Rebar support chair

Abstract

A chair for supporting and spacing concrete reinforcement members having a generally tapered body including a receiving area and a base. Opposed pairs of notches in the receiving area each have different depths, such that reinforcement members can be placed at different heights and in perpendicular relationships to each other within the chair. The base has a plurality of support legs extending downwardly from the receiving area and allows the chair to rest on a planar surface. The body has inner and outer surfaces that are substantially complementary to one another to allow a plurality of chairs to be stacked together.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A chair for supporting and spacing concrete reinforcement members, comprising: 
 a body including an upper receiving area and a lower base,    the receiving area adapted to receive the concrete reinforcement members and including at least one pair of notches,    the base adapted to rest on a planar support surface,    the body having an inner surface and an outer surface, the surfaces being substantially complementary to each other to allow a plurality of chairs to be stacked within one another for storage and shipment.    
     
     
         2 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving area consists of two pairs of diametrically opposed notches.  
     
     
         3 . The chair of  claim 2 , wherein the two pairs of diametrically opposed notches have different depths, the chair being adapted to support the reinforcement members at different heights and in perpendicular relationships to one another.  
     
     
         4 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one pair of notches is connected by a bridge therebetween, the bridge connecting the troughs of the notches.  
     
     
         5 . The chair of  claim 1 , the base including a plurality of support legs extending downwardly from the receiving area and defining a plurality of apertures, the apertures operable to allow poured concrete to pass fluidly through the body.  
     
     
         6 . The chair of  claim 5 , wherein the base includes four support legs, two of the support legs further including foot members extending horizontally outwardly therefrom, the remaining two support legs lacking a foot member.  
     
     
         7 . The chair of  claim 6 , wherein the foot members extend from two diagonally opposite support legs.  
     
     
         8 . The chair of  claim 5 , wherein the support legs include a thickened band of material around the apertures.  
     
     
         9 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the notches comprise bearing surfaces extending inwardly from the outer surface of the support body.  
     
     
         10 . The chair of  claim 1 , the base including upper and lower support legs, the upper support legs extending downwardly from the receiving area and defining upper apertures, the lower support legs extending downwardly from the upper support legs and defining lower apertures.  
     
     
         11 . The chair of  claim 10 , wherein the lower support legs are longer than the upper support legs.  
     
     
         12 . The chair of  claim 10 , wherein the lower support legs include a thickened band of material around the lower apertures.  
     
     
         13 . The chair of  claim 10 , wherein the apertures are arch-shaped.  
     
     
         14 . The chair of  claim 1 , further including a plurality of ribs, disposed on outer surface to facilitate separating the chair from a stack.  
     
     
         15 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving area and the base are integrally formed together of a resilient polymeric material.  
     
     
         16 . The chair of  claim 15 , wherein the chair is made of polypropylene and is one-piece injection molded.  
     
     
         17 . A chair for supporting and spacing concrete reinforcement members, comprising: 
 a hollow body including an inner surface, an outer surface, a receiving area, and a base,    the base defining a lower opening and adapted to rest on a planar support surface,    the receiving area adapted to receive and support the concrete reinforcement members,    the receiving area including a first and a second pair of notches, the second pair of notches being oriented ninety degrees from the first pair,    the base including a plurality of support legs defining a plurality of apertures therebetween, the apertures operable to allow poured concrete to pass fluidly through the chair;    wherein the body is generally funnel-shaped with the lower opening being larger than the receiving area, and the inner and outer surfaces being substantially complementary to each other to allow a plurality of chairs to be stacked within each other for storage and shipment.    
     
     
         18 . The chair of  claim 17 , the first pair of notches being deeper than the second pair of notches, wherein the reinforcement members can be positioned at different heights and in perpendicular relationships to one another within the receiving area.  
     
     
         19 . The chair of  claim 17 , wherein a bridge extends between each of the pairs of notches, the bridge joining the medial, lowest portions of the notches.  
     
     
         20 . The chair of  claim 17 , the base including four support legs, wherein at least two of the four support legs further include foot members extending horizontally outwardly therefrom, the other two support legs lacking a foot member.  
     
     
         21 . The chair of  claim 20 , wherein the foot members extend from two diagonally opposed support legs.  
     
     
         22 . The chair of  claim 17 , wherein the apertures are arch-shaped, the support legs having a thickened band of material around the apertures.  
     
     
         23 . The chair of  claim 17 , wherein the base includes upper and lower support legs, the upper support legs extending downwardly from the receiving area and configured to support the receiving area, the lower support legs extending downwardly from and configured to support the upper support legs.  
     
     
         24 . The chair of  claim 23 , wherein the lower support legs have a thickened band of material around the apertures.  
     
     
         25 . The chair of  claim 17 , the base further including a plurality of ribs disposed on the outer surface to facilitate separating the chair from a stack of chairs.