Field of the invention

The invention is concerned with the articles and methods for preventing collapse of formwork

Background to the Invention

Formwork is the general term given to the mould into which concrete is poured to form, for instance, a wall, the mould having extending therethrough a plurality of parallel reinforcing bars. The strength of the formwork must be sufficient to support the weight of the wet concrete without significant distortion. The formwork may comprise two spaced apart panels which are connected together by means of bolts so as to define a space into which the concrete is poured. Once the concrete has set the bolts are removed but in doing this there is a risk that the panel may fall over and cause injury to someone in the vicinity.

Statements of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a safety device for securing a formwork panel to a reinforcing bar located within a mould defined by the formwork, the device comprising a first clamp member for locating around the reinforcing bar and a second clamp member for locating around an upper section of the panel, and a connection member for connecting together the first and second clamp members.

Preferably, the first clamp member comprises an elongate plate having a slot therein, within which may be located a reinforcing bar.

More preferably, the plate is provided with flange portions extending on each side of and parallel to the slot. Preferably, the flange portions are provided with aligned holes, more preferably with two pairs of aligned holes. Preferably, the second clamp member is a bracket having short and long side portions interconnected by a base portion.

Preferably, the long side portion of the bracket is provided on its outside surface and at about halfway therealong with a laterally extending tube.

Preferably, the first clamp member comprises a rod which can be secured within said tube to prevent relative movement between the clamp members.

The present invention also provides a method of securing a formwork panel to a reinforcing bar located within a mould defined by the formwork, the method comprising providing a device of the invention, locating the first clamp member about the reinforcing bar, locating the second clamp member about an upper section of the formwork panel and securing the clamp members together in such a way as to prevention relative movement therebetween.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings are as follows:

Figure 1 shows the separated components of an embodiment of a safety device in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the safety device of Figure 1 clamping a formwork panel to a reinforcing bar;

Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the safety device of Figure 1 clamping a formwork panel to a reinforcing bar; and Figure 4 is a top plan view showing the safety device of Figure 1 clamping a formwork panel to a reinforcing bar;

Detailed description of the Invention The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention is a safety device 1 for ensuring that a formwork panel does not fall down when the bolts keeping in in place until concrete has set are removed

The device 1 is a clamp for securing a formwork panel to a reinforcing bar located in a mould defined by a plurality of formwork panels. Device 1 comprises a first clamp member 3 which is an elongate U-shaped plate having leg portions 5 defining a slot 7 and each having an upturned flange portion 9. Each flange portion 9 is provided with two adjacent apertures 11 located about one third of the way from the open end of slot 7 to the bight end of plate 3.

Device 1 includes a second clamp member 13 which is a bracket 15 having short and long side portions 17 and 19 respectively and an interconnecting base portion 21. The width of bracket 15 is slightly less than the distance between the two flange portions 9. Short side portion 17 has a somewhat narrowed end and the long side portion 19 has formed on its outside and at about halfway therealong a laterally extending square cross section tube 22.

Device 1 further includes a short rod 23 of a diameter such that it may be located within tube 22 and of a length somewhat greater than tube 22. At one end rod 23 is provided with a bore 25 extending laterally therethrough and at the other end with a chain 27 and attached thereto a cotter pin 29. Figures 2 to 4 of the accompanying drawings illustrate the use of device 1 to secure a formwork panel 31 to a reinforcing bar 33. In order to locate device 1 in position, the first clamp member 3 is positioned around reinforcing bar 33 so that bar 33 is located at the blind end of the slot 7. Member 3 extends laterally over the top of the formwork panel 35, comprising ply layer 37 and shutter 39, reaching across about three quarters of the width of shutter 39 which form formwork panel 39. The second clamp member 13 is then located so that its long side portion 19 extends between flange portions 9 of first clamp member 3 and with the base portion 21 and short side portion 17 extending downwardly and inwardly around the top section 4 of shutter 39. Rod 23 is then pushed through one of the pairs of aligned apertures 11 and locked in position by means of cotter pin 29 extending through bore 25. This in turn locks first clamp member 3 against movement relative to second clamp member 13 and in so doing prevents relative movement of the formwork panel 35 away from the reinforcing bar 33.

In this way, the formwork panel is maintained in position even after the bolts (not shown), which interconnect the formwork panels during the formation of the concrete wall, have been removed, thereby avoiding any possibility of the formwork panel falling down and causing injury to anyone located in the vicinity. The above described device may be made of any suitable materials, including metals, plastics and a combination thereof.