Abstract:
A series of modular reinforcing panels have a top wire mesh formed by two orthogonally interconnected series of parallel spaced reinforcing wire or rods that are welded together. The reinforcing wire or rods are supported at each welded intersection by a support leg embedded in a thick support portion of a base layer to form a rigid sandwich which is relatively light weight and easily carried and installed by a single worker. Wire ties from an edge reinforcing member of one modular reinforcing panel twist around an edge reinforcing member of an adjacent modular reinforcing panel form an interconnected reinforcing system for an entire poured concrete slab.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable. 
       THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0003]    Not Applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
       [0004]    The present invention relates to reinforced concrete construction, and particularly to a modular system of inter-connectable concrete slab reinforcing panels each comprising a wire mesh reinforcing panel which is supported by spacers that are connected to a vapor barrier material, or alternately to a perforated support panel. Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
         [0005]    To pour a concrete floor on a prepared surface, spacers or chairs are utilized for providing the vertical separation of the rebar grid or steel mesh from the surface on which the concrete is to be poured. The prepared surface may be a wood or plywood structure or form, or may be a compacted surface, the latter of which may be provided with a layer of compacted sand, with a plastic sheet covering thereon providing a moisture barrier. Spacers or chairs are positioned on the prepared surface for supporting the rebar grid or wire mesh in a plane generally parallel to the prepared surface. After the reinforcing bars or lattice work is prepared, the concrete is then poured over this grid or framework, which is ultimately embedded within the slab. 
         [0006]    In current practice, a “Pull Man” is necessary as a person or persons responsible to pull the reinforcement mesh to the middle of the slab, which actually gets pushed down again by foot movement of the “finishers” who screed and place the wet concrete, involving considerable labor costs and producing a very uneven application of the reinforcing bars. 
         [0007]    Prior art types of common concrete slab reinforcement systems utilize wire mesh in the form of a roll, a small flat, or a large flat sheet. 
         [0008]    Rolled mesh is hard to pull off from the roll, usually taking two laborers: one to roll out the mesh upside down and one to step along edge of roll to somewhat flatten out. This leaves what is called a roller coaster mesh which trips almost everyone. This also tends to create rises of mesh too close to the surface, which in turn makes trouble for the finishers&#39; joint trowels that hit the mesh. Each standard 7-foot roll is approximately 200 pounds or more requiring two men to transport. The most dangerous method is when the mesh is rolled out right side up and weighted or staked down on the end. People have been killed when the stake or weights let go and the wire flies up at great speed to regain its original rolled shape. If the wide has been cut and left 2″ to 6″ rods on the end, the potential of being stabbed is great. 
         [0009]    Small mesh (usually 7′×20′) requires two men to even carry and place, two men to load on truck one piece at a time (a large truck at that to put on a rack in flat style). 
         [0010]    Another method that supply houses use, is to place many mesh pieces together, fold in the middle, and forklift onto a rack, if you have one. Using this method on any standard bed truck gets hazardous and abuses the finish on the truck. Again, “pull men” are needed and the mesh is not where is it supposed to be when done and hidden by the finished surface. 
         [0011]    The prior art systems fail to maintain a consistent height of wire mesh throughout a poured concrete slab and provide extra stiffness to residential or commercial slabs used in cement walks, patios or driveways by using easily transported and easily installed sections. 
         [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 1,121,533, issued Dec. 15, 1914 to Obenaur, describes a cage-like metal reinforcement for concrete roads which is supported at a proper elevation by L-shaped support feet. 
         [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 1,581,505, issued Apr. 20, 1926 to Benedict, discloses wire reinforcement fabric for cementitious slabs. The device comprises strand elements and stay elements, which are tied or welded to the strand elements. Portions of the wire are bent to create support loops which hold the reinforcement fabric at a proper elevation. 
         [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,048, issued Oct. 27, 1987 to Millman, is for a bubble relief form for concrete comprising a rigid, light-weight, thermoplastic bubble insulation form for cast in situ concrete slabs, which includes hemispherical void spaces for reduction of concrete volume and thermal insulation characteristics. An upper hemispheric surface provides an integral seating arrangement for wire mesh reinforcement. An under-surface of the form includes spacer nodules for facilitating drainage. The bubble relief form is water impervious for controlling curing of the concrete and further is supplied in modular units adapted for trimming and overlapping spliced connections. The bubble relief form functions as a vapor barrier for preventing dissipation of moisture during curing of the concrete. 
