Abstract:
The basement wall reinforcement system comprises carbon fiber materials securely mounted to the wall being reinforced as well as to structural components at both the top and bottom of the wall. These additional connections at the top and bottom of the wall increase the capacity of the carbon fiber to prevent bowing and cracking by transferring lateral forces from the wall to these structural components. Such structural components can include foundations, basement floors, sill plates, rim joists and floor joists. The carbon fiber can be connected to these structural components by pins, epoxies and specially designed brackets.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/006,408 filed on Jan. 13, 2011, which claims benefit to provisional application no. 61/294,622, which are both incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present carbon fiber wall reinforcement system is an improvement over existing carbon fiber devices used to support basement and foundation walls and prevent bowing and cracking. While it is known that carbon fiber strips can be mounted on a basement wall to provide lateral support, the attachments used at the top and bottom of each carbon fiber strip must also provide sufficient force resistance to prevent failure at these locations. A woven carbon fiber pin or similar pin can be connected to the floor and foundation to provide support at that location and a sill plate bracket can be used at the top of the wall to provide reinforcement by connecting the carbon fiber strip to the sill plate or similar structural feature of the building. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The basement walls of any building must support the weight of the entire building. Such walls are typically made from poured concrete or cinderblocks, which both have a very high resistance to the compression forces created by the weight of the building. However, these materials provide very little resistance to lateral forces created by soil and water pushing against the outside surface of the wall. With little or no support on the inside of the wall to counteract these forces, it must be capable of bearing these lateral loads itself. However, in many instances, these walls cannot withstand the magnitude of these lateral forces and can begin to bow and crack. 
         [0004]    Many techniques have been created to combat the effects of lateral forces on basement walls. Specifically, when a basement wall is constructed, rebar or metal beams are routinely inserted into the concrete as it is poured, or as the cinder block basement walls are built. This metal provides some resistance to lateral forces, but it is often insufficient to counter strong lateral forces by itself. Additionally, these types of solutions cannot be installed after a wall has been constructed, and therefore, cannot be used to reinforce a wall after it has already been compromised by lateral forces. 
         [0005]    Steel beams have been used to reinforce the interior sides of basement walls after they have begun to bow or crack. However, steel beams can be large and unsightly when installed along a basement wall. This can be unacceptable in finished basements, which are commonly found in modern homes and office buildings. 
         [0006]    In order to create a more aesthetically pleasing solution to this problem, carbon fiber has been applied to wall surfaces in thin strips, which can be painted, in order to resist lateral forces exerted against the outside of the wall. Carbon fiber is a very strong material, which has proven capable of supporting basement walls subjected to extreme lateral forces. However, when carbon fiber is placed only on the surface of a wall, stress points can be created at the top and the bottom of the wall, where there continues to be no reinforcement. One solution to this problem has been to attach a Kevlar strap from the carbon fiber strip to a floor joist located above where the strip has been installed. This strap can reduce some of stress created at the top of the wall where the carbon fiber strip ends, but still allows shifting to occur and does not address the fact that there remains no support at the bottom of the wall. 
         [0007]    What is needed is a system for reinforcing a basement wall, which can disperse the lateral forces throughout the entire wall as well as the building above it and the floor and foundation below it. These forces can be dispersed if there is a good connection between the carbon fiber strips and both the lower portion of the building located on the top of the basement wall and the basement floor and foundation at the bottom of the basement wall. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    It is an aspect of the present device to provide a system to reinforce a basement wall that disperses the lateral forces throughout the entire wall including the top, bottom or both the top and bottom of the wall. 
         [0009]    The above aspect can be obtained by a basement wall reinforcement system comprising: one or more carbon fiber strips having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is located at a bottom of a basement wall and the second end is located above a top of the basement wall at a lower portion of a building; a pin connected to the first end of the carbon fiber strip; a hole at the base of the basement wall capable of accepting the pin; and a sill plate bracket assembly capable of securely connecting the second end of the carbon fiber strip to the lower portion of a building. 
         [0010]    The above aspect can also be obtained by a basement wall reinforcement system comprising: one or more carbon fiber strips having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is located at a bottom of a basement wall and the second end is located above a top of the basement wall at a lower portion of a building; a pin connected to the first end of the carbon fiber strip; and a hole at the base of the basement wall capable of accepting the pin. 
