CONCRETE POST BASE MOLD

MOULE POUR SOCLE DE POTEAU EN BETON

English Abstract

A mold suitable for forming a base for concrete post, the mold comprising an upper portion and a lower portion with the lower portion being defined by a lower sidewall of the upper portion being defined by an upper sidewalk the upper sidewall having an inwardly tapered portion with a plurality of slits formed in the inwardly tapered portion to thereby formed a plurality of flaps. The mold is designed to accept different size tubes for pouring the concrete post.

French Abstract

Moule pouvant former un socle de poteau en béton, le moule comprenant une partie supérieure et une partie inférieure, la partie inférieure étant définie par une paroi latérale inférieure de la partie supérieure étant définie par un trottoir supérieur, la paroi latérale supérieure ayant une partie fuselée vers l'intérieur avec une pluralité de fentes formées dans la partie fuselée vers l'intérieur afin de former une pluralité de rabats. Le moule peut accepter des tubes de taille différente servant à verser le poteau en béton.

Claims

The embodiments of an invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is
claimed is defined as follows:
1. A mold suitable for forming a base for a concrete post, the mold comprising
an
upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion being defined by a lower
sidewall
and the upper portion being defined by an upper sidewall, the upper sidewall
having an
inwardly tapered portion, a plurality of slits formed in the inwardly tapered
portion, the
slits extending to an upper marginal edge of the upper sidewall.
2. The mold of Claim 1 wherein said upper portion has a frustaconical
configuration.
3. The mold of Claim 1 wherein said mold is made of a material selected from
the
group consisting of plastics, fiberglass, epoxy, rubber, and stamped sheet
metal.
4. The mold of Claim 1 further including a flange extending outwardly from a
lower
marginal edge of said lower portion, said flange having apertures therein.
The mold of Claim 1 further including a plurality of ribs formed on said lower
sidewall.
6. The mold of Claim 5 wherein said ribs include a substantially horizontal
portion.
7. The mold of Claim 1 wherein said upper portion is offset with respect to
said lower
portion.
8. The mold of Claim 7 wherein said lower portion has a rectangular
configuration.
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Description

CA 02164650 2005-06-08
BASE MOLD FOR CONCRETE POST
FILED OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mold and more particularly, to a mold
suitable
for forming a base for concrete posts.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Concrete inground posts are installed to serve as supports for exterior
structures
such as decks, porches and out buildings. In a manner similar to a house
foundation, they
require a footing or base in order to disperse the downward force placed upon
them, to
stabilize them to lateral stress and in some areas to retard the action of
frost heaving them
upwardly.
In the art, it is a conventional practice to use a form for the posts <~.nd
which form
provides a round hollow manufactured paper or fiber tube. These 12' long fiber
or paper
tubes come in different diameters such as 6", 8" 10" etc. and are cut to the
length required
by the user.
A single manufactured 8" tube may in fact be 7'/2", 73/4", 8" or 8'/d " in
diameter, to
facilitate compact shipping by placing 7'/2 " tubes within 73/d" tubes within
8" tubes, etc.
Any base mold to be attached to a section of one of these tubes must therefore
be
either custom fitted to the tube on hand or have the ability to adapt to
various diameters.
The present practice is that the user will build a custom fitted mold for the'
base from
wood. Thus it is well known for builders to construct a square of lumber ;end
subsequently a plywood top is added. A hole is cut in the plywood to
accommodate the
tube and the box and tube are nailed together. The tube and box are then
placed in the
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CA 02164650 2005-06-08
excavation and the excavation is subsequently back filled. Frequently
:reinforcing rods are
placed in the tube and then the tube and the base are filled with concrete to
provide a one
piece concrete post and base (footing).
There are disadvantages to the above arrangement. It is a very time consuming
process and the joint formed where the tube meets the base tends to be
somewhat weak
when subjected to lateral stress at the abrupt 90° tube to box joint. A
multitude of tools
and some skill are required for box fabrication.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mold for a base for
concrete
posts which is lightweight, strong and adaptable to various diameter tubes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mold for a base
for a
concrete post having a strong tapered tube to base joint.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mold for a base
for a
concrete post which is fast, economical, easy to use and requires no special
tools or skill
to install.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mold suitable for
forming a base for a concrete post, the mold comprising an upper portion and a
lower
portion, the lower portion being defined by a lower sidewall and the upper
portion being
defined by an upper sidewalk the upper sidewall having an inwardly tapered
portion, a
plurality of slits formed in the inwardly tapered portion, the slits extending
to an upper
marginal edge of the upper sidewall.
The lower portion of the mold is larger in diameter or area than the upper
portion.
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The lower portion may have many different configurations such as rectangular,
oval,
circular, etc. In one embodiment, the upper portion may be offset with respect
to the
lower portion to allow for use of the same in different environments.
The slits in the upper sidewall allow the formation of flexible flaps which
can then
open up to accommodate tubes of various diameters. Since the flaps press
against the side
of the inserted tube, they present a large contact area and which may allow
the tube to be
secured to the mold by means of tape, screws, clamps, etc.
The mold can be made of many different materials including, plastic, plastic
composites, acrylic, fiberglass, rubber, stamped sheet metal, recycled plastic
or rubber, etc.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the
accompany drawings illustrating embodiments thereof, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a mold according to the
present invention;
Figure 2A is a perspective view illustrating the placement of a tube into the
base
mold;
Figure 2B illustrates the application of tape thereto;
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the mold of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a side elevational view illustrating placement of the mold and
tube;
Figure SA to SF are perspective views of different embodiments of a mold
according to the present invention.
Referring to the drawings in greater detail, there is illustrated in Figure 1
a mold
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CA 02164650 2005-06-08
suitable for forming a base for a concrete post, the mold being designated
generally by
reference numeral 10.
Mold 10 has a lower portion generally designated by reference numeral 12 and
which is defined by a lower sidewall 14. Lower sidewall 14 has a plurality of
outwardly
extending ribs 16. It will be noted that there is provided a generally
horizontal portion 18
which forms a footrest for reasons which will be described hereinbelow,
At the lower marginal edge of lower sidewall 14, there is provided a lower
flange 20 having apertures 22 formed therein.
Mold 10 also includes an upper portion generally designated by reference
numeral 24 and which is defined by an upper sidewall 26. Upper sidewall 26 has
a
plurality of slits 28 formed therein. Slits 28 extend to the upper marginal
edge 30 of
upper sidewall 26 and thus forms a plurality of flaps 32.
Use of the mold 10 is illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4 and thus, it will be
seen that
a cylindrical tube 34 may be placed therethrough and will form the mold for
the concrete
post which is to be poured. As shown in Figure 2, mold 10 is moved upwardly
and
flaps 32 separate to permit passage therethrough. Subsequently, flaps 32 are
taped to
cylindrical tube 34 by means of tape 36 to thus provide a complete set up for
a concrete
post. As shown in Figure 4, a plurality of spikes 38 may be placed through
apertures 22
in lower flange 20 to secure the mold in position.
In the preferred embodiment, and as may be seen in Figure 3, there is provided
an
upper portion 24 offset from lower portion 12. This permits its use in
misaligned
excavations.
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As may be seen in Figure S, any number of different configurations of the
lower
base portion may be utilized.
It will be understood that the above described embodiments are for purposes of
illustration only and that changes and modifications may be made thereto
without
departing from the spirit and scope do the invention.
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Representative Drawing