Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/197,065 filed on Nov. 20, 1998, now abandoned the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a system of components and a method of use for creating a concrete wall system. 
     Conventional foundations and above-ground masonry are typically built of poured concrete or stacked cinder or concrete block. These two types of construction, poured concrete and block, are used additionally for walls in commercial buildings, such as warehouses and hotels, and in residential homes. In preparing concrete walls for either foundations or structural walls, a support element is needed to retain the concrete while it hardens. The support element conventionally takes the form of wooden form boards and steel bracing to retain the concrete wall as it hardens. Additional bracing is required to hold the form boards and to align them appropriately. The form boards for holding the concrete are found in typical standard or nominal lengths and must be combined side-by-side, to achieve the desired length. While the panels (form board) on the outside can extend beyond the desired length, those form boards which retain the inner wall of the foundation need to be adjusted or fitted by cutting the form boards, so as not to interfere with adjacent walls being poured concurrently. In addition, the forms need to be removed from the site once the concrete hardens. 
     Cinder or concrete block hold advantages over poured concrete in that there is no need to bring forms onto the site and then remove them. However, the use of concrete or cinder blocks to form a wall is not a feasible alternative to concrete foundations where design strength or a building code is an issue. One additional shortcoming is that cinder or concrete block conventionally comes in limited fixed dimensions with no variable capability, such as cinder block is 16″×8″×8″ and must be cut to create the foundation or wall of proper length. 
     It is recognized that the use of reinforcing bars or rebars within the hollows of the concrete blocks or within the foundation to which the concrete is poured does help to increase the strength of the resulting structure. However, in both instances there is a lengthy time element to position and properly secure the reinforcing bar prior to pouring the concrete or positioning the bar in the opening of the blocks, before adding concrete in the hollows of the cinder or concrete blocks. 
     Regardless of whether poured concrete or cinder or concrete block is used for a foundation, a footing is required below the wall. In both instances, a concrete footing needs to be prepared prior to creating the foundation wall. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a modular construction system and method of use for creating a concrete wall system. It is recognized that it is desired to have a wall system which complies with a modular construction system. 
     The system uses wall form panels having connectors and structural tie plates. The wall form panels have interlocking protrusions around the edges such that the panel is reversibly symmetric. The panels are specific lengths to minimize the number of panels required to achieve a set length. The structural tie plates have connectors to tie in with the wall form panels and in addition carry and position reinforcement bars with the wall. The modular wall system ensures ease and integrity of alignment of the wall form panels by the self-aligning structural tie elements. 
     In a preferred embodiment, a footing is continuously integral with the wall. A heat retention cap form allows for a more uniform cure temperature in adverse temperatures. The modular system in addition allows for integrated tie-ins to built-out piers, which can support stone or steel or wood or poured concrete or continue as a vertical pier with design vertical reinforcement bar strength. 
     This invention recognizes that the prior method of pouring a footing as a separate entity from the wall structure both creates an added expense and delay in time, as well as a structural discontinuity. The invention forms a continuous integral footing with the wall to overcome these problems. 
     The invention in addition recognizes that the pouring of concrete requires certain temperatures to ensure proper curing. The invention allows for a more uniform cure temperature by use of the forms, from footing forms to a heat retention cap form. 
     In addition, the modular system allows for integrated tie-ins to built-out piers, which can support stone, steel, wood, or poured concrete or continue as a vertical pier with design vertical reinforcement bar strength. 
     Another improvement of the modular wall systems is the ease and integrity of alignment of the components by the self-aligning structural elements. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a concrete wall with a portion broken away; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a panel; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of a panel; 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6A is a side view of a plurality of panels; 
     FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of the section labeled  6 B of FIG. 6A; 
     FIG. 7A is a top view of a structural tie plate; 
     FIG. 7B is a side view of the structural tie plate of FIG. 7A; 
     FIG. 8 is a top sectional view of a form having a panel and a structural tie plate; 
     FIG. 9A is an enlarged view of a connector and the horizontal reinforcement bar taken along line  9 A— 9 A of FIG.  7 A— 7 A; 
     FIG. 9B is a perspective view of a connector and the horizontal reinforcement bar; 
     FIG. 10A is an enlarged sectional view of the connectors and the vertical reinforcement taken along line  10 A— 10 A of FIG. 7A; 
