TITLE
FORMWORK FOR CREATING COLUMNS AND C R\ ED WALLS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to modular formwork for forming concrete columns and curv ed concrete structures
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known to provide formwork for pouπng conci ete columns comprising semi-circular sections of steel pipe which are joined to form a rube and into which concrete is poured. Once the concrete has set, the steel pipe sections are removed
It is also known to provide modular PVC formwork for the purpose of creating straight and flat concrete walls, and m which the formwork stays in place after the concrete has set. Canadian Patent No. 2,215,939 discloses such formwork which compπses flat elongated wall elements connected to one another b\ engaging means along their respective edges, and connecting members extending across the width of the formwork to retain opposed wall surfaces in spaced relationship The result is modular stay in place formwork for creating straight walls
However, there remains a need to provide modular stay in place formwork that is capable of producing concrete columns and curved walls and which avoids the difficulty of dealing with bulky semi-circular sections of steel pipe
It is accordingly an obiect of this invention to provide stay-in-place modular formwork elements foi pouπng concrete into columns or curved surfaces, and a method of assembling them It is a further object of this invention to prov ide such elements which are capable of being used to connect to sta_v -m-place modular straight wall formwork of the kind described in Canadian Patent No 2,215,939
As noted abov e prior art modular PVC formwork elements for forming straight walls are know n to prov ide cross members between opposing surfaces of the formwork for the purpose of providing πgiditv against the outward pressure of concrete. However, w hen forming a column or a curv ed wall, the prov ision of a cross member between opposing faces presents problems For example, the use of such a cross member may impede the ability to install rebar It is therefore an object of this invention to provide modular formwork for creating curved concrete walls or services which provides inherent structural rigidity to the formwork and which resists outward bulging due to pressure from the concrete.
SUMM ARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a curved elongated modular w all element comprising a
ed portion and connector means at each longitudinal edge of the curved portion The arc angle defined by the outer surface preferably compπses an even fraction of 360° A connector element according to the invention compπses an elongated, straight planar surface, one longitudinal edge of which includes two opposed connecting means for engaging the connecting means of the wall elements.
In another aspect of the invention, a curved wall is formed by a plurality of individual elongated formwork elements connected end to end by means of a connector element extending radially inward from the point where two edge adjacent wall elements meet, one end of such connector being attached to the ends of respective adjacent wall elements, and said connector having a planar surface extending in said radial direction.
In another aspect, the invention comprises a curved wall element as described above and further including inwardly extending projections spaced inwardly from each opposed end of each element.
Bracing elements are described which comprise a planar central portion terminating at each longitudinal edge in angled connecting means extending at 45° and 135° with respect to the plane of the central portion. The connecting means of the bracing elements are adapted to engage the inwardly spaced projections of the wall elements.
Other aspects of the invention will be appreciated by reference to the detailed description of the embodiments of the invention and to the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred and alternative embodiments of the invention will be appreciated by reference to the following description and to the drawings thereof in which:
, ,_-„„.-.: 1/63066
Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a segment of a column of formwork made using the formwork elements according to the invention;
Fig 1 (a) is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig 1 comprising two wall elements according to the invention;
Fig 2 is a cross-sectional view of a wall element according to the invention,
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a connector element according to the invention,
Fig 4 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the wall element of the invention;
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a segment of a column of formwork made from the wall elements of Fig. 4;
Fig. 5(a) is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 5 compπsing a single w all element;
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a 45° element according to the invention,
Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of two 45° elements connected to a connector element and t o curved wall elements;
Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a section of curved formwork according to the invention joining two straight formwork sections; and,
Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of two connected curved wall elements, bracin elements and 45 degree elements according to an alternative embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED AND
ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS
A formwork structure forming a segment of a column according to the invention is shown in Fig. 1. All of the drawings show cross sectional views of the elements. The elements are elongated through the plane of the drawings.
Referring to Fig. 1 and Fig. 1 (a), the formwork compπses a plurality of curved wall elements 10 connected in edge to edge relationship as at 1 1. Connector elements 12 extend radially from connection points 1 1 between adjacent elements 10.
Referring to Fig. 2, each curved wall element 10 comprises a curved surface 14, and a C-shaped termination 16 at each longitudinal edge I S. 20 of element 10. T- shaped key projections 36 are spaced inwardly from the longitudinal edges of element 10.
As best seen in Fig. 3, each connector element 12 comprises an elongated planar surface 22, and opposed T-shaped projections 24, 26 and 23, 25 extending outwardly from longitudinal edges 28, 30 respectively of the connector element 12. L-shaped extensions 27, 29 serve to bracket projections 24, 26.
