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Insulated concrete wall section form

Insulated concrete wall section form description/claims

This application claims priority to and the benefit of the filing of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/943,450, entitled “Insulated Concrete Wall Section Form”, filed on Jun. 12, 2007, and the specification thereof is incorporated herein by reference.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)

The present invention relates to a form system which enables a user to rapidly and efficiently produce a concrete or other form-setting reinforced structural member having an insulated exterior portion.

2. Description of Related Art

Concrete forms, including those made from an insulative material, such as expanded polystyrene foam, have been known for some time. The problem with known forms, however, is that they are often difficult and/or time consuming to stack together or otherwise assemble. Further, known concrete forms for use in the construction of buildings and the like do not incorporate and thus provide an interior surface which can be quickly, easily, and inexpensively finished. U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,533 to Gibbar, Jr. for example, teaches a panel which requires a user to cut grooves into a slab of expanded polystyrene foam, lay reinforcing members into the grooves, close off the ends of the grooves, fill the grooves with a concrete, allow the concrete to harden, then glue an outer panel onto it, before it can be transported to the jobsite and erected. Of course this entire procedure is very time consuming and even when the panel is finally produced, the procedure forces a user to transport and then attempt to position into place the very heavy panel.

There is thus a need for a concrete form, particularly for the construction of buildings and the like, which not only provides an insulating effect, but which also enables a user to quickly, easily, and inexpensively finish interior portions of buildings and the like so constructed while simultaneously providing a user with the ability to fill the form while it rests in its intended position.

An embodiment of the present invention comprises a form having a spacer panel attached to a support panel with an adhesive and comprising one or more voids therebetween prior to a form-setting material being deposited into the one or more voids. The spacer panel can be made from an expanded foam material, including but not limited to an extruded polystyrene foam. The support panel can be made of various materials, including but not limited to gypsum. The spacer panel preferably has a plurality of spacers and grooves on at least one of its surfaces and one or more wire chases disposed therein. The form can also have one or more alignment structures, including but not limited to a lap joint, a tongue and groove joint, a mortise and tenon joint, a biscuit joint, a finger joint, a box joint, a dove tail joint, and combinations thereof.

An embodiment of the present invention also comprises a form having a spacer panel attached to a support panel and forming one or more voids therebetween prior to form-setting material being deposited into the one or more voids. The spacer panel may be attached to the support panel by a portion of the spacer panel being embedded within the support panel.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a form having a spacer panel with one or more spacers and one or more grooves, a support panel attached to the spacer panel, one or more voids provided between the spacer panel and the support panel, the voids formed from the grooves; and the spacer panel and the support panel constructed from different materials. The spacer panel can be attached to the support panel by the support panel being formed around an end portion of at least one of the spacers.

An embodiment of the present invention also comprises a method for creating a structural building component which includes providing a form having a support panel attached to a spacer panel, the spacer panel having one or more spacers extending from a surface thereof, the spacers made from substantially the same material as the spacer panel; erecting the form at a jobsite; filling the form with a form-setting material; and allowing the form-setting material to harden.

In the method, the form can be left in place after the form-setting material has hardened, thus forming a portion of the structure being constructed. The method can also include disposing one or more reinforcing members within the form; and/or providing a wire chase within the form. Two or more forms can be erected at job site and aligned with one another via an alignment structure.

Objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating one or more preferred embodiments of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1-3 are perspective view drawings illustrating embodiments of the present invention;

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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