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US 5,088,256 AGranted
Concrete joint with spring clip retained insert and bottom seal
AssigneeFace Construction Technologies, Inc.
InventorSamuel A. Face, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeFace Construction Technologies, Inc.
InventorSamuel A. Face, Jr.
Estimating the term…
A concrete joint in concrete slab structures in which the joint includes an insert that is retained in centered position in a slot or recess formed in the upper surface of a concrete slab generally in alignment with a crack or fracture line extending downwardly from the slot or recess formed in the concrete slab. The bottom of the slot or recess is provided with a seal of cementitious material which extends completely across the bottom of the slot or recess and fills the crack or fracture line with the lower edge of the insert being inserted partially into the cementitious seal which is in the form of a quick setting sand and cement mixture which has high compression strength and low tensile strength and which will adhere to concrete surfaces but will not adhere to the insert. The space above the bottom seal on each side of the insert is then filled with a filler of an epoxy or similar material which encapsulates the spring clips and fills the slot or recess on both sides of the insert.
A joint in a concrete slab structure having an elongated recess formed in the upper surface thereof with the recess including a bottom surface spaced below the upper surface of the concrete slab structure and opposed side surfaces, an insert positioned in the recess and extending generally vertically in the recess with the insert including an upper edge generally aligned with the upper surface of the concrete slab structure and a lower edge spaced bellow the upper surface of the concrete slab structure, a filler in the form of a bonding material filling the space of the recess on both sides of the insert, the improvement comprising seal means completely covering the bottom surface of the recess with the bottom edge of the insert embedded into the seal means to prevent filler material from migrating under the insert, said seal means being a hardenable material with the bottom edge of the insert embedded into the seal means prior to the seal means becoming set thereby preventing the filler material from connecting the opposed side surfaces of the recess to enable relative movement of slab structure without fracturing.
A joint in a concrete slab structure having an elongated recess formed in the upper surface thereof with the recess including a bottom surface generally parallel to the top surface of the concrete slab structure and subject to a crack extending downwardly from the bottom surface of the recess, an insert positioned in the recess and extending generally vertical from the bottom surface of the recess with the insert including an upper edge generally aligned with the upper surface of the concrete slab structure and a filler in the form of a bonding material filling the space of the recess on both sides of the insert, the improvement comprising seal means completely covering the bottom surface of the recess with the bottom edge of the insert engaging the seal means to prevent filler material from migrating under the insert, means engaged with the insert and opposed surfaces of the recess to support the insert in vertical position and centralize the insert in the recess, said means supporting the insert including a plurality of spring clips connected to the insert at longitudinally spaced points and engaging the opposed side surfaces of the recess.
A joint in a concrete slab structure having an elongated recess formed in the upper surface thereof with the recess including a bottom surface generally parallel to the top surface of the concrete slab structure, ann insert positioned in the recess and extending generally vertical from the bottom surface of the recess with the insert including an upper edge generally aligned with the upper surface of the concrete slab structure and a filler in the form of a bonding material filling the space of the recess on both sides of the insert, the improvement comprising means centering said insert in the recess and supporting the insert in vertical position, said means supporting the insert including a plurality of spring clips connected to the insert at longitudinally spaced points and engaging opposed surfaces of the recess, each of said spring clips being constructed f resilient, flat leaf spring material including a central U-shaped portion to frictionally and resiliently engage the opposed surfaces of the insert, outwardly diverging legs connected to the U-shaped portion and angulated end portions engageable with the opposed surfaces of the recess when inserted into the recess along with the insert thereby supporting the insert in vertical position and in mutually spaced relation to the opposed surfaces of the recess.
The method of forming a joint between adjacent concrete slab structures consisting of the steps of forming a recess extending transversely of the upper surface of adjacent concrete slab structures, completely covering the bottom surface of the recess with a hardenable seal means having a tensile strength, when hardened, less than the tensile strength of the concrete slab structure, inserting an insert into the recess in a generally vertical position with the lower edge of the insert being embedded into the seal means prior to the seal means hardening to isolate spaces on opposite sides of the insert, and filling the spaces on opposite sides of the insert with a filler that will bond to the concrete slab structures with the upper edge of the insert extending to at least the upper surface of the filler with the filler and insert bonded having a tensile strength less than the tensile strength of the concrete slab structures to prevent the concrete slab structures from refracturing during relative movement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.