Concrete Wall Form With Waler Clamp Assembly

Abstract

A three-part inseparable waler clamp assembly for convenient manual application to the meeting edges of a pair of steel-studded concrete wall form panels to effect clamping of such panels together, as well as to provide an anchor point for the adjacent end of any tie rod which may be confined between such edges.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 808,503, filed on Mar. 19, 1969 and entitled "SELF-CONTAINED WALER CLAMP ASSEMBLY FOR CONCRETE WALL FORM."

Description

The present invention, as well as that of the aforementioned copending application, relates to a concrete wall form of the type wherein the opposed and spaced apart sides of the form are each constructed of a series of rectangular plywood panels in upstanding and edge-to-edge relationship and are adapted to have wet concrete into the space between them, the two form sides being connected together by horizontally and transversely extending combined tie rod and spreader devices so that they are properly held in place and prevented from outward bulging or displacement under the outward pressure of the wet poured concrete. As is the case in connection with such copending application, the present invention is concerned primarily with a waler clamp assembly by means of which either a single board waler or a dual board waler may be securely clamped against one side of the associated concrete wall form in panel-bridging relationship for the purpose of aligning and reinforcing the series of panels of the one form side.

Whereas, in my aforementioned copending application, the waler clamp assembly is specifically designed for use in connection with flat rectangular plywood panels, the waler clamp assembly of the present invention is specifically designed for use in connection with steel-studded plywood panels of the type which is commonly known as a "Steel-Ply" panel. An example of a "Steel-Ply" panel, as well as of a waler clamping bracket therefor, is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,869, granted on Apr. 19, 1966 and entitled "WALER CLAMP AND TIE ROD ASSEMBLY FOR A CONCRETE WALL FORM."

The present invention is in the form of a modification of the waler clamp assembly of my aforementioned copending application, the modification enabling the assembly to be used not only as a tie rod anchor but also as a panel-clamping device by means of which adjacent panels are clamped together in their edge-to-edge abutting relationship, thus eliminating the necessity of employing conventional T-bolt and wedge fastening devices such as are commonly employed in connection with "Steel-Ply" panels. Whereas, in connection with my former waler clamping assembly, attachment of the assembly to the wall form is, of necessity, made by attaching the bracket to the projecting end of a tie rod which extends outwardly beyond the confines of the wall form, the present waler clamp assembly is capable of being attached to the abutting portions of the steel studding of a pair of adjacent concrete wall form panels for the purpose of clamping such portions together and also holding a single or dual board waler in position against said abutting portions of such studding, regardless of the presence or absence of a tie rod in the vicinity of the region of application. If a tie rod is used at such region, then the waler clamp assembly will serve the additional function of anchoring the adjacent end of such tie rod in position on the studding.

Except for the above-outlined extended use of the waler clamp assembly of my copending application which adapts the same to "Steel-Ply" panels, the general objects of the present invention remain substantially the same as those expressed in my copending application. Briefly, such objects are ease of application of the waler clamping assembly to the associated concrete wall form in waler clamping position, ease of removal of the assembly from the form after the concrete has been poured and become hardened, simplicity of construction, and the provision of a composite three-piece assembly in which the parts are inseparable so that loss or misplacement of any given part is impossible.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by the claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown.

In these drawings:

FIGS. 1 is a perspective view of the waler clamp assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a wedge which constitutes a component of the assembly the wedge being shown in a detached condition;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of another component of the improved waler clamp assembly in its detached condition;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a limited portion of a concrete wall form, showing one of the improved waler clamp assemblies poised preparatory to manual application thereof to the wall form;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the waler clamp assembly in position on the form and in waler supporting relationship;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken transversely and vertically through the concrete wall form in the vicinity of one of the waler clamp assemblies of the present invention, and showing the assembly loosely positioned on the form prior to assembly of the waler boards thereon;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the bracket assembly operatively applied to the form with the wedge driven to its home position; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view on the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a three-piece inseparable waler clamp assembly embodying the principles of the present invention is shown in detail in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 and is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10. Such an assembly, the details of which will be set forth subsequently, is designed for use in securely holding one or more whaler boards in position against the outer side of a rectilinear series of upright steel-studded concrete wall form panels forming one side of a concrete wall form, the panels being disposed in edge-to-edge contiguity and each whaler board bridging a number of the panels for alignment and reinforcing purposes as is customary in the art. In FIGS. 4 to 7, inclusive, a fragmentary portion of a concrete wall form 12 which is made up of a front side 14 and a rear side 16 is illustrated. As is well understood in the art, the two sides 14 and 16 are maintained in their spaced apart relationship by combined tie rod and spreader devices in the form of flat tie rods. But one tie rod is shown in the drawings and it is identified by the reference numeral 18. Each side 14 and 16 of the concrete wall form 10 comprises a series of rectangular steel-studded panels 20, and the fragmentarily illustrated portion of the wall form represents a fragment which is in the vicinity of the meeting edges of a pair of adjacent or abutting panels.