     FIG. 10B is a perspective view of a connector and the vertical reinforcement bar; 
     FIG. 11A is a side sectional view of a footing; 
     FIG. 11B is a top view of the footing; 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a foundation having various components; 
     FIG. 13A is a perspective view of a “L” shaped corner; 
     FIG. 13B is a schematic top view of the “L” shaped corner of FIG. 13A; 
     FIG. 13C is a perspective view of a connector of two tie plates; 
     FIGS. 14A and 14B are a perspective view and a schematic view of an enlarged foundation comer; 
     FIG. 15A is a perspective view of an enlarged comer pillar; 
     FIG. 15B is a top schematic view of an enlarged comer pillar; 
     FIG. 16A is a perspective view of a “T” connector; 
     FIG. 16B is a top schematic view of the “T” connector; 
     FIG. 17 is a sectional view of a section with a head cap; 
     FIGS. 18A and 18B are a top and side view of a brick/stone tie; 
     FIG. 19 is a sectional view of the brick/stone tie connected to a connector arm; 
     FIGS. 20A and 20B are a front and side view of a button lock; 
     FIGS. 21A and 21B are a top and side view of a staging tie; 
     FIGS. 22A and 22B are a front and side view of a wall bracing tie cap; 
     FIG. 23 is a schematic top view of a double wall; 
     FIG. 24A is a top view of an alternative structural tie plate; 
     FIG. 24B is a side sectional view of an alternative tie plate taken along line  24 B— 24 B in FIG. 24A; 
     FIG. 25 is a top view of a plurality of structural tie plates linked together; 
     FIG. 26A is a sectional view of the multiple structural tie plates linked together taken along line  26 A— 26 A of FIG. 25; 
     FIG. 26B is a side view of a column interlocking brace; 
     FIG. 27A is a side view of an alternative panel; 
     FIG. 27B is a sectional view taken along line  27 B— 27 B of FIG. 27A; 
     FIGS.  28 A- 28 D are broken out sections of alternative views of teeth; 
     FIG. 29 is a sectional view of an alternative connector; 
     FIGS. 30A and 30B are schematic sectional views of alternative connectors; 
     FIG. 31 is a side view of an alternative panel; 
     FIGS. 32A and 32B are schematic top views of corners; 
     FIGS.  33 A- 33 D are schematic side views of alternative panels; 
     FIG. 34 is a sectional view of a multi-tiered wall; and 
     FIGS. 35A and 35B are a top and side view of vertical rebar connector. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, there is illustrated a modular concrete wall system in accordance with the present invention, generally referred to as  20  in FIG.  1 . 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the modular concrete wall system  20  has a pair of modular form walls  22 , a plurality of structural tie plates  24 , a plurality of vertical reinforcement bars or rebar  26 , a plurality of horizontal reinforcement bars or rebar  28 , and concrete  30 . Each of the modular form walls  22  are created from a plurality of interlocking forms  32 , also referred to as wall form panels. (The wall form panels  32  do not show both sets of protrusion, dimples or texture, for clarity those featured are explained below.) The pair of modular form walls  22  are connected and aligned by the plurality of structural tie plates  24 . The vertical rebar  26  and the horizontal rebar  28  are connected and extend between the structural tie plates  24 . The bottom horizontal reinforcement bar  28  is shown resting on the structural tie plate  24 , the other horizontal reinforcement bars  28  are resting on other structural tie plates  24 , not seen. The concrete  30  is poured between the modular forms  22  and encases the structural tie plates  24 , and the rebars  26  and  28 . 
     A perspective view of a portion of the wall form panel  32  is shown in FIG.  2 . The wall form panel  32  has a pair of planar sides  34 , only one shown in FIG. 2, and four edges  36 . The wall form panel  32  has a plurality of interlocking teeth or protrusions  38  which extend outward from the walls along the edges  36 . The interlocking protrusions  38  are staggered in an offset pattern. The offset protrusions  38  are of equal width and staggered around a center plane  40  of the wall form panel  32 . The interlocking protrusions  38  are formed of a plurality of similarly shaped teeth  42  and voids  44  wherein the teeth  42  on one side of the center plane  40  are aligned with the voids  44  on the other side of the center plane  40 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, the interlocking protrusions  38  have teeth  42  and voids  44  which are of a curved semicircle shape. In addition, the interlocking protrusions  38  are aligned around the edges  36  of the wall form panel  32  such that the panel  32  has the same pattern no matter how the panel  32  is rotated about on the Cartesian axis as defined by the center of the panel  32 . Each edge starts with a tooth  42  or a void  44  and ends with the other. Therefore if a planar side  34  of the panel  32  is facing a user, it does not matter which side or how oriented, this is referred to as rotationally symmetric. 
     The wall form panel  32 , in addition, has a plurality of connector arms  48 . The connector arms are embedded in the wall form panel  32  in a symmetric pattern and accessible from the planar walls  34 . 
     The wall form panel  32  shown in FIG. 2 is a rectangular panel and in a preferred embodiment has a width or length of six inches and a height of  18  inches as measured to the center of the interlocking protrusions  38 . The panel  32  has a thickness of two inches. As described below, the wall form panel  32  comes in various lengths, such as 2, 6, 18, and 54 inches in length. 
