FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to prefabricated wall constructions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The manufacture of various food products usually occurs in what are referred to as clean rooms. These rooms are generally furnished with corrosion resistant furniture and equipment where the food products are actually prepared. As the name implies, these clean rooms, and the equipment contained therein, are maintained at a high level of cleanliness in order to minimize the possibility of food contamination. At the end of each work day, workers clean down the equipment, walls and floor of the clean room using high pressure washers. While washing with high pressure washers is generally effective, even the most effective high pressure washer is not always capable of removing all traces of debris from tight comers of the room, particularly where the floor meets the walls. Therefore, there is always the possibility that the room will not be totally sanitized even after the room has been thoroughly washed with high pressure washers.
In order to maximize the ease of sanitation, clean rooms are now being constructed without tight comers where the walls and floor meet. The walls and floor of these rooms are generally made from concrete and have a smooth curved junction between the walls and floor. These smooth curved junctions permit water to flow easily through the comers in order to wash away any accumulated debris. However, these improved clean rooms have one major drawback, they tend to be expensive to construct. Generally speaking, these rooms are formed from a concrete floors with walls made of insulating pre-finished panels. This construction leaves a sharp angle where the wall meets the floor. A gentle curve is formed at the junction of the wall and floor by applying a layer of concrete at the wall/floor junction and molding the concrete to form the curved junction. As can be imagined, the curved junction formed is not always uniform. Furthermore, the concrete curved junctions have a tendency to deteriorate over time, leaving a fractured junction, which is ideal for retaining debris. Finally, the step of forming the junction is both time consuming and expensive. An improved wall construction technique is therefore required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a wall section for forming a wall, said wall section comprising a precast reinforced concrete pillar having a vertical portion and a flange portion. The vertical portion has a top end, a bottom end, and a vertical face, the flange portion projecting perpendicularly away from the vertical face immediately adjacent the bottom end. The flange portion also has a horizontal face. A curved concave face is formed on the pillar where the horizontal face of the flange portion joins the vertical face of the vertical portion. The vertical section is reinforced by reinforcing bars which extend through the bottom end and projecting horizontally below and beyond the flange.
There is also provided an improved method of constructing a wall including the steps of providing a plurality of precast reinforced concrete pillars each pillar having a vertical portion and a flange portion, the vertical portion having a top end, a bottom end, and a vertical face, the flange portion projecting perpendicularly away from the vertical face immediately adjacent the bottom end. The flange has a substantially flat bottom and a horizontal face and the pillar has a curved concave face where the horizontal face of the flange portion joins the vertical face of the vertical portion. A substrate is provided upon which the concrete pillars are placed with the bottom of the flanges resting on the substrate. The floor is formed by pouring concrete over the substrate to a level flush with the horizontal flat face of the flange portions, and finally, the poured concrete is left to cure.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1. is a perspective view of a wall section made in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2. is a cross sectional view of a wall and floor made in accordance with the method of the present invention.
FIG. 3. is a top view of a wall section made in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4. is a side view of a wall section made in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 5. is a cross sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3.
FIG. 6. is a cross sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 3.
FIG. 7. is a cross sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8. is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring firstly to FIG. 1, the present invention is a precast wall section, shown generally as item 10 which consists of an elongated pillar 12 having opposite ends 14 and 16, vertical portion 15 and flange portions 22 and 23. Vertical portion 15 has top portion 18, bottom portion 20, and opposite vertical faces 24 and 25. Flange portions 22 and 23 have horizontal faces 26 and 27, respectively. Curved faces 28 and 29 are formed on pillar 12 at the junction of flat faces 24 and 26 and at the junction of flat faces 25 and 27, respectively. Pillar 12 is precast from concrete and is reinforced by a plurality of vertical reinforcing bars 30. Reinforcing bars 30 each have a vertical portion 32 which is substantially contained in pillar 12 and a horizontal portion 36 which extends perpendicularly away from the pillar below the flange portions. A portion 34 of reinforcing bars 30 extend below pillar 12.
Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6, epoxy coated reinforcing bars 30 are oriented such that horizontal portions 36 of approximately half of the bars project to one side of the pillar while the other half project to the other side of the pillar. Horizontal reinforcing bar 38 is provided in pillar 12 and extends between ends 14 and 16. Horizontal bars 30 and 38 provide structural strength to the pillar. Mounting elements 40 are provided at the corners of flanges 22 and 23 towards ends 14 and 16. Each mounting element 40 consists of a threaded nut 44 and a threaded tap 46. Threaded nut 44 is countersunk into the bottom of the flange portion and threaded tap 46 is mounted within the flange such that the treaded tap is coaxially aligned with the nut. Threaded tap 46 and threaded nut 44 form a single mounting unit 40 permitting a threaded bolt (see FIG. 2) to be inserted and retained in mounting unit. Top portion 15 of pillar 12 has a mounting unit 42 consisting of a threaded tap 46 which is securely retained in the pillar. Mounting unit 42 permits an anchor bolt (not shown) to be mounted to the mounting unit, permitting an attachment means to lift the entire pillar with a crane (not shown). End 14 may be provided with female connector element 33 which is dimensioned and configured to bind to male connector element 35 of an adjacent pillar 12. Male connector element 35 is preferably a length of reinforcing bar cast into the pillar. Male/female connector elements 33 and 35 make it easier to mount a series of pillars in a row to form a wall. Male/female connector elements 33 and 35 also help to strengthen the finished wall.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the method of the present invention shall now be discussed. To form a wall, a substrate 56 is first provided. Substrate 56 may be crushed stone, gravel, sand or some other suitable substrate for supporting a concrete floor. Pillar 12 is then set on top of substrate 56. If the height of pillar 12 must be adjusted, anchor bolts 50 may be mounted to mounting units 40. Anchor bolts 50 consist of a threaded rod 52 rigidly mounted on top of feet 54. By threading rod 52 into mounting units 40 the height at which the pillar sits above substrate 56 can be adjusted. This makes plumbing the pillar so that the pillar sits vertically on the substrate a simple procedure. When the pillar is properly set on the substrate, a layer of concrete 58 is poured over the substrate. The amount of concrete poured is adjusted such that the top surface 60 of the concrete is flush with the horizontal surface 26 of flange 22. Horizontal portions 36 of the reinforcing bars anchor pillar 12 to the poured concrete forming the floor. The concrete is left to cure. When the concrete has hardened and cured, a wall/floor junction is thereby formed with a smooth continuous curved face 28 joining floor surface 60 to vertical face 24. The height of the wall can be increased by attaching upper wall segment 62 to the top 18 of pillar 12.
The present invention has numerous advantages. Firstly, since the pillars are precast, the curves on the pillar may be made hard and durable, thereby lengthening the life of the finished wall. Furthermore, since the pillars are preformed, assembling the wall is accomplished relatively quickly. Finally, since the pillar is anchored to the concrete floor by reinforcing bars, the overall wall structure is very strong and durable.
Referring now to FIG. 7, the wall segments may be formed as corner units or as side units where the curved concave surface is present on only one side. Therefore, nearly any type of room can be constructed simply by using a variety of different precast units. Each of these units will have reinforcing steel bars 100, curved concave surface 102, flange portion 106, vertical portion 108, and mounting units 104 as discussed in the previous example.
Referring now to FIG. 8, a wall segment made in accordance with the present invention shown generally as item 200 may also take the form of a precast pillar 202. Precast pillar 202 is made of plastic foam panels 204 and 206 which are held together by a plurality of ties 208. The pillar is given additional strength by a layer of concrete 210 which is poured in between foam panels 204 and 206. Pillar 202 has reinforcing bars 212 have vertical faces 214 and 216, curved concave faces 218 and 220 and horizontal flat faces 222 and 224 as in the previous embodiment. Other than the construction of pillar 212 from a combination of plastic foam and concrete, pillar 212 is identical to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.
A specific embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed; however, several variations of the disclosed embodiment could be envisioned as within the scope of this invention. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
Patent Application
20050229516
