Patent Application
20240068251
The present invention relates to an injection molded grade pin for establishing guides for placing or pouring concrete and similar work in new concrete construction such as a roadway, driveway, sidewalk, patio or building floor.
In the past, it was conventional practice to dig out the ground to a desired depth and then place a string line at the desired predetermined elevation of the finished concrete surface. Wooden stakes were then driven into the ground and pipes were laid horizontally on top of them. The upper surface of the pipes indicate the desired elevation of the finished concrete. Nails were driven into the stake tops on both sides of the pipe to keep it from rolling or being bumped off. The concrete was then poured or dumped into the desired area and struck or screed off with a strike board or screed on top of adjacent pipes. The pipes may be removed while the concrete is drying or setting up. The indentations after removal of the pipes are then filled and the surface smoothed out, thus establishing a finished surface at the desired elevation of the concrete.
The use of wooden stakes with nails at their tops is inefficient, costly, and time-consuming compared to the materials, tools, and methods of using them in the present invention. Wooden stakes are hard to drive so that their tops are at the required depth below the string line. They must be individually measured from the string line with a tape measure. Moreover, the wooden stakes split easily when driven into the ground or when driving nails into them for holding the screed pipe. Often the accuracy is lost while driving nails in the stake tops in sand or soft soil conditions. In cold climates, the wooden stakes swell in the concrete, potentially causing cracks in the concrete.
One example embodiment is a device for leveling new concrete. The device includes a pin with a hollow, slot or void for accommodating at least a portion of a vertical support extending above the new concrete, and a fastening mechanism for fastening the pin to the vertical support at a reference height corresponding to a desired level for the new concrete. In some embodiments, the pin is an injection molded grade pin. In some embodiments, the injection molded pin is a cylinder with a vertical slot formed along the axis of the cylinder for accepting at least a portion of the vertical support. In some embodiments, the fastening mechanism is one or more wing nuts. In some embodiments, the circumference of the cylinder is provided with one or more notches, grooves or ribs to provide a set of one or more reference heights for determining the desired level for the new concrete. In some embodiments, the vertical support is a piece of rebar.
It will be readily understood that the instant components, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments, as represented in the attached figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the application as claimed but is merely representative of selected embodiments. Multiple embodiments depicted herein are not intended to limit the scope of the solution.
The instant features, structures, or characteristics as described throughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “example embodiments”, “some embodiments”, or other similar language, throughout this specification refers to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one example. Thus, appearances of the phrases “example embodiments”, “in some embodiments”, “in other embodiments”, or other similar language, throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
Although several exemplary embodiments have been illustrated in the accompanied drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, it will be understood that the application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions as set forth and defined by the following claims. It will be readily understood that the components of the application, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the detailed description of the embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the application as claimed but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application.
One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the above may be practiced with steps in a different order, and/or with hardware elements in configurations that are different than those which are disclosed. Therefore, although the application has been described based upon these preferred embodiments, it would be apparent to those of skill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions would be apparent.
While preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, it is to be understood that the embodiments described are illustrative only and the scope of the application is to be defined solely by the appended claims when considered with a full range of equivalents and modifications thereto.
