WO2020169811A1

WO2020169811A1 - Lost formwork

Info

Publication number: WO2020169811A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/054640
Authority: WO
Inventors: Søren Østergaard; Mark Campbell; Adriaan LOUW
Original assignee: Mackencore Uk Limited
Priority date: 2019-02-22
Filing date: 2020-02-21
Publication date: 2020-08-27

Abstract

Lost formwork comprising a first facade plate and a second facade plate, said first and second facade plates are spaced from each other, where the first plate on a side of the plate facing the second plate is provided with one or more engagement member(s) having male connection studs, the connection member having a longitudinal extend substantially spanning from one free edge of the first plate to another opposite free edge, and where the second plate on a side of the plate facing the first plate is provided with one or more engagement member(s) having female connection studs, the connection member having a longitudinal extent substantially spanning from one free edge of the second plate to another opposite free edge, where the engagement members on the first and second plates are arranged facing each other, and where an insulation member is inserted over the male studs, such that the male studs with the insulation member is inserted and interlocked in the female connection studs, whereby the first and second facade plates are retained in a firm spaced relationship.

Description

Lost formwork

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to lost formwork, particularly for use in the manufacture of concrete walls as well as a method for manufacturing lost formwork and also to a method of erecting a building using the lost formwork.

Background of the Invention

Lost formwork particularly for use with concrete is well-known and provides some advantages over the traditional methods of casting concrete walls.

Traditionally, concrete walls are cast by erecting the reinforcement of the wall and placing the reinforcement in situ, for example in tight connection to reinforcement from a foundation or the like. After the reinforcement has been placed traditional formwork is erected around the reinforcement where spacers are introduced in order to keep the reinforcement at a correct distance to the inner side of the form work and through-going connections are used in order to keep the formwork on either side of the finished wall in the correct spaced relationship. Finally, the formwork is stabilized outside by using props or other support members.

Such a system is known from KR20130023538 disclosing a formwork making it pos sible to stabilize an insulating member between the formwork sides delimiting the wall to be cast. After the concrete has hardened the mould sides are removed and re used. Further systems are disclosed in GB 2 137 254 and US 4,329,821.

In order to avoid this very labour-intensive process various attempts have been made to make a more rational construction cycle. For example the reinforcement may be premanufactured and welded in workshops and placed in one single piece per wall element and thereafter the formwork is erected.

There are also examples of lost formwork where the formwork itself constitutes part of the finished wall construction. Examples of this are disclosed in US9157234 and EP2532798. Both these systems are relatively complicated and do not address all is sues relating to wall constructions, for example with the EP2532798 construction, a large number of parts are needed in order to assemble the lost formwork which again requires a substantial amount of manual labour and thereby loses part of the ad vantages in lost formwork.

Object of the Invention

It is the object of the present invention to provide a lost formwork which is simple, very economical to manufacture and furthermore provide a construction system using the lost formwork which is very quick, reliable and thus also relatively economical in use.

Description of the Invention

The present invention addresses this by providing a lost formwork comprising a first facade plate and a second facade plate, said first and second facade plates are spaced from each other, where the first plate on a side of the plate facing the second plate is provided with one or more engagement member(s) having male connection studs, the connection member having a longitudinal extent substantially spanning from one free edge of the first plate to another opposite free edge, and

- where the second plate on a side of the plate facing the first plate is provided with one or more engagement member(s) having female connection studs, the connection member having a longitudinal extent substantially spanning from one free edge of the second plate to another opposite free edge, where the engagement members on the first and second plates are arranged facing each other, where an insulation member is inserted over the male studs, such that the male studs with the insulation member are inserted and interlocked in the female connection studs, whereby the first and second facade plates are retained in a firm spaced relationship, and

- where the male engagement member is provided with a stop section contacting one surface of the insulating member and the female engagement member is provided with a stop plate contacting another surface of the insulating member, the other surface of the insulating member being opposite to the one surface of the insulating member, and where both the male engagement member and the female engagement member are provided with flat adhesion surfaces whereby an adhesive contact may be established between the rear sides of the facade plates and the engagement members.

