A FLOOR LAYING ARRANGEMENT

Abstract: An arrangement for use when casting concrete floors, particularly in locales having pillars, floor drains or the like. The arrangement includes straight concrete beams (1) and sections of ring-like concrete beams (8), which are intended to be incorporated in the resultant floor. The ring sections are arranged to co-act in order to completely encircle a free-standing pillar or the like, or to partially encircle a pillar located adjacent a wall. The sections are provided with a lower support flange (10) intended to support the ends of the straight beams. The height of the straight beams (1) is so selected in relation to the height of the ring-like beams (8) that when the straight beams rest on the aforementioned support flange, the upper surfaces of both kinds of beams are located in a common plane, on a level with the resultant floor surface, in order to be able to serve as support paths for concrete smoothing devices. The application also relates to a method for manufacturing beams intended for use with the arrangement.

Description: A FLOOR LAYING ARRANGEMENT Technical Field The present invention relates to an arrangement for use when casting concrete floors, particularly in locales incorporating pillars, floor drains or the like. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing concrete beams forming part of the arrangement. Background Art In order to rationalize to some extent the casting of concrete floors, it has been proposed to use concrete beams as combined stop-ends and screed guides for concrete smoothing devices , the beams being embeded in the floor with the upwardly facing surfaces of the beams flush with the resultant floor surface. This eliminates the task of stripping the formwork, and hence the various spans can be cast in sequence, since adjacent spans can be cast simultaneously. Among other things, however, these known methods do not solve the problem of providing non-contacting or isolated areas around pillars, floor-drains and the like, in a ready and simple fashion. Pillars which are not sufficiently isolated from the floor as the floor is cast, will ultimately be in load-transferring contact therewith, inter alia as a result of shrinkage stresses occurring in the concrete. This means, among other things, that when a pillar is subjected to heavy loads, which tends to cause _he piϊl≤r * r > settle, the loor will also be subjected to str-ess , causing cracks to form. In addition, the pillar itself obtains there- ji'ound an area of concentrated stresses, which can readily cause the pillar to crack. OMPI These methods used today for isolating pillars from the surrounding floor either do not provide a satisfactory result or require a large amount of additional work. Moreover, they require the floor to be cast in a plurality of stages . The known concrete beams used as combined stop-ends and screed guides for co-action with con¬ crete-smoothing devices are also encumbered -with certain additional disadvantages. For example, they do not prevent relative movement between adjacent floor sections in the longitudinal direction of the beams.- Furthermore, the webs of the beams are provided with open holes , through which rein orcing rods or the like can be passed. In order to enable the rein- forcement to be compactly formed in a selective fashion, the webs of respective beams must be pro¬ vided with a large number of holes , of which, only a relatively small number are used in each individual case. This results in copious leakage of concrete through the beams, which is highly unsatisfactory when the beam is also to serve as a stop-end. Object of the Present Invention An object of the present invention is to pro¬ vide a solution to the aforementioned proble-s , which manifest themselves when casting concrete floors which include pillars , floor drains and the like. Disclosure of the Invention Accordingly, the present invention ccrr.prises an arrangement of the aforesaid kind which is characterized in that said arrangement includes straight concrete- beams which are intended to be incorporated in the ' cast floor, and sections of arcuate cor_crete-bea_r_s , said arcuate sections being arranged to co-act so as to fully encircle a free-standing pillar or the like, or to partially encircle a pillar located ad¬ jacent a floor-defining wall; in that the arcuate s 5 sections are provided with a lower support flange for supporting the ends of respective straight beams; and in that the height of the straight beams is so selected in relation to the height of the arcuate sections that when the straight beams ' rest on said 10 support flanges, the upper surfaces of said straight and said arcuate beams lie in a common plane, flush with the upper surface of the resultant floor, ±n order to serve as guide surfaces for concrete-smoothing de¬ vices. 15 An arrangement of this kind enables the con¬ crete formwork to,be laid for a complete floor simul¬ taneously, and, if time permits, for a complete floor to be cast continuously, in a single working operation, it being possible to advance the concrete-smoothing 20 devices along the straight beams, and to pass said devices readily around the pillars present, since the arcuate sections are also able to serve as guide means. Thus, concrete can be cast around the pillars at the same time as concrete is cast in adjacent floor 25 sections. In accordance with one embodiment of the ihventicn, the straight beams, each of which includes upper and lower flanges which extend along the whole length of the beam and are mutually separated by a web, preferably has a 30 web portion which is provided on both sides of the beam with a plurality of recesses defined by said flanges and reinforcing beads connecting said flanges , said re¬ cesses being intended for anchoring the beam in the concrete floor, thereby to prevent both longitudinal -, ~ and vertical relative movements between adjacent floor' sections. Y P OIΛ The web of respective beam- are suitably pro¬ vided with apertures through which reinforcing-rods , and the like can be led and which are closed with a readily breakable or removeable material. For example, the lead-through apertures can be closed or covered by means of a very thin concrete membrane formed inte¬ grally with the beam in general. By using in this way lead-through apertures which are closed when manufacturing the beams, it is possible to provide the beam with closely packed apertures , since only those apertures required to accommodate the reinforcing rods etc. need be opened, thereby provided the requisite degree of selectivity while avoiding leakage of the concrete past the side stop-ends, for example. Preferably, the inner surfaces of the arcuate beam sections are provided with a layer of compressible material. The end surfaces of these sections may also suitably be provided with such layers. As a result hereof, in respect of load, the concrete slab around each pillar will be totally isolated from peripherally lying floor sections, i.e. not in contact therewith. A further requirement of a beam used in an arrangement according to the invention is that the beam has a very smooth upper-flange surface, and that the surface has sharply defined edges or corners , since this surface- will form part of the final floor surface. Consequently, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing such concrete beams , said method being characterized by using a form having a bottom part which is provided with a plurality of elongate, mutually spaced, trough-like recesses corres¬ ponding to the number of beams to be produced, the form of said recesses corresponding to the outer form of the upper flange part of said beams, and elongate intermediate members; by placing the intermediate members on said bottom part, between said pI recesses, such that together said intermediate members and said bottom part form an upwardly open forming chamber. for each beam; by filling the chambers with concrete and allowing said concrete to harden; and by removing the intermediate members for stripping the beams . Beams having extremely smooth and even upper surfaces with sharp edges can be produced when prac¬ ticing the described method, since the form, or mould, has no dividing plane located along the upper flange surface of the beams . Other characterizing features of the invention are disclosed in the following claims. The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 illustrates a straight beam forming part of the arrangement according to the invention. Figure 2 illustrates two arcuate beam sections forming part of the arrangement according to the inven¬ tion. ■ Figure 3 illustrates the co-action between a straight beam and an arcuate beam section. Figure . illustrates how an arrangement accord¬ ing to the invention is applied in practice. Figure 5 illustrates schematically a forming tool for use when manufacturing straight beams in accordance with the invention. Figure 6 illustrates the tool of Figure 5 duringaform-stripping operation. Description of a Preferred Embodiment of the Invention In Figure 1 there is illustrated a straight O beam 1 having upper and lower flange portions 2 and 3, which are mutually connected by a web, which com¬ prises a plurality of stiffening beads 4 and recesses 5 arranged between said beads. The recesses 5 in the web are provided with a plurality of through-passing apertures 6, which are closed by a thin concrete mem¬ brane and which are intended to receive reinforcing rods, while larger, similarly closed apertures 7 are arranged in at least certain ones of the stiffening beads H. The apertures 7 can be used for passing various kinds of installation pipes through the beams. In the illustrated embodiment, both the aper¬ tures 6 and the apertures 7 are closed by thin concrete membranes, which renders the beam totally impervious and enables the beam to be used effectively as a stop- end or bulkhead . The concrete membranes covering the apertures 6 and 7, however, are so thin that they can be readily broken when passing a reinforcing rod or the like therethrough. Because the apertures are norm- ally closed, the beam can be provided with a large number of apertures , arranged in one or more rows, enabling the reinforcing rods to be distributed as de¬ sired, and also the posi * tioning of said rods to be varied over the whole length of the beam, without there being obtained in the process a large number of unused, open apertures. Thus, one and the same beam can be used for totally different kinds of reinforcing patterns. The recesses 5 of the beam, which is identical on both sides, enables the beam to be firr_ly anchored in two mutually adjacent sections of a concrete floor, thereby preventing relative movement betvrεen said sec¬ tions , both vertically and horizontally. Such move¬ ments can be caused, for example, by local heating ^ through solar radiation or by vibrations machine tool. Figure 2 illustrates a ring-shaped concrete beam 8, which is also provided with apertures 9 for passing reinforcing rods therethrough. The ring 8 is provided with a widened bottom support-flange 10, and j comprises two arcuate sections , so that the ring-like beam can be placed around the pillar, floor drain or the like. As will be understood, when a pillar is lo¬ cated adjacent a wall or the like, one section of the ring-like beam can be used. The inner surface of the ring beam 8 and the end surfaces of both arcuate sections are provided with a layer 11 of compressible material, such as rubber or cellular plactics, which is intended to take-up minor movement of the concrete floor and the ring beam, to prevent said beam from giving rise to stresses which can result in crack' formation. Figure 3 illustrates the co-action between the ring-like beam 8 illustrated in Figure 2 and a straight beam 1 illustrated in Figure 1. As will be seen from the Figure, the heights of the beams are so in relation with one another that when the lower support flange of the straight beam is placed on the lower support flange of the ring-like beam, the upper surfaces of said