Apparatus and method for forming concrete panels

Abstract

The invention provides a form member for use in forming concrete panels comprising a pair of upright walls connected by a plurality of ribs. Each of the ribs includes an aperture for allowing a fastener through. The fastener passes through each of the ribs into a casting floor to fix the form member to the floor. A plurality of form members can be arranged to define enclosures, concrete is then poured into the enclosures to the level of the upright walls, smoothed and allowed to cure to form concrete panels. The form members of the present invention allow a number of panels to be formed at the same time, with some form members common to more than one concrete panel. The invention provides easy of use and savings in space, time and labour.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for forming concrete panels. In particular, the invention relates to forming tilt-up concrete panels which are poured on a flat surface and subsequently tilted up to form walls for buildings. [0003] 2. Background of the Invention [0004] Tilt-up construction is a method of forming concrete buildings. It provides a low cost and high speed way to construct buildings which are low maintenance and have good durability. [0005] Typically, in a tilt-up concrete construction, panels are formed as near to their final position in the building as possible. The most convenient casting base is often the concrete floor of the building. Wood or steel edge forms are prepared and positioned on a casting base. The base is sprayed with a release agent that prevents wet concrete sticking to the base. Reinforcing steel and any desired door and window frames, electric conduits and o...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Placing and fixing the forms for the panels, and subsequently removing those forms presents a number of problems.

The forms are often damaged when the nails or screws are removed so that they cannot be reused.

The casting surface is often damaged as well.

However, these strips can often be displaced when the concrete is poured leading to irregular panels being formed.

Practically, this means that the panels are limited in thickness to standard plywood widths.

This means that each panel requires a separate form and takes up considerable space on the casting floor.

It is not possible to stick brackets on either side of the form in this scheme as they would interfere with the shape of the concrete panels.

However, existing forms cannot be anchored strongly enough to the casting floor to withstand the pressure from the concrete without external brackets.

There are a number of problems with the system of U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,045.

Firstly, concrete can enter the gap between the plywood and the extruded form member.

This will make it almost impossible to remove the plywood from the form member without significant damage to the plywood, making it unusable again.

Not only will this make it difficult to remove the plywood from the support but makes it almost impossible to refit it into a support member for subsequent reuse.

Furthermore, if a chip of the plywood breaks off during reinsertion and jams into the bottom of the extrusion, then this will create a misalignment in the height of the form as compared with adjacent form walls.

Thirdly, if the plywood does get jammed in the support and cannot be removed then it is impossible to remove the support from the floor as the screw is covered by the plywood.

Not only will the plywood be damaged on removal from the support, but the form member can also then be damaged by the panel lifting equipment during the lifting of the panel.

Fourthly, difficulties can arise when trying to unscrew the form member from the floor.

This damages both the form member and the underlying concrete surface.

Further damage can be caused to the plywood during pouring if the pump hose is dragged across the top surface or by the screeding machine during screeding, preventing reuse.

Images