Leave-in-Place Concrete Formwork Combining Plate Dowels, Divider Plates, and/or Finishing, Armoring and/or Sealing Molding

Abstract

A leave-in-place forming system is for concrete slabs and pavements. It comprises a number of components that can include two or more of the following but is not limited to two or more of the following: a plate dowel for load transfer between adjacent concrete panels (joint stability), a divider plate (which could be sheet metal, plastic or other rigid material), and an assembly or molding to finish the concrete to, that armors the joint and/or provides a water-tight seal to the joint. The joint assembly could incorporate an integral setting assembly or bracket, or could be used with a re-usable setting bracket. The integral assembly or bracket is most suitable when it is desirable to place concrete to both sides of the joint assembly at the same time. The re-usable setting bracket is most suitable where concrete is placed to just one side of the assembly and it is desirable to re-use the setting assembly.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A concrete flatwork joint product for the advantages of both load transfer and joint sealing in an assembly for simplified use of a contractor, comprising:
 a plate dowel;   at least one among the group comprising an armored joint assembly and a joint sealing assembly; and   at least one among the group comprising a leave-in-place formwork assembly and a reusable formwork assembly;   whereby the product is useful in isolation joints, expansion joints, construction joints and contraction joints, provides the joint stability, joint protection/armoring and/or joint sealing required in a single assembly with a leave-in-place and/or reusable form, tends to overcome the drawbacks of isolation joints that do not provide for positive load transfer between adjacent panels and other building components, expansion joints that are prone to both joint spalling, such as damage to the joint edges, from wheeled traffic or other objects crossing and impacting the joint, and the intrusion of liquids, construction joints that are prone to joint spalling under traffic, and contraction joints that are prone to dominant joint activation, leading to the loss of load transfer through aggregate interlock, and provides the opportunity for the contractor to place multiple panels at one time and negate the need for subsequent processes.   
     
     
         2 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 1 , in which a divider plate defines the upright edges of slabs at a joint where the slabs are adjacent each other. 
     
     
         3 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 2  in which the divider plate includes a vertically oriented extension, which extends from the subgrade or base to the top of the slabs. 
     
     
         4 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 3  in which the extension incorporates a setting bracket and at least one among the group of a finishing structure and an armoring structure. 
     
     
         5 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 2  in which the divider plate includes a vertically oriented extension, which extends from the subgrade or base to below the top of the slabs, for saw cutting of a top portion of the joint. 
     
     
         6 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 2  in which the divider plate includes a plate support and a top structure. 
     
     
         7 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 6  in which the plate support includes a setting bracket. 
     
     
         8 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 6  in which the top structure includes a finishing structure. 
     
     
         9 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 8  in which the finishing structure has extreme top surfaces which are substantially equal in height to each other and provide guides for concrete surface finishing tools and equipment such as screeds, so as to permit accurate leveling, for example, of the tops of the slabs. 
     
     
         10 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 9  in which the finishing structure includes joint expansion and contraction elements that are movable with their slabs as the slabs expand and/or contract, with the top surfaces moving closer together and farther apart as dictated by expansion and contraction. 
     
     
         11 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 6  in which the top structure includes rails in the form of substantially mirror-image components of greater height that width, and upper and lower elements that extend toward each other in close vertical and horizontal association. 
     
     
         12 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 11  in which the upper elements constitute an overlapping pair of elements that by turns of minimal space between them create a labyrinth of overlap and effectively close the space below themselves by their overlap. 
     
     
         13 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 11  in which the rails of the top structure have laterally extending segments that increase the thicknesses of portions of their upright elements and provide channels for seal elements such as hydrophilic gaskets of suitable rubber and the like. 
     
     
         14 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 13  in which retaining elements exist within the interiors of the rails for fitting against a portion of the divider plate in the area of the top structure 
     
     
         15 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 14  in which the rails are releasably fastened together at various locations to rest atop the portion of the divider plate during slab formation. 
     
     
         16 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 14  in which the rails are provided with fastening elements that place the rails in association with the portion of the divider plate during slab formation, the fastening elements releasing the rails from each other and releasing the rails from the portion of the divider plate upon the appropriate degree of hardening of the slabs. 
     
     
         17 . A concrete flatwork joint product as in  claim 1  in which the load plates include load transfer plates in the form of plate dowels which take on a shape from among the group including oval, rectangular, alternating triangular and double triangular. 
     
     
         18 . A method of forming a joint and pouring two adjacent slabs simultaneously, comprising, in variable order:
 preparing one among the group comprising a subgrade and a base;   extending and securing divider plates in series along intended joint locations for the distances the intended joints are to cover, the divider plates including load plate supports;   installing load plates on the load plate supports;   doing at least one among the group of installing top structures or sawcutting the intended joints; and   pouring concrete slabs.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the placing of load plates occurs last before pouring as among the installing of load plates and the installing of top structures. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising preparing the load plates to break from being locked into poured concrete. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18  in which top structures are installed. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18  comprising finishing concrete using top surfaces of the top structure.