US3059553A

US3059553A - Pavement joint assembly

Info

Publication number: US3059553A
Application number: US636411A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wayne R Woolley
Original assignee: Republic Steel Corp
Current assignee: Republic Steel Corp
Priority date: 1957-01-25
Filing date: 1957-01-25
Publication date: 1962-10-23
Anticipated expiration: 1979-10-23

Description

Oct. 23, 1962 w. R. WOOLLEY PAVEMENT JOINT ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1957 FIG. 1.

FlG. 5.

FlCL.

1N VENTOR Oct. 23, 1962 w. R. WOOLLEY 3,059,553

PAVEMENT JOINT ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 25, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FlG.5.

FLG.6.

FlG.'Y.

INVENTOR Oct. 23, 1962 w. R. WOOLLEY PAVEMENT JOINT ASSEMBLY 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 25, 1957 INVENTOR THL 2 l G 1 F f 2 L N/ L l 5 B A R 2/ 3 5% A l H 5/ J WAYNE R. WOOLLEY United States Patent Ofitice 3,059,553 Patented Oct. 23, 1962 Filed Jan. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 636,411 1 (Ilaim. (Cl. 9418) This invention relates to a prefabricated road joint assembly for connecting adjacent slabs of highway pavements.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a construction which may be readily and economically fabricated in final form from standard preformed parts and which also readily adapts itself to the proper support and emplacement of dowel bars in the concrete with a minimum of expenditure of time and labor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pavement joint assembly having maximum rigidity and lightness due to the use of a serriform type of rod in combination with straight rods, which serriform rods, even though utilizing a minimum bulk of material, provide a truss-like efiect to add longitudinal stiffness and stability to the general construction to thereby assure easy and convenient handling without distortion or collapse from the time it is fabricated until installed. This type of rod not only provides important structural features in the side frames but may also be used to provide filler receiving or holding chairs.

A further object of the invention is to provide a primary pavement joint assembly which may be utilized to provide an expansion joint, a contraction joint, or even where specifications require a sawed contraction joint.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a joint assembly including a pair of identical side frame members composed of straight and serriform rods to support the spaced parallel dowels, said frame members being secured together by a tie-wire at the time of assembly in the plant to hold the side frames properly together during stacking, shipping and handling at the road site.

With the above and other objects in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more thoroughly described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present joint assembly laid across a roadway and including the side frames and an expansion joint filler.

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the joint assembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial side elevation of the joint assembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an end elevation showing the adaptability of the present construction to a contraction joint.

FIG. 6 is a partial side elevation of the arrangement shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the construction shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 8 is an end elevation of the improved pavement assembly illustrating how it is used in a sawed contraction joint.

FIG. 9 is a partial side elevation of the construction shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a partial top plan view of the construction shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrammatic views illustrating how the individual joints can be stacked.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

As will be conveniently observed from FIG. 1, the present invention includes in its general organization a plurality of dowel bars A supported by skeletal side frames B, and an expansion or contraction joint unit designated generally as C, where the specifications require either type of construction. Where the invention is used in a pavement which is sawed to provide a groove for receiving the joint seal, the intermediate expansion or contraction joint parts are omitted as shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 thereby utilizing only the primary or basic framework.

Each side frame includes lower straight rods 1 which extend continuously throughout the predetermined length of the joint and the upper straight rods 2 disposed at a higher elevation and also inwardly of the bottom rods 1 which rest on the sub-grade, or, on the usual plates where the sub-grade is sand or otherwise soft.

The lower and

upper rods

1 and 2 are connected by the inclined serriform truss rods 3. It will therefore be seen from FIGS. 2, 5 and 8 for example, that the serriform truss rods 3 converge toward each other in an upward direction. These rods have angular peaks and valleys substantially on the order of a series of continuously connected reversely related V-shaped elements.

The bottom valleys 4 of the serriform rods terminate substantially in the plane of the lower sub-grade engaging rods land are secured by welding or the like to the related lower straight rod 1. Also, it will be observed, particularly from FIG. 1, that the upper peaks 5 extend above the horizontal plane of the upper rods 2 thereby providing a triangular closed bight portion defined by the angular peaks 5 and that portion of the upper rod 2 identified as 2 to provide dowel receiving openings. This arrangement has the advantage of providing welding grounds at the most effective points. The upper peak portions 5 are welded as at 66 to the upper rod 2 at the location of all the dowels A. However, only the upper peaks 5 of the rods 3 are welded as at 7 to alternate dowels A. This arrangement applies to all forms of the invention. Thus, it will be seen that the ends of the dowels A at the same side of the joint are alternately secured fast within the angular bight portion of the upper peaks 5.

