DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD
[1] The present invention relates to a sleeve system for precast elements.
BACKGROUND
[2] In precast construction, the precast elements are assembled and joined on site, instead of building walls, columns, beams, slabs, 3D modules, pillars and the like on-site. An important aspect of this type of construction is joining these precast elements on site strongly and accurately. In current state of art, the systems and methods for joining precast elements include the mechanisms in which either one of the two precast elements has a protruding rod which gets inserted into the hollow sleeve provided in the second element when the second element is placed adjacent to the first element and then the sleeve is grouted. In some cases, the bars protrude from both the precast elements, and a set of on-site bars are framed with these protruding bars and then the gap is casted by concreting the open portion between the elements by using on-site shuttering/ formwork. Alternatively, in other method, two precast elements having hollow sleeves positioned therein are placed adjacently and a rod is translated from one element to other through the hollow sleeves and then the structure is grouted.
[3] While casting the precast element along with the sleeve positioned inside the precast element, the front and rear openings of the sleeves are closed by the closure plates placed on the sleeves and in the mold to avoid the entry of the slurry into the sleeve. After casting, while removing the precast element from the mold, the closure plates attached to the mold are removed along with the mold, but the aligner plates remain in the precast elements. The plates in the precast elements may affect the connectivity of one precast element with another precast element. Further, it is also necessary to cover the openings of the sleeve after casting of the precast element to avoid contamination of the sleeve during transport or handling.
[4] Further, during connecting the two precast elements, the wet mix of grouting material is inserted in the sleeves to fill the sleeves and gaps completely by mixing and pouring/ pumping on site. The grout in the sleeve bonds with the rod and makes a strong connection between two precast elements. It is important to completely fill the hollow tubes. Further, it is also necessary that other end of the sleeve be accessible for checking the complete filling of the grout, after casting, installing and connecting of the element.
[5] For checking the completion of the grout filling, the current systems use a sensing system that includes a ball placed inside the hollow conical tube. The diameter of the ball is larger than the diameter of the opening provided to the conical tube. As the grout is filled in the sleeve, until the grout reaches the ball, the ball rests at the bottom of the conical tube, letting air flow outside the tube, avoiding any air gaps and once the grout reaches the ball, it moves the ball towards the opening and blocks the opening which indicates complete filling of the sleeve and the tube as also, is supposed to avoid the spillage of the grout outside the tube. However, it is observed that the this methos may not be always reliable as the grout may flow above the ball and the ball may remain at bottom resting place, so purpose of shuttering the opening may not suffice all the time. Also, the cap on the conical tube being a separate attachable part, may detach at the time of concreting of the precast element.
[6] Further, in case the ball didn’t rise to surface, the user may get confused whether the grout has reached the end or not. In case the grout does not reach the ends, it may not be possible to re-fill the grout because of the presence of ball and reverse flow of grout may also not possible. Alternatively, where the opening is kept open for sensing the filling of the grout, the grout is allowed to spill out from the sleeve, however, this method leads to wastage of the grout and messing up the site.
[7] Thus, there is a need for a sleeve system to solve at least one of problems discussed above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[8] Accordingly, the present invention provides a sleeve system for precast elements. The sleeve system includes a sleeve having a front collar and a rear collar fitted on front and rear portion of the sleeve. A cap is fitted at a grout outlet configured to the rear collar of the sleeve placed inside the precast element. Said cap having a transparent window for visual inspection of grout level indication the cap along with one or more holes for passing out the air inside the sleeve during grouting. The front collar of the sleeve is closed by the first cover while molding the precast element and a second cover is attached to the front collar after casting of the precast element after removal of the first cover. The front and rear collars are locked with the sleeve by a locking element that includes a clip connecting the sleeve and the collar. The front collar of the sleeve is connected to the first cover by spot welding, riveting, push fit, snap-fit, taping, screwing, or threaded arrangement. The first cover is fixed to a mold by a nut and bolt arrangement or welding a bolt to mould. The first cover comprises a profiled plate having a plug configured at inner surface thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[9] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and modules.
FIG. 1A and 1B illustrates a sleeve system for precast element in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2A illustrates a schematic diagram of filling the grout including its indication in the element wherein a sleeve or splice sleeve is placed in one precast element;
FIG. 2B illustrates a schematic diagram of filling the grout including its indication in the element wherein a sleeve or splice sleeve are placed in both precast elements;
FIG. 2C illustrates placement of sleeves in the precast elements in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a first cover and the cap applied and the sleeve;
