REINFORCING BAR SYSTEM AND METHOD

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM

This patent application claims priority to and the benefit of Australian Patent Application No. 2024903292, filed Oct. 11, 2024, and Australian Patent Application No. 2025248666, filed Oct. 8, 2025, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a reinforcing bar system and to a method of installing reinforcing bar for use in concrete construction.

BACKGROUND

It is known to use reinforcing bar in concrete construction.

The applicant has determined that the length of mating components and, in particular, couplers—for coupling together lengths of reinforcing bar—is a critical competitive parameter for some applications. One such application is when the coupler is used in combination with a cogged bar in elements, for example a wall, where thickness is dictated by required (as per relevant standards) reinforcement bar engagement lengths. With existing systems, it is often the case that the thickness of a concrete element must be increased to accommodate the coupler.

Example embodiments s of the present disclosure seek to alleviate one or more disadvantages of previous reinforcing bar systems, or to at least provide a useful alternative.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a reinforcing bar system, including at least one reinforcing bar, a carrier supporting the reinforcing bar, and a coupler for attachment to the reinforcing bar, wherein the carrier is arranged to form a void in a concrete element to be cast, such that said void surrounds the reinforcing bar to enable a coupler to be threaded onto the reinforcing bar and into the void.

Preferably, the reinforcing bar is a cogged reinforcing bar.

Preferably, the system includes a plurality of reinforcing bars at spaced locations along the carrier, each reinforcing bar being fitted to the carrier to extend into a void former of the carrier.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of installing reinforcing bar including the steps of providing a carrier having a void former; fitting the reinforcing bar to the carrier; casting a concrete element using the carrier to form a void in the concrete element with the reinforcing bar protruding into the void; and threading a coupler onto the reinforcing bar and into the void.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a side perspective view of an existing reinforcing bar system.

FIG. 2 shows an opposite side perspective view of the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a diagrammatic view of the system of FIG. 1 shown embedded in a concrete element.

FIG. 4 shows a side perspective view of a reinforcing bar system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows an opposite side perspective view of the system shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows a diagrammatic view of the system of FIG. 4 shown embedded in a concrete element.

FIGS. 7 and 8 provide a visual comparison highlighting the differences in the system of the present disclosure (FIG. 7) and the existing system (FIG. 8) when embedded in a concrete element.

FIG. 9 shows a visual comparison indicating the reduction in concrete element thickness facilitated by the present disclosure.

FIGS. 10a and 10b show progressive steps in installing an existing reinforcing bar system.

FIGS. 11a and 11b show progressive steps in installing a reinforcing bar system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the systems, devices, and methods described herein may be embodied in various forms, the drawings show, and the specification describes certain exemplary and non-limiting embodiments. Not all of the components shown in the drawings and described in the specification may be required, and certain implementations may include additional, different, or fewer components. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components; the shapes, sizes, and materials of the components; and the manners of connections of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims. Unless otherwise indicated, any directions referred to in the specification reflect the orientations of the components shown in the corresponding drawings and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Further, terms that refer to mounting methods, such as mounted, connected, etc., are not intended to be limited to direct mounting methods but should be interpreted broadly to include indirect and operably mounted, connected, and like mounting methods. This specification is intended to be taken as a whole and interpreted in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure and as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown an existing reinforcing bar system 2, including at least one reinforcing bar 4, a carrier 6 supporting the reinforcing bar 4, and a coupler 8 for attachment to the reinforcing bar 4. As can be seen, the coupler 8 is fitted to the reinforcing bar 4 prior to pouring of the concrete element.

In contrast, FIGS. 4 to 7 show a reinforcing bar system 10 in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The reinforcing bar system 10 includes at least one reinforcing bar 12, a carrier 14 supporting the reinforcing bar 12, and a coupler 16 for attachment to the reinforcing bar 12. The carrier 14 is arranged to form a void 18 in a concrete element 20 to be cast, such that said void 18 surrounds the reinforcing bar 12 to enable the coupler 16 to be threaded onto the reinforcing bar 12 and into the void 18.

Preferably, the reinforcing bar 12 may be in the form of a cogged reinforcing bar.

As shown in the drawings, the system 10 may include a plurality of reinforcing bars 12 at spaced locations along the carrier 14, each reinforcing bar 12 being fitted to the carrier 14 to extend into a void former 22 of the carrier 14.

As will be understood from the above, there is also disclosed a method of installing reinforcing bar 12 including the steps of providing a carrier 14 having a void former 22; fitting the reinforcing bar 12 to the carrier 14; casting a concrete element 20 using the carrier 14 to form a void 18 in the concrete element 20 with the reinforcing bar 12 protruding into the void 18, and threading a coupler 16 onto the reinforcing bar 12 and into the void 18. The threading of the coupler 16 onto the bar 12 is a separate step performed at a later point (that is, after the element 20 has been cured and transported to site).

A coupled reinforcing bar may be coupled to the embedded reinforcing bar 12 by way of the coupler 16, as shown in FIG. 11b.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure may reduce the negative impact of the coupler length significantly by changing the order of installation of the coupler and bar.

The applicant has determined that it may be advantageous to consider the order of installation of components when installing a cogged bar in a concrete element, such as a concrete wall element. In particular, the applicant has considered whether the cogged bar could be installed in a concrete element without a coupler being present. Advantageously, the applicant has determined that the coupler can subsequently be installed along with a starter-bar (or other mating bar) on site. In this way the length of the coupler no longer impacts the required thickness of the element.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 in particular, for the current solution shown in FIG. 8 the cogged bar 4, as depicted, sits outside the concrete for the current solution. It is to be noted that this image so provided for the purpose of comparison with the present disclosure and the thickness of the depicted section is driven by what is possible with the present disclosure.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, and variations such as “comprises” and “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

LIST OF NUMBERED FEATURES

• • Reinforcing bar system 2
  • Reinforcing bar 4
  • Carrier 6
  • Coupler 8
  • Reinforcing bar system 10
  • Reinforcing bar 12
  • Carrier 14
  • Coupler 16
  • Void 18
  • Concrete element 20
  • Void former 22