Patent Application
20230175261
The present description relates, in general, to fabrication of physical structures formed with underlying or integral structural support systems or networks of rebar over which foam, concrete, plaster, shotcrete, or other material may be applied or installed. These architectural or physical structures may include outdoor and indoor scenery structures (or “rockwork”) that may be used in rides and attractions for use in amusement parks and theme parks or that may be used at malls, city parks, and other settings. More particularly, the present description relates to a structural support system or network for such physical structures that is designed to replace welded joints with mechanical fastening to join adjacent chip assemblies (i.e., sections or mesh panels formed of bent and joined lengths or pieces of rebar (or pieces of rods or bars typically formed of a metal such as a steel)).
Rebar (or reinforcing bar), which is typically formed of steel, is used widely as a tension device in architectural or physical structures to reinforce the main structural material such as to provide reinforced masonry, concrete, and other material structures. The rebar is used to strengthen the material in which it is embedded then this material is under tension. For example, concrete and many other structural materials are strong under compression but relatively weak under tension, and the rebar significantly increases the tensile strength of the fabricated structures. The most common type of rebar is formed of carbon steel, but other readily available types include stainless steel that may be used when corrosion resistance is desirable.
While being very useful in providing a shaping and reinforcing underlayer, rebar systems can be labor intensive to fabricate and install. For example, theme and amusement park operators presently build large architectural features throughout the parks to replicate physical structures or rockwork to replicate scenery and outdoor or indoor environments suited to the ride or attraction. The rockwork is typically fabricated with an underlayer or support structure formed of a network or system of rebar assemblies or chips, with each of these rebar assemblies or chips being made up of a mesh or plurality of crisscrossing pieces or lengths of rebar. To provide the unique shape of rocks and structures found in nature, the rebar may be bent such that the chips may be nonplanar. Each rebar assembly may include a border formed of pieces of rebar (“border bars”) and pieces of infill bars extending between the border bars.
In fabricating the physical structure, all of the rebar assemblies or chips are properly positioned on site and then joined together to form the support structure or system for the physical structure, which is then completed by applying one or more layers of material such as plaster, cement mix, concrete, foam, or the like over the rebar assemblies. Presently, the joining of all these rebar assemblies is welding intensive, which can be a labor intensive process, can involve compliance with a variety of environmental and safety procedures, and, as a result, can add significant time to the overall construction of a structure or rockwork. Each chip or rebar assembly may be relatively large, such as 6 to 8-foot on a side of a generally square chip, and numerous welds may be used along each side or length of border to join adjacent chips or rebar assembly. For example, conventional construction practices may use a chip-to-chip connection around the entire perimeter of each chip in a structural support system that includes a 2-inch long weld every 6 inches. With the use of hundreds of chips or rebar assemblies in each rockwork or physical structure being fabricated, this can lead to thousands of welds being used to join together mating pieces of rebar.
The inventors recognized that there was a need for rebar-based support assemblies that can be fabricated without the need for (or at least a reduced need for) on-site welding. To this end, the inventors designed a number of differing sized and shaped crimps (or pieces of join hardware) that can used in place of welds to provide rebar assembly-to-rebar assembly (or chip-to-chip) connections. Each crimp can be used to mechanically couple or attach two or three pieces of rebar together, such as a border bar of one chip to a border bar of an adjacent chip in the structural support system or network.
In place of welding, each crimp includes a body with two or more arcuate recessed surfaces each for receiving a piece of rebar. In a first configuration of the crimp (or prior to deformation), a pair of spaced-apart arms (or extending members) extend from the body and define an opening through which the pieces of rebar may be passed and set into the recessed surfaces. With the two or three pieces of rebar in the recessed surfaces, a deformation force is applied in an inward direction upon outer surfaces of the two arms to deform the body into a second configuration with the arms in abutting contact at an outer tip or end (or nearly in contact). This movement of the arms may be achieved with a hydraulic crimper or similar tool applying the deformation force, e.g., 6 to 12 tons of force as may be provided by a hydraulic crimper with a C-head or similar tool. With the crimp in the second configuration, the two or three pieces of rebar abut the recessed surfaces of the body and are typically held in place in the body such that the rebar pieces are mechanically joined together such that the rebar pieces are restrained from moving along or transverse to their longitudinal axes by the deformed crimp (or crimp in the second configuration).
More particularly, a structural support system or network is provided for use in fabricating a physical structure such as rockwork for a theme park or other setting. The system includes a plurality of rebar assemblies. Each of the rebar assemblies includes a first set of pieces of rebar extending about an exterior border and a second set of pieces of rebar arranged in a crisscross pattern to infill a space within the exterior border. The system also includes a plurality of two-bar crimps interconnecting adjacent pairs of the plurality of the rebar assemblies. Each of the two-bar crimps receives a piece of rebar from the first set of pieces of rebar from each of the adj acent pairs and retains the two received pieces of rebar in abutting contact.
In some embodiments, each of two-bar crimps includes a body with a pair of recessed surfaces configured for receiving the two received pieces of rebar and with a pair of spaced apart arms encircling the two received pieces of rebar. The body is reconfigurable via plastic deformation under a deforming force from a first configuration, in which tips of the spaced apart arms define an opening greater than an outer diameter of each of the two received pieces of rebar to provide access to the pair of recessed surfaces, to a second configuration, in which the opening is less than the outer diameter of each of the two received pieces of rebar. The deforming force can be in the range of 6 to 12 tons (e.g., 10 to 12 tons), and the body is formed of a steel. The steel may be carbon steel with a hardness in the range of 60 to 75 HRB or may be a stainless steel with a hardness less than about 90 HRB.
In some embodiments, the system may further include a plurality of reinforcing bars and a plurality of 3-bar crimps mechanically coupling the reinforcing bars to the border bars of a set of the adjacent pairs of the plurality of the rebar assemblies. In such cases, each of the three-bar crimps may include a body with three recessed surfaces configured for receiving one of the reinforcing bars and two pieces of rebar from the first set of pieces of the rebar and with a pair of spaced apart arms encircling one of the reinforcing bars and the two pieces of the rebar. The body of the three-bar crimp is reconfigurable via plastic deformation under a deforming force from a first configuration, in which tips of the spaced apart arms define an opening greater than an outer diameter of each of one of the reinforcing bars and the two pieces of the rebar to provide access to the recessed surfaces, to a second configuration, in which the opening is reduced in size and the one of the reinforcing bars and the two pieces of the rebar are retained in abutting contact. In some implementations, the deforming force is in the range of 6 to 12 tons, with the body being formed of a carbon steel in the range of 60 to 75 HRB or of a stainless steel with a hardness less than about 90 HRB.
Briefly, the following description describes physical structures, such as rockwork for theme parks and the like, that can be fabricated with an underlying structural support system or network. The support system or network is fabricated from a plurality of interconnected or joined rebar assemblies or panels (also call “chips” herein), which each are formed of a plurality of pieces or lengths of rebar that are shaped or bent and joined together such that when all the rebar assemblies or panels are interconnected the support system or network defines a skeleton of the physical structure. The physical structure may then be completed by applying one or more layers of material, such as plaster, cement, concrete, foam, or the like, over the support system or network.
Significantly, adjacent rebar assemblies or panels are interconnected or physically joined together through the use of mechanical hardware rather than welding. Particularly, newly designed crimps (e.g., 2-bar crimps) are used to join or couple border bars (i.e., pieces of rebar along an outer perimeter or border) of the adjacent rebar assemblies together in place of numerous welds. Additionally, crimps (e.g., 3-bar crimps) are used to affix pieces of rebar that are used for reinforcement in place of welding by coupling two infill bars (i.e., pieces of rebar extending between border bars in a rebar assembly or chip) to an additional piece of rebar.
As discussed in greater detail, the two adjacent chips 102 and 104 are mechanically interconnected or coupled along a seam 108 where a border bar of each chip 102, 104 is in abutting contact. As will be appreciated, the rockwork 100 may include tens to hundreds (or more) of the chips 102, 104 to provide the underlying support system or network for the material layer 110, and, as a result, use of mechanical join hardware or crimps in the place of welding produces many advantages including improved safety, reduced labor, and significantly reduced timelines to fabricate the rockwork 100.
In brief, the new join hardware or “crimp” was created to facilitate or enable connecting non-planar structures, such as the chips 102 and 104 of
Extending between the border bars 212, 222, 232 are additional pieces of rebar, which may be the same as the border bars 212, 222, 232 or a smaller OD rebar such as #2 or #3 rebar (or smaller OD rebar), and these are shown with crisscrossing and offset infill bars 214, 224, and 234 (which may be offset at a variety of distances such as in the range of 4 to 10 inches with 6-inch offsets used in some implementations of system 200). Welding may be used to join the border bars 212, 222, 232 at the corners of each chip 210, 220, 230, to join the infill bars 214, 224, 234 to each other and to the border bars 212, 222, 232. A metal mesh or lath 216 may be applied to the rebar on a back or interior side of the chips 210, 220, 230.
Instead of using welding, the chips 210, 220, and 230 are joined together using a plurality of crimps, such as a crimp every 12 to 24 inches along seams between adjacent pairs of chips (in contrast to much more numerous welds that may be provided every 6 inches or the like). The mechanical coupling of chips is shown in
Further, a reinforcing piece of rebar (or “reinforcing bar” or “crossbar”) may be provided in the system 200 at one or more of the joints or seams between two adjacent chips. This is shown in
The system or network 200 is useful for illustrating typical joins that may be performed onsite (such as in the field as part of a rockwork construction) using one or more crimp designs. While not limiting, it may be useful to note that the inventors have designed crimps to handle the following join situations: (a) border-to-border bar (e.g., #3 rebar to #3 rebar) with a 2-bar crimp with recessed surfaces configured for matching ODs; (b) a crossbar to two border bars (e.g., #3 rebar to #3 rebar to #3 rebar) with a 3-bar crimp configured for matching or differing ODs; (c) an infill bar to a crossbar (e.g., #2 infill rebar to #3 rebar) with a 2-bar crimp with recessed surfaces configured for differing ODs; and (d) a three bar connection (e.g., #2 infill bar to #3 added bar to #3 crossbar) with 3-bar crimp configured for at least two differing ODs.
The body 312 and arms 320, 322 may be sized and be formed of a metal chosen for its strength and ability to be plastically deformed without breaking. For example, the metal may be a carbon steel, which may be treated to provide corrosion resistance (e.g., galvanized or zinc plated or the like) and/or to have a particular hardness. Through testing, it has been determined that it is desirable to use steel with a hardness within ranges that allow the crimp 300 to be deformed with deforming forces in the range of 6 to 12 tons (e.g., by a 10 to 12-ton hydraulic crimper in some preferred embodiments). In some cases, a carbon steel (such as 1018 steel) is used that is annealed or otherwise treated to reduce its hardness to be below 75 HRB such as in the range of 60 to about 75 HRB with the range of about 68 to about 71 HRB being proven to be useful in the prototypes. In other cases, stainless steel (SS) may be used to provided the desired strength and hardness (deformability) characteristics, such as 304 SS or the like.
The body 312 may have a width, Wc, chosen to provide adequate strength and contact (restraining) area between the crimped body 312 and the received rebar, such as in the range of 0.25 to 0.5 inches with 0.375 inches used in some cases. Likewise, the height, Hc, of the body 312 is chosen to provide arms 320, 322 that are adequately long to wrap around and at least partially enclose upon crimping upon received rebar, such as in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 inches with about 0.75 inches used in some crimps 300. The recessed surfaces 314, 316 may have matching or differing inner radii prior to crimping to be able to fully receive and mate with (abuttingly contact) receive rebar. Hence, the inner radius, RI, may be chosen to be a small amount larger than the rebar’s OD for each surface 314, 316 such as about 0.26 to 0.29 inches for 0.25-inch OD rods (or #2 rebar), about 0.377 to 0.382 inches for 0.375-inch OD rods (or #3 rebar), and so on. The outer diameter, Ro, of the arms 320, 322 is chosen to provide an arm thickness that can be deformed and that will have adequate strength after plastic deformation to retain received rebar, such as in the range of 0.3 to about 0.5 inches with about 0.37 inches used in one implementation utilizing 1018 steel annealed to 68 to 71 HRB (e.g., 69 HRB plus or minus 1 HRB), with the hardness chosen to ensure the crimper (e.g., 12-ton crimper) can compress the material of the crimp 300 tightly against received rods/pieces of rebar.
