PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Australian Patent Application No. 2021221674, filed Aug. 25, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a joint former apparatus for forming a joint between adjacent concrete elements. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a joint former apparatus for forming a joint between adjacent concrete flooring panels.

BACKGROUND

It is known to provide a flooring surface, such as a floor of an industrial shed, with a plurality of concrete flooring panels. Having a plurality of concrete flooring panels enables better management of cracking than having one single concrete panel across the whole floor space. However, it is known that concrete flooring panels are prone to damage and spalling at joints between the panels, particularly as heavy equipment such as forklifts and the like travel repeatedly across the joints over time.

It has been proposed to provide edge protection systems for concrete panels for preventing damage to the panels and for preventing deflection at the joints between panels to provide a level floor surface which facilitates traffic and further prevents damage to both the flooring panels and to industrial equipment. However, such existing edge protection systems can be relatively expensive and are often not readily recyclable.

It would be advantageous for there to be provided an improved joint former apparatus which obviates or at least alleviates one or more disadvantages of existing apparatus for forming joints between concrete elements.

SUMMARY

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a joint former apparatus for forming a joint between concrete elements. The joint former apparatus includes an upper wall and a lower wall below the upper wall, wherein the upper wall forms a wavelike configuration, the lower wall forms a wavelike configuration, and wherein the wavelike configuration of the lower wall is longitudinally offset relative to the wavelike configuration of the upper wall.

Preferably, the longitudinal offset results in the wavelike configuration of the lower wall being out of phase with the wavelike configuration of the upper wall.

In a preferred form, the upper wall is vertical.

Preferably, the lower wall is vertical.

Preferably, the wavelike configuration of the lower wall is at a same frequency as the wavelike configuration of the upper wall.

In a preferred form, the wavelike configuration of the lower wall is at a same amplitude as the wavelike configuration of the upper wall.

It is preferred that said longitudinal offset results in the wavelike configuration of the lower wall being shifted by one half cycle relative to the wavelike configuration of the upper wall.

Preferably, the wavelike configuration of the lower wall has the same lateral extremities as the wavelike configuration of the upper wall.

Preferably, the wavelike configuration of the lower wall and the wavelike configuration of the upper wall are each formed by a series of planar sections. More preferably, the wavelike configuration of the lower wall and the wavelike configuration of the upper wall are each formed alternating between planar sections longitudinal to the joint and planar sections at an angle to the joint. Even more preferably, the wavelike configuration of the lower wall and the wavelike configuration of the upper wall are each formed alternating between planar sections longitudinal to the joint and planar sections at a 45° angle to the joint.

In a preferred form, the apparatus includes a horizontal separation barrier at lateral offsets between the upper wall and the lower wall.

Preferably, the apparatus is formed of plastic material.

Preferably, lateral offsets between the upper wall and the lower wall are arranged such that, in use, each lateral offset forms a dowel protrusion on one concrete element which is slideable laterally with vertical support from the other concrete element.

In a preferred form, the upper wall has the same height as the lower wall. More preferably, the upper wall height is half a panel thickness of the concrete and wherein the lower wall height is also half the panel thickness.

Preferably, the apparatus is in the form of an intersection apparatus for forming an intersection between three or more concrete elements. More preferably, the apparatus is in the form of an intersection apparatus for forming an intersection between four concrete elements.

In one form, the apparatus includes a body formed by the upper and lower walls, together with a plurality of supports at spaced locations along a length of the body, and wherein the apparatus is arranged such that each of the supports is rotatable through a partial rotation about a longitudinal axis of the support between an unlocked condition and a locked condition. More preferably, each support is height adjustable relative to the body in the unlocked condition and wherein each support is locked against height adjustment relative to the body in the locked condition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described, by way of a non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a joint former apparatus in accordance with one example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the joint former apparatus in use in forming a joint between concrete elements;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the concrete elements separating at a joint formed by the joint former apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the joint shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the joint shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is another top view of the joint shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is another top view of the joint shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a top view showing relative movement between the concrete elements at the joint;

FIG. 9 is another top view showing relative movement between the concrete elements at the joint;

FIG. 10 is a detailed perspective view of the joint former apparatus shown prior to pouring concrete;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the joint former apparatus;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing load transfer between the concrete elements;

FIG. 13 is another cross-sectional view showing load transfer between the concrete elements;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing movement between the concrete elements;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the joint forming apparatus shown in situ against a poured concrete element;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a joint showing a horizontal wall acting as a slip joint to allow one concrete element to pull away from the other;

FIG. 17 is a top perspective view of the joint showing the horizontal wall;

FIG. 18 shows a perspective view of a modular intersection part for forming a corrosion free joint former intersection;

FIG. 19 shows a perspective view of a corner intersection formed from two of the parts shown in FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of a three-way corner intersection formed from three of the parts shown in FIG. 18;

FIG. 21 shows a perspective view of a four-way corner intersection formed from four of the parts shown in FIG. 18;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a full two-way intersection joint former;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a full three-way intersection joint former;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a full four-way intersection joint former; and

