Foundation anchor bolt positioning and restraining device

Abstract

An anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus eliminates use of the conventional J-shaped anchor bolt and replaces it with a straight-line anchor rod. The apparatus includes a support plate having an anchor bolt attachment means attached thereto, a pair of opposed, identical, upstanding positioning and restraining arms attached to lateral ends of the support plate and a straight-line anchor bolt that is secured to the attachment means after the foundation wall is constructed. The positioning and restraining arms invariably position anchor bar at exactly the same location within an interior core of the cinder block such that the anchor bar will consistently project above the sill plate on its centerline, while projecting at a consistent height and at a consistent ninety degree angle with respect to the top surface of the sill plate so that an anchoring nut and washer combination can be properly attached to the projecting end of the anchor bar when tying the building framing to the foundation wall. The positioning and restraining arms do not allow the apparatus to move in any direction after it is placed within the core of the cinder block such that the sill plate can be predrilled.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to building construction and more specifically to a device used in residential housing construction that supports and precisely positions an anchor bolt within a masonry construction block foundation wall to allow the frame of the building to be secured to the anchor bolt. The present invention also includes means for securely retraining the apparatus against movement and from being dislodged from the wall while it is under construction.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art

It is well known that the median price of residential housing has continuously risen at a pace which has far outpaced yearly annual increases in disposable family income, making affordable home ownership an unobtainable dream to a growing number of families. The price of a home is largely determined by three main factors: the cost of land; labor costs; and material costs. The cost of materials exhibits the most variability as there are hundreds of different materials used in the construction of a home and many of these materials, such as roofing shingles, asphalt, lumber, and concrete, are in some way indirectly affected by the per-barrel price of oil. While the price a contractor pays for these materials is out of his direct control, the waste of such items is not. Therefore, a contractor knows that when the waste of such materials can be minimized or eliminated, the cost savings can be passed on to the consumer, thereby improving and promoting the salability of his product. One such area in which the costs of materials can be significantly reduced concerns the use of foundation anchoring bolts for attaching the building structure to the foundation and how those bolts are secured within the foundation.

The foundation of houses and other buildings are typically constructed from masonry blocks commonly referred to as cinder blocks, which have a generally rectangular configuration. Each cinder block is manufactured to have two juxtapositioned, hollow cores that extend through the block in a vertical direction. The cores are separated by a cross-member or partition wall that is located at the midsection of the block and common to each core. A plurality of intermittently spaced anchor bolts are secured within the cores of selected or predetermined cinder blocks in order to tie in the entire perimeter of the structural framing of the building or house to the foundation wall. Many state building codes dictate that the anchor bolt must be long enough to extend from above the sill plate of the building structure, downwardly to at least the second course or layer of the foundation and that each anchor bolt be permanently secured within the foundation wall. This is accomplished by inserting a respective anchor bolt within one of the two hollow cores of each of the predetermined cinder blocks such that the threaded end of the anchor bolt extends upwardly above the top-most course in the foundation wall and then pouring cement into the hollow core until the lowermost end of the bolt is enmeshed within the concrete so that is becomes permanently secured within the wall and positioned so as to upwardly extend above the sill plate so that a nut and washer combination can be used to secure the anchor bolt thereto.

One of the wasteful aspects of securing anchoring bolts to the foundation wall concerns the random placement of the anchor bolt by a construction worker. For example, if the worker is not careful, he can position the anchor bolt such that it extends upwardly so that it is not at a right angle relative to the top surface of the sill plate. In that situation, the threaded end of the bolt may not extend above the sill plate at all or it may extend only partially above the plate such that an anchoring nut and washer cannot be readily attached to the anchor bolt threads. In order to address that problem, a worker must either chisel or drill out the sill plate around the threads in order to get the nut and washer to fit so that it can finally be secured. Not only does this solution waste a great deal of worker time on the job, it also compromises the integrity of the sill plate and the effectiveness of the anchoring system. Sometimes the anchor bolt is permanently set within the foundation wall such that the threaded end only extends up to lower surface of the sill plate itself, meaning that the nut and washer will never be attached to the anchor bolt, thereby eliminating the use of that particular anchor bolt in securing the building framing. In that situation, the builder nevertheless has still incurred the labor cost in equivalent time to install a defective anchor bolt and the cost of all of the materials associated with permanently securing it within the foundation wall.

Another related problem with the current process of permanently securing each respective anchor bolt is that it wastes a large amount of cement material and requires extensive labor to mix the concrete, transport it and then finally pour it within the cores of the brick. To position an anchor bolt, it is now common to pass the bolt down through the aligned hollow cores of at least two layers of stacked cinder blocks. Subsequently, cement is poured down the uppermost core until it reaches the lowermost layer and then fills the core until the lowermost end of the bolt is surrounded by concrete. This results in wasting of a large amount of cement in that the entire height of the foundation wall at that respective bolt location is filled solid with concrete. Furthermore, the concrete that is used to fill each respective core is hand mixed and transported by several construction workers who then wheelbarrow the concrete to the particular location. Builders have attempted to solve or limit this wastefulness of the concrete by filling the cores below the top two courses with sand, empty concrete bags, and other construction site debris in order to provide a higher base or plug. In this way, the bottom of the anchor bolt can be rested upon the base so that only a partial core needs to be filled with concrete, thereby reducing the amount of concrete used within the construction of the foundation wall. The biggest problem with this shortcut method is that many of the anchor bolts ultimately become improperly aligned since they are unstably resting upon the debris dropped within the cinder block cores and the concrete moves them once it contacts the anchor bolt as the concrete fills the cores.

