Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SUPPORTING STRUCTURE OF PLASTIC CONSTRUCTION
FOR A FORMWORK PANEL
Subject matter of the invention is a supporting structure of plastic
construction for a
formwork panel, which comprises a supporting structure and a formwork skin
which is positioned on the front side of the supporting structure and attached
to the
io supporting structure, wherein the supporting structure has two
longitudinal edge
supports and two transverse edge supports,
characterized in that the supporting structure has a main body made of
plastic, to
which the two longitudinal edge supports and the two transverse edge supports
belong, and, in the region of the front sides of the two longitudinal edge
supports
and/or of the two transverse edge supports, has an edge protection provided
for
protecting at least part of the edge of the formwork skin after attachment
thereof to
the supporting structure, wherein the edge protection is made of a material
differ-
ent from the material of said supports of the supporting structure and has a
portion
projecting forward from the respective said support; and/or
in that the supporting structure has a main body made of plastic, to which the
two
longitudinal edge supports and the two transverse edge supports belong, and in
the region of the front sides of the two longitudinal edge supports and/or of
the two
transverse edge supports, and/or in the region of the rear sides of the two
longitu-
dinal edge supports and/or of the two transverse edge supports, has a
reinforce-
.. ment made of a material different from the material of said supports of the
support-
ing structure.
Supporting structures of plastic construction for formwork panels are known.
As
compared to supporting structures made of wood or metal, they offer a whole
range of advantages: high durability, low weight, low aging, cost-effective
manu-
facture and favorable recyclability. The following items are to be noted on
the neg-
ative side: In order to achieve high strength values, efforts are required in
the con-
struction, and the practical design of the transition to the formwork skin is
a chal-
lenge.
In the present application, the term "edge of the formwork skin " is
understood to
mean the contour area of the formwork skin, extending from the formwork skin
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front side (which is the shaping surface for the concrete) to the formwork
skin rear
side. The term "edge of the formwork skin" is not intended to denote e.g. the
line at
which the area of the formwork skin front side intersects with the contour
area of
the formwork skin, and is not intended to denote e.g. a line at which a
virtual plane
on the rear side of the formwork skin, parallel to the formwork skin front
side, inter-
sects with the contour area of the formwork skin.
According to a first aspect, the supporting structure according to the
invention has
an edge protection for protecting at least part of the edge of the formwork
skin after
io attachment thereof to the supporting structure. The edge of the formwork
skin is a
comparatively sensitive formwork skin region on which damages may be caused
relatively easily, be it when erecting a formwork from formwork panels
positioned
close to each other, be it when handling the formwork panels in rough
construction
site operation. This sensitivity is particularly pronounced when formwork
panels
having a supporting structure of plastic are used. According to its first
aspect, the
invention provides a supporting structure with a very effective provision for
protect-
ing the edge of the formwork skin to be attached to the supporting structure.
The
projecting portion of the edge protection which has been mentioned at the
begin-
ning can project so far that the outline of the formwork skin is protected up
to the
transition to the front side of the formwork skin. There are embodiments of
the
supporting structure according to the invention in which no part of the edge
of the
formwork skin remains unprotected, i.e. the edge protection is correspondingly
complete.
According to a second aspect, the supporting structure according to the
invention
has, in the region of the front sides of the two longitudinal edge supports
and/or of
the two transverse edge supports, and/or in the region of the rear sides of
the two
longitudinal edge supports and/or of the two transverse edge supports, a rein-
forcement made of a material which is different from the material of said
supports
of the supporting structure. The provision of such a reinforcement indeed
means
that the supporting structure becomes more complicated. On the advantage side,
however, there is an increase in the load-bearing capacity of the supporting
struc-
ture, which is achieved more favorably in terms of weight than would be
possible
e.g. by increased use of plastic material in the supporting structure. The
reinforce-
ment in the region of the front sides of the two longitudinal edge supports
and/or of
the two transverse edge supports can be designed at the same time as the edge
protection described. Or expressed in a different viewing direction: The
described
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edge protection can be designed in such a way that it at the same time has the
function of a reinforcement in the relevant portions of the supporting
structure.
There are embodiments in which the supporting structure according to the inven-
tion has an edge protection and/or a reinforcement which consists of a
separately
manufactured part or of a plurality of separately manufactured parts which is
or are
combined with the supporting structure main body after manufacture of the
same.
However, it is alternatively possible to incorporate the edge protection
and/or the
reinforcement in the course of the manufacture of the main body of the
supporting
io structure into the relevant portion of the main body.