     In a preferred embodiment the wall form panels  32  are made of an expanded polystyrene (EPS) material. The connector arm  48  in a preferred embodiment is made of a hard plastic such as a high impact polystyrene. The use of a polystyrene base for both allows for ease of recycling broken parts. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a rectangular wall form panel is shown. The wall form panel  32  shown has six connector arms  48  spaced in a pattern wherein the center point of the connector arm is located along a line that intersects the junction of the teeth  42  and the void  44  of the interlocking protrusions  38 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, the wall form panel  32  shown in FIG. 3 has a height of eighteen inches and a width of six inches as measured from the center of the interlocking protrusions  38 . Similar to the panel  32  shown in FIG. 2, the panel would have thickness of two inches. The connector arms  48  are positioned such that the center point is one inch from the center of the interlocking protrusions  38  along the sides and four inches apart horizontally. The connecting arms are spaced three inches from the center of the interlocking protrusions  38  in the vertical direction and positioned six inches apart from each other vertically. Dimples  50  are interposed horizontally between the connector arms  48 . 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a tooth  42  and a void  44  of the interlocking protrusions  38 . Each of the teeth  42  has the outer planar wall, the planar side  34  and an inner wall  54 . The inner wall angles at an angle of a, and has a projection  56  near the top surface defined by the edge  36  of the panel  32  and a complimentary groove  58  at the root of the tooth  42 . The projection  56  and groove  58  assist in retaining adjacent wall form panels  32  together in engagement to form a modular form wall  22 . In that the wall form panel  32  is made of an EPS material, the teeth  42  flex slightly to allow the projection  56  to engage in the groove  58 . In a preferred embodiment, the angle a is approximately 20 degrees. The preferred angle a is a function of the EPS density selected based on the relationship of strength to insulation. The walls  34  of the wall form panel  32  are textured with a crosshatch pattern as seen in FIG.  2  and FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the connector arm  48  embedded within the wall form panel  32 . The connector arm  48  has a rod or beam portion  62  which extends through the wall form panel  32 . The connector arm  48  has a pair of connectors each with a hemispherical dome portion  64  at the end of the rod  62 . The hemispherical dome portions  64  secure the rod  62  and prevent lateral motion of the rod  62  within the wall  34 . The connector  63  of the connector arm  48  in addition each have a spherical ball  66  located within the hemispherical dome  64  for attaching the structural tie plate  24  as seen in FIG.  1  and described below. 
     The modular form wall FIG. 6A is formed from a plurality of wall form panels  32 . The interlocking protrusions intermesh to form a solid continuous modular form wall  22 . The wall form panels  32  come in a plurality of specific sizes such that a modular form wall  22  can be formed of a desired size by selecting and piecing together the proper components. 
     In a preferred embodiment the wall form panels  32  have a height of eighteen (18) inches and vary in length. The wall form panels  32   a , in FIG. 6A, have a length of two inches and the wall form panels  32   b  have a length of six inches. The other two widths or lengths of the wall form panels  32   c  and  32   d  shown are a length of eighteen  (18 ) inches and fifty-four (54) inches respectively. The panels have a set of specific length (width) L=xy n  set by the following wherein in a preferred embodiment x=2 and y=3. n is an integer which increases by one therein when n=0, L=2 and when n=1, L=6. Therefore, the next panel length, not shown in FIG. 6A, would be 162 inches in length (i.e., when n=4). 
     The wall form panels  32  are combined to achieve the desired length of the modular form wall  22 . The panels  32  are built up in a plurality of courses. In a first course, and a second course,  70  and  72  respectively, the course and the panels  32  have a height of eighteen (18) inches in a preferred embodiment. When the desired height of the modular form  22  is not equal to a multiple of eighteen (18), wall form panels  32  may be rotated such that the typical length is now the typical height and vice versa. For example, a third course  74  is formed of a plurality of six inch wall form panels  32 C rotated such that the typical height eighteen (18) inches in a preferred embodiment is the length. A fourth course and a fifth course  76  and  78  respectively are formed from wall form boards  32 A having a width, in this instance height, of two inches. 
     When a wall form panel  32  is desired that is a shorter length than available, a center section of the wall form panel  32  can be cut out using a hot wire or other technique and the end portions glued together to form the proper length. For example, in the third, fourth, and fifth course  74 ,  76 , and  78 , a wall form panel  32  of 14 inches in length is needed for each course from an eighteen (18) inch length, which is typical height. The right-most 14 inches of course  74  is filled by a pair of six-inch panels  75 ,  77  and a two-inch panel  79 . 
     The modular form wall  22  of FIG. 6A is finished with a plurality of corner forms  80 . The comer forms  80  have edges  36  with interlocking protrusions  38 , as seen in more detail in FIG.  8 . The interlocking protrusions  38  on the sides of the comer forms  80  interlock with the interlocking protrusions  38  of the wall form panels  32 . The interlocking protrusions  38  on the top and bottom of the comer forms  80  interlock with interlocking protrusions  38  of adjacent comer forms  80 . 
     The connection of the panels  32  is shown as a straight line. An enlarged view of the connection of a plurality of panels from FIG. 6A is shown in FIG. 6B in which the interlocking protrusions  38  are shown. The top of a lengthy wall form panel  32   d  is connected to two shorter staggered panels  32   b . The interlocking protrusions  38  have teeth  42  and voids  44  which are accepted or accept voids  44  and teeth  42  of an adjoining panel. A dash-line represents the solid lines in FIG.  6 A. 
     With the teeth  42  of the interlocking protrusion  38  having both a semi-circular shape as seen in FIG.  6 B and FIG. 3, and in addition having tapered inner walls  54 , the wall form panels  32  do not need to be aligned precisely prior to connection. The taper of the panels  32  allow the panel being installed to be misaligned slightly and move into position as it is placed in contact with the panel  32  on the modular form wall  22 . 
     A top view of a structural tie plate  24  is shown in FIG.  7 A. The structural tie plate has a plurality of webs  82  extending generally longitudinally and laterally. The webs  82  define a plurality of circular openings  84 , and a plurality of narrow rectangular openings  86 , and a plurality of larger openings  88 . Projecting from the outer webs  82  is a plurality of tie plate connectors  90 . The tie plate connectors  90  each have a domed prong  92  which is adapted to be received in the connector arm  40  shown in FIG.  5 . It is recognized that the webs could extend in a diagonal pattern as seen in FIGS. 15A,  15 B,  16 A, and  16 B. 