Attempts have been made to overcome these problems, as addressed with the anchor bolt positioning apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,421 to Grisby. In that prior art device, the apparatus utilizes a J-shaped anchor bolt that greatly complicates the structural design of the device for holding and positioning the anchor bolt. For example, that device requires provision of an upstanding post and several clips for securing the anchor bolt to the post, as well as several supporting pads for resting the curved section of the bolt upon. The pads function to preset the extent of the upward, vertical projection of the anchor bolt as well as its position within the core of the cinder block. The construction of this device presents several shortfalls that compromise its usefullness. One shortfall is that the device is costly to manufacture due the multiplicity of components. Another shortfall is that because of the complexity and number of parts, it is overly cumbersome to assemble in the field, thereby leading to increased labor costs. The largest shortfall of this device pertains to the preferred embodiment, which is designed to rest upon the top face of the cinder block. In this position, the device is not prevented from complete movement along the longitudinal and horizontal directions of the cinder block, which can effect the final position of the anchor bolt relative to the sill plate. Another shortfall is that this device is very difficult to incorporate into the foundation wall during its assembly because the course (s) of blocks which will lie above the apparatus have to be carefully lifted and positioned over the upwardly extending J-bolt that is pre-secured to the post, all without disturbing the bolt on the post. If a bricklayer is not especially careful, he can easily contact the bolt in such a manner that the holding clips are disengaged, causing the bolt to either fall off the post or lean at an angle other than straight up. Moreover, if one or both of the clips is not utilized for whatever reason during assembly of the apparatus, there is a likelihood that should a cinder block contact the upstanding anchor bolt during assembly of the wall or when the concrete is initially poured over the apparatus for permanently securing the bolt into the wall, the anchor bolt may become fully or partially dislodged from the post. In either situation, the anchor bolt will not remain in a perfectly vertical position for securing the sill plate thereto, again leading to the problems mentioned above. Furthermore, if a bricklayer is not especially careful, he can easily knock the entire apparatus off the course of block that the device is resting upon since this device has no effective provision for restraining the apparatus securely to the cinder blocks. A final shortfall that was discovered with this prior art anchor bolt device is that it disintegrates the mortar joint. It was found that because the positioning apparatus is disposed directly within the mortar joint, either the downward weight forces of the concrete used to fill the passageway or the upward forces exerted during tightening of the sill plate nut, will cause the structure of the device to deflect, thereby transferring those forces directly into the mortar joint. Depending upon the freshness of the mortar, such deflection forces can compromise the integrity of the mortar joint.

While the prior art devices may have fulfilled their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a foundation anchor bolt positioning apparatus that has certain improved features which is less costly to manufacture, is more expedient to assemble in the field and incorporate into the foundation wall during its assembly, and which guarantees that it will be restrained from movement or from being knocked off the foundation wall so that the anchor bolt will invariably extend to the correct height above the sill plate and invariably be positioned on the centerline of the sill plate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved anchor bolt positioning apparatus for use within a foundation wall that is comprised of cinder blocks capped with a sill plate. The object is met in the present invention by providing an anchoring bolt positioning and restraining apparatus that comprises a support plate having an anchor bolt attachment means attached thereto, a pair of opposed, identical, upstanding positioning and restraining arms attached to lateral ends of the support plate and a straight-line anchor bolt is secured to the attachment means after the foundation wall is constructed. The positioning and restraining arms invariably position anchor bar at exactly the same location within an interior core of the cinder block such that the anchor bar will consistently project above the sill plate on its centerline, while projecting at a consistent height and at a consistent ninety degree angle with respect to the top surface of the sill plate so that an anchoring nut and washer combination can be properly attached to the projecting end of the anchor bar when tying the building framing to the foundation wall. The positioning and restraining arms do not allow the apparatus to move in any direction after it is placed within the core of the cinder block such that the sill plate can be predrilled. The present invention also eliminates the use of the conventional J-shaped anchor bolt and instead provides a straight-line anchoring bar which allows the anchoring apparatus to be substantially simplified while greatly reducing its cost to manufacture. The use of the straight-line anchor bar also allows it to be attached to the apparatus structure after the foundation wall is constructed. This subtle change allows the foundation wall to be erected without the worry lifting the individual bricks over an upstanding anchor bolt that usually becomes damaged from contact with the brick or is knocked out of position or completely off the foundation wall.

The features and advantages of the invention will be further understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a conventional cinder block foundation wall illustrating the positioning of a prior art anchor bolt within the wall;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a conventional foundation wall;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional cinder block;

FIG. 4A is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of only the support plate of the preferred embodiment of the present invention highlighting another version of the attachment means;

FIG. 4C is a perspective view of only the support plate of the preferred embodiment of the present invention highlighting still another version of attachment means;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of a conventional cinder block showing the relationship of the positioning and restraining arms within the cinder block;

FIG. 6 is a partial elevational view of the top portion of a cinder block foundation wall with a portion being broken away, illustrating the application of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention utilizing a removable attachment means;

FIG. 7A is cross sectional view of the removable attachment means taken along line 7A-7A of FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a variation to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention highlighting another type of removable anchor bolt attachment means;

FIG. 9A is a cross sectional view of the second embodiment taken along line 9A-9A of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention highlighting still another type of removable anchor bolt attachment means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiment wherein like elements will be identified by like reference numerals throughout the drawings and specification. Referring first to FIGS. 1-3, a prior art anchor bolt 10 will be generally described in order to distinguish the differences between it and the anchor bolt positioning apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a prior art anchor bolt 10 having a J-shaped configuration is shown permanently secured within a conventional masonry or cinder block foundation wall 20. The anchor bolt 10 has a hooked portion that is permanently positioned within an interior cavity of wall 20 and an upper end 12 that extends above the first 22 or top course of wall 20 and through a hole drilled in the sill plate 29 of the building framing. The upper end 12 is threaded to accept a nut and washer combination 14 so as to secure the sill plate framing 29 to the foundation wall 20.