The supporting structure according to the invention, as has been disclosed in
the
preceding part of the description, can additionally be characterized in that
the edge
protection and/or the (respective) reinforcement contains a plurality of
material
strips. The expression "the (respective) reinforcement" was chosen because, in
the
first paragraph of the description, two types of reinforcement are mentioned,
name-
ly a reinforcement associated with the front side of the supporting structure
(or the
front sides of the two longitudinal edge supports and/or the front sides of
the two
transverse edge supports), and a reinforcement associated with the rear side
of
the supporting structure (or the rear sides of the two longitudinal edge
supports
and/or the rear sides of the two transverse edge supports). The construction
of the
edge protection and/or the (respective) reinforcement of material strips
offers the
advantage of permitting cost-effective manufacture. In addition, the material
strips
can be used in a targeted manner where edge protection and/or reinforcement
are
most likely required.
An alternative possibility consists in that the edge protection and/or the
(respec-
tive) reinforcement has the shape of a rectangular frame. This edge protection
and/or this reinforcement are particularly comprehensive in their function,
and the
frame can be combined very efficiently with the main body of the supporting
struc-
ture.
It is emphasized that hybrid solutions of the two aforementioned possibilities
are
possible as well, in particular edge protection (which is at the same time
rein-
forcement for the front side of the supporting structure) as a frame and
reinforce-
ment made of a plurality of material strips for the rear side of the
supporting struc-
ture. The exemplary embodiments further below will demonstrate this more
clearly.
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The supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed in the
preceding
part of the description, may additionally be characterized in that the edge
protec-
tion - as seen in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the longitudinal
extension
of the respective support - has a first leg substantially parallel to the
front side of
the respective support and a second leg projecting forward from the first leg.
This
structure optimally brings together the functions of uniting the edge
protection with
the supporting structure main body and protecting the edge of the formwork
skin.
The design may be such that the edge protection includes or consists of
substan-
io tially only these two legs. Alternatively, the edge protection may have
further fea-
tures, e.g. a third leg projecting rearwardly from the first leg.
The supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed in the
preceding
part of the description, may further be characterized in that the respective
rein-
forcement - as viewed in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the
longitudinal
extension of the respective support - has a lying or horizontal rectangular
cross-
section. The term "lying rectangular cross-section" means that - as seen in
said
cross-sectional plane - the cross-section of the reinforcement has a longer
dimen-
sion measured parallel to the front or rear side of the main body and a
shorter di-
mension (in most cases a significantly shorter dimension) measured
perpendicular
thereto. Reinforcements with this geometry are particularly easy to
manufacture
and to unite with the main body.
As far as the material of the edge protection according to the invention
and/or the
(respective) reinforcement according to the invention is concerned, metal or
ele-
ments made of long-fiber-reinforced plastic are good possibilities. In the
case of
metal, in particular steel or light metal (here in particular aluminum,
aluminum al-
loys and magnesium) are possible. The edge protection or its parts and/or the
rein-
forcement(s) or their parts can be sheet metal parts. In the case of elements
made
of long-fiber-reinforced plastic, in particular thermoset plastic parts with
long fibers
embedded therein, e.g. glass fibers, aramid fibers and carbon fibers, are to
be
mentioned.
It is pointed out at this point that, according to the invention,
reinforcements made
of metal can be designed as sheet metal parts, the main plane of which is
substan-
tially parallel to the front side of the main body. The edge protection
according to
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the invention can be formed as one sheet metal part or a plurality of sheet
metal
parts (each) with a bent-up edge for the edge protection function.
The supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed in the
preceding
part of the description, may further be characterized in that the edge
protection
and/or the (respective) reinforcement comprises holes and the respective
support
comprises, on its front side and/or on its rear side, a plurality of
extensions each
projecting into one of said holes. The series of holes may, but need not, be
recti-
linear; the only thing of relevance here is that, in the edge protection
and/or the
io reinforcement, a plurality of holes is provided along the respective
support. The
form-fitting or positive hole/extension engagements cause the edge protection
or
reinforcement to be anchored to the respective support in a shear-resistant
man-
ner, so that the edge protection and the respective support, or the
reinforcement
and the respective support, form a unit in terms of the load-bearing capacity
of the
supporting structure. "Shear-resistant" in this context means that forces
acting
parallel to the front side of the supporting structure are transmitted in a
form-fitting
or positive manner.
The supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed in the
preceding
part of the description, may further be characterized in that the edge
protection
and/or the (respective) reinforcement is at least partially embedded in the
plastic
material of the respective support. A typical example of how such embedding
may
be manufactured will be explained below in connection with a manufacturing pro-
cess according to the invention. The being embedded can go so far that at
least
the respective part of the edge protection or reinforcement is enclosed all
around
by the plastic material of the respective support. However, it is also
possible to go
less far and, for example, embed the edge protection or reinforcement in the
plas-
tic material of the support only on three sides, as it were, leaving a fourth
side un-
covered by the plastic material. Embedding in the plastic material of the
respective
support can also be combined with the hole/extension engagement described in
the preceding paragraph.
The supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed in the
preceding
part of the description, may further be characterized in that its main body
compris-
es the two longitudinal edge supports, the two transverse edge supports and a
plu-
rality of transverse intermediate supports. The design may be such that the
main
body has no other supports, or no other parts at all, other than these
aforemen-
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tioned supports. However, the design may also be such that the main body has
further parts, e.g. longitudinal intermediate supports. The main body may be a
one-
piece or integral plastic part. The main body may be an integral injection
molded
plastic part. The main body may be made of fiber-reinforced plastic, in
particular
glass fiber-reinforced plastic.
The supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed in the
preceding
part of the description, may additionally be characterized in that the two
longitudi-
nal edge supports and/or the two transverse edge supports are formed as double
io walls with two partial walls and with first connecting walls
therebetween, which
have extension planes transverse to the longitudinal extension direction of
the re-
spective support. Alternatively or additionally, the two longitudinal edge
supports
and/or the two transverse edge supports may be formed as double walls with two
partial walls and with a second connecting wall therebetween on the front side
of
the double wall or with a third connecting wall therebetween on the rear side
of the
double wall. The described double wall designs of the two longitudinal edge
sup-
ports and/or the two transverse edge supports result in a supporting structure
in
which the material utilization of the plastic material is optimized.
The supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed in the
preceding
part of the description, may additionally be characterized in that at least a
partial
number of the transverse intermediate supports has two partial walls which are
spaced further apart from one another on the side closer to the front side of
the
supporting structure than on the side further away from the front side of the
sup-
porting structure. As seen in a sectional view transverse to the longitudinal
direc-
tion of extension of the transverse intermediate supports, a trapezoidal shape
or a
triangular shape are typical embodiments.
The supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed in the
preceding
part of the description, may additionally be characterized in that at least a
partial
number of the transverse intermediate supports - as measured perpendicular to
the front side of the supporting structure - is of lesser height than the
supporting
structure and, on the side further away from the front side of the supporting
struc-
ture, terminates at a distance from the rear side of the supporting structure.
In 0th-
er words, at least a partial number of the transverse intermediate supports
occu-
pies only part of the height of the supporting structure.
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The embodiments described in the two preceding paragraphs are favorable in
terms of material utilization on plastic.
The supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed in the
preceding
part of the description, may further be characterized in that on its front
side there is
a supporting plane for the formwork skin, to which supporting plane regions on
the
front sides of the two longitudinal edge supports, regions on the front sides
of the
two transverse edge supports and regions on the front sides of the transverse
in-
termediate supports contribute. In this case, once the formwork skin is
attached to
io the supporting structure, it is supported by the longitudinal edge
supports, the
transverse edge supports and the respective transverse intermediate supports,
so
that it is possible to achieve formwork skin support with relatively small
support dis-
tances.
It is emphasized that the supporting structure, as disclosed in the six
preceding
paragraphs, constitutes a separate invention even without the presence of the
edge protection disclosed in this application and/or without the presence of
the re-
inforcement or reinforcements disclosed in this application. The novelty in
this case
resides in the disclosed construction of the main body or supporting
structure.
What has been said in the two preceding sentences also applies to a formwork
panel comprising said supporting structure and a formwork skin attached to the
supporting structure, in particular made of plastic.
A further subject matter of the invention is a formwork panel, characterized
in that
it comprises a supporting structure according to the invention, as disclosed
in the
preceding part of the description, and a formwork skin positioned on the front
side
of the supporting structure and attached to the supporting structure. The
formwork
skin may be made of plastic.
The formwork panel according to the invention can further be characterized in
that
the edge protection and/or the reinforcement provided in the region of the
front
sides of the respective supports is positioned in sandwich-like manner between
the
respective supports of the supporting structure and the formwork skin, and in
that,
by fastening of the formwork skin to the supporting structure, there is formed
at the
same time a fastening of the edge protection and/or the reinforcement to the
sup-
porting structure. This is a particularly efficient way of integrating the
edge protec-
tion and/or the respective reinforcement into the formwork panel. In the
formwork
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panel according to the invention, as disclosed in the preceding part of the
descrip-
tion, the formwork skin may have clip extensions formed on its rear side, by
means
of which it is attached to the supporting structure. Alternatively, the
formwork skin
may have extensions formed on its rear side, and the formwork skin may be at-
tached to the supporting structure by means of screws that are threadedly en-
gaged in at least a partial number of these extensions from the rear side of
the
supporting structure. "Threadedly engaged in" means that the screw in question
is
positively seated in the material of the supporting structure. The screws may
be
self-tapping screws. When making use of screws for fastening the formwork skin
to
io the supporting structure, a possibility according to the invention
consists in that at
least a partial number of these screws is each passed through a hole of the
rein-
forcement provided in the region of the rear sides of the respective supports,
whereby this reinforcement is fastened to the supporting structure. Thus, each
screw may serve both for fastening the edge protection and/or the
reinforcement
provided in the region of the front sides of the respective supports and for
fas-
tening the reinforcement provided in the region of the rear sides of the
respective
supports.