As is evident particularly from the description of the method of manufacturing lost formwork as described below this lost formwork is specifically developed such that it is particularly suitable for factory assembly without human interference such that the entire lost formwork may be the subject of an automated process by use of conveyors and robots.

Further advantageous embodiments of the lost formwork as such are set out in the dependent claims.

As mentioned above, the invention is also directed to a method for manufacturing lost formwork which is particular in that the method comprises a number of stations, wherein:

In a first station a first robot places either a facade panel or an insulating pan el on a central conveyor, such that the facade panel is back side up and the facade panel and/or insulating panel is oriented and positioned correctly, where after the pan els are transported by the central conveyor to;

a second station wherein edges on the panels are worked if necessary to pre determined dimensions, where after the panels are transported by the central convey or to a

third station wherein one or more second robots places engagement members having male connection studs in the insulating panels by forcing the tip of the male connecting studs through the insulating panel to a predetermined depth where after the same second robot or a third robot places engagement members having female studs over the male studs, thereby interlocking the male and female studs with the insulating panel interposed between the connection members having male and female studs, and where the engagement members have a flat adhesion surface away from the insulating panel, where the second robot or the third robot or a fourth robot places an adhesive on the flat adhesion surface of one connection member;

a fourth station being an adhesive station where a facade panels’ back side is provided with adhesive areas corresponding in size and position to the flat adhesion surface of the engagement member not provided with adhesive in station three, and thereafter

a fifth station wherein the second, third, fourth or a fifth robot places the in sulating panel with projecting engagement members manufactured in station three, on the facade panel leaving station four, and wherein a further robot places a further fa- cade panel arrived on the central conveyor on the projecting engagement members adhesive applied in station three

a sixth station where the now complete lost formwork comprising two facade panels adhesively connected to connection members, with an interposed insulating panel, is removed from the manufacturing line by a sixth robot.

In the method some of the method steps particularly in the third station may be made in alternative ways which are set out in the further dependent method claims. The invention is also directed to a method of erecting a building using the lost form- work as disclosed above manufactured according to a method as also described in detail above. This method of erecting a building is particular in

a) lost formwork is positioned on a foundation or concrete floor separation according to the desired architectural layout of the particular building optionally at that floor level;

b) optionally placing reinforcement between the first and second facade plates;

c) optionally providing stabilizing means for the lost formwork;

d) pouring a flowable hardening agent into the space between the first and second fa cade plates, and allowing the flowable hardening material to harden, while simultane- ously or after remove the optional stabilizing means;

e) install roof construction or formwork for a further floor separation;

f) if a further floor is to be installed repeat steps a)-e).

Description of the Drawing

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein

Figure 1-4 illustrate the core principle of the present invention

Figure 5a-f illustrate various cross-sections through a lost formwork

Figure 6 illustrates the assembly of entire walls for houses

Figure 7 illustrates a door opening

Figure 8 illustrates the layout of the manufacturing facility

Figure 9 illustrates a slightly different layout of a production facility Figure 10 illustrates a detailed view of the third station

Figure 11 schematically illustrates an adhesive/gluing station

Figure 12 illustrates a turning table

Figure 13-18 illustrate the various steps of using the lost formwork according to the present invention

Detailed Description of the Invention

In figure 1-4 is illustrated the core principle of the present invention. The lost form- work is in a schematic cross-section illustrated in figure 1 comprised by a first facade plate 10 and a second facade plate 20. On the inner side 11, 21 of the facade plates 10, 20 are fastened to engagement members 30, 40. The engagement member 30 attached to the facade plate 20 is a male engagement member whereas the engagement member 40 attached to the other facade plate 10 is a female engagement member. The tip 31 of the engagement member 30 has been pushed through an insulating member 50 to a predetermined distance A between the backside 21 of the facade plate 20 and the sur face of the insulating member 50. Thereafter the female engagement member 40 has been inserted over the male engagement member 30 such that a relatively stiff connec tion is created between the two engagement members 30, 40.

In this manner the inner distance between the inside 11, 21 of the facade plates 10, 20 is fixed and determined.

