ROD POSITIONER AND ASSOCIATED METHOD
A positioner is provided for maintaining a reinforcing rod in a certain position within a void of a building unit. The positioner is sized and shaped to be attached to a reinforcing rod before the rod is inserted into the void of one or more concrete blocks or other building units. The positioner has a slot portion that fits onto the rod as well as two biased support portions that extend from the slot portion to engage the rod in a clip-like manner. The support portions are designed to engage the sidewalls of the void and may be compressible towards the rod while maintaining engagement with the rod to allow the rod and positioner to be inserted into voids that have narrower widths due to excess grout or other restrictions within the void.
Latest Patents:
The present invention relates to reinforcing masonry construction and, more specifically, positioning reinforcing rods within voids formed in masonry units.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONConcrete is a material that is commonly used in construction. For example, Concrete Masonry Units (CMUs), such as blocks of cinder concrete (cinder blocks), ordinary concrete, or hollow tile are often used to construct walls or other structural elements of a building. Although concrete possesses very high compressive strength, the tensile strength of concrete is significantly lower. As a result, reinforcing rods or bars, also known as rebar, are frequently used to strengthen masonry construction against tensile forces.
In order to allow for the reinforcement of the concrete, CMUs are often formed with voids. Typically, a reinforcing rod is placed into one of the voids, such as a void that is in a location within the structure that will experience greater tensile stresses, and the rebar is then held in place within the void by filling the void with grout. A wall, for example, may be built by laying multiple rows of CMUs such that the voids are aligned or partially aligned from one row to the next. A reinforcing rod may then be inserted into one of the long voids formed by the multiple aligned voids, and grout may be poured into the long void to hold the reinforcing rod in place.
Placement of the rod in the center of the void is a significant factor in the resulting tensile strength of the structure, and building codes often specify a minimum tolerance for the placement of such reinforcing rods. This is because rods that are not centered will be closer to one or more of the sidewalls of the void than the other sidewalls, and the grout will not evenly surround the rod within the void.
Manually positioning the rods within the voids, and then maintaining the correct position as construction proceeds, is difficult, if not impossible. As a result, there have been several attempts made to facilitate the placement of reinforcing rods. For example, one device that has been used is a bracket, such as the Steel-Wich™ described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,937, that is placed across a void of one of the topmost blocks after several rows of blocks have been laid to position one or more rods within a void before the next row of blocks is laid. Another device that has been used is a spacer that may be attached to the rod before the rod is inserted into the void such that the spacer extends between opposite corners of the void, centering the rod, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,714,817.
These and other devices for positioning reinforcing rods have several drawbacks. Brackets that span the void must be installed during construction, before the next row of blocks is laid, so that the brackets may be held in place by the weight of the next row of blocks. Furthermore, the brackets themselves must be accurately positioned to ensure that the rod held by the bracket will be centered within the void. Other types of devices, such as spacers, must be installed on the rod before the rod is inserted into a void, and so the spacer must fit easily onto the rod to facilitate assembly in the field. At the same time, the configuration of the spacer must resist disassembly or detachment from the rod as the rod is inserted into the void. Furthermore, the presence of excess mortar/grout along the sidewalls of the void, caused by grout squeezing into the void each time a row of CMUs is added, may create a restriction within the void, making the insertion of the rod and spacer even more difficult. All of these issues slow down construction, increase building costs, and risk generating code violations and structural flaws if the reinforcing rods are not accurately positioned.
Thus, there remains a need for a positioner that maintains a desired position of a rod within a void, is easier to assemble and use in the field, provides a more secure connection with the rod during insertion of the rod into the void, and allows the rod to be inserted into and positioned within the void despite restrictions within the void.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to a positioner for maintaining a reinforcing rod in a desired position within a void defined by one or more sidewalls of a building unit. Advantageously, in one embodiment, the positioner includes a single piece of spring wire that defines a centrally-located slot portion and first and second support portions extending from the slot portion. The support portions are configured to engage the sidewalls defining the void. The first and second support portions define first and second ends that are biased towards the rod and help secure the positioner to the rod so as to maintain the position of the rod within the void. Thus, it is easy to manually attach a positioner to a rod and to insert the assembled rod and positioner into the void of a building unit to position the rod and subsequently reinforce the structure.
