Structural joint

• US 10,323,359 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2018
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hengelhoef Concrete Joints NV
• Original Assignee: Hengelhoef Concrete Joints NV
• Inventors: Meuwissen, Dirk, Klingeleers, Albert Charles, Winters, Rene Alice P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Walraed-Sullivan, Kyle J.
• Application Number:
  US16/101,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20180371703A1
• Time in Patent Office: 309 Days
• Field of Search: 52393, 52394, 52395, 5239601, 5239602, 5239603, 5239604, 5239605, 5239606, 5239607, 5239609, 523961, 52402, 404 47, 404 50, 404 51, 404 56, 404 61, 404 68
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 11/04 for cement concrete paving E01C9/001 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 11/08 Packing of metal E01C11/045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 11/14 Dowel assembly ; Design or construction of reinforcements in the area of joints coupling devices for prefabricated units E01C5/005; combined with characteristic packings E01C11/08 - E01C11/12; removable holders E01C23/045
• CPC Class Codes: E01D 19/06 Arrangement, construction or bridging of expansion joints E01D19/005 takes precedence; in movable bridges E01D15/005 - E01D15/10; sealing joints not restricted to expansion joints for bridges E04B1/68
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 403/21 Utilizing thermal characteristic, e.g. , expansion or contraction, etc.

Abstract

The present invention relates to a expansion joint to bridge an expansion gap between two parts of concrete slabs used in floor construction, especially in the manufacture of concrete floors such as for example in industrial floors. Such expansion joints are evidently required to take up the inevitable shrinkage process of the concrete and to assure that the floor elements can expand or contract such as for example occur by temperature fluctuations and resulting in a horizontal displacement of the floor panels vis-à-vis one another.

Claims

1. An expansion joint, the expansion joint comprising an upper portion and a lower portion;

wherein each of the upper portion and the lower portion comprise a first vertically oriented corrugated plate;

wherein the upper portion further comprises a second vertically oriented corrugated plate that fits within undulations of the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion; and

the lower portion further comprises a second vertically oriented corrugated plate that fits within undulations of the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion;

wherein the expansion joint further comprises a first metal sheet positioned between and secured to the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion; and

a second metal sheet positioned between and secured to the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion; and

wherein the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion are positioned in antiphase to the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion.

2. The expansion joint according to claim 1, wherein the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion are thicker or formed of a different material than that of the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion.

3. The expansion joint according to claim 1, wherein a corrugation pattern of the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion is the same.

4. The expansion joint according to claim 1, wherein a corrugation pattern of the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion consists of a waveform.

5. The expansion joint according to claim 1, wherein the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion are in substantially the same lateral plane.

6. The expansion joint according to claim 1, wherein the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion are in substantially the same lateral plane.

7. The expansion joint according to claim 1, wherein the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion are connected to one another.

8. The expansion joint according to claim 1, wherein the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the upper portion and the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion are formed of a substantially rigid material.

9. The expansion joint according to claim 8, wherein the substantially rigid material is a metallic material.

10. The expansion joint according to claim 8, wherein the substantially rigid material is steel.

11. The expansion joint according to claim 1, further comprising a drop plate that fits in between the first vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion and the second vertically oriented corrugated plate of the lower portion.

12. The expansion joint according to claim 1, further comprising anchoring dowels.

13. The expansion joint according to claim 12, wherein the anchoring dowels comprise a continuous bridging dowel, connected at regular intervals to an upper and lower portion of side faces of the expansion joint, and wherein the continuous bridging dowel longitudinally extends over a full length of the expansion joint.