In FIG. 3, the construction of an individual cinder block is shown and it become clearer later herein how the structure of the block will be used to contain and support the apparatus of the present invention (not shown). Since all individual cinder blocks comprising the construction of wall 20 are identical to each other, only cinder block 24 will be described in greater detail. As FIG. 3 shows, cinder block 24 has a generally rectangular configuration comprised of interconnecting walls 24a and 24b. The side walls 24a are identical to each, as are the end walls 24b identical to each other. A central partition wall 24c is located at the longitudinal midpoint of the distance between ends walls 24b, thereby forming identical cores 23L and 23R, of which only core 23 L will be described. The core 23L is delimited by the left most end wall 24b, the two opposed half portions of side walls 24a, and the central partition wall 24c. Each core 23L, 23R is identical to the other and is generally delimited as having a length “L” and a width “A.” The length “L,” is the distance between interior wall surfaces 24ai on each sidewall 24a, while the width “A,” is the distance between interior wall surfaces 24bi and 24ci.

Referring to FIG. 2, the relationship between the cinder blocks in the assembled rows or courses of wall 20 is highlighted, wherein core 21 of the top course 22 of brick is superimposed over core 23 formed in the second course 24. Most cinder block foundation walls are constructed in a staggered or half-pattern, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, where the cores 21 and 23 are in partial, vertical alignment with each other such that a continuous passageway 27 is formed downwardly through all of the courses comprising wall 20. It should be realized that passageway 27 will have a width “B,” which is narrower relative to the core width “A” due to the overlapping of the blocks in each course. However, passageway 27 will have the same length “L” as the core 23L. The passageway 27 functionally receives an anchor bolt 10 therein prior to the entire passageway being filled with concrete so as to permanently secure the anchor bolt therein, as required by various state building codes. When secured as such, anchor bolt 10 becomes a permanent fixture within wall 20, designed to extend above sill plate 29 on its one end in order to receive the fastening nut and washer 14, while downwardly extending to at least the level of the second course 24 of wall 20 to ensure structural integrity. As previously described, perfectly positioning and securing the anchor bolt 10 within passageway 27 becomes a difficult task for several reasons, and because of this difficulty, many of the anchor bolts become unsuitable for use because they do not sufficiently extend above the sill plate 29, if they do at all, or because they are not upwardly projecting at a perpendicular angle to the sill plate 29 to allow the nut and washer to be attached to the anchor bolt and properly tightened to the sill plate.

The present invention, shown at 30 in FIG. 4A, is designed to solve the previously mentioned problems in a number of ways not proposed by prior art devices. First of all, the present invention eliminates the use of the costly and cumbersome J-shaped anchor bolt through the provision of a less costly, straight-line anchoring rod 80. It should be understood that use of the more general term “anchor bolt” will sometimes be substituted to describe the anchor rod of the present invention, since that nomenclature is so widely used within the industry. Secondly, the present invention provides a pair of positioning and restraining arms 40,60, that attach to the upper sidewall of each brick that receives the apparatus of the invention. The arms collectively function to consistently position one end of the anchor rod at the a predetermined depth within each cinder block core relative to the top surface of the particular block that employs the apparatus, while the other end consistently projects at a ninety degree angle relative to the top surface of the top course of bricks in the foundation wall. Likewise, because all of the anchor rods are the same length, the second ends of the anchor rods will project the same distance above the sill plate so that all of the anchor rods will exhibit enough exposed threads to properly receive the nut and washer combination 14.

Besides the positioning function, arms 40 and 60 also prevent the apparatus from any movement whatsoever once the arms are clamped over the sidewalls of the construction block. As a result of the apparatus of being totally restrained from any movement, the anchor rod is guaranteed to be positioned at the same location within the core of the construction block so that rod will consistently project out of the sill plate, on its centerline. Providing anchor bars that consistently project on the sill plate centerline brings cost savings that will be described later herein. It should be understood that the anchor rod position relative to the sill plate centerline is a separate and distinct function from how high and at what angle the anchor rod projects above the sill plate.

Third, the construction of the present invention uniquely allows the straight-line anchor bar 80 to be assembled to the apparatus' base structure (32) after the apparatus has been permanently mortared and secured within the foundation wall 20. This simple change means that the anchor bar 80 will not be exposed at all during the remaining phases of the wall's construction. In turn, a bricklayer will no longer be required to carefully guide each of the heavy cinder blocks over the top portion of an exposed anchor bolt. This change in construction also eliminates the possibility of the brick contacting the upstanding anchor bolt end so as to knock the bolt or the entire apparatus off its resting position on that course of bricks or perhaps moving the anchor bolt or entire apparatus out of position without detection prior to the mortar permanently setting. Moreover, because the anchor rod 80 is attached to the remaining apparatus structure after the foundation wall is completed, virtually all problems associated with damaged threads can be eliminated too. And even if the threads of the anchor bar 80 do become damaged at some point, the rod can be easily changed without the need to remove the entire anchoring apparatus from the foundation wall in order to remove the anchor bolt from the base of the anchoring device, as with prior art devices. Finally, it should also be appreciated that the present invention can be readily adapted to comply with any local building code requirement that sets which course the anchor bolt has to extend downwardly into. This can be accomplished by merely by providing the appropriate length of the anchor rod 80 without modifying the remaining structure of the anchoring apparatus.