FIG. 4 illustrates a photographic view of the system applied on the precast element after casting the element;
FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the cap in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6A illustrates a photographic view of the cap applied on the precast element before filling the grout in the element;
FIG. 6B illustrates a photographic view of the cap applied on the precast element after filling the grout in the element;
FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of a second cover for the sleeve; and
FIG. 8 illustrates a photographic view of the cap, and the second cover applied on finished casted element.
It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[10] In the following description, for purpose of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without these details.
[11] One skilled in the art will recognize that various implementations of the present disclosure, some of which are described below, may be incorporated into a number of systems.
[12] However, the systems and methods are not limited to the specific implementations described herein. Further, structures and devices shown in the figures are illustrative of exemplary implementations of the present disclosure and are meant to avoid obscuring the present disclosure.
[13] Furthermore, connections between components and/or modules within the figures are not intended to be limited to direct connections. Rather, these components and modules may be modified, re-formatted or otherwise changed by intermediary components and modules.
[14] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mean that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment” or “in an implementation” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or implementation.
[15] Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a sleeve system (300) for precast elements in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The sleeve system includes a cap (100) and a removable first cover (200) attached to the sleeve (52,54).
[16] Referring to FIG. 2A, the precast elements (70) to be joined with each other include at least a first and second precast element (72, 74). Each precast element (70) has at least one sleeve (50) placed therein. In this embodiment, one precast element (72) has a female sleeve (52) placed therein. The second precast element (74) includes at least one rod (55) protruding outside and the first precast element (72) includes the female sleeve (52) placed at a predefined location in the first precast element (72). When two precast elements (72,74) are to be joined, the protruding rod (55) of the second precast element (74) is inserted into the female sleeve of the first precast element (74) and the sleeve (52) is filled with the grout that bonds with the rod (55) and make a solid connection between two precast elements (72). At least the female sleeve (52) contains the cap (100) to indicate the grouting completion.
[17] Referring to FIG. 2B, the precast elements (70) to be joined with each other include at least the first and second precast element (72, 74). The female sleeve (52) is placed in the first precast element (72) and the male sleeve (54) is placed in the second precast element (74) at a predefined location. When two precast elements (70) are to be joined, the protruding rod (55) placed in the male sleeve (54) of the second precast element (74) is inserted into the female sleeve of the first precast element (72) and both the sleeve (52, 54) are filled with the grout that bonds with the rod (55) and make a solid connection between two precast elements (70). The female sleeve (52) contains the cap (100) to indicate the grouting completion.
[18] Referring to FIG. 1B, the sleeve system (300) for precast elements includes at least one hollow sleeve (50). Each sleeve (50) having a front collar (65) fitted on a front portion and a rear collar (60) fitted on an rear portion thereof. The sleeve (50) is cast inside the precast element (70). The front collar (65) and the rear collar (60) are fitted to the sleeve (52) by a locking element before casting. The locking element includes a clip (75) having one end engaged with the collar (65, 60) and other end of the clip welded to the sleeve (52). In accordance with an embodiment, one end of the metal clip (75) is U shaped portion that engages with a slot (51) configured in the collars (65, 60) and other end is spot welded to the body of the sleeve (50).
[19] In accordance with an embodiment, the front collar (65) and the rear collar (60) are made of different grades of plastic such as HDPE plastic or steel which is preferred material for sleeves (52), especially Galvanised Iron sheets. The collars (65, 60) need to be connected with the sleeves (50) in a strong, watertight manner despite their different material types and shapes. Thus, the locking feature is created in the front collar (65) and the rear collar (60) which houses the U-shaped portion of the metal clip (75). The U-shaped portion of the metal clip (75) is press-fitted onto it, preferably the slot (51) configured on the collars (52) and the other end of the clip is spot welded on the sleeve (52) after compressing the two towards each other. Rubber sheets (not shown) are placed between the front collar (65) and the rear collar (60) and the sleeves (50), which gets pressed during said compression action before the spot-welding procedure, thereby ensuring a watertight joint between the two different materials.
[20] Referring to FIGS. 2C, 3 and 4, the sleeve (50) having a removable first cover (200) is shown. The sleeve (50) may act as male sleeve (52) having a rod or a female sleeve (52). In accordance with an embodiment, the first cover (200) is provided for closing the front collar (65) of the sleeve (50) at molding stage of the precast element (72). The sleeve (50) is fixed to the mould by connecting the front collar (65) to a first cover (200) at molding/casting stage of the precast element (70). The first cover (200) is attached to the front collar (65) by push fit, snap-fit, or threaded arrangement. The first cover (200) is fixed to a mould by a nut and bolt arrangement or welding a bolt to mould. The front collar (65) of the sleeve (50) is fixed in the first cover (200) by spot welding, riveting, push fit, snap-fit, taping, screwing or threaded arrangement..
