CA2168480C

CA2168480C - Concrete post base mold

Info

Publication number: CA2168480C
Application number: CA002168480A
Authority: CA
Inventors: M. T. Croghan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-01-31
Filing date: 1996-01-31
Publication date: 2006-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 2016-01-31
Also published as: CA2168480A1

Abstract

A mold for forming a base for a concrete post, the mold having a side wall and a top wall characterized in that the top wall has a plurality of radially extending main slits extending from a central point to thereby form a plurality of flaps, the top portion being formed of a flexible material such that a tube may be inserted therethrough and retained in position by the flaps to permit casting a one piece post and base.

Description

BASE MOLD FOR CONCRETE POST
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mold and more particularly, to a mold suitable for forming a base for concrete posts.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Concrete inground posts are installed to serve as supports for exterior structures such as decks, porches and out buildings. In a manner similar to a house foundation, they require a footing or base in order to disperse the downward force placed upon them, to stabilize them to lateral stress and in some areas to retard the action of frost heaving them upwardly.
In the art, it is a conventional practice to use a form for the posts and which form provides a round hollow manufactured paper or fiber tube. These 12' long fiber or paper tubes come in different diameters such as 6", 8" 10" etc. and are cut to the length required by the user.
A single manufactured 8" tube may in fact be 71h", 73/4 ", 8" or 8'/4" in diameter, to facilitate compact shipping by placing 7'/2" tubes within 73/4" tubes witr~in 8" tubes, etc.
Any base mold to be attached to a section of one of these tubes must therefore be either custom fitted to the tube on hand or have the ability to adapt to v~~rious diameters.
The present practice is that the user will build a custom fitted mold for the base from wood. Thus it is well known for builders to construct a square of lumber and subsequently a plywood top is added. A hole is cut in the plywood to accommodate the tube and the box and tube are nailed together. The tube and box are them placed in the excavation and the excavation is subsequently back filled. Frequently reinforcing rods are placed in the tube and then the tube and the base are filled with concrete to provide a one piece concrete post and base (footing).
There are disadvantages to the above arrangement.
It is a very time consuming process and the joint formed where the tube meets the base tends to be somewhat weak when subjected to lateral stress at the abrupt 90° tube to box joint. A multitude of tools and some skill are required for box fabrication.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mold for a base for concrete posts which is lightweight, strong and adaptable to various diameter tubes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mold for a base for a concrete post having a strong tapered tube to base joint.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mold for a base for a concrete post which is fast, economical, easy to use and requires no special tools or skill to install.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mold suitable for forming a base for a concrete post, the mold comprising a mold member having a side wall portion and a top wall portion, the top wall portion having means for forming a plurality of radially extending main slits extending from a central point to thereby form a plurality of flaps, the top wall portion being formed of a flexible material.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mold suitable for forming a base for a concrete post, the mold comprising a mold member having a side

-2-wall portion and a top wall portion, the top wall portion having a plurality of radially extending main slits extending from a central point to thereby form a plurality of flaps, the top wall portion being formed of a flexible material.
In a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setup for pouring a concrete post, the setup comprising a mold having a side walll portion and a top wall portion, the top wall portion having a plurality of radially extending main slits extending from a central point to thereby form a plurality of flaps, the top wall portion being formed of a flexible material, a tube extending upward from the mold, the flaps lying adjacent the tube, tabs underneath the tube and retaining the tube in position.
In a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of pouring a concrete post, the method comprising the steps of providing a mold having a side wall portion and a top wall portion, the top wall portion being of a flexible material having a plurality of radially extending main slits extending from a central point to thereby form a plurality of flaps, a plurality of alignment tabs associated ~,vith the flaps, inserting the tube through the top wall portion to thereby extend the flaps.
engaging the alignment tabs with the tube to thereby align the tube to 90° to the base mold, affixing the flaps to the tube, placing the mold and the tube on a substrate, and pouring concrete in the tube to form a post having an integral base formed therewith.
In greater detail, the mold of the present invention is adapted for use with tubes which in turn act as molds for the post section. The tubes are widely referred to as "sono"
tubes although it will be understood that the present invention may be practiced with any suitable mold for the posts and is not limited to one particular kind thereof.

