner end anchored relative to said reinforcing member and an open outer end opening outwardly through the last mentioned opening.
- 10. A mold in which to cast cementitious posts, said mold including a base having first, second and third adjoining marginal portions extending about said base, a first stationary upstanding wall fixedly secured to and upstanding from one of said marginal portions, second and third upstanding walls, pivot means pivotally supporting said second and third walls along base upstanding marginal edges thereof from remote marginal edges of said stationary wall for swinging movement of second free standing marginal edges of said second and third walls remote from said first edges toward and away from closely juxtaposed positions, said first, second and third upstanding walls, when said second marginal edges are closely juxtaposed, defining a peripherally enclosed upstanding mold cavity above said base with the lower marginal edge portions of said second and third walls overlying and disposed in reasonably good sealed relation with said second and third marginal portions, said first stationary upstanding wall being generally planar and including a first mold defining front side outwardly from which said first base upstanding marginal edges of said second and third upstanding wall project when said free upstanding edges of said second and third upstanding walls are disposed closely juxtaposed, said pivot means defining pivot axes for said second and third upstanding walls spaced to the rear of said front side and oppositely outwardly from said remote marginal edge of said first stationary upstanding wall, said pivot means also including means operative to enable vertical shifting of said second and third walls relative to said stationary wall and base, the weight of said second and third walls serving downwardly bias said second and third walls with the lower edges thereof tightly frictionally engaged with the upper surfaces of said base defining said second and third marginal portions to thereby effectively increase the fluid seal between said base and the lower ends of said second and third walls.
- 11. The mold of claim 7 including latch means for releasably latching the second marginal edges of said second and third walls in closely juxtaposed positions.
- 12. The mold of claim 7 wherein the portions of said second and third walls bounding said cavity are generally L-shaped in horizontal section, said cavity being generally equiquadrangular in horizontal cross section.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This application comprises a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 213,741, filed Dec. 5, 1981, now abandoned.
Most fence constructions utilize wood posts in view of the ability to incorporate wood posts in various types of fence constructions and the relatively low expense of wooden posts. Metal posts may be used for wire fences, but may not be readily incorporated, either structurally or aesthetically, in wooden fences. In addition, cementitious fence posts heretofore have been known, but difficulties in molding or casting cementitious fence posts and the difficulty of adapting cement fence posts for use in wire fences has rendered the use of cementitious fence posts minimal, even though a cementitious fence post will last almost indefinitely.
Accordingly, a need exits for an improved structure and method for molding or casting cementitious fence posts and wherein the structure and method involved may be utilized to mold or cast cementitious fence posts which may be used in conjunction with wooden fences or wire fences, as desired.
Examples of various methods and structures for molding or casting cementitious posts are dislcosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 821,031, 834,448, 1,323,689, 2,586,413, 3,071,835, 3,348,802, 3,428,287, 3,577,613, 3,656,729, 3,785,607, 4,022,859 and 4,067,941.
The instant invention provides an upstanding mold including a base having first, second and third adjacent marginal portions and including a stationary upstanding wall supported therefrom projecting upwardly from the first marginal portion of the base. Second and third upstanding walls are pivotally supported from remote upstanding marginal edge portions of the first wall and include first upstanding edge portions which are swingable toward and away from closely juxtaposed positions with the three upstanding walls defining an upstanding mold cavity above the base.
The base includes an upwardly opening socket centrally located relative to the cavity in which the lower end of an upstanding reinforcing member is downwardly telescoped and the upper end of the reinforcing member includes a horizontally outwardly projecting shank whose outer end projects through a notch formed in at least one of the free edges of the second and third upstanding walls.
The second and third upstanding walls are pivotally supported from the first upstanding wall for a limited vertical shifting relative thereto and the lower edges of the second and third walls overlie the second and third marginal edges of the base when the free edges of the second and third walls are disposed in closely juxtaposed postion. The weight of the second and third walls enables the lower edges of those walls to bear tightly downwardly upon the upper surface of the corresponding marginal edges of the base in order to form a reasonably good sealed engagement therewith.
The invention also contemplates the provision of remote wall portions of the mold with horizontally registered openings through which the opposite ends of a sleeve extending through the mold cavity may project and the sleeve is therefore molded in the cementitious post being cast in order that the opposite ends of generally horizontally registered fence boards may be seated within the opposite ends of the sleeve when a plurality of posts are incorporated in a wood fence being erected. The outer ends of the horizontal shanks carried by the reinforcing member project outwardly beyond the corresponding outer surfaces of the finished posts and may thus be used to anchor wire strands to the posts when erecting wire fences. Further, the upper end of the reinforcing member may have an anchor structure temporarily supported therefrom whereby the finished cementitious posts may be lifted from above.
The main object of this invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for forming cementitious posts.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for forming cementitious posts which may be used either in constructing a wooden fence or a wire fence.
Another important object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus of forming a cementitious post including provisions whereby horizontal passages may be provided in the resultant posts for receiving wooden fence boards therethrough.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus of constructing cementitious fence posts and which incorporates provision for attaching fence wire to the posts at predetermined locations spaced therealong.
A further important object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for forming cementitious posts such that posts of varying lengths may be provided.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for forming cementitious posts and wherein the same basic apparatus and method may be utilized to form posts of different cross-sectional shapes.
A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide a method and apparatus for forming cementitious posts which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be relatively trouble free and enable the desired fence post to be formed with a minimum of effort.
These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.
US Referenced Citations (19)
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
213741 |
Dec 1981 |
|
Patent Grant
4624439
