US2273197A - Combined bar support and spacer - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 17, 1942. |-||L| BERG COMBINED BAR SUPPORT AND SPACER Filed. July 3, 1939 a W a Patented Feb. 17, 1942 COMBINED BAR SUPPORT AND SPACER Bror Hillberg, Chicago, Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Superior Concrete Accessories, Chicago, 111., a partnership consisting of Lawrence H. Umbach, Ruth M. Umbach, and Bror Hillberg Application July 3, 1939, Serial N0. 282,587

4 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to combined supports and spacers for bars. More particularly the invention relates to that type of combined support and spacer which is adapted to rest on a form for concrete, serves during pouring of concrete into the form to support in parallel relation and a horizontal position a series or set of concrete reinforcing bars, and comprises a spacer rod beneath and at right angles to the reinforcing bars, and a series of upstanding U- shaped wire formed chairs which are secured to and spaced equidistantly along the spacer rod and have the upper ends of their side pieces shaped to form above the spacer rod open-top restricted entrance pockets for the bars.

One object of the invention is to provide a combined bar support and spacer which is generally of new and improved construction and has certain advantages over previously designed combined supports and spacers of the same general character.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combined support and spacer of the aforementioned type in which the upstanding U- shaped wire formed chairs have legs of novel design for holding them against tilting or tipping with respect to the concrete form on which they are placed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a combined support and spacer of the type andcharacter under consideration in which the central or intermediate pieces of the legs for holding the chairs against tilting or tipping are positioned horizontally and in parallel relation with the portions of the spacerrod beneath or at the bottom of the pockets and form auxiliary seats or supporting means for the reinforcing bars.

A still further object of the invention is to providea combined bar support and spacer which may be manufactured at an extremely low cost and .is so designed or constructed that it is sturdy and durable and in addition effectively and efficiently fulfills its intended purpose.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages and characteristics of the present combined support and spacer for bars will be apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification or disclosure and in which like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a perspective of a combined bar support and spacer embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective of one of the chairs, illustrating in detail the arrangement and design of its side pieces and supporting leg;

Figure 3 is a side View of the chair of Figure 2, showing or disclosing in detail the manner in which the horizontally extending part of the leg of the chair serves as an auxiliary bar seat or support; and

Figure 4 is a plan of the chair of Figures 2 and 3.

The combined support and spacer which is shown in the drawing constitutes the preferred embodiment of the invention. It is adapted to support a series or set of parallel concrete reinforcing bars B in a horizontal position above a concrete form (not shown). It is contemplated that the combined support and spacer be placed on the form and that the bars B then be mounted in place on the support and spacer in order that they are held in proper spaced relation during pouring of the concrete into the form. As its parts the combined support and spacer consists of a horizontally extending spacer rod 5 and a series or set of U-shaped chairs 6. The chairs underlie, and correspond in number to, the bars B and are spaced equidistantly along the spacer rod 5. They are formed of comparatively stiff wire and comprise intermediate bottom pieces I, and pairs of upstanding side pieces 8 and 9. The intermediate bottom pieces 1 are straight, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 8, and are adapted when the combined support and spacer is in place with respect to the concrete form to rest flatly on the form. The side pieces 8 and 9 of the chairs are formed integrally with the ends of the bottom pieces 1. They extend upwardly and inwardly and have the upper extremities thereof bent outwardly to form or define open top restricted entrance pockets ID for the reinforcing bars B. The spacer bar 5 bears against and extends across the central portions of the side pieces 8 and 9 of the chairs and is positioned at such an elevation or height above the bottom pieces I that the portions thereof that overlie the bottom pieces define straight horizontal seats I l at the bottom of the pockets ID. The abutting portions of the spacer bar 5 and the side pieces 8 of the chairs are welded together with the result that the spacer bar is rigidly connected to the chairs and serves to hold the latter in spaced relation. The side pieces 9 of the chairs are free as far as the spacer rod 5 is concerned and as a result they are free to flex laterally to and from the side pieces 8. The reinforcing bars B are adapted to be inserted into the pockets ID by urging or shifting them downwards between the upper extremities of the side pieces 8 and 9 of the chairs 6 and thence past the bent portions of such extremities into abutment with the seats II. By having the upper extremities of the side pieces bent outwards, the bars may be readily inserted into the pockets. During downward shift of the bars into the pockets the side pieces 9 of the chairs are sprung outwards, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 3. When the bars are in place in the pockets l they are disposed beneath the bent portions of the upper extremities of the side pieces and are wedged or urged downwards into firm engagement or abutting relation with the seats I I.

