Concrete pouring forms havingupwardly-convergent portions must be securely anchored to the ground or a footing, otherwise, the hydrostatic forces developed when the wet concrete presses up against those overhangs will lift the forms off their foundations allowing the concrete toescape therebeneath. Fastening these pouring forms to the ground securely enough to resist the substantial lifting forces exerted thereagainst is extremely difficult to do, especially in sandy soil and the like. Even in firm clay soil, a rain canloosen the anchor stakes sufficiently to permit the forms to lift up under the loads exerted thereagainst by wet concrete.

Certainly one of the main problems, however, is the tremendous amount of time involved in attempting to anchor these forms tightly down onto the ground. Stakes must be driven deeply into the ground at an angle every few feet through suitableapertures provided for this purpose along the base of the form panels and then removed again before the forms can be stripped. While the forms still may have to be anchored against lateral movement, this is a simple matter and relatively fast comparedwith fastening them down.

It has now been found in accordance with the teaching of the instant invention that these and other problems associated with the erection of wall structures having upwardly facing ledges or inclined portions can, in large measure, be eliminatedby the simple, but unobvious, expedient of suspending an anchor member inside the forms above the ground in position to receive atop thereof a good deal of the concrete initially poured therein which will act as a ballast to prevent the remaining mass ofconcrete from lifting said forms off their foundation. It is sufficient that the combined weights of the forms themselves, the anchor member and the concrete supported atop the latter exert a downwardly-directed force at least equal to the counteractingvertical forces the wet concrete will exert when it presses upwardly against the overhanging portions of the form panels. These weights may, of course, be distributed among the three elements in a variety of different ways including relying on theweight of the forms themselves or the forms plus the anchor member to do the job; however, obviously, from the standpoint of practicality, maximum advantage should be taken of the weight of the concrete which must be there anyway consistent with theother requirements necessary to produce a good poured concrete wall structure. The placement, size, shape and manner of suspending the anchor member can, likewise, vary considerably and still produce the desired end result; but here, once again,practical considerations suggest certain ways of doing the job that are preferable to others from both the standpoints of time and expense as will be pointed out presently.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved method and apparatus for anchoring free-standing upwardly-convergent pouring forms to the ground or other foundation while wet concrete is pouredtherein.

A second object is to provide a method for the purpose aforementioned that results in tremendous savings in both labor and materials.

Another objective of the invention herein disclosed and claimed is to provide an extremely simple and inexpensive anchor member that may even be made from waste material.

Still another object is to provide a method for suspending the anchor member from the form panels that utilizes the tie members used to hold the latter in fixed spaced relation as the supports therefor.

An additional object is the provision of a form-anchoring apparatus that remains with the poured concrete wall structure and, therefore, requires no stripping while adding reinforcement thereto.

Further objects are to provide a concrete pouring form anchor that is easy to use, versatile, requires no special skill, is readily available in many sizes and shapes, and one that can be quickly adapted to various pouring forms withoutinterfering with the normal use thereof.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out specifically hereinafter in connection with the description of the drawings that follows, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation showing a type of upwardly-convergent pouring form used in the fabrication of poured concrete barricades;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing an anchor member laid atop a pair of the tie members in the lower row thereof; and,

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

Referring next to the drawings for a detailed description of the present invention, reference numeral 10 has been selected to designate broadly the pouring form which will beseen to include in the particular form shown a pair of panels 12 and 14 that happen to be identical and which are maintained in fixed-spaced free-standing relation by upper and lower rows of transverse tie members 16 and 18, the opposite ends of whichare releasably connected to their respective panels by latches 20. As illustrated, the panels 12 and 14 are not fastened to the ground although the entire form is braced against sidewise movement by an angularly-disposed brace 22 staked into the groundat the lower end thereof by stake 24 while its upper extremity is adjustably fastened to one of the panels near the top thereof by a turnbuckle 26.

All of the above is, of course, old in the art of concrete pouring forms. In addition, however, the prior art teaches anchoring upwardly-convergent pouring forms to the ground with stakes or the like to keep them from lifting when the concretepoured therein rises up and presses against the overhanging portions 30 of the panels or any other inwardly inclined surface thereof such as face 32. As used herein, the term "upwardly-convergent" is intended to refer to a pouring form wherein at leastone, and perhaps both, of the panels include an overhanging surface (30 and 32) against which the wet concrete will press as it fills the space therebetween and exert an upward force tending to lift it off the ground, a footing or other foundation.

