Abstract:
A U-head plate is provided having a channel for capturing a base plate of a shoring apparatus. A pair of inwardly opposing L-shaped extensions extending downwardly from the U-head plate forms the channel. A latch attached to the U-head plate has a tongue for engaging a notch in the base plate of the shoring apparatus upon capture of the base plate of the shoring apparatus within the channel. The tongue is biased toward the notch by a spring.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates generally to concrete shoring apparatus used in forming concrete structures and, more specifically, to a latch that can be utilized to rapidly and securely attach U-heads to concrete shore towers.  
           [0003]    2. Background of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    Concrete forming apparatuses are in wide use in the construction of buildings, bridges, and other concrete structures. The formwork against which the concrete is formed is often held into place by shoring apparatus. In creating shoring apparatus having the desired configuration, it is beneficial to be able to interconnect various components of the shoring apparatus in a wide variety of adjusted positions and to be able to quickly and easily connect, disconnect, and adjust the positions of the components. Further, it is advantageous to have the ability to interconnect the various components of the shoring apparatus in a wide variety of configurations without unduly multiplying the number of distinct components that are required to assemble the shoring apparatus of desired diversity.  
           [0005]    Concrete shoring suppliers deliver truckloads of shoring equipment to a customer&#39;s job site, to facilitate shipping purposes, the equipment is dissembled. When the shoring equipment arrives at the customer&#39;s job site, the customer is then required to assemble the shoring towers prior to use. Thus, to save time and money, it is desirable to have rapid attachment methods during the assembly of the towers.  
           [0006]    Previously, a U-head has been attached to shoring posts using a pipe welded to the base of the U-head. This pipe has a drilled hole that permits a pin to secure the head through the shore post. Another method utilized uses a pipe that has a spring pin that secures the U-head to the shore post. These previous methods utilize many loose pieces that must be attached, are easy to lose, and are time consuming to assemble. Accordingly a need exists for the rapid attachment and release of the U-head to the concrete shoring tower.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    An object of the invention comprises providing a device for attaching the U-head to a concrete shoring tower, where the device provides for rapid and secure attachment.  
           [0008]    These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following specification, drawings, and claims.  
           [0009]    The present invention intends to overcome the difficulties encountered heretofore. To that end, a U-head plate is provided having a channel for capturing a base plate of a shoring apparatus. A latch is attached to the U-head plate and has a tongue for engaging a notch in the base plate of the shoring apparatus, upon capture of the base plate of the shoring apparatus within the channel. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a U-head assembly and a shoring apparatus.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 a  is a side view of a shoring post.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 b  is a cross-sectional end view of the shoring post of FIG. 2 a , taken along the line A-A in FIG. 2 a.    
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is an end view of a base plate of the shoring apparatus.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 a  is a side view of the U-head assembly.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 b  is a bottom view of the U-head assembly.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 c  is a cross-sectional view of the U-head assembly, taken along the line A-A in FIG. 4 b.    
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 a  is a side view of a U-head channel plate.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 b  is a bottom view of the U-head channel plate.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 c  is a cross-sectional view of the U-head channel plate, taken along the line A-A in FIG. 5 b.    
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is an end view of the U-head channel plate.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 7 a  is bottom view of a latch of the U-head assembly.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 b  is a side view of the latch of the U-head assembly.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 7 c  is a top view of the latch of the U-head assembly.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 7 d  is a cross-sectional view of the latch of the U-head assembly taken along the line A-A shown in FIG. 7 b.    
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 e  is a cross-sectional view of the latch of the U-head assembly taken along the line B-B shown in FIG. 7 b.    
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 f  is a cross-sectional view of the latch of the U-head assembly taken along the line C-C shown in FIG. 7 b.    
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 7 g  is a cross-sectional view of the latch of the U-head assembly taken the line D-D shown in FIG. 7 b.   
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0028]    In the Figures, FIG. 1 shows a U-head assembly  10  attached to a concrete shoring apparatus  12 . The U-head assembly  10  comprises a U-head channel plate  14 . The U-head channel plate  14  includes two opposing channel walls  16 ,  18 , a channel base  20  therebetween, and two inwardly opposing L-shaped extensions  22 ,  24  extending downward from opposite sides of the channel base  20 . Holes  26  in the channel base  20  provide for securing beams (not shown) within the U-head assembly  10 . A latch  28  is attached to one of the L-shaped extensions  22 . Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the latch  28  can attach to either extension  22 ,  24 . The U-head plate  14  of the U-head assembly  10  is attached to the shoring apparatus  12  by capturing a base plate  30  of the shoring apparatus  12  within a channel created by the opposing L-shaped extensions  22 ,  24 . The base plate  30  also contains notches  32 , centered on each side of the base plate  30 . The shoring apparatus  12  also comprises an adjustable jackscrew  34  that is then attached to another identical notched base plate  30  of a shoring post  36 . Of course, the U-head assembly  10  can attach to either base plate  30  of the shoring apparatus  12 .  
         [0029]    For further detail of the shoring apparatus  10 , FIG. 2 a  shows a side view of the aluminum shoring post  36 , with base plates  30  located on each end. FIG. 2 b  illustrates the cross-sectional end view of the shoring post  36 , taken along the line A-A in FIG. 2 a , detailing the base plate  30 , showing the notches  32  centered on each side of the base plate  30 .  
