US3185433A - Wall form, waler, and a waler bracket - Google Patents

Description

y 25, 1965 w. E. MUELLER WALL FORM, WALER', AND A WALER BRACKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 29, 1963 2 J! Z R L w q E. m I w T E 4 m u W M K I E 5 R 7 E 2 17..) U l A I W i A t 3 L nfil I1). MM! 1 {J I W I) j A 1 1) u. I l /a\/\. u/ w w .W I W F fi I ATTORNEY y 1965 w. E. MUELLER WALL FORM, WALER, AND A WALER BRACKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 29, 1963 INVENTOR WALTER E. MUELEER BY 4 w ATTORNEY 4 Q 5 i G mm x a. 1

Z A 3 JV- United States Patent 3,185,433 WALL FORM, WALER, AND A WALER BRACKET Walter E. Mueller, 1347 Coburg Lands Drive, St. Louis County, Mo. Filed Nov. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 326,704

2 Claims. (Cl. 249-210) 'This invention relates in general to building construction, and, more particularly, to a form for development of walls as of concrete and the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wall form for use in the construction of concrete walls and the like, which form is comprised of a plurality of individual units so that the same may be used for forming walls of any predetermined length.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro- -vide a wall form of the type stated which incorporates novel means for maintaining the component units in accurately aligned relationship without requiring positive interconnection between the units so that the same may be used repeatedly.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a Wall form embodying novel means for assuring proper positionment of the wall with respect to the foundation there-for.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a wall form of the character stated which incorporates a novel bracket for effecting easily applied, and readily detached, engagement upon the component units by an elongated waler for maintaining the upper portions of the units in alignment as well as for providing a sup port surface for workmen.

It is an other object of the present invention to provide a wall form of the character stated which is comprised of a marked simplicity of parts, each of which is of sturdy construction, and hence being resistant to accidental breakage or deformation; which wall form may be most economically produced; which is easily and effectively utilized without developed skill on the part of the users; the utilization of which effects substantial savings in construction costs; and which is durable and reliable in use.

Other objects and details of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, when read in connection with the accompanying drawings (two sheets) wherein FIGURE 1 is a front view of a wall for-m constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of a corner of the wall form taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 1, showing adjacent panels in outside corner formation.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view, partially cut-away, of a portion of the wall form in assembled relation.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 5--5 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section taken on line 6-6 of FIGURE 4.

Referring now by reference characters to the drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention, A generally designates -a wall form adapted for use in the construction of concrete walls and the like, which comprises opposed sections as indicated at a, b, each of which is constituted of a plurality of individual, preferably rectangular, panels 1 fabricated as of plywood or like rigid material, with the panels in each section a, b being presented in corresponding relationship, all as will appear more fully hereinbelow.

Panels 1 of each section a, b are presented in surface aligned, edge abutting relationship with the number of panels in each section a, b being dependent upon the Patented May 25, 1965 predetermined length of the wall to be formed. As panels 1 are in all respects identical, there is obviated any problem as to rights or lefts so that a workman is relieved of any problem of sorting or matching in the use of panels 1, whereby the assembly of wall form A is greatly facilitated. Each panel 1 is provided with, preferably, two series of vertically arranged, spaced apart narrow slot-like openings 2; with the openings 2 in one panel being in registering relationship with those in the corresponding panel of the opposite wall section. Pro vided for extension between opposite panels 1, and for projection at its ends through the related set of registering openings 2, is a conventional snap tie 3 formed from flat, elongated metal stock and which, adjacent each of its ends, contains a reduced portion 4 for constituting a zone of relative weakness. In their end portions, projecting beyond the proximate panel 1, each snap tie is provided with an aperture 5 for snugly receiving an elongated rod 6 which may be of any desired length, but at least substantially approximate the combined width of two panels so as to effectively provide a means of joinder therefor. As shown in FIGURE 1, rods 6 are of such extent so as to engage the snap ties in four adjacent panels. As also is easily seen in FIGURE 1, rods 6 may be vertically staggered to thereby create a system for reliably securing the juxtaposed panels 1 in assembled relationship. It is obvious that the length of snap ties 3 is determined by the desired thickness of the wall to be formed.

Wall form A, when in operative position, is designed to be disposed upon a previously formed base or footing f, as of concrete, etc. In order to assure that the wall to be formed will be located upon footing f :at the prescribed position, there is presented an upwardly opening locating channel 7 having an outer flange 8, an inner parallel relatively short flange 9, and a base web 10, there being a plurality of metal tabs 11 fixed to said channel 7 and projecting laterally from said flange 8 at its lower end for flat-wise disposition upon footing 1. Each tab 11 is drilled to form an opening 12 for extension therethrough of a suitable fastener element 13, such as a nail or spike of the doublehead type, for effecting easily detached engagement of said channel 7 upon footing f. Said channel 7 is thus adapted to receive, in a manner to be described, the lower end portions of panels 1 of section a so as to present same in stable mutually aligned relationship as well .as in appropriate disposition for accurate location of the wall to be formed. Thus, before assembling wall form A, channel 7 will be secured upon footing f in proper relationshipto a wall line drawn or otherwise delineated previously upon footing 3. Accordingly, channel 7 provides a multiplicity of unique features in that in addition to stabilizing and positioning the panels 1 of section a, the same also effectively counters any accidental variation in the surface of footing f such as through gravel protrusion or like roughness due to imperfect formation, as well as to cond-uce to the unitary integration of wall form A in assembled condition.