After having positioned the lost formwork 1 in the correct position concrete or another hardenable material may be poured into the openings between the insulating member 50 and the inner sides 11, 21 of the facade plates 10, 20. In this manner a concrete insulated wall is manufactured.

Turning to figure 2, 3 and 4 the different steps in the assembly of the engagement members 30, 40 around the insulating member 50 is illustrated. In figure 2 the sepa rate parts 30, 40, 50 can be clearly seen where the male engagement member 30 with the pointed end 31 facing the insulating member 50. In figure 3 the engagement member 30 has been introduced into the insulating mem ber 50 such that the pointed end 31 of the engagement member 30 projects on the oth er side of the insulating member 50 from the body of the engagement member 30. As can be seen the engagement member 30 is provided with a stop section 32 such that as the stop section 32 comes into contact with the surface of the insulating mem ber 50 it will be very difficult to insert the engagement member 30 further into the insulating member 50. In this manner the correct distance as discussed above with reference to figure 1 between the inner side 21 of the facade plate and the surface of the insulating member 50 is determined.

As illustrated with reference to figure 4 the female engagement member 40 is thereaf ter inserted such that the female receiving means engage the pointed end of the male stud on the engagement member 30 and interlocks with the pointed end. The second engagement member 40 is also provided with stop plates 41 such that as these stop plates 41 come into contact with the surface of the insulating member 50 it will be very difficult to force the engagement member 40 closer to the insulating member 50 whereby the correct distance between the surface of the insulating member and the inner sides 11 of the facade plate 10 is also determined and fixed.

Both engagement members 30, 40 are provided with relative flat adhesion surfaces 33, 42 such that during manufacture of the lost form an adhesive may be placed on these adhesion surfaces 33, 42 whereby an adhesive contact may be established between the rear sides 11, 21 of the facade plates 10, 20 and the engagement members 30, 40. In this manner a very quick reliable and precise assembly may be created between the engagement members 30, 40 and the facade plates 10, 20.

In figure 5a-f are illustrated various cross-sections through a lost formwork according to the present invention where the distance between the first and second facade plate with respect to the insulating member varies as illustrated. Same reference numbers denote same features as already mentioned above.

Turning to figure 6 the finished lost formworks may be manufactured in various pla nar shapes such that it is possible to assemble entire walls for houses as illustrated with reference to figure 6. Here various shapes and sizes of the lost formworks are assembled to form the outer walls of a building.

Particularly and with reference to figure 7 it may be seen that a door opening 60 may be created by positioning two lost formworks 61, 62 having a full height correspond ing to the distance between the floor and the ceiling of the building. In the door aper ture 60 are provided further lost formworks 63 delimiting the sides of the lost forms 61, 62 such that concrete when poured into the open spaces in the lost formwork as discussed above will not enter the aperture 60.

In order to create the wall section above the door aperture 60 a further lost formwork 64 is positioned here. In this illustrative figure the lost formworks 61, 62, 64 are illus trated with a distance between them, but it is clear that in use the lost formworks will be in contact such that a substantially continuous space is created between the first and second facade plates for pouring concrete around the insulating member.

One of the overriding principles of the present invention is that the lost formwork is designed and developed in order to be manufactured by a fully automatic process where conveyor belts and robots carry out the entire assembly according to pre- specified, for example architectural, designs which are loaded into a central computer controlling the manufacturing process. Therefore, the invention also discloses a layout of a manufacturing facility as will be explained below.

The illustrated manufacturing facility comprises a central conveyor 100 which may be a continuous conveyor or a conveyor made up of separate independent sections to gether forming the central conveyor 100.

At a first and of the conveyor is positioned a first robot 110 which robot is adapted to place plates from a plate storage 120 onto the central conveyor. In the plate storage 120 will typically be 2, 3, 4 or more different types of plates depending on the desired characteristics of the final lost formwork. In this embodiment there are three different plates: a first plate 121 being a first facade plate, a second plate 122 being an insulat ing plate, typically made from expanded polyurethane foam having a low to medium density thereby having high insulating properties. A further facade plate 122 is provided such that it is possible to have different surfaces on the finished concrete wall when the lost formwork is built into a building. The first robot 110 positions a first plate member, for example a facade plate 12 on the conveyor belt 100. Naturally, the first robot 110 is provided with suctions cups or other means which are suitable for both lifting the facade plates 121, 122 and the insu lating panels 121. After the facade plate has been positioned on the main conveyor belt 100 it will be transported through a cutting station 130. As explained above with reference to for example figure 6 and 7 not all lost formwork panels are to have the same size both with respect to length and width, and as such it may be necessary to trim the facade plates to the desired size. This is carried out in the trimming station 130. After having been trimmed the facade plate remains on the main conveyor 100.

