Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2 ~ 3 ~
28271 15
IMTERCOMNECTING EDGE BEAMS FOR CQNCRETE FORMING PANELS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of
concrete forming and more particularly, to an assembly of
interconnecting edge beams for concrete sheathing panels.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Heretofore, it has been known in the field of building
construction and concrete forming to use sheathing panels,
commonly plywood panels to which a re:Lease agent has been applied,
in order to provide a mould surface for the pouring and setting of
concrete floor slabs.
In the known concrete forming arrangements, the plywood
panels are supported by a plurality of joist mernbers. As is well-
known to those skilled in this art, the joist members have their
upper ends adapted to receive elongate wooden inserts in press-fit
engagement therewith. When one or more of the plywood sheathing
panels are placed atop thèse supporting joist members, a suitable
number of nails or other like fasteners may be driven through the
sheathing panels and into the wooden inserts held by the joist
beams. ~ ~~
The joist beams of the known concrete forming
arrangements are in turn supported by a plurality of transversely
disposed ledger beams in a spaced apart arrangement, the joist
members being placed thereacross. These ledger beams of the
assem~ly are then supported or shored by means of a scaffolding
assembly.
It is also known in the art to employ concrete forming
structures in a so-called "flying form" configuration. These
flying form structures are utilized typically in the pouring of
concrete floor slabs, such that when the poured wet concrete which
is supported by the scaffolding assembly during its curing phase
has sufficiently set, the entire scaffolding assembly may be moved
as a substantially integral unit and hoisted or "10wn" above a
newly cured first floor slab in order to support the pouring of a
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28271-15
second floor slab located above the first. When the known
concrete forming structures and techniques are to be adapted for
use as a flying form, all of the various components of a forming
structure must be securely connected the one to the other so as to
permit the structure to be transported as an integral unit as
described above.
Prior to the advent of joist members which provide
receiving means for wooden inserts in contact with the sheathing
panels supported thereby, it was more common to use a combination
of both wooden and metal structural supporting members for the
panels, which would in turn be shored by an arrangement of height-
adjustable posts or any other suitable scaffolding means.
There are a number of problems and inconveniences
associated with these known concrete forming assemblies and
techni~ues. By way of example, the known concrete forming
assemblies and techniques require a considerable degree of labcur
time in order to assemble and disassemble a particular concrete
forming structure. This is because a number of joist members
bearing wooden inserts must first be set out in a desired
arrangement, following which a plurality of concrete sheathing
panels must then be cut to size and then nailed into each of these
supporting hybrid joists. The same inconveniences of assembly
hold for more conventional concrete forming systems which do not
employ the hybrid joists but use conventional wooden joists in
their stead.
In addition to the foregoing disadvantages, it is ~uite
common in the concrete forming field to reuse the plywood
sheathing panels of a forming assembly for sake of economy. When
this is done, the plywood sheathing panels must be detached from
the supporting members to which they are nailed, and repeated
fastening and detachment of panels in this manner tends to lead to
their deterioration. As well, the plywood panels may become worn
or damaged, especially at the edges thereof, when they are handled
(or mishandled) on the construction site, and the same may occur
during their transport and storage.
Yet another inconvenience and disadvantage of the known
i~ 2 ~ 8 ~ 6
28271-15
concrete forming assemblies is that some of their constituent
components, such as panels, joist beams or ledger beams, can be
~uite cumbersome and/or heavy for lifting and manipulation without
the use of a crane, or may require a nurnber oE workpersons in
order to safely handle the components.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide an assembly of interconnecting edge beams for concrete
sheathing panels, which allows for standard-sized panels of an
interlocking nature to be used on the construction site. This
will largely reduce the need to cut custom sheathing panels to
size and subsequently fasten and then detach these to an
underlying support structure composed of joist members.
