SE539227C2

SE539227C2 - Reinforcing elements for casting and reinforcing apparatus including such reinforcing elements

Info

Publication number: SE539227C2
Application number: SE1350190A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Persson Johan
Original assignee: Svensk Cellarmering Fabrik Ab
Priority date: 2013-02-18
Filing date: 2013-02-18
Publication date: 2017-05-23
Also published as: SE1350190A1; EP2956596A1; EP2956596A4; AP2015008723A0; WO2014126532A1

Abstract

13 Abstract A reinforcement element for being positioned within a cast, wherein thereinforcement element comprises a plane sheet- or plate-shaped body of atleast one row of at least two consecutively coupled reinforcement portionswith waist portions there between. At least one of the reinforcement portionshas an oblong through hole, and at least one end reinforcement portion at theend of the row of reinforcement portions has a peripheral width correspondingto the elongation of the oblong through hole such that the end reinforcementportion is lockable with the oblong through hole. (Fig. 1)

Description

AWAPATENT AB Kontor/HandläggareStockholm/Claes Westerlund/CWE Svensk Cellarmering Fabrik AB Vår referens SE-21061659 Ansökningsnr REINFORCEMENT ELEMENT FOR CASTING AND REINFORCEMENTARRANGEMENT COMPRISING SUCH REINFORCEIVIENT ELEMENTS Field of the invention The present invention relates to the field of reinforcement elements andreinforcement arrangements comprising such reinforcement elements. lnparticular, the invention relates to a reinforcement element and areinforcement arrangement comprising such reinforcement elements forcasüng.

Background of the invention Conventional reinforcements for casting comprise reinforcement rods orelements which are attached and/or connected to each other in structures.Such reinforcements have the disadvantage of providing a relatively poor loadresistance to weight ratio. Furthermore, handling of the reinforcement rodsand assembling them into reinforcement structures is a time consuming and heavy task.

Reinforcement elements comprising a plate-shaped body of a row ofconsecutively coupled ring-shaped portions are known from WO2012/050515.Such reinforcement elements achieve an improved load resistance to weightratio compared to conventional reinforcements. Various means for couplingtwo or more reinforcement elements together are disclosed inWO2012/050515, such as for example separate linking elements orinterconnecting portions formed by not cutting out the entire circumference ofthe hole of an outermost reinforcement portion. These means for couplingtogether require extra steps in the manufacturing process and, in the case ofthe separate linking elements, may be inconvenient to handle duringassembly.

Summary of the invention An object of the invention is to provide a reinforcement element and areinforcement arrangement comprising such reinforcement elements whichallows the reinforcement elements to be more efficiently and convenientlycoupled together compared to the state of the art. Another object is to allowan individual reinforcement element to be coupled to itself in for example aring-formed reinforcement arrangement or any other curved shape. Yetanother object is to achieve such a reinforcement element and reinforcement arrangement which may be easily manufactured.

These and other objects are achieved by a reinforcement element and areinforcement arrangement comprising such reinforcement elementsaccording to the independent claims. Embodiments of the invention aredefined by the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a reinforcementelement for being positioned within a cast, wherein the reinforcement elementcomprises a plane sheet- or plate-shaped body of at least one row of at leasttwo consecutively coupled reinforcement portions with waist portions therebetween. At least one of the reinforcement portions has an oblong throughhole, and at least one end reinforcement portion at the end of the row ofreinforcement portions has a peripheral width corresponding to the elongationof the oblong through hole such that the end reinforcement portion is lockablewith the oblong through hole. ln other words, the at least one end reinforcement portion at the end of therow of reinforcement portions has a peripheral width such that the endreinforcement portion is insertable in the oblong through hole in order tocouple the reinforcement portions together. Put differently, the peripheralwidth of the at least one end reinforcement portion corresponds to the lengthof the oblong through hole in its direction of elongation. The peripheral widthof the at least one end reinforcement portion may be substantially equal to orsmaller than the elongation or length of the oblong through hole in its direction 3 of elongation. Thus, a short or non-elongated width of the oblong through holeis smaller than that of the peripheral outer width of the at least one endreinforcement portion in order to obtain locking.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided areinforcement arrangement comprising a first and second reinforcementelement. Each of the reinforcement elements comprises a sheet- or plate-shaped body of at least one row of at least two consecutively coupledreinforcement portions with waist portions there between. At least one of thereinforcement portions of the first reinforcement element has an oblongthrough hole. At least one end reinforcement portion at the end of the row ofreinforcement portions of the second reinforcement element has a peripheralwidth corresponding to the elongation of the oblong through hole such thatthe end reinforcement portion is lockable with the oblong through hole.

