US3884444A

US3884444A - Concrete form liner

Info

Publication number: US3884444A
Application number: US386487A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stephen S Dashew
Original assignee: Interform Inc
Current assignee: Interform Inc
Priority date: 1971-12-10
Filing date: 1973-08-08
Publication date: 1975-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 1992-05-20

Abstract

A liner assembly for attaching to a structural concrete form to provide a desired texture to concrete walls and columns, including multiple form liner elements constructed to be snapped together and attached to the structural form. Each of the elements is trough shaped, with an inner wall and pair of side walls, one of the side walls having a flange with a first hook at its end, and the other side wall having a second hook and a retainer near the second hook. The form liner elements can be snapped together, with the first hook of one element retained between the second hook and retainer of another form liner element, and the flanges of each of the elements can be nailed or otherwise fastened to the structural form. The interlocking elements allow an architect to vary the wall texture or pattern at selected areas, such as at doorways, and facilitates reuse of the liners because they can be taken apart and reassembled to any desired wall size, the interlocking feature preventing leakage of concrete between the liner elements.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 Dashew 1 May 20, 1975 CONCRETE FORM LINER Primary Examiner-Robert L.. Spicer, Jr.

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lindenberg, Freilich, [75] Inventor. gtgl iithen S. Dashew, Los Angeles, Wasserman, Rose & Fernandez [73] Assignee: lnterform lnc., Compton, Calif.

[57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Aug. 8, 1973 A liner assembly for attaching to a structural concrete [2]] App! 386487 form to provide a desired texture to concrete walls R l d U5, A li i D and columns, including multiple form liner elements [62] Division of Sef. N01 206.686, Dec. 10, 1971, Pm. N0. colstructed be snapped togethe and attfched 3780977- the structural form. Each of the elements 15 trough shaped, with an inner wall and pair of side walls, one 52 us. (:1. 249/112; 52/588; 249/15; of the Side Walls having a flange with a first hook at its 249/99; 249/192; 264/35 end, and the other side wall having a second hook and 511 1m. c1 E04g 11/08; 32% 7/00 a retainer heat the Seeettd heek- T f [58] Field of Search 52/588; 264/35; 249/15, "tents can be snapped together, Wtth the first hook of 249/112 192 98, 99 176 one element retained between the second hook and v retainer of another form liner element, and the flanges [56] References Cited of each of tlhe elements loin be n zl igled or otlheiwise fillstened to t e structura orm. e inter oc ing e e- UNITED STATES PATENTS merits allow an architect to vary the wall texture or 2,261,247 11/1941 Girard 249/112 pattern at selected areas, Such as at doorways, and et 32 cilitates reuse of the liners because they can be taken 5 12/1969 X apart and reassembled to any-desired wall size, the in- 3:605:363 9/1971 Bard I 52/588 X terlocking feature preventing leakage of concrete be- 3,634,892 1/1972 Rains 52/588 x R tween the hhet elements- 3,664630 5/1972 Maynen et al. 249/112 3759.007 9/1975 Thiele 52/588X 3 4 D'awmg Ftgutes CONCRETE FORM LINER This is a division, of application Ser. No. 206,688 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,971 filed Dec. 10, 1971.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to concrete forms, and more particularly to liner apparatus for attachment to concrete forms to provide a desired texture or pattern to finished concrete.

Exposed concrete surfaces, such as those of concrete walls and columns that are at the front of a building or in the lobby, are often provided with an attractive texture or pattern. This is accomplished by utilizing ordinary structural forms that hold in the concrete and withstand its weight, and by applying form liners to inner surfaces of the structural form. Such form liners have often been fabricated aslarge sheets of plastic with corrugations or other patterns, and the sheets have been fastened by nails or the like to the structural form. Where standard form liner sheets are employed, many of such sheets may be utilized, and some of them may have to be cut to fit into the area of concrete to be patterned. Special efforts must be taken to seal the regions where adjacent sheets abut one another to prevent the leakage of concrete between them.

After the form liner sheets are used, they can be removed and reused. However, it is often difficult to reuse those sheets which havbeen cut to size because the installation of a patchwork of sheet sections may result in considerable additional labor in sealing the edges where the sheet sections abut. Architects are sometimes reluctant to specify changes of texture at selected regions, such as at doorways, because a change in texture along a limited region can result in the need for considerable cutting of sheets and sealing of their edges. Form liner apparatus that reduced the amount of cutting to size and the amount of edge sealing, and which enabled the maximum reuse of the liners, would reduce the cost of constructing decorative concrete and provide architects with greater latitude in design.-

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, form liner apparatus is provided which facilitates the fabrication of complete concrete forms, particularlywhere a variety of different patterns and textures are utilized, and which enables the greater reuse of the liner apparatus. The form liner apparatus includes numerous form liner elements that are designed to be readily snapped together in a manner that provides a leak-proof joint between elements. Each liner element has a trough shaped portion with an inner wall that lies spaced from the structural form and a pair of side walls that extend towards the structural form. A first of the side walls has a sidewardly extending flange fastened to the structural form and having a first hook at its end. A second of the side walls has a second hook extending towards the other side wall and has a retainer lying near the second hook. The elements are assembled by snapping the first hook of one liner element between the second hook and retainer of another liner element, the interlocking hooks and retainer serving'to hold theelements tightly together so that concrete cannot leak into the space between them.

