ROUND RUBBER CHAMPHERING RING

Abstract

A continuous round, rubberized ring is employed to produce a champher, or beveled, edge on a concrete base. Initially concrete is poured into a cylindrical form and the ring pressed into the top side of the cylindrical form. Excess cement is removed with a trowel and the cement is allowed to harden. After the cement has hardened, the form is removed and the ring stripped off leaving an attractive and safe champher on the upper edge of the base. An alternative embodiment of the ring includes a lip that can be easily gripped so the ring can be removed from the hardened concrete base. The gripping lip also prevents the ring from falling below the upper rim of the mold when the concrete is in its wet, plastic state.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of provisional U.S. application Ser. No. 60/805,588 filed on Jun. 22, 2006 and entitled “Round Rubber Champhering Ring” by John Vitale, the entire contents and substance of which are hereby incorporated in total by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a continuous round rubber champhering ring and a method of using same to form a champher on a concrete base.

2. Background of the Invention

There are a number of techniques known in the prior art for producing a champher on concrete and the like.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,393 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Forming Champhered outside Corners on Concrete Products” appears to describe a segmented set of triangular shaped wooden champher forming strips located at the edges of a concrete product.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,978,099 and 5,616,271 describe methods of forming champhers on the sides of concrete products using generally triangular shaped inserts.

Of relevance, but probably of lesser importance, are the devices and techniques described in the following patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,419,204; 6,698,709; 6,899,489; 6,935,607; and, 6,969,041.

A problem in the prior art is how to easily form a champher on the upper edge of a round concrete product. Prior art techniques to cope with same have usually involved cutting a rubberized product to length. This results in poor seating and unattractive champher.

It was in the context of the foregoing prior art problems and challenges, that the current invention arose.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Briefly described the invention comprises a continuous, seamless round rubberized champhering ring employed to form a champher on the top leading edge of a round concrete light pole base. The ring is continuous and seamless and has a generally triangular cross-section. The outside circumference of the ring fits neatly and snugly within the top of the concrete base form. According to an alternative embodiment, the ring may include an additional lip to make it easier to grab and remove and so it will not fall below the top edge.

The round rubber champhering ring is used in the following manner. First, concrete is poured into a round form. Second, the ring is pressed into the top edge of the “plastic” concrete so that the top portion of the ring is flush with the top of the round form. The ring fits snugly so that there is virtually no space between the edge of the ring and the inside wall of the form. Third, a trowel or similar object is used to clean off excess cement so that the top portion of the concrete is flat and flush with the top of the ring. Fourth, after the concrete is dried, the rubberized ring is removed. The result is a beautiful, uniform upper champher area on the top of a concrete light pole base. A properly formed champher is not only important from a cosmetic point of view, but also it tends to minimize damage to individuals or vehicles because it has no significant rough, or sharp, edges.

The invention may be more fully understood by reference to the following drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the round champhered ring invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial, cross-sectional view of the ring illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the step of pouring of concrete into a round circular mold such as used to produce the base of a light pole.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the step of removing excess cement with a trowel or similar tool.

FIG. 3C is a perspective view showing the mold sections being removed.

FIG. 3D is a perspective view showing the continuous ring being striped off of the top edge of the base.

FIG. 3E is a perspective view of the finished base showing the smooth, champhered edge created by the continuous ring of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention in which a gripping lip is added to the ring to make it easier to remove and wherein the lip also prevents the ring from falling below the rim of the mold.

