Reinforcement Bar Support Device

Abstract

A modular wire device to support and maintain the position of horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars in concrete masonry unit walls. Additionally, the device may function to provide structural support and to act as the base for attaching insulation, bricks or other veneers to a wall structure. The wire support device comprises a planar wire frame to be set within horizontal mortar joints, coupled with a plurality wire cross members. The wire cross members may have crimps and loops to precisely align horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars. Hingedly attached extension members may extend outward from the wire frame and the face of the wall to vertical wire surface material supports using end loops to provide support for insulation, brick or other veneers. The frame and horizontal bars provide additional structural reinforcement across the wall thickness.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/321,518 filed on Apr. 7, 2010, entitled “Rebar Support.”

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wire device to aid in the positioning of reinforcement bar in concrete masonry unit walls, while providing additional reinforcement through the thickness of the wall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

The present invention pertains to a modular wire reinforcement device used in concrete block construction. More particularly, the present invention is a device for the positioning of vertical and horizontal steel reinforcement bars precisely where intended. The present invention may also be used to support and provide attachment points for bricks, insulation and other veneers on the surface of the concrete masonry wall. Typical wall installations include an outer veneer of brick or other material, a middle layer of insulation, followed by a structural foundation of concrete.

Concrete blocks and mortar have relatively little tensile strength, and it is therefore necessary to use steel reinforcing bars to support the required tensile loads of a structure. Some of the bars extend vertically through the cavities in the concrete blocks, so as to anchor the blocks to the concrete footing, and some extend horizontally along the planar mortar joints at various levels. The vertical reinforcement bars are particularly important, as they provide the tensile strength capability required for the wall given its design loads. Typical loads may include in-plane, shear and bending loads. Pressure on one face of the wall is also a consideration, especially for designs that incorporate buried walls with soil applying pressure loads on one side. For the most economical design, an engineer will locate the rebar as far as possible from the neutral axis of the wall toward the tension side, while still allowing a certain minimum amount of space between the rebar and the inner surface of the block cavity to allow concrete grout to flow around the rebar so as to completely embed it.

In practice it is difficult to keep the vertical reinforcing bar at a precise distance relative to the outer surface of the blocks along its entire length as the grout is being poured. As a result, when the cavity is filled with concrete grout the bar may drift or bend away from the inner surface of the block toward the neutral axis of the wall, where its tensile strength is underutilized. To compensate for uncertainty in the actual location, engineers customarily use a knockdown factor for the strength of the steel in their calculations, compensating for the uncertainty in its position as it is being installed. This results in the use of oversized or unnecessary steel reinforcement bar members. Even when oversized steel reinforcing bars are specified, there is some danger that the bars may become displaced far enough from their design location to make them relatively ineffective, resulting in overstressed masonry. Additionally, specifying oversized reinforcing bars is expensive and adds greatly to the cost of construction.

Patents have been granted, as well as applications published, to several devices that attempt to address the problems at hand. However, the prior art fails to provide an easy-to-use device or system which aligns both horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars, while additionally providing support for both the wall itself and any additional surface attachments that may be installed.

Lampus U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,529 is directed to a rebar bolster device for solid grouted walls. A solid, grouted wall is formed of layers of block with spaces being formed within the block or between blocks to accommodate rebar and concrete. A rebar support device comprising two parallel and laterally spaced longitudinally extending rods and a plurality of cross rod members positioned therebetween are positioned on the face shells of the block so the cross rod members extend in the aforementioned spaces. Additionally, this device contains one or two troughs to allow horizontal placement of reinforcement bar. Further, it can be used to assist in the alignment of vertical reinforcement bars. The Lampus invention, however, fails to provide a way to precisely align vertical reinforcement bars and does not support or suggest a solution to the issue of securing surface attachments to the wall. The present invention provides for both, in addition to providing for the precise alignment of horizontal reinforcement bar.

LeGrady U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,895 is directed to a reinforcing bar locating means adapted for disposition in a mortar layer between courses of concrete blocks; the reinforcing bar locating means made of a single wire and comprising a generally S-shaped intermediate to be imbedded in mortar between courses of concrete blocks. The LaGrady invention requires the wire devices to be cast and embedded within the blocks. This provides a far less versatile and inefficient method of reinforcement bar alignment.

Several other patents exist in the art that require individual components to be fixed to or cast within concrete blocks. Tudek U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,605 is directed to a generally rectangular concrete building block of partially hollow construction with at least one large rectangular vertical opening extending therethrough and provided with a generally zigzag shaped rod embedded in the interior walls and extending transversely of and formed with a transverse loop in the center of each hollow interior. Wheeler U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,785 is directed to a resilient support member for reinforcing steel having first and second legs separated by an open cavity and being normally axially aligned in the inoperative position of the support member. Swenson U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,722 is directed to a weldless spacer for manually connecting without a tool two reinforcement cage wires or re-bars of a concrete reinforcing structure in spaced-apart relation is a unitary resilient wire member. The present invention may be used with any concrete block, without the need for specialty casting, and does not require that each or any block be customized.