         [0015]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,003, issued Sep. 19, 1967 to Frank, concerns a mesh reinforcement with spacers for a cementitious material, which comprises a plurality of crossed wires, rods or bars secured together to form a mesh mat. Portions of the heavy wire are bent to create support feet for the mat, so as to support the mat in a spaced relation to a foundation or concrete form during pouring of the concrete. 
         [0016]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,911, issued Apr. 20, 1976 to Fox, Jr., shows a method and apparatus for reinforcing concrete, and like materials, wherein modular units or sections of reinforcing mesh are provided which are connectable to provide a larger reinforcing mesh. A variety of forms of connections between adjacent mesh sections may be used. The individual mesh sections and the interconnected mesh sections are self supporting, so that no support elements for the mesh are necessary. The mesh sections are preferably made small and light enough to be carried and assembled by a single person. The mesh sections are preferably of forms capable of being stacked or baled compactly, for ease of transportation and storage. 
         [0017]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,787, issued Sep. 10, 1985 to Ritter, indicates a reinforcement mat for reinforced concrete that consists of longitudinal wires and crosswires which are welded together at their points of cross. End portions of the crosswires project out beyond the edge longitudinal wires and are bent back in the plane of the mat towards the edge longitudinal wires. The longitudinal wires are arranged symmetrically about the longitudinal centerline of the mat partly at wider and partly at narrower pitch. At each edge of the mat a family of at least two longitudinal wires are provided at the narrower pitch. 
         [0018]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,915, issued Oct. 28, 1975 to van Schyndel, puts forth a reinforcing mat structure for planar concrete construction units, such as slabs, which comprises a plurality of mats set in an overlapping arrangement. 
         [0019]    What is needed is a system of concrete slab reinforcement having a consistent height of wire mesh throughout a poured concrete slab and provide extra stiffness to residential or commercial slabs used in cement walks, patios or driveways by using easily transported and easily installed sections. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]    An object of the present invention is to provide modular reinforcement panels in a system of concrete slab reinforcement having a consistent height of wire mesh throughout a poured concrete slab and provide extra stiffness to residential or commercial slabs used in cement walks, patios or driveways by using relatively light weight modular reinforcing panels which can be easily transported and easily installed by a single worker. 
         [0021]    Another object of the present invention is to provide modular reinforcement panels in a system of concrete slab reinforcement, having a leg base that has 2 to 3 ring shank barbs to provide a lock into the plastic base that would be difficult to pull out, thus creating strength of the panel even in rough installation and handling. 
         [0022]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide modular reinforcement panels in a system of concrete slab reinforcement that have an extra 3 inches of plastic on one side of the face and end, the extra 3 inches of plastic being equipped with peel and stick seal tape, allowing the plastic on abutting panels to be stuck together, facilitating a vapor barrier between the concrete slabs and the earth. 
         [0023]    An additional object of the present invention is to provide modular reinforcement panels in a system of concrete slab reinforcement that have 3 inch holes inside the 4 inch squares of the grid, allowing the concrete to flow down to the ground, bridging and stiffening the concrete due to its panel design. 
         [0024]    An additional object of the present invention is to provide modular reinforcement panels in a system of concrete slab reinforcement having two sides of the wire mesh that end in wire ties, so that abutting panels can be easily fastened together, requiring only one loop of the wire tie around the mating panel per 4 inch square, leaving the wire ties pointing downward for safety. 
         [0025]    A further object of the present invention is to provide modular reinforcement panels in a system of concrete slab reinforcement, the plastic base of which can be cut every other cut bay and allowed to slip over and under one another, allowing the panels to conform to unevenness in the ground. 
         [0026]    One more object of the present invention is to provide modular reinforcement panels in a system of concrete slab reinforcement, which, following the cutting of the plastic bases to allow the panels to conform to unevenness in the ground can be caulked or sealed to provide a vapor barrier. 