It is another object of the present invention to provide
an assembly of interconnecting edge beams for concrete sheathing
panels which are disposed along the entire periphery of a
sheathing panel, thereby providing a measure of protection against
damage to the panels if they are dropped or otherwise mishandled
on the construction site.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to
2Q provide an assembly of interconnecting edge beams for concrete
sheathing panels, wherein the said beams are amenable to
manufacture by extrusion from relatively strong yet lightwei-ght
aluminum alloys. This will permit the provision of prefabricated
interconnecting panel and edge beam as-semblies in the form of a
panel-bearing frame, which may be handled if desired by one or two
workpersons without the strict necessity of a crane or other
hoisting device.
It is a still further object of the present invention to
provide an assembly of interconnecting edge beams for concrete
sheathing panels, whereby prefabricated sheathing panel and edge
beam assemblies allow for relatively convenient and timely
assembly and disassembly of a concrete forming structure for floor
slabs.
It is a still further object of the present invention to
provide an assembly of interconnecting edge beams for concrete
sheathing panels which is suitable for use with flying form
~-~ 2 ~ 6
2~271-15
structures.
These and other objects and advantages of the present
invention will be apparent Erom the followlng detailed description
of the invention and the preferred embodiments thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an assembly of
interconnecting edge beams for concrete sheathing panels, the said
assembly comprising: a male beam member and a female beam member,
said members being elongate and each providing panel support means
for supporting an edge of a sheathing panel placed thereon, the
members further each providing an abutment surface and coupling
means for mating engagement of the male beam member with an
adjacent female beam member, and whereby said male and female beam
members, when disposed in mating engagement, present a
substantially planar and continuous concrete forming surface
comprised of said sheathing panels.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the
coupling means for the interconnecting edge beams comprises a
laterally extending rib provided on the male beam member at the
abutment surface thereof. The coupling means further comprises a
corresponding receiving means provided on the female beam member,
at the abutment surface thereof, for engagement with the rib of
the male beam member. This rib preferably provides an upwardly
j open groove therein and the receiving means of the female beam
membe~ comprises a downwardly depending lip to fit into the
groove. In order to assist in guiding the lip of the receiving
means of the female bearn member into and out of the groove in the
I rib of the male beam member, the rib preferably has a beaded
;l 30 leading edge. The laterally extending rib of the male beam member
and the corresponding receiving means of the female beam member
preferably extend the entire longitudinal lengths of the members.
The abutment surfaces of each of the said male and
female beam members according to the present invention is
preferably provided on a vertically disposed web of said members.
As well, the panel support means on each of the male and female
.~ :
l 4
.~
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3 ~3
28271-15
beam members is a laterally extending ledge on the web. The ledge
is disposed adjacent an upper terminal end of the web and on a
side of each of the beam members opposite that of the abutment
surfaces and coupling means thereof.
The male and female beam members according to the
present invention also preferably provide a laterally extending
flange on their web portions adjacent the lower terminal ends
thereof. The laterally extending flange is disposed on the side
of each of the beam members opposite the abutment surfaces and
coupling means thereof. q'he flange presents a substantially
planar surEace for placement of the beam members onto a support
surface therefor.
At least one of the male and female beam members of the
assembly according to the present invention is preferably provided
with a substantially T-shaped and outwardly open channel therein
adjacent the laterally extending flange thereof. This channel is
intended for retaining the head of a bolt fastener while allowing
the shank thereof to extend outwardly therefrom. This allows the
interconnecting edge beams to be secured to a ledger beam or other
support surface by means of a fastening plate or the like, well-
known to those skilled in this--art~
It is also preferable that at least two-of the laterally
extending ribs described above are provided on the male beam
member and at least two corresponding-receiving means therefor are
provided on the female beam member.
