Abstract:
A method of manufacturing a concrete deck form panel includes the initial step of cutting an insert within the panel, which may be removed by sliding the insert longitudinally from the panel. A pair of structural members are attached to the longitudinal sides of the insert, and then the insert is returned to the original position within the panel. A series of panels are connected to form a floor for supporting concrete, thereby forming a concrete deck system. In a second embodiment of the invention each form panel is formed by attaching a pair of structural members to longitudinal sides of a central body and then attaching L-shaped members to the structural members. A top plate is mounted to the top of the L-shaped members and the central body to form the integrated form panel.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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     STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
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     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to form structures utilized for cast-in-place concrete roof and floor decks, and more particularly to self-supporting form structures which are interconnectable to provide a continuous insulated concrete deck system. 
     (2) Background Information 
     It is well known in the industry to utilize expanded plastic forms for the construction of poured concrete walls and the like. The expanded plastic forms may either be removed or left in place after the concrete has hardened to provide thermal and sound insulation properties. 
     A relatively recent adaptation of expanded plastic form structures is disclosed in PCT patent application No. PCT/EP 97/05671, owned by Plastedil S. A. This application discloses a self-supporting construction element made of expanded plastic material which is extruded with steel studs embedded therein. Each panel is molded with a steel stud embedded therein during the molding process. The panels may then be cut to a desired length and interconnected to form a floor upon which concrete may be poured. A lath for supporting at least one layer of a covering material is fastened to the reinforcing bar in the panel, the lath providing fire resistant properties to the panel. 
     While the Plastedil structure has provided a new system for forming cast and place concrete decks, it suffers several problems. 
     The equipment needed to mold the plastic panel with the steel reinforcing bar therein is expensive and complicated. Because of the expense and time involved in creating the panels, the cost of using the system can also be prohibitively expensive. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved cast and place concrete deck system. 
     Another object is to provide self-supporting expanded plastic panels for a concrete deck system which include reinforcing bars, but are simple and inexpensive to manufacture. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cast and place concrete deck system which utilizes standard off-the-shelf components and common machinery for the formation of the panel. 
     These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     The method of manufacturing a concrete deck form panel of the present invention includes the initial step of cutting an insert within the panel, which may be removed by sliding the insert longitudinally from the panel. A pair of structural members are attached to the longitudinal sides of the insert, and then the insert is returned to the original position within the panel. A series of panels are connected to form a floor for supporting concrete, thereby forming a concrete deck system. In a second embodiment of the invention each form panel is formed by attaching a pair of structural members to longitudinal sides of a central body and then attaching L-shaped members to the structural members. A top plate is mounted to the top of the L-shaped members and the central body to form the integrated form panel. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which similar, or corresponding parts are identified with the same reference numeral throughout the several views, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one form panel of the present invention, with an insert portion slid outwardly from the form panel with a C-shape structural member removed therefrom; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, with the insert and one structural member in position, and one structural member slid outwardly from the insert; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through a deck system with the form panels and concrete cast-in-place; 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the form panel of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view through a deck system with the form panels of the second embodiment of the invention and concrete cast-in-place. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 3, the cast-in-place concrete deck system of the present invention is designated generally at  10  and shows a plurality of form panels  12  interconnected to form a continuous floor or upon which concrete  14  is poured and permitted to harden to form a continuous, insulated concrete deck for roofs and floors. 
     Initially, a plurality of panels  12  are cut from a rectangular block of expanded polystyrene with a hot wire apparatus. Preferably, the main body  16  and associated insert  18  are cut simultaneously with a plurality of hot wires passing through the block of polystyrene. 
     Each panel  12  includes main body  16  having upper and lower faces  20  and  22 , opposing longitudinal sides  24  and  26  and opposing ends  28  and  30 , as shown in FIG.  1 . The hot wire apparatus cuts through the polystyrene block to form insert  18  separate and removable from main body  16 . When insert  18  is removed, it can be seen that the hot wire apparatus thereby form a channel, designated generally at  32 , in the lower face  22  of main body  16 . Channel  32  includes an upper wall  32   a  and a pair of opposing side walls  32   b  and  32   c.  Insert  18  includes an upper wall  18   a  and opposing side walls  18   b  and  18   c  which correspond with the channel upper and side walls  32   a, b,  and  c  respectively. The lower wall  18   d  of insert  18  is coplanar with the lower face  22  of the panel main body  16 . 
     In the preferred embodiment of the invention, insert  18  includes a slot  34  formed in the upper wall  18   a  and extending longitudinally from end to end. The upper wall  32   a  of channel  32  has a depending leg  36  (seen more clearly in FIG. 2) which extends from end to end of body  16 , and has a shape corresponding with the shape of slot  34 . Preferably, leg  36  has side walls  36   a  and  b  which slope outwardly to form a dove tail configuration in cross-sectional view. Similarly, the side walls  34   a  and  3   b  of slot  34  slope inwardly (as seen in FIG. 1) to permit slidable movement of insert  18  longitudinally along channel  32 , but prevent insert  18  from being withdrawn vertically downwardly off of leg  36 . 