In a first and preferred embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4-6, the anchor bolt positioning apparatus 30 is generally shown to comprise a support plate 32 that fits within the core of a construction block, first and a second upstanding positioning and restraining arms 40,60, and an anchor rod attachment means 90 for securing a straight-line anchoring rod 80 to the support plate 32. The first and second positioning and restraining arms 40,60 are identical structural members that collectively serve several important functions that distinguish the present invention over the prior art, as will become clearer when they are described in greater detail below. As mentioned above, with the design of the present invention, the conventional J-shaped anchor bolt is eliminated and favorably, a continuously straight rod 80 comprised of an unthreaded central portion 86 and a pair of opposed threaded ends 82,84 is provided instead. This substitution has significance with respect to how the apparatus of the invention is incorporated into the foundation wall as it is being constructed. Because of its straight-line configuration, anchor rod 80 does not require pre-attachment to a supporting or positioning member prior to permanently securing the entire apparatus 30 within the foundation wall 20, as with prior art devices that use the cumbersome J-shaped anchor bolt. With J-shaped anchor bolts, the curved end must be pre-attached to some sort of a supporting and positioning member before the anchoring apparatus is permanently mortared within the foundation wall. Otherwise, there is no way to attach it to the base structure once the anchoring apparatus is mortared within the wall. Thus, the straight-line anchor rod 80 is to be threaded into attachment means 90 after the entire foundation wall 20 is constructed. The straight-line anchor rod 80 is generally manufactured of carbon steel and in standard lengths that correspond to the number of courses through which the anchor bolt is designed to project through, making it far less costly to manufacture than a J-shaped anchor bolt, which helps reduce some of the previously discussed home construction costs. It is also preferable that the anchor rod 80 be threaded only at its ends, otherwise the manufacturing cost of the anchor bar will be significantly increased.

The support plate 32 is designed to fit entirely within the core 23 of a construction block at a predetermined vertical location or depth within the core. Its primary function is to securely hold the anchor rod 80 prior to cementing the entire apparatus within the interior core of the foundation wall. A secondary function of support plate 32 is to block the poured cement from falling into the section of core below the support plate during the process of cementing the anchor bar within the wall. The support plate 32 has a top surface 31, a bottom surface 33, a first edge 35, a second edge 37 and corners a-d. The diametric center between the four corners a-d, define the midpoint of support plate 32 and it is at this point that the anchor rod attachment means 90 is to be located. In the preferred embodiment presented in FIG. 4A, the attachment means 90 comprises a threaded nut that is associated with the top surface 31 of support plate 32. There, the nut is permanently secured to top surface 31 by tack welding or other known means. In a variation to that embodiment as presented in FIG. 4B, the attachment means 90′ is instead comprised of a pipe fitting coupling that is also associated with top surface 31, at the midpoint thereof. With either version, the first threaded end 82 of anchoring rod 80 is received within the complementary threads of the nut 90 or the coupling 90′ so as to firmly secure anchor rod 80 to the support plate 32. The threaded connection between the anchor rod 80 and attachment means 90 or 90′ ensures against any “vertical play” being introduced into the connection, ensuring that the anchor bar 80 will always be projecting substantially perpendicular to top surface 31. When a nut 90 is employed, a construction worker will consistently thread each anchor rod 80 into the attachment means nut 90 until the anchor bolt end 84 stops against surface 31 such that top surface 31 acts an anchor rod stop. When a pipe fitting coupling 90″ is employed, it has been found that the anchor rod 80 can be tightened to about the vertical midpoint of the coupling before it cannot be tightened any further.

In a modified version to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the attachment means nut 90 is associated with bottom surface 33, as shown in FIG. 4C, where it is permanently attached thereto at the midpoint between corners a-d. However, this arrangement first requires the provision of a hole through the midpoint of support plate 32 prior to attachment means nut 90 being attached to bottom surface 33. Of course, it is easily understood by those in the art that the diameter of the hole would have to be sized so that the threads of the nut 90 are fully exposed for accepting the threaded end 82 of anchor rod 80. An advantage of locating the attachment means 90 on bottom surface 33 is that the support plate acts as a shield against sand or dirt which may fall into the passageway 27. If any dirt or sand should pass through the hole in the support plate 32, it will merely fall through the hole in the attachment means nut 90 too, thereby have no detrimental effect on threading the anchor rod 80 into the attachment means nut 90.

The support plate 32 of the present invention is designed to fit entirely within core 23 of cinder block 24 so that no portion of it will be resting upon any part of the top surface of the cinder block and/or directly within the mortar joint, as with most prior art devices. One recognized advantage to that structural arrangement is that it is much easier for the bricklayer to assemble the remaining courses of brick above the course which contains apparatus 30 since he does not have to lift those last courses of brick carefully above and over a projecting anchor bolt, which normally would be pre-attached and exposed with some prior art devices. The design of the present invention saves that additional physical exertion because the anchor rod 80 is not attached to the support plate 32 until after the foundation wall 20 is finished. By eliminating any upstanding, exposed component that needs to be addressed, a bricklayer can also construct the foundation wall in a much faster fashion, thus saving labor costs. Another discovered advantage of positioning the support plate entirely within the core is that there will be no opportunity for the apparatus 30 to be knocked out of position or completely off the foundation wall during its construction, a major drawback of an anchoring apparatus that rests upon the top surface of the brick and which uses a pre-attached anchor bolt are part of the anchoring apparatus.

