Spacer member for reinforcing steel

A spacer member for locating reinforcing bars in a concrete structural member having a generally circular cross-section and being formed by pouring concrete into a form having a bottom and a top and into the bottom of which projects a plurality of dowels, said spacer member comprising a circular main body section in the form of a ring and having a vertical interior surface and a vertical exterior surface, a plurality of outer extensions integral with and projecting perpendicularly from approximately the mid-point of said vertical exterior surface, each of said outer extensions having a remote vertical edge adapted to abut said form, a plurality of interior projections integral with and projecting perpendicularly from approximately the mid-point of said vertical interior surface, each of said interior projections being substantially continuous and circumscribed by an inner edge and a pair of side edges, each of said interior projections being separated from a next adjacent interior projection by a space along said vertical interior surface, said space being defined between the side edges of next adjacent interior projections, each of said spaces being adapted to receive a steel reinforcing bar ranging in size from #5 to #8 and disposed longitudinally with respect to said spacer member, hook-like formations provided proximate said side edges of substantially all of said interior projections for engaging wire securing means to be wrapped around said bar and around adjacent hook-like formations for securing said bars within said spaces, said spaces being located along said vertical interior surface at intervals of around every 45 degrees and every 60 degrees along the circle formed by the main body member, the distance measured from each of said remote edges of said outer extensions to said vertical interior surface being at least 17/8 inches, a spacer member being adapted to be located in said bottom of said form around 3 inches above said dowels, around 4 inches on center thereafter to within around 2 inches of said top of said form, said spacer member being adapted to positively locate said reinforcing bars and to prevent shifting of said reinforcing bars when said concrete is poured into said form.

A method of using a spacer member for locating steel reinforcing bars in a concrete structural member having a generally circular cross-section and being formed by pouring concrete into a form having a bottom and a top and into the bottom of which projects a plurality of dowels, said spacer member being characterized by a circular main body section having a vertical exterior surface from which projects a plurality of outer extensions having remote edges, a vertical interior surface from which projects a plurality of interior projections, each of said interior projections having a pair of side edges, each of said interior projections being separated from a next adjacent interior projection by a space along said vertical interior surface, hook-like formations provided proximate said side edges of substantially all of said interior projections, said method comprising the steps of:

• manually inserting each of a desired number of said reinforcing bars into a respective one of a desired space of a first of said spacer members;
• locating said first spacer member at a longitudinal location along said reinforcing bars which corresponds to the desired distance for said first spacer member above said bottom of said form;
• tying each of said reinforcing bars to said first spacer member in its respective one of said spaces by wrapping securing means around each of said reinforcing bars and around a hook-like formation of a next adjacent interior projection;
• inserting said reinforcing bars into a second one of said spacer members, locating said second spacer member longitudinally along said reinforcing bars and tying each of said reinforcing bars to said second spacer member;
• inserting, locating and tying said reinforcing bars with respect to additional numbers of said spacer members;
• tying at least one wire hoop around the plurality of reinforcing bars so as to form a complete assembly;
• and
• placing said complete assembly within said form whereby said remote edges of said outer extensions abut said form.