     After insert  18  has been cut and removed from main body  16 , a pair of upper slots  38  and  40  and a pair of lower slots  42  and  44  are cut along the length of insert  18  parallel to side walls  18   b  and  18   c,  with upper and lower slots  38  and  42  diametric, and upper and lower slots  40  and  44  diametric. As shown in FIG. 1, each pair of upper and lower slots  38 ,  42  and  40 ,  44  are spaced from the associated side wall  18   b  and  18   c  a distance to receive the upper and lower lips of a C-shaped channel therein. 
     FIG. 1 shows structural member  46  exploded from insert  18 , prior to attachment to the insert, and structural member  48  engaged on side wall  18   b  of insert  18 . In the preferred form of the invention, structural members  46  and  48  are C-shaped channels having a web portion  46   a,  upper and lower flanges  46   b  and  46   c,  and upper and lower lips  46   d  and  46   e,  all extending the length of insert  18 . Slots  38 ,  40 ,  42 , and  44  are preferably cut with circular saw blades, the blade having a thickness substantially the same as the lips of the structural members  46  and  48 , so that the structural members  46  may be slid the length of insert  18  with the lips engaging the slots, and the structural members  46  and  48  engaging the side walls  18   c  and  18   b  respectively of insert  18 . 
     Once structural members  46  and  48  are engaged on insert  18 , the insert is positioned with slot  34  engaging leg  36 , and slid into position with the ends of the insert flush with the ends of main body  16 , as shown in FIG.  2 . Obviously, other configurations for leg  36  and channel  34  may be utilized which will permit the slidable engagement of insert  18  into main body  16 . 
     Referring once again to FIG. 3, it can be seen that each side wall  24  and  26  of panels  12  includes an elongated ledge  50  and  52  respectively. Each ledge  50  has a ridge  50   a  formed along the length thereof which will be received in and engage a valley  52   a  extending along the length of an adjacent ledge  52 . In this way, the space between adjacent side walls  24  and  26  of adjacent panels  12  are spaced apart to form a general “T-shape” in concrete  14 . Reinforcing steel  54  is preferably positioned in this portion of the concrete, for strength. 
     Once panels  12  are positioned with the adjacent ledges  50  and  52  in engagement, concrete  14  is poured over the top of the panels, to form a concrete deck. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, a second embodiment of the cast-in-place deck system of the present invention is designated generally at  210 , and includes a plurality of panels  212  having an identical cross-sectional configuration as panels  12  found in the first embodiment of the invention. The panels  212  are simply assembled with a different process than panels  12  of the first embodiment. 
     Each panel  212  is an assembly of four pieces: a central body  260 , a pair of L-shaped members  262  and  264 , and a top plate  266 . Structural members  246  and  248  may be identical to those used in the first embodiment of the invention, such as a C-shaped channel shown in the drawings. 
     The first step in the process of assembling panel  212  includes the step of cutting a pair of upper slots  268  and  270 , and a pair of lower slots  272  and  274  in the upper and lower faces  260   a  and  260   b  of central body  260 . One pair of upper and lower slots  268  and  272  are diametric, and parallel to side wall  260   c  of central body  260 , while upper and lower slots  270  and  274  are diametric and parallel in adjacent side wall  260   d  of central body  260 . The lips of C-shaped channels  246  and  248  will slide within slots  268 ,  270 ,  272 , and  274 , such that the channels will engage the side walls  260   c  and  260   d  when positioned on central body  260 . 
     In the preferred form of the embodiment, central body  260  is a standard size sheet of expanded polystyrene material, so that no cutting is necessary to produce the central body  260 . If necessary, a large sheet of material may be cut into the desired width of central body  260 , although the length and thickness of the central body  260  would be equal to that of the standard sheet. 
     Similarly, L-shaped members  262  and  264  have a thickness between upper and lower faces  262   a  and  262   b  and  264   a  and  264   b  respectively which is equal to the standard thickness of the polystyrene foam material. L member  262  includes a flat vertical inward face  262   c  and is cut to produce a ledge  276  projecting from the outward face  262   d,  to form the L-shape. Ledge  276  includes a ridge  278  extending the length thereof. 
     L member  264  also has a flat vertical inward face  264   c  and an outward face  264   d  with a ledge  280  projecting therefrom with a valley  282  formed along the length of ledge  280 . 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the ridge  278  of ledge  276  will engage the valley  282  of an adjacent ledge  280  to form a floor which will support concrete between a pair of panels  212 . Thus, once concrete  214  has been poured, a T-shaped leg will be formed between the side walls of each form panel  212 . 
     Referring again to FIG. 4, once structural members  246  and  248  have been attached to central body  260 , L members  262  and  264  are attached to the web portions of structural members  246  and  248  respectively. This is preferably accomplished by applying adhesive to the inward faces  262   c  and  264   c  of L members  262  and  264  and affixing them directly to structural members  246  and  248  respectively. 
     Once L members  262  and  264  are attached to central body  260 , top plate  266  is provided from a standard thickness of expanded polystyrene foam material, cut to a width to extend across the entirety of the upper face of central body  260  and the upper faces of L members  262  and  264 . Top plate  266  is mounted to central body  260  and L members  262  and  264  with the same type of adhesive used to attach the L members to the central body. 
     Whereas the invention has been shown and described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications, substitutions and additions may be made which are within the intended broad scope of the appended claims.