Spring clip and molding form utilizing same
First Claim
1. A spring clip for holding a form board in position relative to a support stake comprising:
- a pair of spaced flat arms, each arm having a free end and an opposite end and defining an aperture in the plane of said arm proximate said free end, the apertures of the arms in registration and of a size to allow the support stake to pass through the pair of arms;
a hook latch at the free end of each arm for holding the form board;
a web joined to the opposite ends of the pair of arms to join them together; and
a flat spring having at least one bend in its length the flat spring having one end pivotally mounted to the arms proximate the web and extending to an opposite free end so that said flat spring passes between the spaced arms and has a segment defining a load bearing surface in the plane of said flat spring passes between the spaced arms and has a segment defining a load bearing surface in the plane of said flat spring proximate the free end, that extends transverse to said arms, said flat spring having an unstressed span from its pivot end to the load bearing surface so that when said flat spring is positioned between the arms with the form board adjacent the hook latches and the support stake passing through the apertures it can be stressed to have said load bearing surface bearing against the support stake with sufficient spring force in a direction transverse to said support stake to hold said form board firmly against the adjacent hook latches and in place relative to said support stake.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for constructing a molding form for a concrete deck structure is disclosed. U-shaped spring clips secure flexible form boards to vertically anchored support stakes, with a flat side of each form board positioned along a desired border of the concrete. Each spring clip has a pair of arms spaced apart, each of which has a slot for receiving an anchored stake. The slots in the two arms are in registration to receive the anchored stake simultaneously, and appendages extend from the free end of each arm to hook onto a concrete form board and secure it to the anchored stake. Each spring clip includes a generally S-shaped flat spring defining a resilient wedge structure near its free end which transmits a spring force that holds the gripped form board firmly against the anchored stake.
87 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A spring clip for holding a form board in position relative to a support stake comprising:
-
a pair of spaced flat arms, each arm having a free end and an opposite end and defining an aperture in the plane of said arm proximate said free end, the apertures of the arms in registration and of a size to allow the support stake to pass through the pair of arms; a hook latch at the free end of each arm for holding the form board; a web joined to the opposite ends of the pair of arms to join them together; and a flat spring having at least one bend in its length the flat spring having one end pivotally mounted to the arms proximate the web and extending to an opposite free end so that said flat spring passes between the spaced arms and has a segment defining a load bearing surface in the plane of said flat spring passes between the spaced arms and has a segment defining a load bearing surface in the plane of said flat spring proximate the free end, that extends transverse to said arms, said flat spring having an unstressed span from its pivot end to the load bearing surface so that when said flat spring is positioned between the arms with the form board adjacent the hook latches and the support stake passing through the apertures it can be stressed to have said load bearing surface bearing against the support stake with sufficient spring force in a direction transverse to said support stake to hold said form board firmly against the adjacent hook latches and in place relative to said support stake. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A spring clip for holding a form board in position relative to a support stake comprising:
-
a generally U-shaped member having a pair of spaced flat arms joined at one of their adjacent ends by a web and having opposite adjacent free ends, each arm having offset segments at opposite ends joined together by a curved central segment so that offset segments of the arms joined by the web are closer together than the offset segments at the free ends, the offset segment at the free end of each of said arms defining an aperture in the plane of the offset segment with the apertures of the arms in registration and of a size to allow the support stake to pass through the arms, the U-shaped member constructed of a spring material permitting the arms to be displaced towards and away from each other; a hook latch appendage integrally joined to the free end of each arm for holding the form board; and a flat spring having at least one bend in its length, the flat spring having one end pivotally mounted to the offset segments of the arms joined by the web and extending to an opposite free end so that the plane of said flat spring is transverse to said arms, the flat spring having a segment defining at least one load bearing surface in the plane of said flat spring proximate the free end, and the flat spring having an unstressed span from its pivot end to the load bearing surface such that when said flat spring is positioned between the arms with the form board adjacent the appendaged hook latches and the support stake passing through the apertures it can be stressed to have said load bearing surface bear against the support stake with sufficient spring force in a direction transverse to said support stake to hold said form board firmly against the adjacent hook latches and in place relative to said support stake. - View Dependent Claims (17)
-
-
18. A form for establishing a reference surface transverse to a plane along a predetermined line comprising:
-
a form board having longitudinally extending sides and edges with said sides defining opposite first and second longitudinally extending surfaces, the first surface being flat to form said reference surface, the form board positioned along said predetermined line with one of its longitudinal edges adjacent to said plane so that the reference surface is transverse to the plane; a plurality of support stakes fixed in place to extend from said plane along a stake line parallel to and spaced from the predetermined line, the form board and support stakes relatively positioned with the reference surface defined by said form board facing away from said support stakes; and a generally U-shaped spring clip supported by each support stake, each U-shaped clip having a pair of spaced arms and a flat spring, the pair of arms joined at one of their adjacent ends by a web and having opposite adjacent free ends, each free end having an appendage forming a hook latch, each arm of the clip defining an aperture in the plane of the arm with the apertures of the pair of arms in registration, the flat spring having at least one bend in its length and pivotally mounted to the arms proximate the web so that the plane of said flat spring is transverse to the planes of said arms, each U-shaped clip positioned with a support stake passing through the registered apertures and the appendaged hook latches gripping the form board at opposite sides of a longitudinal center line of said form board, the flat spring positioned between the spaced arms and stressed to bear against the support stake in a direction transverse thereto to hold said form board firmly against the appendaged hook latches and in place relative to said support stake. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification