The present invention relates generally to the field of wall ties for concrete wall forms, and more particularly to a wall tie clamp which is used to maintain a threaded and nutted taper wall tie at a predetermined set dimension as it is moved and reused throughout a construction project, thus ensuring that all wall forms assembled therewith have uniform spacing there between.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In construction projects, concrete walls are often erected as a part of the foundational structure for buildings and the like. When constructing concrete walls, it is often desirable to maintain the various walls throughout the project at a uniform predetermined thickness. To accomplish this, concrete wall ties are used to hold two sides of a wall forming system together, at a specified spacing, during concrete placement. Many different types of wall ties are used for differing wall forming systems. However, in most cases, for purposes of cost efficiency, such wall ties are designed to be disassembled and reused at different locations throughout a construction site to build multiple concrete wall forming systems.
The present invention relates specifically to taper wall ties that are usually threaded and carry a nut on each end. Multiples of this type of wall tie are usually cycled numerous times throughout a construction project to assemble different concrete wall forms. The spacing of the wall forms and thickness of the resulting concrete walls are controlled by the position of the nuts on each end of the wall ties. Loosening, handling and retightening of the wall tie nuts can change the dimension of the tie length, thereby varying the thickness of the concrete wall. It is then very beneficial to have at least one nut on one end of the wall tie to remain in a constant position.
In current practice, methods used to assure proper wall thickness by maintaining consistent wall tie length include permanently welding a positioning nut on one end of the wall tie, tack welding a positioning nut in place, or using paint or duct tape as a marker to visually check that the positioning nut is, and remains, in proper position. All of the forgoing conventional methods have drawbacks. Welding or tack welding one of the nuts in place does effectively maintain proper tie length, but such methods require substantial time and labor, and are more of a permanent solution that cannot be easily modified or adjusted for use at alternate tie lengths. On the other hand, marking the wall tie with duct tape and/or paint to indicate the proper nut position for tie length consistency is subject to constant wear and tear, resulting in imprecision and undesirable variances in concrete wall thickness.
For all of the foregoing reasons, it is evident that there is a significant need in the construction industry for an improved system of maintaining consistency in a wall tie dimension as it is moved and reused throughout a construction project, to better ensure that all wall forms assembled therewith are uniform in spacing.
For reasons expressed above, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a wall tie clamp, to be used with threaded and nutted taper wall ties, which is constructed to fixedly secure and hold a positioning nut at one threaded end of the wall tie at a fixed, but readily adjustable, positon on the wall tie.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a wall tie clamp, to be used with taper wall ties, which establishes a releasable mechanical hold on a positioning nut at one threaded end of the wall tie such that, as it is assembled, disassembled and reused throughout a construction project, the wall tie will be maintained at a consistent length to ensure that all wall forms assembled therewith have a uniform spacing.
Still further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a wall tie clamp, to be used with taper wall ties, which can be mechanically adjusted as needed for different wall thickness requirements, yet provides a reliable immovable clamp upon a positioning nut at one threaded end of the wall tie to prevent movement of the nut and maintain dimensional consistency where needed.
In furtherance of the foregoing objectives, the present invention includes a taper wall tie member in the form of an elongated steel rod, the end portions of which are each threaded, and the center portion of which is generally smooth and diametrically tapers from one threaded end portion toward the other. The threaded end portion adjacent the larger diametrical portion of the wall tie carries a positioning nut which is releasably locked at a predetermined location on the wall tie. The opposite threaded end portion adjacent the smaller diametrical portion of the wall tie carries an adjustment nut which is used to adjust the wall forms to a predetermined desired spacing, thus accurately maintaining consistent control of the thickness of the concrete walls formed therewith. The wall tie member is adapted to be reused at different locations throughout a construction site, and accordingly may be disassembled and removed from the wall forms in a manner well known in the art once a grouted wall has cured.
In order to maintain such dimensional consistency in wall tie length during disassembly, the present invention includes a wall tie clamp that is constructed as a two-piece saddle locking member. This wall tie clamp is constructed to straddle and grip in locking relation the threaded end portion of the wall tie immediately adjacent the positioning nut on the larger diametrical tapered portion thereof. The wall tie clamp includes a notched locking plate which is adapted to engage and hold the positioning nut of the wall tie at a fixed location on the wall tie, such that it may be effectively disassembled and removed from any particular wall form assembly without altering the set predetermined location of the positioning nut on the wall tie.
