Patent Grant
8915038
This application claims priority to provisional patent application 61/828,862, filed on May 30, 2013, with the same title.
The present disclosure relates generally to a dynamic concrete form, and more particularly to a dynamic concrete form for forming a void in a poured concrete structure.
Concrete structure forms are molds that are used to hold concrete in place while it hardens, ensuring that the concrete sets in a specific shape. For some typical construction projects, including the construction of buildings and parking garages, concrete structure forms are used to produce standard concrete shapes or pieces, including floors, walls, ceilings, stairs, and the like. The concrete structure forms are used to hold the concrete in place while it is poured and stabilize it as it sets. Once the concrete has set, the concrete structure forms can be removed so that the concrete has a chance to cure. After curing, additional structures can be built on or around the poured concrete and other construction related tasks can be performed.
It is common to provide voids, or passages, through concrete structures or pieces to accommodate the passage of utility wiring, including electrical wiring, and the like. To avoid the time, expense, and liability involved in drilling the voids or passages after the concrete has hardened, current methods of forming voids include positioning a tubular member between parallel concrete structure forms. This current method may be suitable in some instances. However, oftentimes, the tubular member becomes at least partially filled with concrete during pouring. In particular, the poured concrete may enter through opposing ends of the tubular member at the interfaces between the open ends and a respective one of the parallel concrete structure forms. As a result, the hardened concrete within the tubular member must be chiseled out to form an unobstructed void through the concrete structure. This additional step, occurring after the concrete pour, increases the time and expense for the project.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,003,889 to Turcovsky (hereinafter Turcovsky) discloses a conduit sleeve for use in concrete construction that provides a pass through within a concrete structure. The conduit sleeve includes a tubular member having a flange attached at one or both ends. A flexing structure is attached to one or both of the flange and the tubular member for allowing the flange to be angled relative to the tubular member when the flange is installed on a concrete form. The flexing structure allows the conduit to remain horizontal when there are variations in the angle of the form. Although the conduit sleeve of Turcovsky may provide improvements over some conventional methods of forming a concrete void, the Turcovsky conduit sleeve requires an inventory of tubular members of varying lengths and/or the customization of a tubular member at the job site. That is, the flanges are attached to a tubular member having an appropriate size for the particular use.
The present disclosure is directed to one or more of the problems or issues set forth above.
In one aspect, a dynamic concrete form includes a sleeve defining a passage extending between first and second open ends of the sleeve. A first attachment feature extends outwardly in a first direction from the sleeve at the first open end and a second attachment feature extends outwardly in a second direction that is opposite the first direction from the sleeve at the second open end. Both of the first and second attachment features are parallel to a longitudinal axis of the sleeve. The dynamic concrete form includes a first position in which the passage has a first axial length, the first open end lies in a first plane, and the second open end lies in a second plane. The dynamic concrete form also includes a second position in which the passage has a second axial length that is greater than the first axial length, the first open end lies in the first plane or a first new plane that is parallel to the first plane, and the second open end lies in the second plane or a second new plane that is parallel to the second plane.
In another aspect, a poured concrete structure includes a first poured concrete piece including a top surface, a bottom surface, first and second opposing surfaces, and a void extending between the first and second opposing surfaces. A dynamic concrete form is supported within the first poured concrete piece to define the void. The dynamic concrete form includes a sleeve defining a passage, which corresponds to the void, extending between first and second open ends of the sleeve. The first open end lies in a first common plane with the first opposing surface, and the second open end lies in a second common plane with the second opposing surface. A first attachment feature extends outwardly in a first direction from the sleeve at the first open end and a second attachment feature extends outwardly in a second direction that is opposite the first direction from the sleeve at the second open end. A top of the sleeve defines a portion of the top surface of the first poured concrete piece.
In another aspect, a method of forming a void in a poured concrete structure using a dynamic concrete form is provided. The dynamic concrete form includes a sleeve defining a passage extending between first and second open ends of the sleeve. A first attachment flange extends outwardly in a first direction from the sleeve at the first open end, and a second attachment flange extends outwardly in a second direction that is opposite the first direction from the sleeve at the second open end. The method includes steps of attaching the first attachment flange to a first concrete structure form and seating the first open end against a first inner surface of the first concrete structure form, and attaching the second attachment flange to a second concrete structure form and seating the second open end against a second inner surface of the second concrete structure form. The method also includes pouring concrete in a space defined by the first concrete structure form and the second concrete structure form to form the poured concrete structure. The poured concrete contacts a bottom of the sleeve and spaced apart sidewalls of the sleeve. A distance between the first inner surface of the first concrete structure form and the second inner surface of the second concrete structure form is changed in response to the step of pouring concrete. An axial length of the passage is changed in response to the step of changing the distance between the first inner surface and the second inner surface by telescoping a first sleeve portion of the sleeve relative to a second sleeve portion of the sleeve. The method also includes forming the void in the poured concrete structure with the dynamic concrete form, wherein the passage corresponds to the void.
