US3888452A

US3888452A - Hanger assembly for attaching a form to a structural beam

Info

Publication number: US3888452A
Application number: US373625A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward J Anderson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-06-26
Filing date: 1973-06-26
Publication date: 1975-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 1992-06-10

Abstract

A hanger assembly for a form for encasing a structural member such as an I-beam, has a pair of U-shaped wire members assembled over the top of the structural member, and a pair of U-shaped members for holding a lower form member, the latter U-shaped members having upwardly extending ends which are joined by means of toggle clips to the downwardly extending ends of the former Ushaped wire members.

Description

United States Patent 1 1 Anderson 1 1 HANGER ASSEMBLY FOR ATTACHING A FORM TO A STRUCTURAL BEAM [76] Inventor. Edward J. Anderson. 21 Brown St..

West Babylon. NY. I 1704 [22] Filed: June 26, 1973 [211 App]. No.1 373,625

{52] U.S. C1. 249/23; 248/214; 248/228;

248/327; 249/211 [511 int. Cl. E04g 13/04 [581 Field of Search 249/18, 9. 23. 25. 28.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2.218.819 10/1940 Hillbcrg 249/23 2.611.943 9/1952 Templeton 249/211 2.765.139 10/1956 White 2 248/228 1 1 June 10, 1975 2.900.684 8/1959 Miles. Jr. 249/23 3.420.560 1/1969 Pfahning 52/289 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 907.140 1954 Germany 248/228 170.294 1934 Switzerland 249/25 Primary Examiner-Robert D. Baldwin Assistant Examiner-John McQuade [57] ABSTRACT A hanger assembly for a form for encasing a structural member such as an l-beam, has a pair of U-shaped wire members assembled over the top of the structural member. and a pair of U-shaped members for holding a lower form member. the latter U-shaped members having upwardly extending ends which are joined by means of toggle clips to the downwardly extending ends of the former U-shaped wire members.

11 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUH 10 I975 3 888 .452

SHEET 1 i W Fi l 4 l5--:-i IO g v Q .1

{Fla :1 S q :i Q I2 E: i: H3 n PRIOR ART PRIOR ART I HANGER ASSEMBLY FOR ATTAUHING A FORM TO A STRUCTURAL BEAM This invention relates to the encasing of structural members. such as steel construction beams and the like. with concrete or similar encasing material. This invention is more particularly directed to an improved hanger assembly facilitating the fabrication of boxt vpe structures around I-beams or the like. which are temporarily employed during the pouring of concrete around a structural member.

It is a common practice in the fabrication of structures to encase structural members. such as steel I- beams. in concrete. This practice provides the advantages of increased strength of the structure. greater fire resistance. and also reduces the necessity of boxing in the beams by other techniques for esthetic reasons.

In the formation of beams of this type. it is of course necessary to provide some type of form during construction. in order to hold the desired shape of the concrete poured around the beam until the concrete has set.

As an example. in one prior arrangement. a wire clamp was provided for holding the lower member of the box structure in a position spaced below the I- beam. The wire was loop-shaped. and extended upwardly through the bottom member of the box. the open ends being bent around the top of the [beam to extend across the top of the I-beam. and thence being folded under the opposite upper flange of the I-beam.

This arrangement is subject to a number of disadvantages. For example. when a worker builds a box structure by this technique. the work is generally performed above his head. He must usually work in a confined space. and hammer the ends of the wire support around the I-beam. The operation is consequently time consuming and arduous. and the wires frequently do not hold the bottom members of the box with the desired tension to insure uniformity of the finished beam.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved device for facilitating the fabrication of box forms around beams. while overcoming the disadvantages. as above stated of prior art devices.

