Patent Publication Number: US-11041321-B2

Title: Method and system to secure shoring deck to a column

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present patent document is a continuation application that claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/158,990, filed Oct. 12, 2018, which claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/702,087, filed Jul. 23, 2018. All of the foregoing applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a method and a system to secure a shoring deck that is used to support a load, such as to support forms for poured concrete construction. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a method and a system using one or more beams in an asymmetric configuration to secure a shoring deck to a column, such as to provide lateral support for the shoring deck. 
     2. Background Information 
     A shoring deck or shoring tower may be used for bearing heavy loads during construction, such as when pouring concrete for concrete building construction. Therefore, the stability of the shoring deck is critical for safety and quality of the finished work. However, there lacks a convenient and effective method to secure the shoring deck that supports the shoring deck based upon expected vertical loads as well as expected lateral loads. Often, engineered shoring systems rely upon cross-bracing between adjacent vertical shoring posts, which, especially for shoring systems that hold shoring beams high above the floor, may be time consuming and expensive to erect, as well as may establish barriers within the construction zone which add complications to working in the environment below the erected shoring deck. 
     The present disclosure is directed toward addressing one or more drawbacks, including but not limited to those set forth above. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure is directed to a method for securing a shoring deck with a plurality of deck beams to a column. The method includes providing a first beam bracing against a column, wherein the first beam in some embodiments is disposed at a first longitudinal axis that is perpendicular to an axis of the column. The method includes coupling the first beam to a first deck beam of a plurality of deck beams of a shoring deck and a second deck beam of the plurality of deck beams of the shoring deck. The method also includes providing a second beam bracing against the column. The method includes coupling the second beam to a third deck beam of the plurality of deck beams of the shoring deck and a fourth deck beam of the plurality of deck beams of the shoring deck. The method further includes positioning the first and second beams with respect to the column such that respective first and second longitudinal axes through the respective first and second beams are aligned at an acute angle with respect to each other. 
     The present disclosure is also directed to a method for securing a shoring deck to a column. The method includes positioning a first beam in contact with a first side surface of a column and coupling the first beam to a first deck beam of a shoring deck and a second deck beam of the shoring deck. The method also includes positioning a second beam in contact with a second side surface of the column and coupling the second beam to a third deck beam of the shoring deck and a fourth deck beam of the shoring deck. The method further includes positioning the first and second beams with respect to the column such that respective first and second longitudinal axes through the respective first and second beams are aligned at an acute angle with respect to each other. 
     The present disclosure also describes a system with a first beam and a second beam for securing a shoring deck to a column. The first beam is provided to brace against the column and in some embodiments is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the column. The first beam is coupled to a first deck beam and a second deck beam of the shoring deck. The second beam is provided to brace against the column. The first and second beams are disposed with respect to the column such that respective first and second longitudinal axes through the respective first and second beams are aligned at an acute angle with respect to each other. 
     One advantage of the present disclosure is that lateral movement of the shoring deck is restricted and the stability of the shoring deck is greatly improved. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a shoring deck and a column. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of securing a shoring deck to a column. 
         FIG. 3  is a drawing of an embodiment of coupling a beam to a deck beam. 
         FIG. 4A  is a drawing of an embodiment of coupling a beam to a deck beam. 
         FIG. 4B  is a schematic diagram of the coupling device shown in  FIG. 4A . 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of securing a shoring deck to a column. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of securing a shoring deck to a column. 
         FIG. 7A  is a drawing of a top perspective view of an embodiment of securing a shoring deck to a column. 
         FIG. 7B  is a drawing of a bottom perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 7A . 
         FIG. 8A  is a schematic top view of an embodiment of securing a shoring deck. 
         FIG. 8B  is another perspective view of the shoring deck of  FIG. 8A . 
         FIG. 9  is a flow diagram of a method for securing a shoring deck to a column. 
         FIG. 10  is a flow diagram of another method for securing a shoring deck to a column. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will now be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanied drawings, which form a part of the present invention, and which show, by way of illustration, specific examples of embodiments. Please note that the invention may, however, be embodied in a variety of different forms and, therefore, the covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any of the embodiments to be set forth below. Please also note that the invention may be embodied as methods, devices, components, or systems. Accordingly, embodiments of the invention may, for example, take the form of hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. 
     Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings suggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning. Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in some embodiments” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in another embodiment” or “in other embodiments” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matter includes combinations of exemplary embodiments in whole or in part. 