         [0030]    The latch  28  of the U-head assembly  10  attaches to the L-shaped extension  24 . Shown best in FIGS. 4 a - c , the base  20  of the U-head channel plate  14  includes a hole  38  (see also FIGS. 5 a - c ). The hole  38  aligns with a hole  42  in an ear  40  of the latch  28 . A nut and bolt combination  44  releaseably secures the latch  28  to the base  20 , through the holes  38 ,  42  in the U-head plate  14  and latch  28 . The bolt head of the nut and bolt combination  44  is recessed so as to not interfere with the movement of beams in and out of the U-head assembly  10 . The L-shaped extension  22  includes a hole  46  aligned with a tongue  48  of the latch  28  such that the tongue  48  extends into, and through, the hole  46 . On the end of the latch  28  opposite to the tongue  48  is a spring post  50  and spring  52  captured on the spring post  50 .  
         [0031]    The movement of the latch  28 , best illustrated in reference to FIGS. 7 a - c  and  4   a - c , allows the tongue  48  to engage the notch  32  of the base plate  30  under the biasing force of the spring  52 . The spring  52  biases the latch  28  such that the tongue  48  of the latch is forced inward through the hole  46  in the L-shaped extension  22 . Engaging the U-head assembly  10  with the shoring apparatus  12  is accomplished by slideably moving the U-head assembly  10  onto the base plate  30  such that the channel created by the inwardly opposing L-shaped extensions  22 ,  24  captures the edges of the base plate  30 . The tongue  48  rides along the outside edge of the base plate  30  until the hole  46  in the L-shaped extension  24  approaches the notch  32  in the base plate  30 . At this point the spring  52  biases the tongue  48  into the notch  32  thereby engaging the U-head assembly  10  and the shoring apparatus  12 . The hole  46  is positioned at the midpoint of the L-shaped extension  24  in order to best balance the U-head assembly  10  on the shoring apparatus  12 .  
         [0032]    To disengage the U-head assembly  10  merely requires compressing the spring  52  until the tongue  48  disengages from the notch  32  of the base plate  30 . The latch  28  pivots about the hole  42  in the ear  40 . In other words, pressure applied to the outside of the latch  28  at the end adjacent to the spring  52  will disengage the tongue  48  of the latch  28 , thereby allowing for slideably removing the U-head assembly  10  from the base plate  30  of the shoring apparatus  12 .  
         [0033]    In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the shoring post  36  shown in FIG. 2 a  is measured at a length of 11′-5½″, with a weight of 41.94 lbs., and is constructed of aluminum. The base plate  30  measures approximately 6″ along each side, taking into consideration the rounded edges, and is ⅜″ thick. The base plate  30  is affixed to the shoring post  36  with four  1  {fraction (3/16)}″ welds equally spaced around the outside of the center diameter of the shoring post  36 . The base plate  30  is also constructed of aluminum. The base plate  30 , best shown in FIG. 3, includes holes  54  to allow for interconnection of the components of the shoring apparatus  12 . The notches  32  in the base plate  30  are centered on each side of the base plate  26  and have an inside width of 1{fraction (1/16)}″.  
         [0034]    The compression spring  52  is measured at a free length of 0.875″, with an outside diameter of 0.480″ and an inside diameter of 0.354″. The spring rate is 65 lbs/inch, with closed and ground ends. The bolt and nut combination  44  is composed of a ¼-20 steel center lock nut with a lock nut with rectangular indentation. The screw for this combination is a ¼-20×⅞″ hexagon socket flat countersunk head cap screw.  
         [0035]    The U-head channel plate  14  is extruded aluminum and measures 8⅛″×2⅜″×14″. The outside of the L-shaped extensions  22 ,  24  are located on the base  20  of the U-head channel plate  14  inset at a distance of 0.750″ from the outside rounded corners. The L-shaped extensions  22 ,  24  extend down from the U-head channel plate  14  a distance of 0.438″+/−0.014″ and corner in at the bottom a length of 1″. The length from the outside sharp corner of L-shaped extension  16  to the outside sharp corner L-shaped extension  18  is 6.625″. The inside distance from the end of L-shaped extension  16  to L-shaped extension  18  is 5.125″+/−0.044″.  
         [0036]    The latch  28  has a length of 5{fraction (3/16)}″. The tongue  48  is ⅞″ wide at a height of 1⅜″ from the base of the latch  28 . The compression spring  42  is positioned at a distance of 1″ from the center of the bolt and nut combination  44 . At this length, the latch  28  has a height of ½″, which then increases to {fraction (9/16)}″ at the center of the bolt and nut combination  44 . The height of the lever latch  28  stays at ½″ until it increases to ¾″ at a distance of approximately 2{fraction (5/16)}″ from the inside edge of the bolt and nut combination  44 , then it is at a height of ¾″ for a distance of ¼″, when it then raises to the top height of 1⅜″, where it is notched for ⅞″ before returning to the height of ¾″ until the end of the latch  28 .  
         [0037]    The U-head assembly  10  allows for quick and easy assembly. It utilizes a minimum of moving parts, and eliminates the need for any lose parts. The assembly  10  allows does not require any special tools to attach or remove the assembly  10  from the shoring apparatus  12 . The latch  28  is easy to operate due to the fact that it self engages with the notch  32  of the base plate  30 , and disengages with a reasonable amount of pressure. In this manner, the assembly substantially reduces, or eliminates the problems associated with prior art assemblies.  
         [0038]    The foregoing description and drawings comprise an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The foregoing embodiments and the methods described herein may vary based on the ability, experience, and preference of those skilled in the art. Merely listing the steps of the method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of the method. The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention, and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the claims are so limited. It is anticipated that those of ordinary skill in the art with this disclosure before them will be able to make modifications in variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.