Briefly stated. in accordance with my invention, I provide a hanger device for supporting a support structure beneath a structural member such as an I-beam. the support structure being adapted to form or be part of a concrete pouring form. In its preferred form. the hanger structure is comprised of four generally U- shaped wire members. Two of the wire members are adapted to be positioned over the top of the structural member. with their open ends extending downwardly. The other two wire members support and extend up wardly from the form supporting member. The upper ends of each of the lower wire members extend to the proximity of the ends of the downwardly extending wire members. on opposite sides of the structural member. and toggle clip means are provided for affixing the ends of the lower members to corresponding ends of the upper wire members. In other words. the two ends of each of the lower wire members are affixed by a toggle clamp to downwardly extending ends of separate upper wire members.

With this arrangement. it is relatively simple for a worker to clamp a support structure beneath the structural member. and it is not necessary to hammer over the ends of a wire support as was previously the prac tice. In addition. the clamping structure in accordance with the invention provides the advantage that the desired tension is maintained in the wire support structure. so that the concrete form is properly supported around the structural member.

In order that the invention will be more clearly understood. it will now be disclosed in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. in which:

FIG. I is a simplified illustration of a supporting arrangement employed in the past;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wire hanger employed in the arrangement of FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of an I-beam and supporting structure. employing a hanger arrangement in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a hanger clamp taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3'.

FIG. 5 is a reduced partially cross-sectional view of a portion of the arrangement of FIG. 3 taken along the lines 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a partially cross sectional view of a modification of a portion of the arrangement of FIG. 5'.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a toggle clamp of the type which may be employed in the arrangements of FIGS. 35;

FIG. 8 is a simplified perspective view of the wire clamping structure in accordance with the invention,

with the structural member and support structure being omitted to more clearly illustrate the configuration of the hanger structure in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 9 is a partially cross sectional view of the clip of FIG. 7, illustrating one manner of attachment of the lower wire member to the clamp;

FIG. 10 is a partially cross sectional view of a portion ofthe clamp of FIG. 7, illustrating one arrangement for affixing the upper wire member to the clamp of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 11 is a partially frontal view of a portion of the clamp of FIG. 7. illustrating a modification therein.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, therein is illustrated a clamping technique previously employed for clamping a support structure to an I-beam for supporting a concrete form. In FIG. I, the [beam 10 is illustrated in cross-sectional view. The bottom member 11 of the pouring form is spaced from the bottom of the I-beam by means of a suitable clip 12, which may be for example, nailed to the form member 11. The form member II, which may be of wood. is supported on a support member 13, which may also be of wood. For example. in a typical construction, the support members 13 may be provided spaced along the l-beam. and extending in the lengthwise direction to form support members for the pouring forms of other I-beams. For example. the support member 13 may be a conventional wood 2 X 4. In order to hold the support member, and hence the form member 11 in position. a wire clip I4 such as illustrated in FIG. 2, was employed. This U-shaped clip extended around the bottom of the support member 13, and the ends thereofextending upwardly through suitable holes in the form member 11. At its upper end. the ends of the clip were bent. for example by hammering. to extend across the top of the l-beam. the ends then being bent to extend under the upper opposite flange of the l-beam.

With this arrangement. it is of course necessary for the worker. in assembly of the form. to hammer the clips into position. Since this work was generally done from a platform suspended beneath the I-beam with the worker assembling the components over his head, the task was arduous and did not result in uniform tension in the wire clip. As a result, on many occasions the form for pouring concrete was not uniformly sup ported.

The dash lines in FIG. illustrate the locations of other members of the pouring form which are joined to the bottom member 1] by conventional technique.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, therein is illustrated a side elevation of a hanger assembly in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention. As shown in these figures, a U shaped wire member is provided extending around the support member 13, with its open end extending upwardly through the form member 11 to separate toggle clips 21 disposed at the sides of the I-beam. A similar U-shaped wire member is provided at the opposite side (not visible in FIGS. 3-5) of the I-beam, the other wire member being affixed to a pair of similar clips 21 disposed at the opposite side of the I-beam. In addition, a pair of downwardly extending U-shaped wire members 22 are pro vided extending across the top of the l'beam, with their open ends beingjoined to separate clips 21. The overall configuration of the hanger structure in accordance with the invention is more clearly seen in FIG. 8. In another manner of describing the assembly, a pair of U- shaped wire members 20 in planes parallel to the web of the I-beam are provided on opposite sides of the I- beam for supporting engagement with the supporting structure, the ends of these wire members extending upwardly. A pair of U-shaped wire members 22 are looped over the top of the Lbeam and are disposed in planes normal to the longitudinal direction of the I- beam. The downwardly extending ends of the wire members 22 are joined to the upwardly extending ends of wire members 20 by means of the separate clips 21. As will be apparent from the following description, the clips 21 are designed to have a toggle action, so that the wires are firmly held in place after assembly.

