GB2028906A

GB2028906A - Foundation Beam and Mould for Casting Same

Info

Publication number: GB2028906A
Application number: GB7926979A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: ANKARSWEDSHUS AB
Current assignee: ANKARSWEDSHUS AB
Priority date: 1978-08-16
Filing date: 1979-08-02
Publication date: 1980-03-12
Also published as: DE2931462C2; DE2931462A1; SE7808678L; CA1115082A; GB2028906B

Abstract

A foundation beam (1) to form permanent edge shuttering for a house foundation is of L-shaped cross-section and along its length it has equidistant recesses (2) which expose its internal reinforcement rods (3) which serve to retain the reinforcement irons (4) fitted in the foundation cast in situ. Two side-by- side beams (1) are cast in an upwardly open mould provided with movable side form parts (11) and a stationary inner form part (9). A hopper and strike off plate (22) travel above the mould and a vibrator (23) travels beneath the form part (9). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Foundation Beam and Plant for the Manufacture Thereof The present invention relates, on one hand, to a foundation beam intended to constitute a remaining form or shuttering and edge boundary for a house foundation and, on the other hand, to a plant for the manufacture thereof.

For producing a form for the concrete in house foundations use is made of bricked edge beams.

This process, however, is both time-wasting and expensive.

An object of the present invention is to provide a foundation beam for house foundations by means of which the making of the house foundation will be simplified and less expensive and take less time.

This object is achieved according to this invention wherein the foundation beam comprises a L-shaped elongated body the horizontal branch of which is adapted to rest against a levelled underlayer and to be covered with in situ concrete being poured on it, and wherein the foundation beam at its sides facing the space for the in situ concrete is provided with equidistant fastening means which are countersunk in recesses and by means of which the foundation beam can be tied to the reinforcement in the in situ concrete.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a plant for the manufacture of the foundation beam.

This object is achieved according to the present invention wherein the plant comprises an upwardly open form consisting of a stationary part defining the inner sides of the foundation beam and a preferably movable part forming one outer side of the foundation beam, and a carriage which is movable along the form and has a container for filling of concrete and means for striking off and screeding of the concrete and at least one vibrator accompanying said carriage for compacting concrete cast in the form.

The invention will be described in greater detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings which show preferred embodiments and in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a foundation beam element according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a foundation beam corner element according to the present invention; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a house foundation with the foundation beam of the invention in mounted condition; Fig. 4 is a plan view of a plant for the manufacture of foundation beam corner elements; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a plant for the manufacture of straight foundation beams; and Fig. 6 is a perspective, partly sectional, enlarged detail view of part of the plant of Fig. 5.

Fig. 1 shows a foundation beam 1, preferably of concrete, according to the present invention, which is of generally L-shape cross-section and has elongated recesses 2 positioned at equal distances from each other on the inner sides of the beam. Reinforcement rods 3 are cast into the foundation beam in such a way that they will cross the recesses 2. These recesses 2 and reinforcement rods 3 serve as fastening means for the reinforcement 4 (see Fig. 3) which is included in the foundation body cast in situ. The reinforcement rods 4 also serve as fastening means for lifting hooks for the transport and storage of the foundation beams.

Fig. 2 illustrates a corner element 5 made in accordance with the present invention. A method of making cdrner elements will be described below.

When making a foundation by means of foundation beams according to this invention the beams are placed end to end to constitute a form framework for concrete. As shown in Fig. 3 the foundation beam is placed with its inner sides, provided with the recesses 2, facing inwardly towards the foundation. The bent end portions 6 of the reinforcement 4 are clamped in the recesses 2 around the rods 3 crossing said recesses. The reinforcement 4 is tied to reinforcing nettings 7 extending over the entire foundation.

The length of the horizontal branch of the foundation beam 1 is adjusted to the length of the vertical branch so that the pressure from the in situ concrete for the foundation, exerted on the inside of the vertical branch, cannot overturn the foundation beam or cause it to slide out of position.

In addition to being provided with the reinforcing nettings 7 and the reinforcement 4 the beam is reinforced in a per se known manner. The foundation beam may also be provided with a transverse reinforcement 8 which, together with the rods 3 extending in the longitudinal direction of the foundation beam, imparts high strength to the beam. For this purpose preferably prefabricated reinforcement nettings are used.

Figs 4, 5 and 6 show piants for the manufacture of the foundation beam 1 and the corner element 5.

In order to make it possible to compete economically with the prior art methods of making house foundations it must be possible to make this foundation beam by means of a rational and profitable method. With the present invention the foundation beam can be manufactured on liners, whereby it is possible to attain a manufacturing capacity of about 300 linear metre foundation beam per hour.

Each liner consists of a stationary elongated table form 9 which constitutes the inner form for the foundation beam and, on either side of the liner, pivotally mounted side form parts 11 which constitute the outer form.

As the disposition of the table form 9 and the rods 3, 8 bears a relation to the casting operation, this part of the working moments will be decisive for the capacity.

Prefabricating reinforcing nettings, i.e. nettings bent and cut to standard lengths adjusted to the beams, is one of the conditions for a rational manufacture of foundation beams according to the present invention. Such reinforcement nettings are suitably ordered ready-made from the factory.

Mounting of chairs is preferably carried out in connection with the laying of the nettings.

Alternatively, the chairs may be mounted at the factory in connection with the prefabrication of the nettings.

