Transparent construction form

Abstract

A wound construction form comprising a plurality of flexible sheet material layers wound one upon another about an axis and bonded together to form a tube, wherein all of the flexible sheet material layers comprise transparent polymer film. The tube thus is transparent such that a settable composition poured into the tube can be seen through the tube wall. If an air bubble is present adjacent the wall, it can be eliminated while the composition is still fluid by puncturing the wall with a small hole at the bubble so that the air can escape and the composition can fill the void.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to wound tubes, and more particularly to wound tubular construction forms for poured concrete columns and the like. [0002] Tubular construction forms heretofore have been formed as spirally wound paperboard tubes. When concrete is poured into the form, air bubbles can be present in the concrete, which is undesirable from an aesthetic standpoint when the bubbles are on the outer surface of the resulting column. However, until the concrete has set and the form is removed, there is no way to know if air bubbles are present. It is known to insert a vibrating needle into the wet concrete to vibrate the concrete, which can help in eliminating air bubbles. The vibrating needle cannot be used very near the tubular form, however, because the vibrations can damage the form. Thus, even when the needle is used, air bubbles can be present adjacent the form. The air bubbles are manifested as recesses on the outer surface of the colu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0003] The present invention addresses the above needs and achieves other advantages, by providing a wound construction form comprising a plurality of flexible sheet material layers wound one upon another about an axis and bonded together to form a tube, wherein all of the flexible sheet material layers comprise transparent polymer film. The tube thus is transparent such that a settable composition poured into the tube can be seen through the tube wall. If an air bubble is present adjacent the wall, it can be eliminated while the composition is still fluid. For instance, the wall of the tube can be punctured with a small hole at the bubble so that the air can escape and the composition can fill the void. The small hole will not compromise the strength of the form and will tend to be closed by the composition after the air escapes.

Problems solved by technology

When concrete is poured into the form, air bubbles can be present in the concrete, which is undesirable from an aesthetic standpoint when the bubbles are on the outer surface of the resulting column.

However, until the concrete has set and the form is removed, there is no way to know if air bubbles are present.

The vibrating needle cannot be used very near the tubular form, however, because the vibrations can damage the form.

If a bubble is large, the resulting recess can compromise the column strength.

Small bubbles may not affect strength to any significant extent, but do mar the appearance of the column.

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