Patent Grant
8535592
U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,475 (Werfel) issued May 1, 1973 discloses a form for use in casting a foundation or footing where there are two side walls converging upwardly and inwardly to an open top where the side walls are bridged by pair of straps with top portions which can be used as handles. The forms are arranged in a row to define the footing and cab be lifted off after the concrete is poured and set.
The forms are not however convenient to use and to adjust to the required position.
It is one object of the invention to provide a set of forms which can be readily and easily moved to a required location and located in place for casting concrete within the forms.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of laying a concrete footing comprising:
providing a set of forms each comprising:
an elongate frame member arranged to define side walls forming an elongate area therebetween into which concrete can be cast for setting into a shape defined by the side walls;
transverse connecting elements for connecting the side walls together for holding them at a required spacing defining the area;
each of the frame members having at least one lift element mounted thereon defining an opening extending in a direction transverse to the side walls;
lifting the respective frame member by a respective fork of a fork lift system extending across the side walls;
placing the respective frame member at a required location;
engaging legs on the frame members on the ground at a required height relative to the ground;
adjusting the legs in height to level the frame members at a required orientation relative to the ground;
pouring the concrete;
and after setting of the concrete lifting the elongate frame members from the concrete using the fork lift system engaging the lift element.
Preferably the method includes providing a plurality of connecting members each shaped to match a respective one of the side walls and clamped thereto on an inside surface thereof so as to bridge between a respective elongate frame member and a next adjacent elongate frame member.
Preferably the method includes providing a transport cradle on which the set of elongate frame members is stacked.
Preferably the cradle includes a pair of side walls on which a lowermost one of the set sits with a pair of transverse sleeves connected across the side walls by which the cradle is lifted by the forks of the fork lift system.
The sleeve element may be formed by a tube which is complete to surround the fork along a part of the length of the fork or may be just loops at spaced positions or may only partly surround the fork provided the sleeve member provides sufficient engagement with the fork so that the sleeve and the form attached thereto are moved by t the fork accurately to a required location defined by the fork.
Preferably the sleeve element is arranged to extend across the frame member at right angles to the side walls. This allows the form to be placed from one side with the fork extending across the form. However other arrangement may be possible.
Preferably there is a single sleeve element mid way along the frame member for lifting by a single fork. Although two such sleeve elements may be used for a dual fork arrangement.
Preferably the sleeve element comprises a tube formed between two upstanding flanges connected across the side walls.
Preferably the side walls are connected by upstanding flange members extending transversely thereof.
Preferably there are four legs arranged substantially at opposite corners.
Preferably each leg includes a spike portion for engagement into the ground and a transverse flange for location a depth of the leg relative to the ground.
Preferably the spike comprises a plate which is chamfered to define a point at a bottom end of the plate.
Preferably the transverse flange extends at right angels to the plate.
Preferably each side wall includes a bottom vertical section and an upwardly and inwardly inclined upper section.
Preferably there is provided a corner piece for connecting longitudinal pieces wherein the corner piece includes side walls arranged at right angles to each other and wherein the sleeve element extends diagonally of the corner.
The arrangement above is particularly designed for use in a method using a fork lift system on a skid steer loader including lifting and manipulating the forms to required locations by inserting a fork of the skid steer loader into the sleeve element, moving the form to a required location on the ground and pressing the form by the fork onto the ground at the required location.
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
The forming system of the present invention comprises a plurality of forms which are arranged to be placed end to end or slightly overlapping to generate an elongate forming system for casting concrete or similar materials into an elongate structure. In
The forms are arranged so that they can be readily lifted and inserted into place while avoiding or reducing the use of manual labour for lifting and locating the forms.
The forms can be pressed into place in the ground along a set line and at a required level using lines or laser levels or similar devices well known in the art for arranging the forms at the required height and position.
The forms can be used with a base so that one of the forms can be placed on the base and the remaining forms stacked on top of the first form. In this way the forms can be transported readily from one site to another and the forms can be re-straightened if they become distorted in use by rough handling by mounting the first on the base and mounting the others each on the next which acts to straighten all of the forms to the same pattern.
Additional forms can be provided in the same shape and arrangement which generate T-connections and other shapes such as 45 degree angles which may be required as will be well known to one skilled in the art.