         [0027]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide modular reinforcement panels in a system of concrete slab reinforcement, which, following the cutting of the plastic bases allows bending the panels in two right angle bends to conform to a rectangular footing. 
         [0028]    One more object of the present invention is to stack a number of modular reinforcing panels and bind them together with shrink-wrap having a label with a logo attached to the shrink wrap that has instructions on backside of logo. 
         [0029]    In brief, a series of modular reinforcing panels have a top wire mesh formed by two orthogonally interconnected series of parallel spaced reinforcing wire or rods welded together and supported at each intersection by a support leg embedded in a thick support portion of a base layer to form a rigid sandwich which is relatively light weight and easily carried and installed by a single worker. Wire ties from an edge reinforcing member of one modular reinforcing panel twist around an edge reinforcing member of an adjacent modular reinforcing panel form an interconnected reinforcing system for an entire poured concrete slab. 
         [0030]    An advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates the “Pull Man” (a person or persons responsible to pull the reinforcement mesh to the middle of the slab) which actually gets pushed down again by foot movement of the “finishers” who screed and place the wet concrete, thereby reducing labor costs. 
         [0031]    Another advantage of the present invention is that the reinforcing mesh stays put exactly where it is supposed to be throughout the slab, even where dips and depressions occur. 
         [0032]    One more advantage of the present invention is its ease of transport to a jobsite. 
         [0033]    Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides modular reinforcement panels in a system of concrete slab reinforcement that have a consistent height of wire mesh throughout a poured concrete slab. 
         [0034]    Still another advantage of the present invention is that it provide extra stiffness and stability to residential or commercial slabs used in cement walks, patios, or driveways. 
         [0035]    A further advantage of the present invention is that it can be easily transported and easily installed by a single worker. 
         [0036]    One more advantage of the present invention is that it creates strength in the panel even in rough installation and handling. 
         [0037]    A contributory advantage of the present invention is that it easily provides a vapor barrier between the slabs and the ground. 
         [0038]    Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it conforms to unevenness or slope in the ground. 
         [0039]    Still another advantage of the present invention is that it is stackable and shrink-wrap-able, allowing for easy labeling and transport. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0040]    These and other details of my invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in which drawings: 
           [0041]      FIG. 1  is a partial side elevational view of in intersection of two modular reinforcing panels showing a wire tie end on an edge reinforcing member of one modular reinforcing panel wrapped around an edge reinforcing member of an adjacent modular reinforcing panel; 
           [0042]      FIG. 2  is a partial side elevational view of a pair of modular reinforcing panels of the present invention showing a peel and stick edge extension of the base layer of one modular reinforcing panel aligned to be adhered to an edge extension of the base layer of an adjacent modular reinforcing panel; 
           [0043]      FIG. 3  is a partial side cross-sectional view taken through a poured concrete slab showing a portion of a modular reinforcing panel resting on the ground under the concrete slab; 
           [0044]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of an intersection point of the reinforcing members welded together in the wire mesh showing the support leg welded to the lower reinforcing member and the base of the support leg locked into the thick support structure of the base layer by the ring shank barbs at the base of the support leg; 
           [0045]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the support leg and base layer of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0046]      FIG. 6  is a partial cross-sectional view of a poured concrete slab formed on a curved slope with the base layer cut and overlapping in alternate sections of the base layer between alternate rows of support legs; 
           [0047]      FIG. 7A  is a partial perspective view in partial section of a poured concrete slab cut away to show the interconnected modular reinforcing panels with vapor barrier; 
           [0048]      FIG. 7B  is a partial perspective view in partial section of a poured concrete slab cut away to show the interconnected modular reinforcing panels with perforations in the base layer; 
           [0049]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a stack of one and a half inch thick modular reinforcing panels shrink wrapped together on a pallet for transportation and storage; 
           [0050]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a stack of three inch thick modular reinforcing panels shrink wrapped together on a pallet for transportation and storage; 
           [0051]      FIG. 10  is a cross sectional view showing a slab using the reinforcing panels laid flat and a connected footing using bent reinforcing panels following the cutting of the plastic bases to allow bending the panels in two right angle bends to conform to the rectangular footing. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0052]    In  FIGS. 1-10 , a modular concrete slab reinforcing panel system comprises a series of modular reinforcing panels  20  each having a bottom base layer  24  and a top reinforcing mesh layer  21  interconnected by a series of support legs  22  all interconnected to form relatively light weight modular reinforcing panels. 