     In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, terms, such as “and”, “or”, or “and/or,” as used herein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least in part upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” or “at least one” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a”, “an”, or “the”, again, may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term “based on” or “determined by” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, depending at least in part on context. 
     Poured concrete construction techniques require a shoring deck be established to support the concrete, rebar, and other materials during the concrete pouring and during the time the poured concrete cures before the pored concrete is strong enough to support itself. A shoring deck normally includes a plurality of horizontal beams (or at other orientations when the desired final surface isn&#39;t horizontal) that is supported by a network of shoring posts that carry the horizontal beams. When a shoring deck is constructed, such as for poured concrete building construction, the shoring deck may be established a large distance above an existing floor (such as either the ground or a poured concreate surface that was previously constructed). For example, the shoring deck may be 9 feet above the floor level, or much higher such as 15, 20, 23, 25 feet above the established floor level or other heights as called for by building plans. The shoring deck is constructed to support a heavy load. The heavy load may include the weight of the pored concrete surface (including concrete, rebar and other engineered materials/structures), the forms for supporting the concrete during the curing process, construction equipment, workers, elements such as wind, rain, snow, etc. The shoring deck must not only be engineered to support the potential loads that it will encounter during poring and curing of the concrete construction, but it must also be capable of supporting the maximum potential lateral loads with at least a minimum factor of safety required by building codes and proper construction practices. The present disclosure describes a method and system to secure the shoring deck to support potential lateral loads. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the present disclosure describes a method and a system  100  to secure a shoring deck  110  to a vertical column  140  in order to allow the column to support the shoring deck against lateral loads. The column  140  may be a steel column, or a concreate column, or a column made of other construction materials. The column  140  may have a same height as the shoring deck  110 . In other embodiment, the column  140  may be higher than the shoring deck  110 . The shoring deck  110  is supported by a number of shoring posts  120  above a floor  144 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a shoring deck  110  may include a number of deck beams. The deck beams may be arranged in a pattern and include primary deck beams  210  and/or secondary deck beams  220 . The primary deck beams  210  are coupled to the secondary deck beams  220 . In some embodiments, the primary deck beams  210  may be perpendicular to the secondary deck beams  220 . In some embodiments, the primary and secondary deck beams are disposed at the same height, such that the collective top surfaces extend along the same plane, while in other embodiments, the secondary deck beams rest above the primary deck beams or vice versa. 
     A column  140  may be surrounded by multiple deck beams such as four deck beams in grid. In an exemplary embodiment depicted in  FIG. 2 , the column  140  may be surrounded by two primary deck beams  212  and  214  and two secondary deck beams  222  and  224 . A first beam  230  is provided to brace against a first side surface  142  of the column  140 , which in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  is a planar wall surface, but in other embodiments could be an edge of the column, or an arcuate surface of a column (such as when a column is cylindrical or elliptical or curved in other shapes) or in multiple separated points or surfaces of a column, so that the first beam provides lateral support and motion restriction to the shoring deck relative to the column  140 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the first beam  230  may stabilize and secure the shoring deck by restricting lateral movement along a long axis  220   a  of the secondary deck beams  220  (depicted in  FIG. 2  as parallel to deck beam  220  for clarity, but the long axis  220   a  actually extends through the deck beam  220 ). The first beam  230  may be coupled to one secondary deck beam  222  with a coupling device  232 , and the first beam may also be coupled to another secondary deck beam  224  via a coupling device  234 . 
     As  FIG. 2  shows, a second beam  250  may be provided to brace against a second side surface  144  of the column  140   m  such as an edge of the column  140  (which may form a corner of the column), so that the second beam  250  provides lateral support and motion restriction to the shoring deck relative to the column  140 . Depending upon the cross-section of the column  140 , the second beam  250  may contact a curved surface, multiple edges, or the other geometrical features of the column  140 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the second beam  250  may stabilize and secure the shoring deck by restricting lateral movement along a long axis  220   a  of the secondary deck beam  220 , in the opposite direction along long axis  220   a  than the first beam  230  supports and restricting lateral movement along a long axis  210   a  of the primary deck beam  210  (depicted in  FIG. 2  as parallel to deck beam  210  for clarity, but the long axis  210   a  actually extends through the deck beam  210 ). The second beam  250  may be coupled to one secondary deck beam  222  with a coupling device  252 , and the second beam  250  may also be coupled to one primary deck beam  214  with a coupling device  252 . 