If an insulating panel is being transported on the main conveyor a second robot 140 lifts the insulating panel onto a side table where engagement members 141, 142 are inserted into the insulating panel if the engagement member is a male engagement member otherwise being attached to the points of the studs in case the engagement members are female. In the illustrated embodiment a number of separate robots are indicated in order to carry out this job and insert the engagement members in the cor rect positions. It is clear that it is quite time consuming if one robot should position all the engagement members on either side of the insulation member, and for this purpose the layout of the manufacturing facility as illustrated in figure 8 comprises 8 robots 140 which together will position and place the engagement members in the correct positions in the insulating members such that an insulating member with mounted engagement members is manufactured as illustrated with reference to figure 4. On the main conveyor the facade plate 121 has passed the trimming station 130 and is now being introduced into a first adhesive station 150. At this station stripes of adhe sive, for example hot-melt glue, are positioned on the inner side 11, 21 of the facade plate 12 . The stripes are positioned such that when the further robot 144 positions the assembled engagement members and insulating member on top of the facade plate 12 the adhesive stripes will coincide with the adhesive surfaces 33, 42 (see figure 4) whereby an adhesive connection is made between the facade plate 12 and the as sembled engagement members and insulating plate. At this point the assembly progresses through a further adhesive station 152 where stripes of adhesive is positioned on the upstanding and free flat adhesion surfaces 33, 42. And finally a further facade plate 122 also being delivered along the central con veyor 100 is positioned on top of the exposed stripes of adhesive positioned on the adhesive surfaces 42, 33 such that the second facade plate is provided with an adhe- sive contact fastening to the rest of the assembly. At this point the panel is completely assembled and ready for storage, transport and use on a construction site.

I figure 9 is illustrated a slightly different layout of a production facility, however, the same object is achieved, namely an assembled lost formwork.

In figure 9 the first robot positions facade plates 121, 122 on the conveyor. The facade plates are conveyed through the trimming station 130 and the adhesive station 150. Simultaneously a second set of robots 140’ prepare insulating panels 121 from a dif ferent panel storage on assembly tables 14 and as the engagement members are as- sembled through the insulating panels 50 as explained above with reference to any of figures 1-4 the assembled engagement members are positioned on top of the adhesive stripes on the facade plate having passed the adhesive station 150 on the main con veyor 100. Thereafter it progresses through the further gluing station 152 and is finished as al ready described above with reference to figure 8. In figure 10 is illustrated a detailed view of the third station where the robots 140 are positioning the engagement mem bers on and through the insulating members 121. Same reference numbers refer to the same features as already discussed above.

In figure 11 is schematically illustrated an adhesive/gluing station 150, 52 where a facade plate 121 passes under a number of nozzles 153, in this example 4 nozzles, but naturally any number of nozzles may be provided in the gluing station. The nozzles issue for example a hot-melt in stripes on the surface of the facade plate 121 such that as the assembly with engagement members and insulating panels are positioned on top of the facade plate 121 the adhesive stripes and thereby the position of the nozzles 153 will coincide with the adhesive surfaces 33, 42. With reference to figure 12 a turning table 160 is illustrated. The turning table may be inserted in the manufacturing process such that instead of a robot lifting the second facade plate onto the pre-glued engagement members in order to complete the lost formwork a facade plate provided with engagement members and insulating member having protecting engagement members 30, 40 may be flipped over as indicated by the arrow 161 onto a second facade plate 12 such that the complete lost formwork is assembled on the side plate 162 of the turning table. In this process extra pressure by means of actuators 163 may be inserted such that the now fully assembled lost form- work 1 held by the turning device side plate 162 and the turning plate 163 may squeeze the lost formwork 1 together in order to ensure the adhesive connection be- tween the facade plate and the engagement members.