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing twist-and-lock height adjustment of the apparatus, including a twist-and-lock stake bracket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the features, devices, and apparatus described herein may be embodied in various forms, the drawings show, and the specification describe certain exemplary and non-limiting embodiments. Not all of the components shown in the drawings and described in the specification may be required, and certain implementations may include additional, different, or fewer components. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components; the shapes, sizes, and materials of the components; and the manners of connections of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims. Unless otherwise indicated, any directions referred to in the specification reflect the orientations of the components shown in the corresponding drawings and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Further, terms that refer to mounting methods, such as mounted, attached, connected, and the like, are not intended to be limited to direct mounting methods but should be interpreted broadly to include indirect and operably mounted, attached, connected and like mounting methods. This specification is intended to be taken as a whole and interpreted in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure and as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 25 of the drawings, there is shown a corrosion free joint former system of one example embodiment of the present disclosure which may provide particular advantages in terms of providing a simple, recyclable and relatively inexpensive apparatus for preventing spalling between concrete elements. Advantageously, the corrosion free joint former system shown in the drawings serves to form protruding tongues which act as dowels in the unitary structure of concrete elements for providing vertical load transfer between adjacent concrete elements across a joint.

More specifically, as can be seen in FIG. 1, there is provided a joint former apparatus 10 for forming a joint 12 between concrete elements 14 and 16. The joint former apparatus 10 includes an upper wall 18 and a lower wall 20 below the upper wall 18. The upper wall 18 forms a wavelike configuration 22 when viewed from above. Similarly, the lower wall 20 forms a wavelike configuration 24 when viewed from above. The wavelike configuration 24 of the lower wall 20 is longitudinally offset 26 relative to the wavelike configuration 22 of the upper wall 18. In the example shown in the drawings, the longitudinal offset 26 results in the wavelike configuration 24 of the lower wall 20 being out of phase with the wavelike configuration 22 of the upper wall 18.

In the example shown, the upper wall 18 is vertical and the lower wall 20 is also vertical. Advantageously, this facilitates operation of the joint former apparatus 10 as a barrier for forming two separate concrete elements 14 and 16 at the joint 12 when the concrete is poured.

As depicted, the wavelike configuration 24 of the lower wall 20 is at a same frequency as the wavelike configuration 22 of the upper wall 18. In other words, the distance of a full cycle of the wave of the lower wall 20 is the same as the distance of a full cycle of the wave of the upper wall 18. Furthermore, the wavelike configuration 24 of the lower wall 20 is at a same amplitude (that is, the lateral distance between extremities in the wave form) as the wavelike configuration 22 of the upper wall 18.

The longitudinal offset 26 results in the wavelike configuration 24 of the lower wall 20 being shifted by one half cycle relative to the wavelike configuration 22 of the upper wall 18. This arrangement results in a regular set of upper meshing teeth 32 between the concrete elements 14 and 16 at an upper half of the concrete elements 14 and 16, and a regular set of lower meshing teeth 34 between the concrete elements 14 and 16 at a lower half of the concrete elements 14 and 16. The upper meshing teeth 32 and the lower meshing teeth 34 are staggered by virtue of the longitudinal offset 26 such that the upper meshing teeth 32 and the lower meshing teeth 34 form dowels (or platforms) for vertical load transfer between the concrete elements 14 and 16.

The wavelike configuration 24 of the lower wall 20 has the same lateral extremities as the wavelike configuration 22 of the upper wall 18.

The wavelike configuration 24 of the lower wall 20 and the wavelike 22 configuration of the upper wall 18 are each formed by a series of planar sections—that is, the wavelike configurations are formed of a series of planar sections rather than curved sections. The wavelike configuration 24 of the lower wall 20 and the wavelike configuration 22 of the upper wall 18 are each formed alternating between planar sections 28 longitudinal to the joint 12 and planar sections 30 at an angle to the joint 12. The wavelike configuration 24 of the lower wall 20 and the wavelike configuration 22 of the upper wall 18 are each formed alternating between planar sections 28 longitudinal to the joint 12 and planar sections 30 at a 45° angle to the joint 12. Advantageously, the angle of 45° facilitates natural shrinkage of the concrete material during drying.

The apparatus 10 includes a horizontal separation barrier 36 at lateral offsets between the upper wall 18 and the lower wall 20. The joint former apparatus 10 may be formed of plastic material. Advantageously, this may result in improved recyclability as well as in improving low-cost manufacture of the product.

The lateral offsets between the upper wall 18 and the lower wall 20 are arranged such that, in use, each lateral offset forms a toothed dowel protrusion 32 on one concrete element 14 which is slideable laterally with vertical support from a toothed dowel protrusion 34 on the other concrete element 16. In addition, upper meshing teeth 32 and lower meshing teeth 34 provide lateral support from one concrete element 14 to the other concrete element 16.

