Concrete formwork and a formwork support bracket for forming a suspended floor slab

Abstract

The present invention relates to a formwork arrangement for forming a suspended concrete floor slab comprising a change in level in an underside thereof, a support bracket for use with such a formwork arrangement, and a method for employing the support bracket and formwork arrangement.

Claims

1. A formwork support bracket for use with a temporary support structure supporting each of upper and lower formworks to form a suspended floor slab comprising a change in level in an underside thereof, the formwork support bracket comprising: a base plate; at least one column extending from the base plate, wherein a face of, or one of the at least one columns serves as a wall extending from the base plate; and a formwork support atop of the at least one column comprising an upper formwork support platform in the form of a plate and a beam cradle supported by the upper support platform, comprised of a parallel flange channel and arranged so that one of the flanges forms a continuous surface with the wall extending from the base plate, the formwork support further comprising at least one locating lug extending from the formwork support platform, for engaging with the upper formwork to locate the upper formwork adjacent to the beam cradle; wherein in use the base plate sits atop the lower formwork, the formwork support supports a portion of the upper formwork adjacent to the beam cradle, and the continuous surface formed by the wall and flange provides a formwork support surface for moulding an edge extending between the upper and lower formworks.

2. The formwork support bracket of claim 1, comprising a pair of columns extending from the base plate.

3. The formwork support bracket of claim 1, wherein the upper and lower formwork comprises formwork panels.

4. The formwork support bracket of claim 1, wherein the formwork support comprises two locating lugs extending from the formwork support platform.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the present invention will be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a front view of a support bracket;

(3) FIG. 2 is a side view of the support bracket of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a top view of the support bracket of FIGS. 1 and 2;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an assembly for use with table forms to form a change in level in an underside of a suspended floor slab, the assembly comprising the support bracket illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3;

(6) FIG. 5 is a detail front view of the step in the formwork;

(7) FIG. 6 is a detail end view of the step in the formwork illustrated in FIG. 5; and

(8) FIG. 7 is a plan view of a formwork panel supported by four support brackets.

(9) In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the figures.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(10) Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 3, where there is shown a formwork support bracket 1, comprising a base 2, a wall 4 extending from the base 2, and a formwork support 6 atop of the wall 4.

(11) The exemplary formwork support bracket 1 set forth in the following description is formed by metal fabrication, although it need not necessarily be manufactured in this way, or from this material. It could, for instance, be manufactured by another means, such as casting, and from another material, such as another alloy or a composite.

(12) In this exemplary embodiment, the base 2 is a mild steel plate of rectangular shape, from which there extends a pair of columns 8 of rectangular hollow section (RHS) steel standing on end and welded to the base. One of the faces of one of these columns 8 serves as the wall 4.

(13) The formwork support 6 sits atop of the columns 8 and comprises a formwork support platform 10 comprising a further mild steel plate 12 of rectangular shape and a pair of locating lugs 14, the purpose of which will be discussed in detail below.

(14) The formwork support 6 further comprises a beam cradle 16 comprised of mild steel parallel flange channel (PFC) which is arranged so that one of the flanges forms a continuous surface with the wall 4 extending from the base 2.

(15) In this exemplary embodiment, the beam cradle 16 is supported atop a pair of laid over mild steel square hollow section (SHS) tubes, which may or may not be required depending on the type of formwork to be supported by the bracket 1.

(16) In use, the formwork support bracket 1 is used with temporary support structures (sometimes referred to as falsework) to support formwork for forming a suspended floor slab comprising a change in level in an underside thereof.

(17) Referring now to FIG. 4, the formwork for forming a suspended floor slab comprising a change in level in an underside thereof will comprise upper and lower formworks U and L, which are vertically spaced apart, with the lower formwork L forming a mould for a lower level in an underside of the suspended floor slab, and the upper formwork U forming a mould for an upper level in the underside of a suspended floor slab.

(18) For the purpose of explanation, the formwork will largely, but not exclusively, comprise formwork panels of the type commonly referred to by the proprietary name Airodek, and the temporary support structures will largely, but not exclusively, comprise scaffold structures of the type disclosed in PCT/AU2013/000855.

(19) In use, the lower formwork L will comprise a plurality of formwork panels 20 supported so as to provide a continuous moulding surface, by a plurality of the scaffold structures 30.

(20) Similarly, the upper formwork U will comprise a plurality of formwork panels 20 supported so as to provide a continuous moulding surface, by a plurality of the scaffold structures 30 at a level vertically spaced apart from the lower formwork panels 20.

(21) The upper and lower formworks U and L will each terminate at an edge, where the upper formwork edge A and lower formwork edge B are adjacent, less than one formwork panel's 20 length (or width) apart, and in all likelihood substantially parallel. With the majority formwork and falsework arranged in this way, a plurality of the formwork support brackets 1 can be set atop of the lower formworks L, so that a plurality of formwork panels 20 can be positioned so as to bridge the edge A of the upper formworks U and the formwork support brackets 1.

(22) That is to say, each bridging formwork panel 20 will be supported at each of its corners. Each of one pair of corners will be supported on a prong of a fork 32 provided by one or more of the support structures 30. Each of the other pair of corners will be supported on a locating lug 14 of a different formwork support bracket 1.

(23) With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, it can be seen that in order to build up some formwork at the corner to the level of the formwork panel 20, a timber beam 40 is laid in the beam cradle 16, and a sheet of plywood 50 is laid atop of this so as to create a formwork surface which is a continuation of the upper formwork surface extending to form a corner with the flange of the beam cradle 16 which itself forms a continuous surface with the wall 4 extending from the base 2.

(24) Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words comprise and include and variations such as comprising and including will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

(25) The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

(26) It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present invention restricted in its preferred embodiment with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted herein. It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims.