Self-leveling form stake
A form stake for use in securing wooden forms around an area of concrete to be poured. The stake has a flat body with a T-shaped flange structure protruding from its front face, while the rear face of the stake is flat to slide smoothly against the face of the form as the stake is driven into the ground. The T-shaped flange structure has a central vertical rib terminating at the upper end of the stake in a horizontal driving shelf centered over the vertical rib. The driving shelf has a flat, uniform upper driving surface that forms the uppermost end of the stake. The driving shelf terminates at the flat rear face of the stake so that its upper surface can be driven level with the upper edge of the form using any non-specialized driving tool, at which point the stake tends to level itself with the upper edge of the form without being unintentionally driven below the upper edge of the form. The stake has holes for inserting fasteners through the stake into the form once the stake has been fully driven into the ground.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of stakes used to support concrete forms or barriers that are used along the outside of an area in which concrete is to be poured, so as to contain the poured concrete in that area.
2. Description of Related Art
Concrete form stakes are typically used to secure wooden boards or “forms” around the perimeter of a concrete pouring area, the stakes driven partway into the ground along the outside face of a form to hold it securely in place before, during, and after the pouring operation. Known stakes come in many shapes and sizes, for example homemade stakes made from scrap wood at the construction site as well as different types of commercial stake made from wood, plastic, and metal.
Another type of stake used in concrete pouring operations is known as a screed stake, used in spaced pairs to hold screed rods or bars in an even plane across the area to be poured to ensure that the concrete is level and smooth.
My earlier U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,164, issued Jul. 8, 2003, discloses a stake especially adapted for use as a screed stake, but which can also be used as a form stake. This screed/form stake has a flat rear face and a U-shaped upper cradle portion extending from the front face of the stake, the cradle designed to mate with a separate driver. The driver also has a flat rear face, and a screed-rod-shaped portion that extends from the front face of the driver to mate with a screed rod groove in the cradle portion of the stake. When the lower end of the driver is mated with the stake's upper cradle, the upper end of the driver serves as a pounding surface to drive the stake into the ground. The upper surface of the screed-rod-shaped portion of the driver can be used as a screed rod elevation-measuring surface when seated in the cradle, providing a platform for a transit to measure whether the stake has been pounded in far enough to support a screed rod at the proper height.
The screed/form stake has holes formed along its face for securing it to a concrete form with screws or nails. When used as a form stake, the stake is driven home with the same driver used for screeding operations, with the flat back of the driver allowing it to be used against the face of the form without interference. As shown in the patent, the stake can be driven to a point where its cradle is below the upper surface of the form. The stake is typically removed from the exterior face of the form after the concrete has been poured and has set.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention is a stake designed specifically for use as a form stake. The stake can be pounded or driven into the ground with any non-specialized driving tool, such as a hammer or mallet or even a boot, and naturally levels itself at the top of the concrete form when pounded with such a tool. When the form is no longer needed, the stake can be easily pulled out of the ground with fingers or the claw of a hammer or tool.
The form stake has a relatively wide, flat body with a flat rear face, and a forward-facing T-shaped flange structure extending from the front face of the stake. The T-shaped flange structure has a horizontal driving shelf with a uniform, level impact surface at the top of the stake, and a central vertical rib section extending downwardly from the driving shelf with a depth equal to the depth of the shelf protruding beyond the face of the stake. The driving shelf forms the top surface of the stake. The vertical rib bisects the stake.
In a preferred form, the underside of the driving shelf has a predominantly perpendicular or acutely-angled surface on both sides of the central rib for grasping with the fingertips or hooking with a tool to pull the stake out of the ground.
Although the form stake is lighter and less expensive to manufacture than my previous screed/form stake, it is easier and faster and stronger to use as a form stake. These and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon further reading of the specification, in light of the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring first to
Stake 10 has a flat body 16 with a front face 16a bisected by a vertical center rib 18, a flat rear face 16b, and angled or beveled lower edges 16c terminating in a ground-penetrating point 16d. The upper end of stake 10 is capped by a flat, horizontal driving shelf 22 perpendicular to vertical rib 18 and extending from the front face 16a of the stake. Vertical rib 18 and driving shelf 22 accordingly form a forward-facing “T” on the front face of the stake.
As best seen in
The flat top surface 22a of driving shelf 22 forms the upper end of the stake, with no thin wall or flange edges exposed, and with a surface area greater than the surface area of the cross-sections of center rib 18 and stake body 16. As best shown in
Referring to
As best shown in
Referring next to
Holes 24 in the face of stake 10 allow the stake to be secured to the face of the form in known manner, for example with nails or screws driven through holes 24 into the face of form 12.
It will be understood that the length and width and relative dimensions of stake body 16 can vary according to the anticipated height of the forms with which it will be used, the nature of the ground into which it will be driven, and the weight or force of concrete that is anticipated against the form. Although the protruding T-shaped flange formed by center rib 18 and driving shelf 22 is shown as extending relatively far from the front face 16a of the stake body in
While stake 10 is especially designed for use as a form stake, it may find use in other applications for providing good holding power against significant forces in loose soil or sand or even snow.
While the illustrated embodiment shows the body of stake 10 reinforced and guided by a single central vertical rib 18, it will be understood that a plurality of ribs centered on a vertical section of the front face of the stake to symmetrically divide it can also be used.
It will be understood that the disclosed embodiment is representative of a presently preferred form of the invention, but is intended to be illustrative rather than definitive of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the following claims. I accordingly claim:
Claims
1. A form stake comprising a flat body with a front face, a flat rear face, an upper end, and a lower ground-penetrating end, the front face having a protruding T-shaped flange structure comprising a central vertical rib section bisecting the front face of the stake and a horizontal driving shelf, the vertical rib terminating in the horizontal driving shelf, the driving shelf being perpendicular to and centered over the vertical rib, the driving shelf having a flat, uniform upper driving surface overlying both the upper end of the stake body and the vertical rib.
2. The form stake of claim 1, wherein the driving shelf has a rear edge that terminates at the flat rear face of the stake body.
3. The form stake of claim 1, wherein the stake includes a plurality of holes formed in the flat body, with at least one hole on each side of the central vertical rib section.
4. The form stake of claim 1, wherein the driving shelf has a lower surface portion that is at least perpendicular to the flat body of the stake.
5. The form stake of claim 4, wherein the driving shelf lower surface portion is acutely angled relative to the flat body of the stake.
6. The form stake of claim 1, wherein the distance the driving shelf protrudes from the front face of the stake is equal to the depth of the center rib.
7. The form stake of claim 6, wherein the T-shaped flange structure protrudes a distance from the front face of the stake approximately equal to a thickness of the stake body.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 2, 2004
Publication Date: Apr 6, 2006
Inventor: Glenn Moblo (East Jordan, MI)
Application Number: 10/957,348
International Classification: E02D 5/74 (20060101);