As shown, the first open end 16 may lie in a first plane P1 that is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis A1 of the sleeve 12. Similarly, the second open end 18 may lie in a second plane P2 that is parallel with the first plane P1 and substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A1. The first and second open ends 16 and 18 may bound opposing ends of the passage 14. That is, an axial length of the passage 14 may depend on how far the first sleeve portion 20 is telescopically received within the second sleeve portion 22, and how far apart the first and second open ends 16 and 18 are from one another. For example, according to a first position, shown in
According to a second, or extended, position, shown in
Referring to both
Turning now to the exploded view of
The second sleeve portion 22 may be similar to the first sleeve portion 20, but may be slightly larger in size such that the first sleeve portion 20 may be telescopically received within the second sleeve portion 22. The second sleeve portion 22 may also have a generally rectangular cross section and may include a planar top 54, a planar bottom 56, and a pair of spaced apart planar sidewalls 58 and 60. The planar top 54 and bottom 56 of the second sleeve portion 22 may be parallel with one another, and the spaced apart planar sidewalls 58 and 60 may be substantially parallel with one another. The second sleeve portion 22 includes a first open end 62, which corresponds to the second open end 18 of the sleeve 12, and a second open end 64, which is configured for telescopic receipt of the first sleeve portion 20. The second flange 34 may extend from the planar top 54 of the second sleeve portion 22 at the first open end 62, with both the second flange 34 and the planar top 54 of the second sleeve portion 22 lying in a second common plane P6. Due to the telescopic relationship of the first and second sleeve portions 20 and 22, the second common plane P6 may be spaced above and parallel to the first common plane P5. The second flange 34 may extend a predetermined distance from the first open end 62 suitable for supporting the second sleeve portion 22 either directly or indirectly with respect to a concrete structure form, and may be secured to the concrete structure form using second fasteners 66 positioned through the second attachment openings 38.
Alternative views are shown in
As mentioned above, the dynamic concrete form 10 of the present disclosure may be used to form a void in a poured concrete structure. In particular, and with reference to
In a similar manner, the second attachment feature 30, or second flange 34, of the second sleeve portion 22 may be attached to a second concrete structure form 78. The first and second concrete structure forms 70 and 78 may be spaced apart and substantially parallel with one another, as shown. The second concrete structure form 78 may also include a trough 80 or other structure configured to support a separate component, such as a second piece of lumber 82. The trough 80 may be attached to or integral with the second concrete structure form 78. During attachment, the second open end 18 of the sleeve 12 may be seated against a second inner surface 84 of the second concrete structure form 78. Second fasteners 66 may be positioned through the second attachment openings 38 and the second piece of lumber 82 to facilitate attachment. Although indirect attachment of the dynamic concrete form 10 to the first and second concrete structure forms 70 and 78 is shown, direct attachment may alternatively be used. However, indirect attachments, such as those described, may be preferred, particularly where there is a desire to avoid modification of the concrete structure forms 70 and 78.
Thereafter, concrete C, shown in
The dynamic concrete form 10 of the present disclosure may be used to compensate for the movement of the first and second concrete structure forms 70 and 78, which may be caused by the weight and movement of the concrete C. In particular, as the first distance d1 between the first and second concrete structure forms 70 and 78 increases to the second distance d2 at the positioning of the dynamic concrete form 10, the axial length of the passage 14 defined by the sleeve 12 also changes by telescoping the first sleeve portion 20 with respect to the second sleeve portion 22. For example, the dynamic concrete form 10 may move from the first position, shown in
The first poured concrete piece 88 may be a portion of a poured concrete structure 92. For example, the first poured concrete piece 88 may represent a vertical wall of a building or parking garage. The first poured concrete piece 88 may include a top surface 94, a bottom surface 96, first and second opposing surfaces 98 and 100, and the void 90 extending between the first and second opposing surfaces 98 and 100. The dynamic concrete form 10 is supported within the first poured concrete piece 88 to define the void 90. In particular, the passage 14 through the sleeve 12 corresponds to or forms the void 90 through the first poured concrete piece 88. Utility wiring 102, or other similar components relevant to the specific construction project, may be received through the void 90 or, more particularly, the passage 14 of the sleeve 12.
As shown, the first open end 16 of the sleeve 12 may lie in a first common plane P7 with the first opposing surface 98, and the second open end 18 may lie in a second common plane P8 with the second opposing surface 100. The first and second flanges 32 and 34 extend outwardly beyond the first and second common planes P7 and P8, as shown. In addition, the planar tops 40 and 54 of the first and second sleeve portions 20 and 22 may define a portion of the top surface 94 of the first poured concrete piece 88. As is shown in phantom, a second poured concrete piece 104 may include a bottom surface 106 contacting the tops 40 and 54 of the first and second sleeve portions 20 and 22.
The dynamic concrete form 10 disclosed herein provides an improved means for creating voids in poured concrete. In particular, the dynamic concrete form 10 does not require modification of existing concrete structure forms, such as forms 70 and 78, but, rather, uses an indirect attachment to the forms 70 and 78, as described above. The dynamic concrete form 10 is telescopically adjustable in length to work with concrete structure forms spaced apart at various distances to provide resulting concrete structures of various widths. During the concrete pour, the dynamic concrete form 10 dynamically adjusts in length to compensate for movement, such as outward flexing, of the forms 70 and 78 resulting from the weight and movement of the poured concrete C. The seated positions of the open ends 16 and 18 relative to the concrete structure forms 70 and 78, as a result of the attachment of the dynamic concrete form 10 to the forms 70 and 78 described herein, block or reduce entry of the poured concrete C into the passage 14 of the sleeve 12. As such, after the concrete C has hardened and the concrete structure forms 70 and 78 have been removed, an unobstructed void 90 is provided.
It should be understood that the above description is intended for illustrative purposes only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other aspects of the disclosure can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61828862 | May 2013 | US |