In accordance with the teaching of the instant invention, the form is anchored by piling wet concrete atop an anchor member 34 suspended from said form in spaced relation above the ground. This anchor member is located beneath the opening 36through which the concrete is poured so as to catch a portion thereof before it can reach the ground. In addition, by catching some of the wet concrete, the anchor member creates a void 38 therebeneath into which it can sag without touching the groundor other support. Since the resulting poured concrete wall structure (not shown) defined by the form must rest on the ground, footing or like supporting foundation, a space 40 must be provided along both sides of the anchor member where the concrete canspill over the edges thereof and reach the ground. The slump characteristics of wet concrete are such that it will rarely ever completely fill the void 38 beneath the anchor member and it should never do so if said anchor member is of substantial widthand the concrete is not vibrated or otherwise agitated to force it into this void. Obviously, the concrete is going to assume an angle of repose where a portion thereof will move into position beneath the side edges of the plate but this is of nosignificance so long as the weight of the anchor member and concrete resting thereon is borne by the form 10 rather than being transmitted to the foundation or other support for the latter.

As far as anchoring alone is concerned, the anchor member could probably be hung in the top of the form and function just about as well; however, it would certainly interfere with the pouring operation and make it a good deal more difficult tofill the space between the form panels. Accordingly, it is much more practical to locate the anchor member near the bottom of the form as shown.

Similarly, the manner of suspending the anchor member between the form panels is not especially critical, yet, to employ special hangers for this purpose would be wasteful of material when the tie members 18 are already there being used tomaintain the form panels in fixed spaced relation and they can easily be used to serve the secondary function as supports for the anchor member 34. In so doing, however, it may be necessary to relocate the row of tie members (18) that are to function assupports for the anchor member higher up on the form panels so as to leave ample space therebeneath to accommodate any sag in the assembly due to the weight of the concrete without touching the ground. In the particular form illustrated, the anchormember comprises an elongate panel of corrugated material which will withstand a considerable load without appreciable bending. Sheets of corrugated material like that shown along with many other types of material suitable for use as the anchor membercan often be found as scrap or waste of some sort. Since the anchor member remains cast in the wall structure as a permanent part thereof, an inexpensive piece of material should be used whenever possible unless it is also to function as a reinforcingmember in which case the latter requirement may govern its shape and cost. While on this subject, it is well to recognize the obvious fact that the weight of the form itself could, of course, be made great enough to overbalance the hydrostatic liftingforces and thus dispense altogether with the need for the supplemental anchoring. On the other hand, the combined weights of the form and anchor member can be made great enough to counterbalance the lifting forces; however, in both of these instances,one is sacrificing the advantage of utilizing the already available concrete as ballast in favor of heavier, and presumably more expensive, hardware.

Accordingly, the present invention contemplates the use of the ordinary upwardly-convergent pouring forms such as are required to retain the concrete without reference to their incidental contribution as part of the anchoring ballast. Likewise,the anchor member should be selected on the basis of the minimum required from a cost standpoint to support a mass of concrete of sufficient weight when added thereto and to the weight of the form that will exert a downward force at least equal, andpreferably much greater than the hydrostatic lifting forces to be exerted thereon.

Finally, some mention should be made of the shape, size and arrangement of the anchor members. It must, obviously, be shaped and located within the form so as to support a mass of concrete atop thereof. A plate laid flat will work fine whileone laid on edge is obviously useless. Following this analogy, one with sides sloping outwardly will catch very little while one with inwardly-sloping sides defining some sort of a trough will function satisfactorily but not as well as a flat plate ofthe same area. Hence, no advantage is realized in going to unusual shapes except, as already noted, that of increased load-bearing capacity. A plain flat plate will bend too easily under load to be of much value unless fabricated from unusually heavystock; therefore, one of the well-known load-bearing cross sections like the corrugated one illustrated is preferred.

The width, of course, depends to some extent on the space available between the form panels as a substantial gap must be left along both sides of the anchor member for the concrete to spill over onto the ground. A better way to look at theproblem is that the total supporting area of the anchor member must be great enough to support a mass of concrete, the weight of which when added to the combined weight of the form and anchor member will counterbalance the lifting forces. Thus, thedimensions can be varied and still provide the same supporting area. Obviously, the unit must be long enough to bridge the gap between adjacent tie members in the same row or such other hangers as may be used so this parameter coupled with the availablewidth between the form panels will usually define a workable area for the anchor member. As a practical matter, of course, these lifting forces are not of great magnitude and it doesn't take very much concrete which is quite dense and heavy tooverbalance them. For example, a pouring form like that illustrated will develop lifting forces that can easily be counterbalanced by an anchor member in the form of a plate several inches wide and extending the length of the pouring form section.

As far as length is concerned, the anchor members needn't be continuous and considerable space can be left between adjacent ends thereof. They should, of course, be located within the form in position such that the downwardly directed force oneach portion thereof is sufficient to counterbalance the lifting forces. In other words, it obviously isn't going to work in accordance with the teaching of the instant invention if most of the ballast is concentrated at one end and not enough at theother to hold it down. The required load distribution can be accomplished in several ways among which are distributing it evenly throughout the length of the form, concentrating it at the ends or center, or bridging the joints between adjacent formsections therewith.

* * * * *