The invention is based on the insight that by making the through hole in atleast one of the reinforcement portions forming the reinforcement elementoblong or elongated such that the peripheral or outer width of an endreinforcement portion (i.e. a reinforcement portion disposed at an end of thereinforcement element) corresponds to the elongation of the through hole, thereinforcement element may be conveniently coupled to itself or to anotherreinforcement element by introducing and thereafter locking the endreinforcement portion into and with the oblong or elongated through hole.Thus, by adapting the elongation of the oblong or elongated through hole tothe peripheral or outer width of the end reinforcement portion, or vice versa,the end reinforcement portion may easily be introduced into the oblongthrough hole and thereafter turned to obtain an efficiently locked coupling. lnother words, the oblong through hole and the peripheral width are configuredto be lockable by insertion and turning.

Surprisingly, a reinforcement element having at least one oblong through holehas proven to achieve a load resistance to weight ratio which is not 4 substantially impaired, and in some applications actually improved, comparedto the known reinforcement element having circular through holes. lt is understood that oblong through hole refers to a through hole which iselongated in one direction, e.g. elliptical, oval, drop-shaped or the like. Putdifferently, oblong through hole refers to a through hole having a crosssection in the plane being perpendicular to the bore direction of the throughhole which is elongated in one direction. lt is furthermore understood that theperipheral width of a reinforcement portion refers to the outer width of thereinforcement portion, e.g. the outer diameter of a reinforcement portionhaving a circular outer shape or the minor or conjugate diameter of areinforcement portion having an elliptic outer shape.

The reinforcement element and reinforcement arrangement according to theinvention may be used for reinforcing for example concrete, EPS concrete(expanded polystyrene concrete), AAC (autoclaved aerated concrete),composite materials or the like. ln an embodiment of the invention according to the first or second aspect, theoblong through hole is elongated in a non-perpendicular direction relative alengthwise direction of the row of reinforcement portions. lt is understood thatlengthwise direction refers to the direction of the row or the direction of theline along which the reinforcement portions are arranged. lt is alsounderstood that the row of reinforcement portions and line along which thereinforcement portions are not necessarily straight. ln some embodiments,the row of reinforcement portions may be curved. The at least one endreinforcement portion may furthermore have a peripheral width such that theend reinforcement portion is insertable in the oblong through hole solely whenthe end reinforcement portion is in a rotated position relative the at least oneof said reinforcement portions. Thereby, the end reinforcement portion islocked to the oblong through hole in the sense that it cannot be pulled outfrom the through hole in the lengthwise direction of the row (or in any otherdirection) except for in the rotated position. ln another embodiment of the invention according to the first or secondaspect, at least one reinforcement portion has an outer shape correspondingto that of its through hole. The at least one reinforcement portion may thushave the same oblong outer shape as the through hole. For example, the atleast one reinforcement portion may have the shape of an elongated oroblong ring. ln yet another embodiment of the invention according to the first or secondaspect, each reinforcement portion has a through hole. ln yet anotherembodiment of the invention according to the first or second aspect, eachreinforcement portion has an oblong through hole. ln yet another embodiment of the invention according to the first or secondaspect, each reinforcement portion has a smoothly curved periphery. ln otherwords, the periphery of each reinforcement portion is smooth such that eachreinforcement portions does not have any edges, which could be potentialindications of fracture. ln yet another embodiment of the invention according to the first or secondaspect, the reinforcement element has a smoothly curved periphery. ln otherwords, not only do the reinforcement portions have smooth peripheries, butthe waist portions between the reinforcement portions are also smooth andthe waist portions transcend to the reinforcement portions in a smoothmanner, i.e. with a smoothly curved shape. Consequently, no edges, whichcould be potential indications of fracture, are present on the periphery of thereinforcement element. ln yet another embodiment of the invention according to the first or secondaspect, the inner periphery, i.e. the circumference of the through hole, of eachreinforcement portion is smooth. Consequently, no edges, which could bepotential indications of fracture, are present on the inner periphery of thereinforcement portions. ln yet another embodiment of the invention according to the first or secondaspect, each of the waist portions has a smaller peripheral width than theperipheral width of the neighboring reinforcement portions. ln other words, theportions of the reinforcement element where the reinforcement portionstranscend into neighboring reinforcement portion(s) are narrower than theperipheral widths of the reinforcement portions. The peripheral width of thewaist portions and the peripheral width of the reinforcement portions mayrefer to the outer width of the waist portions and reinforcement portions,respectively, in a perpendicular direction relative to the lengthwise directionof the row of reinforcement portions. ln yet another embodiment of the invention according to the first or secondaspect, the waist portion between the end reinforcement portion and itsneighbouring reinforcement portion has a peripheral width which correspondsto, i.e. is substantially equal to, or slightly smaller than the short or non-elongated width of the oblong through hole of the at least one reinforcementportion. ln yet another embodiment, each waist portion has a peripheral widthwhich corresponds to, i.e. is substantially equal to, or slightly smaller than theshort or non-elongated width of the through hole or each through hole. Theperipheral width of the waist portion and the width of the through hole mayrefer to the widths in a perpendicular direction relative to the lengthwisedirection of the row of reinforcement portions. ln yet another embodiment of the invention according to the first or secondaspect, all reinforcement portions have the same shape and dimensions. lnyet another embodiment of the invention according to the first or secondaspect, the oblong through hole is elliptic, oval or race track-shaped.