In one embodiment, the positioner includes a centrally-located slot portion, a first support portion extending from the slot portion, and a second support portion extending from the slot portion. The slot portion is configured to engage the rod and prevent movement of the positioner in the axial direction with respect to the rod. The first support portion is configured to engage a first portion of a sidewall defining the void, and the second support portion is configured to engage a second portion of a sidewall defining the void. The first and second support portions define first and second ends that are biased towards the rod and help secure the positioner to the rod so as to maintain the position of the rod within the void.
In some embodiments, the first and second ends are configured to tangentially engage the rod. The first support portion may include a first engagement section that is configured to engage the first portion of the sidewall, and the second support portion may include a second engagement section that is configured to engage the second portion of the sidewall such that the first and second engagement sections do not lie substantially in one plane. Furthermore, the positioner may be asymmetric about a central axis of the positioner.
The positioner may comprise a single piece of metal that is bent at a plurality of locations along the piece to form the slot portion, the first support portion, and the second support portion. In some embodiments, the positioner comprises a wire and may further comprise a spring wire.
The first support portion may be configured to engage the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a first distance from a location at which the slot portion is configured to engage the rod, while the second support portion may be configured to engage the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a second distance from the location at which the slot portion is configured to engage the rod. In such embodiments, the first distance may be different from the second distance.
In some embodiments, the first and second support portions are configured to be compressible towards a central axis of the positioner. When the positioner is attached to the rod, the first and second ends may be configured to move with respect to the rod while maintaining engagement of the first and second support portions with the rod. Furthermore, the first and second support portions may be configured to allow the rod to be inserted into the void past at least one restriction, where the restriction results in a width of the void that is less than a width of the uncompressed positioner and more than a width of the fully compressed positioner. In some embodiments the first and second support portions define first and second ends and at least one of the first and second portions is moveable towards the rod while maintaining engagement of the first and second ends with the rod.
In other embodiments, a method is provided for positioning a reinforcing rod within a void of a building unit defined by one or more sidewalls. The method includes moving the rod into a slot portion of a positioner, moving a first end of the positioner to biased engagement with the rod, moving a second end of the positioner past the first end and past the rod to biased engagement with the rod, and inserting the rod and positioner in the void. In some embodiments, a single piece of metal may be bent at a plurality of locations along the piece to form the slot portion, a first support portion including the first end, and a second support portion including the second end.
Moving the first end may include engaging the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a first distance from a location at which the slot portion engages the rod, and moving the second end may include engaging the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a second distance from the location at which the slot portion engages the rod. In some embodiments, the first distance is different from the second distance.
The rod and positioner may be moved into engagement with at least one portion of a sidewall of the void. Furthermore, inserting the rod and positioner into the void may include pushing the rod past at least one restriction, the restriction resulting in a width of the void that is less than a width of the uncompressed positioner and more than a width of the fully compressed positioner. More than one positioner may be removably attached at a number of locations along the rod, and at least one of the positioners may be rotated about a central axis of the rod so that the slot portions of the positioners are not aligned. In addition, the void may be filled with cementitious material after the rod and positioner are inserted.
Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
The present invention generally relates to a positioner for maintaining a reinforcing rod in a certain location within a void of a building unit. As described further below, the positioner is configured to be attached to a reinforcing rod before the rod and attached positioner are inserted into the void. First and second support portions of the positioner are configured to engage the sidewalls of the void, holding the reinforcing rod within the void.
Referring to
As illustrated in
The bias of the support portions 14, 16 in the illustrated example urges the support portions 14, 16 towards the rod 30 from generally opposite directions, and thus the first and second support portions 14, 16 cooperate to engage the rod 30, creating a clip-like engagement of the rod 30. In addition, the configuration of the slot portion 12 and the first and second support portions 14, 16 may allow for the removal of the attached positioner 10 from the rod 30, for example by a construction worker at a construction site who wishes to attach the positioner 10 to a different location on the rod 30.
