US1553427A - Removable form for ornamental concrete - Google Patents

Description

Sept-"15, I925. I 1,553,427

H. J. BAKER REMOVABLE FORM FOR ORNAMENTAL CONCRETE Filed June 6, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 40 II iI. m

A TTORNEY.

Sept. 15, 1925 1,553,427 H. J. BAKER REIOVABLE FORM FOR ORNAMENTAL CONCRETE Filed June 6, 1925 2 Sheetl-She et 2 IWENTOR. JaufiH-Z Emma,

Patented Sept. 15, 1925.

UNITED STATES HUGH J. BAIgER, or INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

REMOVABLE FORM FOR ORNAMENTAL CONCRETE.

Application filed June 6, 1925. Serial No. 35,305.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH J. BAKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at In dianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Removable Form for Ornamental Concrete, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to produce collapsible and removable forms for molding in place ribbed-slab concrete floors with ornamental ceilings.

Heretofore, for a number of years, ribbedslab concrete floors have been molded in place with non-ornamental ceilings, by the use of collapsible and removable forms. However, when it was desired that the ceilings of such concrete floors be ornamental, it has heretofore been necessary to apply the ornamentation manually after the original concrete has set sufficiently to permit removal of the collapsible forms which provided the non-ornamental ceilings; usually by first applying a metal-lath drop ceiling and then either applying precast plaster ornamental strips to such drop ceiling or else applying plaster in plastic form to such drop ceiling and shaping it as desired.

By my present, invention, it becomes unnecessary either to use a drop ceiling or precast strips or to apply ornamentation by manual labor; for the ornamentation'may be made by my forms by the original casting of the concrete in place, so that such ornamentation is complete and finished when the forms are removed. a

In carrying out my invention, I make the forms of a numberof separate parts, some for forming the faces of the joists and some for forming the floor-slabs between joists, as well as parts'for forming the faces of the girders; and provide some or all of these parts, and especially the parts for forming the joist faces and the floor-slabs, with various raised or depressed portions arranged to provide any desired pattern in the face of the concrete; which raised and depressed portions are suitably arranged with respect to the movements which the parts of the forms must have in their removal so that such removal will not only not be interferred with but will be possible without destroying the ornamental pattern formed in the face of the concrete.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention: Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a ribbed-slab concrete floor, taken perpendicularly to the line of the joists, and

ly upward from below, showing a fragment of a ribbed-slab concrete floor having ornamental ceilings and cast in place on forms in accordance with my invention; Fig. 3 is a fragmental perspective view, looking obliquely downward from above, of the forms by which the floor of Fig. 2 is cast; Fig. 4 is a view, on a somewhat smaller scale, of one'unit of the forms embodying my invention, with the corner moldings and the lids omitted to. show the spacing members; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section through a complete unit of which parts is shown in Fig. 4:. I

In the construction of ribbed-slab concrete floors in buildings, there is usually a flat floor 10 which is crossed on its under side by parallel joists 11 extending in one direction, which joists rest on and spring from parallel beams or girders 12 or masonry walls extending in a direction transverse to the joists. The girders are usually heavier and deeper than the joists, and have side faces 13 which sometimes flare obliquely upward to make the girder wider at the top than at the bottom, from which side faces 13 the joists 11 spring. When such obliqueness is provided, it usually does not extend farther downward than the bottoms of the joists. The under faces 14 .of the floor slabs extend between adjacent side faces15 of adjacent joists 11 and between adjacent faces 13 of adjacent beams 12.

y my invention I make it possible'to make the faces 13,14, and 15 ornamental by the actionof the collapsible and removable forms themselves as the floor is cast in place as a monolith.

Each beam or girder 12, as shown, has a lower substantiallyrectangular portion the bottom and side faces of which are produced by forms-parts 20 and 21, which may be supported in any usual or convenient manner forming no part of the present invention. Boards 22 may rest upon the upper edges of the beam-sides 21 and project outward therefrom to constitute the forms parts for the horizontal under faces 23 which are shown to the next. Each of these units includes a lid 25, for forming the face 14, two spaced upright parts 26 for forming adjacent'side faces of adjacent joists 11, and two sofiit pieces 27 projecting outward oppositely from the basesof the two upright parts 26.

' The soflit pieces 27 are nailed to the upright parts 26 of the units. The sofiit pieces 27 of adjacent units abut, as is clear from Fig. 3;

. and are desirably notched on their "free edges to permit the extension through them of supporting shores 28 up to the level of thcirtop faces, so that such shores 28 may remain in place to support the joists for a time after the remainder of the forms have been removed,

The supporting shores 28 furnish the main support for the units. To this end, they desirably have scabs 29 nailed on their faces, and wooden joists 30 extending transversely to the units are supported on these scabs 29 and bear against the sides of the shores 28 to furnish the supports on which theunits directly rest. i q

The upright parts 26 on their free faces the faces which are not to be engaged by the concrete are provided with upright cleats 31, which stiffen these upright parts and join together the several boards thereof if they are made of more than one board each. Nailed tothe upright cleats 31 are longitudinally extending strips 32 and'33', near the bottom [and top respectively; which strips are thus spaced from the boards 26 by the cleats; Spacers 34; may rest on the strips 32 to space apart by the proper distance the two uprights 26 of a unit. 7

The upper ends of the upright cleats 3.1, which may conveniently be beveled, carry strips of molding 36 which are nailed thereto and thus form rigid continuations ofthe side boards 26.: The moldings 36 may be of a suitable shape to give the desired ornamentation to the corner between the faces 14 and 15, as is indicated generally by the ornamental portion 37in'Fi'g. 2.' The. parts 26, 27, 31', 32, 33, and'36 at one side of any unit are desirably all nailed together to form in effect a single piece.