Hampton U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,999 is directed to a fixture for precisely locating the vertical reinforcing steel bars in a hollow block wall at the exact positions specified. The fixture forms a horizontal supporting structure that is adapted to be laid on the top surfaces of the blocks at various levels. Additionally, the fixture has cross wires having circular rings with downwardly projecting legs that extend down into the cavities of the hollow blocks and engage the inner surfaces. The rings are positioned in vertical alignment with respect to one another, allowing the alignment of vertical reinforcement bar. While attending to the issue of vertical reinforcement bar placement, the Hampton patent fails to account for support of horizontal or external surface support bars.

Uehara U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,262 is directed to a bar-positioning member comprising a long metal wire or wire rod with at least one indentation to receive a metal bar. The indentation is formed by bending part of the wire and it has only one opening, which opens along the longitudinal direction of the wire. The Uehara patent describes a significantly more difficult system to implement. Additionally, the bar positioning member serves to place bars on in a single plane. In particular, the Uehara device is designed to create a larger planar surface structure, more suitable to an expanse of cement than a wall or vertical structure.

Dressler U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,937 is directed toward a vertical-rebar-support system has a ring base oriented horizontally intermediate side walls of a concrete foundational excavation. The Tatum invention serves only to support the base and vertical reinforcement bars within the foundation, thus failing to address the need for vertical supports at higher points in the wall, horizontal reinforcement bars or external surface veneer supports.

The present invention addresses the issues of positioning both horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars, as well as providing additional support for external additions to the wall such as bricks or insulation. These prior art devices have several known drawbacks. Several of the prior art inventions address the placement of horizontal reinforcement bars, vertical reinforcement bars or both. None of the aforementioned prior art addresses both while providing stability for additions to the wall. Further, none of the prior art devices contains a method or manner of securing both horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars in specific and precise locations. Further, the present invention eliminates the need for specialty cement block to accommodate the alignment structure or the addition of a support structure to each individual cement block. The present invention addresses all of these issues in one modular device and system, providing an efficient, cost effective mechanism of support and alignment in the construction of cement masonry walls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of reinforcement bar placement systems now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new device and system wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when placing and maintaining the position of steel reinforcement bar during the construction of concrete masonry unit walls.

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide means for positively placing and maintaining vertical and horizontal reinforcing bars at the precise positions in a concrete masonry wall. The present invention assures an engineer that reinforcement bar will remain at an intended location at all times, and its full tensile strength capability will be utilized. When installing a new wall, masons currently have to rely on thick concrete and good timing to ensure the reinforcement bar is held vertically inside the block wall or horizontally during the grouting process. This can be a difficult task, especially in high-lift grout applications. Mistakes during construction may necessitate expensive and time consuming corrections, which can result in higher project costs. If the individual or crew constructing the wall decides not to correct the positioning of the reinforcement bar, the integrity of the finished product may become compromised and potentially result in future structural problems. A device is needed that assists in the alignment and installation of reinforcement bar. The present invention fulfills this need.

The present invention maintains reinforcement bar placement by means of continuous, ladder-like assembly modules placed in the horizontal planar mortar joints of the wall at specified levels as the wall is built. The present invention is designed to locate the vertical and horizontal reinforcing bars at precise locations specified by the design. This wire device aids in the positioning of rebar in concrete masonry unit walls while providing additional reinforcement across the thickness of a wall. The device is comprised of a planar wire frame with numerous perpendicular crimped wires designed to hold vertical and horizontal rebar. It is especially useful in high-lift grout applications and also provides additional structural support for the completed wall or building. Masons, construction crews and other individuals can use this device to save time and reduce labor costs when building new walls. Increased through-thickness strength is also obtained as out of plane deflection of the masonry and shear loads across it thickness are reinforced by the device, the horizontal rebar and frame provide additional tensile support and prevent the wall from expanding outward or bending out of plane. This increased structural support further prevents the wall from splitting across the mortar joints under load.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an efficient, cost effective manner of placing and maintaining the locations of vertical and horizontal reinforcement bars in cement and mortar wall or structure.