     A cross sectional view of the structural tie plate  24  is shown in FIG.  7 B. The plurality of webs  82  of the structural tie plate  24  extend both in and out of the page and left to right as seen in FIG.  7 B. The webs  82  have a plurality of notches  96  for receiving the horizontal reinforcement bars  28  as explained below. The tie plate connectors  90  are shown in a cross sectional view in FIG. 7B, with a chamber  94  of the domed prong  92  shown. It is recognized that the tie plate connectors  90 , a male connector, could be found on the connector arm  48 , and the connector portion  63 , a female connector of the connector arm  48  could be found on the tie plate connectors  90 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, the structural tie plate  24  shown in FIG. 7A has a width and length of 10 inches by 10 inches measured from the base of the prongs  92  of the tie plate connector  90 . The depth of the structural tie plate  24  in a preferred embodiment is two inches. The structural tie plate  24  is made of a hard plastic such as high impact polystyrene. 
     The structural tie plate  24  of FIGS. 7A and 7B is shown attached to a plurality of connector arms  48  carried by the wall form panels  32  and the comer forms  80  in FIG. 8. A plurality of wall form panels  32  form two modular forms walls  22 . The prongs  92  of the tie plate connectors  90  of the structural tie plate  24  are received by the connector portion  63  of the connector arms  48 . The prong  92  of the tie plate connector  90  is received within the hemispherical dome  64  of the connector arm  48  with the spherical ball portions  66  of the connector arm  48  located within the chamber  94  of the prong  92  of the tie plate connector  90 . 
     In a preferred embodiment as indicated above, the connector arms  48  are spaced apart in the wall form panels by four inches wherein the tie plate connectors  90  of the structural tie plate  24  are spaced apart by two inches. The prongs  92  of the tie plate connectors  90  which are not received by the connector arm  48  are received by the dimples  50  located horizontally between the connector arms  48 , as seen in FIG. 3, on the wall form panel  32 . 
     The structural tie plates  24 , by having multiple connections, ensure that the two modular form walls  22  are parallel to each other. Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, in addition, in that the connector arms  48  in the wall form panels  32  are at specific heights (i.e., spaced six inches apart vertically, in a preferred embodiment), the connection from one modular form wall  22  to another modular form wall  22  results in making sure that the forms are vertically aligned. 
     In addition, FIG. 8 shows a pair of comer forms  80  that connect the two side walls to an end wall  102 . The end wall  102  is created by wall form panels  32 , and in the figure by a six inch wide panel  32 B. The tie plate connectors  90  of the structural tie plate  24  likewise are received by the connector arms  48  in the end wall  102 . As can be seen from FIG. 8, the spacing of the tie plate connectors  90  at a greater rate, i.e. at two inches rather than four inches, insures that all wall form panels  32  and comer forms  80  are tied into the structure by the structural tie plates  24  for rigidity and alignment. 
     Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, the concrete wall system  20  has horizontal reinforcement bar lock-in clamps  104 . The horizontal reinforcement bar  28  extends across the top of the structural tie plate  24  and positioned within the notches  96 . The horizontal reinforcement bar lock-in clamp  104  is positioned between two webs  82  which form a narrow opening  86 . The lock-in clamp  104  is of such a thickness to frictionally engage both walls of the web as seen in FIG.  9 B. Alternatively the lock-in clamp  104  can have a pair of ratchet-like catches  105  which engage permanently with the web  82 , as seen in FIG.  9 A. The lock-in clamp  104  is angled at the portion that engages the reinforcement bar  28  to allow for various size reinforcement bar  28 . Upon filling with concrete, the reinforcement bar  28 , the structural tie plate  24  and the locking clamp  104  will be encased as one unit. 
     Referring to FIGS. 10A and 10B, the concrete wall system  20  has a vertical reinforcement bar lock-in clamp  106 . The vertical reinforcement bar  26  is received within the circular opening  84 . The vertical locking clamp  106  has a cylindrical portion  108  which is positioned between the vertical reinforcement bar  26  and the circular opening  84  of the structural tie plate  24 . In addition, the vertical locking clamp  106  has a lip  110  that rests on top of the web  82  defining the circular opening  84 . 
     FIG. 11A is a side sectional view of a footing  114 . The footing  114  has a curved wall form I  16 , of similar material as that of the wall form panel  32  described above, having interlocking teeth  38  on the upper, lower and side edges. The curved wall form  116  of the footing  114  in addition has a plurality of connecting arms  48  for connecting with structural tie plates  24 . 
     Below the curved wall forms  116  of the footing  114  is a drainage form  118 . The drainage form  118  has the interlocking protrusions  38  arrangement as discussed above with respect to the wall form panels and corner panels. The drainage form  118  is a parallel pipe and has slots to allow water to move from around the foundation and drain towards the lowest spot of the foundation. The drainage forms  118  can be made either from EPS or an extruded hard plastic, are placed in a bed of gravel  119  to start as the base for the foundation. As seen in FIG. 11A, the curved wall form  116  on the footing  114  is of a greater width than that of the wall form panels  32 . The symmetry of the interlocking teeth  38  allows the two different width pieces to interface. The interface occurs along the center plane  40 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 11A the curved wall form panels  116  are six inches apart at the top and are connected by a pair of structural tie plates  24  as described with respect to FIGS. 7A and 7B. The lower portion of the curved form panel is connected with a structural tie plate  24  having a configuration similar to that shown in FIG. 7A but having a width of 22 inches. 