The beam members of the assembly according to the
present invention are preferably all integrally formed from
extruded metal stock, such as from a structurally suitable
aluminum alloy.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For purposes of illustration but not of limitation,
preferred embodiments of the present invention are described
hereinbelow with re:Eerence to the following drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a partial perspective and exploded view
illustrating a typical prior art configuration of a ledger beam
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28271-15
and transverse joi.~ts placed thereon for supporting a plywood
sheathing panel onto which a concrete floor slab is to be poured,
there being further illustrated a post member of a scaffolding
assembly used to shore the ledger beam;
FIGURE 2 is a partially sectioned overall perspective
view of a plurality of sheathing panels being connected the one to
the other by means of the interconnecting edge beams according to
the present invention, the panels being set down on a plurality of
spaced apart ledger beams supported by a suitable scaffolding
arrangement therefor;
FIGURE 3 iS a perspective view of a male and female beam
member according to the interconnecting edge beam assembly of the
present invention, further showing a stepped panel securing plate
for attachment to a plywood sheathing panel;
FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the male and
female beam members of FIGURE 3, showing the stepped panel
securing member on each of the beams being affixed to a respective
sheathing panel therefor;
FIGURE 5 iS another cross-sectional view of the male and
female beam members of FIGS. 3 and 4, showing the engagement of
the two members and their respective attachment by -alternative
means to two plywood sheathing panels;
FIGURE 6 is a partly sectioned and partly exploded view
of a single sheathing panel together wi-th a panel--bearing frame
comprised of interconnecting edge beams according to the present
invention; :
FIGURE 7 is a detailed sectioned perspective view of an
inside corner portion of the edge beam frame of FIGURE 6, showing
the use of upper and lower corner connecting brackets for the two :~
abutting edge beams;
FIGURES 8a and 8b are, respectively, a top plan view of
the bottom corner connecting bracket of FIG. 7 and a side
elevational view thereof;
FIGURES 9a and 9b are, respectively, a top plan view of
the upper corner connecting bracket of FIG. 7 and a side
elevational view thereof;
~ 2 ~ 3 6
28271-15
FIGURE 10 ls a detailed and exploded top plan view
showing the respective corners of four adjacently disposed panel-
bearing frames according to FIG. 6, positioned for mating
engagement;
FIGURE 11 is another detailed top plan view of the
frames of FIG. 10, which illustrates the interconnection and
abutment of the corners of the frames;
FIGURE 12 is a sectioned perspective view showing the
connection sequence of four of the panel-bearing frames according
to FIG. 6;
FIGURE 13 is a partially sectioned and partially
exploded perspective view of a number oE adjacent and
interconnected edge beam frames of FIG. 6, set down across two
spaced apart supporting ledger beams therefor;
FIGURE 14 is a cross-sectional view of a male and female
beam member of two adjacent panel-bearing edge beam frames set
down onto a ledger beam, taken along line 14-14 of FIG. 13;
FIGURE 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 15-
15 of FIG. 14, showing further details of interconnection of the
adjacent edge beam frames;
FIGURE 16 is a detailed-partial perspect-lv-e and exploded
view showing the iower portion of a male beam member having a bolt
retaining channel therein for the fastening of an engagement clip
for connection of the edge beam to a iedger;
FIGURE 17 is a perspective view of a number of
interconnected edge beam frames with sheathing panels,
illustrating how the panel-bearing frames are disposed in the
vicinity of commonly encountered obstacles, namely a row of
concrete support columns; and
FIGURE 18 is a detailed perspective view of edge beams
and panel members, showing how a gap between two ~ones of
interconnected panel-bearing frames may be spanned by a plywood
sheathing panel supported by conventional means.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A typical prior art arrangement of structural members
20~ 3~
28271-15
for supporting the sheathing panels of concrete formwork for the
pouring of floor slabs is shown in FIGURE 1. A series of joists
members 1 is placed in a transverse arrangement onto a supporting
ledger beam 3, which is well-known to those skilled in this art.
The ledger beam 3 is in turn supported by a suitable number of
post members 5 which form part of a scaffolding system suitable
for shoring the entire arrangement. The joist members 1 may be
secured to the ledger beam 3 by means oE a stepped connecting
plate 7 held in place by a nut 9 and bolt fastener 10. The head
of bolt fastener 10 is retained in a bolt retaining channel 12
extending the entire longitudinal length of the ledger beam 3 at
its upper terminal end. The channel 12 retains the bolt 10 while
allowing the shank thereof to extend upwardly therefrom. By
tightening the nut 9, the stepped connecting plate is urged
downwardly against lower flange 2 of the joist 1, thereby securing
it in place if the formwork is to be used as a flying form
structure.
