Abstract:
A system of preparing a form for the pouring of concrete for foundations and the like. The system includes a series of tracks for holding of forming insulation material or the like. The tracks are held by ties having ends readily attachable to ribs on the tracks for rapid and convenient assembly. The tracks are formed to hold insulating panels in a spaced parallel relationship. The ties and tracks mate together in a holding relation easily engageable.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation in part of a former application by the inventor, Ser. No. 08/756,240, filed Nov. 26, 1996, and now abandoned. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention pertains to forms for holding poured concrete being used as basement or other concrete walls, and more particularly to a system for providing such forms quickly, conveniently and at relatively low cost.  
           [0003]    Poured concrete walls have been used for many years. Forms into which to pour the concrete to form the walls have undergone many changes during that time. At first, with inexpensive carpenter labor, it was easiest to simply build wooden walls forming a trench between those walls into which the newly-mixed concrete could be poured. Later, re-usable sheet metal forms were developed. These forms could be placed, the concrete poured, and the forms removed so they could be reused.  
           [0004]    More recently, systems have been proposed by which slabs of foamed plastic material are held in parallel spaced relation while the concrete is poured into the space between the slabs. With such walls, the plastic forms remain as insulation.  
           [0005]    This invention pertains to the latter type of system and provides a much quicker, simpler way of putting the forms together for the preparation of the form for the pouring of the concrete, and a wall more rigid and supportive than previous walls of its type. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a partial cross sectional view of a poured concrete wall using as a base the new system of forms,  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one rail of the form used to hold the foamed plastic form member,  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of a base or top rail,  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a tie used to hold the rails in proper relationship,  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of an alternate end fastening for the ties,  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the rail in an alternative form usable as a intermediate rail, and  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the rail in an alternate form, usable as a top and bottom rail. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]    Briefly, this invention comprises a system of forms for holding poured concrete to form a wall. The basic form is not new, but the invention provides a convenient and quick system of putting the forms together for use, and provides a rare rigid and supportive wall.  
         [0014]    In the construction of insulating forms for the pouring of concrete, it is current practice to use a series of sheets of foamed plastic material to provide the walls for the form. Each wall is formed of such panels held in spaced parallel arrangement by series of ties or spacers, generally being placed in slots at the edges of the sheets of plastic material. A system of this general type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,109, issued Aug. 23, 1988; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,310, issued Dec. 26, 1989.  
         [0015]    By this present invention, the applicant provides a simplified and improved system for building each wall and tying the walls together to shape the form for pouring the concrete. The use of panels  10  of foamed plastic material is common to both systems. However, in applicant&#39;s new system, plain edges not requiring tongue and grooves are used on the panel. These-panels are set into tracks  11  of roughly H-shape having outer flanges  12  and inner flanges  12 ° joined by a web  13 . The flanges are spaced apart to embrace the thickness of the panels  10  so that each panel fits smoothly into the track and is held in line thereby.  
         [0016]    At the top and bottom of each side wall, a capping track  15  may be used. This track is channel-shaped having a web  16  exactly like that of the main tracks  11 . The outer flanges  17  and inner flanges  17 ′, however, extend only one way from the web, thus forming a familiar channel shape. It is apparent how these strips will cover the top and bottom edges of the walls of the form. The tracks have an extended length which preferably extends the full width of the panel. However, they may be shortened to no less than one-half that width so long as the track crosses the abutting ends of adjacent panels.  
         [0017]    Variations in these tracks are shown. For example, in both the H-shaped track  11  and the capping track  15 , the flanges  12 ′ and  17 ′ are shown as somewhat narrower than the outer flanges  12  and  17 . The reason is principally based on the function of the outer flange. As the concrete is poured, there is considerable pressure pushing outwardly on the forms. Thus, the flanges  12  and  17  on the outside need to be somewhat more resistant than the inner flanges  12 ′ and  17 ′. Thus these inner flanges may be made somewhat less strong than the outer.  
         [0018]    Another variation is shown in FIG. 3 where the flanges  17  and  17 ′ are shown having a barbed holding strip  20  of generally triangular cross section running the length of the flange on the side of the flange adjacent the web. These strips  20  when in contact with the panels  10  tend to hold the panels in place so that slight bumps will not displace the panel and destroy the wall. This form greatly stiffens the wall, both by stiffening the flange on which it is formed and by holding the panel more rigidly when that panel is inserted between the flanges.  
