The current invention generally relates to reinforced concrete construction. More specifically, the disclosure relates to vibration dampening rebar support chairs and system for reinforced concrete construction.
The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented elsewhere.
According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a rebar support chair has a housing with first and second opposed boundary walls spaced apart from one another and defining a cavity therebetween, an attachment portion having a seat for supporting rebar, a dampening member, and a force dispersion member inside the cavity. The attachment portion transfers forces between the rebar and the housing. The force dispersion member moves in response to vibration of the attachment portion, and movement of the force dispersion member corresponds with compression and decompression of the dampening member.
According to another embodiment of the disclosure, a rebar support chair has a housing defining a cavity, an attachment portion having a seat for supporting rebar, a dampening member, and a force dispersion member in the cavity. The attachment portion transfers forces between the rebar and the housing. The force dispersion member moves from a rest position in response to vibration of the attachment portion, and the dampening member biases the force dispersion member toward the rest position.
The housing 110 has first and second opposed boundary walls 112, 114 that are spaced apart from one another and define a cavity 115 therebetween. The boundary walls 112, 114 may be formed with or coupled to at least one sidewall 116, and in the embodiment 100 the first boundary wall 112 is shown coupled inside the sidewall 116 while the second boundary wall 114 is shown coupled outside the sidewall 116. Regardless of whether the boundary walls 112, 114 are formed with or coupled to the sidewall 116, it may be particularly important that the cavity 115 is sufficiently encased such that concrete 150 is not able to enter into the cavity 115. The at least one sidewall 116 and/or the second boundary wall 114 may be flared to provide stability when the housing 110 is used in the orientation shown in
The attachment portion 120 has a seat 121 configured to support rebar, and the attachment portion 120 transfers forces between the rebar and the housing 110. In some embodiment, the attachment portion 120 is formed with the housing 110 such that concrete 150 is not allowed to enter the cavity 115, and in other embodiments, the attachment portion 120 is coupled to the housing 110 such that concrete 150 is not allowed to enter the cavity 115. The seat 121 includes two arms 122, 124 that collectively define a sufficient perimeter for seating rebar in a passage 125. While it may be particularly desirable for the arms 122, 124 to have distal ends 122a, 124a that are separable to allow rebar to enter into the passage 125, separable ends 122a, 124a may not be required since rebar may alternately, for example, be passed axially into the passage 125. In some embodiments, the seat 121 may sufficiently grasp rebar such that no additional coupling is required. But in other embodiments, it may be desirable to use a tie, clip, crimp, weld, or other appropriate fastener to secure rebar to the seat 121 with the rebar being located in the passage 125. While the passage 125 is shown to be a generally circular and cylindrical in shape, other shapes may alternately be used (e.g., rectangular, triangular, polygonal, etc.) and the shape of the passage 125 need not be constant from one end of the passage 125 to another end of the passage 125 (e.g., barbs, nubs, teeth, etc. may be located in the passage 125 to further grip rebar).
The dampening member 130 biases the force dispersion member 140 toward a rest position 140a in the cavity 115, and may for example be a mechanical spring (as shown in
The force dispersion member 140 may be any appropriate mass positionable and movable as described. If a magnetic spring is used for the dampening member 130, it may be particularly desirable to use a ferrous or otherwise magnetic material for the force dispersion member 140—though a magnetic element may be placed atop, coupled to, or otherwise interact with the force dispersion member 140 as part of such a magnetic spring. Other appropriate materials may include other metals, ceramics, glass, natural or synthetic rubbers, and combinations of such materials. The shape of the force dispersion member 140 may be, for example, spherical, cubic, or conical, and the weight of the force dispersion member 140 may be selected as desired to affect dampening characteristics of the rebar support chair 100.
In use, the force dispersion member 140 moves in the cavity 115 (e.g., along axis 141) from the rest position 140a in response to vibration of the attachment portion 120, which is caused by vibration of the attached rebar. The dampening member 130 in turn biases the force dispersion member 140 toward the rest position 140a. Especially if the dampening member 130 is a mechanical spring, movement of the force dispersion member 140 may correspond with compression and decompression of the dampening member 130. But regardless of the specific type of dampening member 130 that is used, the dampening member 130 and the force dispersion member 140 may be tuned (e.g., selected or adjusted to jointly have properties) such that the dampening member 130 and the force dispersion member 140 react to a specific frequency band of vibrations. To adjust the dampening member 130, the boundary wall 112 and/or the boundary wall 114 may for example be adjustable (e.g., by being coupled to the at least one sidewall 116 in a threaded manner that allows for relative movement between the boundary wall and the at least one sidewall 116) to change the location or amount of force on the dampening member 130 when the force dispersion member 140 is at the rest position 140a. It may be particularly beneficial to tune the components to protect against resonance frequencies, though other frequency bands may also be targeted. Movement of the force dispersion member 140 inside the cavity 115 dampens the vibrational forces received from the rebar, and may reduce cracking in or otherwise lengthen the useful lifespan of the concrete 150 that encases the rebar and the rebar support chair 100. And while the attachment portion 120 may be located at various locations relative to the housing 110, configuring the attachment portion 120 such that rebar supported by the seat 121 passes through the axis 141 may be desirable in transferring vibrational forces from the rebar to the attachment portion 120 and ultimately to the force dispersion member 140.
Second, the dampening member 130 is shown adjacent the boundary wall 112 such that the dampening member 130 is between the force dispersion member 140 and the attachment member 120 in
In embodiment 200, the attachment portion 220 has additional seats 261, 271 configured to support rebar and transfer vibrational forces from the supported rebar to the housing 210. As with the seat 221, the seats 261, 271 may be formed with or attached to the housing 210 such that concrete is not allowed in the cavity 215. And as with the seat 221, each of the seats 261, 271 may include two arms 262, 264, 272, 274 that collectively define a sufficient perimeter for seating rebar in a passage 265, 275. In short, the attachment portion 220 allows additional vibrations from different rebar to be dampened by the dampening member 230 and the force dispersion member 240. While it may be desirable for the seats 261, 271 to support rebar at different heights from rebar supported by the seat 221 and in nonparallel alignment with rebar supported by the seat 221 (as shown in
The system 1000 is thus configured so that the movement of the first piece of rebar 21 may be dampened by the first chair 1, the second chair 2, and third chair 3. More particularly, the movement of the first piece of rebar 21 may transfer energy into the first chair 1 and the second chair 2, and the second chair 2 may then transfer some of the movement from the first piece of rebar 21 into the second piece of rebar 22. The third chair 3 may then receive energy from the second piece of rebar 22. And each of the vibration dampening chairs 1, 2, 3 may respond as set forth above to dampen the vibrational energy that it receives. The system 1000 is merely an example, and the concept explained can be transferred to cover any number of the disclosed chairs with rebar. Further, the system 1000 may even be used to cover a large area, which may contain varying heights or irregular shapes. The adaptability of the vibration dampening chairs to be placed at different heights to one another as well as hold different pieces of rebar at different angles and heights may allow for the system 1000 to be easily adapted to and provide vibration dampening for projects outside the scope of basic concrete structures, such as staircases, sculptures, or elevator shafts.
Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present invention. It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Not all steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in the specific order described.
This application claims priority to U.S. Pat. Application 62/934,333 filed Nov. 12, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
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