Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: WALLFORM PANEL AND SIDE RAIL
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to wallform panel
systems for use in forming concrete, and in particular
relates to a wallform panel having side rails preferably
formed from plate material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Modular wallform systems for defining a form for
receiving concrete or cement have proven extremely popular,
particularly in Europe. Many wallform systems have
separate wallform panels which abutted in a side to side
manner to define a continuous surface of the wallform. The
wallform panels are often interconnected to opposed
wallforms by tie bars. These panelling systems, once
assembled in the correct configuration, are moved to a new
location for forming the next section of the wall.
The individual wallform panels typically have a
perimeter frame which is adapted to receive a substrate to
one side of the frame and generally flush with the edge of
the frame. In this way, the frame provides protection to
the substrate and the frames abut. The substrates of the
panel align such that the junction of the panels is not
particularly noticeable. Each wallform panel can be easily
lifted by one worker.
The sheet substrate located within the perimeter
frame conventionally has been plywood and, if damaged, this
substrate is replaced. Plywood is an effective, generally
low cost substrate, however, more recently, improved
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finishes can be obtained by using other sheet substrate
materials. Other wallform panels have used a metal
perimeter frame with a metal skin secured across the frame
to define the forming surface. These panels, if damaged,
are expensive to repair. The metal skin is vulnerable to
damage and these wallform panels tend to be more expensive.
At the present time, there are many competing
systems, and each system is designed for use with a
particular substrate.
The wallform panels are typically subject to
considerable abuse and the systems have used specialized
tubular side rail members to provide a strong perimeter
frame and to form an edge profile which can easily be
clamped, allowing two panels to be brought into and held in
tight abutment. These tubular side rails are expensive to
manufacture and the corner connection of one side rail to a
perpendicular side rail is somewhat complicated.
There remains a need to provide a wallform system
which is more flexible and is cost effective to produce.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A wallform panel according to the present invention
comprises an exterior frame which provides a first notched
recess about the interior of the frame which receives and
protects the edge of a first sheet substrate within said
frame. The exterior frame includes a second notched recess
on an opposite side of said frame to the first notched
recess, for protecting the edge of a second sheet
substrate. A support arrangement is provided within the
frame for supporting the backface of the substrates and
positions the substrates to be flush with the exterior
frame. The support arrangement is positioned to support
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the first sheet substrate of a first thickness and to
support the second sheet substrate of a second thickness
which second thickness is different than the first
thickness such that the wallform panel can be used to
support either substrate.
A wallform panel according to an aspect of the
invention comprising an exterior frame includes side rails
having an outwardly opening channel shaped center section
with abutment flanges either side thereof generally
perpendicular to the plane of the sheet substrate.
A wallform panel according to a further aspect of
the invention comprising the side rails are made up of
plate members which have been formed into the channel
shaped center section and abutment flanges.
A wallform panel according to a further aspect of
the invention has rails made of elongated steel plate which
has been roll formed to define said channel shaped center
section.
A wallform panel according to a further aspect of
the invention has the first substrate of plywood and the
second substrate as a non plywood substrate having a
thickness less than half the thickness of the plywood
substrate.
According to a preferred aspect of the invention,
the frame is made of plate members which have a 'U' shape
located between opposed outwardly extending flanges which
form part of the notched recesses. The opposed side rails
of adjacent panels form a tube-like cavity, which tube
resists deformation during clamping of adjacent wallforms.
Preferably, the side walls of the 'U' shaped channels are
angled slightly outwardly. This is advantageous for a
clamping member which is secured at the back of the
adjacent wallforms. Holes in the side rails are punched
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when the side rails are flat plate which is subsequently
bent.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the
frame is a made of elongate steel plate side rails which
have been roll formed or bent to define the first and
second notches which have outer coplanar faces
perpendicular to the sheet substrate.
According to a further aspect of the invention, one
of the notched recesses of the wallform is sized to receive
a plywood substrate and the other notched recess is sized
to accommodate a sheet substrate having a thickness less
than half the thickness of the plywood substrate.
A wallform according to the present invention
comprises a metal rectangular frame with the sheet
substrate located within the frame and defining a form
face. The frame comprises side rails where each side rail
defines one side of the frame, and in section has two
coplanar faces separated by an inwardly extending
intermediate portion. The faces and the intermediate
portion cooperate to define a first notched region to one
side of the rectangular frame and a second notched region
to the other side of the frame. The first notched region
is sized to provide a protective edge for the sheet
substrate and the face terminates at the front face of the
sheet substrate. The second notched region is sized to
accommodate, in a like manner to said first notched region,
a sheet substrate of a thickness significantly less than
the sheet substrate received in the first notched region.