Where an expansion joint is used as shown in detail in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the free end of each alternate dowel has a sliding fit in a cup 8 frictionally held in the angular bight portion of the related side frame.

Thus, in an expansion joint form of assembly, where a wood or other preformed expansion joint element in the form of a filler 9 is used, it is supported or embraced between a pair of relatively closely spaced serriform rods 10, which provide in eifect a chair for receiving said element. These rods are of the same size and type as the rods 3 but are assembled out of alinement with the rods 3 as will be clear from FIGS. 3 and 6. This is accomplished by simply shifting the entire rod with its peaks and valleys laterally of the joint assembly and welding or otherwise securing alternate upwardly inclined legs 11 of the members to the medial portion of the dowel by welding as indicated at 12.

As will be seen from FIGS. 1, 3 and 6, the out of registry relationship of the

serriform bars

3 and 10 not only provide convenient points of anchorage but they may be readily spaced to receive either an expansion joint filler 9 or a contraction joint element 13 as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.

As will be apparent from FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, a contraction joint does not use cups on opposite ends of alternate dowels. Looking at FIG. 7, for example, one end of each dowelbar is welded at 7 to its peak 5 and at 12 but the opposite end is free to slide in its bight.

In FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the contraction joint element 13 has, inclined slots 13) tofit over the dowels but it is supported between the spaced serriform rods 10 whose upwardly disposed legs 11 are welded at 12 to the dowels.

Of course, where the invention is to be used in a pavement in which the joint seal is formed by sawing, the spaced serriform joint seal supporting rods 101t) are omitted and it is only necessary to use the basic unit. The opposite ends of alternate dowels are respectively fast and free as described in FIGS. 57.

In practice, depending upon the specifications of the road in which the assembly will be placed, the dowel bars A, side frames B and expansion joints will be assembled at the point of manufacture. It is therefore convenient to ship the complete joints in stacked order as indicated in FIG 11. i

As will be sene from FIGS. 7 and 10, for example, the upper straight rods 2 of each side frame are connected by light gauge tie-wires 14 whose ends are welded in place at the time of assembly in the plant and the joints stacked, perhaps, ten joints in a stack. After the joint assembly has been placed in position on the grade of the road, these small tie-wires may be easily cut, thus permitting installation of a contraction plate and allowing unrestricted opening and closing of the joint.

:The trend is away from the use of expansion joints and toward the use of contraction joints only. For the small number of expansion joints likely to be used it is expected to ship the joint assembled except for the expansion joint material. Thus, it will be necessary for the contractor to separate the joint into two halves, insert the expansion material and reassemble. As the purpose of the wire connector or cross tie-wire 14 is to hold the side frames the proper distance apart during shipping and handling, it is not necessary to replace, this wire after inserting the expansion material.

Idaho: 7

A road paving joint assembly, comprising, in combination, opposite side frames each including a lower sub-grade engaging rod and an upper rod disposed in a plane inwardly of the plane of the related lower rod, serriform rods having their lower apices secured to said lower rods and bodily inclined upwardly and inwardly from the lower rods towards said upper rods, the upper apices of said sern'form rods secured to the sides of the upper rods below the apices thereof to provide loops, the lower apices providing a base for the assembly of greater width at the bottom of said serriform rods than at the top thereof firmly to support the assembly, spaced dowel bars extending transversely of said upper rods through said loops, a joint filler between said frames, and a pair of serriform spaced parallel vertically disposed joint filler embracing rods supported on the medial portions of the dowel bars at a higher elevation than the serriform rods of the side frames by Welding the substantially central portions of the upwardly inclined legs of the joint filler rods between their upper and lower peaks tothe bars, whereby, the included angular peaks and valleys of the serriform joint filler embracing rods are vertically and horizontally staggered in relation to the serriform rods of the side frames and embrace and hold said joint filler.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,291,298 Walker Ian. 14, 1919 1,804,132 Tashjian May S, 1931 2,154,748 Hillberg Apr. 18, 1939 2,627,793 White Feb..,10, 1953 2,642,789 Brickman June 23, 1953