         [0053]    The modular reinforcing panels are interconnected to form an entire reinforcing structure for a poured concrete slab. Each of the modular reinforcing panels comprises a reinforcing mesh  21  that has one series of spaced reinforcing members all in parallel alignment in a horizontal plane in one direction interconnected with at least one second series of spaced reinforcing members all in parallel alignment in the same horizontal plane in at least one other direction different from the first series, forming a grid. All of the spaced reinforcing members of the first series are interconnected with all of the spaced reinforcing members of the second series at interconnected intersection points spaced apart by at most four inches to form a grid pattern of reinforcing members to reinforce a poured concrete slab. 
         [0054]    A base layer  24  is positioned below the reinforcing members and spaced apart from the reinforcing members by half the thickness of the poured concrete slab. The base layer comprises a rectangular sheet of rigid waterproof material that is reinforced by a support structure  23  of greater thickness at spaced intervals in a pattern mating with the interconnected intersection points of the reinforcing members. A series of rows of support legs  22 , all of equal height, each attaches rigidly between one of the support structures  23  and an interconnected intersection point of the reinforcing mesh directly above the support structure, so that the series of support legs elevates the reinforcing mesh above the base layer in a horizontal plane midway between the top and the bottom of the poured concrete slab. This forms a rigid panel that may be lifted by a single person for positioning on the bottom of a recessed area in the ground for receiving a poured concrete slab reinforced by the rigid panel. 
         [0055]    In  FIGS. 4 and 5  each support leg  22  further comprises ring shank barbs  26  at the base of the support leg to provide a lock into the support structure  23  that would be difficult to pull out even in rough installation and handling. A hollow recess  11  in the top of each leg  22  receives a lower reinforcing member  21  secured by a weld  19  to the top of the leg at the intersection of the upper reinforcing member  21 . The reinforcing members are connected together by a weld  19 . 
         [0056]    In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a series of wire tie ends  25  extends from an end reinforcing member of the wire mesh  21  along each of two adjacent sides of each modular reinforcing panel. Each of the wire tie ends  25  encircles an end reinforcing member of the wire mesh  21  on an adjacent modular reinforcing panel to interconnect the two modular reinforcing panels, as shown in  FIG. 1 , forming an interconnected series of modular reinforcing panels covering an entire area. This creates a form for a poured concrete slab with concrete poured over the interconnected series of modular reinforcing panels to a depth of twice the height of the modular reinforcing panels. 
         [0057]    Each modular reinforcing panel is fabricated of a size and weight to enable carrying and placing the modular reinforcing panel by a single worker. 
         [0058]    In  FIGS. 1 and 7B , in one embodiment, the base layer  24 B has a series of spaced openings  27  therein to allow some of the poured concrete to come in contact with the ground surface underneath the modular reinforcing panel  20 . 
         [0059]    In  FIGS. 2 and 7A , in another embodiment, the base layer  24 A is a solid sheet of water proof material forming a vapor barrier over a section of ground covered by the modular reinforcing panel. 
         [0060]    In  FIG. 6 , the base layer  24  may be cut across a width of the modular reinforcing panel between alternating rows of support legs  22  and the cut edges  24 C and  24 D of the base layer overlapped so the modular reinforcing panel is bent to conform to a curved sloping surface. The overlapping edges of the base layer may be sealed together to form a vapor barrier. 
         [0061]    In a preferred embodiment, each modular reinforcing panel is four feet wide and eight feet long (32 square feet each). Each panel will weigh approximately 20 pounds or less for the perforated panel and 35 to 40 pounds for vapor barrier type. 
         [0062]    In  FIGS. 8   9 , the modular reinforcing panels  20 A,  20 B may be stacked  40 A,  40 B together and wrapped with shrink wrap to store and transport the modular reinforcing panels together. 