A wallform as set out above allows the frame to be used to
change the wallform system from a wallform system which has
a plywood face to a wallform system having a different
sheet substrate. This allows the contractor improved
flexibility with respect to the system and the ability to
completely depart from a plywood system if desired at a
later point in time. It can also be appreciated that it
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allows for cooperation between different wallforms of a
system. The side rails are such that the front face of
either substrate is equidistant from a clamping portion on
the side rail such that the front face is in the same
plane, regardless of which substrate is being used.
According to an aspect of the invention, the
wallform is designed to accommodate a plywood sheet
substrate in one of the notches and a thinner plastic
composite substrate in the other notch. It can be
appreciated that only one substrate will be located in the
frame at any one point in time to allow access to the side
portions of the side rails.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in
the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a partial perspective view showing two
wallforms defining a cavity;
Figures 2 and 3 are partial cutaways showing the
side rails of opposed wall panels having different
substrates;
Figures 4 and 5 are side elevations showing three
panels connected in an offset manner in Figure 4 and in an
aligned manner in Figure 5;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of two abutting side
rails showing the cooperation therebetween;
Figure 7 is a sectional view of with a clamping
Figure 8 is a rear perspective view of a wallform panel
member abutting two opposed side rails; and
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Figure 9 is a partial perspective view showing four
panels in abutment defining a column form.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The waliform system 2 is defined by a series of
interconnected wallform panels 4 which cooperate to define
the concrete receiving cavity, generally shown as 20. Tie
bars 10 can pass between opposed panels to maintain the
desired separation of the panels. The panels 4 of Figures
1, 4 and 5 are shown side by side, however, the panels can
also be stacked one on top of the other. Each panel
includes reinforced support points 12 for engaging a clamp
used to engage the tie rods and hold the spacing between
panels.
Each wallform panel 4 includes a perimeter frame 30
having side rails 32. The side rails can be extruded (see
side rail of Fig. 8), roll formed or pressed, for example,
to define a recessed cavity for receiving a sheet substrate
34 or a thinner sheet substrate 35. Stiffeners 36 are
located intermediate the perimeter frame to support the
back face of either sheet substrate and maintain it in its
planar state within the perimeter frame.
The stiffeners 36 are located within the perimeter
frame to support the plywood substrate 34 (normally 1/2
inch thick) to one side of the frame or the panel can be
reversed and support a thinner substrate 35, such as a
phenolic resin, to the opposite side of the perimeter
frame. With this arrangement, the same perimeter frame can
support either substrate and the contractor can use a frame
with a pholic resin substrate immediately adjacent a frame
with a plywood substrate. Furthermore, the substrates from
time to time, require replacement and a different substrate
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can be inserted (i.e. a phenolic resin substrate can be
installed in the perimeter frame instead of a plywood
substrate or vice versa).
Corner gussets 90 (see (Fig. 9) are provided at the
corners of the perimeter frame to provide appropriate
substrate support. Each corner has two gussets, one for
each substrate. The gussets and the stiffeners 36 are
preferably welded to the side rails 32.
As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the wallform panels
can be connected in an offset manner, shown in Figure 4, or
in an aligned manner, as shown in Figure 5. It is
preferred that fast acting clamps 70 are used to maintain
adjacent panels in an abutting configuration. Details of
the clamp will be explained with respect to Figures 6 and
7.
The wallform panel 4 includes a unique perimeter
frame made up of the side rails 32. Each side rail is
adapted to abut with an opposed side rail of an adjacent
wallform to continue the forming face to one side of the
frame and to interconnect the panels.
Details of the cooperation between side rails 32
adjacent panels and the clamp 70 are shown in Figures 6 and
7.
The clamp 70 has a female part 72 and a male part
74. Each of these parts has clamping jaws 78 and 80
respectively, which draw the side rails 32 into abutment.
The clamp serves to align the channels of each side rail as
will be subsequently described.
As shown in Figure 6, the clamping arm 80 has
angled surfaces 80a and 80b which contact the opposed
outwardly diverging walls 84 and 85 of the side rail.
These outwardly diverging walls are connected by a base 83.
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The opposite side rail is engaged by the female part 72 in
a like manner, and the clamp then serves to align the
channels of each side rail. This in effect, aligns the
side rails and there is abutting contact along abutment
flanges 86 and 87. Thus, the clamp serves to align the
side rails to provide a generally planer forming face and
also applies pressure to the side rails to assure tight
abutting contact. The clamp is brought into clamping
engagement by driving the wedge 76 into the slots provided
in the male and female component and provides a strong
clamping force. It can also be seen from Figure 6 that the
clamp is easily loosened from a gripping engagement merely
by striking of the wedge which is captured within the
clamp. It has been found that this shape of side rail in
combination with the particular clamping arrangement allows
the use of a steel side rail 32 appropriately deformed.