The panels 20 are of the prefabricated type which is commonly referred to as a "Steel-Ply" panel. Such a panel is manufactured and sold by Symons Mfg. Company of Des Plaines, Illinois and consists of a rectangular plywood facing 22 having a marginal reinforcing frame which is formed of steel or other suitable metal and is applied to the outer face of the facing. Each reinforcing frame includes vertical marginal frame members 24 and horizontal top and bottom frame members (not shown). Only the vertical frame members 24 and the plywood facings 22 of the panels 20 are illustrated in the drawings, the remaining portions of the panels having no direct relationship to the waler clamp assembly 10. For a full understanding of the nature of a "Steel-Ply" panel such as the illustrated panel 20, reference may be had to aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,869. In this specification, the description of the panels 20 will be confined largely to the nature of the vertical frame members 24 and the manner in which adjacent vertical frame members are clamped together by the waler clamp assembly 10 of the present invention.

Specifically, each vertical marginal frame member 24 is in the form of a structural steel bar which is generally of shallow U-shape cross section and comprises spaced marginal outwardly extending parallel ribs 26 and 28 and a connecting base or web portion 30. On each web portion 30 is a shallow, longitudinally and inwardly extending rib 32 which defines a groove or recess 34 for reception of the vertical edge region of the associated plywood panel facing 22. At vertically spaced regions along the vertical marginal members 22, the ribs 26 and 28 are provided with horizontally aligned notches 36 to accommodate the adjacent slotted ends of the tie rods 18, while the web portions 30 of the vertical frame members 24 are formed with horizontal rectangular slots 38 which are in horizontal register with the notches 36 and are adapted to receive therethrough the bolts of conventional connecting bolt and wedge devices such as are shown at 40 in FIGS. 6 and 7 and by means of which adjacent panels of the concrete wall form 12 may be clamped together.

The tie rod 18 is of conventional design and may be of the type which is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,045, granted on Aug. 9, 1960 and entitled "TIE ROD FOR CONCRETE WALL FORMS AND CONE THEREFOR." Briefly, such tie rod is in the form of a length of flat metal stock and has in the end regions thereof slots 41 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) which are designed for registry with the slots 38 in the web portions 30 of the vertical frame members 24 of the panels 20 on opposite sides of the concrete wall form 12. The notches 36 in the ribs 28 of the vertical frame members 24 afford clearance regions for projection of the end regions of the tie rod 18 between adjacent webs 30 of contiguous panels so that the tie rod may project laterally outwardly beyond the planes of the plywood facings 22 on opposite sides of the form to bring the slots 41 into register with the aligned slots 38 in the web portions 30 of the vertical frame members 24, whereupon the ends of the tie rod may be captured by the aforementioned bolt and wedge devices 40 when the latter are installed in the slots 38.

The arrangement of parts thus far described is purely conventional and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated therewith, the novelty of the preset invention residing rather in the construction of the hereinafter described waler clamp assembly and the manner in which it is employed for the dual purpose of maintaining a pair of waler boards such as the boards W1 and W2 against the vertical frame members 24, and also replacing one of the connecting bolt and wedge devices 40 and maintaining a pair of adjacent vertical frame members 24 in their abutting relationship.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, the present waler clamp assembly 10 is in the form of a three-part unit including a supporting bracket 50, a wedge 52 and a sliding thrust member or plate 54. The bracket 50 of the assembly is generally of C-shape configuration and includes an upper leg 56, a lower leg 58 and an intermediate flat web or bight portion 60. One side margin of the outer region of the upper leg 56 is formed with a laterally facing relief area 62 which establishes a reentrant hook 64 at the outer extremity of the upper leg 56, the hook being provided with an inside cam surface or edge 65 (see FIG. 8), the function of which will be made clear subsequently. Said upper leg of the bracket 50 is provided with a relatively large rectangular opening 66 near the base thereof, and the lower leg 58 of the bracket is provided with a similar but slightly larger rectangular opening 68. The two openings 66 and 68 are in vertical alignment and are designed for reception therethrough of the wedge 52.