The flanges of the liner elements are fixed to the structural form by nails or screws that can be later removed. After concrete is poured and sets, the structural form with the liner elements thereon can be removed from the concrete and the elements can be removed from the structural form and from each other. The fact that each of the liners has only a small width, sometimes being only one corrugation wide, as compared to previous sheet-like liners, means that there is a minimum of cutting to size and therefore that the liner elements can be readily reused. The fact that the elements can be readily snapped together means that the bulding up'of a form liner apparatus to the desired size can be readily accomplished. Provisions can be readily made for changes in the texture and pattern of the finished concrete at selected regions, by using liner elements that define different textures or patterns.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial prospective view of a building with a textured concrete Wall constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial prospective view of a form assembly for constructing the building of FIG. 1, showing the structural form and a plurality of form liner elements installed thereon, being used to form concrete;

FIG. 3 is a sectional end view of a pair of form liner elements of the apparatus of FIG. 2, showing, the manner in which they can be snapped together; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a form liner element constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 illustrates a building with a concrete wall region 10 that has a corrugation pattern thereon. FIG. 2 illustrates a form assembly that can be utilized to form the corrugation pattern, the assembly including a structural form 12 of thick wood sheets that may be held in place by various bracing members (not shown) to withstand the weight of poured concrete 13, and a form liner assembly 14 attached to an inner face 16 of the structural form. The formliner assembly defines the texture or pattern of the finished concrete.

The form liner assembly 14 includes a series of form liner elements such as those shown at 18 and 20 in FIG. 3, that can be easily snapped together to cover an extended area, and which can be readily snapped apart for storage after use. The

elements

18 and 20 are simiside walls 24, 26 that extend outwardly, that is, with a directional component parallel to the outward direction indicated by the arrow 0 towards the support surface 16. A first of the side walls 26 has a sidewardly extending flange 28 that extends from an outer end of the side wall in a direction away from the other side wall 24. The flange 28 can be fastened to the structural form 12 by a nail 30 or other detachable fastener means. A

first hook 32 extending away from the support surface 16, is formed at an end of the flange 28. The second side wall 24 of the form has a hook 34 at its end, which lies a distance 1 from the support surface 16, the hook 34 extending sidewardly toward the first side wall 26. An L-shaped retainer 36 is also provided which extends to a position spaced sidewardly from the second book 34 on a side thereof nearest the first wall 26.

The

form liners

18 and 20 are assembled by snapping the first hook 32 of the form 18 into a position where it is engaged with the second hook 34a of the element 20 and is held in the engaged position by the retainer 36a of the element 20. The

form liner elements

18, 20 are constructed of a material which is at least partially resilient, such as resin-impregnated fiberglass or polyvinylchloride plastic, so that the retainer 36a can deflect while receiving the second hook 32, and the retainer 36a then resiliently holds the hook 32 between itself and the hook 34a. The spacing of the second hook 34a from the-retainer 36a is small enough to assure such resilient holding. The engagement of the form liners provides a joint that prevents the leakage of concrete between the elements, and that does not appear as a joint.

The form liner elements can be assembled on the structural form 12 in a number of ways. One way is to install a first element such as element 18, fasten its flange 28 to the structural form by nails or the like, snap the second element 20 into place on the first element and attach its flange 28a to the structural form, and so forth. The elements can be constructed so that the undeflected distance t between the second hook of an element and the support surface 16 is slightly less than the thickness of a flange 28. When the elements are snapped together and installed on the structural form 12, the second wall such as wall 24a is pushed or deflected inwardly a slight amount sufficient to help assure sealing against theleakag'e of concrete between the flange 28 and the second hook 34a, so that the concrete forms an attractive corner configuration thereat.

After the series of form elements are assembled on the structural form 12, concrete is poured into the form assembly and allowed to set. After the concrete sets at leastpartially, the form assembly is removed therefrom and the form liner elements are removed from the structural form and unsnapped from each other. The elements then can be stored for future use.

In fabricating the form liner assembly, it is necessary that the length of the form liners equal the length of the region to be patterned in the concrete. Accordingly,

some of the form liner elements may have to be cut to size. However, less cutting is involved in the present invention where only the ends of elements have to be cut, than in those cases where sheets of material have to be out which results in cutting being performed along the width as well as along the length. Furthermore, where elements are cut only in length, it is generally easier to reuse them, as compared to the case of sheets of form liner material that have been cut in width as well as length.