         [0011]    The above aspect can also be obtained by a method for reinforcing a basement wall comprising: providing one or more carbon fiber strips having a first end and a second end, epoxy, one or more pins, each capable of being connected to the first end of the carbon fiber strip, one or more holes at the base of the basement wall capable of accepting the pin, and a sill plate bracket assembly capable of securely connecting the second end of the carbon fiber strip to a lower portion of a building; and installing such that one or more carbon fiber strips is connected to the basement wall with epoxy; each pin is connected both to the first end of a carbon fiber strip; each pin is also securely connected to a hole with epoxy; and the second end of the carbon fiber strip is securely connected to the lower portion of a building with a sill plate bracket assembly. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Further features and advantages of the present device, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present device, will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a cut-away view of a basement wall comprising no additional structural support; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a cut-away view of a basement wall equipped with a carbon fiber wall reinforcement system comprising reinforcements at both the top and bottom of the basement wall, according to an embodiment; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3A  is a front view of a carbon fiber strip connected to a pin, according to an embodiment; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3B  is a close-up view of the bottom section of a carbon fiber strip, connected to a pin, according to an embodiment; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a top perspective view of a sill plate bracket which can be used to attach a carbon fiber strip to a sill plate or similar structural feature, according to an embodiment; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a perspective side view of a sill plate bracket which can be used to attach a carbon fiber strip to a sill plate or similar structural feature, according to an embodiment; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a cut-away view of a basement wall, wherein a hole for installing a pin has been drilled into a corner where a basement floor abuts the basement wall, according to an embodiment; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of the top of the carbon fiber strip showing how it can be attached to a sill plate using a sill plate bracket and lag bolts, according to an embodiment; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a cut-away view of a pin inserted into a hole in a corner where a basement floor abuts a basement wall, wherein the pin has been securely mounted in the hole with an epoxy, according to an embodiment; and 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of basement wall supported by several carbon fiber wall reinforcement systems, wherein each can be securely connected at both the top and bottom of the basement wall, according to an embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,”, “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. 
         [0024]    Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is a cutaway view of a basement wall  100  comprising no additional support. 
         [0026]    A basement wall  100  is typically located between the foundation  101  and the sill plate  108  of a building. The exterior side  106  of the basement wall  100  is in contact with the external environment, including earth and water, which can exert significant lateral forces  104  inward against the basement wall  100 . Additionally, compression forces are exerted on the wall from the weight of the building being supported. An unsupported basement wall  100  will often buckle or crack  105  at its middle or at any point of weakness along the height of the wall. The wall  100  is typically weakest at its middle because that is where it receives the least amount of lateral support from either the basement floor  107  and foundation  101  at its bottom or the weight of the building through the sill plate  108  and floor joists  102  at its top. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is a cut-away view of a basement wall  100  equipped with a carbon fiber wall reinforcement system  206  comprising reinforcements at both the top  210  and bottom  211  of the basement wall  100 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0028]    The present carbon fiber wall reinforcement system  206  can comprise a carbon fiber strip  207  connected to the interior surface  217  of the basement wall  100 , which can act to support the wall  100  and help it resist buckling and cracking due to lateral forces  104  exerted against the exterior side  216  of the wall  100 . The use of carbon fiber strips  207  to reinforce basement walls is known. However, mounting one or more carbon fiber strips to the surface of a wall  100  can transfer additional lateral forces, to both the top  210  and bottom  211  of the wall  100 , which is not reinforced by the addition of the carbon fiber strip  207  alone. The result being failure of the wall  100  at either its top  210  or bottom  211 . 
         [0029]    The present carbon fiber wall reinforcement system  206  can solve this problem by providing additional support at both the top  210  and the bottom  211  of the basement wall  100 . The bottom  211  of the wall  100  can be reinforced by securely connecting the carbon fiber strip  207  to the foundation  101  or basement floor  107  through the use of a pin  212 , or similar device known to those of ordinary skill in the art of manufacturing building materials. The top  210  of the wall  100  can be reinforced by securely connecting the carbon fiber strip  207  to a lower portion of a building, which can include the sill plate  108 , floor joists  102 , rim joist (not pictured), or other similar structural feature using a specially designed sill plate bracket assembly  214 . 