Short description of the figures These and other aspects of the present invention will now be described inmore detail, with reference to the appended drawings showing currentlypreferred embodiments of the invention, wherein: 7 fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a reinforcement element accordingto the first aspect of the invention, fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of a reinforcement elementaccording to the first aspect of the invention, fig. 3 shows a third embodiment of a reinforcement element accordingto the first aspect of the invention, fig. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of a reinforcement element accordingto the first aspect of the invention in a circular arrangement, fig. 5 shows an embodiment of a reinforcement arrangement accordingto the second aspect of the invention, and fig. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of a reinforcement element accordingto the first aspect of the invention.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment ofa reinforcement element 1 according tothe first aspect of the invention. The reinforcement element comprises a planesheet- or plate-shaped body of a row of at five consecutively coupledreinforcement portions 1a-1e with waist portions 2a-2d there between. Allreinforcement portions are provided with oblong through holes 3a-3e. Theoblong through holes are elongated in the lengthwise direction of the row. Theoblong through holes and the outer peripheries of all reinforcement portionshave the same elliptical shape. The reinforcement portions may also bedescribed as elongated or oblong rings. Each reinforcement portion has thesame dimensions. Each of the waist portions 2a-2d has a smoothly curvedperiphery such that the elliptical reinforcement portions 1a-1e transcend toeach other smoothly and that the outer periphery of the overall reinforcementelement is smooth. Each waist portion has a smaller width than the peripheralwidth of the neighboring reinforcement portions (in a perpendicular directionrelative the lengthwise direction of the row). The width of each waist portion isfurthermore slightly smaller than the width of the through holes (in aperpendicular direction relative the lengthwise direction of the row). The fifthreinforcement portion 1e has a peripheral width W corresponding to theelongation L of the oblong through hole 3a of the first reinforcement portion. 8 The elongation L corresponds to the length of the oblong through hole 3a inthe lengthwise direction of the row. Furthermore, the width (in a perpendiculardirection relative the lengthwise direction of the row) of each oblong throughhole 3a-3e is smaller than the peripheral width W.

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of a reinforcement element according tothe first aspect of the invention which is similar to the first embodiment exceptfor that only the first and fifth reinforcement portions 11a, 11e are elliptical,whereas the second, third and fourth reinforcement portions 11b-11d are ring-shaped, i.e. the through holes 13b-13d and the outer peripheries of thesecond, third and fourth reinforcement portions are circular.

Fig. 3 shows a third embodiment of a reinforcement element 21 according tothe first aspect of the invention. The reinforcement element comprises a planesheet- or plate-shaped body of a row of at five consecutively coupledreinforcement portions 21 a-21 e with waist portions 22a-22d there between.The first reinforcement portion 21a is provided with an oblong through hole23a. The oblong through hole 23a is elongated in the lengthwise direction ofthe row, but may, as illustrated by the dotted ellipses, be elongated in otherdirections, preferably in a non-perpendicular direction relative the lengthwisedirection of the row. The outer peripheries of the first, second, third and fourthreinforcement portions 21 a-21d are circular, whereas the outer periphery ofthe fifth reinforcement portion is elliptical. The second, third and fourthreinforcement portions 21 b-21d have circular through holes 23b-23d. The fifthreinforcement portion 21e does not have a through hole in this embodiment,but may have so in other embodiments. Each of the waist portions 22a-22dhas a smoothly curved periphery such that the reinforcement portions 21 a- 21 e transcend to each other smoothly and that the outer periphery of theoverall reinforcement element is smooth. Each waist portion has a smallerwidth than the peripheral width of the neighboring reinforcement portions (in aperpendicular direction relative the lengthwise direction of the row). The fifthreinforcement portion 21e has a peripheral width W corresponding to theelongation L of the oblong through hole 23a of the first reinforcement portion. 9 The elongation L corresponds to the length of the oblong through hole 23a inthe Iengthwise direction of the row. Furthermore, the short or non-eiongatedwidth of the oblong through hole 23a is smaller than the peripheral width W.