In fabricating a form liner assembly, it may be necessary to install two or more liner elements end-to-end to cover a very long region. This requires that sealing against concrete leakage be performed where the ends of the elements abut one another. However, this results in less sealing than is required in a case where the sides The utilization of numerous from liner elements that can be readily snapped together facilitates the creation of variety in the design of a concrete surface. All of the form liner elements of a series are constructed so that the hooks fit into the space between the second book and retainer of other elements sothat any of them can be snapped together. However, different types of elements of a series can have very different textures and can be utilized to create different patterns at different regions of a wall. It is economical to provide even small regions of a special pattern, such as around a window or doorway, by utilizing a fewelements of the special pattern, which does not require cutting up of a large sheet.

Although the form liner elements can have elongated narrow shapes of constant cross-section, it is possible to utilize wide elements at selected regions. FIG. 4 illustrates a wider element 50 that can cover an extended area, and which still can be readily snapped to other form liner elements. The element 50 has a flange 52 and first hook 54 of a size that enables it to snap into other elements of a series, while the second hook 56 and retainer 58 of the element 50 enables it to readily capture the first hook of another form liner element. All form liner elements of the series have hooks of the same size to enable any element of the series to be snapped into engagement with any other element of the series.

Thus, the invention provides form liner apparatus which can be rapidly installed and removed from a structural concrete form, and which minimizes the amount of cutting and sealing of abutting joints, maximizes the reuse of the form liner apparatus, and facilitates the use of a variety of different surface patterns and textures. This is accomplished by the utilization of form liner elements with portions that can be readily snapped together and taken apart. Each of the elements has an inner wall and a pair of side walls, a first of the side walls having a flange for attachment to a structural form and a first hook at the end of the flange. The second side wall has a second hook at its end for capturing the first hook of another element in a joint that is tight against the seepage of concrete. A retainer near the second hook of each element assures the retention, between its second hook and retainer, of a first hook of another element. The form liner elements are of substantially constant cross section along their length, so that they can be fabricated by extrusion to enable their production at low cost.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art and, consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.

What is claimed is:

l. A concrete form liner comprising:

a plurality of trough-shapedelements of substantially constant cross-section each having an inner wall and first and second outwardly extending side walls, said first side wall having a flange extending sidewardly away from said second side wall and having a first hook at its end, and said second side wall having a first hook at its end, and said second side wall having a second hook at its outer end extending towards said first side wall so that said elements can be heldtogether with a first hook on one of said elements engaged with the second hook of another of said elements;

each of said trough-shaped elements including a retainer wall (36) with a portion spaced from said second hook of the same element by a distance sufficient to engage and maintain therebetween the first hook on another element.

2. A concrete form liner comprising: a trough-shaped element having an inner wall and first and second outwardly extending side walls, said first side wall having a flange extending sidewardly away from said second side wall and having a first hook at its end, and said second side wall having a second hook at its outer end extending towards said first side wall, said element also having a retainer comprising a wall fixed to said second side wall and lying between the side walls and spaced a predetermined distance from the second hook, so that said element can be held to another similar element with a first hook on one element engaged between the second hook and retainer of the other element.

3. A concrete form liner for attachment to a flat support surface comprising:

a plurality of interfitting trough-shaped elements of substantially constant cross-section each having an inner wall (22) and first and second outwardly extending side walls, said first side wall (26) having a substantially fiat flange (28) extending in a direction sidewardly away from said second side wall (24) and having an inwardly extending part atthe end of the flange which is received between the side walls of another element at a location against the second side wall (24a) of the other element, the second side wall (24a) of the other element having an outer end which lies against said flat flange to form an intersection that is substantially sealed to the passage of concrete between said flange and side wall outer end and that is exposed to mold concrete into an attractive corner configuration;

each of said trough-shaped elements including a retainer wall (36) located between the side walls with a portion spaced from the: outer end of the second side wall of the same element by a distance sufficient to engage and maintain therebetween the inwardly-extending part of another element.

Claims

1. A concrete form liner comprising: a plurality of trough-shaped elements of substantially constant cross-section each having an inner wall and first and second outwardly extending side walls, said first side wall having a flange extending sidewardly away from said second side wall and having a first hook at its end, and said second side wall having a first hook at its end, and said second side wall having a second hook at its outer end extending towards said first side wall so that said elements can be held together with a first hook on one of said elements engaged with the second hook of another of said elements; each of said trough-shaped elements including a retainer wall (36) with a portion spaced from said second hook of the same element by a distance sufficient to engage and maintain therebetween the first hook on another element.

3. A concrete form liner for attachment to a flat support surface comprising: a plurality of interfitting trough-shaped elements of substantially constant cross-section each having an inner wall (22) and first and second outwardly extending side walls, said first side wall (26) having a substantially flat flange (28) extending in a direction sidewardly away from said second side wall (24) and having an inwardly extending part at the end of the flange which is received between the side walls of another element at a location against the second side wall (24a) of the other element, the second side wall (24a) of the other element having an outer end which lies against said flat flange to form an intersection that is substantially sealed to the passage of concrete between said flange and side wall outer end and that is exposed to mold concrete into an attractive corner configuration; each of said trough-shaped elements including a retainer wall (36) located between the side walls with a portion spaced from the outer end of the second side wall of the same element by a distance sufficient to engage and maintain therebetween the inwardly-extending part of another element.