Provided for engagement to the upper end portions of panels 1 of section a are elongated walers or longitudinal supports, each having a length considerably greater than the combined length of a plurality of panels 1 so that in the event a single waler 14 would be of insuficient length for either wall section a, b a plurality of such walers 14 may be utilized in end-to-end relationship, as may best be seen in FIGURE 1. Each waler l4'm-ay be formed of any suitable rigid material, but it has been found from the standpoint of both expediency and economy that 2 x 4s are quite adequate.

Said walers 14 are engaged to the related wall sections a, b by means of bracket members which are comprised, essentially, of a pair of channel members 16, 17, in axial normal relationship and an interengaging hinge 18. Said hinge 18 comprises a pair of plates 19, 19, each having a pair of side flanges 20, 20 respectively which are in partial overlapping relationship with the corresponding flange of the other plate; there being aligned apertures through such overlapping flange portions for reception therein of the ends of a hinge pin 21. Engaged at one of its ends to said hinge pin 21 and surrounding same throughout its length is a helical spring 22 with its outer or free end 23 abutting against plate 19, whereby said spring biases said plates 19, 19' toward each other in a direction away from hinge pin 21. Encasing spring 22 and hinge pin 21 is a tubular spacer member 23. Hinge plate 19 is secured to the upwardly presented surface of a topside flange 24 of channel member 16 which latter incorporates a vertically presented web 25 of substantially the same thickness as waler 14; there being a relatively short underside flange 26. Thus, channel member 16 is adapted to snugly embrace waler 14 so as to present one side edge thereof in immediate proximity to the upper portions of the adjacent panels 1, with the free edge portion of flange 26 terminating spacedly from said panels 1. Hence, in operative position, channel 16 will open laterally toward the plane of panels 1. Hinge plate 19' is engaged, as by screws or like fasteners, to the web 27 of channel 17 which incorporates a pair of downwardly ex tending side flanges 28, 29 said latter being of relatively reduced extent with respect to the former. The distance between side flanges 28, 29 is of such extent as to relatively tightly engage the upper edge portions of panels 1. Thus, when in engaged relationship upon said panels 1, channel 17 will open downwardly. As shown in FIG- URES 4 and 5, hinge plates 19 project beyond the webs of channel 17 to provide an extension 30.

As may be seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, wall corner formations are easily effected by use of the present invention in that locating channels 7' which are in all respects identical to channel 7 above described, may be secured upon footing f in perpendicular relationship to channel 7 and thereby define a corner relationship as indicated broadly at c.

The assembly of wall form A for wall formation is as follows: The workman will initially position panels 1 within channel 7 and channel 7 at corner (2 so as to place same in immediate planar normal relationship. Hinge straps 31 may be secured to the corner-forming panels 1 and with a corner rod 32 being received therein for effecting initial stabilization of the two corner-forming panels. Another panel 1 may then be received at its lower end within channel 7 at a point relatively remote from the corner-forming panels 1 and then a waler 14 is secured to such panel 1 by means of bracket 15 and to the planar aligned panel 1 in the corner formation. Said waler 14 will span or bridge the distance between the aligned panels 1. In order to rigidify waler 14 in such initial position there may be utilized an elongated brace 33 which, at its upper end, is disposed against the outer face of the waler 14 and may be secured thereto as by a nail or the like and with its lower end being stabilized against shifting by means of a stake 34 or other like anchoring device. The workman may then proceed to locate panels 1 within the spacing so defined so as to complete the intervening portion of the wall section a. It must be recognized, however, that mounted on waler 14 is a plurality of brackets 15 by means of the engagement of channel portions 16 upon such waler 14. Accordingly, in order to engage the panels 1, the upper edges thereof will be received within the downwardly opening channel portions 17 of the respective brackets 15 and by the hinged character of said brackets 15 the workman need merely raise upwardly upon said panels 1 so as to suitably clear flange 9 of the respective channels 7, 7 as the case may be, and thus to cause the lower end to descend into said channels for reception therein. Brackets 15 through the normal bias of the hinge 18 will urge said panels 1 downwardly. It is preferable that each bracket 15 be located substantially centrally of a panel 1 (FIGURE 1) and due to the unusual character of brackets 15, the same may be easily adjusted longitudinally of waler 14 and the upper ends of panel 1. Hence, in the manner above described, walers 14 may be utilized for the facile and rapid assembly of wall section a; there being no necessity of utilizing positive types of securing means which would tend to weaken or deform the components of wall section a such as would occur through the heretofore customary practice of utilizing nails and the like. Brackets 15 provide a very simply used, but highly effective, means for interengaging walers 14 to the adjacent panel sections.