A further subject matter of the invention is a method of manufacturing a
supporting
structure according to the invention as disclosed in the preceding part of the
de-
scription, characterized in that the edge protection is at least partially
and/or the
reinforcement is at least partially positioned in an injection mold and is at
least par-
tially embedded in the plastic material of the supporting structure by
overmolding
during injection molding of the supporting structure. "Overmolding" refers to
a
manufacturing method in which plastic, in particular during injection molding,
em-
beds a part previously placed in the injection mold - at least on one side -
in such a
way that a unitary component is manufactured in close connection of the two
com-
ponents.
It is pointed pout here that in the present application the term edge
protection re-
fers collectively to the several components which together form the edge
protection
(insofar as the edge protection consists of several components). The same
applies
correspondingly for the reinforcement provided in the region of the front
sides of
the respective supports and for the reinforcement provided in the region of
the rear
sides of the respective supports (insofar as these each consist of several
compo-
nents at all).
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The invention and more specific embodiments of the invention will be explained
in
more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in draw-
ings, wherein:
Fig. 1 shows a supporting structure for a formwork panel, in a perspective
view
and as seen looking from diagonally above onto the front side of the
supporting
structure;
io Fig. 2 shows a section of Fig. 1 in an enlarged scale;
Fig. 3 shows a sectional view according to III-Ill in Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 shows a sectional view according to IV-IV in Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 shows a main body of the supporting structure of Fig. 1, after removal
of an
edge protection, in a perspective view and as seen looking from diagonally
above
onto the front side of the main body;
Fig. 6 shows a detail of Fig. 5 in an enlarged scale;
Fig. 7 shows an edge protection, as it was part of the supporting structure in
Figs.
1-4, in a perspective view and as seen looking from diagonally above onto the
front
side of the edge protection;
Fig. 8 shows a detail of Fig. 7 in an enlarged scale;
Fig. 9 shows a sectional view according to IX-IX in Fig. 7;
Fig. 10 shows a formwork panel consisting of a supporting structure with edge
pro-
tection and a formwork skin attached to the supporting structure, in a
sectional
view in the transverse direction of the formwork panel;
Fig. 11 shows a detail of Fig. 10 in an enlarged scale;
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Fig. 12 shows a formwork skin, as part of the formwork panel of Fig. 10, in a
per-
spective view and as seen looking from diagonally above onto the rear side of
the
formwork skin;
Fig. 13 shows a section of Fig. 12 in an enlarged scale;
Fig. 14 shows the formwork panel of Fig. 10, in a perspective exploded view
and
as seen looking from diagonally above onto the rear side of the formwork
panel;
io Fig. 15 shows the formwork panel of Fig. 14 in the assembled state, in a
perspec-
tive view and as seen looking from diagonally above onto the formwork skin;
Fig. 16 shows the formwork panel of Fig. 15, in a perspective view and as seen
looking from diagonally above onto the rear side of the formwork panel;
Fig. 17 shows a section of a second embodiment of a formwork panel, in a sec-
tional view in the transverse direction of the formwork panel as in Fig. 11;
Fig. 18 shows a detail of the formwork skin provided in the formwork panel of
Fig.
17, in a perspective view and as seen looking from diagonally above onto the
rear
side of the formwork skin, as in Fig. 13;
Fig. 19 shows a section of a third embodiment of a formwork panel, in a
sectional
view in the transverse direction of the formwork panel, as in Figs. 11 and 17;
Fig. 20 shows a section of a fourth embodiment of a formwork panel, which addi-
tionally has a reinforcement in the region of the rear sides of the two
longitudinal
edge supports, in a sectional view in the transverse direction of the formwork
pan-
el, as in Figs. 11, 17 and 19;
Fig. 21 shows the formwork panel of Fig. 20, in a perspective exploded view
and
as seen looking from diagonally above onto the rear side of the formwork
panel;
Fig. 22 shows a fifth embodiment of a supporting structure, in a sectional
view in
the transverse direction of the supporting structure, as in Figs. 4, 11, 17
and 19;
Fig. 23 shows a detail of the sectional view of Fig. 22 in an enlarged scale.
