EP0354946B1

EP0354946B1 - A mould bulkhead

Info

Publication number: EP0354946B1
Application number: EP19890902095
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lars Rosenquist
Original assignee: CBT DATAUTVECKLING AB
Current assignee: CBT DATAUTVECKLING AB
Priority date: 1988-01-28
Filing date: 1989-01-27
Publication date: 1992-12-02
Also published as: WO1989007041A1; EP0354946A1; SE459960B; SE8800277L; SE8800277D0

Abstract

A mould bulkhead of the kind which is used in moulds or forms intended for moulding slab-like concrete elements and which are placed and secured transversely or longitudinally of a mould with the aid of fastener devices. The invention is characterized in that the bulkhead (10) includes an aluminium profile (15) which is fitted with a casing profile (16) which is made of a softer, springy material, such as a plastics material, and in that the casing (16) has located on a lower part thereof a downwardly and outwardly extending tongue or lip (17), the top (18) of which, in the absence of load, is located at a lower level than that part (19, 20) of the undersurface of the casing (16) which is intended to lie against the mould bottom.

Description

The present invention relates to a mould bulkhead, or stop end, of the kind used in moulds intended for moulding slab-like concrete elements.
In the manufacture of such concrete elements, a series of mutually different elements of mutually different outside measurements are moulded in one and the same mould.
This mould will normally comprise a flat sheet or plate which has mould bulkheads permanently or fixedly attached to the edge surfaces thereof, such as to form an upstanding coaming.
These stationary bulkheads extend around the full edge surface of the mould to form said coaming, which thus determines the maximum element size which can be cast in the mould.
The mould, however, is often used to cast concrete elements which are smaller than said maximum size. To this end, the mould is adapted to correspond to the desired element size with the aid of further bulkheads, or stop ends, which are attached to two mutually opposing bulkheads of the aforesaid permanent bulkheads.
One serious problem encountered with known bulkheads is that they do not seal satisfactorily against the mould bottom and consequently concrete will penetrate beneath the bulkheads during casting and vibration of the concrete. As a result, it is necessary to chip away this concrete and smooth clean the corners of the cast concrete element, which is both a laborious and time consuming task.
There are previously known bulkheads provided with a tongue intended to lie against the bottom of a mould. DE 21 63 945 and DE 16 83 941 shows such bulkheads. However, even if bulkheads of the present kind are provided with tongues, it is difficult to obtain a tight seal along the whole length of the bulkhead, since the bulkhead is only fastened and pressed down towards the bottom of the mould at the ends of the bulkhead.
The present invention solves this problem.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a mould bulkhead of the kind used in moulds intended for moulding slab-like concrete elements and placed and secured transversely or longitudinally of the mould with the aid of fastener devices, which bulkhead is provided at its lower part a downwardly and outwardly extending tongue made of a softer and springy material, such as a plastics material, the tip of which, when no load acts thereon, is located on a lower level than that part of the casing undersurface which is intended to lie against the mould bottom, which bulkhead is characterized in that the bulkhead includes an aluminium profile fitted with a casing profile, where the casing includes said tongue, and in that the aluminium profile is configured with a downward bend, such that in the absence of load in use the ends of said profile will be located on a higher level than the centre thereof and in that said fastener devices are intended for attachment to permanent of fixed bulkheads along the edges of the mould, and in that the fastener devices are intended to press down the bulkhead against the mould bottom in a manner to straighten out, or substantially straighten out the downward bend of the bulkhead.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to an exemplifying embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a bulkhead constructed according to the present invention;
Figure 2 illustrates the bulkhead from one side thereof;
Figure 3 illustrates, interalia, a first bulkhead fastener device for securing the bulkhead to a mould;
Figure 4 illustrates the fastener device of Figure 3 as seen from the right in said Figure;
Figure 5 illustrates, interalia, a second bulkhead fastener device for securing the bulkhead to a mould; and
Figure 6 is a schematic view from above, illustrating the use of an inventive bulkhead in a mould.