In the modification illustrated in FIG. 6, instead of extending around the support members 13, the wire members 20 may extend through holes drilled in the support member 13. This modification may of course be more desirable when the widths of the support members 13 are greater than the desired spacings between the upward extending portions of the wire members 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, each clip 21 is formed of a flat elongated strip, for example of sheet metal. The upper portion is bent to form a longitudinally extending U-shape. For example, the strips may be transversely cut, as at 32, with the portion of the metal above the cut 32 being bent parallel to the longitudinal axis of the strip to form the U-shaped portion 23. A first aperture 24 is provided in the lower portion of the clip 2] generally beneath the cut 32. and a sec ond aperture is provided generally centrally in the flat portion of the clip generally aligned with the U- shaped portion 23 of the clip. In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 7, wherein the clip is shown in clamped position, the upper wire member 22 extends downwardly along the one side of the clip, extending gener ally through the region defined by the U-shaped portion 23 and thence to the aperture 24. At the aperture 24 the end of the wire member is bent at a right angle to extend through the aperture 24, the end of the wire member 22 being enlarged, for example by peen ing, as seen in FIG. 10, so that the clip 21 is pivotally held on the end of the wire member 22. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each end of each of the U-shaped wire members 22 similarly holds a separate clip 21.

While in the arrangement of FIGS. 7 and 10 the clip 21 is permanently held on the end of the wire member 22, due to the peening of the end of the wire member, in a modification thereof as illustrated in FIG. II. the aperture 24 may be in the form of a key hole slot, so that the clip 21 may be affixed to the end of the wire member 20 by insertion of the enlarged end of the wire member through the circular portion of the aperture 24, and then sliding the bent over end of the wire member 22 to engage the narrower portion 40 of the aperture 24.

As further illustrated in FIG. 7, the open end of the lower wire member 20 extends upwardly along the other side of the clip and is bent to extend through the aperture 25. As illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, 7 and 9, the bend 33 in the end of the wire member 20 is slightly greater than generally in the plane normal to the plane of the wire member 20. so that the end of the wire member 20 will not slip out of the aperture 25 when the wire member 20 is under tension. It is to be further noted that the end of each wire member 20 extends sufficiently far beyond the plane of the clip 21 that it can interfere with free pivotal movement of the clip 21 about the end of the wire member 22 when the hanger is assembled. The end 30 of the wire member 22 preferably does not have such an extension, In order to facilitate assembly of the wire members 20 through holes in the form members, the bent over ends of the upwardly extending portions of the wire members 20 may be formed after the wire members 20 have been inserted through the holes in the form member.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, for each hanger assembly the worker is provided with a pair of wire members 22, a separate clip being pivotally affixed to each end of each wire member 22, and the worker is also provided with a pair of Ushaped wire members 20. In order to assemble the hanger for supporting a support structure, and hence a form member, it is initially assumed that the form members are provided with spacing clips 12, and that the support members 13 are temporarily held in position by any suitable means. The worker then assembles a pair of the U- shaped members 22 over the top of the l-beam aligned with opposite sides of a support member, with the clips 21 at the sides of the I-beam. The U-shaped members 20 are then positioned to extend around the support member, with their ends extending upwardly, and the bent over ends of the wire members 20 are inserted in apertures 25 of separate clips 21. At this time the longitudinal axes of the clips 2] will not extend vertically, as in the arrangement of FIG. 3 so that substantially no force is required to insert the ends ofthe wire members 20 in the apertures 25. Then each of the clips 21 is rotated about the horizontal axis defined by the end of the corresponding wire member 22, until the U-shaped portion 23 of the clip engages the upwardly extending portion of the corresponding wire member 22, i.e., the positions illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 7. At this point it will be noted that a toggle action has occurred. For example, referring to FIG. 3, and considering the pivotal axis of the clip to be at aperture 24, the end of each wire tends to rotate the clip in a clockwise direction. and this movement is restrained by the engagement between the U-shaped portion 23 of the clip and the upwardly extending portion of the wire member 22. It is thus apparent that the clips may he designed to provide any desired tension in the

wire members

20 and 22. by the proper selection of locations for the

apertures

24 and 25.

As discussed above. the ends of each wire member 20 extend beyond the plane of the clip 21 a sufficicnt distance to interfere with the complete rotational movement of the clip 21. This is illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 7. Such extensions on the ends of the wire members 20 inhibit the unlocking of the clips 2] from their toggle position. In other words. it is apparent that the ends of the wire members 20 will engage the wire members 22 before the dead center position is reached in the toggle action of the clips, so that the ends of the wire members 20 inhibit accidental release of the clips. The

wire members

20 and 22 and the clips 21 are sufficiently flexible so that they may be bent during assembly sufficiently that the ends of the wire members 20 pass the wires 22 as the clips are rotated to the position illustrated in H6. 3.

In order to enable use of the hanger assembly according to the invention with structural combinations of different dimensions, the clip 20 may be provided with one or more additional apertures 35, as illustrated in FIG. 3. These additional apertures 35 are aligned longitudinally of the clips with the apertures 25. so that a worker may select the desired aperture, depending upon the l-beam. support member and form member dimensions. Thus, a single clip assembly may be adapted for a number of different applications.

While the invention has been disclosed with reference to a limited number of embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that many modifications and variations may be made therein, and it is therefore intended in the following claims to cover each such variation and modification as falls within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A hanger assembly for holding a pouring form for encasing a structural member, said assembly comprising first and second pairs of U-shaped members, and separate toggle clip means for interconnecting each end of each U-shaped member of said first pair of U- shaped members to a separate end of the U-shaped members of said second pair of U-shaped members, the two ends of each U-shaped member of said first pair of U-shaped members being interconnected by separate said toggle clip means to the ends of separate U-shaped members of said second pair of U-shaped members.

2. A hanger assembly for holding a pouring form for encasing a structural member wherein said form includes a support member positioned under said structural member, said assembly comprising first and sec ond spaced apart U-shaped members positioned over said structural member with the open ends thereof extending downwardly on opposite sides of said structural member. third and fourth spaced apart U-shaped members positioned to hold said support member and having upwardly extending open ends. and separate toggle clip members on the ends of said first and second members and connected to separate ends of said third and fourth members.

3. A hanger assembly for holding a pouring form for encasing a structural member wherein said form includes a support member extending transversely under said structural member, said assembly comprising first and second spaced apart Ushaped members positioned with their closed ends over said structural member and their open ends extending downwardly on opposite sides of said structural member, third and fourth spaced apart U-shaped members on opposite sides of said structural member and each having closed ends under said support member and open ends extending upwardly. and separate toggle clip members on the ends of said first and second members and connected to separate ends of said third and fourth members.

4. The hanger assembly of claim 3 wherein said first. second and third and fourth U-shaped members are formed of wire.

5. The hanger assembly of claim 3 wherein said clip members are comprised of a metal strip having a longitudinally extending U-shaped guide on one end thereof. a central aperture, and an additional aperture on other end thereof, the ends of said first. second. third and fourth U-shaped members being bent, the bent end of each of said first and second member extending through one of the apertures of a separate clip, and the bent end of each of said third and fourth members extending through the other aperture in a separate clip, whereby in clamped position the one of said first. second, third and fourth members extending through the additional apertures in each clip also engages the U shaped guide of the corresponding clip.