beams are located in a common plane which coincides with the plane of the resultant floor. Thus, when placing the beams in position, the ring-like beams 8 are first arranged around the pillars, floor drains or the like and adjusted to the correct height. All that is then required is for the straight beams 1 to be pla'ced on the support flanges 10 of the ring beams, said straight beams being automatically located at the correct level. Figure 4 illustrates the manner in which the beams shown in Figures 1 and 2 are used in practice. In this respect, the ring beams 8 are first placed around pillars 12 or the like on the foundation on which the OM floor is to be cast. The straight beams 1 are then laid out, so as to divide the floor into suitable sec- tions corresponding to the length of screed bars 13. In this respect, if the ring beams 8 are located in line > with the straight beams.1, the ends of the latter beams are placed on the lower support flange 10 of the ring beams, as illustrated in Figure 3. If so is not the case, the straight beams 1 are adjusted, so that the upper surfaces of said beams are located in the same plane as the surfaces of the ring beams 8, The neces¬ sary reinforcement 14 can then be passed*, with selec¬ tive distribution, through the straight beams, as illustrated to the left of Figure , by breaking the concrete membrane of selected .apertures 6. Reinforcing rods can also be passed into the empty space located inwardly of the ring beams 8, among other things to prevent the concrete plate surrounding the pillar from being raised relative to surrounding concrete sections. The reinforcing rods -projecting into the rings 8 should be smooth, and preferably coated with asphalt or covered with plactic sleeves, so that they can be moved axially in the isolated concrete plate, since the purpose of these rods is merely to prevent vertical movement. When all beams have been placed in position, the floor can be cast in one sequence, since the con¬ crete of one section need not harden before an adjacent section is cast, Furthermore, the concrete sections which are isolated from the floor in general aηd which surround the pillars 12 can be cast at the same * time as peripherally lying sections, without direct bonding between said sections being obtained therewith. A screeding bar 13 guided on the straight beams 1 can be readily caused to move around a pillar by co-action wj h the ring-like beams. Thus, when using an arrangement according to the above, both the formwork and the casting of the con¬ crete floor can be effected in a highly rational manner.' In addition to the aforementioned advantages, the work previously involved in stripping the form- work is obviated, since the concrete beams used as the formwork are incorporated in the floor. The result is also better than the results obtained with known methods, since there is obtained highly ef ective iso¬ lation of the concrete around the pillars from the surrounding floor, which as mentioned in the afore¬ going is highly significant. In order to obtain a first class floor with beams cast therein in accordance with the aforegoing, it is necessary for the upper surfaces of the beams to be extremely smooth, and that the longitudinal edges are sharply defined and not jagged. With jagged edges, thin concrete portions are formed when casting the floor, these portions readily breaking up. Accordingly, the present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the aforedescribed beams, this method enabling the manufacture of beams with sharply defined, continuous edges, and smooth upper surfaces. This is achieved by placing the dividing plane for the composite form used when manufacturing the beams somewhat lower down on the beam, and not adjacent the upper surface, which is formed in an undivided form section. Figure 5 illustrates schematically a two-part form, or mould, according to the invention filled with concrete 15 and suitable reinforcement. The form comprises a lower form part, which has the shape of a corrugated plate 15, the recesses of which correspond to the upper flange part of the beam. Thus, the beams 1 are cast upside down. Intermediate members 17 are placed on the raised parte of the plate 16 which separate the trough-like recesses, the sides 10 of said intermediate members being provided with out¬ wardly projecting parts 18 having projections 19 in¬ tended for the lead-through apertures of the beams. For the purpose of forming apertures through the -stiffening beads of the beam, projections 20 are arranged between the outwardly projecting parts 18. The projections 19 and 20 of two opposite intermediate members are located extremely close to one another when mounting the form, so that only a thin concrete membrane is obtained therebetween. As will be seen from Figure 5, the dividing plane between the bottom form plate 16 and the intermediate member 17 is lo¬ cated somewhat above the longitudinal centre line of the inverse beams 1, which means that the upper surfaces and edge portions of the beams will be smooth - and continuous, i.e. not jagged, as described above. Figure 6 illustrates how the intermediate mem¬ ber 17, together with intermediate beams 1 are lifted up as a unit from the bottom form plate 16,for placing on another support prior to stripping the individual beams from the moulds or forms. When stripping the beams from said forms, it is also possible to remove the intermediate members and the beams successively from the one edge of the lower form plate 16. The form used in the method can be designed for casting a desired number of beams simultaneously. Both the bottom form plate 16 and the intermediate member 17 are suitably made of aluminium or like material. As will be understood, a form according to the aforegoing can also be used to produce beams having open aper¬ tures, by suitable adjustment of the length of the projections 19 and 20. If so desired, the apertures in the beams can be closed by means of other readily re oveable or crushable members. The design of the form sections can also be varied in other respects, in dependence upon the geometry of the beam to be OMPI W1PO manufactured. Beams manufactured in accordance with the afore¬ going are extremely rigid with the use of but a relatively small amount of material, and consequently the beams are readily easy to handle. The beams can also be manufactured at relatively low cost. As will be understood, the shape of the beams and the pattern in which the apertures are arranged can be varied as desired, which is also true of the con iguration of the web portion. The ring-like beam sections need not be circular-cylindrical in shape, but may have any other suitable shape. In addition to being used for casting floor structures, the straight beams can also be used as stop-ends when casting walls or like elements, which can be incorporated in said walls or like elements. O PI "vήpcT