The wall tie clamp has opposing clamp sections that are bolted together so as to straddle the wall tie member and bear there against in locking relation upon tightening the bolts. The notched locking plate is carried by the saddle locking member and is held securely in place by the tightening bolts of the opposing clamp sections. A wing or flange portion of the positioning nut is adapted to seat within the notched portion of the locking plate such that, when the bolts are tightened, the locking plate will engage and effectively lock the positioning nut of the wall tie at a fixed location on the wall tie. Where a standard hexagonal positioning nut is used, a pair of locking plates carried by the clamping member engages opposing faces of the hex nut, thus locking the positioning nut from moving on the wall tie member.
With this clamping system, by simply removing the adjusting nut adjacent the smaller diametrical portion, each wall tie member may be disassembled, removed and reused throughout the construction site without concern of movement of the positioning nut, as it remains locked in position by the wall tie clamp. By simply setting the adjustment nut at the same predetermined position when reused, consistent spacing of all wall forms throughout a construction site may be achieved. Therefore, wall forms using the same wall ties may be erected throughout the construction site, knowing that the wall form spacing is being properly maintained at a uniform and consistent dimension. Should it be necessary for any reason to adjust the positioning nut adjacent the larger diametrical portion of the wall tie, the clamp section bolts may simply be loosened to allow the notched locking plate to disengage the positioning nut for adjustment thereof.
The foregoing and additional features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the description and specific examples herein are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
With reference now to the drawings, and particularly to
In furtherance of the above, as shown in
In order to maintain such dimensional consistency in wall tie length during disassembly and reassembly, the present invention includes a wall tie clamp 27 which is constructed to releasably lock the positioning nut 19 at its set position on the wall tie member 1. As seen best from
In order to ensure that positioning nut 19 does not move from its set position on wall tie member 1, the wall tie clamp 27 includes a notched locking plate 39 which is adapted to engage and hold the positioning nut 19 at its set position when the wall tie clamp 27 is tightened upon the wall tie member 1. The notched locking plate 39 is depicted alone in
In the embodiment shown in
In an alternative embodiment shown in
With reference back to
Upon disassembly, only the adjustment nut 47 needs to be released to effect disengagement of the wall tie member 1 from the wall forms 15 and 17. Once a concrete wall has cured, the adjustment nut 47 may simply be unscrewed, and the remainder of the wall tie member 1 can be pulled through the wall forming assembly from the clamped end 5 in a manner well known in the art. The wall tie clamp 27 can remain locked, thus maintaining the positioning nut 19 at its set position on the wall tie member 1 during relocation for reuse at a different area of a construction site. Since the wall tie member 1 is adapted to be reused at different locations throughout a construction site, it may accordingly be disassembled and removed from the wall forms and reset at a different location by simply resetting the adjustment nut 47 at the same distance “X” from end 25 of the wall tie member 1.
With this clamping system, by simply removing the adjusting nut 47 adjacent the smaller diametrical portion 13, each wall tie member 1 may be disassembled, removed and reused throughout the construction site without concern of movement of the positioning nut 19 (51), as it remains locked in position by the wall tie clamp 27. By simply setting the adjustment nut 47 at the same predetermined position when reused, consistent spacing of all wall forms throughout a construction site may be achieved. Therefore, wall forms using the same wall tie members 1 may be erected throughout the construction site, knowing that the wall form spacing is being properly maintained at a uniform and consistent dimension. Should it be necessary for any reason to adjust the positioning nut 19 (51), the clamp section bolts 35 may simply be loosened to allow the notched locking plate 39 (or plates 53) to disengage the associated positioning nut for adjustment thereof.
The disclosure herein is intended to be merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, which comprises the matter shown and described herein, and set forth in the appended claims.
This application is a nonprovisional patent application which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/775,178, filed on Dec. 4, 2018, entitled “Wall Tie Clamp,” the contents of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62775178 | Dec 2018 | US |