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The supporting structure 2 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a main body 4 made of
plas-
tic and an edge protection 12 made of metal for protecting the edge of a
formwork
skin to be attached to the supporting structure 2 (cf. Figs. 10-16). The main
body 4
is generally rectangular in plan view. The edge protection 12 has the shape of
a
rectangular frame in plan view.
The side of the supporting structure 2 facing upward in Fig. 1 (or the upper
end
portion of the supporting structure 2 in Fig. 1) is the front side 80 thereof.
The op-
io posite side of the supporting structure 2 facing downward in Fig. 1 (or
the lower
end portion of the supporting structure 2 in Fig. 1) is the rear side 82
thereof.
The main body 2 has two longitudinal edge supports 6, two transverse edge sup-
ports 8 and, in this exemplary embodiment, a total of seven transverse
intermedi-
ate supports 10. The main body 4 is a one-piece or integral injection molded
part
made of plastic. The transverse edge supports 8 are disposed at right angles
to
the longitudinal edge supports 6 and are about half as long as the
longitudinal
edge supports 6. The transverse intermediate supports 10 run parallel to the
trans-
verse edge supports 8. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the
longitudinal
edge supports 6 have a length - as measured externally over all - of slightly
less
than 2 m and the transverse edge supports 8 have a length - as measured exter-
nally over all - of slightly less than 1 m. Other formats of the main body 4
are pos-
sible. Further geometric details of the supports 6, 8,10 will be described
further be-
low.
The edge protection 12 is seen in more detail in Figs. 2, 3, 4. The edge
protection
12 is in one piece and has the shape of a rectangular frame with a large free
inte-
rior space, with the four sections 14 of the edge protection 12 adjoining each
other
across corners, each section having a width 16 - as measured transversely to
the
longitudinal extension of the section 14. The width 16 is such that the
respective
section 14 almost completely covers the width of the associated longitudinal
edge
support 6 or the width of the associated transverse edge support 8. Further
details
in this regard will be described further below. As seen in a cross-sectional
plane
perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the respective support 6 or 8
(cf.
Figs. 3 and 4), the respective section 14 of the edge protection 12 has the
shape
of a lying or horizontal rectangle with a bent-up, lateral edge 18 along the
respec-
tive outer edge of the supporting structure 2. The thickness 20 of the cross-
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sectional rectangle, as measured vertically in Figs. 3 and 4, is small
compared to
the width 16. The edge protection 12 is a sheet metal part (sheet thickness =
thickness 20) which has been stamped and bent up all around the edge. Apart
from the edge 18, the edge protection 12 is arranged parallel to the front
side 80 of
the supporting structure 2, on which front side 80 a formwork skin will be
posi-
tioned to create a formwork panel.
In Fig. 2, it can be seen particularly clearly that each of the four sections
14 of the
edge protection 12 has a series of e.g. round holes 22 along its outer edge.
In the
io embodiment illustrated, there are thirty-nine holes along each
longitudinal edge
section 14 and twenty holes 22 along each transverse edge section 14. As is
best
seen in Figs. 5 and 6, each longitudinal edge support 6 and each transverse
edge
support 8 has a series of, in a plan view, circular short extensions 24 on its
front
side. The positioning and size of the extensions 24 are matched to the holes
22 of
the edge protection 12. When the main body 4 and the edge protection 12 are as-
sembled, the extensions 24 each enter into one of the holes 22, as is best
seen in
Fig. 3. This multiple hole 22/extension 24 engagement creates an overall
positive
fixed engagement of the edge protection 12 with the front side 80 of the main
body
4, with this positive engagement being effective with respect to forces acting
paral-
lel to the front side of the main body 4.
Each of the four sections 14 of the edge protection 12 has a series of holes
16
which are rectangular in plan view. The holes 26 are positioned along the
inner
edge of the edge protection 12. In total, there are nine holes 26 along each
longi-
tudinal edge support 6 and five holes 26 along each transverse edge support 8
in
this embodiment.
Figs. 3 and 4 show particularly clearly a longitudinal edge support 6 in a
sectional
view transverse to the longitudinal extension of the longitudinal edge support
6.
Each of the transverse edge supports 8 looks the same in a sectional view per-
pendicular to its longitudinal extension. The cross-sectional shape of the
edge
supports 6 and 8 may be described as a double wall with two partial walls 28
and
30 extending between the front side and the rear side of the main body 4. On
the
rear side 82 of the main body 4, the two partial walls 28 and 30 are connected
to
each other by a third connecting wall 32 that is parallel to the front side 80
of the
main body 4. On the front side 80 of the main body 4, there is no connecting
wall
lying in the plane of this front side 80. In the region of the front side 80
of the main
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body 4, each longitudinal edge support 6 and each transverse edge support 8
has
a flange 34 directed outwardly (i.e. away from the center of the main body 4).