[21] In accordance with an embodiment, the first cover (200) comprises a profiled plate (110) having a plug (120) configured at inner surface thereof. The plug (120) snap fits in the opening of the front collar (65) of the sleeve (50). The first cover (200) protects the inner portion of the sleeve (50) from entry of the concrete slurry mixture during casting of the element. In accordance with an embodiment, the first cover (200) comprises a profiled plate (110) having a plug (120) configured at inner surface thereof. The plug (120) snap fits, push fits, or attached by threaded arrangement in the opening of the front collar (65). The first cover (200) is removably placed on the opening of the front collar (65) of the sleeve during casting of the precast element. After removing the first cover (200), the mark, in the form of a shear key (22) of inner profile of the first cover (200) is formed in the precast element (72).
[22] In accordance with an embodiment, the completion of grouting after translation of the rod (55) from one precast element (72) into another precast element (74) is indicated via the cap (100) fitted at an upper outlet (105) of the sleeve/ splice sleeve (50). In another embodiment, at least one precast element (72) has at least one rod (55) capable of being moved into a sleeve (52) placed inside it during casting, from a sleeve (50) of another precast element, after the other element is installed on to it and then grout is filled from the inlet in sleeve (50) which is supposed to fill the entire sleeve (50). The completion of grouting is indicated via a cap (100) fitted at the grout outlet (105) of the sleeve/ splice sleeve (52). The cap (100) is fitted at the upper outlet (105) configured to the rear collar (60) of the sleeve (50) placed inside the precast element (70) for grout level indication, the cap (100) includes a detachable recess forming member (11) and a transparent window (10).
[23] Referring to FIGS. 5-6B, the cap (100) having the detachable recess forming member (11), the transparent window (10), an elbow (13) and an optional telescopic pipe (14) is shown. The cap (100) is attached to the upper outlet (105) of the rear collar (60) of a sleeve (50) placed inside the precast element (72). The transparent window (10) includes one or more holes (12) for passing of the air from the cap (100). The Elbow (13) may be used for extending the configuration of the upper outlet (105) in case of using the sleeves (50) to accommodate in in the precast elements (70) having different wall thicknesses or orientations (vertical or horizontal) of the sleeve
[24] In accordance with an embodiment, prior to grouting, the detachable recess forming part (11) temporarily placed on the window (10) is removed so that the transparent window (10) is visible to the naked eye. The transparent window (10) is placed within the external face of the element, so that it can be flushed to the element after grouting. When the grout is filled in the sleeves (50), it is necessary that whole inner portion of the sleeve (50) is filled with the grout to make the connection stronger. When the sleeves (50) are completely filled with the grout, grout comes in the contact of the cap (100). The user can see the grout from the transparent window (10) of the cap (100) with naked eye to confirm that the sleeve (50) is totally filled with the grout. A hole (12) is provided in the transparent window (10) facilitates passing of the air during the grout filling process.
[25] According to an embodiment of the invention, the holes (12) on the cap (100) may be provided on the circumference of the transparent window (10) or perpendicular to the transparent window (10). The cap (100) facilitates checking the grout level physically without a risk of leaking or spilling of the grout at the same time, letting air flow outside the sleeve while the grout rises.
[26] Referring to FIG. 7, the second cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The second cover (250) is used for closing the opening of sleeve (50) placed inside the precast element (70) after casting of the element (70). The second cover (250) protects the rod (55) kept inside the sleeve (50) during transport and handling of the precast element (70). It is understood here that shape and size of the second cover (250) matches with the shape and size of the opening portion of the in front collar (65) of the sleeves (50).
[27] According to an embodiment of the invention, referring to FIG. 8, the cap (100), the second cover (250) may be fitted to the opening of the precast elements (70) by push fit, snap-fit, taping, screwing, or threaded arrangement. The first cover (200) is fixed to the mould face on one end by threaded nut and bolt and the other end to the front collar (65) of sleeve (50) by push fit arrangement rear collar. The sleeve (50) is closed by the first cover (200) while molding the precast element and the second cover (250) attached to the front collar (65) after casting of the precast element (70) after removal of the first cover (200).
[28] The cap (100), the first cover (200) is used at the time of moulding/ casting of the precast element and the second cover (250) is fitted to the sleeve (50) after casting of the element (72). The cap (100), the first cover (200) and the second cover (250) are fitted to sleeves (50) in vertical orientation or horizontal orientation of the sleeve. According to the present invention, the cap (100), the first cover (200) and the second cover (250) are made of different grades of plastic such as HDPE plastic. The grout outlet (105), when fitted with cap (100) and inlet, when used in vertical orientation of sleeves (50), are perpendicular to wall face. The cap (100) may be designed in a telescopic manner to be suitable for any width of wall. This eliminates the need for fixing separate PVC pipe for attachment of the cap (100).

