AU2009202502A1

AU2009202502A1 - Reinforcement Placement Stand

Info

Publication number: AU2009202502A1
Application number: AU2009202502A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Allan Willoughby
Original assignee: OZLOGS Pty Ltd
Current assignee: OZLOGS Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2008-06-23
Filing date: 2009-06-23
Publication date: 2010-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 2029-06-23
Also published as: NZ577884A; AU2009202502B2; AU2009202502B8

Description

I SUPPORT FOR REINFORCEMENT FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 The present invention relates to a support for supporting reinforcement material. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Concrete is a widely used material. For example, concrete is used in the construction of 10 building slabs for residential and commercial buildings and in high-rise buildings. Concrete also used in the manufacture of concrete beams and other discrete concrete articles. In the manufacture of many concrete articles, it is necessary to include reinforcement in 15 concrete. This is necessary because, although concrete has a very high strength when placed in compression, it has quite poor strength when placed in tension. Reinforcement that is typically used in concrete includes steel reinforcing bars or steel reinforcing meshes. When reinforcement is used, the reinforcement is often supported above a surface by the use of a reinforcement support. This ensures that the reinforcement 20 becomes fully encased in concrete and this assists in protecting the reinforcement against corrosion. The reinforcement supports are often called "bar chairs" in the concreting trade. Conventional reinforcement supports generally comprise a large base area that rests on a 25 lower surface with a body extending upwardly therefrom. The upper part of the reinforcement support includes a region or arrangement that holds or retains or positions the reinforcing material in a desired position. The reinforcement supports are typically made from a plastic material. As the reinforcement supports become encased in concrete, they are not reusable and therefore it is desirable that the reinforcement supports can be 30 manufactured as cheaply as possible.

2 Concrete is also used in the manufacture of articles that are intended for use in gardening or landscaping. For example, garden edges and railway sleepers may be made from concrete. One product that is manufactured by the present applicant comprises concrete sleepers that are manufactured such that they look like traditional wooden railway 5 sleepers. Indeed, some of these concrete sleepers may even take the appearance of an aged wooden railway sleeper. In order to manufacture concrete sleepers (or other similar beams), a mould or a tray having the desired shape of the sleeper is provided. The mould or tray comprises a 10 bottom or floor, side walls and end walls, and an open top. In order to obtain the desired aesthetic finish of a weathered wooden sleeper, the mould or tray may have appropriate surface formations formed on the bottom, side walls and end walls of the mould or tray. In order to provide sufficient strength to the completed sleepers, reinforcement material, which is typically reinforcing bars but may be a reinforcing mesh, is supported on 15 reinforcement supports in the mould and concrete is poured into the mould to fully fill the mould and encase the reinforcement material. The concrete is then allowed to cure and the sleeper is removed from the mould or tray. It will be appreciated that the reinforcement supports rest on the floor or bottom of the 20 mould or tray and acts to space the reinforcement material from the bottom of the mould or tray. The reinforcement supports also have a height such that the reinforcement material is supported at a distance below the top of the mould or tray in order to ensure that the reinforcement material becomes fully encased in concrete when the mould or tray is filled with concrete. 25 The bottom or floor of the mould or tray forms a casting surface that forms one of the decorative surfaces of the concrete sleeper when the concrete sleeper is removed from the mould or tray. The present inventor has found that conventional reinforcement supports (bar chairs) are not suitable for use in manufacturing concrete sleepers because the large 30 base of conventional bar chairs presents a large area that can often be seen in the decorative face of the concrete sleeper.

3 The present applicant does not concede that the prior art discussed in the specification forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere. 5 Throughout the specification the term "comprising" and its grammatical equivalents shall be taken to have an inclusive meaning unless the context of use indicates otherwise. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 10 It is an object of the present invention to provide a reinforcement support that overcomes or at least ameliorates one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages or provides a useful commercial alternative. In the first aspect, the present invention provides a support for supporting reinforcement 15 above a floor of a mould or tray, the support comprising an elongate member, at least two legs extending downwardly from the elongate member, each leg having a narrow lower end portion, and reinforcement holding means on the elongate member. In one embodiment, the at least two legs have a tapering shape, with the legs tapering to a 20 narrower configuration towards the bottom of the legs. The legs may end in a point at the lower ends. The legs present only a very small area at their lower end. In one embodiment, the legs may comprise conical legs. In another embodiment, the legs may comprise pyramidal legs. 25 In another embodiment, the legs may be provided with a narrow portion at the lower end, with an upper portion of the legs comprising a wider portion. The wider portion may be spaced from the floor of the mould or tray by the narrow portion.