As shown in FIG. 11, the upper wall 18 may have the same height as the lower wall 20. In this way, the upper wall height is half a panel thickness of the concrete element, and the lower wall height is also half the panel thickness.

With reference to FIGS. 18 to 24, the apparatus 10 may be in the form of an intersection apparatus 38 for forming an intersection between two or more concrete elements. The intersection apparatus 38 may be in the form of an intersection apparatus module 40. With reference to FIG. 19, two intersection apparatus modules 40 may be combined to provide an intersection apparatus for forming an intersection between two concrete elements. With reference to FIG. 20, three intersection apparatus modules 40 may be combined to provide an intersection apparatus for forming an intersection between three concrete elements. As shown in FIG. 21, four intersection apparatus modules 40 may be combined to provide an intersection apparatus for forming an intersection between four concrete elements. In this way, the apparatus may be in the form of an intersection apparatus for forming an intersection between two, three or four concrete elements. Furthermore, sections of the joint former apparatus 10 may be joined to form longer sections. Accordingly, FIG. 22 shows an intersection apparatus 38 for forming an intersection between two concrete elements, FIG. 23 shows an intersection apparatus 38 for forming an intersection between three concrete elements, and FIG. 24 shows an intersection apparatus 38 for forming an intersection between four concrete elements.

With reference to FIGS. 25, the joint former apparatus 10 may be provided with a twist and lock height adjustment system. More specifically, the apparatus 10 may include a body 42 formed by the upper 18 and lower walls 20, together with a plurality of supports 44 at spaced locations along a length of the body 42. The apparatus 10 may be arranged such that each of the supports 44 is able to be rotated through a partial rotation about a longitudinal axis of the support 44 between an unlocked condition and a locked condition. More specifically, each support 44 may be able to be height adjusted relative to the body 42 in the unlocked condition, whereas each support 44 is locked against height adjustment relative to the body 42 in the locked condition.

The following features and advantages may be provided and achieved by examples of the present disclosure, according to the following aspects:

Concrete Only Disruptive Edge Protection

- The sacrificial waved plastic joint former shapes the concrete either side of a joint into a full depth waved profile.
- The disruptive waved joint line provides an impact free transition of MHE wheels to minimise spalling and wheel maintenance by ensuring wheel contact is supported simultaneously on both sides of the joint.
- Concrete wears evenly either side of the joint to minimise spalling and maintain impact free wheel transition over the life of the concrete floor.
- The UPVC plastic joint former is sacrificial (one side) and wears down as the concrete does.
- Corrosion free spalling protected (armoured) construction/contraction joint for the industrial or pavements markets, suitable for all environments.
- Waved profile allows for both contraction and lateral movement. The teeth of the waves are at 45° to provide 1:1 lateral movement vs contraction from shrinkage.
- Connectable to form large run lengths of the wave profile in concrete.

Concrete to Concrete Load Transfer

- The product is a forming tool that shapes the concrete into the required loaf transfer joint profile. Joint is free of tradition steel construction and traditional load transfer devices (dowels).
- Interlocking waved teeth sit on each other in both directions to provide load transfer and prevent slab deflection.
- Load transfer allows for up to a full 20 mm of supported joint opening.
- The teeth are even spaced across the full length of the joint give continuous load transfer.
- Does not require traditional dowels (round, square, plate) and sleeve load transfer systems.
- The waved teeth allow for both contraction and lateral movement. The teeth of the waves are at 45° to provide 1:1 lateral movement vs contraction from shrinkage.
- Concrete teeth are separated by a plastic slip plane to de-bond joint halves and reduce restraint when halves open.
- Load transfer is full half slab depth to maximise shear cone size.

Debonding Slip Joint

- The plastic sacrificial former acts as a full depth separation plate in the joint to de-bond the concrete slabs (either side).
- The UPVC horizontal shut off wall of the former acts as a slip joint allowing one slab to pull away from the other in contraction due to concrete shrinkage.
- The corrosion free horizontal wall remains in place to aid any future joint movements (expansion, contraction or lateral).
- The horizontal wall sits at the halfway point of the slab allowing for the alternation of the wave profile.

Modular Intersection

- Modular intersection which allows for 2-Way, 3-Way, and 4-Way joint connection.
- Maintains load transfer through intersection.
- Corrosion free construction.

Twist and Lock Height Adjustment

- Built in formwork bracing and height adjustment system.
- Fixes joint in place for concrete pouring (construction or contraction joints).
- Staking system allows for height adjustment and levelling, with a twist and lock feature.
- Bracket shape provides anchorage of the joint profile into one slab.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

LIST OF NUMBERED FEATURES

Joint former apparatus 10

Joint 12

Concrete elements 14 and 16

Upper wall 18

Lower wall 20

Wavelike configuration 22

Wavelike configuration 24

Longitudinal offset 26

Planar sections longitudinal to the joint 28

Planar sections at an angle to the joint 30

Upper teeth 32

Lower teeth 34

Horizontal separation barrier 36

Intersection apparatus 38

Intersection apparatus module 40

Body 42

Support 44