The
described extensions 24 are provided on the front side of the flange 34. The
edge
protection 12 rests with its first leg 36, which is parallel to the front side
80 of the
main body 4, on the front side of the flange 34 and covers the space between
the
two partial walls 28 and 30. The first leg 36 terminates at the outwardly
facing side
of the inner partial wall 30, but could also still rest on the front side of
the inner par-
tial wall 30. On the outside, the first leg 36 is so wide that it extends a
short dis-
tance beyond the end of the flange 34 before it merges into a second leg 37 (
=
io bent up edge 18) which runs at right angles to the first leg 36. The
transition from
the first leg 36 into the second leg 37 is a rounded portion with a relatively
small
bending radius. In Fig. 6, it can be seen that in the longitudinal edge
supports 6
and in the transverse edge supports 8, the two partial walls 28 and 30 are con-
nected to one another by a series of spaced apart first connecting walls 38.
The
first connecting walls 38 each have a plane of extension which is at right
angles
transverse to the longitudinal extension direction of the respective support 6
or 8.
As can best be seen in Fig. 4, the rectangular holes 26 of the edge protection
12
are positioned such that they are disposed in front of the clearance between
the
two partial walls 28 and 30. Holes 40 are provided in the third connecting
wall 32,
each at a position aligned with the position of a rectangular hole 26. The
function
of the pairs of holes 26 and 40 will described further below.
Figs. 5 and 6 show the main body 4 without the edge protection 12, so that one
can see into the space between the two partial walls 28 and 30 at the
longitudinal
edge walls 6 and the transverse edge walls 8.
In Figs. 7, 8, 9, the edge protection 12 is shown by itself.
Figures 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 show a formwork panel 50 as
manufactured by attaching a formwork skin 52 to the supporting structure 2 de-
scribed so far or to the supporting structure 2 to be described in second to
fifth
embodiments. In the embodiment illustrated, the formwork skin 52 is made of
plas-
tic and has the shape of a plate with extensions 60, to be described further
below,
on its rear side facing downward in Fig. 10. This plate, as compared to its
plan
view size of substantially 2 x 1 m, has a small thickness of a few
centimeters. The
formwork skin 52 has such a plan view size that it fits tightly onto and
within the
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edge protection 12, with an edge portion 54 of the formwork skin 52 resting
all
around on the first leg 36 of the edge protection 12 and the front-side end of
the
inner partial wall 30, and with the edge 56 of the formwork skin 52 being
surround-
ed all around by the second leg 37 or the bent-up edge 18 of the edge
protection
12. The second leg 37 of the edge protection 12 projects so far forward from
the
front side of the respective longitudinal edge support 6 or transverse edge
support
8 that the edge 56 of the formwork skin 52 is just completely covered. The
front
side of the formwork skin 52 facing upward in Fig. 10 is arranged in the same
plane as the upper end of the second leg 37 of the edge protection 12 in Figs.
10
io and 11.
The aforementioned rear extensions 60 of the formwork skin 52 are positioned
and
dimensioned such that they each fit into one of the described holes 26 of the
edge
protection 12. The shape of the extensions 60 is best seen in Figs. 11 and 13.
Ad-
jacent the formwork skin rear side, the extensions 60 have a rectangular shape
for
part of their length - as measured vertically in Figs. 10 and 11 - with which
they
each fit tightly into one of the holes 26. For the remainder of the length,
the respec-
tive extension 60 is externally cylindrical with two small stiffening ribs.
For at least
a portion of its length, the respective extension 60 is hollow on the inside.
At each
pair of extension 60 and hole 40 in the third connecting wall 32 of the two
partial
walls 28 and 30 of the respective longitudinal edge support 6 or transverse
edge
support 8, a screw 62 is threadedly engaged from the, in Fig. 10 lower, rear
side
82 of the supporting structure 2 or formwork panel 50. With its upper end
portion in
Figs. 10 and 11, the screw 62 is threadedly engaged in a cavity 59 of the
associat-
ed extension 60 and is thus positively connected to the inner circumference of
the
cavity 59. The head 64 of the screw 62 is seated at the rear end of the
respective
hole 40 in the third connecting wall 32. Thus, the screws 62 pull the formwork
skin
52 with the flat part of its rear side against the first leg 36 of the edge
protection 12,
the inner partial wall 30 of the edge supports 6 and 8, and, as will be
described in
more detail below, the front sides of the transverse intermediate supports 10.
As a
result, the edge protection 12 is clamped in positionally accurate manner, as
it
were, between the main body 4 and the formwork skin 52.