4 In another embodiment, the legs may have a shape that includes a generally constant cross-section width in one direction but a tapering width in a generally perpendicular direction to the one direction. 5 The two or more legs may be spaced apart from each other and positioned in substantial alignment with each other. Alternatively, the two or more legs may be spaced apart from each other and offset relative to each other. The reinforcement support also include reinforcement holding means on the elongate 10 member. The reinforcement holding means may comprise one or more clips for receiving reinforcement material and retaining the reinforcement material. Alternatively, the reinforcement holding means may comprise one or more recesses for receiving and positioning the reinforcement. The reinforcement holding means may comprise one or more loops for receiving the reinforcement. 15 The reinforcement holding means may be integrally formed with the elongate member. Alternatively, the reinforcement holding means may be formed as separate pieces to the elongate member and subsequently connected to or mounted to the elongate member. 20 The elongate member may comprise a generally flat strip of material. The elongate member may have a length that is less than a width of the mould or tray. In some embodiments, the reinforcement holding means is spaced from respective ends of the elongate member. In this fashion, the reinforcement material may itself be spaced 25 from the side walls of the mould or tray. In some embodiments, the reinforcement holding means comprises two or more reinforcement holding means and the reinforcement support is arranged such that each reinforcement holding means has a leg positioned underneath. In this fashion, each 30 reinforcement holding means is supported by a leg when in use and this assists in 5 preventing or minimising sagging of the reinforcement support that might otherwise be caused by the weight of the reinforcement being supported by the reinforcement support. The reinforcement holding means is suitably positioned on an upper surface of the 5 elongate member. The reinforcement holding means it suitably spaced above a lower end of the legs. In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for forming an article from a 10 curable material comprising providing a mould or tray, placing two or more supports as described with reference to the first aspect of the present invention in the tray such that the supports extend in a generally transverse direction across the tray, placing reinforcement on the supports such that the supports support the reinforcement above a floor of the mould or tray, pouring a curable material into the mould or tray so that the 15 curable material encases the reinforcement, allowing the curable material to cure and removing the article from the mould or tray. In this method, the curable material is suitably concrete. However, other curable materials, such as polymeric compositions, may also be used. 20 The reinforcement may comprise reinforcing bars. The support for supporting reinforcement material of the present invention has legs that include a narrow lower end portion. Therefore, it is the narrow lower end portion of the 25 legs that contact the floor of the mould or tray. When concrete is poured into the mould or tray, the concrete surrounds the narrow lower end portion of the legs. Consequently, the only part of the legs that is left exposed to an outer surface of the completed article is the narrow lower end portion. Therefore, only a very small region of the reinforcement support remains visible in the completed article, thereby greatly improving the aesthetics 30 of the completed article.

