Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to a metal weldable piece that is embedded into a precast concrete member which is used as a building component, the method of manufacturing the precast member so that the weldable piece is properly positioned in the member and the method of connecting the precast concrete slab to an adjacent member and the method of manufacturing the metal weldable piece. The weldable piece is used to join adjacent concrete structures or members by welding together the weldable piece embedded in each of the concrete structures. 
         [0002]    More specifically, the invention is directed to:
       (1) Connecting precast concrete floor or roof members (i.e. beams, slabs, joists or “T” sections) to their supporting members (i.e. beams, columns or walls) and connecting wall panels to the supporting cast in place concrete footings.   (2) Automatic stamping the metal plate and bending the plate to a shape which will optimize its capacity to support the required vertical and horizontal shear forces as well as the pull out tensile forces.   (3) The manufacturing process of automatic stamping of the weldment while minimizing or eliminating waste material to provide the most economical manufacturing of the product.   (4) A central horizontal flat plate to provide an easier orientation for field welding.       
 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Precast concrete members are widely used throughout the building industry in large concrete structures such as parking garages, office buildings, stadiums, and warehouses. The precast members are manufactured in a facility and then shipped to the job site and erected to form the desired structure. In general, precast concrete members include floor slab (double tee and others), beam (girder), column, wall panel, etc. 
         [0008]    In general, the precast concrete slabs are supported by concrete beams and the precast concrete beams are supported by precast concrete columns or wall panels and those vertical members are supported by the cast in place concrete foundations. All these members may have to be connected together to avoid possible relative movement to one another due to applied loads such as live loads, dead loads, wind load and etc. Connectors are commonly used which are cast into the precast concrete members and field welded together to provide the stability of the structure, 
         [0009]    The connectors are subjected to a variety of forces acting on the welded connection formed between opposing connectors. Lateral wind and earthquake loads applied to the building structure may impart horizontal shear forces in the plane of the floor as well as tension forces that have a tendency to pull adjacent structural members apart. Horizontal shear forces may also result from a volume change in the precast members, particularly due to temperature change, as well as shrinkage and creep effects. Vertical shear forces may be imparted on the welded connection in response to loads acting on the load bearing surfaces of the concrete members, temperature variations and other factors as well. 
         [0010]    In order to prevent or minimize the relative movement and to increase the strength of the final structure, metal inserts, often called “weldments” are placed at the edges of supporting members and the ends of the members which is being supported. When the members are positioned for final assembly, the metal weldment of one member is aligned with and opposite to a complementary metal weldment in the supporting member (see  FIGS. 7 and 8 ). The complementary metal weldments are welded to each other to join the two weldments. This results in a unitary structure that is much stronger and less prone to movement than&#39;if no means of joining the members were used. While designing the connection and the weldment, the following aspects are considered:
       (A) horizontal shear capacity;   (B) tensile capacity;   (C) vertical shear force;   (D) ease of placement or fastening of weldment during production;   (E) ease of placement of the loose welding steel and ease of welding; and   (F) overall material and labor cost.       
 
         [0017]    In the past, the precast member connector has been comprised of one flat steel plate for a field welding surface with multitude rebar welded to the bottom of the plate to resist the horizontal tensile forces along with vertical reinforcing bars or studs welded to the plate for resisting vertical forces. By preparing multiple types of material and welding them together, the material cost as well as the labor cost is very high and adds substantial cost to construction. More importantly, the effect of quality due to human error is very worrisome. 
         [0018]    Accordingly, there is a need for a connector which is totally machine made by using a new stamping technique to guarantee the quality and reduce its cost and forms a reliable connection between precast concrete members in the presences of variety of loads. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    Applicant&#39;s invention provides a weldment that comprises a top plate and side plate integrally formed and at 90° to each other. There are a pair of legs, identifies as a top leg and bottom leg. The top leg is integrally formed with the top plate and the bottom leg is integrally formed with the side plate. The top plate and side plates have a generally planar face suitable for welding. The side plate is flat and perpendicular with respect to the end of the concrete member which provides an easily accessible weldable surface. The top leg is at approximately 30° with respect to the welding surface of the top plate with a 90° bend at the end of the leg and saw tooth at their edges that provide pull out tensile capacity of the weldment. The bottom leg is at approximately 60° with respect to the side plate with a 90° bend at the tip of the bottom leg and saw tooth at their edges that provide vertical shear capacity of the weldment. In addition, the side plate includes a threaded aperture that extends centrally through the side plate that is adapted to receive a threaded screw for securing the connector to a conventional form used to cast the precast concrete members. The weldment is cast in the precast concrete building member. 