         [0030]      FIG. 3A  is a front view of a carbon fiber strip  207  connected to a pin  212 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0031]    The carbon fiber strip  207  can be approximately 4 to 12 inches wide in a preferred embodiment and can be any length necessary to reach from the bottom of the basement wall (not pictured) to the sill plate (not pictured). The carbon fiber strip  207  can be cut to fit any wall height prior to being installed, but will typically be 8 to 10 feet in length. In a preferred embodiment, the carbon fiber fabric comprising both the carbon fiber strip  207  and the pin  212  can be woven and multi-directional, but unidirectional carbon fiber fabric can also be used. In a preferred embodiment, the carbon fiber strip  207 , the pin  212 , or both can be comprised of one piece of carbon fiber fabric. However, in an alternative embodiment, the carbon fiber strip  207 , the pin  212 , or both can be comprised of more that one piece of carbon fiber fabric. 
         [0032]    In a preferred embodiment, the pin  212  can be 1 to 3 inches in diameter where it connects to the strip  206  and taper down to a diameter of ¼ to 1½ inches at its tip end  316  and can be approximately 6 to 12 inches in length. Although these dimensions are preferred, other suitable dimensions can be used so long as they are sufficient to counteract the lateral forces being exerted on the wall being reinforced. 
         [0033]      FIG. 3B  is a close-up view of a bottom section of a carbon fiber strip  206 , connected to a pin  212 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0034]    The pin  212  can be an extension of the carbon fiber strip  207 , wherein the pin  212  is formed by twisting the bottom of the carbon fiber strip  207  thereby creating a taper and pointed tip end  316 , which can then be set and hardened with an epoxy. In an alternative embodiment, the pin is not hardened with an epoxy, but is placed into the hole dry and epoxy is then injected into the hole. In addition to providing a seamless connection to the carbon fiber strip  207 , the taper and pointed tip end  316  of the pin  212  can ease its insertion into a hole drilled at the bottom  211  of the basement wall where the carbon fiber strip  207  is being installed. In an additional alternative embodiment, the pin section  212  can be loose carbon fiber rather than be twisted, which can be hardened and solidified during the installation process. In other alternative embodiments, the pin section  212  can be comprised of one or more metals, polymers, fabrics, or any other suitable material known to those skilled in the art, which is sufficiently strong and can be connected to a carbon fiber strip  207 . This pin  212  can provide additional strength to the bottom of the carbon fiber wall reinforcement system  206  thus preventing a buildup of forces at the bottom  211  of the wall  100 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 4  is a top perspective view of a sill plate bracket  214  which can be used to attach a carbon fiber strip to a sill plate or similar structural feature, according to an embodiment. 
         [0036]    A sill plate bracket  214  can be used to attach a carbon fiber strip  207  to a sill plate of a building. Preferably, the sill plate bracket  214  can be made of stainless steel or any other suitably strong and corrosion resistant material known to a person skilled in the art of building materials, including metals and polymers. The sill plate bracket  214  can be elongated comprising two long sides  421  of approximately 6 inches in length and two short sides  422 , of approximately 2 inches in length. However, any length and width sufficient to hold the carbon fiber strip in place and attach it securely to the sill plate can also be used. The sill plate bracket  214  can also comprise one or more pilot holes  423 , wherein one can be located at each end of the sill plate bracket  214 . These holes  423  can be ⅜ inch in diameter in a preferred embodiment and can be used in conjunction with attachment mechanisms, such as bolts, lag bolts, screws, or nails. In an alternative embodiment, the pilot holes can be replaced by slots. The sill plate bracket  214  can also comprise two cutouts  424  which can provide the material for creating two spikes or prongs  425 , which can grip a carbon fiber strip, thus allowing the sill plate bracket  214  to firmly attach the carbon fiber strip to the sill plate or a similar suitable location. The two cutouts  425  can be rectangular or triangular in shape and can be one inch long in a preferred embodiment. The material from the cutout can remain attached at the center-most edge of the opening  426  and be disconnected from the spike or prong  425  along each of its other sides. The spikes or prongs  425  can also be connected to the sill plate bracket  214  separately and do not necessarily need to be formed from the sill plate bracket  214  itself. 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  is a perspective side view of a sill plate bracket  214  which can be used to attach a carbon fiber strip to a sill plate or similar structural feature, according to an embodiment. 
         [0038]    The two spikes or prongs  425 , which can be formed from material cutout from the sill plate bracket  214  can be folded along the attached edge  426  until they are roughly perpendicular to the top surface of sill plate bracket  527 . These spikes or prongs  425  can have a pointed end  528 , which can be pushed through the carbon fiber strip and into the sill plate. The sill plate bracket  214  can be used to hold the carbon fiber strip in place against the surface of the wall while it is secured through the use of an attachment mechanism. 