-3-The mold of the present invention may be formed of any suit;able material having the desired characteristics including, for example, various metallic or paper or plastic or rubber materials. In practice, the mold is preferably formed of a suitable plastic material.
Many known plastic materials may be used and indeed, the mold of the present invention could be manufactured using recycled materials. It suffices to say that suitable materials are well known to those knowledgeable in the art and it is only important that the mold have the strength to withstand back filling and containment of the concrete during the setting period and that the top portion thereof be sufficiently flexible to permit the insertion of the post tube.
The manufacture of the mold may conveniently be accomplished by injection molding. The main radial slits and secondary tab slits in the top wall ma.y either be formed as a result of the injection molding process or alternatively, they may be cut within the top wall after the mold is formed and to this end, appropriate indicia or score lines could be provided.
The radial slits may follow straight radial lines or be of a curved or spiral nature.
The secondary slits forming alignment tabs may be cut or formed along the sides of the flexible flaps or cut or formed completely within the flexible flaps.
The tabs are preferably arranged so that when the bottom of the inserted tube slides past them, the tabs will snap under the tube holing it aligned so as to be substantially 90° to thw base mold.
Molded protrusions on the underside (tube contact side) of the flexible flaps may also be used to align the tube 90° to the base.
The upper side of the flexible flaps may be scored or have tiny linear protrusions

-4-that act as "tape gripping" lines.
The shape of the base mold is not critical and many different configurations such as circular, rectangular, square, polygonal, etc. may be employed.
The upper wall having the main slits formed therein can itself have various configurations. Thus, the upper wall may comprise a generally horizontal flat wall which is normal to the vertical side wall or alternatively, it may taper upwards to its center rising above the sidewalls to have a conical or dome shaped configuration.
The mold may include means for securing it in place to avoid dislodging on back filling. To this end, there may be provided a series of holes in the mold bottom rim to allow it to be staked in place.
Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the accompany drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure lA is a perspective view of a concrete post base mold according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 1B is a side elevational view thereof;
Figures 2A, 2B and 2C illustrate use of the concrete post base mold;
Figure 3A is a top plan view thereof;
Figure 3B is a perspective view of the top portion illustrating lifting of one of the flaps;
Figure 3C is a cross sectional view of the bottom of a tube inserted in the top portion of the concrete post base mold;

-5-Figure 4A is a top view of a slightly modified concrete post base mold;
Figure 4B is a side view thereof with one of the flaps being raised;
Figures SA and SB are perspective views of different embodiments of a concrete post base mold;
Figures 6A and 6B are top views of alternative embodiments;
Figures ?A and 7B are top plan views of the top portion of a rr~old illustrating different arrangements for the slits; and Figures 8A, 8B, 8C and 8D are perspective views of only the top portion illustrating alternative embodiments thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters thereto, there is illustrated in Figure 1 a concrete post base mold which is generally designated by reference numeral 10.
Concrete post base mold 10 has a lower cylindrical side wall 12. Ribs 11 are formed along the outer surface of door side wall 12. At its lower edge, side wall 12 terminates in an outwardly extending flange which has a plurality of apertures 15 formed therein.
At the upper peripheral edge of lower side wall 12 there is provided a first upper side wall 16 and a second upper side wall 17. Upper side walls 16 and 17 are of a frustroconical configuration and extend inwardly.
Extending inwardly from the upper marginal edge of second upper aide wall 17 is a top wall 18 which, in the illustrated embodiment is of a generally planar nature and

-6-extends in a horizontal direction.
Top wall 18 has an aperture 19 located centrally thereof from which extend a plurality of radially extending slits. In this respect, there are provided a plurality of main slits 20 extending radially from aperture 19 and which main slits 20 aa-e equally separated from each other. The slits are all substantially equidistant.
It will be noted that main slits 20 each has at least one secondary side slit extending therefrom.
A further set of slits generally designated by reference numeral 26 are located between radial slits 20.
The arrangement is such that a plurality of flaps 30 are formed by the arrangement of the main radial slits 20 and a plurality of tabs 40 are formed by the arrangement of the secondary side slits on flaps 30.
In the practice of the invention, and as shown in Figures 2A, 2B and 2C, a conventional round tube form generally designated by reference numeral 32 is moved relative to concrete post base mold 10 such that flaps 30 are forced upwardly.
The tube is moved upwardly through the flaps 30 until the bottom peripheral edge of tube 32 is substantially at a level slightly above top wall 18 at the upper tip of tabs 40. A little further movement will permit the tabs 40 to snap under the bottom periphc;ral edge of tube 32. A slight downward force on tube 32 will then seat tube 32 onto tabs 40 aligning and supporting tube 32 in a 90° attitude with respect to base mold 10. At the same time, flaps 30 exert a pressure on the side wall of the tube to maintain it in position and allow for a large contact area between tube 32 and flaps 30 for affixing tube 32 to base mold 10.