         [0020]    The method of manufacturing the weldment uses a steel blank from which two different types of weldments are formed with each of the weldments functioning in the same manner when embedded in the precast structural member. This method of manufacturing provides for minimal or no waste of material in the manufacturing process. The result is that manufacturing costs are greatly reduced and the efficiency has been increased. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the weldment. 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the weldment. 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a front elevation view of the first embodiment of the weldment. 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is a front elevation view of the second embodiment of the weldment. 
           [0025]      FIG. 5  is a right side elevation view of the first and second embodiments of the weldment. 
           [0026]      FIG. 6  is top plan view of the first embodiment of the weldment. 
           [0027]      FIG. 7  is top plan view of the second embodiment of the weldment. 
           [0028]      FIG. 8  is a cross section view with portions removed of a floor or roof member connected to a supporting beam illustrating the position of the weldments in each member with respect to each other. 
           [0029]      FIG. 9  is a cross section view with portions removed of precast member connected to a supporting column or wall illustrating the position of the weldments in each member with respect to each other. 
           [0030]      FIG. 10  is a cross section view with portions removed of another embodiment of a precast member connected to a supporting column or wan illustrating the position of the weldments in each member with respect to each other. 
           [0031]      FIG. 11  is a cross section view with portions removed of a vertical wall panel connected to a cast in place footing illustrating the position of the weldment to the footing plate. 
           [0032]      FIG. 12  is a cross section view of the mold used for forming, the concrete members with the weldment and slab reinforcement placed in the mold. 
           [0033]      FIG. 13  illustrates the stamping process for manufacturing the metal weldment. 
           [0034]      FIG. 14  is a top plan view of the weldment illustrated in  FIG. 1  formed from the stamping process. 
           [0035]      FIG. 15  is a top plan view of the weldment illustrated in  FIG. 2  formed from the stamping process. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0036]    Referring to  FIG. 1  a first embodiment of a weldment or connector  20  is illustrated.  FIG. 2  illustrates a second embodiment of a weldment  22  that functions substantially identically to the first embodiment. For simplicity where applicable, the same reference numbers will be used for common components of the weldments  20 ,  22 . The weldments  20 ,  22  are manufactured form a one-piece steel plate member made of metal, such as stainless steel or carbon steel. The weldment  20 ,  22  includes a top plate  24  and a side plate  26  having a generally planar surface suitable for welding. The weldment  22  has a pair of legs being a top leg  28  and a bottom leg  30 . The weldment  22  has two top legs  32  and two bottom legs  34 . The top legs  28 ,  32  are bent down at an angle “A” approximately 30° from the horizontal surface of top plate  24  and the bottom legs  30 ,  34  are bent upward approximately 60° at an angle “B” from the vertical surface of side plate  26  (See  FIG. 5 ). The legs  28 ,  30   32  and  34  all terminate in bent tips  36  that are at an angle of approximately 90° from the surface of their respective legs. The sides of the legs  28 ,  30 ,  32  and  34  are provided with a saw tooth surface  38  that is approximately one-quarter inch deep at middle of all of the legs. The bent tips  36  and saw tooth surface  38  increase the tensile capacity of the weldments  20 ,  22  and the holding force (the force necessary to pull the weldment out from the concrete member) of the weldments  20 ,  22 . 