     Similar to the comer pieces described above, the footing portion  116  of the modular concrete wall system  20  has corner forms. The comer forms of the footing are curved comer angled foot form panels  120  as shown in FIG.  11 B. The ends of the comer panels are staggered similar to those shown with respect to the comers above and the curved wall form panels  116  fill in to complete the wall. 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a foundation  124  of the modular concrete wall system  20  having various components. A footing  114  as described above with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B is seen on the outside wall. The ground would be back-filled in actuality and the footing  114  and a portion of the foundation  124  are hidden from view. A basement floor  126  is poured above the footing level in a conventional manner, therein the footing  114  is not seen on the inside of the foundation  124 . In the lower left-hand comer of the FIG. 12 is a normal “L” shape comer  130  which is further described with respect to FIGS. 13A and 13B. In the lower right-hand comer of FIG. 12 is an enlarged comer pillar  132  shown as an inside building comer, formed having a plurality of structural tie plates  24  as further described in FIGS. 14A and 14B. In the upper left hand comer of FIG. 12 is shown an enlarged pillar  134  shown as an outside building comer, with a structural tie plate having a concrete pour hole, referred to as a structural pump tie plate  136 , as further described with respect to FIGS. 15A and 15B. A “T” connection  138  is shown in the top center portion of FIG.  12  and further described with respect to FIGS. 16A and 16B. 
     FIG. 13A is a perspective view of a regular “L” shape comer  130  and FIG. 13B is a top view of the same comer  130 . The “L” shaped comer  130  is formed by a wall  142  formed by a pair of modular wall forms  22  spaced apart by structural tie plates  24  and a second wall  144  which is formed at a right angle and is similarly constructed from a pair of modular wall forms  22  of formed panels  32  with structural tie plates  24  interposed. The walls  142  and  144  are connected by the comer elements as described above with respect to FIG.  8 . 
     The foundation  124  of the modular concrete wall system  20  is built starting with gravel  118  as seen in FIG. 11A, and the curved wall forms  116  are positioned above it including the comer footing  114 . With these footings  114  positioned and structurally aligned and connected using the structural tie plates  24 , as best seen in FIG. 13A, the wall form panels  32  are positioned on the curved wall form panels  116  of the footing  114 . Each course is added in its entirety prior to adding the next course. The course is started in a comer using a comer form  80  or comer footing form  120 . The wall form panels  32  are connected to the comer forms  80  both on the inner and outer modular form wall  22  to create the space for the concrete. The structural tie plates  24  then integrally connect the wall form panel  32  and the comer forms  80 . 
     It is noted that the two walls  142  and  144  that join at the comer as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B have a different width. The wall  142  shown on the upper portion of FIG. 13A, is in a preferred embodiment a ten (10) inch nominal wall thickness with a ten inch space between the two modular form walls  22 . The modular form walls  22  are made of two (2) inch thick wall form panels  32 . In a preferred nomenclature, the thickness of the wall is the thickness of the concrete, not including the added thickness of the modular form walls  22 . 
     The wall  144  which is shown toward the lower portion of the page, is a six (6) inch wall thickness with a spacing of six inches between the two modular form walls  22 . Because of the different thickness of the walls, the structural tie plates  24  within the walls are of a different size. The structural tie plate  24  shown in the front portion is of the same construction as that described above but in a different size. In a preferred embodiment however, the tie plate connectors  90  are still spaced two inches apart. 
     The two structural tie plates  24  shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B are connected using a tie plate connector  140 , which is shown in FIG.  13 C. The tie plate connector  140  is similar to that of the horizontal reinforcement bar locking clamp  104  shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. As with the horizontal reinforcement bar locking clamp  104 , the tie plate connector  140  can have latch-like catches  105  to cause permanent engagement with the web  82 . 
     FIG. 14A shows a perspective view of an enlarged comer pillar  132 . In this comer pillar  132 , the outer modular form wall  22  is constructed in a similar manner to that shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B. The inner modular form wall  22  of a first wall  148  and a second wall  150  stop prior to the “comer.” Each wall  148  and  150  has a comer  152  which projects inward. A wall from each of the comers  152  extends until joined at another comer inner comer  154 . This projecting inward and extending for a distance until the inner comer  154  forms a large area  156  in the comer  132 . As seen in both FIGS. 13A and 13B, structural tie plates are used to connect the various wall form panels  32  and comer forms  80 . 
     In the FIGS. 14A and 14B the size of the walls  148  and  150 , in a preferred embodiment, is a nominal ten (10) inch wall with a space between the outer form walls  22  of ten inches for the concrete and structural tie plates  24 , and the modular form walls  22  extending each an additional two (2) inches for a total of fourteen (14) inches. The enlarged comer is 24 inches by 24 inches. The structural tie plate  24  for securing the inner comer in the embodiment shown is 12″×12″. It is recognized that this inner structural tie plate could be of a larger size such as 14 inches by 14 inches or 16″×16″ to further tie in the other comer forms. The structural tie plate  24  is smaller than that needed to fill the whole area since it is desired to have sufficient connector arm  48  structural tie plate  24  connection yet minimize the amount of structural tie plates  24  needed. The structural tie plates  24  are connected using tie plate connectors  140 , as described above with respect to FIGS. 13A and 13B and further described in FIG.  13 C. 