If desired, tape 36 may be wrapped around the upstanding flaps 30 to provide for reinforcement of the arrangement. Other means such as screws, clamps or adhesives could likewise be used.
Subsequently, the concrete post base mold may be pinned in position utilizing large spikes 45 through rim apertures 15 and back fill placed around the arrangement.
Liquid concrete poured into the tube 32 will subsequently fill both the tube and the base mold 10 thereby cast a one piece concrete post with footing.
In one alternative embodiment, in lieu of the slits, score lines may be formed. The end user would then cut or otherwise perform the slits along the score lines.
One could also have indicia in lieu of the score lines.
There are many different possible embodiments and these are illustrated in the Figures 4 through 8. Thus, in Figure 4B, protrusions 31 are provided on the other side of flaps 30 for engagement with tube 32. Protrusions 31 have an inverted ' riangular outline to provide support for the bottom of tube 32.
As shown in Figure SA, side wall 17 may be eliminated leaving only side wall 16.
As shown in Figure 5B, the mold 10 may comprise a single whole shaped outline.
In Figure 6A, the whole flap area has an octagonal outline. Figures 6B, '7A
and 7B
illustrate other possibilities as do Figures 8A through 8D.
It will be understood that the above described embodiment is for purposes of illustration only and that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
_g_

Claims

The embodiments of an invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed is defined as follows:

1. A mold suitable for forming a base for a concrete post, said mold comprising a mold member having a side wall portion and a top wall portion, said top wall portion having means for forming a plurality of radially extending main slits extending from a central point to thereby form a plurality of flaps, said top wall portion being formed of a flexible material.

2. The mold of Claim 1 wherein said means for forming a plurality of radially extending main slits comprises a plurality of score lines formed on said top wall portion.

3. The mold of Claim 1 wherein said means for forming a plurality of radially extending main slits comprises indicia formed on said top wall portion.

4. A mold suitable for forming a base for a concrete post, said mold comprising a mold member having a side wall portion and a top wall portion, said top wall portion having a plurality of radially extending main slits extending from a central point to thereby form a plurality of flaps, said top wall portion being formed of a flexible material.

5. The mold of Claim 4 further including at least one slit formed completely within at least one of said flaps to thereby form an alignment tab.

6. The mold of Claim 4 wherein said side wall portion is a generally vertical side wall and said top wall portion is substantially horizontal.

7. The mold of Claim 6 further including a plurality of reinforcing ribs formed in said side wall.

8. The mold of Claim 4 wherein said mold is formed of a plastic material.

9. The mold of Claim 6 including an aperture formed in said top wall at a central point thereof , said main slits extending radially outwardly from said aperture.

10. The mold of Claim 9 wherein said main slits are cut as a straight line.

11. The mold of Claim 9 wherein said main slits have an arcuate configuration.

12. The mold of Claim 4 further including a base located at a lower periphery of said side wall portion.

13. The mold of Claim 4 further including at least one secondary slit formed in at least one of said flap portions, said secondary slit extending from a main slit and thereby forming an alignment tab.

14. The mold of Claim 4 further including a plurality of secondary slits formed in said flap portions, said secondary slits being located at varying distances from said central point to form tabs adapted to thereby receive, align and position tubes of different configurations and diameters.

15. The mold of Claim 4 further including slits or apertures in said side wall portion to permit entry of reinforcing bars into said base mold.

16. A setup for pouring a concrete post, said setup comprising a mold having a side wall portion and a top wall portion, said top wall portion having a plurality of radially extending main slits extending from a central point to thereby form a plurality of flaps, said top wall portion being formed of a flexible material, a tube extending upward from said mold, said flaps lying adjacent said tube, tabs underneath said tube retaining said tube in position.

17. A method of pouring a concrete post, said method comprising the steps of providing a mold having a side wall portion and a top wall portion, said top wall portion being of a flexible material having a plurality of radially extending main slits extending from a central point to thereby form a plurality of flaps, a plurality of alignment tabs associated with said flaps, inserting said tube through said top wall portion to thereby extend said flaps, engaging the alignment tabs with said tube to thereby align said tube to 90° to said base mold, affixing said flaps to said tube, placing said mold and said tube on a substrate, and pouring concrete in said tube to form a post having an integral base formed therewith.

18. The setup of Claim 16 wherein said side wall portion has at least a pair of opposed apertures therein, at least one reinforcing bar extending through said apertures.

19. The mold of Claim 4 wherein said side wall portion is a generally vertical side wall and the said top wall portion is cone shaped rising above said sidewalls.

20. The mold of Claim 4 including at least one molded protrusion formed on an underside of said flaps to act as alignment tabs.

21. The mold of Claim 4 including a plurality of molded protrusions on an underside of said flaps at various distances from said central point to thereby form means for aligning said tube.

22. The mold of Claim 9 further including at least one slit formed completely within a plurality of said flaps to thereby form a plurality of alignment tabs.