The body 412 and arms 420, 422 may be sized and be formed of a metal chosen for its strength and ability to be plastically deformed without breaking. For example, the metal may be a stainless steel (SS) to have a particular hardness such as 90 HRB or less. Through testing, it has been determined that it is desirable to use SS, such as 304 SS or another SS type, with a hardness within ranges that allow the crimp 400 to be deformed with deforming forces in the range of 6 to 12 tons (e.g., by a 10 to 12-ton hydraulic crimper and with a 12-ton crimper used in some preferred embodiments). In other cases, a carbon steel may be used as discussed for crimp 300.
The body 412 may have a width, Wc, chosen to provide adequate strength and contact (restraining) area between the crimped body 412 and the received rebar, such as in the range of 0.25 to 0.5 inches with 0.375 inches used in some cases. Likewise, the height, Hc, of the body 412 is chosen to provide arms 420, 422 that are adequately long to wrap around and at least partially enclose upon crimping upon received rebar, such as in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 inches with about 1.0 inches used in some crimps 400. The recessed surfaces 414, 416, and 418 may have matching or differing inner radii prior to crimping to be able to fully receive and mate with (abuttingly contact) receive rebar. Hence, the inner radii, RI and Rcenter (with RI used for surface 416 and 418) may be chosen to be a small amount larger than the rebar’s OD for each surface 414, 416, and 418 such as about 0.26 to 0.29 inches for 0.25-inch OD rods (or #2 rebar), about 0.377 to 0.382 inches for 0.375-inch OD rods (or #3 rebar), and so on. The outer diameter, Ro, of the arms 420, 422 is chosen to provide an arm thickness that can be deformed and that will have adequate strength after plastic deformation to retain received rebar, such as in the range of 0.3 to about 0.5 inches with about 0.37 inches used in one implementation utilizing 304 SS (e.g., 1-inch by 0.5-inch bar material). As with the crimp 300 shown in
The method 500 continues at 520 with positioning a chip in place on the build side (e.g., at its predefined location in support system being built). Then, in step 530, the positioned chip is connected to any adjacent chips using the crimps described herein. This may involve using a number of 2-bar crimps to couple the border bars of adjacent chips along a seam or joint (such as with a crimp provided every 12 to 24 inches along the length of the seam/joint). Step 530 may involve positioning a crimp concurrently over two border bars so that both bars are received within the recessed surfaces of the 2-bar crimp and then applying a deforming force, such as with a hydraulic crimper, to deform the 2-bar crimp and to couple the two parallel border bars together in abutting contact within the body of the 2-bar crimp. Step 530 may also include applying a crossbar or reinforcing piece of rebar along the chip-to-chip joint/seam, and this may involve positioning the crossbar parallel to two border bars and placing a 3-bar crimp over the three pieces of rebar such that they are received within the recessed surfaces of the 3-bar crimp. Then, a deforming force is applied, again typically with a crimping tool, to deform the arms of the 3-bar crimp to force the three bars into contact within the body of the crimp.
The method 500 continues at 540 with determining whether there are additional chips to be installed or connected within the support system. If yes, the method 500 continues with repeating steps 520 and 530. In some embodiments, step 520 is repeated until all chips or a subset of all of the chips are in position prior to repeating step 530 and 540 until all chip-to-chip connections are completed. The method 500 continues to step 550 when all chips are positioned and connected together and reinforces using the crimps of the present description. At step 550, the rockwork or physical structure is completed by applying and finishing one or more outer layers of material upon the support system of chips. This may involve applying plaster or the like to the rebar chips and then sculpting and finishing (e.g., painting) the outer surface of this applied layer. Once this outer layer is completed, the method 500 may end at step 590.
Although the invention has been described and illustrated with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the combination and arrangement of parts can be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as hereinafter claimed.
For example, the exemplary figures illustrate the crimps being used for bar-to-bar attachment, but, with the teaching provided herein, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the crimps may be adapted for other uses. Particularly, the crimps may be used attaching fiber optics to rebar in some cases while other uses of the crimps may be for mounting speaker boxes to rebar. Lightening rods may also be attached to chips shown herein using a lightening bar to rebar(s) crimp connection. Other elements, e.g., nearly any nonstructural component, may be attached to one or more of the chips by placing a portion of the element in the crimp with one or two pieces of rebar.