         [0037]    The method of manufacturing the weldments  20 ,  22  is illustrated in  FIGS. 13-15 . Referring to  FIG. 13 , a five-inch wide steel plate  40  is machine cut or stamped to the shapes as shown. This creates two blanks  42 ,  44  as seen in  FIGS. 14 and 15 . Holes  45  are punched or drilled as shown. The blank  42  is bent along fold lines  44 ,  46 ,  48  and  50  to the shape as shown&#39;in  FIG. 1 . The blank  44  is folded along fold lines  54 ,  56 ,  58  and  60  to the shape as shown in  FIG. 2 . The method of stamping the two different blanks  42 ,  44 , which as can be seen are complementary to each other, is to minimize, and in this case to almost eliminate the material waste and to provide manufacturing efficiency. The only waste in this case is the removal of the holes  45 . These two weldments  20  and  22  are designed such that they have the exact same strength and load bearing capacity. 
         [0038]    As seen in  FIG. 12 , the weldment  20 ,  22  has in the side plate  26  has a hole  45 , that is preferably threaded. The weldment  20 ,  22  is placed in the form used to manufacture the precast concrete member. The weldment  22 ,  24  is positioned with the side plate  26  against a side form  62  in the mold and pins or screws  64  are passed through the side form  62  and into the holes  45 . This keeps the weldment  20 ,  22  in proper place in the mold while the concrete is poured into the mold. Wire strand or reinforcing bars  66  may be placed through the weldment  22 ,  24  for added strength to the finished concrete member. 
         [0039]    Several examples of connecting the precast concrete members are illustrated in  FIGS. 8-11 . In  FIG. 8  one weldment  20  or  22  is embedded in a precast t member  68 . The side plate  26  has an exposed outside surface extending out from the edge of the precast t member  68 . There is a beam  70  adjacent to the precast t member  68 . At the top of the beam  70  is a weldment  20  or  22  that has the top plate  24  extending out from the top of the beam  70  such that the top surface of the top plate  24  is exposed and free of concrete. A loose weld plate  72  is welded to the side plate  26  of the weldment in the t member  68  and to the top plate  24  of the weldment in the beam  70 . A backup rod  74  is inserted between the t member  68  and the beam  70  with the spacing filled in the conventional manner with calking joint  76 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 9  illustrates another embodiment in which a weldment  20  or  22  is embedded in the precast t member  68  as previously described. In this case there is column or shear wall  78  adjacent to the t member  68 . There is an embedded plate  80  in the column  78 . The weld plate  72  is welded to the top plate  24  of the t member  68  and is also welded to the front surface of the embedded plate  80 . The backup rod  74  is inserted and the calking joint  76  completes the installation. 
         [0041]      FIG. 10  illustrates a weldment  20  or  22  that is embedded or cast in the flange at the top of a doublet member  82 . Double tee members are load bearing slabs with two depending concrete joists for flexural capacity. The double tee member  82  is formed with a reinforcing mesh positioned generally in the center of the slabs that extend generally parallel to the load bearing surface of the slab. The weld plate  72  is welded to the top plate  24 . The backup rod  74  is inserted between the double t member  82  and a spandrel or wall  84  to which the double t member  82  is to be fastened. The weld plate  72  is then welded to the embedded plate  80  in the spandrel or wall  84  and the calking joint  76  is applied. 
         [0042]      FIG. 11  illustrates another embodiment in which the weldment  20  or  22  is embedded in a precast wall panel  86 . The wall panel  86  is supported on a shim stack  88 . There is a footing plate  90  that is embedded in a floor or footing  92 . The weldment  20  or  22  has its side plate  26  welded to the footing plate  90 . The footing plate  90  can be made from a flat sheet of metal embedded in the floor or footing  92  with a vertical plate welded thereto or it can be a singular t-shaped member. 
         [0043]    The weldments  20  and  22  provide connections in accordance with the principles of the present invention as are shown for joining, adjacent precast concrete beams, slabs and supporting column. As shown in  FIGS. 8-11  the weldments are embedded or cast in the slab, beam end or wall panel so that the embedded plate or weldment of adjoining column members is placed in opposing relationship for welding of the weldments or embedded plates together to join the columns, beams and slabs. 
         [0044]    Thus there has been provided a concrete weldment and method of manufacturing the weldment that fully satisfies the objects and advantages set forth above. While the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Technology Category: 0