     The second beam  250  may be positioned with respect to the first beam  230 , such that the longitudinal axes ( 230   a ,  250   a ) of the first and second beams  230 ,  250  are disposed at an angle  260  with respect to each other. The angle  260  may be an angle between 10 and 80 degrees (inclusive of the bounds of the range), or between 15 to 75 degrees (inclusive of the bounds of the range), or between 30 and 60 degrees (inclusive of the bounds of the range), or in some embodiments, at an angle of about 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75 or 80 degrees. The term “about” is specifically defined herein (when referencing an angle) to mean the value listed plus or minus 2 degrees of the value. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the acute angle  260  is about 45 degrees. 
     In some embodiments, as depicted in  FIG. 2 , the secondary beams  220  support the primary deck beams  210 ,  212 ,  214  such that the primary deck beams rest upon the secondary beams. In other embodiments, the secondary beams may rest upon the top surfaces of the primary deck beams. In still other embodiments, as depicted in  FIG. 7B  primary and second beams (shown as  712 ,  714 ,  722 ) may be disposed at the same level. In embodiments with stacked primary and secondary beams, the second  250  may be fixed to one primary and one secondary beam (e.g. connections  252 ,  254  of  FIG. 2 ), which in some embodiments are disposed at differing heights when stacked. In these embodiments a longitudinal axis  250   a  though the secondary beam may be at an acute angle with respect to floor (i.e. the surface that shoring posts that support the primary and secondary beams rest upon) and may also be at an oblique angle with respect to the longitudinal axis through the column  140  (i.e. an axis going through the drawing sheet that includes  FIG. 2 ). In embodiments where the primary and secondary beams are at the same level, the longitudinal axis  250   a  through the second beam  250  may be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the column  140 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the first beam  230  is connected to two parallel secondary beams at the same height (points  232 ,  234 ) and therefore the longitudinal axis  230   a  is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the column  140 . Of course, the beams  230 ,  250  may be aligned at different angles with respect to the column based upon the alignment and position of the beams that support the concrete forms based upon the desired geometry of the concrete to be poured. 
     The first beam  230  may be a metal beam, a wood beam, or a beam made of other materials. For example, the first beam may be a bar, an angle, a rectangular cross-section, or another shape or shapes along its length. The beam may be steel, aluminum, wood, or another material. In some embodiments, the first beam  230  may be an elongate member with two surfaces that are disposed at a substantially perpendicular angle with respect to each other, such as a convention angle iron. In some embodiments the beam may be a wood 2×4. The first beam  230  may include a plurality of pre-punched holes therealong to allow for fasteners to extend therethrough to couple to deck beams via coupling devices. The coupling device  232  and the coupling device  234  may be a same type of coupling devices or different types of coupling device. 
     The second beam  250  may like the first beam  230  or may be a different structure (including the various structures that could be used as the first beam as described above). The coupling device  232  and the coupling device  234  may be a same type of coupling devices or different types of coupling device. The coupling devices associated with the second beam and the first beam may be the same type or different type of coupling devices. For example, the coupling devices may be T bolts as are known in the art. In other embodiments, a wedge clamp (discussed below) may be used, or other coupling structures or fasteners. 
     In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 3 , a coupling device  330  may be a bolt. The coupling device  330  couples a beam  320  to a deck beam  310  of a shoring deck. The bolt may be any type of bolts capable of coupling one beam to another beam, for example but not limited to, a butterfly bolt. 
     In another embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 4A , a coupling device  430  may be a clamp. The coupling device  430  couples a beam  420  to a deck beam  410  of a shoring deck. The clamp may be any type of clamps capable of coupling one beam to another beam, for example but not limited to, a wedge clamp as in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . The wedge clamp includes a first arm  433  and a second arm  435 . The first arm  433  and the second arm  435  are opposite to each other and are connected by a central member  437 . Each of the first and second arms  433 ,  435  include fingers  433   b ,  435   b  that extend inwardly and are disposed upon the opposite end of the arm that meets or is connected to the central member  437 . The extending fingers  433   b ,  435   b  of the first and second arms rest upon a surface of the deck beam  410 . The first arm  433  has a first slot  433   a , and the second arm  435  has a second slot  435   a . The wedge clamp also includes a wedge  438 . The wedge  438  may have a triangle shape as shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , and my include a top edge  438   a  and a bottom edge  438   b . The wedge  438  decreases a space between the top edge  438   a  of the wedge  438  and the fingers  433   b ,  435   b , as the wedge  438  extends further through the first and second slots  433   a ,  435   a , so as to mechanically couple one beam to another beam. 
