PLASTIC FORMWORK PANEL ASSEMBLY
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a plastic formwork panel assembly used to construct a concrete structure in buildings and more particularly to a plastic formwork panel assembly comprising a plurality of panel members which are fixedly connected to several reinforcing members by holding members.
Background of the invention
It is known as a reusable plastic shuttering assembly, for example as described in Vietnam Patent for Utility Solution No. 262 issued July 17, 2001.
The shuttering assembly comprises a single plastic panel member and a plurality of plastic panel members which are connected in longitudinal sides thereof to each other by the I - shaped tightening bolts fitted in T - shaped grooves of the standard panel member, and connected in lateral sides by T - shaped tightening bolts. Since the panel members are made of plastic material and are connected by the tightening bolts only, a metal supporting frame system is required to support such a shuttering assembly to form a large assembly with sufficient strength.
The metal supporting frame system, which is used to support the formwork panel assembly, comprises a large number of reinforcing and connecting members for assembling the panel members, which results in a protraction of construction periods, lowering productivity and increasing construction costs.
Therefore, a formwork panel assembly which is able to fixedly connect the reinforcing members with the formwork panel members, which is not only simple in structure but also capable of quickly erecting and suitably employing when constructing the large buildings is required.
Summary of the invention
In order to obtain the foregoing objects, in accordance with the first aspect, the invention provides a plastic formwork panel assembly comprising: a plurality of plate-formed panel members in substantially square or rectangular shape with edges adapted for being coupled accordingly to each other, each of the panel members provided with at least a substantially flat first side, a second side opposite to the first side and engaging means formed thereon, a plurality of reinforcing members in the form of substantially oblong parts so adapted that one of the longitudinal surfaces thereof is pressed against the second side of the panel members, a plurality of holding members including a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion via a third portion, wherein a plurality of mating engaging means formed on each of said first and second portions of the holding members and adapted so as to interlock with the engaging means disposed on the second side of said panel members, and the panel members are fixedly connected to the reinforcing members by the holding members so as to form the formwork panel assembly.
With the configuration of the above holding members, the panel members are fixedly connected to the reinforcing members to thereby form a formwork panel assembly. This formwork panel assembly features enhanced loading property relative to a single panel member and thus is used' in the shuttering systems to construct a concrete structure such as a large wall, post, foundation or the like..
Advantageously, the mating engaging means disposed on each of the first and second portions of the holding members are provided in the form of engaging lugs. Also, the engaging means of the panel members are provided with a plurality of opening portions adapted so as to interlock with the mating engaging means of the holding members.
In fact, the reinforcing members are substantially disposed in a first and second directions of the formwork panel assembly during constructing. Preferably, the first and second directions are substantially perpendicular to each other.
In an embodiment, the holding members are substantially formed in the form of an integral member having the mating engaging means adapted to engage with the engaging means of the formwork panel member. The holding member is composed of at least a pair of mating engaging means spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance.
Suitably, the holding members have a substantially U- shape, which is composed of a base and two arms and each of the mating engaging means is located in each arm of this U - shape.
Appropriately, the holding members are made from the materials that feature such mechanical properties that two mating engaging means of the holding members are generally capable of being elastic when they are subjected to a force which is applied to vary a distance therebetween and the holding members preferably are made of plastic material having proper durability and are produced by injection molding.
In another embodiment, the holding members comprise generally a first, second and third portions which are separated from each other. The third portion is detachably attached to the first and second portions, wherein the third portion which is made of a high friction material such as leather, fabric or the like is preferably in the form of a band. With the structure of the three separated portions, the holding members can be quickly mounted and suitably incorporated with a reinforcing member having non-standard sizes.
Brief Description of the Drawings
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a formwork panel member,
Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a plastic formwork panel assembly with a holding member according to an embodiment of the invention,
Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the members shown in Fig. 2,
Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a holding member, a formwork panel member and a reinforcing member in a mutually fixedly connected state, and
Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a plastic formwork panel assembly with a holding member according to another embodiment of the invention.
Detailed Description of the preferred embodiments
As shown in Fig. 1, a formwork panel member Al is made of plastic material, a face All of the formwork panel member Al is flattened, a opposing face A12 is provided with a plurality of longitudinal ribs A13 and lateral ribs 14 so that the ribs establish a rigid rib frame. A plurality of counterboring portions A15 are formed on the longitudinal and lateral ribs. These counterboring portions A15 are sized and adapted to serve as an engaging means for the formwork panel members in two directions, preferably vertical and horizontal directions. A plurality of T - shaped grooves A17 are formed on each of the outer longitudinal walls A16 of the formwork panel members Al. Several rectangular holes A19 are formed on each of the end walls A18 of the formwork panel members Al. Dimensions of rectangular holes A19 are slightly larger than the cross-section of a conventional T - shaped tightening bolt.
As shown in Figs. 2-5, the formwork panel members Al are evenly connected by the lateral edges thereof by placing the formwork panel
members side-by-side in such a manner that the lateral edges A18 are pressed against to each other, the longitudinal edges A16 of the formwork panel members Al are connected together by means of T - shaped tightening bolts and L - shaped locks as already known. When constructing the larger surfaces of a wall or a floor, many formwork panel members can be connected by the longitudinal edges A16 and/or by in the lateral edges A18 and cooperate with reinforcing members as described above to form a plastic formwork panel assembly.
In the embodiment of Fig. 2, a plurality of holding members Bl is used to fixedly connect the plastic panel member Al to a reinforcing tube (reinforcing member) Cl. The holding member Bl substantially comprises a first portion Bll, a second portion B12 and a third portion B13 which links the first portion Bll and the second portion B12 together. Each of the mating engaging means Blla and B12a is formed at the ends of the first portion Bll and the second portion B12, respectively.
Preferably, mating engaging means are engaging lugs which are sized so as to interlock with the counterboring portions A15 (engaging means) of the formwork panel members Al.
In the above embodiment, three portions Bll, B12 and B13 of the holding member are integrally formed and the holding members are made of the material which features such mechanical properties that their two mating engaging means have elasticity when they are subjected to a force which is applied to vary the distance therebetween. Advantageously, the holding member is made of plastic material having sufficient strength and produced by injection molding method.
In another embodiment, as shown in Fig. 5, three potions Bll, B12, B13 of the holding member are separately formed wherein the third portion B13 is shaped in the form of a band and is detachably coupled to the first and
second portions Bl l and B12. Preferably, the third portion is made of a material having a high friction coefficient such as leather, fabric or the like.
Next, the method for assembling the holding member in the plastic panel member assembly of the invention will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. Firstly, the panel members Al are coupled together along the longitudinal edges A16 and the lateral edges A18 by means of the methods which are already known, and therefore the description thereof is omitted herein. Then, the reinforcing members are positioned in relation to the panel members so that one surface Cl 1 of the reinforcing member Cl is brought in contact with the panel members Al. In the next step, the holding members Bl are inserted into the predetermined places with respect to the panel members Al so that the mating engaging means of the holding members Bl are engaged with engaging means of the panel members Al. Finally, a tension generating means such as a wedge member Dl (see Fig. 3) or an eccentric member (see Fig. 5) is inserted into a gap formed between the portion B13 of the holding members Bl and the surface C12 of the reinforcing member Cl so that a tensional force is generated to fixedly connect the panel members Al to the reinforcing members Cl.
The formwork panel assembly using the holding members for fixedly connecting the panel members to reinforcing members is described only to exemplify the present invention. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the above embodiments and various modifications and variations of formwork panel assembly with holding members may be made without departing from the scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.