     The enlarged pillar  134  with the structural pump tie plate  136  as shown in the upper left-hand comer of FIG. 12 is shown from the outside of that comer, in a perspective view in FIG.  15 A and in a top view in FIG.  15 B. While the enlarged pillar has a different shape, the modularity of the wall form panels  32 , the comer forms  80  and structural tie plates  24  allow for these various shapes of comers and “T” connections to be built. 
     The structural pump tie plate  136  has a large circular opening  160  to allow a pumping hose from a concrete machine. This opening  160  allows the concrete to be placed in the support more easily. It should be noted that the circular openings  84 , large openings  88 , and the narrow openings  86  of the structural pump tie plate  132  and the structural tie plate  24  are of a size that the aggregate of the cement will flow through these openings. Structural reinforcement bars  26 , not shown in this figure, extend vertically in the outer edges of the corners through selected circular openings  84 . In addition, horizontal reinforcement bars  28  extend horizontally from the comer along the walls. 
     In addition to the structural pump tie plate  136 , the comer shows a pair of structural tie plates  162  having a different web configuration. These structural tie plates shown have a diagonal web configuration, in contrast to the horizontal and longitudinal on figuration shown above. 
     FIGS. 16A and 16B show “T” connections  138  where structural pump tie plates  136  are positioned in the junctions of the walls. The “T” connection  138  shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B shows a twelve (12) inch wall running along the top of FIGS. 16A and 16B. The adjoining connecting wall is a 24 inch wall. (In both cases the nominal length does not include the four (4) inches of the wall form panels (i.e. two inches on each side). The structural tie plates  24  shown in the wall extending across the top have the diagonal web configuration in contrast to the horizontal and longitudinal webs shown in FIG.  16 B. It is recognized that an inner wall can continue from this point. While the inner wall is shown just extending a brief distance from the outer structure, the inner wall could connect to another wall to divide the foundation in half. This inner wall could be a bearing wall if desired. In addition, this inner wall could be T-connected to another wall. 
     While various connections and comers have been shown in FIGS. 12 through 16B, it is recognized that with the modularity of the wall form panels  32 , the comer forms  80  and the structural tie plates  24 , other shape comers and connections can be formed. 
     Prior to arriving at a building site, the designer, architect, contractor, or engineer can determine what materials are needed, for example how many and what size wall form panels  32 , structural tie plates  24 , and comer forms  80 . In that the materials are lightweight once the components are on site, a single individual can assemble the modular forms to create the modular concrete wall system. The specific spacing of the connector arms  48  ensure that the structural tie plates  24  are positioned correctly, and the structural tie plates  24  ensure that the walls are properly aligned. In that the wall form panels  32  are reversible as described above, the assembler can assemble the modular form quickly since the wall form panels  32  will align, no matter which edge is pointing towards the modular wall form  22 . 
     In typical construction, a ditch is dug, along the perimeter and extending to below the frost line and below any basement foundation. The ditch is filled with a drainage material such as crushed rock  119 . A comer is assigned to be a reference comer. The footing  114  and wall form panel  32  are assembled. 
     As indicated above with respect to FIGS. 11A and 11B, a drain form  118  for draining away water is positioned on top of the crushed rock  119 . The footing  114  is positioned on top of the drain form  118 . The footing is started in a reference comer starting with the comer fitting  120 . The footings  114  formed from a curved wall form  116  are connected. After the curved wall forms  116  are connected, the structural tie plates  24  are positioned between the modular form walls  22  to connect the curved wall forms  116 . Typically, a course of wall form panels  32  are positioned on top of the footings  1   14  prior to inserting the vertical reinforcement bars  26 . The horizontal reinforcement bars  28  are placed on top of the structural tie plates  24  as soon as that layer of structural tie plates are positioned. Upon building higher courses such as the second  72  or third  73  course, the structural tie plate  24  is positioned with its circular opening  84  receiving the already vertically extending vertical reinforcement bar  26 . 
     While two (2) inch thick wall form panels  32  and comer forms  80  have been discussed above, it is recognized that the panels can have a thickness of four (4), six (6), or ten (10) inches or any other size dependent on insulation requirements because of climate or code. Likewise, the structural tie plates  24  and the thickness of the concrete can vary. The structural tie plates  24  can have a width of four (4), six (6), ten (10) inches, etc., dependent on the desired width of the wall. In addition, the structural tie plate  24  can be square or rectangle as seen for example in FIG.  14 B. 
     In the pouring and curing of concrete, it is necessary to keep the temperature of the concrete in a proper range and to control the rate of moisture evaporation. FIG. 17 illustrates a cross sectional view of a cross-section of a modular concrete wall system  20  with a heat cap. The heat cap is formed by placing a comer form  80  on top of the walls and using wall form panels  32  on top to cover the poured concrete  30 . FIG. 17 in addition shows a plurality of structural ties with both horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars  28  and  26  respectively connected, horizontal reinforcement bar locking clamps  104 , and vertical reinforcement bar locking clamps  106 , as previously discussed. Upon the concrete properly curing, the heat cap is removed. 
     In addition to the modular concrete wall system  20  being used for the foundation  124 , the wall system  20  can in addition be used for walls. When the wall system  20  is above ground level the modular wall form  22  is covered. 