[29] The foregoing description of the invention has been set merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to person skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the disclosure.

,CLAIMS:We Claim:
1. A sleeve system (300) for precast elements, comprising:
a sleeve (50) having a front collar (65) and a rear collar (60) fitted on front and rear portion of the sleeve (50),
a cap (100) fitted at a grout outlet (105) configured to the rear collar (60) of the sleeve (50) placed inside the precast element (70), said cap (100) having a transparent window (10) for visual inspection of grout level indication the cap (100) along with one or more holes (12) for passing-out air inside the sleeve (50) during grouting.

2. The sleeve system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front collar of the sleeve (50) is closed by a first cover (200) while molding the precast element and a second cover (250) attached to the front collar (65) after casting of the precast element (70) after removal of the first cover (200).

3. The sleeve system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front and rear collars (60, 65) are locked with the sleeve (50) by a locking element that includes a clip (75) connecting the sleeve (50) and the collar (65, 60).

4. The sleeve system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the front collar (65) of the sleeve (50) is connected to the first cover (200) by spot welding, riveting, push fit, snap-fit, taping, screwing or threaded arrangement.

5. The sleeve system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first cover (200) is fixed to a mold by a nut and bolt arrangement or welding a bolt to mould.

6. The sleeve system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first cover (200) comprises a profiled plate (110) having a plug (120) configured at inner surface thereof.