US3347265A

US3347265A - One way valve for use with concrete forms

Info

Publication number: US3347265A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard E Groh
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-10-08
Filing date: 1965-06-09
Publication date: 1967-10-17
Anticipated expiration: 1984-10-17

Description

Oct. 17, 1967 R. E. GROH 3,347,265

ONE WAY VALVE FOR USE WITH CONCRETE FORMS Original Filed Oct. 8, 1963 INVENTOR. RICHfxRD E.GROH

BY M57 WW United States Patent 1 Claim. (Cl. 137-5255) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to a valve structure specifically designed for enabling concrete to be passed between forms from the exterior of the forms such that the forms may be filled from the bottom upwardly and towards this end is designed to assume a generally elongated triangular shape in cross section. The valve structure itself comprises a housing having an enlarged exit opening lying in the plane of one of the forms which form is provided with an opening for receiving the housing. The exit opening of the housing is provided with a peripheral flange overlapping the periphery of the opening in the form. The housing includes a sloping rear wall extending from an upper portion of this flange and connecting at its lower portion to an end wall facing generally upwardly to define the general triangular shape. The end wall defines an inlet port opening. A flap valve structure covers this opening and is hinged to swing towards the rear sloping end wall in an upward direction when concrete is passed through the port. The arrangement is such that the concrete is directed inwardly and upwardly to fill the area between the forms from the bottom up.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 314,802 filed Oct. 8, 1963, and entitled Concrete Process and One-Way Valve Therefor, now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to concrete construction processes and products used therewith and more particularly, to a novel process and valve useful for passing concrete into forms.

In constructing concrete Walls, columns, decks, and so forth, it is conventional to pour the concrete into suitable forms defining the structure. This concrete is poured from the top into the forms until the forms are filled. As a consequence, air pockets may develop and thus the structural integrity of the finished concrete structure may be adversely affected.

Further, in pouring concrete from the top, ladders or other scaffolding is required in order to pass the concrete into the upper openingsin the forms. This operation requires several men and may be hazardous if the forms are relatively high or upper floors are to be poured.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel process for concrete work and a novel one-way valve useful in the process in which concrete is pumped into forms from the bottom up rather than the top down.

More particularly, it is the object to provide a valve for concrete to enable concrete to be pumped into a form from the bottom up so that air pockets and the like are eliminated.

Another important object is to provide a concrete valve to enable pumping of concrete from the bottom up where by ladders, scaffolding and the like are avoided with the attendant advantage of enabling the entire concrete pouring operation to be carried on from the ground. As a consequence, less men and less labor are required to the end that a considerable savings in costs is realized.

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Briefly, the process of this invention contemplates the steps of introducing concrete through an opening in the side or bottom of a form so that the form is filled from the bottom up. The valve for enabling the process to be carried out in accordance with the invention comprises a housing having an exit area and an entrance port. The exit area is arranged to be secured about the periphery of an opening cut into the lower portion of the concrete forms. Within the housing there is provided a flexible flap member secured at one edge adjacent to the entrance port so that the remaining portion of the flap member overlies the port. The arrangement is such that when the concrete is passed through the valve, it will urge the flap in a rearward direction or away from the entrance port so that the concrete may enter the forms from the bottom up. When the pumping operation is complete, the hydrostatic pressure of the concrete between the forms will serve to close the flexible flap member down against the entrance port so that back flow is automatically checked.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by now referring to one embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating concrete forms and the novel valve of this invention employed for permitting the pouring of concrete from the bottom up;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section of the valve taken in the direction of the arrows 22 of FIGURE 1; and,

FIGURE 3 is another cross-section taken in the direction of the arrows 33 of FIGURE 2 showing portions of the valve.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, there is shown by way of example,

concrete forms

10 and 11 which might be employed for forming a wall or similar structure. In accordance with the invention, the valve is secured within an opening formed in the lower portion of the form 10. This valve is indicated generally by the numeral 12 and is arranged to connect to a suitable pump hose 13 from a concrete pump and source 14.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 2, the opening within the lower portion of the form 10 is shown at 15. The housing itself is of an elongated structure having a sloping rear wall 16 extending from the upper portion of a peripheral flange 17 adapted to be secured to the inside peripheral portion of the opening 15. Suitable nails as in dicated at 18 may be used for this purpose.

As shown, the flange 17 defines an exit opening designated generally by the numeral 19. At the lower end of the housing there is provided an end wall disposed between the lower end of the sloping rear wall 16 and a lower portion of the peripheral flange 17 resulting in an elongated triangular shape for the housing as viewed in cross section. This end wall defines an entrance port 20. This entrance port includes a hose coupling 21 as an integral portion curved slightly as shown. Within the housing and adapted to overlie the entrance port 20 is a flexible flap member 22. One edge portion of this flap member is secured to the housing as by a transverse bar 23 and bolts 24. The arrangement is such that the flexible flap 22 may flex or swing towards the rear wall 16 to provide direct communication to the entrance port 20 as shown by the dotted lines 22'.

