Synthetic plastic spacer for concrete reinforcements

Claim 1

A SPACER FOR SPACING REINFORCEMENTS IN A REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURE, COMPRISING A FRAMEWORK MOULDED FROM A SYNTHETIC PLASTIC MATERIAL, INCLUDING A PERIPHERAL FRAME, AT LEAST ONE OUTWARDLY DIRECTED PROJECTION INTERGRAL WITH SAID PERIPHERAL FRAME, IN WARDLY DIRECTED FRAME PORTIONS INTEGRAL WITH SAID PERIPHERAL FRAME, A GENERALLY U-SHAPED INNER FRAME INTEGRAL WITHT HE INNER ENDS OF AT LEAST SOME OF SAID FRAME PORTIONS, AND DEFINING WITH THE LATTER AND SAID PERIPHERAL FRAME, A PLURALITY OF APERTURES FOR THE PASSAGES OF LIQUID CONCRETE, SAID INNER FRAME DEFINING AT LEAST PART OF A REINFORCEMENT-RECEIVING OPENING EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE PERIPHERAL FRAME, AND A PAIR OF CLOSURE ELEMENTS FOR RETAINING A REINFORCEMENT WITHIN SAID OPENING, SAID CLOSURE ELEMENTS COMPRISING FLAPS MOULDED ONE TO EACH SIDE OF THE MOUTH OF THE REINFORCEMENT-RECEIVING OPENING, EACH FLAP BEING, IN WIDTH, APPROXIMATELY ONE HALF OF THE LENGTH OF THE OPENING, AND THE TWO FLAPS BEING MUTUALLY STAGGERED IN THE DIRECTION OF ONE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE OPENING, AND EXTENDING DIAGONALLY INTO AND PART WAY ACROSS THE OPENING, WITH THEIR FREE INNER ENDS AT LEAST ALIGNED WITH ONE ANOTHER, WHEREBY SAID FLAPS ARE DEFORMABLE TO AN OPEN POSITION BY ENGAGEMENT WITH A REINFORCEMENT UPON INSERTION INTO THE OPENING, BUT ARE NOT DEFORMABLE TOWARDS AN OPEN POSITION BY ENGAGEMENT WITH A REINFORMCEMENT ONCE IT HAS BEEN INSERTED INTO, AND IS LOCATED WITHIN SAID OPENING, SAID INWARDLY DIRECTED FRAME PORTIONS BEING OF DIFFERENT THICKNESS BOTH TO SAID PERIPHERAL FRAME AND SAID INNER FRAME, AND SAID AT LEAST ONE OUTWARDLY DIRECTED PROJECTION BEING DIFFERENT THICKNESS TO SAID PERIPHERAL FRAME, THEREBY TO FORM A PLURALITY OF STEPS ACROSS OPPOSITE SIDE SURFACES OF THE SPACER BETWEEN SAID AT LEAST ONE OUTWARDLY DIRECTED PROJECTION AND THE REINFORCEMENTRECEIVING OPENING.