In some embodiments, such as the one shown in
Referring to
The first and second support portions 14, 16 of the positioner 10 are configured to engage a portion of one or more of the sidewalls 44, 46, 48, 50 of the building unit 40 which define the void 42 to maintain the position of the attached rod 30 within the void 42. For example, as shown in
The positioner 10 may have various dimensions and configurations to fit voids of different sizes and shapes. In some embodiments, the first support portion 14 includes a first engagement section 15 that is configured to engage the first sidewall 44, and the second support portion 16 includes a second engagement section 17 that is configured to engage a second sidewall 48, as shown in
The positioner 10 may comprise a single piece of metal that is bent at multiple locations along the piece to form the slot portion 12, the first support portion 14, and the second support portion 16. For example, a single piece of metal may be bent to form a slot portion 12 configured to fit and attach to the rod 30 and to form first and second support portions 14, 16 that extend out from the central axis f of the positioner 10 and are configured to engage the rod 30 as previously described and illustrated in
Referring to
For example, the standard width W of the void, as defined by the distance between opposite sidewalls 44, 48 or 46, 50 may be decreased as a result of excess grout or other debris adhered to one or more sidewalls 44, 46, 48, 50. In particular, as grout is applied to the top surface of a row of blocks and a subsequent row of blocks is laid on top of the grouted surface, excess grout may be pushed in the direction of the void by the force of the last row of blocks laid and, when hardened, the grout may create one or more restrictions 49 within the void 42. Such restrictions 49 may result in an effective width W′ of the void 42 that is less than the standard width W However, as previously described, the first and second support portions 14, 16 are configured to allow the rod 30 to be inserted into the void 42 past the one or more restrictions 49, ultimately positioning the rod 30 as shown in
Furthermore, the first and second ends 14, 16 may be configured to move with respect to the attached rod 30 while maintaining engagement of the first and second support portions 14, 16 with the rod 30. For example, referring to
A method is also provided for positioning a reinforcing rod within a void of a building unit defined by one or more sidewalls. The rod is initially moved into a slot portion of the positioner. The rod, such as the cylindrical rod 30 shown in
Multiple positioners may be attached to the rod at more than one location along the rod before inserting the rod and positioners into the void. For example, one positioner may be attached near one end of a reinforcing rod, and another positioner may be attached near the other end of the reinforcing rod. In this way, each positioner can position the part of the rod to which it is attached within the void, as previously described, with the effect that the entire length of the rod is maintained in the desired position. Furthermore, one or more of the positioners that are attached to the rod may be rotated about a central axis of the rod such that the slot portions of the positioners are not aligned. Using the previous example of two positioners attached to a rod, one on each end of the rod, the positioners may have been attached such that the open part of the slot portion (through which the rod was initially moved into engagement) of one positioner is aligned with the open part of the slot portion of the other positioner. With this alignment, both positioners may be pushed off the rod if a strong force is applied to both positioners at similar locations and from a similar angle, such as from the same restriction along the sidewall of the void as the rod and positioners are being inserted into the void. However, the rotation of one of the positioners so that the slot portions are no longer aligned may minimize the risk that both the positioners of this example would become detached from the rod.
In many embodiments, after the rod and positioner (or positioners) are inserted into the void and positioned as desired, the void is filled with cementitious material to hold the reinforcing rod in place within the void. For example, grout can be poured into the void such that the hardening of the grout around the rod secures the rod to the building units and thus serves to reinforce the structure.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
Claims
1. A positioner for maintaining a reinforcing rod in a particular position within a void of a building unit defined by one or more sidewalls, the positioner comprising:
- a centrally-located slot portion configured to engage the rod and prevent movement of the positioner in the axial direction with respect to the rod;
- a first support portion extending from the slot portion and being configured to engage a first portion of a sidewall defining the void; and
- a second support portion extending from the slot portion and being configured to engage a second portion of a sidewall defining the void;
- wherein the first and second support portions define first and second ends that are biased towards the rod and help secure the positioner to the rod so as to maintain the position of the rod within the void.
2. The positioner of claim 1, wherein the first and second ends are configured to tangentially engage the rod.
3. The positioner of claim 1, wherein the first support portion includes a first engagement section that is configured to engage the first portion of the sidewall, the second support portion includes a second engagement section that is configured to engage the second portion of the sidewall, and the first and second engagement sections do not lie substantially in one plane.
4. The positioner of claim 1, wherein the positioner is asymmetric about a central axis of the positioner.
5. The positioner of claim 1, wherein the positioner comprises a single piece of metal that is bent at a plurality of locations along the piece to form the slot portion, the first support portion, and the second support portion.
6. The positioner of claim 1, wherein the positioner comprises a wire.
7. The positioner of claim 6, wherein the positioner comprises a spring wire.
8. The positioner of claim 1, wherein the first support portion is configured to engage the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a first distance from a location at which the slot portion is configured to engage the rod, wherein the second support portion is configured to engage the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a second distance from the location at which the slot portion is configured to engage the rod, and wherein the first distance is different from the second distance.