     In another embodiment, as  FIG. 5  shows, a third beam  570  may be provided to brace against another corner of the column  140 . The third beam  570  may be coupled to the primary deck beam  214  with a coupling device  572 , and the third beam  570  may be coupled to the secondary deck beam  224  with another coupling device  574 . 
       FIG. 6  shows another embodiment wherein a first beam  630  and a second beam  250  are in a different configuration in comparison with a system in  FIG. 2 , a first beam  630  may be provided to brace against a second corner  146  of a column  140 . The first beam  630  may be coupled to the secondary deck beam  222  with a coupling device  632 , and the third beam  630  may be coupled to the secondary deck beam  224  with another coupling device  574 . In another embodiment, an additional beam may be provided to brace against a third corner of the column  140 . 
     Another embodiment is shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B . A shoring deck  700  is secured to a column  740 . A first beam  730  is provided to brace against a side surface of the column  740 , and a second beam  750  is provided to brace against a corner of the column  740 . The first beam  730  is coupled to a deck beam  722  and a deck beam  724 . The second beam  750  is coupled to the deck beam  722  and a deck beam  714 . The column  740  is surrounded by deck beams  712 ,  714 ,  722 , and  724 . 
     As  FIGS. 8A and 8B  show, the present disclosure also describes a system  800  to secure a shoring deck with a beam  830 . The beam  830  is provided to be at an acute angle between the beam  830  and deck beams  810  and  820 , wherein the deck beams  810  are perpendicular to the deck beams  820 . The beam  830  is coupled to one of the deck beams  820  with a first coupling device  832 ; and the beam  830  is coupled to one of the deck beams  810  with a second coupling device  834 . For example as  FIG. 8B  shows, the first coupling device  832  and the second coupling device  834  may be wedge clamps such as those discussed above. 
     The present disclosure describes a system with a first beam and a second beam for securing a shoring deck to a column. The first beam is provided to brace against the column and be perpendicular to a long axis of the column. The first beam is coupled to a first deck beam and a second deck beam of the shoring deck. The second beam is provided to brace against the column and be perpendicular to the long axis of the column. The second beam is coupled to a third deck beam and a fourth deck beam of the shoring deck. The first beam and the second beam form an acute angle. One advantage of the present disclosure is that lateral movement of the shoring deck is restricted and the stability of the shoring deck is greatly improved. 
     The present disclosure also describes a method. The method includes using a system for securing a shoring deck. The system may be any of the embodiments as described above. 
     In one embodiment, a method for securing a shoring deck to a column is shown in  FIG. 9 . The method includes step  910 : providing a first beam bracing against a column, wherein the first beam is disposed at a first longitudinal axis that is perpendicular to a long axis of the column; step  920 : coupling the first beam to a first deck beam of a plurality of deck beams of a shoring deck and a second deck beam of the plurality of deck beams of the shoring deck; step  930 : providing a second beam bracing against the column; and step  940 : coupling the second beam to a third deck beam of the plurality of deck beams of the shoring deck and a fourth deck beam of the plurality of deck beams of the shoring deck; and step  950 : positioning the first and second beams with respect to the column such that respective first and second longitudinal axes through the respective first and second beams are aligned at an acute angle with respect to each other. 
     In another embodiment, a method for securing a shoring deck to a column is shown in  FIG. 10 . The method includes step  1110 : positioning a first beam in contact with a first side surface of a column; step  1120 : coupling the first beam to a first deck beam of a shoring deck and a second deck beam of the shoring deck; step  1130 : positioning a second beam in contact with a second side surface of the column; step  1140 : coupling the second beam to a third deck beam of the shoring deck and a fourth deck beam of the shoring deck; and step  1150 : positioning the first and second beams with respect to the column such that respective first and second longitudinal axes through the respective first and second beams are aligned at an acute angle with respect to each other. 
     While the particular invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not meant to be limiting. Various modifications of the illustrative embodiments and additional embodiments of the invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this description. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that these and various other modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiments, illustrated and described herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications and alternate embodiments. Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.