The wedge 52 is formed of stamped plate metal and is U-shape in transverse cross section, it being provided with flat sides 70 and a flat connecting base 72. As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the wedge is of tapered channel shape design and has its large end disposed upwardly. The width of the opening 66 is slightly greater than the width of the opening 68 and the length of the opening 66 is greater than the length of the opening 68 by an extent substantially equal to the thickness of the metal of the thrust plate 54 so as to compensate for a portion of this plate which projects through the opening 66 in a manner and for a purpose that will be subsequently set forth. The lower outer corner regions of the two sides 70 of the wedge 52 are formed with small coined ears 74 which may pass freely through the opening 68 in the lower leg 58 of the bracket proper but which are unable to pass through the opening 66 in the upper leg 56. The overall transverse dimensions of the wedge 52 in the upper regions thereof are greater than the corresponding dimensions of the upper opening 66 so that the wedge is unable to pass downwardly completely through this latter opening. By the same token, the small coined ears 74 prevent the wedge from passing upwardly completely through the opening 66 and thus the wedge is effectively captured by the supporting bracket 50 and, hence, cannot become disassociated from it. However, the coined ears 74 are so designed and positioned on the wedge 52 that when the wedge is pulled upwardly to the fullest extent of which it is capable of moving, it may be caused to rest in the inclined position in which it is shown in FIG. 4, the wedge thus serving as a lifter or manipulator, much in the manner in which a circular iron stove lid is supported from its lifting handle. As shown in FIG. 2, the rear inclined edges of the two sides 70 of the wedge 52 are formed with vertical or noninclined sections which are designated by the bracket 76 in this figure. These noninclined sections of the edges, in effect, render the wedge uniform in thickness in a fore and aft direction and serve a function that will be made clear subsequently.

The thrust plate 54 of the assembly 10 constitutes, in effect, an extension of the lower leg 58 and is in the form of a length of flat plate metal stock and embodies a horizontal thrust leg 78, the rear end of which is formed with a reverse bend 80 which provides a reentrant section 82. The reverse bend 80 passes through the opening 68 in the lower leg 58 of the supporting bracket 50 of the waler clamp assembly 10 and as a result, the horizontal thrust leg 54 rests upon such lower leg while the reentrant section 82 underlies this leg in close proximity thereto. The medial region of the thrust leg 54 is provided with a downwardly punched circular depression 84 which forces the metal of the leg downwardly to provide a depending protuberance 86. This protuberance projects into an elongated longitudinally extending slot 88 (see FIG. 1) which is formed in the medial region of the lower leg 58, thus providing an interlock which limits the extent of fore and aft sliding movement of which the thrust plate is capable, the interlock and reverse bend 80 also serving to maintain approximate alignment of the thrust leg 54 with the underlying reentrant section 82. The forward end region of the thrust plate 54 is formed with a downturned bearing flange 90 which is adapted to bear against the adjacent vertical frame members 24 of the contiguous panels 20 in bridging relationship when the waler clamp assembly 10 is installed thereon as will be described presently.