Fig. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of a reinforcement element 31 according tothe first aspect of the invention which is identical to the first embodiment,except for that it comprises a larger number of reinforcement portions. Thereinforcement is shown bent into a circular shape, where the lastreinforcement portion 31 b of the row of reinforcement portions is locked withinthe through hole 32a of the first reinforcement portion 31a. The peripheralwidth of the last reinforcement portion 31 b has a peripheral widthcorresponding to the elongation of the through hole 32a of the firstreinforcement portion in the same manner as disclosed in figure 1. The waistportion 33b between the last reinforcement portion 31 b and the precedingreinforcement portion 31c has a smaller width than the peripheral width of thereinforcement portions 31 b, 31c and also a slightly smaller width than thewidth of the through hole 33b (in a perpendicular direction relative theIengthwise direction of the row). Therefore, all the reinforcement portions ofthe reinforcement element may be arranged in a plane as shown in figure,also when the last reinforcement portion 31 b is locked within the through hole32a.

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of a reinforcement arrangement according to thesecond aspect of the invention. The reinforcement arrangement comprisesfirst and second reinforcement elements 41 and 44 according to the firstembodiment (not all reinforcement portions are shown). The firstreinforcement portion 44a of the second reinforcement element 44 is lockedwithin the oblong through hole 42a of the first reinforcement portion 41 a of thefirst reinforcement element 41. The waist portion 45a between the firstreinforcement portion 44a of the second reinforcement element 44 and thepreceding reinforcement portion 44b has a smaller width than the peripheralwidth of the reinforcement portions 44a, 44b and also a slightly smaller widththan the width of the through hole 42a (in a perpendicular direction relative the Iengthwise direction of the rows). Therefore, the first and secondreinforcement elements may be arranged along a straight line, i.e. along acommon lengthwise direction, as shown in figure, also when locked together.

Fig. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of a reinforcement element 51 according tothe first aspect of the invention which is similar to the third embodimentexcept for that all reinforcement portions have circular outer peripheries, andthat all reinforcement portions have through holes. The second, third, fourthand fifth reinforcement elements have the same shape and dimensions. Thefifth reinforcement portion 51e has a peripheral width W corresponding to theelongation L of the oblong through hole 53a of the first reinforcement portion.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that a numberof changes and modifications, or alterations of the invention as describedherein may be made. ln particular, the number of reinforcement portions ofthe reinforcement elements shown in the figures are merely chosen forillustrative purposes. Thus, it is to be understood that the above description ofthe invention and the accompanying drawings are to be regarded as a non-limiting examples thereof and that the scope of the invention is defined in theappended patent claims.

Claims

1. _ Reinforcement element (1) for being positioned within a cast, said reinforcement element comprising - a sheet- or plate-shaped body of at least one row of at leasttwo consecutively coupled reinforcement portions (1 a-e) withwaist portions (2a-d) there between, - wherein at least one of said reinforcement portions has anoblong through hole (3a-e), and - wherein at least one end reinforcement portion (1e) at theend of the row of reinforcement portions has a peripheralwidth (W) corresponding to the elongation (L) of said oblongthrough hole such that said end reinforcement portion islockable with said oblong through hole. _ Reinforcement element according to claim 1, wherein said oblong through hole (3a-e) is elongated in a non-perpendicular directionrelative a lengthwise direction of said row. _ Reinforcement element according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each reinforcement portion (1a-e) has a through hole (3a-e)_ _ Reinforcement element according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each reinforcement portion (1a-e) has an oblong through hole(3a-e)_ _ Reinforcement element according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one reinforcement portion has an outer shapecorresponding to that of the through hole. _ Reinforcement element according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each reinforcement portion has a smoothly curved periphery. 12 7. Reinforcement element according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said reinforcement element has a smoothly curved periphery. 8. Reinforcement element according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of said waist portions (2a-d) has a smaller width than the peripheral width of the neighboring reinforcement portions (1a-e). 9. Reinforcement element according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein all reinforcement portions (1a-e) have the same shape and dimensions. 10.Reinforcement element according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said oblong through hole (3a-e) is elliptic, oval or race track- shaped. 11.Reinforcement arrangement comprising first and second reinforcementelements (41, 44), each of said reinforcement elements (41, 44) comprising asheet- or plate-shaped body of at least one row of at leasttwo consecutively coupled reinforcement portions with waistportions there between, wherein at least one of said reinforcement portions (41a) ofsaid first reinforcement element (41) has an oblong throughhole (42a), and wherein at least one end reinforcement portion (44a) at theend of the row of reinforcement portions of said secondreinforcement element (44) has a peripheral widthcorresponding to the elongation of said oblong through hole(42a) such that said end reinforcement portion (44a) islockable with said oblong through hole (42a).