         [0063]    In  FIG. 8 , in one embodiment, the modular reinforcing panel  20 A is one and a half inches in height to be used in a four inch deep poured concrete slab. 
         [0064]    In  FIG. 9 , in another embodiment, the modular reinforcing panel  20 B is three inches in height to be used in a six inch deep poured concrete slab. 
         [0065]    In  FIGS. 2 and 7A , the base layer  24 A further comprises an edge extension  15  of one edge on two sides of a modular reinforcing panel to rest on the ground with the adhesive layer  14  up and the peel off sheet  16  lifted from the adhesive layer  14  so that an adjacent modular reinforcing panel edge can overlap and adhere to the edge extension to form a continuous vapor seal between the two adjacent modular reinforcing panels. The adhesive layer preferably allows for repositioning of the adjacent panel. 
         [0066]    In  FIG. 10 , a concrete slab  30 A uses the reinforcing panels  20  laid flat and a connected footing  30 B uses bent reinforcing panels  20  following the cutting of the plastic bases  20  at two bottom corners to allow bending the panels in two right angle bends to conform to the rectangular footing. 
         [0067]    In a preferred embodiment, the base layer is formed of recycled plastic formed into sheets of at least four mil thickness, preferably thicker for the solid vapor barrier base layer  24 A, in  FIG. 7A . 
         [0068]    In a preferred embodiment, each series of reinforcing members comprises a spaced parallel series of at least eight-gauge steel wires welded to the other series of reinforcing members at intersecting points of the two series of reinforcing members. The eight-gauge wire is strong enough to support worker foot traffic and many other materials that happen to lie upon the dropped panels. The wire may be galvanized for coastal job sites or bright for inland job sites. 
         [0069]    In use, almost any truck with or without a rack could carry up to 1000 square feet of modular reinforcing panels of the 1½″ thickness (totaling 32 panels) either standing on its side or lying flat stacked. The same truck bed will carry 512 square feet of 3″ panels (totaling 16 panels). 
         [0070]    In  FIGS. 8 and 9 , these packs of modular reinforcing panels can be shrink-wrapped and forklift loaded onto the bed of a standard long bed or short bed with the tailgate down. 
         [0071]    One laborer can unload, lay down, cut to size the modular reinforcing panels without tie wired needed since the modular reinforcing panels come to the consumer ready to drop, lock, and tie with a twist of the wrist with standard pliers or a tie tool. This product cuts with standard small bolt cutters and quality tin snips or better (to cut plastic), or use standard 7¼″ saw with diamond blade and 10″ saw for 3″ panels. Again, this eliminates all pull men whatsoever for great savings in labor. 
         [0072]    In  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the modular reinforcing panels come either in a perforated sheet base layer  24 B, in  FIG. 7B  with spaced perforations  27  to allow the concrete to contact the ground through the perforations (which perforated type actually bridges and stiffens concrete due to its panel design) or a solid vapor barrier sheet base layer  24 A, in  FIG. 7A , under the panel much thicker than 4 mil to protect the concrete slab from moisture in the ground that will sometimes leach up to the concrete surface during rains and sometime after and to resist puncture by foot traffic and debris in prepped slab. To interconnect the base layers  24 A to form a solid vapor barrier under the slab the peel off sheet  16  is peeled off of the adhesive layer  14  on the edge extension  15  of the base layer  24 A and the adjacent modular reinforcing panel edge placed over and adhered to the edge extension. 
         [0073]    A small layer of sand before the panels are put down will act as a buffer for small rocks and debris and assist in hardening times for the perforated design. (Speed up drying.) 
         [0074]    The vapor barrier design will dry at the same rate as existing time with the use of 4 mil rolled sheet plastic, due or moisture to escape from surface only. The chemical reaction below will still harden as normal. 
         [0075]    In  FIG. 6 , the concrete slab modular reinforcing panels are able to bend to follow slopes or ramps by simply cutting the base layer  24  under plastic in line or lines and overlapping the cut edges  24 C and  24 D as necessary to allow the modular reinforcing panel to bend to create the slope needed. 
         [0076]    It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.