- Number
- 12442189
- Published
- 2025-10-14
- Filed
- 2024-04-18
- Assignee
- DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
- Inventors
- Hormay; Zsolt, Jackson; Philip J., Tosounian; Tammy, Jewell; Robert W., Orovets; Angela M., Pontrelli; Robert, Heshmati; Maeis
- CPC
- E04C5/163; E04C5/16; E04C5/167; E04C5/168; E04C5/18; E04G21/122
- Verdict
- Low Hardware
- Source
- Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline
The keeper's note
Themed rockwork structural-support hardware for park set-building (granted).
Abstract
Rebar-based support assemblies that can be fabricated without the need for on-site welding. The assemblies include a number of differing sized and shaped crimps used in place of welds to provide rebar assembly-to-rebar assembly connections. In some examples, a crimp for mechanically joining rebar for use in a support system for a physical structure includes a body with at least two recessed surfaces each configured for receiving a respective first and second piece of rebar; and a pair of spaced-apart arms at least partially enclosing an interior space of the body including the at least two recessed surfaces, a first tip and a second tip of the respective spaced-apart arms each defining a respective first and second opening to the interior space, in a first configuration.
Background
BACKGROUND Field of the Description (1) The present description relates, in general, to fabrication of physical structures formed with underlying or integral structural support systems or networks of rebar over which foam, concrete, plaster, shotcrete, or other material may be applied or installed. These architectural or physical structures may include outdoor and indoor scenery structures (or “rockwork”) that may be used in rides and attractions for use in amusement parks and theme parks or that may be used at malls, city parks, and other settings. More particularly, the present description relates to a structural support system or network for such physical structures that is designed to replace welded joints with mechanical fastening to join adjacent chip assemblies (i.e., sections or mesh panels formed of bent and joined lengths or pieces of rebar (or pieces of rods or bars typically formed of a metal such as a steel)). Relevant Background (2) Rebar (or reinforcing bar), which is typically formed of steel, is used widely as a tension device in architectural or physical structures to reinforce the main structural material such as to provide reinforced masonry, concrete, and other material structures. The rebar is used to strengthen the material in which it is embedded then this material is under tension. For example, concrete and many other structural materials are strong under compression but relatively weak under tension, and the rebar significantly increases the tensile
Claims
1. A crimp for mechanically joining rebar for use in a support system for a physical structure, comprising: a body with at least two recessed surfaces each configured for receiving one of a first piece of rebar or a second piece of rebar, the body reconfigurable via plastic deformation under a deforming force from a first configuration to a second configuration; and a pair of spaced-apart arms at least partially enclosing an interior space of the body including the at least two recessed surfaces, wherein in the first configuration, a first tip of a first arm of the pair of spaced-apart arms at least partially defines a first opening to the interior space and a second tip of a second arm of the pair of spaced-apart arms at least partially defines a second opening to the interior space, wherein the first configuration is a non-deformed configuration in which each of the first and second openings has a dimension greater than an outer dimension of the first and second pieces of rebar, and wherein in the second configuration, each of the first and second openings has a dimension less than the outer dimension of the first and second pieces of rebar. ||
11. A crimp for mechanically joining rebar for use in a support system for a physical structure, comprising: a body with at least two recessed surfaces each configured for receiving one of a first piece of rebar or a second piece of rebar; and a pair of spaced-apart arms at least partially enclosing an interior space of the body including the at least two recessed surfaces, wherein: in a first configuration, a first tip of a first arm of the pair of spaced-apart arms at least partially defines a first opening to the interior space and a second tip of a second arm of the pair of spaced-apart arms at least partially defines a second opening to the interior space, the first and second pieces of rebar comprise a first set of rebar extending about an exterior border of respective first and second rebar panels, each of the first and second rebar panels comprises a second set of rebar arranged in a crisscross pattern to infill a space within the exterior border, and the first and second pieces of rebar are positionable so as to be adjacent and parallel. ||
15. A method of fabricating an underlying support structure for use in a physical structure, comprising: positioning a first rebar panel and a second rebar panel; wherein: each of the first and second rebar panels comprises a first set of pieces of rebar extending about an exterior border and a second set of pieces of rebar arranged in a crisscross pattern to infill a space within the exterior border, and a pair of the first set of pieces of the rebar from the first and second rebar panels are adjacent and parallel; and positioning a crimp over the pair of the first set of pieces of the rebar such that a first piece of rebar of the pair of the first set of pieces of the rebar is received in a first recessed surface of a body of the crimp and a second piece of rebar of the pair of the first set of pieces of the rebar is received in a second recessed surface of the body of the crimp, and a pair of spaced-apart arms of the crimp at least partially enclose the first piece of rebar and the second piece of rebar; and applying a deforming force to the crimp to plastically deform the crimp from a first configuration to a second configuration, wherein the first configuration is a non-deformed configuration in which tips of the pair of spaced-apart arms define respective first and second openings each having a dimension greater than a dimension of each of the pair of the first set of pieces of the rebar, and wherein in the second configuration, the dimensions of the first and second openings are less than the dimension of each of the pair of the first set of pieces of the rebar. ||
20. A crimp for mechanically joining rebar for use in a support system for a physical structure, comprising: a body with at least two recessed surfaces each configured for receiving a respective first and second piece of rebar; and a pair of spaced-apart arms at least partially enclosing an interior space of the body including the at least two recessed surfaces, a first tip and a second tip of the respective spaced-apart arms each at least partially defining a respective first opening and a second opening to the interior space, in a first configuration, wherein: the first configuration is a non-deformed configuration in which the respective first opening and the second opening have a dimension greater than a dimension of the first and second pieces of rebar, upon the application of a deforming force, the body is plastically deformable from the first configuration to a second configuration, and in the second configuration, the respective first opening and the second opening have the dimension smaller than the dimension of the first and second pieces of rebar.