It will be noted that the flexible flap 22 is of greater dimensions than the entrance port 20 so that the flap will completely cover the entrance port when it is down or in its solid line position. In order to prevent back pressure from pushing the flexible flap member 22 completely through the entrance port 20 into the coupling portion 21, there is provided a rigid plate 25. As shown, this plate 25 is secured to one side of the flexible flap 22, preferably the rear or upper side as depicted in FIGURE 2. This plate cooperates with a smaller rigid plate 26, the two plates being secured together by a through bolt 27. The dimensions of the rigid plate 25 are greater than the dimensions of the entrance port 20 so that the marginal edges of the entrance port 20 are over-lapped by the periphery of the rigid plate 25. However, the rigid plate 25 is designed not to interfere with the securing bar 23 and bolts 25 so that the flexible flap member 22 may still flex.

With the foregoing arrangement, it is not possible for back pressure to push the flexible flap 22 into the entrance port 20 because of the oversized rigid plate 25. Thus the pressure will be exerted on the plate 25 which will tend to sandwich the outer portions of the flexible flap 22 against the periphery of the entrance port 20.

FIGURE 3 is taken in the direction of the arrows 3-3 of FIGURE 2 in order to illustrate one form of the rigid plate 25 and flap 22. As shown, there are provided two bolts 24 for the bar 23 so that a hinge line is defined for the flap 22. The entrance port outline is indicated by the dotted lines 20 and it will be clear that the rigid plate 25 is of greater dimensions than the entrance port.

In operation, an opening is cut in the lower portion of the form as described at 15. The valve housing 12 is then inserted from the inside of the forms through the opening so that the flange 17 will seat about the periphery of the opening. The housing may then be secured in place by hammering the nails 18 through the flange into the periphery of the opening of the form. The elongated portion of the housing 16 will project through to the exterior of the form as shown. A suitable pumping hose such as at 13 in FIGURE 1 may then be threaded to the entrance port by means of the coupling 21.

Concrete 28 is then pumped in the conventional manner from the hose 13. However, in contra-distinction to conventional concrete pouring operations the concrete will pass through the valve 12, urge the flap 22 to its dotted line position 22' and pass into the area between the bottom portions of the form in an inward and upward direction and gradually fill the form from the bottom up. As a consequence, air pockets and the like are avoided. As a further consequence, all operations may be carried on at ground level and it is not necessary for workmen to raise concrete to high places to pour the concrete into the upper open portions of the forms. While the

forms

10 and 11 in FIGURE 1 are shown to be relatively low, in forming a concrete wall they may extend upwardly for a. considerable distance.

When the forms have been filled with concrete, the pumping operation is terminated and the hydrostatic back pressure exerted by the concrete 28 as shown in FIG- URES 1 and 2 will urge the flap 22 from its dotted line position 22 to its closed position shown in solid lines. The hose 13 may then be disconnected from the coupling 21 and after the concrete has hardened, the forms may be removed.

From the foregoing description, it will thus be evident that the present invention has provided a greatly improved concrete process and one-way valve therefor. While the invention has been described in conjunction with the pumping of concrete, it should be understood that the process and valve will be applicable to the pumping of any semi-viscous material into forms or similar molds so that such molds may be filled from the bottom upwardly with the attendant advantages as outlined heretofore.

What is claimed is:

A concrete valve adapted to be positioned in an opening in the lower side portion of form means for enabling pumping of concrete into said form means from the bottom up, comprising, in combination: an elongated housing including an enlarged exit area having a peripheral flange lying in a single vertical plane outlining said exit area and dimensioned to engage the periphery of said opening, said housing having a sloping rear wall extending from an upper portion of said peripheral flange to connect to an end wall in turn connecting to the lower end of said peripheral flange such that said housing defines an elongated triangular shape in cross section, said end wall including an entrance port facing upwardly, said exit area being substantially larger than the area of said entrance port; a flexible flap member adapted to lie within said housing against said end wall in a position covering said entrance port, the periphery of said entrance port being overlapped by said flexible flap member; means securing one edge portion of said flap member to said housing adjacent to the connection of said rear wall to said end wall so that said flap member is free to swing towards said rear wall away from said entrance port; and means for connecting a source of concrete under pressure to said entrance port whereby incoming concrete moves said flap member away from said entrance port so that said concrete can pass through said housing and out said exit area into the bottom of said form means in a stream directed by said sloping rear wall in an inward and upward direction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 314,107 3/1885 Chappell 13725.7 452,750 5/1891 Drury 25 l--152 X 468,141 2/1892 Tomlinson 137-360 944,175 12/1909 Chasse 251152 X 1,536,869 5/1925 Kizer 137-515 X 2,624,095 1/1953 Cummins 264-35 2,903,877 9/1959 Meade 26435 X WILLLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner.

ISADOR WEIL, Examiner.

D. ZOBKIW, Assistant Examiner.