         [0019]    In order to be useful, the walls formed by the panels  10  and the tracks  11  and  15  must be held in spaced parallel relationship This is accomplished by the use of ties  22  attached to the tracks by a simplified structure. The ties essentially hold the walls of the forms in a fixed parallel relationship both during the setting up of the forms and during the pouring of the concrete.  
         [0020]    To provide for the structure, each of the tracks  11  or the capping tracks  15  is provided with a continuous holding protrusion  25  running along the track  11  (or track  15 ). A cross-section of the protrusion is shaped as an arrow-head having a shank  26  attached to the track and an arrow point held by the shank. The arrow point has a pointed tip  27  running as an edge parallel to the track, and a pair of barb-shaped portions  28  forming the rear of the point-shape. Thus, the barbs  28  have a surface sloping outward and away from the surface to which the protrusion  25  is attached. This shape is desirable because a mating surface will tend to be held more securely against forces tending to pull the attaching devices apart because of the acute angle at which the surface intersects with the shank  26 .  
         [0021]    The tie  22  which holds the forms together is best shown in FIG. 4. These ties, when fastened, extend a relatively short distance along the tracks  25 . Each end of the tie  22  is formed with a mating (female in the illustrated device) slotted hollow  30  which fits over the arrow head protrusion  25  on the tracks  11  and  15 . The body  31  of the tie may be a simple bar of proper length to hold the walls of the form in proper relationship as indicated in FIG. 1. Notice that the mating hollow and barb have mirror image cross sections. This mirror image is required for resistance to withdrawal of one from the other.  
         [0022]    The alternative form shown in FIG. 5 is simply a changed cross sectional form of the protrusion, shown in this figure at  25 ′ and the mating hollow  30 ′. The changed form uses dual barbs  32  in order to provide a stronger grasp between the male and female formations, when it becomes necessary to hold the walls of the form against greater pressure from the poured concrete. This might happen with walls thicker or higher than usual. The dual barbed tie might also be strong enough so that fewer ties could be used than when the single barbed form is used.  
         [0023]    Still another variation in the cross-sectional shape of the tracks  11  and  15  is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. These figures show the preferred H-shape and U-shape having interior barbs  20 . However, the interior flanges  35  and  36  respectively corresponding to the originally described flanges  17 ′ and  12 ′ respectively are formed with an inner leaning edge portion  37  on the interior flange  35  of the H-shaped cross-section and a similar portion  38  on the flange  36  in the U-shaped cross-sectional track.  
         [0024]    The sloped edged portions  37  and  38  are useful in setting up the forms because the panels can be more easily inserted between the walls. Again the object is to ease the operation so that time and energy can be saved and so that the level of necessary skill can be reduced.  
         [0025]    It will be recognized that while the ties are shown and described as having the female formation and the protruding strips  25  are described as male formation, that these formations could be reversed without in any way changing the usefulness of the formation of the assembly. Applicant prefers the illustrated arrangement where the tracks  11  and  15  can be made of a relatively rigid plastic and the ties  22  a somewhat more flexible material such as a nylon type plastic so that the entrance to the hollows  30  is somewhat easier to expand. In this way, the ties are somewhat easier to install.  
         [0026]    In use, the first tracks—ordinarily base tracks  15 —would be placed in parallel spaced relation. Ties  22  along the length of the track would be fastened simply by pressing the male formed part into the hollow  30  of the female form and snapping it into place. By using a continuous strip on the tracks  15 , the ties can be placed at either regular or irregular intervals along the track as opposed to systems requiring openings in the panels. This flexibility is a real time-saving expedient when setting up the walls. The panels  10  are then placed in the channel form of the base track  15  and are topped by an H-shaped track  11 . Successive panels can then be built up till the form is as high as desired and then capped with a cap track  15 . In each layer, ties  22  should be fastened horizontally between the adjacent tracks to hold the walls in place. When the capping tracks have been placed and tied together, the concrete can be poured between the panel-walls and allowed to set, thus forming a poured concrete wall having insulating panels both inside and outside.  
         [0027]    By using the continuous tracks  11  and  15 , the joints between the styrofoam panels are considerable strengthened and are made much more rigid. Where walls of forms in former types of assembly are held by ties and therefore allow flexing between walls unless extra care is used in the placement of ties, applicant&#39;s wall is relatively rigid. Walls formed by use of the tracks  11  and  15  will withstand much greater wind than previously formed walls before pouring. This is of particular benefit where it is necessary to prepare a form in one day for use in receiving poured concrete the following day—a common occurrence in many jobs because of the time required for the pour.