Common for the robots handling plates and insulating panels is that they are provided with one set or multiple different sets of vacuum/suction cups, such that the robots may attach to the plates and insulating panels without any other means. Likewise the main conveyor is also provided with suction, at least in sections, such that the plates are more or less fixed on the conveyor during the process of being worked, whether the edges are being machined or further elements are positioned in or on the plates.

In figures 13-18 are illustrated the various steps of using the lost formwork according to the present invention in order to erect a building. It shall be understood that the drawings as well as the explanation is very schematic and in practice a number of cus tomary further processes will be included but for the understanding of the present in vention the method of erecting a building using lost formwork according to the pre sent invention should be understood.

Initially a foundation slab 170 is created. This concrete slab 170 may be a foundation or a concrete floor separation. In the slab reinforcement bars 172 are imbedded sub stantially along the entire periphery of the building to be erected. In figure 13 are provided tracks 174 superposed the rebars 172. In this manner the tracks 174 will help guide the lost formwork, when the formwork is erected in the correct position as will be explained with reference to figure 16. The tracks 174 are provided with apertures such that the tracks may be set over the free ends of the rebars in order for the tracks 174 to come into contact with the concrete slab 170.

Turning to the figure 15 examples of lost formwork pre-assembled for example in the factory and ready to be arranged on the foundation slab 170 is illustrated. The illustra tion in figure 15 is an exploded view of the many parts from which a last formwork according to the present invention may be assembled in order to construct the building outlined by the rebars 172 on the foundation slab 170.

As is evident, the various panels 176 are positioned on the tracks 174 in the desired order such that window openings 178 and door openings will be positioned according to the architectural layout. As is evident from figure 16 the lost formwork 176 in this position/ stage still only comprises the outer panels 182,184 together with the connect ing members fixing the insolation 186 at the correct distance relative to the front and rear panels 182, 184. This of course makes it very easy to install the panels 176 in that the panels are very lightweight and therefore easy to manoeuvre and does not require heavy lifting material in order to install the panels.

Once all the panels and jambs have been assembled the building will look like depict ed in figure 17 in that the lost formwork is completely assembled and provided with jambs 188 such that the lost formwork constitutes a large cavity inside which cavity the reinforcement and insolation 186 is held in correct positions. At this stage the lost formwork is ready to be filled with concrete as illustrated in figure 18. For illustrative purposes the front panel 182 has been removed such that pouring of concrete 190 fill ing the cavity/void between the front panel 182 and the rear panel 184 on either side of the insolation 186 may be seen. The concrete filling machine 192 in this embodi- ment comprises a dispenser 194 which is specifically dimensioned such that it is suit able to allow concrete to flow on either side of the embedded insolation 186 thereby filling the voids on either side of the insolation i.e. between the front panel 184 and the insolation 186 and the rear panel 184 and the insolation 186. In this manner it is possible to erect a building using simple handling material and at the same time in an expedient manner erect a building.

Claims

1 Lost formwork comprising a first facade plate and a second facade plate, said first and second facade plates are spaced from each other, where the first plate on a side of the plate facing the second plate is provided with one or more engagement member(s) having male connection studs, the connection member having a longitudinal extent substantially spanning from one free edge of the first plate to another opposite free edge, and

- where the second plate on a side of the plate facing the first plate is provid ed with one or more engagement member(s) having female connection studs, the connection member having a longitudinal extent substantially spanning from one free edge of the second plate to another opposite free edge, where the engagement members on the first and second plates are arranged facing each other, where an insulation member is inserted over the male studs, such that the male studs with the insulation member are inserted and interlocked in the female connection studs, whereby the first and second facade plates are retained in a firm spaced relationship, and

- where the male engagement member is provided with a stop section con tacting one surface of the insulating member and the female engagement member is provided with a stop plate contacting another surface of the insu lating member, the other surface of the insulating member being opposite to the one surface of the insulating member, and where both the male engage ment member and the female engagement member are provided with flat ad hesion surfaces whereby an adhesive contact may be established between the rear sides of the facade plates and the engagement members.