Looking at Figs. 1 and 14, it can be seen that the transverse intermediate
supports
10 - as seen in a sectional view transverse to their longitudinal extension -
have a
cross-section in the form of an open trapezoid. The open, larger trapezoidal
side is
located on the front side 80 of the main body 4. The shorter, closed
trapezoidal
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side 67 is located approximately halfway between the front side 80 and the
rear
side 82 of the main body 4. On the open trapezoidal side, there is a narrow
flange
68 on each of the left and right sides, which projects in the direction of the
length of
the main body 4 (cf. Fig. 2). Each transverse intermediate support 10 has four
connecting walls 70 distributed along its length. The width of each transverse
in-
termediate support 10- as measured in the longitudinal direction of the main
body
4 - is substantially equal to the clear distance between two adjacent
transverse in-
termediate supports 10 or between the last transverse intermediate support 10
and
the respective transverse edge support 8. The front sides of the flange 68 are
in
io the same plane as the front side of the first leg 36 of the edge
protection 12 and
the front end of the inner partial wall 30 of the edge supports 6 and 8,
respectively.
All of this together is located in a common plane which serves as a supporting
plane or, in sum, as a supporting surface for the formwork skin 52.
The exploded view of Fig. 14 shows once again how the components main body 4,
edge protection 12 and formwork skin 50 are assembled by means of the screws
62. Figs. 15 and 16 illustrate the formwork panel 50 in its fully assembled
state.
The second exemplary embodiment of Figs. 17 and 18 differs from the exemplary
embodiment described so far in that the two partial walls 28 and 30 of the
longitu-
dinal edge supports 6 and of the transverse edge supports 8 are respectively
con-
nected on the front side of the double wall by a second connecting wall 72,
which
is parallel to the front side 80 of the main body 4. A third connecting wall
32, as
was present in the first embodiment example, is not present in the second exem-
plary embodiment. In the second embodiment, the extensions 60 on the rear side
of the formwork skin 52 are in the form of clip extensions 60. Instead of the
rectan-
gular holes 26, round holes 74 are provided in the edge protection 12. The
form-
work skin 52 is connected to the supporting structure 4 with little effort by
inserting
its clip extensions 72 through the described holes 74 in the edge protection
12 and
through holes 76 aligned therewith in the respective, second connecting wall
72.
When fully inserted, the end portions of the clip extensions 60 elastically
diverge
and are latched behind the rear side of the respective, second connecting wall
72.
In the third exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 19, the width 16 of the edge
pro-
tection 12 is smaller than in the previous embodiments. The edge protection 12
no
longer extends beyond the clearance between the two partial walls 28 and 30 of
the respective longitudinal edge support 6 or transverse edge support 8. In
each
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edge support 6 or 8, as in the first exemplary embodiment, a third connecting
wall
32 is provided on the rear side, but no second connecting wall 72 as was
present
in the second exemplary embodiment. The rear extensions 60 of the formwork
skin
50 are configured to fit tightly within the clearance between the two walls 28
and
30 of the respective edge support 6 or 8. As in the first embodiment, screws
62
each extend into a cavity 59 of an extension 60 from the rear side of the main
body
4.
The fourth exemplary embodiment shown in Figs. 20 and 21 differs from the
first
io exemplary embodiment in that a reinforcement 84 is provided in the
longitudinal
edge supports 6 in the region of the rear sides. The reinforcement 84 includes
two
strip-shaped members 86 of metal. In this embodiment, the strip-shaped members
86 are each stamped from sheet metal. The strip-shaped members 86 are each as
long as the longitudinal edge supports 6 on their rear sides. The strip-shaped
members 86 each have a series of 39 holes 22. Projecting into 30 of these
holes
22 is in each case a rear extension 24 of the respective longitudinal edge
support
6, as has been described in the first embodiment for the front side 80 of the
sup-
porting structure 2. However, in the embodiment of Figs. 20 and 21, the holes
22
are located approximately in the middle of the width 16 of the respective
strip-
.. shaped member 86.
A screw 62 extends through each of the remaining 9 holes 22 distributed along
the
length of the respective strip-shaped member 86, and a hole 88 is provided in
each
of the third connecting walls 32 at locations aligned with these holes 22 for
screws
62. The screw head 64 of each of these screws 62 is located on the rear side
of
the respective strip-shaped member 86. Thus, the screws 62 pull the formwork
skin 50, the edge protection 12, the main body 4 and the strip-shaped members
86
of the reinforcement 84 together as a sandwich.
In the fifth exemplary embodiment of Figs. 22 and 23, a front-side edge
protection
12 and a rear-side reinforcement of the supporting structure 2 are provided.