The basic form as best shown in
The two side walls 10 and 11 are connected at three spaced positions along their length so as to form a rigid form structure. At each end is provided an upstanding flange member 16 which is cut from a plate to define a bottom edge 16A at a top edge 16B. The bottom edge 16A is horizontal above the open top 12 and then inclines downwardly and outwardly over the inclined portions 14 and is welded thereto. Thus the bottom edge 16A is spaced above the top edge 15 so that the top surface of the concrete when cast at the opening 12 is below the bottom edge 16A of the horizontal section of the flange.
One such flange is provided at each end of the form at a position spaced inwardly from an end edge 17 of the side walls 10 and 11.
At the center of each form is provided a connecting and lifting mechanism generally indicated at 20 which is defined by two flanges 21 and 22 similar in shape and arrangement to the flanges 16 and between them is defined a tube 23 which extends across the horizontal section of each of the flanges 21 and 22. The tube 23 provides an open mouth 23A at each end between the two flanges 21 and 22 and facing outwardly over a respective one of the side walls 10 and 11. The tube 23 forms a mounting sleeve element into which the fork of a forklift system on a skid steer loader or similar vehicle can be inserted for lifting the form. The tube 23 forms a complete tube with a mouth at each end which is continuous between the two mouths. However it will be appreciated that parts of the material forming the mounting sleeve element can be removed to form a slot along the top if required or to form two separate spaced elements into which the fork can be inserted. The length of the tube may be reduced so that it does not extend across the full width of the horizontal section, provided it receives the fork 123 and acts to hold the form on the fork at a position and orientation located relative to the fork without significant twisting while it is lifted into place as shown in
The form can thus be lifted with a single fork of a fork lift system and can be manoeuvred by steering the skid steel loader to a required position so that the fork is positioned at a required location relative to lining and levelling system.
Each of the side walls 10 and 11 carries a pair of locating legs 25. Thus the complete form has four such legs at spaced positions generally forming a rectangle so that the form can be placed on the ground and located at a required height and the height at each end and the height side to side can be adjusted by adjusting the legs.
Each leg comprises a plate 26 which is cut on each side to form a point or apex 27 which can be engaged into the ground. The engagement in the ground can be affected simply by pressing downwardly on the form structure by the fork of the forklift system.
In addition the legs include a horizontal flange 29 which is mounted on the plate forming the leg at a position spaced upwardly from the apex 27. Each of the legs is mounted on a screw 30 which can be adjusted upwardly and downwardly within a mounting sleeve 31 by adjustment of a nut 32 on top of the sleeve 31 by a wrench.
Thus in operation the form can be located at the required line by movement of the form on the forklift system to the required position, after which the form is pressed downwardly into the ground surface so that each of the legs bites into the ground until the flange 29 engages the ground.
With the form thus located in place on the ground, its height relative to a level is adjusted by an operator actuating the nuts 32 to move the mounting sleeve 31 and the respective side wall upwardly and downwardly relative to the leg and the flange 29 which is at the ground level.
In this way the forms can be aligned end to end and properly levelled so as to define a longitudinal form for receiving the cast concrete. After the casting of the concrete is complete, the forms can be lifted from the cast set concrete simply by inserting the fork of the forklift system back into the sleeve element 23 so as to lift the form away from the cast concrete.
As shown in
The forms can be lifted from their place by the fork lift system. They can be carried on a transport cradle on which the set of elongate frame members is stacked. The cradle shown in
The forms are therefore reusable at a new site. In this way the amount of manual labour necessary for locating and aligning the forms is significantly reduced since the forms are lifted using the single fork of the forklift system.
The corner piece as shown in
The forms can be lifted and held in place due to the rectangular shape of the tube 23 or 23A which matches the shape of the fork. The tube is located generally along the mid line of the form so that the form is balanced on each side of the tube to avoid significantly cantilevered loads.
In a situation where a skid steer loader with a fork is not available, the forms can be lifted by other systems including a simple crane or boom on a vehicle.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.119 of Provisional Application 61/110,008, filed Oct. 31, 2008. This invention relates to a set of concrete forms which can be readily moved and placed in required locations for use in casting concrete.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1644586 | Heltzel | Oct 1927 | A |
| 3695574 | Charlier et al. | Oct 1972 | A |
| 3730475 | Werfel | May 1973 | A |
| 6059256 | Matthews | May 2000 | A |
| 20020152709 | Gresser et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20100107552 A1 | May 2010 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61110008 | Oct 2008 | US |