With panels 1 of wall section a in side by side relationship, and being engaged, as above described, to walers 14, snap ties 3 may be projected through the openings in panels 1 of section a and thus affixed in the proper alignment of the corresponding panels of section b, with rods 6 then being inserted into the openings in the projecting ends of said snap tie 3 in accordance with conventional practice. Wall form A is in fully assembled relationship and the proper location of the same with respect to footing 1 is assured through the use of channels 7, 7. Panels 1 are in firm operative relationship by virtue of said channel 7 and walers 14, which latter may be used as a catwalk for workmen in view of the rigidity of their connection to panels 1. After the concrete has been poured Witl1- in wall form A and allowed to set, the removal or disassembly of wall form A is easily and quickly accomplished. A mere upward lifting force upon extension 30 of brackets 15 disengages channels 17, as by permitting swing of same into the position shown in phantom lines in FIGURE 5, whereby walers 14 may then be withdrawn. By the blow of a hammer or the like upon the projecting portions of snap ties 3 the latter will rupture in their zones of weakness defined by the reduced portions 5 so that rods 6, together with the severed portions of said snap ties 3 will drop free. Panels 1 may then be lifted upwardly and withdrawn from channel 7; and the latter is easily removed after displacing fasteners 13.

Thus, wall form A constitutes a marked advance in the art as it provides a means for allowing of quick assembly and disassembly of forms, which conduces to substantial economies in operation; and which invention allows of relative longevity of the components since damaging interengaging means are not necessary, whereby the form may be used repetitively without diminution in effectiveness.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the formation, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the wall form may be made and substituted for these herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. For use with a wall form panel and a waler for supporting disposition against one face of said panel, the improvement comprising a bracket having first and second channel members, said first channel member presented for reception of said wall form panel, said second channel member presented for reception of said waler, each of said first and second channel members having a web, a short side flange and a long side flange, said flanges of each channel member being mutually parallel and normal to the intervening web, a hinge connecting said first and second channel members, said hinge having first and second hinge plates, said first hinge plate being engaged to the outer face of the web of said first channel member, said second hinge plate being engaged to the outer face of the long side flange of said second channel member, whereby said channel members may be presented in usage with the side flanges of said first channel member being in perpen- 5 dicular relationship to the side flanges of said second channel member and with the second channel member opening toward the short side flange of said first channel memher, and spring means biasing said first and second hinge plates toward each other into planar parallel relationship.

2. For use with a Wall form panel and a Waler for supporting disposition againstone face of said panel, the improvement comprising a bracket as defined in claim 1 and further characterized by said first hinge'plate being of greater length than the web of said first channel member for projection therebeyond to provide a channel-lifting extension.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 893,517 7/08 Keller 24-81 7/ 27 Couslin 24-81 4/31 Irnrie 248-300 12/32 Olson 16-137 1/35 Heumann 2481 1/42 Moore 16-128 12/ 46 Olson 25-131 12/49 Pontiere 25131 FOREIGN PATENTS 3/63 Canada.

7/51 Germany. 3/49 Great Britain.

WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner. 15 ROBERT F. WHITE, MICHAEL V. BRINDISI,

Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. FOR USE WITH A WALL FORM PANEL AND A WALER FOR SUPPORTING DISPOSITION AGAINST ONE FACE OF SAID PANEL, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A BRACKET HAVING A FIRST AND SECOND CHANNEL MEMBERS, SAID FIRST CHANNEL MEMBER PRESENTED FOR RECEPTION OF SAID WALL FORM PANEL, SAID SECOND CHANNEL MEMBER PRESENTED FOR RECEPTION OF SAID WALER, EACH OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND CHANNEL MEMBERS HAVING A WEB A SHORT SIDE FLANGE AND A LONG SIDE FLANGE, SAID FLANGES OF EACH CHANNEL MEMBER BEING MUTUALLY PARALLEL AND NORMAL TO THE INTERVENING WEB, A HINGE CONNECTING SAID FIRST AND SECOND CHANNEL MEMBERS, SAID HINGE HAVING FIRST AND SECOND HINGE PLATES, SAID FIRST HINGE PLATE BEING ENGAGED TO THE OUTER FACE OF THE WEB OF SAID FRIST CHANNEL MEMBER, SAID SECOND HINGE PLATE BEING ENGAGED TO THE OUTER FACE OF THE LONG SIDE FLANGE OF SAID SECOND CHANNEL MEMBER, WHEREBY SAID CHANNEL MEMBERS MAY BE PRESENTED IN USAGE WITH THE SAID FLANGES OF SAID FIRST CHANNEL MEMBER BEING IN PERPENDICULAR RELATIONSHIP TO THE SIDE FLANGES OF SAID SECOND CHANNEL MEMBER AND WITH THE SECOND CHANNEL MEMBER OPENING TOWARD THE SHORT SIDE FLANGE OF SAID FIRST CHANNEL MEMBER, AND SPRING MEANS BIASING SAID FIRST AND SECOND HINGE PLATES TOWARD EACH OTHER INTO PLANAR PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP.

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