6 In some embodiments of the present invention, the reinforcement holding means is spaced away from the ends of the elongate member. In this fashion, the elongate member acts to space the reinforcement from the side walls of the mould or tray and thereby further assists in ensuring that the reinforcement material is properly positioned within 5 the mould or tray during formation of the article and also ensures that the reinforcement material becomes fully encased in concrete or other curable material. Desirably, the reinforcement support of the present invention may be manufactured by moulding from a plastics material. The reinforcement support may be manufactured 10 relatively inexpensively so that use thereof does not greatly increased the cost of manufacture. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 15 Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a support for supporting reinforcement in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In figure 1, the support is shown positioned in a tray or mould; Figure 2 is an underneath view of a support for reinforcement in accordance with another 20 embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is an underneath view of a support for reinforcement in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; 25 Figure 4 is a side view of a reinforcement support in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is an underneath view of a support for reinforcement in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; and 30 7 Figure 6 is a top view of a tray or mould having a plurality of supports for reinforcement placed therein, with the supports for reinforcement supporting reinforcement bars. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 5 It will be understood that the drawings have been provided for the purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the person skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention should not be considered to be limited solely to the features as shown in the attached drawings. 10 Turning initially to figure 1, the support 10 for reinforcement is positioned inside a tray or mould 12. Tray or mould 12 includes a floor 14 and opposed side walls 16, 18. Although not shown in figure 1, the tray or mould 12 will also include opposed end walls. The floor, side walls and end walls of the trade or mould form surfaces that are intended 15 to be visible (in some circumstances) during the use of the article manufactured in the tray or mould 12. The reinforcement support 10 comprises an elongate member 20, in the form of a generally flat strip. As can be seen from figure 1, elongate member 20 has a length that is 20 slightly less than the width of the tray or mould 12. The reinforcement support 10 shown in figure 1 further includes three legs 22, 24, 26. The legs extend downwardly from the lower surface of elongate member 20. As can be seen from figure 1, each leg is significantly narrower at its lower end than that its upper end. Indeed, the legs 22, 24, 26 comprise tapering legs that taper down to points at their lower ends. In this manner, it is 25 only the points at the lower ends of legs 22, 24, 26 that come into contact with the floor 14 of the mould or tray 12. The reinforcement support 10 also includes a plurality of clips 28, 30, 32 that are designed to receive and hold reinforcement bars (which are shown at 34, 36 and 38 in 30 figure 1). The clips 28, 30, 32 form the reinforcement holding means of the reinforcement support 10. Each clip comprises spaced arcuate arms having a gap 8 between respective upper ends. The clips are suitably made from a resilient material so that the arms of each clip can move away from each other as the reinforcement material is inserted therebetween and then spring back over the reinforcement material once the reinforcement has passed through the gap between the upper ends of each arm of each 5 clip. As can also be seen from figure 1, the legs 22, 24 and 26 are positioned directly below respective clips 28, 30 and 32. In this manner, the weight of the reinforcing bars positioned in clips 28, 30 and 32 is borne directly by the respective legs 22, 24 and 26 10 that are located directly underneath the clips. This assists in avoiding or minimising sagging of the reinforcement support 10 that may otherwise arise due to the weight of the reinforcing bars held in the clips. It can also be seen from figure 1 that the reinforcing bars 34, 36, 38 are positioned above 15 the floor 14 of the mould or tray 12. Similarly, the reinforcing bars 34, 36 and 38 are positioned away from the side walls 16, 18 of the mould or tray. The reinforcing bars 34, 36, 38 are also positioned below the top of the mould or tray 12. Therefore, the reinforcing bars are positioned by the reinforcement support 10 such that the reinforcing bars become completely encased in concrete (or other curable material) when the mould 20 or tray is filled with concrete (or other curable material). This is desirable as it minimises the risk of corrosion of the reinforcing material during use of the article manufactured in the mould or tray 12. Figure 2 shows an underneath view of a reinforcement support in accordance with 25 another embodiment of the present invention. The reinforcement support 50 shown in figure 2 comprises an elongate member 52 having three downwardly extending legs 54, 56, 58. Legs 54, 56 and 58 take the form of conical legs that have a thickness that decreases towards the lower end of the legs. Indeed, the lower ends of legs 54, 56 in 58 terminate in respective points 60, 62, 64. 30 9 Figure 3 shows an underneath view of a reinforcement support in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In figure 3, the reinforcement support 70 comprises an elongate member 72 having three legs 74, 76 and 78. Each of the legs comprises a pyramid having its apex located at the lower end of each leg. The apex of 5 each respectively is shown by reference numerals 80, 82 and 84 in figure 3. As shown in figures 2 and 3, the legs of the reinforcement supports are spaced from each other and generally aligned along the elongate member in a straight line. However, it will be appreciated that the legs may be spaced from each other along the length of the 10 elongate member and slightly offset from each other, for example, in a triangular pattern, so that the legs can assist in standing the reinforcement support in an upright configuration. Figure 4 shows a side view of a reinforcement support 90 in accordance with another 15 embodiment of the present invention. The reinforcement support 90 comprises an elongate member 92 having two reinforcement holding clips 94 and 96. Each clip 94, 96 has a respective leg 98, 100 positioned directly underneath. Each leg comprises a relatively wide upper portion 102 and a relatively narrow lower portion 104. There is a step change in width between the upper portion 102 and the relatively narrower lower 20 portion 104 in the legs. Figure 5 shows an underneath view of the reinforcement support in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention. In figure 5, the reinforcement support 110 comprises an elongate member 112 having two legs 114, 116 extending downwardly 25 therefrom. Each leg 114, 116 comprises a triangular prism that tapers down to an edge 118 at its lower end. In this manner, only edge 118 contacts the floor of the mould or tray. Figure 6 shows a top view of a mould or tray 120. The mould or tray 120 includes 30 opposed side walls 122, 124, opposed end walls 126, 128 and a floor denoted by reference numeral 130. A plurality of reinforcement supports 132, 134, 136 are 10 positioned in tray 120. The reinforcement supports 132, 134 and 136 are similar to those shown in figure 4 in that they include two reinforcement holding clips each. As can be seen from figure 6, the length of the elongate member of each reinforcement support 132, 134, 136 is slightly less than the width of the tray or mould 120. Two reinforcing bars 5 138, 140 have been mounted in the clips of the reinforcement supports 132, 134, 136. In this manner, the reinforcing bars 138, 140 prevent each individual reinforcement support 132, 134, 136 from falling over. The reinforcement supports 132, 134, 136 are suitably positioned such that the ends of 10 the elongate members are spaced from the side walls 122, 124 of the mould 120. However, if the positioning of the reinforcement supports becomes offset, one end of the elongate member could come into contact with the side wall of the tray. However, as the reinforcement holding clips are positioned away from the ends of the elongate members, the reinforcing bars will remain spaced from the side walls of the mould or tray. This 15 ensures that the reinforcing bars become encased in concrete. Once the reinforcement supports and reinforcing bars have been positioned as shown in figure 6, the mould 120 is filled with concrete and the concrete is allowed to cure. Allowing the concrete to cure my simply involves allowing the concrete to set in an 20 ambient environment. Alternatively, the concrete may be cured using an appropriate curing environment. Once the concrete has been cured, the completed article may be removed from the mould or tray and the mould or tray made the reused. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be susceptible to 25 variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It will be understood that the present invention encompasses all such variations and modifications that fall within its spirit and scope.