A further aspect of the present invention is that it may be used to secure anchor foam, brick, and other veneers to structural and refractory walls using horizontal frame extension members that are hingedly attached to the base frame. The Horizontal extension members terminate with a loop that engages vertical wire that aids in the placement of external materials to the wall, such as insulation, bricks or other veneers.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention supporting horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view depicting the device installed on a block wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides masons, construction crews, and other individuals with a modular reinforcement bar positioning system for use in concrete masonry unit walls. This device may be comprised of a modular, planar frame that holds a plurality of cross members, creating a design that is similar in appearance to a ladder. The gauge and material of the frame and cross members may be any suitable or desirable to one skilled in the art, include 9-gauge steel wire. Said cross members may be crimped for holding a horizontal rebar at precise locations or bent into circles for securing around a vertical reinforcement bar at a precise location. Each cross member may be spot welded at its ends to the frame. In use, the device may be placed along the length of the block wall in a horizontal mortar joint allowing individuals to securely place vertical and horizontal rebar in the correct positions within the blocks. Multiple modules of the device can be placed at varying levels to provide alignment and support of the cement block and mortar structure. Dimensions may vary in accordance with the length and width of the wall section being constructed. Methods of constructions, methods of use and other specifications may vary upon manufacturing. The invention may be produced or tailored to modules of varying lengths, allowing for flexibility in placement.

Hingedly attached horizontal extension members from the wire frame extend outward to support vertical support bars for insulation or building veneers. The extension members terminate with a closed loop, which is engaged by the vertical support bars to maintain its position. Relative vertical movement between the outer veneer and the foundation is isolated by the use of a hinge, which is particularly useful in earthquake prone areas. The two structures can float relative to one another, eliminating internal loads build-up caused by shifts in position.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of the present invention supporting horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars 14, 16 set into a block wall 20. The present invention comprises a rectangular wire reinforcement frame 11, to which one or a plurality of wire cross members 12 is affixed. Said wire cross members 12 may have crimped wire loops 13 through which vertical reinforcement bars 14 are aligned. Additionally, said wire cross members 12 may have one or a plurality of central crimps 15 through which one or a plurality of horizontal reinforcement bars 16 may be positioned. Further, horizontal extension members 22 may extend beyond the wire frame 11 on either side. Extension members 22 of said wire frame 11 are hingedly attached to the frame to allow relative vertical displacement between the end of the extension member 23 and the wire frame 11. External vertical support bars support and align external bricks 18 and/or insulation or other veneers. The horizontal extension member 22 are hinged 21 to the vertical support wires 17 to accommodate relative movement between the veneer 18 and the cement block wall 20. The extension member 22 terminates with a closed loop to accept the vertical support bars.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a perspective view depicting the device installed on a block wall 20. The present invention comprises a rectangular wire reinforcement frame 11, to which one or a plurality of wire cross members 12 is affixed. Said wire cross members 12 may have crimped wire loops 13 through which vertical reinforcement bars 14 may be aligned. Additionally, said wire cross members 12 may have one or a plurality of central crimps 15 through which one or a plurality of horizontal reinforcement bars 16 may be positioned. Hingedly attached extension members 22 of said wire crossbars extend beyond the rectangular wire bar frame 11 to locate vertical support wires 17 for the support and alignment of and external brick wall 18 or insulation 19. The extension members 22 are hingedly 21 attached to the vertical support wires 17.

With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1) A modular wire device for positioning and supporting a plurality reinforcement bars, comprising:

a planar wire frame positioned within horizontal mortar joints of a wall;

said planar wire frame having one or a plurality of wire cross members;

said wire cross members having crimps to engage and precisely align horizontal reinforcement bars;

and said wire cross members having loops to engage and precisely align vertical reinforcement bars.

2) The device as in claim 1, further comprising extension members extending horizontally from said wire frame and terminating with a closed loop to engage veneer vertical support wires.

3) The device as in claim 2, wherein said extension members hingedly attach to said wire frame.

4) A modular wire device for positioning and supporting a plurality reinforcement bars, comprising:

a planar wire frame positioned within horizontal mortar joints of a wall;

said planar wire frame having one or a plurality of perpendicular wire cross members;

said wire cross members having crimps to engage and precisely align horizontal reinforcement bars;

and said wire cross members having loops to engage and precisely align vertical reinforcement bars;

and extension members horizontally extending from said wire frame and terminating with a closed loop to engage veneer vertical support wires.

5) The device as in claim 4, wherein said extension members hingedly attach to wire frame.

6) A method of aligning reinforcement bars comprising the steps of:

employing a planar wire frame to fit within horizontal planar mortar joints of a cement wall;

attaching one or a plurality of wire cross members to said planar wire frame;

crimping said wire cross members to precisely align horizontal reinforcement bars;

looping said wire cross members to precisely align vertical reinforcement bars.

7) A method as in claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

aligning veneer vertical support wires with hingedly attached extension members from said wire frame.