This
embodiment differs from the embodiments described before primarily in that the
edge protection 12 and the reinforcement 84 have been united with the main
body
4 of the supporting structure 2 by so-called overmolding. For this purpose,
four an-
gular rail-like metal parts 90, which adjoin each other across corners and
together
form the edge protection 12, have been positioned in an injection mold in such
a
way that substantially only the respective second leg 37 of the edge
protection 12
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was not located inside the mold cavity of the injection mold. In the case of
the rein-
forcement 84, two strip-shaped members 86 were positioned in the mold cavity
of
the injection mold such that they were almost completely enclosed by the
injected
plastic when the mold cavity was closed. The four angular rail-like parts 90
each
have a miter bevel at their two ends, so that the second legs 37 of these
members
as a whole form a projecting edge for protecting the edge 56 of the formwork
skin
50.
In Fig. 23, it can be seen that both the angular rail-shaped parts 90 and the
strip-
io shaped members 86 each have a plurality of holes 92 distributed along
their
length. For positioning the angular rail-shaped parts 90 and the strip-shaped
mem-
bers 86 in the injection mold, these parts have been placed on graduated
position-
ing pins, one pin per hole 92. For removing the supporting structure 2
together with
the edge protection 12 and the reinforcement 84 from the mold cavity after
injec-
tion molding, these positioning pins are withdrawn. The positioning pins leave
small round holes 94 in the plastic material of the supporting structure 2.
Instead of
the angular rail-shaped parts 90, one can also position a frame-shaped part in
the
injection mold.
In all of the exemplary embodiments described, the edge protection 12 at the
same
time constitutes a reinforcement in the region of the front sides of the two
longitu-
dinal edge supports 6 and of the two transverse edge supports 8. However, ac-
cording to the second aspect mentioned at the beginning, the invention also
cre-
ates a supporting structure 2 in which no edge protection 12 is provided, but
only a
front-side and/or rear-side reinforcement of the supporting structure 2 or of
the
longitudinal edge supports 6 and/or of the transverse edge supports 8. For
this
purpose, it is conceivable e.g. that, instead of the edge protection 12, two
or four
strip-shaped members are provided which are formed similarly to the described
strip-shaped members 86 on the rear side or which are formed similarly to the
edge protection 12 but without a protruding edge 18.
It should be noted that the edge protection 12 does not necessarily have to
cover
the two longitudinal edges of the formwork skin 50 and the two transverse
edges of
the formwork skin 50. For example, for formwork panels 50 in which only the
longi-
tudinal edges of the formwork skin 50 or only the transverse edges of the
formwork
skin 50 are particularly at risk of being damaged, it may be sufficient to
provide
edge protection on these edges only.
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Furthermore, it is pointed out that the reinforcement 84, which in the
described ex-
emplary embodiments was provided only in the region of the longitudinal edge
supports 6, can also be provided "all around", i.e. both on the longitudinal
edge
supports 6 (front side and/or rear side) and on the transverse edge supports 8
(front side and/or rear side).
In the invention the, in particular metallic, edge protection constitutes the
projecting
portion of the supporting structure 2 of the formwork panel that projects
furthest on
io the outside, and thus provides particularly effective protection for the
edge 56 of
the formwork skin 50. The front-side reinforcement and/or the rear-side
reinforce-
ment 84 may be formed by parts whose dimension - as measured at right angles
to the front side of the supporting structure 2 - is smaller than the
dimension
measured in the direction parallel to the front side of the supporting
structure 2.
The front-side reinforcement and/or the rear-side reinforcement 84 may be con-
centrated on the region of the front side of the supporting structure (or the
front
side of the two longitudinal edge supports and/or the two transverse edge sup-
ports) and/or on the region of the rear side of the supporting structure 2 (or
the re-
gion of the rear side of the two longitudinal edge supports and/or the two
trans-
verse edge supports), so that they provide an increase in strength of the
support-
ing structure 2 in an optimum manner.
The described reinforcement 84 in the region of the rear side of the
longitudinal
edge supports 6 reinforces both the outside of the outer partial wall 28 in
its rear-
side end portion and the rear end of the double wall of the longitudinal edge
sup-
port 6, which increases the stability against damage in these two regions.
The sectional view of Fig. 3 has shown the engagement of the extensions 24 in
the
holes 22. Such engagements also exist in the second, third and fourth embodi-
ments, however in front of and to the rear of the drawing plane of Figs. 17,
19 and
20, respectively.
When the edge protection 12 and/or the reinforcement 84 is made of long fiber
re-
inforced plastic rather than sheet metal, these parts look quite similar to
the sheet
metal parts illustrated, possibly with small rounded portions instead of sharp
cor-
ners and slightly thicker in the dimension measured perpendicular to the front
side
80 of the supporting structure 2.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-28
