Disposable Form Mating Device for Concrete Ventilation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disposable forms made of plastic material for creating ventilated air gaps, crawl spaces, and roofs face issues with concrete infiltration and leg flexing during casting, leading to inefficient ventilation and increased costs due to the need for multi-step concrete casting and precise alignment requirements.
Innovation Solution
A disposable form with a mating and fixing device featuring conical tabs and complementary seats on the legs, allowing for stable and easy interlocking of adjacent forms without additional elements, preventing leg flexing and concrete leakage during single-step casting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional disposable forms are used without special fixing mechanisms, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the legs flex under concrete pressure causing joint opening and concrete leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the fixing mechanism directly into the form structure by integrating tabs and seats as built-in features of the legs. This merging eliminates the need for separate fixing elements while preventing leg flexing and joint opening under concrete pressure, thereby improving reliability without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tabs and seats act as intermediary elements between adjacent forms, creating a mechanical interlocking system that prevents relative movement. These intermediary structures mediate the force transmission from concrete pressure, distributing loads and preventing joint opening without requiring complex external fixing mechanisms.
2Reliability
If multi-step concrete casting is performed to prevent joint opening, then joint sealing is improved, but installation time and costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring the tabs and seats on the form legs before concrete casting. This preliminary fixing arrangement prevents joint opening during the single concrete casting operation, eliminating the need for multi-step casting procedures and reducing installation time while maintaining joint sealing reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixing mechanism enables continuous concrete casting in a single step without interruption for hardening waits. The tabs and seats maintain joint sealing throughout the continuous pouring process, allowing the concrete to be cast continuously from bottom to top without requiring staged operations, thereby reducing installation time.
3Reliability
If keys with handles and abutments are used to fix legs, then joint sealing is improved, but the device becomes complex and requires precise alignment during installation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex key mechanism with handles and abutments, replacing it with simpler tabs and seats that are directly integrated into the form legs. This extraction simplifies the fixing mechanism while maintaining joint sealing capability, and eliminates the need for precise alignment during installation as the tabs and seats are inherently positioned on the form structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The tabs and seats are self-aligning features that automatically engage when adjacent forms are placed next to each other. The geometry of the tabs and seats provides self-service alignment, eliminating the need for operator intervention to precisely align complex key mechanisms, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining reliable joint sealing.
4Stability of the object's composition
If rings are arranged at the base of legs to improve mutual fixing, then some joint stability is improved, but the joint still opens at half-height due to leg flexing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent addresses leg flexing by adding fixing mechanisms at multiple vertical levels rather than just at the base. The tabs and seats are positioned at intermediate heights along the legs, creating a multi-dimensional fixing system that prevents flexing at any point along the leg length, thereby maintaining joint sealing reliability throughout the entire form height.
Data Source
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AI summary
A mating and fixing device (1) for disposable forms made of plastic material for obtaining sanitary voids, ventilated air gaps, crawl spaces, ventilated floors and roofs, which have an upper surface (4) blended, at the corners (5), with vertically arranged lateral legs (6). The device is constituted by at least one tab (11) which protrudes substantially longitudinally with respect to the lateral legs (6) and cooperates selectively with at least one seat (16) provided at the lateral legs (6). The tab (11) and the seat (16) have a configuration and an arrangement which are adapted to allow the stacking of two or more forms.