Claims: AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 07 November 1983 (07.09.11); original claims 1-7 unchanged, 8—10 amended] 1. An arrangement for use when casting concrete , floors, particularly in locales having pillars, floor drains or the like, characterized in that said arrange¬ ment includes straight concrete beams (1) and sections of ring-like concrete beams (8) intended to be incor¬ porated in the floor; in that the ring-like sections * are arranged to co-act to fully encircle a free¬ standing pillar (12) or the like, or to partially em¬ brace a pillar located adjacent a wall; in that said sections are provided with a lower support flange (10) intended for supporting the ends of the straight beams; and in that the height of the straight beans (1) is so selected in relation to the height of the ring-like beams (8) that when said straight beams rest on said support flange, the upper surfaces of both types of beamsare located in a common plane on a level with the resultant floor surface, in order to serve as a support path for concrete-smoothing devices (13) . 2. An arrangement according to Claim 1 in which each of the straight beams (1) includes upper and lov/er flange parts (2, * 3) which are separated by a web portion and which ' extend along the whole length of the beam, characterized in that said web portion is provided on both sides of the bean (1) with a plurality of recesses (5) which are defined by said flange parts (2, 3) and stiffening beads (4) connecting said flange parts, said recesses being arranged to anchcr the beam (1) in the concrete floor and therewith prevent rela¬ tive movement between adjacent floor sections, both longitudinally and vertically. gU E OMPI 3. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterized in that the web part of the beam (1) is provided with lead-through apertures (6, 7) for rein¬ forcing rods, tubes or the like, said apertures being closed by crushable or removeable means. 4. An arrangement according to Claim 3, character¬ ized in that said lead-through apertures (6, 7) are closed by extremely thin concrete membranes formed inte- grally with the beam (1) in general. 5. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 1-4, characterized in that the ring-like beam sections (8) are provided on their inner surfaces with a layer (11) of compressible material. 6. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 1-5, characterized in that the ring-like beam sections (8) are provided with a layer (11) of compressible material on their end surfaces. 7. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 1-6, characterized in that the .ring-like beam sections (8) are provided with apertures (9) through which re¬ inforcing rods (14) or the like can be passed. 8. A method of simultaneously manufacturing a plurality of concrete beams having upper and lower flange parts which are separated by a web part and which ex¬ tend over the whole length of the beams, wherein a form is used which includes a bottom part and elongate inter¬ mediate members which are placed on the said bottom part, so that said intermediate members together with the bottom part form upwardly open forming chambers for the beams, which chambers are filled with concrete which is allowed to harden, whereupon for form stripping the intermediate members are removed from the bottom part, characterized by using a form bottom part having a plu¬ rality of elongate, mutually spaced, trough-like re¬ cesses corresponding to the number of beams to be si ul- taneously manufactured, said recesses having a shape corresponding to the outer form of the upper flange part of the beams, and by placing said intermediate members on said bottom part between the recesses therein. 9. A form for simultaneously manufacturing a plu¬ rality of concrete beams (1) having upper and lower- flange parts (2, 3) which are separated by a web part and which extend over the whole length of the beams, which form includes a bottom part (16) and elongate in¬ termediate members (17) intended to be placed on the bottom part, so that said intermediate members together with said.bottom part form upwardly open forming cham¬ bers for the beams, characterized in that the form bottom part (16) is provided with a plurality of elongate, trough-like recesses corresponding to the number of beams (1) to be simultaneously manufactured, said re¬ cesses having a shape corresponding to the outer form of the upper flange part (12) of the beams (1), said recesses being mutually separated by parts serving as support surfaces for said intermediate members (17). 10. Aformaccording to Claim 9, characterized in that said intermediate members (17) are provided with • pairs of opposite projections (19, 20) which project in¬ to the forming chambers for creating holes in the web portions of the beams to be manufactured, which pro¬ jections (19, 20) of two opposite intermediate members (17) are located very close to one another when the intermediate members are placed on the form bottom part (16).

Inventors: ALVARSSON YNGVE, ALVARSSON, YNGVE
Applicants: TREMIX AB
Application year: 1983
Main classification: E04B5
IPC codes: B28B7, E04B5, E04G15, E04G21