As best seen in preferred embodiment of FIG. 4A, the pair of opposed, upstanding positioning and restraining arms 40,60, are integrally formed at each lateral end support plate 32, although they can be separate members that are attached to the support plate by welding or other means. The arms 40 and 60 are identical to each other and they are selectively sized in lateral width and vertical extent so that apparatus 30 accomplishes two important results. Primarily, arms 40 and 60 function to restrain apparatus 30 against any form of movement while within the core 23. This restraint, when coupled with the fact that the anchor bar 80 is not pre-attached to the support plate, means that the apparatus of the present invention will never be accidentally knocked off of the foundation wall or that it get repositioned along either direction relative to the core should the it be touched in any manner during construction of the wall. The arms 40 and 60 secondarily function to precisely and consistently position the support plate 32, and hence the entire apparatus 30, at the same location within core 23 such that the anchor bar 80 will also be positioned at a consistent location within each and every passageway 27. This consistent placement within passageway 27 means the anchor bar 80 will be invariably be located right on the centerline of the sill plate 29 each and every time, which in turn means that the sill plate 29 can be predrilled at all locations where an the second end 84 of the anchor rod 80 will project through. With most prior art anchoring systems, the sill plate holes cannot be predrilled because the anchor bolts never quite present themselves in a consistent location relative to the center line of the sill plate. Thus, with predrilling, it should be appreciated that additional labor construction time and costs can be saved.

As FIG. 5 best shows, the restraining and positioning features of the present invention are accomplished through a precise construction of the positioning and restraining arms 40 and 60, which are comprised of rigid positioning posts 42,62, and rigid retention means 50 and 70. Specifically, the respective positioning posts 42,62, are constructed with dimensional lateral widths “LL” that are substantially the same width “A” of core 23. Therefore, there will be no “play” between the respective first and second edge walls 45,65 and 47,67 of the respective positioning posts 42,62 and the interior walls 24bi and 24ci of core 23. When the posts 42,62 are positioned within core 23, the entire surface area of the edge walls 45,65 and 47,67, will experience a trivial amount of friction against walls 24b and 24c. However, it should be understood that if the restraining means 50 and 70 were not provided, these friction forces would not be great enough to sufficiently hold the support plate 32 in a stable and unmovable position within the core so as to completely restrain the apparatus from movement. If the positioning posts 42,62 were constructed so as to intentionally allow movement along the width “A” of the cinder block, or weren't constructed as rather rigid members so as to prevent buckling under the combined weight of the anchor bar and the later-poured cement, then the final position of the anchor bar 80 and its angle of projection will be inconsistent such that sill plate 29 cannot be predrilled. Thus, it is preferred that the posts be constructed as rigid members so that they do not readily bend or buckle. The use of gusset plates 100 further provides rigidity to the posts 42,62 when thin a thinner gage of steel is used for constructing the apparatus.

It is also preferred, but not required, to construct the retentions means 50 and 70 (which are shown in resting contact against the sidewall 24a and top surface 26 in the figure) such that they are also provided with a lateral dimension of “LL”, as shown in FIG. 5. When the retention means 50,70 and positioning posts 42,62, are both constructed with the same lateral extent, then the upstanding positioning and retention arms 40,60 can be constructed as an integral, unitary member. It is important to understand that the positioning posts 42,62 solely control movement along the length “A” of core 23, independent of the width of retention means 50 and 70. For example, if the retention means 50,70 were provided with a lateral width of “LL” but posts 42,62 were not, the entire apparatus would still be susceptible to movement along the length “A” of core 23 since the retention means 50,70 would merely slide across the top surface 26 of the block, as with most prior art devices. Preferably, support plate 32 should also be constructed to have a lateral width “LL” (distance between first edge 35 and second edge 37) so that the entire apparatus 30 can be constructed as an integral, unitary member, thereby reducing the costs of manufacturing apparatus 30 while increasing the rigidity of entire structure.

Another advantage of locating the support plate 32 entirely within core 23 is that the positioning and restraining arms 40,60 function to consistently set the position of the attachment means 90 at the same vertical depth within core 23 in a much simplified manner so that the anchor bar 80 will always extend above the sill plate 29 the correct distance and be centered on the sill plate 29. In contrast, consider U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,41 to Grigsby, where the inventor attempts to accomplish setting the anchor bolt height above the sill plate and its position relative to the centerline of the sill plate through provision of a multiplicity of positioning and height-adjustment pegs attached to the plate holding the anchor bolt. In that device, if the wrong peg is chosen, the anchor bolt can be off-centered with respect to the sill plate centerline or the vertical height of the anchor bolt might not extend above the sill plate. The present invention on the other hand, relies upon the posts 42,62 to consistently position the anchor bar at the center of the core 23 and at the same downward vertical elevation within the core 23, no matter which course of brick the apparatus 30 is utilized within. In this way, the present invention eliminates the opportunity for a construction worker to incorrectly mount the anchor bolt to an incorrect height adjustment peg before the apparatus is permanently secured within the foundation wall. Furthermore, the fact that the anchor bar 80 is securely threaded into the attachment means 90, the present invention ensures that the anchor bar 80 will always remain at a right angle relative to the sill plate 29 for easy attachment of the nut and washer combination 14. Since most building codes require that the anchor bolt be permanently secured within the second or third brick courses, then only two lengths of the straight-line anchor bars 80 are ever required for any particular construction project. With the present invention, if the anchor rod 80 is not long enough to extend above the top surface of the top course of bricks, the construction worker merely substitutes the longer one. Advantageously, this means that each and every anchor bolt will extend to the correct height above the sill plate so that all anchoring bars will be used to tie the building framing to the foundation wall, thereby increasing the structural integrity of the building against strong winds. With other prior art devices, the vertical height of the anchor bolt above the sill plate is not consistently ensured, such that sometimes, an anchor bolt sits below the top surface of the sill plate, making it impossible to attach the nut and washer. In those situations, that particular anchor bolt will never be utilized in tying the frame to the foundation wall.