FIG. 5 is a detailed, cross-sectional view of the second alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

During the course of this description like numbers will be used to identify like elements according to the different views that illustrate the invention.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the preferred embodiment 10 of the invention. The ring 10 comprises a top 12, a side wall 14, and a sloping inner wall 16.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional detail view of the invention 10 illustrated in position as shown in FIG. 3B. The ring 10 fits snugly on the inside of a first cylindrical light stand base form 20A. Commercial versions of base forms 20A and 20B, as also shown in FIGS. 3A, 3C and 3D, are available from SONOTUBE® and other commercial vendors. The first form section 20A has a first vertical side wall 22A and a first top flange or lip 24A. When properly in position as shown in FIG. 3B, the ring 10 fits snugly so that its vertical side wall 14 contacts the inside of the first vertical cylindrical side wall 22A and so that there are no significant gaps or spaces, but not so snugly that the ring 10 cannot be relatively easily removed. The top face 12 of the ring 10 is preferably flush with and coextensive with the plane of the upper lip or flange 24A of the first form 20A. An angle 18 exists between the top 12 of the ring 10 and its sloping sidewall 16. Angle 18 is preferable 45° but can range between 40° and 50°. An actual ring might have a width across the top of 12 of ¾″, a length across the sidewall 14 of ¾″, and an overall face length of sloping side wall 16 of 1″. The overall face length of the sloping sidewall 16 can vary from ¾″ to 4″. The outside diameter of the ring 10 can vary from between 8″ to 48″ depending upon the size of the light stand base that is being produced.

The steps for using the ring 10 are illustrated in FIGS. 3A through 3E.

In FIG. 3A, cement 50 is shown being poured into a form comprising a first semi-circular section 20A a and second semi-circular 20B. The first cylindrical semi-circular form 20A also includes a first bottom flange or lip 26A. The cement form includes a second cylindrical light stand base form 20B, which is complimentary to, and essentially identical to, the first cylindrical light stand base form 20A. The second cylindrical light stand base form 20B includes a second vertical sidewall 22B, a second top flange or lip 24B and a second bottom lip flange or lip 26B as shown. First and second cylindrical base forms 20A and 20B each include a pair of sidewall edge flanges 28A and 28B, respectively. The first form 20A includes a plurality of holes 40A in the side wall flange 28A as seen in FIG. 3D. Similarly, the second form section 20B includes a plurality of holes 40B in side flange 28B that line up with holes 40A of the first form flange 28A. A plurality of conventional bolts 30 pass through holes 40A and 40B and are secured on the opposite side of the flanges 28A and 28B by a plurality of conventional threaded nuts 32. When properly assembled, the forms 20A and 20B have the appearance as shown in FIG. 3A. The concrete 50 is poured into the hollow interior cavity of the forms 20A, 20B until it is just up to the rim of upper flanges 24A and 24B. After the cement 50 has been poured up to the rim, the ring 10 is placed in position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3B.

Once the ring 10 is in position as shown in FIG. 3B, the excess cement 50 is removed with a trowel 34 so that the upper surface of the cement 50 is roughly flush with the upper surface 12 of the ring 10 and the upper surface of the upper lips or flanges 24A and 24B.

The next step in the process is the removal of the nuts 32 from the bolts 30 and the separation of the two (2) mold sections 20A and 20b in the direction of arrows 42 and 44 as shown in FIG. 3C. This makes it possible to remove the ring 10 easier.

After the cement 50 has hardened, the ring 10 is removed as shown in FIG. 3D. Because the ring 10 is made of a relatively soft, resilient rubber-like material, it is easily stripped from the cement 50.

The final base product 36 is shown in FIG. 3E. The base 36 now has a smooth champhered upper corner with no sharp edges. While the base 36 is preferably, and typically, a light stand base, it could also be any other kind of round, circular base such as a column used to support a bridge-like structure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment 100 of the invention 10 in which the ring 100 includes, as before, a vertical side wall 114, a sloping inner side wall 116 and an upper surface 112, as seen in FIG. 5. In addition to the foregoing, the alternative embodiment 100 includes an extended gripping lip 118, which, where the ring 100 is in position, extends beyond the inner surface of the side wall 22A and onto the upper portion of the flange 24A. The gripping lip 118 makes it easier to grip the ring 10 so that it can be removed as shown in FIG. 3D and it also serves the purpose of preventing the ring 10 from falling below the upper rim 24A and 24B of the mold 20A and 20B when the form is filled with concrete as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The extended lip 118 preferably has a length beyond the upper surface 112 of ¼″ and is preferably about ⅛″ thick. The alternative embodiment 100 is used in the same manner as the preferred embodiment 10, except that it is easy to grip the lip 118 so that ring 100 can be removed from the form as shown, for example, in FIG. 3D.