         [0039]      FIG. 6  is a cut-away view of a basement wall, wherein a hole  630  for installing a pin has been drilled into a corner where a basement floor  107  abuts the basement wall  100 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0040]    The method for installation of the carbon fiber wall reinforcement system can require a hole  630  to be drilled through the basement floor  107  and into the foundation  101  at a slight angle, such that the hole  630  extends into the foundation  101  and is located slightly below the wall  100 . In some instances, particularly when the basement wall  100  is comprised of poured concrete, the hole  630  can also pass through the basement wall  100 . 
         [0041]    The installation of the carbon fiber wall reinforcement system can begin with the preparation of the wall  100 . The wall  100  can be marked at the location where the strip is to be installed. The length of the carbon fiber strip can be determined by measuring the height of the wall  100  from floor to the top of the sill plate  213  and cutting the strip portion so that the flat section is equal to this height. The sill plate bracket can be placed in a location on the sill plate directly above the strip and the holes marked and drilled. In an alternative embodiment, the strip can also be connected to the sill plate  213  with epoxy. The top of the sill plate bracket can be level with the top of the sill plate  213 . Care must be taken to mount the bracket evenly, because an uneven bracket can cause splitting and can damage the sill plate  213 . The use of pre-drilled holes into the sill plate can ensure smooth mounting and installation. 
         [0042]      FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of the top of the carbon fiber strip  207  indicating how it can be attached to a sill plate  213  using a sill plate bracket  214  and lag bolts  740 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0043]    An end of the carbon fiber strip  207  can be attached to the sill plate  213  through the use of the sill plate bracket  214 . The sill plate bracket  214  can be attached to the carbon fiber strip  207 . The carbon fiber strip  207  can be prepared by applying epoxy to the inside of the strip  207 , folding the end back on itself, applying epoxy again, folding the new end back on its self and finally adding epoxy and attaching the sill plate bracket  214 . The end holding the sill plate bracket  214  is then folded back towards the carbon fiber strip  207  and the prongs  425  are pushed through the carbon fiber strip  207 . The prongs  425  of the sill plate bracket  214  can face towards the sill plate  213 . The sill plate bracket  214  and the carbon fiber strip  207  can be attached to the sill plate  213  through the use of two, 2 inch long lag bolts  740 , which can each pass through a washer  741 , the sill plate bracket  214 , and the carbon fiber strip  207  by inserting them into one or more pre-drilled holes  742  in the sill plate  213 . Epoxy can then be applied to all sides of the carbon fiber strip  207  to ensure a secure bond is formed with the sill plate bracket  214 , the sill plate  213  and the carbon fiber support  206 . 
         [0044]    The carbon fiber strip  207  can then be lifted off of the wall  100  and epoxy can be applied to the wall  100  where the carbon fiber wall reinforcement system will be installed. After the epoxy has been applied, the carbon fiber strip  207  can be lowered onto it and coated with more epoxy, saturating it on all sides. A small amount of space can be left at the bottom of the wall to maneuver the carbon fiber pin into the pre-drilled hole. After the pin has been installed in a hole, epoxy can be applied to the area located just above the hole. 
         [0045]      FIG. 8  is a cut-away view of a pin  212  inserted into a hole  630  in a corner where a basement floor  107  abuts a basement wall  100 , wherein the pin  212  has been securely mounted in the hole  630  with an epoxy  850 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0046]    In a preferred embodiment, the carbon fiber pin  212  can be inserted into the drilled hole  630  in the foundation  101 . The pin  212 , either pre-hardened or flexible, can be secured in the hole  630  through the use of an epoxy  850 . In either case the epoxy  850  can be placed in the hole  630  and the pin  212  can be inserted into the epoxy-filled hole  630 . If flexible, the carbon fiber can be pushed with force into the hole  630  to insure a snug fit is achieved. The epoxy  850  can be allowed to harden, thus securing the pin  212  in place in the foundation  101 . 
         [0047]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of basement wall  100  supported by several carbon fiber wall reinforcement systems  206 , wherein each can be securely connected at both the top  210  and bottom  211  of the basement wall  100 , according to an embodiment. 
         [0048]    The finished product can be painted to match the wall  100  so that it is barely visible. To support a compromised basement wall  100 , the carbon fiber wall reinforcement systems  206  can be installed approximately four feet apart as measured from center to center in a preferred embodiment. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, the carbon fiber wall reinforcement systems  206  can be mounted between mortar joints  960 . 
         [0049]    Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.