The upper terminal ends of the joist members 1 are
provided with a receiving channel 14, into which an elongate
- 20 wooden insert 16 may be held in press-fit engagement therewith.
The wooden inserts 16 contact the^underside of-a wooden sheathing
panel 18 which is placed atop the joist members 1. The sheathing
panel is typically a plywood sheet or the like, and is affixed to
the wooden insert 16 by means of nails or other like fasteners
driven through the top surface of the panel.
In contrast to the prior art arrangement for concrete
formwork intended for the pouring of floor slabs, there is shown
in FIG. 2 an exemplary formwork structure according to the present
invention. The arrangement consists of a plurality of ledger
beams 3 disposed in a substantially parallel and spaced apart
relationship. These ledger beams 3 are supported by a plurality
of post members 5 which are interconnected by a plurality of
bracing members 6. Such a scaffolding arrangement is described in
greater detail in my co-pending United States application serial
No. 07/731,275 filed on July 17, 1991 and entitled MODULAR
SCAFFOLDING ASSEMBLY. Any other structurally suitable system of
3 ~
28271-15
scaEfolding or shoring may be used with the present invention, as
those persons skilled in this art will readily appreciate.
The scaffolding arrangement thus far described may be
employed equally well to support the known concrete forming
arrangement of joists and sheathing panels described above. What
is different from the prior art systems and is provided by the
present invention is that the mould surface in contact with the
poured concrete is formed by a series of interconnecting panel-
bearing frames 20 to each of which is secured a sheathing panel
22. As will be described in greater detail hereinbelow, each
frame and sheathing panel assembly is advantageously capable of
being prefabricated to any desired dimensions. As shown in FIG.
2, each of the panel frames 20 preferably should be supported by
at least two ledger beams 3, so that the lengths of one parallel
pair of the edge beams 21 thereof should be made to roughly
correspond with the centre-to-centre distance between two adjacent
and spaced apart ledger beams 3.
Each of the panel frames 20 is composed of four
interconnecting edge beams 21, connected the one to the other in a
rectangular configuration. The details of the structure and
mating engagement-of the interconnecting edge beams 21 according
to the present invention are described more fully below.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 to 6, each of the panel frames
20 comprises two female beam mernbers 21F and two male beam members
21M. As shown, each pair of the parallel sides of the panel-
bearing frame comprises one male beam member 21M and one female
beam member 21F. Thus, two identical beam members 21 are not to
be disposed in the frame 20 so as to be located in a spaced apart
parallel relationship.
Each of the male and female bearn members 21M,21E are
elongate, and each respectively provides a panel support means
consisting of laterally e~tending ledges 23,24. The ledges 23,24
are respectively disposed on the webs 25,26 of the panels. These
ledges are located on the sides of the webs 25,26 which are
opposite the respective abutment surfaces 43,44 of the male and
female edge beam mernbers 21.
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28271-15
A stepped panel securing plate 28, which may be secured
to a wooden sheathing panel 22 by means of a screw fastener 30 or
the llke, may be employed to affix the sheathing panel to the beam
members 21. The screw fastener 30 is introduced through aperture
29 in the upper surface 31 of plate 28. The lower surface 32 of
plate 28 bears against the underside of the ledges 23 or 24, as
shown in FIG. 4. In this manner, a sheathing panel 22 is first
placed onto the ledges 23,24 and held permanently in position
thereon by a plurality of securing plates 28. rrhose skilled in
this art will understand that a suitable number of such securing
plates 28 should be provided along the ledge portions 23,24 of the
male and female beam members 21M and 21F, so as to securely hold
the panel in place.
As an alternative to the stepped panel securing plate
28, the sheathing panels 22 may be held in place onto the ledges
23,24 of the edge beams by means of screw fasteners 34 introduced
through apertures (not shown) provided through the panel support
ledges 23,2~.
As best shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the upper surface of
sheathing panels 22, which constitutes the mould surface during
concrete pouring,~is substantially flush with the upper leading
ledges of web extensions 35,36 of the male and female beam members
21M and 21F. This ensures that when the edge beam members 21 are
connected the one to the other, a substantially planar and
continuous concrete forming surface results.