Rings 10 and 100 are preferably formed by pouring a polyurethane polymer into an appropriate form. The size of the rings 10 and 100 will depend, of course, on the size of the bevel 38 to be formed on the base 36. The preferred polyurethane material is prepared in the following manner:

A first chemical component, which includes about 99% by volume of a polyurethane prepolymer and up to about 1% by volume of a toluene diisocyanate isomer blend, is prepared.

A second chemical component is also prepared and includes from about 70% to about 75% by volume of a polyol-plasticizer blend (non-hazardous), from about 25% to about 30% by volume of a di(methylthio)toluene diamine, and up to about 1% by volume of a phenylmercuric neodecanoate catalyst.

The first and second chemical components are mixed in a ratio of 2:1 (two times the unit(s) weight or volume of the first chemical component for each unit(s) of weight or volume of the second chemical component). The two chemical components are mechanically mixed in containment cylinders for several minutes in order to achieve the necessary pouring and molding consistency. The final compound is then poured, fitted, and cut using the appropriate mold.

The material described above forms a resilient ring 10. It is possible to make rings 10 that are more resilient and, in some cases, the rings 10 might even be stiff or rigid. The preferred embodiment of the ring materials is available from Smooth-On, Inc., 2000 Saint John Street, Easton, Pa. 18042. See www:smooth-on.com. It is referred to as its PMC-790 Industrial Liquid Rubber Compound.

In summary, the present invention makes it possible to easily form smooth, attractive and safe beveled or champhered edges 38 on concrete bases 36 in a manner that was not possible in the prior art.

While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications can be made to the apparatus and the steps of the invention, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as a whole.

Claims

1. A method of forming a champhered edge on a base comprising the steps of:

a. creating a substantially cylindrical form having a rim and an interior sidewall which forms an inner cavity;

b. pouring concrete into said cavity substantially up to said rim;

c. inserting a continuous ring into the said cavity so that it substantially contacts said interior sidewall and is substantially flush with said rim; and,

d. removing said ring and said cylindrical form leaving a cement base with a contoured, champhered, upper edge.

e. removing said ring leaving a base having a champhered, upper edge.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

f. removing excess concrete after step “c” but before step “d” so that the surface of said concrete is substantially level with said ring and said rim before said concrete hardens.

3. The method of claim 2 further wherein said ring includes a top section, a sidewall section and a beveled section that runs diagonally between said top section and said sidewall section and wherein step “c” further comprised placing said ring into said form so that said beveled section faces said concrete after it is poured.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said base is a light stand base.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said base is a column.

6. In an apparatus for forming a contoured edge on a base which is formed by pouring concrete into a cylindrical form having an interior cavity and a rim and further employing a contour forming device to form said contour in said base after said concrete has hardened, the improvement comprising:

a continuous ring having at least a top section, a sidewall section and a beveled section that lies in a plane diagonal with respect to the planes of said top and sidewall sections.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said top section and said sidewall sections are substantially perpendicular with respect to each other.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said ring is resilient so that it can be easily stripped away from concrete after it has substantially hardened.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said ring further comprises a lip extension so that said ring can be easily grabbed by hand and removed from said base.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said ring is placed in said poured concrete with said sidewall substantially contacting said interior cavity and said top section of said ring being substantially flush with said rim of said form so that said beveled section faces said poured concrete and forms a beveled edge in said hardened concrete when said ring is removed.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said base is a light stand base.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said base is a column.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said ring is prepared by a method comprising:

a. combining about 99% by volume of a polyurethane prepolymer and up to about 1% by volume of a toluene diisocyanate isomer blend to produce a first chemical component;

b. combining about 70% to about 75% by volume of a polyol-plasticizer blend (non-hazardous), from about 25% to about 30% by volume of a di(methylthio)toluene diamine, and up to about 1% by volume of a phenylmercuric neodecanoate catalyst to produce a second chemical component; and,

c. combining said first and second chemical components.