Figure 6 illustrates schematically a mould or form 1 which has so-called permanent bulkheads, or stops ends, 2, 3, 4, 5 extending around the perimeter thereof; see also Figures 3 and 5, of which Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line A-A in Figure 6 and Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line B-B in Figure 6.
Figure 6 illustrates a detachable inventive bulkhead 10 which extends in the longitudinal direction of the mould 1 and a detachable bulkhead 11 which extends transversely of the longitudinal axis of the mould.
The bulkheads 10, 11 are intended to be positioned and secured to the permanent or fixed mould bulkheads 2-5 with the aid of fastener devices 12, 13, 14.
Figure 1 illustrates an inventive bulkhead 10, 11 in cross-section, corresponding to the cross-section C-C in Figure 6.
The bulkhead includes an aluminium profile 15 fitted with a casing 16 which is made of a softer and springy material, such as a plastics material. Located on the lower end part of the casing 16 is a tongue or lip 17, the outer tip 18 of which, when no load acts thereon, is located at a level which is lower than that part 19, 20 of the casing which is intended to abut the bottom 22 of the mould, Thus, when the bulkhead is pressed down against the mould bottom 22, the tongue 17 wil be forced out slightly to the position 21 shown in chain in Figure 1, against its inherent spring force. The bulkhead is intended to be positioned so that the tongue will face towards that part of the mould which is to be filled with concrete.
According to one particularly important embodiment of the invention, the aluminium profile is configured with a downward bend f which is greatest at the centre of the profile, seen in its length direction, so that when no load acts on the profile in its position of use the ends 23-24 of the profile will lie on a higher level than its centre, see Figure 2.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the ratio of the downward bend f to the total length of the profile (L) is from about 5:3000 to 30:3000, preferably 20:3000.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the aluminum profile has a rectangular cross-section, preferably with a material tickness of up to 5 mm. In this respect, the aluminium profile is preferably formed so that in the use position of the profile the vertical parts 25, 26 of the profile will have a material thickness of about 2.5 mm and the horizontal parts thereof will have a material thickness of about 5 mm.
When the aluminium profile has a length of between 1 and 6 metres and incorporates the aforesaid downward bend, this profile configuration will produce sufficient force to straighten out the profile, by forcing down the ends of the profile with the aid of fastener devices 12, 13, 14.
The fastener devices 12, 13, 14 are thus intended to press down the ends of the bulkhead towards and against the mould bottom, so that the downward bend f is straightened totally, or substantially totally. This means that the centre parts of the bulkhead will also be pressed against the mould bottom with a given force, which is not the case with bulkheads which lack the downward bend f.
This downward force on the bulkhead will bring the casing parts 19, 20 into abutment with the mould bottom 22 under a given force while the tongue 17, at the same time, will be brought to the position 21 shown in a chain line in Figure 1.
This will provide a fully tight seal against the escape of concrete poured into the mould, therewith completely eliminating the problems recited in the introduction and providing a concrete element which has smooth and clean corners which require no further treatment.
According to a preferred embodiment, the plastics material is a polypropylene plastic.
According to another preferred embodiment the plastics material is a PVC-plastic.
The use of aluminium will provide a profile which while sufficiently rigid is nevertheless bendable. The advantage afforded by the use of a plastic casing is that a bendable or flexible tongue 17 can be formed and that concrete will not come into direct contact with aluminium. This latter advantage is also highly beneficial, since concrete adheres firmly aluminium.
Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a fastener device, generally referenced 14, which comprises two parts 29, 30 the part 29 in Figure 4 being shown in a direction from the right in Figure 3.
As will be seen from Figure 3, the fastener part 29 presents a claw 31 which grips around the outer edge of the permanent bulkhead 5. The fastener part 29 also lies against and grips around the upper part of the permanent bulkhead 5. As shown in Figure 4, the fastener part 29 is U-shaped, having two legs 32, 33 which are joined by a web 34. A part 30 in the form of a straight tie or brace is inserted between the legs 32, 33. The opposite end 35 of the tie 30 lies against the upper part of an inventive bulkhead 10. When screwing in a bolt 36 which acts between the web 34 and the tie 35, the tie is moved down so as to urge the bulkhead against the mould bottom. Preferably, a multiple of such fastener devices 14 are located along a longitudinally extending bulkhead 10, as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 5 illustrates fastener devices, generally referenced 12, which are used preferably to secure and clamp down transverse inventive bulkheads 11. The fastener 12 includes two parts 37, 38, of which one part 37 has a claw 39 which grips around the permanent bulkhead 5. The other part 38 is a tie or brace which is attached to the inventive bulkhead by means of bolts 40, 41. Acting between the first fastener part 37 and the second fastener part 38 is a bolt 42 which when tightened or screwed in causes the ends of the bulkhead to be pressed down against the mould bottom.
It is thus evident that the inventive bulkhead can be used as both a transverse and a longitudinal bulkhead.
It will be understood that the structural design of the bulkhead can be changed without changing its properties so that the described function can not be achieved.
Furthermore, the fastener devices can have any suitable configuration or construction, partially governed by the configuration of the mould and its edges. The present invention shall not therefore be considered limited to the aforedescribed embodiments, since modifications can be made within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

A mould bulkhead of the kind used in moulds (1) intended for moulding slab-like concrete elements and placed and secured transversely or longitudinally of the mould with the aid of fastener devices, which bulkhead (10,11) is provided at its lower part a downwardly and outwardly extending tongue (17) made of a softer and springy material, such as plastics material, the tip (18) of which, when no load acts thereon, is located on a lower level than that part (19,20) of the casing undersurface which is intended to lie against the mould bottom, characterized in that the bulkhead includes an aluminium profile (15) fitted with a casing profile (16), where the casing includes said tongue, and in that the aluminium profile (15) is configured with a downward bend (f), such that in the absence of load in use the ends (23,24) of said profile will be located on a higher level than the centre thereof and in that said fastener devices (12,13,14) are intended for attachment to permanent of fixed bulkheads (5) along the edges of the mould (1), and in that the fastener devices (12,13,14) are intended to press down the bulkhead (10,11) against the mould bottom (22) in a manner to straighten out, or substantially straighten out the downward bend (f) of the bulkhead (10,11).
A bulkhead according to claim 1, characterized in that the ratio of said downward bend (f) to the total length of the profile (L) is from about 5:3000 to 30:3000, preferably 20:3000.
A bulkhead according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the aluminium profile (15) has a rectangular cross-section, and preferably has material thickness of up to about 5 mm.
A bulkhead according to claim 3, characterized in that, seen in the in use position of the bulkhead, the vertical parts (25, 26) of the aluminium profile (15) have a material thickness of about 2.5 and the horizontal parts (27, 28) of said profile have a material thickness of about 5 mm.
A bulkhead according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the plastics material is a polypropylene plastic.
A bulkhead according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the plastics material is a PVC-plastic.