Each of the male and female edge beam members 21M,21F
further provides a laterally extending flange 37,38 on the
respective web portions 25,26 of the beams. The flanges 37,38 are
located on the webs 25,26 adjacent the lower terminal ends thereof
and on the same side of each of the beam members 21M,21F on which
the panel support ledges 23,24 are located. The flanges 37,38
each present a substantially planar lower surface which allows for
secure placement of the beam members onto a support surface
therefor, such as a ledger beam 3.
At least one of the rnale and female beam mernbers 21M and
21F, preferably the male member 21M, provides a substantially T-
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2827~-15
shaped and outwardly open channel 40 therein. The channel 40 is
adjacent the laterally extending flange 37 of the male beam member
21M and is adapted Eor retaining the head of a bolt fastener 42 or
the like while allowing the shank thereof to extend outwardly
therefrom (FIG. 5). Preferably, the channel 40 extends the entire
longitudinal length of the male edge beam member 21M.
For convenience, the leading edges of the flanges 37,38
may be provided with longitudinal beads 41,42 (FIGS. 4 and 5).
This allows for the flanges to be clamped or otherwise affixed to
a support surface with greater security, since the beads 41,42 can
be used to prevent relative movement of the beam members 21 in a
direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the beads.
The mating engagement of the male and female edge beam
members 21M and 21F is accomplished as follows, and is best
illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. Planar abutment surfaces 43,44 are
respectively provided on the webs 25,26 of the male and female
edge beams 21M,21F'. The coupling means for the beams 21
preferably comprises two laterally extending ribs 46 provided on
the male beam member 21M at the abutment surface 43 thereof in a
vertically spaced apart configuration. The coupling means for the
beam members furt~er comprises two corresponding receiving means
48 provided on the female beam member 21F at the abutment surface
44 thereof for engagement-wi-th the ri-bs 46 of the male beam
member.
Preferably, the ribs 46 provide an upwardly open groove
50 therein. The corresponding receiving means 48 of the female
beam member comprises a downwardly depending lip 52 to fit into
the groove 50. Each of the laterally extending ribs 50 of the
male beam member 21M and each of the corresponding receiving means
48 of the female beam member 21F preferably extend the entire
longitudinal lengths of the members.
The laterally extending ribs 46 of the male beam members
21M preferably are provided with a beaded leading edge 54 (FIG. 4)
to assist in guiding the lip 52 of the female beam member 21F into
and out of the groove 50 in the rib 46 during engagement and
disengagement of the male and female beam members. Whe~ these
~,~g~ 3 ~
28271-15
members are disposed in mating engagement, they present a
substantially planar concrete forming surEace comprised of the
sheathing panels 22 retained on the panel support ledges 23,24 of
the members.
Turning now to FIGURES 7 to 9, there is shown the use of
an upper corner connecting bracket 56 and a lower corner
connecting bracket 58 for connecting the abutting corner portions
of two edge beams of a panel-bearing frame 20. In the speciEic
case of FIG. 7, two male members 21M are illustrated in an
abutting configuration.
The lower corner connecting bracket 58 has a generally
L-shaped planar configuration and is contoured to mate with the
two transversely disposed and abutting flanges 37 of the adjacent
male beam members 21M. Thus, the lower connecting bracket has an
upwardly extending wall portion 60 adjacent one edge thereof for
intimate contact with the vertical faces 62 adjacent the bottom
flanges 37 of the male members. As well, connecting bracket 58
also provides a rounded L-shaped groove 64 along the underside
thereof. The groove 64 engages with the beads 41 provided on the
respective bottom flanges 37 o~ the male beam members 21M.
, In order to secure two abutting edge beams 21 of the
; panel bearing frame 20 together by means of the lower corner
connecting bracket 58, a plurality o~ s-crew fasteners 66 are
introduced through corresponding apertures 68 therefor disposed in
the wall portion 60 of bracket 58. The screw fasteners 66 engage
with the vertical faces 62 of the male edge beam members 21M.
