Insulated concrete panel form and method of making same

Abstract

An insulated concrete form panel system, and method of making same, is provided, the system and method comprising first and second opposed panels forming a cavity therebetween and an internal connector frame serving as a mold for receiving expandable polymer material to form the first and second panels, such that the irreleasably pre-assembled connector frame extends between, and is integral to, first and second panels. The present system provides first and second panel pairs may be mechanically connected to panel pairs positioned adjacent thereto (e.g. above, below, or side-by-side), increasing integrity of the structure.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An insulated concrete form panel, comprising:
 first and second panels having exterior and interior surfaces and positioned in opposed spaced relation forming a cavity between the interior surfaces,   an internal connector frame disposed within the cavity having a plurality of bridge members irreleasably connected to a plurality of stud members,
 each bridge member having
 a first end and a second end, each first and second end having connection means for connecting adjacent bridge members positioned end-to-end, and a plurality of side ends, each side end having opposed first coupling means for coupling the bridge members to the stud members, 
 
 and 
 each stud member having
 a first end, a second end, each first and second end having connection means for connecting adjacent stud members positioned end-to-end, and at least one second coupling means corresponding to the first coupling means for coupling the bridge members to the stud members, 
 
   wherein the stud members are integral to first and second panel members.   
     
     
         2 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the bridge members extend substantially perpendicularly to the stud members. 
     
     
         3 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second panels are formed from an expandable polymer material. 
     
     
         4 . The panel of  claim 3 , wherein the expandable polymer material is expanded polystyrene. 
     
     
         5 . The panel of  claim 3 , wherein the connector frame is pre-assembled to serve as a mold for the polymer material. 
     
     
         6 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second panels have any pre-determined width, height and length. 
     
     
         7 . The panel of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second panels are molded to have a width of approximately 3-3¼ inches. 
     
     
         8 . The panel of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second panels have a length of approximately 12 to 48 inches. 
     
     
         9 . The panel of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second panels have a height of at least 4 feet. 
     
     
         10 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the bridge member further comprises at least one stabilizing bar. 
     
     
         11 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein a first form panel can mechanically engage an adjacent second form panel positioned beside, above or below the first form panel. 
     
     
         12 . A method of manufacturing an insulated concrete form panel, the panel having first and second panels in opposed spaced relation forming a cavity therebetween for receiving concrete, the method comprising:
 a. providing assembly means for assembling a mold frame having at least one bridge member irreleasably connected to at least one stud member, the bridge and stud members positioned substantially perpendicularly to each other to form a skeletal matrix,   b. applying an expandable polymer material for forming the first and second panels to the connector frame,   c. allowing the polymer material to solidify.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the method may be manual, automatic or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         14 . An apparatus for manufacturing the insulated concrete form of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the apparatus may be automated.