Claims

1. A support for supporting reinforcement above a floor of a mould or tray, the support comprising an elongate member, at least two legs extending downwardly from 5 the elongate member, each leg having a narrow lower end portion, and reinforcement holding means on the elongate member.

2. A support according to claim I wherein the at least two legs taper to a narrower configuration towards a lower end of the legs.

3. A support according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the at least two legs end in a 10 point at the lower end.

4. A support according to any one of claims I to 3 wherein the at least two legs are conical or pyramidal.

5. A support according to any one or the preceding claims wherein the at least two legs include a generally constant cross-sectional width in a first direction and a tapering 15 width in a second direction, the second direction being generally perpendicular to the first direction.

6. A support according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the at least two legs are spaced apart from each other and offset relative to each other.

7. A support according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the reinforcement 20 holding means comprises one or more clips, recesses or loops for receiving reinforcement material.

8. A support according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the support includes two or more reinforcement holdings means arranged such that each of the reinforcement holdings means has a leg positioned underneath. 25

9. A support according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the reinforcement means is positioned on an upper surface of the elongate member.

10. A method for forming an article from a curable material comprising providing a mould or tray, placing two or more supports according to any one of claims 1 to 9 in the tray such that the supports extend in a generally transverse direction across the tray, 30 placing reinforcement on the supports such that the supports support the reinforcement above a floor of the mould or tray, pouring a curable material into the mould or tray so 12 that the curable material encases the reinforcement, allowing the curable material to cure and removing the article from the mould or tray.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein the curable material is concrete.

12. A method according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein the reinforcement is one or 5 more reinforcing bars.

13. A method according to any one of claims 10 to 12 wherein the lower end portion of the legs is placed in contact with the floor of the mould or tray.

14. A support for supporting reinforcement above a floor of a mould or tray as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings. 10

15. A method for forming an article from a curable material as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.