In the installation of one of the above-described waler clamp assemblies 10 in a concrete wall form which is made up of "Steel-Ply" panels such as the panels 20, after a given pair of adjacent panels 20 has been set up in their edge-to-edge relationship as shown in FIG. 4, the operator will raise the wedge 52 from the position in which it is shown in FIG. 1 until the two small coined ears 74 engage the portions of the upper leg 56 that define the sides of the rectangular opening 66, after which he will incline the wedge until it assumes the position in which it is shown in FIG. 4, so that by supporting the wedge with one hand, the supporting bracket 50 of the assembly 10 may be guided in a horizontal plane to position the hook 64 so that it registers horizontally with one pair of horizontally aligned slots 38 in the web portions 30 of the two adjacent contiguous vertical frame members 20. Thereafter, by moving the assembly to the left as viewed in FIG. 4, the hook will enter the two aligned slots 38, as well as the slot 41 in the adjacent end region of any tie rod 18 which may be interposed between the two frame members 20 as previously described. The presence or absence of a tie rod end region between the two frame members 20 is immaterial to the use of the present waler clamp assembly 10. If a tie rod is not present, the hook portion 64 of the supporting bracket 50 of the assembly 110 will interlock with the opposed slots 38 in the web portions of the frame members 24. If a tie rod is present, it will also interlock with the latter, thus obviating the need for using one of the bolt and wedge devices 40 at the particular location where the waler clamp assembly is installed.

After the hook 64 has been passed through the three slots 38, 38, 41, the operator may release his grip on the wedge 52, thus leaving the entire assembly 10 in the position in which it is illustrated in FIG. 6. At this time, the weight of the waler clamp assembly 10 will cause the hook 64 to engage the end edges of the slots 38 while the downturned bearing flange 90 will bear against the outer edges of the adjacent vertical frame members 24 in bridging relationship and force the sliding thrust member 54 rearwards with respect to the supporting bracket 50 until the depending protuberance 86 engages the rear end of the slot 88 in the lower leg 58 of the supporting bracket 50. The outer end of the slot 88 will thus constitute, in effect, an inwardly facing reaction shoulder which assimilates the outward thrust that is exerted by the hook 64 when the assembly 10 is "hung," so to speak, from the two adjacent vertical frame members 24.

After "hanging" the waler clamp assembly 10 on the frame members 24 as previously described, a single waler board such as that that is identified by the reference character W1 in FIGS. 5 and 6, is caused to rest in the cradlelike space which is established for it between the inclined wedge 52 and the adjacent edges of the vertical frame members 24 as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. If two waler boards are to be used in connection with the form, a waler board such as that that is identified by the reference character W2 as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 and is caused to rest upon the upper surface of the thrust plate 54. As soon as the single board waler or the dual board waler installation is made, the operator will push the upper end of the inclined wedge 52 forwardly toward the concrete wall form 12 and, at the same time, force the wedge downwardly so that the extreme lower end of the wedge will move behind the reverse bend 80 of the thrust plate 54 and force the latter bodily forwardly as the lower end of the wedge enters the rectangular opening 68. Thereafter, the operator with the blow of an impact tool such as a hammer will drive the wedge 52 to its home position wherein it is shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. In such position of the wedge, the thrust plate 54 remains under compression with the downturned bearing flange 90 bearing against the outer edge of the adjacent vertical frame members 24 in bridging relationship with respect thereto. At the same time, the flat connecting base 72 of the wedge 52 will bear hard against the forward face of the upper waler board W1 and force the latter against the two vertical frame members 24. If a second waler board W2 is used, the wedging action of the wedge 52 will likewise force this latter board against the two vertical frame members.

Removal of the waler clamp assembly 10 from the concrete wall form 12 is effected by a reversal of the procedure outlined above, the wedge being initially loosened by an upward blow of the impact tool.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 8, the clamping action which is exerted upon adjacent or contiguous panels 20 in order to force the adjacent contiguous frame members 24 against each other is attained by the provision of the previously mentioned inclined cam surface or edge 65. This edge 65 is provided in the distal region of the hook 64 and when the hook 64 is projected through the two horizontally registering slots 38 in the web portions 30 of the contiguous frame members 24, one of these web portions bears against an edge of the upper leg 56 of the bracket 50 while the end of the slot 38 in the other web portion bears against the inclined edge 65. Thus, when the wedge 52 is driven to its home position by an impact blow as previously described, the single or dual board waler serves as a reaction member so as to apply tension to the upper leg 56 of the supporting bracket 50 and exert an outward pulling action on the hook 64 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8, thereby drawing the two web portions 30 toward each other, and consequently, forcing the two panels 20 in their entirety, hard against each other. If the tie rod 18 is interposed between the two vertical frame members 24 as shown in this view, the hook 64 passes through the slot 41 in the adjacent end of the tie rod so that when the concrete is poured between the two form sides 14 and 16 and against the panels 20 thereof, the spreading action of the concrete on the two sides of the form will place the tie rod under tension and the hook 64 will serve as the reaction member to assimilate this tension.