9. The positioner of claim 1, wherein the first and second support portions are configured to be compressible towards a central axis of the positioner.
10. The positioner of claim 9, wherein, when the positioner is attached to the rod, the first and second ends are configured to move with respect to the rod while maintaining engagement of the first and second support portions with the rod.
11. The positioner of claim 9, wherein, when the positioner is attached to the rod, the first and second support portions are configured to allow the rod to be inserted into the void past at least one restriction, the restriction resulting in a width of the void that is less than a width of the uncompressed positioner and more than a width of the fully compressed positioner.
12. A positioner for maintaining a reinforcing rod in a particular position within a void of a building unit defined by one or more sidewalls, the positioner comprising:
- a centrally-located slot portion configured to engage the rod and prevent movement of the positioner in the axial direction with respect to the rod;
- a first support portion extending from the slot portion and being configured to engage a first portion of a sidewall defining the void; and
- a second support portion extending from the slot portion and being configured to engage a second portion of a sidewall defining the void;
- wherein the first and second support portions define first and second ends and at least one of the first and second support portions is moveable towards the rod while maintaining engagement of the first and second ends with the rod.
13. The positioner of claim 12, wherein the first support portion includes a first engagement section that is configured to engage the first portion of the sidewall, the second support portion includes a second engagement section that is configured to engage the second portion of the sidewall, and the first and second engagement sections do not lie substantially in one plane.
14. The positioner of claim 12, wherein the positioner is asymmetric about a central axis of the positioner.
15. The positioner of claim 12, wherein the positioner comprises a single piece of metal that is bent at a plurality of locations along the piece to form the slot portion, the first support portion, and the second support portion.
16. The positioner of claim 12, wherein the positioner comprises a wire.
17. The positioner of claim 16, wherein the positioner comprises a spring wire.
18. The positioner of claim 12, wherein the first and second ends are configured to be biased against the rod.
19. The positioner of claim 18, wherein the first and second ends are configured to tangentially engage the rod.
20. The positioner of claim 12, wherein the first support portion is configured to engage the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a first distance from a location at which the slot portion is configured to engage the rod, wherein the second support portion is configured to engage the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a second distance from the location at which the slot portion is configured to engage the rod, and wherein the first distance is different from the second distance.
21. The positioner of claim 12, wherein the first and second support portions are compressible towards a central axis of the positioner.
22. The positioner of claim 21, wherein, when the positioner is attached to the rod, the first and second support portions are configured to allow the rod to be inserted within the void past at least one restriction, the restriction resulting in a width of the void that is less than a width of the uncompressed positioner and more than the width of the fully compressed positioner.
23. A method of positioning a reinforcing rod within a void of a building unit defined by one or more sidewalls, the method comprising:
- moving the rod into a slot portion of a positioner;
- moving a first end of the positioner into biased engagement with the rod;
- moving a second end of the positioner past the first end and past the rod into biased engagement with the rod; and
- inserting the rod and positioner into the void.
24. The method of claim 23 further comprising bending a single piece of metal at a plurality of locations along the piece to form the slot portion, a first support portion including the first end, and a second support portion including the second end.
25. The method of claim 23, wherein moving the first end comprises engaging the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a first distance from a location at which the slot portion engages the rod, and wherein moving the second end comprises engaging the rod at a location along the rod that is spaced a second distance from the location at which the slot portion engages the rod, the first distance being different from the second distance.
26. The method of claim 23 further comprising moving the rod and positioner into engagement with at least one portion of a sidewall of the void.
27. The method of claim 23, wherein inserting the rod and positioner into the void comprises pushing the rod past at least one restriction, the restriction resulting in a width of the void that is less than a width of the uncompressed positioner and more than a width of the fully compressed positioner.
28. The method of claim 23 further comprising removably attaching a plurality of positioners at a plurality of locations along the rod.
29. The method of claim 28 further comprising rotating at least one of the positioners about a central axis of the rod such that the slot portions of the positioners are not aligned.
30. The method of claim 23 further comprising filling the void with cementitious material after inserting the rod and positioner.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 22, 2007
Publication Date: Jul 24, 2008
Applicant:
Inventors: Ronald Manware (Claremont, NC), Jeremy D. Reinhardt (Catawba, NC)
Application Number: 11/625,382
International Classification: E04C 5/16 (20060101);