Claims
- 1. A corner assembly for concrete form panels comprising:a pair of rigid members, each member having an inner face and a bend therein forming a selected dihedral angle, the rigid members being spaced apart by a selected distance, the inner faces of the rigid members being oriented in a same direction, the pair of rigid members each having a height ranging from six inches to eight feet, at least one connector disposed along the height of the pair of rigid members only between the respective bends in the pair of rigid members, at least one concrete form panel comprising a prefabricated plastic panel juxtapositioned, and connected to each of the rigid members, wherein the concrete form panels may be spaced apart a varying distance, even within a same construction, forming cavities of differing thicknesses, concrete being disposed adjacent to each of the at least one concrete form panels, and the corner assembly retaining the concrete form panel without external bracing and without risk of sag, deformation, separation or blow-out of the corner assembly.
- 2. The corner assembly of claim 1, wherein the members each have at least one inwardly lanced-out eyelet at the bend of the respective member, the bridge having a length and right angle ends, the ends of the bridge being received in the respective eyelet of the spaced-apart members such that the spaced-apart members are secured apart at a distance equal to the length of the bridge.
- 3. The corner assembly of claim 2, wherein two pairs of spaced-apart members are provided, an outer pair and an inner pair spaced apart from the outer pair, at least one concrete form panel being disposed between the outer pair of members and at least another concrete panel disposed between the inner pair of members, the outer pair of members being connected to the inner pair of members by a removable tie rod, and concrete being disposed between the inner pair of members and the outer pair of members.
- 4. The corner assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of an outer face of the corner assembly is colored.
- 5. The corner assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one rigid member is formed from metal.
- 6. The corner assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one rigid member has a selected height.
- 7. The corner assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one concrete form panel is a polystyrene block.
- 8. The corner assembly of claim 1, wherein one of the members is formed from a pair of submembers, the pair of submembers being contiguous and mechanically joined.
- 9. A corner assembly for concrete form panels comprising:a pair of rigid members, each member having an inner face and a bend therein forming a selected dihedral angle, the rigid members being spaced apart by a selected distance, a removable bridge disposed between the pair of rigid members, at least one concrete form panel juxtapositioned, and connected to each of the rigid members and concrete is disposed adjacent to each of the at least one concrete form panel, the corner assembly retains the concrete form panel without external bracing and without risk of sag, deformation, separation or blow-out of the corner assembly, wherein the members each have at least one inwardly lanced-out eyelet at the bend of the respective member, the bridge having a length and right angle ends, the ends of the bridge being received in the respective eyelet of the spaced-apart members such that the spaced-apart members are secured apart at a distance equal to the length of the bridge, wherein two pairs of spaced-apart members are provided, an outer pair and an inner pair spaced apart from the outer pair, at least one concrete form panel being disposed between the outer pair of members and at least another concrete form panel disposed between the inner pair of members, the outer pair of members being connected to the inner pair of members by a removable tie rod, and concrete being disposed between the inner pair of members and the outer pair of members, and wherein the dihedral angle of the first pair of members is different from the dihedral angle of the second pair of members.
- 10. A corner assembly for concrete form panels comprising:a pair of rigid members, each member having an inner face and a bend therein forming a selected dihedral angle, the rigid members being spaced apart by a selected distance, a removable bridge disposed between the pair of rigid members, at least one concrete form panel juxtapositioned, and connected to each of the rigid members and concrete is disposed adjacent to each of the at least one concrete form panel, the corner assembly retains the concrete form panel without external bracing and without risk of sag, deformation, separation of blow-out of the corner assembly, and further comprising a removable supporting means disposed vertically within the corner assembly to provide vertical support to the corner assemblies, a horizontal plate being formed at a base of the supporting means to anchor the corner assembly to a foundation surface and to act as a pivot point for minor adjustments.
- 11. A corner assembly for concrete form panels comprising:a pair of rigid members, each member having an inner face and a bend therein forming a selected dihedral angle, the rigid members being spaced apart by a selected distance, wherein the first rigid member is formed from a first submember and a second submember, each submember having a longer side and a shorter side, there being a selected acute angle between the longer side and the shorter side, the shorter sides of the submembers abutting and connecting to one another such that the longer sides form an outer corner, a first concrete panel form having a side formed at the selected acute angle being disposed adjacent to the selected acute angle of the first submember, a second concrete panel form having a side formed at a selected acute angle being disposed adjacent to the selected acute angle of the second submember such that the selected acute angle sides of the first concrete form panel cooperates with the selected acute angle side of the second concrete form panel and the concrete form panels are disposed side by side to one another interiorly of the longer sides of the respective submembers, wherein the a second rigid member is formed from a first submember and a second submember, each submember having a longer side and a shorter side, there being a selected obtuse angle between the longer side and the shorter side, the shorter sides of the submembers abutting and connected to one another, the longer sides forming an inner corner, a third concrete panel form having a side formed at the selected obtuse angle being disposed adjacent to the selected obtuse angle of the first submember, a fourth concrete panel form having a side formed at the selected obtuse angle being disposed adjacent to the selected obtuse angle of the second submember such that the respective selected obtuse angle side of the third concrete form panel cooperates with the selected obtuse angle side of the fourth concrete form panel and the concrete form panels are disposed side by side to one another, the second rigid member being spaced apart from the first rigid member by a selected distance, the shorter sides of the first rigid member and the shorter sides of the second rigid member have respective openings formed therein, at least one tie rod having bent ends and a length corresponding to the distance between the spaced-apart first and second rigid members, the at least one tie rod being disposed between the first and second rigid members, the bent ends of the at least one tie rod being received in the openings in the shorter sides of the respective rigid members such that the first rigid member is connected to the second rigid member, and concrete disposed between the concrete form panels adjacent to the first rigid member and the second rigid member, such that the corner assembly retains the concrete form panel without external bracing and without risk of sag, deformation, separation or blow-out of he corner assembly.