As mentioned, the predetermined vertical position or depth of the support plate 32, and hence, the attachment means 90, within the core 23 is a function of the physical length attributed to the identical upstanding positioning posts 42,62. This point is highlighted in FIG. 4A, where it is seen that height “H” of each positioning post 42,62 determines the desired elevation of support plate 32 within core 23. Preferably, the length “H” of each post will correspond to the distance representing the location of the vertical midpoint of each cinder block, which is about 4 inches, as measured from top surface 26 on a typical cinder block.

While the posts 42 and 62 prevent movement along the width of core 23, the retention means 50 and 70 prevent movement along the length “L” of the core 23. As best seen in FIGS. 4A and 5, posts 42,62, cooperate with the retention means 50 and 70 to form a pair of identical receiving channels 51,71, that further function to secure apparatus 30 within the desired brick course 24. In FIG. 5, it is seen that the uppermost portions of opposed cinder block side walls 24a are inserted within the respective receiving channels 51,71, until the respective bottom surfaces 53,73 of each lateral flange 52,72, rest upon top surface 26. In that position, the respective positioning post exterior surfaces 43,63 are in contact against the internal brick surfaces 24ai, 24bi, and 24ci, while the respective stop plate inside surfaces 57,77 are in contact against exterior surfaces 24ae of the opposed cinder block sidewalls 24a. Thus, the entire apparatus 30 is restrained from any movement within core 23, while simultaneously, the vertical depth or position of the support plate 32 is consistently set within core 23.

Each retention means 50 and 70 is respectively comprised of a lateral flange 52,72 connected to a stop plate 56,76. The first lateral flange 52 has a top surface 53 that will be exposed to the mortar joint and a bottom surface 55 that is in resting contact upon surface 26 of cinder block 25. The lateral flange 52 is intentionally constructed to have an extent that is substantially equivalent to the thickness “t” of the cinder block sidewalls, or the distance between sidewall surfaces 24ae and 24ai. Likewise, the second lateral flange 72 has a top surface 73 that will be exposed to the mortar joint and a bottom surface 75 that is in resting contact on top surface 26. Lateral flange 72 is also constructed to have an extent that is substantially the same as the thickness “t” of the cinder block sidewall. The first stop plate 56 is connected to first lateral flange 52 at a right angle thereto and it has an inside surface 57 that is in resting contact against exterior sidewall surface 24ae. Likewise, the second stop plate 76 is connected to second lateral flange 72 at a right angle thereto and it has an inside surface 77 that is in resting contact against the opposed exterior sidewall surface 24ae. It is important to construct the lateral flanges 52,72 with the width “t” so that the first upstanding positioning and restraining post 42 will have its interior surface 41 in resting contact against the interior surface 24ae, while the second upstanding positioning and retention post 62 will have its interior surface 61 in resting contact against the opposed interior surface 24ai. Furthermore, when constructed as such, the inside surface 57 of stop plate 56, as well as the inside surface 77 of stop plate 76, will be in contact against the exterior sidewall surface 24a of the cinder block. Otherwise, if the lateral flanges 52,72 are constructed with a wider than the extent “t,” the apparatus will be able to move along the length “L” of the cinder block until the stop plates 56 or 76 are contacted, which is not desired because this type of movement would prevent the predrilling of sill plate 29. When the foundation wall 20 is completely assembled, only the outside surfaces 59 and 79 of the first and second stop plates 56,76, will be visible for a building inspector or field foreman to verify that the anchor bolt apparatus 30 has been secured within the wall at the proper depth.

Another discovered advantage of the present invention is that the integrity of the mortar joint will not be comprised when concrete is poured into passageway 27 to permanently secure apparatus 30 within the foundation wall 20. When concrete is poured into passageway 27, it will rest upon the top surface 31 of support plate 32. The weight of the concrete creates a downward force upon support plate 32, which is distributed throughout the plate before it is then transferred into each of the upstanding posts 42,62, and the gusset plates 100. The gusset plates 100 securely tie the posts 42,62, to plate 32 so that no deflection of the support plate occurs. Thus, because there is no deflection, the mortar joint is not compromised. Prior art devices which rest on surface 26 on the other hand, do not provide means for distributing the forces away from the mortar joint, leading to the mortar cracking, especially when the cement and mortar are not fully cured. In FIG. 4, only two gusset plates 100 at the corners “a” and “b” of support plate 32 are shown for clarity purposes, although it should be understood that corners “c” and “d” would also be provided with respective plates too. Preferably, apparatus 30 is manufactured from steel, aluminum or certain plastics and depending upon the chosen gage of each material, the gussets 100a-d will not be needed when a thicker gage is utilized. It is envisioned that when using steel of a 14 gage steel or thicker, the gussets are not required.