With regard to the upper corner connecting bracket 56,
this bracket is also of a substantially L-shaped planar
configuration, and provides an upwardly e~tending lip portion 70
along one edge thereof. This lip 70 abuts against the leading
, edges 72 of the two abutting ledges 23 of the male edge beam
`, members 21M. The remainder of the upper corner connecting bracket
comes into contact with the underside of the ledges 23 of the edge
beam members, and a corner bracket 56 is secured to the ledges 23
by means of screw fasteners 74 or the like introduced into the
ledges 23 through corresponding apertures 76 provided in the upper
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2 ~ 3 ~
~8271-15
corner connecting bracket 56.
Those persons skilled in this art will readily
appreciate that the same corner connecting brackets 5~,58 will be
used not only at the abutting corners of two male edge beam
members 21M as shown in FIGURE 7, but also for the connection of
any other two edge beam members, whether the connection be between
a male and female beam member, or between two female members of a
panel-bearing frame 20.
With reference now to FIGURES 10 and 11, FIG. 10
illustrates how the corner portions of the various mating edge
beams of the panel bearing frames 20 are to be cut during
fabrication in order to ensure that the panel frames, when
assembled, provide a continuous and secure corner joint of four
abutting panel frames 20, as shown in FIG. 11.
Taking each of the various corners of the panel frame
members 20 of FIG. 10 in turn, the panel frame member 20a consists
of the convergence of two female beam members 21F. As shown, the
terminal ends of the two female beam members 21F of the panel
frame 20a are cut obliquely during fabrication, preferably at an
angle of 45 to the longitudinal direction of the-edge beams--21F,
as shown by the abutting surfaces 78.
In the case of the panel frames 20b and 20c, these
illustrate the corner convergence of a male edge beam member 21M
and a female edge beam member 21F. In this type of corner
' configuration, the terminal end of the female edge beam member 21F
is again cut obliquely at a preferred angle of 45 to the
longitudinal direction of the edge beam member, as shown by the
abutting surface 80. ~ corresponding male edge beam member 21M of
the corner configuration 20b and 20c also has an oblique 45 cut
made therein at its terminal end, as shown by the abutment surface
82 thereon. Thus, the surface 82 on a male beam member 21M abuts
with the surface 80 of the female beam member 21F.
In addition to the abutment surface 82 provided on the
male beam member 21M of the panel frames 20b and 20c, a second
oblique surface 84 is provided on the edge beam members 21M. This
second oblique surface 84 is also cut during fabrication of the
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2~ 3 3~
28271-15
edge beam members at a preferred angle of 45 to the longitudinal
direction of the members, but this abutment surface 84 is further
oriented transversely to the abutment surface 8~ of the male edge
member 21M. As best shown in FIG. 10, the intersection of the two
abutment surfaces 82 and 84 meet at a point 86 which lies along
the vertical surface of web extensions 35,36 which is on the same
side as the laterally extending ribs 46 of the male beam members
21M. By providing the second oblique surface 84 on the male beam
members 21M, the extending ribs 46 thereon will properly engage
with the receiving means 48 o~ an adjacent female beam member 21F,
whose corner ends will also have been cut obliquely to form the
abutment surfaces 78 thereon.
The panel frame 20d shows a corner configuration
comprising two male members 21M. Each of these male members have
their abutting ends cut to form an oblique abutment surface 88 on
each of the members, as previously described. As described above
for the male member 21M of the panel frame 20b, a second oblique
cut 90 is analogously made at the ends of the abutting male
members 21M of the panel frames 20d.
To recapitulate, then, all male edge beams members 21M
according to the present invention will have their terminal ends
cut with the two transversely disposed oblique surfaces 82,84 or
88,90 as described above, and all female edge beam members 21F
according to the present invention will have a single oblique cut
at the terminal ends thereof to form the abutment surfaces 78 or
80. What results when the various edge beam members are assembled
into panel frames 20, and when these frames are then engaged the
one to the other, is the formation of a relatively tight-fitting
and secure connection exemplified by FIGURE 11.
FIGURE 12 shows the sequence of connection of the
various engaging faces of panel-bearing frames 20 composed of the
interconnecting edge beams of the present invention. Other
sequences of engagement will readily be apparent to those persons
skilled in this art, and the following description is only
intended to be a particular example of the steps involved in
typically setting down a plurality of panel-bearing frames 20 onto
14
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28271-15
their supporting ledger beams, as shown in EIGS. 13 to 16.