6. The hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein said strip comprises at least one further aperture longitudinally aligned with said central aperture.

7. The hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein the end of one of the first, second, third and fourth members at each clip is bent over at an angle greater than 8. The hanger assembly of claim 7 wherein the end of the other of said first, second. third and fourth members at each clip is peened to retain said clip thereon 9. The hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein the ones of said first, second, third and fourth members at each said clip extend along opposite sides of the respective clip.

10. The hanger assembly of claim 9 wherein one of said first, second. third and fourth members at each clip has an end bent over at an angle of greater than 90, the bent over end extending through the central aperture of the respective clip and extending therebeyond a distance greater than the distance between the clip and the other of said first. second. third and fourth members at the respective clip.

11. The hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein said strip has a transversely extending cut at said one end. said U-shaped guide being formed of the portion of said strip between said cut and said one end thereof bent over along a longitudinal axis of said strip. said central aperture being generally aligned with said U-shaped guide, and said additional aperture being longitudinally aligned with said cut.

Claims

1. A hanger assembly for holding a pouring form for encasing a structural member, said assembly comprising first and second pairs of U-shaped members, and separate toggle clip means for interconnecting each end of each U-shaped member of said first pair of U-shaped members to a separate end of the U-sahped members of said second pair of U-shaped members, the two ends of each U-shaped member of said first pair of U-shaped members being interconnected by separate said toggle clip means to the ends of separate U-shaped members of said second pair of U-shaped members.

2. A hanger assembly for holding a pouring form for encasing a structural member wherein said form includes a support member positioned under said structural member, said assembly comprising first and second spaced apart U-shaped members positioned over said structural member with the open ends thereof extending downwardly on opposite sides of said structural member, third and fourth spaced apart U-shaped members positioned to hold said support member and having upwardly extending open ends, and separate toggle clip members on the ends of said first and second members and connected to separate ends of said third and fourth members.

3. A hanger assembly for holding a pouring form for encasing a structural member wherein said form includes a support member extending transversely under said structural member, said assembly comprising first and second spaced apart U-shaped members positioned with their closed ends over said structural member and their open ends extending downwardly on opposite sides of said structural member, third and fourth spaced apart U-shaped members on opposite sides of said structural member and each having closed ends under said support member and open ends extending upwardly, and separate toggle clip members on the ends of said first and second members and connected to separate ends of said third and fourth members.

4. The hanger assembly of claim 3 wherein said first, second and third and fourth U-shaped members are formed of wire.

5. The hanger assembly of claim 3 wherein said clip members are comprised of a metal strip having a longitudinally extending U-shaped guide on one end thereof, a central aperture, and an additional aperture on other end thereof, the ends of said first, second, third and fourth U-shaped members being bent, the bent end of each of said first and second member extending through one of the apertures of a separate clip, and the bent end of each of said third and fourth members extending through the other aperture in a separate clip, whereby in clamped position the one of said first, second, third and fourth members extending through the additional apertures in each clip also engages the U-shaped guide of the corresponding clip.

7. The hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein the end of one of the first, second, third and fourth members at each clip is bent over at an angle greater than 90*.

8. The hanger assembly of claim 7 wherein the end of the other of said first, second, third and fourth members at each clip is peened to retain said clip thereon

9. The hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein the ones of said first, second, third and fourth members at each said clip extend along opposite sides of the respective clip.

10. The hanger assembly of claim 9 wherein one of said first, second, third and fourth members at each clip has an end bent over at an angle of greater than 90*, the bent over end extending through the central aperture of the respective clip and extending therebeyond a distance greater than the distance between the clip and the other of said first, second, third and fourth members at the respective clip.

11. The hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein said strip has a transversely extending cut at said one end, said U-shaped guide being formed of the portion of said strip between said cut and said one end thereof bent over along a longitudinal axis of said strip, said central aperture being generally aligned with said U-shaped guide, and said additional aperture being longitudinally aligned with said cut.