0n the two such pieces constituting the sides of a unit, the lid 25 rests. This lid may be made of any desired number of boards, fastened together by cross-cleats 38, which also serve to strengthen and stiffen the'lids. Some or all of these cleats 38 may have slightly shorter cleats 39 attached to them.

so that the cleats 38 and 39 together serve to position the lid accurately by co-operation with the strips 33, in which case the ends of the cleats 39 abut against the strips 33, and the ends of the cleats 38 overlie such strips, as is clear from Figs. 1 and 5.

The lid 25 desirably overlies the upper edges of the moldings 36. The edges and upper face of the lid 25 may be provided with ornamentation of any suitable character which does not prevent the removal of such lid from the concrete; as by having molding 40 of suitable drawable shape nailed in the desired pattern to such top' face. .As shown, the molding 40 is. in cross-section a circular segment of something less than half a circle, for facilitating drawing from the formed concrete. For the same reason, the molding 36 is made without any undercut portions, so that it may be withdrawn from the formed concrete by movement of the side parts of theunits downward and away from the joists.

he ends of the units may be oblique, to

conform to the oblique faces 13 of the beams or girders 12. To thisend, each unit has two ends parts 4E5,'which rest upon the oblique ends of the side boards 26, and may be provided with vertical cross-cleats 4 6. TJl-iile the tops of the oblique end-parts 45 need not be at a less height than the bottom of the lid 25, as when the design formed by the molding 36 is to fade away into the oblique faces 13 of the girders, yet it may stop at the height of the upper edges of the side boards 26, to permit end-moldings 4Tcorresponding in general with the moldings 3.6 to be used to carry the ornamentalcorners 37 across the ends of the panels between adjacent joists 11, as is indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The moldings 4L7 may be rigidly attached to the end part and form part thereof. i

In use, the forms are assembled as shown in Fig. 3. The girder forms 20 and 21 are mounted on suitable supports. The shores 28 are set up, and the wooden joists 30 are placed on th scabs 29 nailed to such posts. The's'oflit pieces 27 and upright boards 26 of the various units are set in place, with the parts 27 of adjacent units abutting, and with the boards 26 of each unit spacedapart by the spacers 34. With the boards 26 the moldings 36 rigid therewith are put in place. Then the end-parts 45-with the endmoldings 47 are laidonthe oblique ends of the boards 26. Finally the lids '25 are laid in place to close the tops of the units, and located in proper position thereon by the cleats 38 and 39. p

Vfhen the forms are thus erected, the con crete 10 of the flooris poured, to fill the'upwardly opening spaces in the forms up to the desired level of the floor surface. The reinforcement usually provided in the concrete is not illustrated in Fig. 1, as that may be of any suitable kind and constitutes no part of this invention.

When the concrete is sufliciently set, the forms are removed from beneath it. This is done without disturbing the ornamentation which has been formed in its under surface. In this removal, the wooden joists are taken down, after knocking off the scabs 29 if necessary and the spacers 34 are taken out; then the parts of each unit are successively taken down, leaving the lid 25 until the last. In taking down the units, the upright parts 26 have their lower ends swung toward each other, carrying with them the sofiit pieces 27, which can be done without disturbing the ornamentation formed by the molding 36. This frees such uprights 26 and the moldings 36 from their working position. Then the end-parts 41-55 are swung downward out of position. This may also carry down with it the end-moldings 47 if they are provided. This clears the way for removing the lid 25, which is pulled loose from the concret and lowered. All this may be done while the shores 28 are still in place to support the joists 11 while the setting of the concrete proceeds; and these shores are removed some time later.

In removing the forms, the ornamentation is such that the movements of the various form-parts may be obtained without marring such ornamentation. In other words, all the forms-parts, including the ornamentation-forming members thereof, are made so that they'will draw from the concrete. This makes it possible to produce ornamental ceiling faces of monolithic ribbedslab floors molded in place.

I claim as my invention:

1. Removable forms for concrete floor-slab constructions of the joist type, comprising units each of which includes uprights for forming joist faces and lids for forming the ceiling faces between joists and end parts, said uprights, lids, and end parts being separable, and some or all of said formsparts being provided with ornamentationforming portions so shaped that they permit the forms-parts to be withdrawn from the concrete as they are removed without disturbing the ornamentation produced in the concrete.

2. Removable forms as set forth in claim 1, with the addition that said uprights are oblique at the ends and that said end-parts rest on the oblique ends of said uprights, which end-parts also include ornamentation-forming portions of such shape that they may be withdrawn from the concrete without mutilating the ornamentation.

3. Removable forms as set forth in claim 1, with the addition that said uprights are oblique at the ends and that said end-parts rest on the oblique ends of said uprights.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 28th day of May, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and twenty-five.

HUGH J. BAKER.

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