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US 11,426,897 B2Granted
Kits suitable for casting concrete elements, and methods for casting concrete elements using such kits
AssigneePowers Brown Architecture Holdings
InventorJeffrey Brown
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Buildings are constructed using the tilt-up technique from concrete elements that have contours that are at least partially curved. The concrete elements are made by casting in molds. The molds are assembled from mold pieces selected in a kit that contains a limited set of shapes. Molds assembled differently can produce concrete elements with a large variety of contour shapes.
Claims18
A method for casting concrete elements, comprising:
- selecting mold pieces from a kit;
- assembling the selected mold pieces on a horizontal surface to form a mold having contours that are at least partially curved;
- pouring fresh concrete into the mold;
- and
- curing the fresh concrete to form a concrete element,
- wherein the kit comprises:
- a first plurality of mold pieces, each of the first plurality of mold pieces being shaped essentially as a surface extruded from a first end, along a first circular arc, and to a second end, wherein the first circular arc has a first radius and subtends a first angle;
- a second plurality of mold pieces, each of the second plurality of mold pieces being shaped essentially as the surface extruded from a first end, along a second circular arc, and to a second end, wherein the second circular arc has a second radius and subtends a second angle;
- a third plurality of mold pieces, each of the third plurality of mold pieces being shaped essentially as the surface extruded from a first end, along a third circular arc, and to a second end, wherein the third circular arc has a third radius and subtends a third angle;
- and
- one or more mold pieces that are straight;
- wherein the first radius, the second radius, and the third radius are substantially different, and
- wherein the first end of any mold piece is configured for being releasably interlocked with the second end of any other mold piece.
10 more elements
A method for constructing a building, comprising:
- selecting mold pieces from a kit;
- assembling the selected mold pieces on a horizontal surface to form a mold having contours that are at least partially curved;
- pouring fresh concrete into the mold;
- curing the fresh concrete to form a concrete element;
- and
- tilting the concrete element up after the concrete is cured,
- wherein the kit comprises:
- a first plurality of mold pieces, each of the first plurality of mold pieces being shaped essentially as a surface extruded from a first end, along a first circular arc, and to a second end, wherein the first circular arc has a first radius;
- a second plurality of mold pieces, each of the second plurality of mold pieces being shaped essentially as the surface extruded from a first end, along a second circular arc, and to a second end, wherein the second circular arc has a second radius;
- a third plurality of mold pieces, each of the third plurality of mold pieces being shaped essentially as the surface extruded from a first end, along a third circular arc, and to a second end, wherein the third circular arc has a third radius;
- and
- one or more mold pieces that are straight;
- wherein the first radius, the second radius, and the third radius are substantially different, and
- wherein the first end of any mold piece is configured for being releasably interlocked with the second end of any other mold piece.
11 more elements
A system for making molds suitable for casting concrete elements having contours that are at least partially curved, comprising:
- a first plurality of mold pieces, each of the first plurality of mold pieces being shaped essentially as a surface extruded from a first end, along a first circular arc, and to a second end, wherein the first circular arc has a first radius;
- a second plurality of mold pieces, each of the second plurality of mold pieces being shaped essentially as the surface extruded from a first end, along a second circular arc, and to a second end, wherein the second circular arc has a second radius;
- a third plurality of mold pieces, each of the third plurality of mold pieces being shaped essentially as the surface extruded from a first end, along a third circular arc, and to a second end, wherein the third circular arc has a third radius;
- and
- one or more mold pieces that are straight;
- wherein the first radius, the second radius, and the third radius are substantially different, and
- wherein the first end of any mold piece is configured for being releasably interlocked with the second end of any other mold piece.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.