- 12. In a form assembly used for concrete construction, wherein the concrete is poured between spaced-apart plastic form panels, the form panels being retained during the pouring of the concrete, the improvement comprising a metal corner assembly having two pairs of metal members spaced apart a preselected distance, including an inner pair and an outer pair of bent sheet metal members, each pair of bent sheet metal members including a first metal submember and a second metal submember on opposite sides of the bend, plastic form panels being juxtapositioned to the sheet metal members, fasteners driven through at least the first submember and the second submember of the outer sheet metal member and into the respective juxtapositioned plastic form panels, such that plastic form panels may be received within the respective first and second metal members and retained thereby during the pouring of the concrete into the space between the respective pairs of metal members.
- 13. The improvement of claim 12, wherein the plastic form panels comprise polystyrene blocks.
- 14. A corner assembly for concrete form prefabricated plastic panels comprising:a pair of rigid members, each member having an inner face and a bend therein forming a selected dihedral angle, the rigid members being spaced apart by a selected distance, a plurality of spaced-apart tie-in openings being formed in the rigid members, at least one concrete form prefabricated plastic panel juxtapositioned to each of the rigid members, at least one elongated shank being received in at least one of the tie-in openings and extending therethrough into the at least one concrete form prefabricated plastic panel transversely thereof to secure the rigid member to the at least one concrete form prefabricated plastic panel, an adjustable diagonal connector member connecting the pair of rigid members, liquid fill being disposed adjacent to each of the at least one concrete form prefabricated plastic panels, and the corner assembly retains the concrete form prefabricated plastic panel without external bracing and without risk of sag, deformation, separation or blow-out of the corner assembly.
- 15. The corner assembly of claim 14, wherein the tie-in openings are countersunk such that the at least one elongated shank is flush with the at least one rigid member.
- 16. The corner assembly of claim 14, wherein the rigid members are each formed from a single sheet.
- 17. In the method of constructing at least one pair of intersecting concrete walls, between respective spaced-apart pairs of prefabricated plastic form panels assembled at a job site, wherein the concrete being poured between the respective pairs of prefabricated plastic form panels creates a stress concentration at the corner, thereby tending to blow out the corner during pouring of the concrete, and thereby requiring external bracing to prevent a blow out at the corner as the concrete is being poured, the improvement comprising the step of providing at least one bent sheet metal reinforcement for the prefabricated plastic form panels at the intersecting corner therebetween, the at least one bent sheet metal reinforcement having respective side plates forming a bend having a dihedral angle therebetween that may be selected easily and conveniently without incurring substantial mold charges, such that the external bracing may be minimized or eliminated altogether, and such that the at least one bent sheet metal reinforcement may have any desired height to accommodate a single corner or a plurality of corners spaced vertically with respect to each other, further including the steps of connecting the pair of rigid members with an adjustable diagonal connector and providing holes in the respective side plates of the at least one bent sheet metal reinforcement and driving elongated shanks through the holes in the side plates of the at least one bent sheet metal reinforcement and transversely into the respective prefabricated plastic form panels.
- 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising forming the at least one bent sheet metal reinforcement from a single sheet of metal.
- 19. In a form used for concrete construction, wherein concrete is poured between plastic form panels, a corner support assembly comprising:at least a unitary outer rigid member and a spaced-apart unitary inner rigid member, each rigid member being flat and bent into a desired dihedral angle, thereby forming a bend in each member, and defining a first portion and a second portion on opposite sides of the respective bends, the bend in the outer rigid member being oriented similarly to the bend in the inner rigid member, the unitary outer rigid member having an outer face and an opposite inner face, the unitary inner rigid member having an outer face distal from the outer face of the outer rigid member and an inner face proximal to the inner face of the outer rigid member, a bridge being connected between only the respective bends of the rigid members, a first plastic form panel being disposed adjacent to the first portion on the inner face of the outer rigid member, a second plastic form panel being disposed adjacent to the second portion on the inner face of the outer rigid member such that the first plastic form panel adjoins the second plastic form panel at the bend in the outer rigid member, a third plastic form panel being disposed adjacent to the first portion on the inner face of the inner rigid member, a fourth plastic form panel being disposed adjacent to the second portion on the inner face of the inner rigid member such that the third plastic form panel adjoins the fourth plastic form panel at the bend in the inner rigid member, at least one fastener passing transversely through the first portion of the outer rigid member into the first plastic form panel and at least another fastener passing transversely through the second portion of the outer rigid member into the second plastic form panel, wherein modification of the form panels is not required, and maximum strength of the corner support assembly is provided consonant with versatility and minimum cost of labor and materials.
- 20. The corner support of claim 19, wherein the outer rigid member has a height ranging from six inches to eight feet.
- 21. The corner support assembly of claim 19, wherein the joining of the first and second plastic form panel has a diagonal thickness,the joining of the third and fourth plastic form panel has a diagonal thickness, the concrete has a diagonal thickness defined by the spacing between the outer rigid member and the inner rigid member, and the bridge has a length equal to the sum of the diagonal thickness of joining of the first and second plastic form panels plus the diagonal thickness of the joining of the third and fourth plastic form panels plus the diagonal thickness of the concrete, wherein the length of the bridge is adjustable.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/580,247 filed May 26, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,692, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference hereto.
US Referenced Citations (18)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
541742 |
Oct 1955 |
BE |
411591 |
Feb 1945 |
IT |
175441 |
Feb 1945 |
SE |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
09/580247 |
May 2000 |
US |
Child |
09/850997 |
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US |