Because the support plate 32 is located within core 23, the integrity of the mortar joint is further protected when the nut and washer combination 14 are tightened so as to fix the sill plate 29 to top surface of the foundation wall 20. During that tightening process, a tensile force is exerted on the anchor rod 80, which transfers that force into support plate 32 through the attachment means 90, whereby an equivalent upward pulling force is exerted on support plate 32. As explained previously, most prior art devices have some form of a support plate sitting directly within the mortar joint, with the anchor bolt attached directly thereto. In prior art devices, when the anchor bolt nut is tightened, tensile forces in the anchor bolt are transferred directly into the support plate, causing it to flexure directly within the mortar joint, which compromises the joint. With the present invention, the effects of the flexure forces are substantially eliminated at the mortar joint due to the flexure forces being effectively absorbed and redistributed between the support plate 32, gussets 100, and upstanding posts 42,62. It has been found that such forces do not cause movement at the lateral flanges 52 and 72 because the plate, posts and gusset plates are effectively acting as a single body with respect to force distribution.

In a second embodiment of the invention, best seen in FIGS. 7 and 7A, the anchor bolt attachment means, now identified at 120, is comprised of a removable, unitary member that is associated with top surface 31 of support plate 32. The removable attachment means is constructed of a planar lower plate 122 which includes a threaded hole 121, a planar upper plate 124 which includes an identical threaded hole 125, and an upstanding planar side plate 126 connecting said upper and lower plates together. With this embodiment, the attachment means nut 90 as described earlier herein, is not provided on support plate 32 so that lower plate 122 is in full resting contact upon top surface 31 of support plate 32. Depending upon how the insert was positioned, the upstanding side plate 126 may be in contact against either of the interior surfaces 41 or 61 of the positioning and retention posts 42,62 without affecting performance. Both holes 121 and 125 have threads that are complementary to the threads on end 82 of the anchor rod 80. The attachment means 120 has a generally C-shaped configuration with the upper and lower plates 122,124 extending parallel to each other and perpendicular to upstanding plate 126, with holes 121 and 125 in vertical, axial alignment with each other. The longitudinal extent “X” from the backside of side plate 126 and front edge of lower plate 122 is slightly less than the distance between the positioning posts 42 and 62 so that attachment means 120 can comfortably fit therebetween with only a minimal amount of play. Preferably attachment means 120 will only have a minimal of travel or play (no more than ⅛ of an inch) between posts 42 and 62 so that holes 121 and 125 will remain contiguous with the midpoint of support plate 32, thereby ensuring anchor rod 80 to be contiguous with the centerline of sill plate 29. After anchor rod 80 is threaded into holes 121 and 125, it is substantially perpendicular to top surface 31. The removable attachment means 120 can be assembled either before or after the foundation wall is fully constructed. It preferred that member 120 first be connected to anchor bar 80 and then inserted between the positioning posts after the wall is constructed so as to gain all of the advantages previously mentioned pertaining to attaching the anchor bar after the foundation wall is completed.

A variation on the second embodiment is shown in FIG. 8, where it is seen that the removable attachment means 120′ includes all of the same elements of the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 7A, plus an additional second side plate element 128, which downwardly extends in a parallel fashion to first side plate 126, so as to abut the top surface of bottom plate 122. The face 129 may be in abutting contact with either of the positioning and retention posts 42 or 62, depending upon how it is inserted. The anchor bolt 80 is threaded into the holes 121,125 prior to the removable attachment means 120′ being fed downwardly into passageway 27 until lower plate 122 is in resting contact upon top surface 31 of support plate 32. When anchor rod 80 is threaded into holes 121 and 125, it is substantially perpendicular to top surface 31. Of course, with this embodiment, the support plate 32 would not be provided with the attachment means nut 90 of the preferred embodiment so that plate 122′ is in full resting contact against surface 31. The anchor rod 80 extends upwardly in the exact fashion and location as the anchor bar of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

A third embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 9 and 9A with still another type of removable attachment means 120′″. This attachment means 120′″ includes the elements of the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 7A, with the additional element of second side plate 128′″ and a shorter upper plate 124. The second side plate 128′″ is constructed as a threaded, anchor bar receiving wall that extends downwardly in a parallel fashion to first side plate 126, so as to abut top surface 31 of support plate 32. The first sidewall 126 is in contact with either of the upstanding positioning posts 42 or 62. The second side plate 128′″ comprises a series of spaced, vertically arranged arcuate segments 130a-d′″ that are threaded to match the threads on anchor bolt end 82. The centerlines of the segments are in axial alignment over the midpoint or center of support plate 32. The anchor rod 80 is threaded into the segments until end 82 touches lower plate 122′″. Preferably, the attachment means 120′″ and the attached anchor rod 80 are fed downwardly through passageway 27 until lower plate 122 rests upon top surface 31 of support plate 32. Of course, support plate would not be provided with the attachment means nut 90 so that plate 122′″ is in full resting contact against surface 31. The anchor rod 80 extends upwardly in the exact fashion and location as the anchor bar of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