2. Lost formwork according to claim 1, wherein the facade plates are adhesively connected to the engagement members.

3. Lost formwork according to claim 1 or 2, where the engagement members are manufactured from plastic, the insulating member is a medium to low density polyurethane foam, and the adhesive is a hot-melt adhesive.

4. Lost formwork according to any of claims 1 to 3 where the lost formwork is manufactured in shapes corresponding to:

- a wall element, optionally comprising one or more openings suitable to re ceive a door, window, or pipe;

- a partial wall element

- inward corner between two adjacent walls

- outward corner between two adjacent walls.

5. Lost formwork according to any of claims 1 to 4 wherein any of the follow ing technical installations may be preinstalled during manufacture of the lost formwork: electrical installations, plumbing, ventilation, heating

6 Method for manufacturing lost formwork according to any of claims 1 to 5, where the method comprises a plurality of stations, wherein the following steps are performed at the plurality of stations:

a first station wherein a first robot places either a facade panel or an insulating panel on a central conveyor, such that the facade panel is back side up and the facade panel and/or insulating panel is oriented and positioned correctly, where after the panels are transported by the central conveyor to

a second station wherein edges on the panels are worked, if necessary, to predetermined dimensions, where after the panels are transported by the central conveyor to

a third station wherein one or more second robots places engagement members having male connection studs in the insulating panels by forcing the tip of the male connecting studs through the insulating panel to a predetermined depth determined by a distance A between a stop section of the male engagement members and a flat adhesion sur face of the engagement members, the stop section of the male en gagement members contacting one side of the insulating member, where after the same second robot or a third robot places engagement members having female studs over the male studs, the female en gagement members having a stop plate contacting another surface of the insulating member, the other side being opposite to the one side, thereby interlocking the male and female studs with the insulating panel interposed between the connection members having male and female studs,

- and where both the male engagement member and the female en- gagement members have a flat adhesion surface away from the insu lating panel, where the second robot or the third robot or a fourth ro bot places an adhesive on the flat adhesion surface of one connection member;

a fourth station being an adhesive station where a facade panels’ back side is provided with adhesive areas corresponding in size and posi tion to the flat adhesion surfaces of the engagement member not pro vided with adhesive in station three, and thereafter

a fifth station wherein the second, third, fourth or a fifth robot places the insulating panel with projecting engagement members manufac- tured in station three, on the facade panel leaving station four, and wherein a further robot places a further facade panel arrived on the central conveyor on the projecting engagement members adhesive ap plied in station three

7. Method for manufacturing according to claim 6 where the third station is modified such that one or more second robots places engagement members having male connection studs in the insulating panels by forcing the tip of the male connecting studs through the insulating panel to a predetermined depth where after the same second robot or a third robot places engagement mem bers having female studs over the male studs, thereby interlocking the male and female studs with the insulating panel interposed between the connection members having male and female studs, and where the engagement members have a flat adhesion surface away from the insulating panel, where the second robot or the third robot or a fourth robot places the connected engagement members and the interlocked insulating panel on a facade panel arriving on the central conveyor, which facade panel has passed an adhesive application station, providing the facade panels’ backside with adhesive in areas corre sponding to where the engagement members will contact the facade panel, af ter which the facade panel with the attached engagement members is turned over in a panel turning station and placed by means of a robot on the back side of a further facade panel which has also been provided with adhesive in areas corresponding to where the engagement members will contact the fa cade panel, such that the complete lost formwork may proceed to the sixth station.

Method of erecting a building using the lost form according to any of claims

1 to 6 wherein:

a) lost formwork is positioned on a foundation or concrete floor separa tion according to the desired architectural layout of the particular building optionally at that floor level;

b) optionally placing reinforcement between the first and second facade plates;

c) optionally providing stabilizing means for the lost formwork;

d) pouring a flowable hardening agent into the space between the first and second facade plates, and allowing the flowable hardening mate rial to harden, while simultaneously or after remove the optional sta bilizing means;

e) install roof construction or formwork for a further floor separation; f) if a further floor is to be installed repeat steps a)-e).