When two side rails are brought into opposed relationship
as shown in Figure 6, they essentially define a tube and a
strong structural support at that point.
It can be seen from Figures 6 and 7 that the side
rail is symmetrical and the provision for the substrates of
different thicknesses either side of the side rail is
provided by the corner gussets 90 and the intermediate
support members 36. Each side of the perimeter frame can
be used for supporting a different substrate and this
allows flexibility for the purchaser at a future point in
time where replacement of the substrate may be required.
Figure 7 also shows the modified extruded aluminum
side rail 32a. In this case, the side rail has the same
type of clamping surfaces as with the opposed side rail 32
and it can be seen that the abutment flanges 86a and 87a
are slightly thicker due to the change in material. The
center of the side rail 32a has the enclosed hollow cavity
39 defined by the additional member 41. This combination
provides the required strength for the change to the
aluminum material. With this arrangement, wallpanel frames
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having side rails of aluminum or an aluminum composite can
be used in combination with wallpanels with steel side
rails, such as side rail 32. This side rail is
manufactured from plate steel and can be roll formed in a
series of steps to the particular section shown.
Figure 8 shows the rear face of the wallform panel
with a plywood substrate secured within the perimeter
frame. Each side rail has a plurality of ports 31
distributed along the length of the side rail for securing
with adjacent panels as required for the column form
assembly of Figure 9. The wallform panel of Figure 8 has a
longitudinal stiffener 107 and two horizontal channel
stiffeners 109 and a center stiffer 111. The channels 109
have a series of holes 113 for allowing tie bars to pass
therethrough and engage an opposed wall form panel. In
addition, it can be seen that one side of the channel 109
is open to allow access to the center of the channel as
required in the Figure 9. The corner gussets 90 and the
intermediate supports 109 and 111 can be provided with
securing holes for securing the substrate to the perimeter
frame. Any suitable securing mechanism can be used.
In Figure 9, a column wallform assembly is shown
where 4 wallform panels are positioned in overlapping
relationships and are held together by a tie securing
arrangement shown as 120. This includes a hand turn nut
122, a tie rod 124 which passes through one wallform and
into the interior cavity of an adjacent wallform. The tie
rod 124(a) of Figure 9 passes into the "U" channel 109 and
a bolt is provided in the interior of this channel. In
this way, the wallform panels are held in engagement and
the intermediate supports 109 provide a face for drawing
two panels into engagement which are at 90 one to the
other.
Figure 7 shows two panels with different substrates
used in combination for defining a wallform section. For
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example, the plywood substrate 34 forms part of the forming
face with the phenolic resin substrate 35 attached to the
right wallform panel. This provides greater flexibility to
the contractor using panels with different substrates and
also allows for changing of the wallform panel at different
points depending upon the particular contracts he has
obtained. Basically, the perimeter frame allows a choice
for the contractor in refurbishing the substrate with
either a plywood substrate or a different substrate.
Furthermore, the contractor can mix or form panels with
aluminum side rails with wallform panels having steel side
rails. The clamp works with either side rail.
The particular shape of the side rails 32 to have
an outwardly diverging channel at the center thereof
defined by the base 83 and the walls 84 and 85, provide
alignment with the clamp and also provide a very strong
clamping force to be used maintaining the opposed side
rails in abutment. This clamping force is distributed
along the length of the side rails and simplifies
installation.
It has been found that the wallform panel as shown
can be made from rolled steel or can be of a high strength
extruded material. The strength of the system and in
particular, the strength of two abutting wallform panels is
quite high. Basically, the side rails of the wallform
panels define a tubular type cavity between the opposed
side rails. This provides a strong clamping force at the
abutting edges and also allows the abutting flanges to
determine the abutment between two wallform panels. If any
concrete adheres to the interior of the channel, it does
not cause a problem as it is not on the abutting faces.
The wallform system as described above provides
greater flexibility with respect to refurbishing of the
substrate and can also be manufactured in a cost effective
manner. The side rails can be formed from plate steel and
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appropriately shaped by a roll forming operation. Prior to
the roll forming operation, various notching of the end of
the side rails and punching of holes can be accomplished.
Although preferred embodiments of the invention are
described here in detail and understood by those skilled in
the art, the variations may be made thereto without
departing from the spirit of the invention of the scope of
the appended claims.
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