     The modular wall form  22  can be covered on the outside with brick, stucco, stone facing, and wood. FIGS. 18A and 18B show a side and top view of a brick/stone tie  202 . The brick/stone tie  202  has a plurality of holes  200  through which the mortar  196  for retaining the bricks  198  can pass therein making a solid connection between the mortar and brick and the brick/stone tie  202 . The brick/stone tie  202  is connected to the modular form wall  22  by screwing the tie  202  into the spherical ball  66  of the connector arm  48 , as seen in FIG.  19 . With the brick/stone tie  202  installed to the modular form wall  22 , the mason is able to build the brick/stone facing as is done in conventional walls. 
     If the desire is to stucco the outer surface, the texture of the outer planar wall  34  assists in the grabbing of the stucco to the modular form wall  22 . A crosshatch texture  180  is shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. FIGS. 27A and 27B show an alternative texture on the outer planar wall  34  of a wall form panel  32 . 
     In addition, it may be desirable to place a plastic or wire mesh over the modular form wall  22  to facilitate stuccoing. FIGS. 20A and 20B show a front and side view of a button lock  204  which would hold the plastic or wire mesh against the outer planar wall  34  of the modular form wall  22 . The button lock  204 , similar to the brick/stone tie  202 , is connected using the spherical ball  66  of the connecting arm  48 . 
     For installing interior walls, the modular wall form  22  can be covered with conventional wallboard by placing strapping against the modular wall form  22 . The strapping can be secured by driving screws into the spherical ball  66  of the connector arm  48 . 
     FIGS. 21A and 21B show a top and side view of a staging tie  206  which is secured to the connector arm  48 . The staging tie  206  has a plastic strap portion with a plurality of teeth to be accepted by one of a plurality of slots. Upon being secured to the connector arm  48  of the wall form panel  32  of the modular concrete wall system  20 , the staging tie  206  can secure staging/scaffolding by encircling a metal bar or similar portion of the staging tie, therein allowing further construction of the building where staging or scaffolding is required. The staging ties  206  will be removed from the wall form panel  32  or buried behind another surface such as masonry or stucco upon the final construction. The staging tie  206  would allow staging/scaffolding to be secured using the staging tie to facilitate construction of the building. 
     In addition, a front and a side view of a wall bracing tie bar  210  is shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B respectively. The wall bracing tie bar  210  would receive a reinforcement bar to help stiffen the modular concrete wall system  20  as the concrete is hardening. It is recognized that other connectors could be coupled to the connector arm  48 . 
     FIG. 23 is a top view of a comer of the wall having a pair of outside modular wall forms  222  and an inner wall form  224 . Interposed between each of the outer wall forms  222  and the single inner wall form  224  is a concrete layer. Similar to the method of building described above, the first course of wall form panels  32  are placed down on the ground with the structural tie plates  24  interposed. However, the inner wall form  224  has structural tie plates  24  extending out of it on both planar sides  34  to the adjacent outer modular wall forms  222 . The entire modular form  22  is built with the wall forms  222  and  234  including and the vertical reinforcement bars  26  and horizontal reinforcement bars  28  are positioned as described above using the respective locking clamps  104  and  106 . The concrete  30  is poured to make this sandwich construction. The structural tie plates  24  shown in FIG. 23 are an alternative tie plate. The tie plates  24  shown do not have a circular opening for reinforcement bars as shown in the previous embodiment or in the structural tie plates shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B as discussed below. 
     An alternate structural tie plate  228  is shown in FIG.  24 A. In contrast to the structural tie plate  24  shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, this structural tie plate  228  has a tie plate connector  230  which is not received within the wall form panel  32  and thus uses a different connector arm  48  as described below. FIG. 24B is a side sectional view of this tie plate  228  taken along the line  24 B— 24 B of FIG.  24 A. The tie plate connector  230  has a groove which accepts a rod projecting from the outer planar wall  34  of the wall form panel  32 . This rod is part of the connector arm  48 . The circular opening  84  for the vertical reinforcement bars  26  are shown. In addition, a horizontal reinforcement bar  28  is shown in phantom. 
     FIG. 25 is a schematic of a top view of a plurality of structural tie plates  24  or  228  linked together. In contrast to the FIGS. 15A and 15B, and FIGS. 16A and 16B, the structural pump tie plate  136  is not linked to any of the wall form panels  32 . The structural pump tie plate  136  is located within an outer layer of structural tie plates  228 . The structural tie plates  228 , including the structural pump tie plate  136 , are linked using a column interlocking brace  240  as shown in FIG.  26 A. The column interlocking brace  240  locks the two structural tie plates  228  together. The structural tie plates  228  are placed adjacent to each other such that the tie plate connectors are engaging each other. The column interlocking brace  240  is positioned both above and below the tie plate connectors  230  and holds them in snug engagement as seen in FIG.  26 B. The column interlocking brace  240  is shown schematically in FIG. 25 as a rectangular box surrounding and connecting the structural tie plates. The tie plate connector  140  as shown in FIG. 13C is used also between those structural tie plates that are secured by attachment to a modular wall form  32 . 