In addition to the bottom pieces 1 and the side pieces 8 and 9, the chairs 6 comprise integral legs I2. These legs serve or operate to prevent the chairs from tilting or tipping with respect to the concrete form and are positioned in spaced relation with the side pieces 8 and 9 of the chairs. They are preferably of the same diameter as the other pieces or parts of the chairs and are bent to form vertically extending lower end pieces i3, horizontally extending intermediate pieces I4, vertical upper end pieces i5, and horizontally extending connecting pieces 16. The connecting pieces I6 extend at right amgles to the bottom pieces I of the chairs and project between, and are connected to, the upper extremities of the side pieces 8 and the upper extremities of the upper end pieces i5. They serve to space the legs it from the spacer rod and are of such length that the legs l2 are at such a distance from the bottom pieces I that they effectively and efficiently prevent tilting of the chairs. The lower end pieces 13 of the chair legs are adapted to rest against the concrete form, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and are positioned in opposed relation with the side pieces 9. The horizontally extending intermediate pieces E4 of the legs are positioned in parallel relation with the seats H and form auxiliary seats for the bars B. The upper end pieces l5 are bent so that they substantially conform in shape to the upper bent extremities of the side pieces 8. Because the legs l2 are connected to the side pieces 8 and the latter in turn are welded to the spacer bar 5, the legs are in rigid relation with the spacer bar and do not tilt vertically out of place or position during entry of the reinforcing bars B into the pockets i0. Preferably every other one of the chairs are positioned or located at one side of the spacer rod 5 and the alternate chairs are positioned at the other side of the spacer rod. As a result of this arrangement the combined spacer support is subject to no tilting or tipping action whatsoever when it is in place.

When it is desired to use the combined support and spacer the latter is placed on the concrete form in a horizontal position and with the bottom pieces 7 and the lower end pieces i 3 of the chairs 6 in contact or abutment with the form. Thereafter the bars B are shifted downwards into seated relation with the seats 1 l and the horizontal seat forming intermediate pieces I4 of the legs l2. When the bars B are in place with respect to the chairs they are held parallelly and horizontally and in vertically spaced relation with the form. Because the bars B are clamped or wedged in the pockets 10 as the result of the action of the upper extremities of the side pieces 9 they are effectively held in place during pouring of the concrete into the form.

The herein described combined support and spacer is extremely simple in design and effectively fulfills its intended purpose as the result of the arrangement, design and construction of the legs I2 of the chairs. By having the intermediate pieces M of the legs extend horizontally and form auxiliary supporting seats for the bars, the bars are efficiently held against relative tiltmg.

The inventicn is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified Within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A combined support and spacer for parallel substantially horizontal bars, comprising a spacer rod at right angles to and beneath the bars, a series of laterally spaced chairs positioned along and secured to the rod, associated with the bars respectively, and having pairs of opposed side pieces in contact with the rod and shaped to form with the adjacent portions of the rod open top pockets for receiving and supporting the bars, and upstanding legs for preventing tilting of the chairs connected to said chairs and having pieces disposed in opposed and parallel relation with said adjacent portions of the rod and arranged to form auxiliary seats for supporting the bars from beneath.

2. A combined support and spacer for parallel substantially horizontal bars, comprising a horizontal spacer rod beneath and at right angles to the bars, a series of laterally spaced U- shaped chairs positioned along and secured to the spacer rod, associated with the bars respectively, and having the upper portions of the side pieces thereof in contact with the rod and shaped to form with the adjacent portions of said rod open top pockets for supporting the bars, and upstanding legs for preventing tilting of the chairs connected at the upper ends thereof to the upper extremities of certain of said side pieces and having substantially straight horizontally extending pieces in opposed and parallel relation with said adjacent portions of the rod and arranged to form auxiliary seats for supporting the bars from beneath.

3. A combined support and spacer for parallel substantially horizontal bars, comprising a horizontal spacer rod beneath and at ri ht angles to the bars, a series of laterally spaced U- shaped chairs along the spacer rod, associated with the bars respectively and each having the central portions of its side pieces fitting against the adjacent portion of the rod and the upper ends of said side pieces shaped to form with said adjacent portion of the rod an open top bar receiving and supporting pocket and in addition having the central portion of one of its side pieces connected fixedly to the spacer rod and its other side piece free with respect to said rod and adapted to flex to and from the one side piece, and single tilt preventing legs for the chairs respectively having the upper ends thereof connected to the upper extremities of the chair side pieces that are fixedly connected to the spacer rod, and having horizontal intermediate pieces positioned in opposed and parallel relation with said adjacent portions of the rod and shaped and arranged to form auxiliary seats for supporting the bars from beneath.

4. A combined support and spacer adapted to hold a series of reinforcing bars in parallel relation and a substantially horizontal position above a concrete form and comprising a horizontal spacer rod beneath and at right angles to the bars and spaced above the form, a series of laterally spaced U-shaped chairs along the spacer rod, associated with the bars respectively, and each having the central portions of its side pieces fitting against the adjacent portion of the spacer rod and the upper ends of said side pieces shaped to form with said adjacent portion of the spacer rod an open top bar receiving and supporting pocket and in addition having the central portion of one of its side pieces connected fixedly to the spacer rod and its other side piece completely free with respect to the spacer rod and adapted to flex to and from the one side piece, and single tilt preventing legs for the chairs respectively positioned in opposed relation with said chairs and having cross-pieces at their upper ends extending at substantially right angles to the spacer rod and attached to the upper extremities of the side pieces that are connected fixedly to said spacer rod, and having horizontally extending intermediate pieces disposed in parallel relation with and at the same level as the spacer rod and serving to form auxiliary seats for supporting the bars from beneath.

BROR HILLBERG.

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