A fourth embodiment of the invention is shown with another type of removable attachment means, which is shown in FIG. 10 at 120″″. This embodiment is to be used in conjunction with the preferred embodiment of the invention where the attachment means nut 90 is provided. However, this embodiment will only be utilized when a problem has been discovered with the threads of the attachment means nut 90. For example, the attachment means nut 90 might encounter problems such as welding flux being stuck on the threads, or dirt, sand or mortar filling the inside the nut, all of which prevent anchor rod 80 from being connected thereto. If bad threads are discovered after the apparatus 30 has been permanently set within foundation wall 20, then this variation of the attachment means 120″″ will solve this type of problem. It does this by utilizing the original attachment means nut 90 as a means for holding insert 120″″ securely in place while resting upon top surface 31, instead of only resting upon the attachment means nut itself, which of course, would be very unstable so as to interfere within the attachment of and rocking of the insert 120″″ when anchor rod 80 is being threaded into the hole 125″″. In this version, the upper plate 124″″ is provided with a threaded hole 125″″, while lower plate 122″″ is provided with an unthreaded hole 121″″ of a diameter defined by perimeter wall 121p″″. As seen, perimeter wall 121p″″ tightly envelopes the attachment means nut 90 that was originally provided on the support plate 32. With this embodiment, the insert 120″″ is pre-attached to anchor rod 80 by threading end 84 into hole 125″″ until end 84 stops at a position above lower plate 122″″ which is equivalent to the height of the attachment means nut 90. Insert 122″″ is then lowered downwardly through passageway 27, until perimeter wall 121p″″ surrounds original attachment means nut 90. Anchor rod end 82 will be in such close approximation to nut 90 such that when concrete is poured down passageway 27 for permanently anchoring the apparatus 30 therein, the weight of the concrete will cause end 82 to lightly contact nut 90. On the top end of the wall, the anchor rod 80 will extend above sill plate 29 slightly higher than normal. This distance is insignificant because it will not effect attachment of the nut and washer combination 14 and anchor rod 80 will still be at a perpendicular angle relative to top surface 31 of support plate 32.

While the apparatus and methods described herein form a preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be understood that this invention is not so limited, and changes can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for positioning and restraining an anchor bolt within a construction block wall erected from a multiplicity of identical construction blocks, comprising:

a support plate having a top and a bottom surface;

identical, upstanding first and second arms integrally attached to said support plate for restraining and positioning said support plate within an interior core of a construction block at a predetermined location;

attachment means associated with said support plate for releasably securing a straight-line anchor bar substantially perpendicular to said top surface of said support plate; and

a straight-line anchor bar for attachment to said support plate after said construction block wall is erected.

2. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 1, wherein the attachment means is located on one of the top and bottom surface of the support plate, at a center midpoint thereof.

3. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 1, each of said upstanding arms are comprised of a rigid positioning post and a restraining means.

4. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of said restraining means are comprised of a lateral flange and a stop plate, said stop plate arranged at a perpendicular angle to said lateral flange.

5. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 3, wherein said restraining means and said positioning posts cooperate to form a receiving channel for receiving a construction block sidewall therein.

6. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 5, wherein each of said lateral flanges is identically constructed to have an extent that is substantially equivalent to a thickness of said sidewall of said construction block so as to restrain said apparatus from movement along a length of said core.

7. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of said positioning posts is identically constructed to have a lateral width that is substantially equivalent to a lateral width of said interior core said construction block so as to restrain said apparatus from movement along a width of said core.

8. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 2, wherein the attachment means is located on said top surface of the support plate and is comprised of one of a threaded nut and a threaded pipe coupling permanently attached to said support plate.

9. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 2, wherein the attachment means is located on said bottom surface of the support plate and is centered about a hole provided in said support plate at a center midpoint thereof, wherein said attachment means is comprised of one of a threaded nut and a threaded pipe coupling permanently attached to said support plate.

10. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 1, wherein said support plate is generally configured to have four corners and wherein said apparatus further includes a respective gusset plate structurally connecting said upstanding arms to said support plate at each of said corners.

11. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 1, wherein said support plate is configured to cover said core of said construction block to prevent a compound poured into said core from passing by said support plate.

12. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 2, wherein the attachment means is located on said top surface of the support plate and is comprised of a removable member.

13. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 12, wherein said removable attachment means is comprised of a C-shaped member defined by a planer upper and lower plate interconnected by a planar side plate, wherein said upper and lower plates having vertically aligned and threaded holes for receiving therein said anchor bar.

14. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 13, further including a second planar side plate that is disposed parallel to said first side plate.

15. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 12, wherein said removable attachment means is comprised of a planer upper and lower plate interconnected by a planar side plate, wherein a second side plate downwardly depends from said upper plate and touches said lower plate, said second side plate having a series of spaced, vertically arranged arcuate segments having threads therein for receiving said anchor bar therein, said segments having a centerline that aligned over said midpoint of said support plate.

16. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 12, wherein said removable attachment means is comprised of a C-shaped member defined by a planer upper and lower plate interconnected by a planar side plate, wherein said upper and lower plates having vertically aligned holes, wherein said upper plate hole is threaded for receiving therein said anchor bar and said lower plate hole is of a diameter to fit about a threaded nut attached to said top surface of said support plate at a midpoint thereof.

17. An apparatus for positioning and restraining an anchor bolt within a construction block wall erected from a multiplicity of identical construction blocks, comprising: a straight-line anchor bar for attachment to said support plate after said construction block wall is erected.

a support plate having a top and a bottom surface;

identical, upstanding first and second arms integrally attached to said support plate for restraining and positioning said support plate within an interior core of a construction block at a predetermined location;

an removable attachment means associated with said top surface of said support plate for releasably securing a straight-line anchor bar substantially perpendicular to said top surface of said support plate; and

18. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 17, wherein said removable attachment means is comprised of a C-shaped member defined by a planer upper and lower plate interconnected by a planar side plate, wherein said upper and lower plates having vertically aligned and threaded holes for receiving therein said anchor bar.

19. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 18, further including a second planar side plate that is disposed parallel to said first side plate.

20. The anchor bolt positioning and restraining apparatus of claim 17, wherein said removable attachment means is comprised of a planer upper and lower plate interconnected by a planar side plate, wherein a second side plate downwardly depends from said upper plate and touches said lower plate, said second side plate having a series of spaced, vertically arranged arcuate segments having threads therein for receiving said anchor bar therein, said segments having a centerline that aligned over said midpoint of said support plate.