For locking and tying the side form parts 11 use is made of braces 12 provided with a sleeve at the lower end 13 and a lock pin with a nut at the upper end 14. The side form parts 11 are pivotally mounted by means of hinges 1 5. When casting is finished the braces 12 are removed, whereupon the side form parts 11 can be swung outwardly-downwardly in the direction of the arrows 1 6. At the upper end 14, provided with lock pin and nut, there is a trimming allowance because the brace is fork-shaped at that end.

Rails 1 7 are arranged on either side of the liners and are designed to support a carriage 1 8 which is movable along the liners and on which there are provided containers 1 9 for concrete and a control table 20. Concrete is filled into the upwardly open forms when the carriage 1 8 is conveyed longitudinally of the liners in the direction of the arrow 21. The rear part of the carriage is provided with a M-shaped striker means 22 with a vibrator provided thereon.

Owing to the angled plough-shape of the striker means 22 the main part of the concrete is carried outwardly towards the vertical form compartments constituting the vertical part of the foundation beam. Another vibrator 23 is movably arranged on a slide table 24 within the table form 9. The slide table is movable on guiding means 25 along the liners and is adapted to follow the carriage 1 8 during the movement thereof. The vibrator 23 vibrates both side forms at a time. The carriage is self-propelling and moves at a speed which has a relation to the output. An amount of concrete of about 42 litres is calculated to be consumed for one linear metre beam.

Consequently, by interconnecting three concrete containers 1 9 side by side, one container over each liner, as shown in Fig. 5, it is possible to cast six foundation beams at a time.

The construction of the liners is such that the beams are manufactured upside down and in pairs on either long side of the liners, and the pair of beams is separated by bulkheads 10. The side form parts 11, which are divided up into sections adapted to standard lengths of the beams, meet at bulkheads arranged in the forms. In this way there will be no visible form joints in the beams.

The bulkheads are so conceived that the angular beam side, which is about 35 cm wide, will be 0--5 mm shorter in length than the upright side.

This arrangement is to permit the beams always to fit tight against each other on the outside during the mounting operation.

To obtain recesses on the insides of the beam there are projections which may be rigid and have notches for the rod 3 extending through the slot.

The rigid projections may be moved through holes in the table form wall, e.g. by means of an eccenter mechanism. Alternatively, the projections may be flexible and consist of air cushions of elastic material which are blown up with compressed air during casting. The projections are removed after 4-5 hours after casting and the foundation beams can be lifted without hindrance from the table form after about 1 5 hours for further transport to the storage station.

The storage of finished beams is effected in a simple way because they can be nested into each other against stringers.

The filling of the concrete container 1 9 can take place either by means of a concrete pump or from a large concrete bin which is lifted up by means of a travelling crane from a mixing station which should be situated at the middle of the liners but outside these.

The casting of concrete can then take place more or less fully automatically. By extending the liners and increasing the number of groups one can attain a practically unlimited capacity by using this method.

To cover the majority of designs and sizes of house foundations, the foundation beam is manufactured in four standard lengths, viz. 2, 3, 4 and 5 metres. These measures are adjusted by means of the bulkheads along the liners. This order of dimensions of the foundation beam permits mounting of a beam directly on a compacted and levelled bed of gravel by means of a small crane.

In order to dispense with gauge blocks the length of the corner elements 5 has been made flexible. The iong side and the end wall side of the corner elements never exceed 1 m and never are less than 0.35 m. Thus, practically all existing foundation sizes will be covered thereby.

As appears from Fig. 4 the corner elements are made on a square table form 26, where the dimensions of the corner elements are defined by means of movable bulkheads 27.

With this manufacturing process the foundation beam will be given a finished outside and the beam serves as a form for the casting of the house foundation. It can be used for houses with or without basements and also in those cases where additional reinforcement of the foundation is prescribed. A foundation of normal size, e.g. for a detached house, can be mounted in less than an hour by means of foundation beams according to this invention.

Of course the foundation beam complies with all requirements prescribed by Swedish building regulations.

The foundation beam and the plant for the manufacture thereof can of course be modified within the scope of the appendant claims and are not restricted to the embodiment described above.

Claims

1. Foundation beam intended to constitute a remaining form or shuttering and edge boundary for a house foundation, wherein the foundation beam comprises a L-shaped, elongated body the horizontal branch of which is adapted to rest against a levelled underlayer and to be covered with in situ concrete being poured on it, and wherein the foundation beam at its sides facing the space for the in situ concrete is provided with equidistant fastening means which are countersunk in recesses and,;by means^of whsic- the foundation beam can be tied to the reinforcement in the in situ concrete.

2. Foundation beam as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastening means consist of those portions of a reinforcement netting, cast into the foundation beam, which are uncovered through the recesses.

3. Plant for the manufacture of a foundation beam as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising an upwardly open form consisting of a stationary part defining the inner sides of the foundation beam and a preferably movable part forming one outer side of the foundation beam, and a carriage which is movable along the form and has a container for filling of concrete and a means for striking off and screeding of the concrete and at least one vibrator accompanying said carriage for compacting concrete cast in the form.

4. Plant as claimed in claim 3, wherein the part defining the insides of the foundation beam is doubled and cooperate with two preferably movable parts, which permits simultaneous casting of two foundation beams.

5. Plant as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the stationary form part is provided with removable projection means forming the recesses.

6. Plant as claimed in claim 5, wherein the projection means consist of elastic containers which can be filled with a pressure medium.

7. Plant as claimed in claim 5, wherein the projection means consist of relatively rigid bodies which are movable within the form part.

8. Plant as claimed in any of claims 3-7, wherein the means for striking off and screeding of the concrete is of substantially M-shaped cross-section to carry the concrete outwards towards the vertical compartments constituting one side of the foundation beam.