A column of formwork formed with the connector and wall elements according to the invention will provide rigidity against bending out of the vertical plane. The
rigidity is provided bv the curved wall elements themselves, but is thought to be significantly enhanced bv the presence of radially disposed connector elements, w hich w ill tend to resist bending of the column along the plane of the connector elements It w ill be appreciated that the more connectors are provided along the inside peπpherv of the formwork. the greater the overall resistance to bending of the formwork w ill be
The curved wall element 10 is preferably chosen to be an integral fraction of 360° Thus, a real number of elements 10 may be used without truncation to complete a circle. In the preferred embodiment, the arc length of element 10 is chosen to be 3.14 inches or centimeters or a multiple thereof.
Referπng to Fig 4. in an alternative embodiment of the invention, wall elements 34 comprise a plurality of wall segments 31 , 33 and 35, each segment having the characteristics of element 10, but the segments are integrally formed as a single element 34 A column of formwork made using elements 34 is illustrated in
Fig. 5.
Referπng to Figs 1. 1 (a). 5 and 5(a), the wall elements 10 and 34 preferably include key projections 36 extending inwardly from the inner surface of the wall element and being spaced inwardly in relation to the longitudinal edges of the wall element. Key projections 36 enable the use of a 45° element 38, such use being illustrated in Fig 5.
As is best appreciated by reference to Fig. 6, 45° element 38 compπses a flat planar surface 40 Each longitudinal edge terminates in a C-shaped portion 42. 44 One of the C-shaped portions defines an angle of 45° to the planar surface 40 while the other defines an angle of 135° to the planar surface 40. As is best illustrated in
Fig. 7, elements 38 may be disposed on key projections 36 so as to extend from the key projection 36 to the T-shaped projections 23. 25 of a connector element 12. The 45° elements 38 provide additional rigidity to resist outward pressure from the concrete.
The curved wall elements 10 and the connector elements 12 may also be used to interpose a curved wall section between straight wall sections of formwork. as illustrated in Fig. 8. The curved wall elements 10 are adapted to integrate into straight formwork wall elements 50 and straight formwork connector elements 52 of the types described in Canadian Patent No. 2,215,939, straight formwork elements 50 being provided with C-shaped portions 54 corresponding to the C-shaped terminations 16 of curved wall elements 10, and straight formwork elements 12 being provided with key projections 56 corresponding to key projections 36 of connector elements 12.
It may also be desirable to further enhance structural rigidity of a column of formwork by cross-bracing opposing walls. This may be accomplished by extending diametrically opposed connector elements inward so as to connect them together. Appropriately wide connector elements may be made to extend inward from connection points between curved wall elements at diametrically opposed sides of the column. The wide connector elements may be adapted to connect to one another end to end at the epicenter of the column.
It will be appreciated that the connection means between the wall elements 10 and the connector elements 12 have been illustrated in the preferred embodiment as C-shaped portions on the curved wall elements 10 and cooperating opposed T-shaped portions on the connector elements 12 to form a tongue and groove type of connection. The arrangement can of course be substituted for T shaped portions at the
end of the wall elements and C shaped portions on the connector elements, or indeed any other type of connection system, provided the connector elements act to secure edge to edge adjacent curved wall elements to one another
Similarly, the connection means between the 45° elements 38 and the key projections 36 have been illustrated in the preferred embodiment as C-shaped portions on the 45° elements and cooperating opposed T-shaped key projections on the connector elements (23. 25) and the curved wall elements (36) to form a tongue and groove type of connection The arrangement can of course be reversed, or indeed anv other type of connection system, provided the 45° elements act to brace the connector elements 12 to the curved wall elements 10
In an alternative approach, the connector means between adjacent curved wall elements is as shown in Fig 9 According to this approach, each curved wall element 70 includes a male connector 72 along one longitudinal edge and a female connector 74 along the other longitudinal edge The element 70 includes connectors 76 spaced inwardly from the longitudinal edges of the element Connectors 76 are adapted to connect to bracing elements 12 to provide resistance to bending of the formwork in the vertical plane Elements 70 otherwise have projections 36 spaced inwardly from each longitudinal edge of the element, as m the case of the curved wall elements 10 descπbed above Forty five degree elements 38 are used to brace the curved wall portion of elements 70 against outward bulging due to the pressure of the concrete
It will be appreciated that the preferred and alternate embodiments have been specifically descπbed, but that vaπations therein may be practiced without departing from the scope of the inv ention, which is properly defined by the claims