Thus, to form a pouring surEace in a defined rectangular
perimeter, a first panel-bearing frame 20, denoted ~A~ in FIGURE
12, is set down onto its supporting ledger beams at one of the
corners of the rectangular perimeter with its two male edge beam
members 21M having their extending ribs 46 facing inwardly of the
perimeter to be occupied by other adjoining panels. A second
panel-bearing frame 20, such as the one denoted "B", may now be
engaged with the frame "A" by mating one of its female edge beam
10 members 21F with that of the male edge beam member 21M of panel
"A". The panel "B" must be oriented such that its male edge beam
members 21M face inwardly of the desired concrete forming
perimeter, where further panels are to be added to complete the
formwork. A third panel, designated as panel ~C~ in FIG. 12, may
then have one of its female edge beam members 21F engaging with
the second male edge beam member 21M of panel "A". Once again,
the panel "C" is oriented such that its male edge beam members 21M
face inwardly of the concrete forming perimeter. Finally, the
panel-bearing frame 20 denoted "D" may be engaged by its two
20 female edge beam members 21F to rêspective male edge beam members
21M of the panels "B" and ~Ci~.
From the foregoing description, those skilled in this
art will readily appreciate that in order to set down the panel-
bearing frames 20 in mating engagement, this must be done so that
the female edge beam members of each newly introduced panel
engages with an available male edge beam member 21M of a panel
already in place. In order to disassemble the concrete forming
structure composed of the panel-bearing frames 20, the steps
described above are simply reversed.
Referring next to FIGURES 13 to 16, further details of
interconnection of the edge beam members which make up the panel-
bearing frames 20 are shown, for a typical configuration of panel
frames 20 placed onto supporting ledger beams 3 as previously
described. As best shown in EIG. 16, a stepped engagement clip 92
may be used to secure the male edge beam member 21M to its
supporting ledger beam 3. This engagement clip is of necessity
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28271-15
where it is intended to use the panel-bearing frames 20 in a
flying-form structure.
The clip 92 provides an aperture 94 on the upper planar
surface 96 thereof through which the shank of bolt fastener 42 is
introduced. The head of bolt fastener 42 is retained within the
channel 40 of the male edge beam member 21M as previously
described. A nut 98 is used to secure the arrangement, and when
the nut is tightened onto its bolt fa,stener 42, the lower planar
surface 100 of the engagement clip 92 is urged against the
underside of flange 102 of the ledger beam 3. A groove 104 on the
engagement clip 92 is used to receive the beaded portion 106 of
flange 102. This is intended to prevent any transverse movement
of the engagement clip 92 with respect to the flange 102 against
which it is urged. The longitudinal movement of the engagement
clip 92 is prevented by the bolt retaining channel 40 of the male
edge beam member 21M.
FIGURES 17 and 18 illustrate how the interconnecting
panel-bearing frames 20 of the present invention may be configured
around obstacles such as a row of concrete columns 108. FIG. 17
also shows how a raised platform or frame 110, whose height is
greater than the thickness of the floor slab to be poured, may be
placed at any desired location onto the surface of the sheathing
panels 22 so as to create an opening in the poured slab for a
stairwell or the like.
In FIGURE 18, the gap in the concrete forming surface
defined by the sheathing panels 22, and caused by the presence of
a row of concrete columns, may be filled with appropriately sized
sheathing panels 112. These sheathing panels 112 span the gap
between the panel-bearing frames 20 on either side thereof. The
panels 112 are in turn shored by conventional means such as a
series of wooden beams 114 placed thereunder. A post member and
screwjack assembly 116, which is separate from the scaffolding
system used to shore the panel-bearing frames 20, may be used to
support the wooden beams 114.
Those persons skilled in this art will readily
appreciate that the present inventlon has been described
28271-~5
hereinabove by way of example only, and that modiEications of
detail can be made to the invention, all of which would come
within its spirit and scope.
