Spacer for concrete form walls

Details Spacer for concrete form walls Spacer for concrete form walls

1998-12-31

2001-05-22

Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)

Static molds

In situ construction engineering type or building type-mold...

Forming building structure

C249S004000, C249S005000, C249S216000, C249S219100, C254S013000, C254S088000, C269S204000, C269S041000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06234447

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to spacer devices and more particularly to a spacer device especially suitable for use in maintaining inner and outer concrete form walls at a specified uniform spacing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Foundation Contractors set up their forms with an inner form wall and an outer form wall and thereafter pour liquid concrete into the space between the walls to form the poured concrete foundation. As the concrete is poured and as the concrete hardens, the upper edges of the walls in particular tend to move out of alignment with each other. Specifically, they tend to squeeze in toward each other. As a result, if this condition is not corrected, the resulting poured concrete foundation will have a distorted, relatively thin upper edge portion.
In the past, various attempts have been made to prevent this inward squeezing movement of the upper edges of the form walls such, for example, as by putting wooden chocks between the upper edges of the walls or by the use of clamps engaging the upper edges of the walls. However, these and other prior art procedures are labor intensive and often ineffective.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to the provision of a spacer that is effective in maintaining the inner and outer form walls of a concrete foundation at a specified uniform spacing.
More particularly, this invention is directed to the provision of a concrete form wall spacer that is simple in construction and effective in operation.
The invention is operative to maintain inner and outer foundation form walls at a specified uniform spacing. The invention spacer includes a shaft; first and second spacer plates positioned in axially spaced relation along the shaft and adapted to engage faces of the respective inner and outer form walls; means operative to vary the axially spacing between the first and second spacer plates to thereby vary or maintain the spacing between the inner and outer form walls; and a stabilizer and stiffener assembly extending between axially spaced locations along the shaft and including a male guide structure including a rod extending generally parallel to the screw shaft and a female guide structure including guide means slideably receiving the rod. With this arrangement the spacer plates provide the desired spacing between the inner and outer form walls while the stabilizer and stiffener assembly acts in coaction with the parallel shaft to stiffen the overall assembly so as to avoid buckling of the shaft as the spacer plates are moved outwardly or inwardly to spread or contract the form walls.
According to a further feather of the invention, the shaft includes a first threaded portion and a second oppositely threaded portion; the operative means includes first and second nuts mounted on the first and second threaded portions; and the first and second spacer plates are secured to the first and second nuts. With this arrangement, the spacer plates may be moved toward and away from each other by a simple rotating movement of the shaft.
According to a further feature of the invention, the male guide structure is secured to one of the nuts and the female guide structure is secured to the other of the nuts, and the guide means comprises a socket telescopically receiving a free end of the rod. With this arrangement, the telescopic receipt of the rod in the socket as the spacer plates are moved toward and away from each other precludes relative rotation between the first and second nuts and stiffens the assembly to avoid buckling of the shaft.
In the disclosed embodiment of the invention, the spacer further includes a handle secured to one end of the screw shaft to facilitate turning of the screw shaft. This handle structure allows the screw shaft to be readily turned to selectively move the spacer plates toward and away from each other.


REFERENCES:
patent: 1490284 (1924-04-01), MacLeod
patent: 1956771 (1932-06-01), McKeown
patent: 1970946 (1934-08-01), Schenk
patent: 2140669 (1938-12-01), Vigier
patent: 2973792 (1961-03-01), Fonken
patent: 3697039 (1972-10-01), Phelps et al.
patent: 3843084 (1974-10-01), Gregory et al.
patent: 5016855 (1991-05-01), Huggins
patent: 5029803 (1991-07-01), Schworer

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