The sections of the wedge 52 which are designated by the bracket 76 and render the wedge of uniform thickness in a limited section thereof is provided for the purpose of preventing binding of the wedge against the lower waler board W2 in the event that manufacturing tolerances are exceeded so that such lower board is appreciably wider than the upper board W1. In the absence of the aforementioned sections of the wedge 52, there would be a tendency for the wedge to bind against the lower waler board W2 at the expense of full pressure being applied to the upper waler board W1.

The invention is not to be limited to the precise arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, although the present waler clamp assembly is shown as being applied to a concrete wall form employing "Steel-Ply" panels 20 which are held in place by flat tie rods of the type shown in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,045, it is obvious that the waler clamp assembly is useable with equal facility and without modification in association with a concrete wall form which employs conventional rod-type tie rods having looped ends instead of slotted ends. It is also within the purview of the present invention to dispense with the thrust plate 54 and form the bearing flange 90 directly on the distal end of the lower leg 58 and the supporting bracket 50. In either event, whether the thrust plate 54 be omitted or employed, the lower leg 58 of the bracket 50 may be said to bear effectively against the two contiguous vertical frame members 24 of the panels 20.

Claims

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by letter patent is:

1. In a concrete wall form, in combination, front and rear opposed upstanding spaced apart sides each of which is comprised of a series of individual upstanding panels disposed in edge-to-edge relationship, each panel including a rectangular facing and a rectangular marginal reinforcing frame including vertical side members, each panel having one of the vertical side members of its frame abutting a vertical side member of the frame of an adjacent panel, there being a hole in each of the abutting side members at substantially the same height in the wall form whereby the holes are in registry, a waler board positioned horizontally against the front side of the form and bearing against the outer edges of a pair of the abutting vertical side members in bridging relationship, and a waler clamp assembly for clamping the waler board hard against said outer edges of said pair of abutting side members, said waler clamp assembly comprising a U-shaped bracket having upper and lower horizontal legs and a connecting bight portion, the distal end of the upper leg being provided with a reentrant hook which projects through the registering holes in said pair of abutting side members, the distal end of the lower leg effectively bearing against said outer edges of the last mentioned vertical side members, there being aligned openings in said legs near the base portions thereof, and a tapered wedge projecting vertically through said aligned openings and bearing at its inner side against the outer side of the waler board, said wedge exerting a spreading action against the outer edge of the opening in said upper leg and the outer side of the waler board.

2. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 1 and including, additionally, a horizontal tie rod having one end thereof secured to the rear side of the form, spanning the distance between said form sides, and having its other end region projecting outwardly of the form beyond the general plane of the facings of the panels of the front side of the form, said other end region of the tie rod having an opening therethrough in register with the registering holes in said pair of abutting side members and through which said reentrant hook projects.

3. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 2 and wherein said other end of the tie rod is interposed between the vertical side members of said pair of abutting side members.

4. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 1 and wherein said reentrant hook is provided with an inclined cam surface which bears against an edge of one of the registering holes in said pair of abutting side members for drawing said side members together under the influence of the spreading action of the wedge.

5. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 1 and including, additionally, a thrust plate slidable on the lower leg of the U-shaped bracket, having its forward end overhanging the distal edge of the latter and its rear end overhanging the forward edge of the the opening in the lower leg, said thrust plate being engageable with said wedge and being subject to the spreading action of the latter.

6. In a concrete wall form, the combination set forth in claim 5 and wherein the forward edge of the thrust plate is formed with a downturned bearing flange which abuts against the outer edges of said pair of abutting side members.

7. In a concrete wall form installation, the combination set forth in claim 1 and including, additionally, a second waler board positioned horizontally against the front side of the form, bearing against the outer edges of said pair of abutting side members in bridging relationship and spaced beneath said first mentioned waler board, said latter waler board effectively resting on the lower leg of the bracket and being confined between said wedge and the outer edges of said pair of abutting side members.