     FIG. 27A is a side view of an alternative wall form panel  242 . The wall form panel has a plurality of circular projections  244  forming a texture planar side  34 . The circular projections  244  allow for better adherence for things such as stucco on the outside surface, as described above. In addition, the circular projections  244  allow for wires  246  to be run along the wall form panel. The wires  246  are laid between the circular projections and when cement is poured into the modular form  22 , the circular projections  244  retain the wires in the proper position where the concrete pushes it securely against the outer planar wall  34  of the wall form panel  242 . FIG. 27B is a sectional view showing the protrusions. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the textured projections  244  are larger diameter spaced from the planar wall  34  therein. When items such as concrete and stucco adhere there is a mechanical locking. In addition, the wire  246  is shown in phantom between the textured protrusion and the connector. It is known that the connector projects from beyond the surface of the wall form panel, as further described below. 
     While in a preferred embodiment, the teeth  42  are formed of semicircles, it is recognized that the teeth could have other shapes. FIG. 28A shows the teeth having a polygon shape. FIG. 28B shows the teeth having a square shape. FIG. 28C shows the teeth having a sinusoidal or saw-tooth shape. The teeth in FIG. 28D have a multi-faced wall with a dimple or groove  250  at the top and a protrusion  252  at the root  254  of the void. 
     FIG. 29 is a sectional view of an alternative connector arm  248 . This connector arm protrudes from the outer planar wall  34 . In addition, it has an additional rib  256  located along the rod  62  to distribute strain against the connector arm by means of additional contacts with the EPS. The connector arm  48  or  248  can be formed of numerous alternative embodiments such as the one shown in FIG. 5 wherein the structural tie plate  24  protrudes into the wall form panel  32  or wherein the connector arm  260  projects out of the wall form panel as shown schematically in FIG.  23  and FIG.  29 . 
     FIGS. 30A and 30B show alternative connector arms within the wall form panel  32 / 242 . The connector arm  260  of FIG. 30A is for structural tie plates  228 , shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B. The connector arm  262  shown in FIG. 30B is for use with a structural tie plate  24  similar to that disclosed above in FIGS. 7A and 7B. The connector arm  262  shown however is of a form that can be inserted as two parts in the all form panel  32  after the wall form panel  32  is formed by screwing the two parts of he connector arm  262  together from either side. 
     While the four-edge wall form panel  32  is a preferred embodiment, it is recognized that multiple edges, such as six, with a variety of interlocking protrusions could be used. In an alternative embodiment of the wall form panel shown in FIG. 31, he plurality of panels each have six edges. 
     While the previous embodiment shows comer forms having the side edges at 90°, it recognized that the side edges could be at different angle γ. As seen in FIG. 32A, the side edges of the comer form is at an angle γ of  1200 . The corner form of FIG. 32B has a planar section between the two planar sections which have the interlocking protrusions on the sides. All planar sections would have interlocking protrusions on the top and bottom. 
     FIGS. 33A through 33D show alternative wall form panels  282 . The wall form panels  282  have a different configuration of the connector arms  248 . In this embodiment, the connector arms on shorter panels, such as the two inch in length panel  282   a , and the six inch in length panel  282   b , are spaced two inches apart near the edges of the panel and four inches apart elsewhere. In addition, the connector arms  248  are spaced six inches vertically in most portions, such as in the  54  inch panel  282   d . The connector arms  248  shown in FIGS. 33A through 33D are similar to that shown in FIGS.  29 . FIG. 34 shows a multi-tier stepped wall  284 . The wall has a modular form wall  22  which extends planarly upward. An inner wall  286  steps inward as it increases in height. The modular wall system  20  has a stepping form  288  which steps the modular wall form  22  inward. The modular wall system  20  has structural tie plates  24  and reinforcement bars  26  that extend vertically are shown. 
     Referring to FIGS. 35A and 35B the vertical reinforcement bars  26  can be connected using a vertical reinforcement bar union tie  290  that has a staggered step  292  to receive multiple diameter reinforcement bar  26 . 
     The modularity and reversibility of the wall form panels in conjunction with the positioning of a connector arm ensures that the concrete wall system  20  is aligned and properly rigid. A single user could upon initial alignment build the whole concrete wall system  20  to allow for the pouring of the concrete. The wall form panels  32  being formed of an EPS material in addition add insulation to the building. 
     While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     With the wall system  20  being used above ground, the installation of door and window openings is desirable prior to pouring the concrete  30 . The rough opening of the door or window is built out and the wall form panels  32  are built around them. In the alternative, a rough out form can be installed between the wall form panels of the two modular form walls  22  to create a space wherein concrete will not be poured. 
     It is recognized that in addition bay windows may be roughed in. The bay windows would be roughed in by setting in in the same manner as traditional roughed in concrete as described in the preceding paragraph. The rough-in opening will rest upon structural tie plates with rebar. 
     It is recognized that an alternative could be to have wall form panels have the required connecting arms on only one side and the other side could have an imitated wood siding texture or shingle texture that could be painted or covered with a thin coat of plaster or stucco. While in a preferred embodiment the EPS has a uniform density, it is recognized that the density could vary such that the surfaces could have a denser surface than the interior or vice versa. While EPS is a preferred material, it is recognized that other materials such as pressed fiber board, hard plastic, tile or a metal can create the wall form panels. In addition to EPS, other similar materials may be expanded polypropylene (EPP), as well as co-polymers such as GECET sold by GE Plastics. The preferred embodiment of EPS is a modified EPS which would increase flame retardance.

Technology Category: e