US2482719A - Building block - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 20, 1949. v. A. filGAUMONT BUILDING BLOCK 2 Shees-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 6, 1944 V V w INVENTOR M07004 lQ/ya z/m onf @rMQMvfiZf Sept. 20, 1949. v. A. RIGAUMONT BUILDING BLOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 6, 1944 Patented Sept. 20, 1949 OFFICE Y J amaze) 7 B D ences. Victor A. Rigaumont g Pa. icate Jan ary 6, 19%; 's t se 2 Claims.

This invention relates to building member and; in particular to a brick 'or block suited for the"construction of Walls' lvfa'so'nry' walls as constructed of conventional brick are characterized"by' s erious objections.

Ihave invented a novel form of building brick 1;

or block which overcomes the aforementioned objections to conventional brick and also has'the advantage of using less mortar than "ordinary bricks when laid in a wall In a'prefer red embcdirnent, my brick comprises a body portion having substantially the shape of a right rectangular prism withintegral spacer ribsextendin along the top'face and; one endface, the' ribs being adjacent the side faces of thebody portion but spaced slightly inwardly therefrom. My rick also has a raised portion extending along the bottom and upwardly across one end face. This. brick is suitedfor' use as a stretcher. I also'provide bricks. having the same novel features but'with suitable modifications for use as he ders and at inside and outside corners.

Further details, novel featuresand. advantages of the invention will become apparent during the following complete,- descriptidn thereof which refers to the accompanying drawings" illustrating a few forms of the brick'ofjmyirivention, In the drawings, Figure 1 isja plan view of my stretcherbrick; Figure'2 is'an end view looking from the leftjin Figure 1;- Figure3 isan-end view looking from the right. in Figure 1; Figure '4 is a side elevation;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view; Fig-tire 6fi's partial'sect through adjacent invention;-' Figure :T'isa plan view of abri'ck for outside corne r 'in a str tc er course; I

Figureii'iis asideeievation thereof:

( o1. da-esi Figure 9 is a rear elevation thereof; Figure I'Oisa plan- 'i 'iewbfa brick suited for use at 'an' inside corner o'f'a header coarser wall composed of brick ofiny invention;

"Referrin'g in 'd'etail'to the drawingsand, for the present; to'Figures 1 through5,my-"stretcher brick l0 comprises abody .portion *ll having-a shape of a right rectangular lprism.=- in fact; the body portion-l I maybe zsimilar in size and shapeto conventional-brick. Spacer ribs"l2*andl3 extend along the top .faceof the body portion adjacent the sidefaces thereof but shaped inwardly there-'- from1- The-ribs-l2 and I3 are-preferablyformed integral withut'he body portion; The ribs Wand I3 continue-downwardlyacross one end face of the body-portion as indicated at M and I5. The

' heightof the ribsispreferably about equal to the courses one"brick"-deep; brickof thickness of mortar used in layingconventional bricks. A raised-p0rtion-or key Iii-extends centrally along the bottom face of-the body portion and continues upwardly as-at Il across the end face thereof- 'opposite that on which the ribs l4 and; Hare-formed. The raised-portion is also preferably formed-integral with the body portion.

It will, be apparent that-the brick l0 may be made by the conventional extrusion method'with special provisions for'cutting the ends to the desired shape, as shown'in-Figures- 1 and 5.

Figurefi illustrates a portion of a well laid up with bricks of'my invention; As clearly shown; the ribs l2 and l3 serve to separate the body porti-ons of brick of adjacentcoursesfrom each other by a predetermined spacing which is the same in all cases. The positioningv of the ribs IZV-and l 3tinwardly from the side facesof the body por tion gives th'appearance of raked joints the finishd 'wallf Inlaying" the bricks of my inventiohJth'e ribs [land l3 are disposed uppermost, asshown inFi'gure' 6, andmortar' is placed Ebetweenithem, as" shown an. When bricks are laiddn. a, preceding'cours. the raisedIpoi-tion 'l li penetrates the remained, when the latter has st, elifectivel'y keys 'adiacent courses',fthereby p'ro' viding siulo'staritial'resistanmeto lateral thrust.

A considerable savin in mortar is eifected by reason of the fact that the raised portion l6 depends into the mortar space between the ribs l2 and I3. It will be understood that the mason will judge the amount of mortar required, making sure to err on the side of too little rather than too much, since it is not essential that the mortar space be entirely filled. As a matter of fact, even if too much mortar is applied, the brick may be so laid that the excess will be squeezed out at one end and will not interfere with the proper seating of the brick of one course on the ribs of the bricks of the preceding course. This may be done by pressing the end of the brick being laid, down on the ribs of the preceding course at the end adjacent the last brick laid, and then pressing down the other end of the brick. This eliminates the loss of mortar which occurs in the laying of a wall with conventional bricks when the mason strikes the joints to cut ofi excess mortar squeezed out at the side as the bricks arepressed down in the mortar. Since the bricks are not mortared to the extreme edges, and the ribs confine the mortar applied, there is no slopping of mortar down the sides of the Wall, thus -efiecting a further saving in the amount of mortar used.

It will be apparent that the joint 19 between the ribs of one course and the bottom of the bricks of the next course above is protected from the weather by the overhang of the brick thereabove. 'By reason of this fact, rain striking the outside of a wall composed of my bricks is shed effectively. The rain water running down the face of a brick falls off of the overhanging lower edge, instead of tending to flow through the joint. This practically eliminates seepage and makes the wall thoroughly weather tight since leakage of cold air is prevented in the same manner as the seepage of rain water. 'At the end joints between bricks, a similar water and air stop results from the cooperation of the raised portion 11 at the end of one brick with the ribs I4 and I5 at the end of the abutting brick, as clearly shown in Figure 16, which will be referred to in due course. Even if rain water should seep through the joint on the outer side of the wall, it is eiTectively stopped by the rib on the inner side, since the latter constitutes a continuous barrier.

Figures '7, 8 and 9 show aspecial form of brick for use in stretcher courses at the outside corner of a Wall, such as that illustrated at 2! in Figure 16. The brick 20 has ribs 22 and 23 like the ribs l2 and I3 of brick 10. A rib 24 forms a continuation of rib 22 across one end of the brick. The rib 23 terminates short of that end of the brick. Ribs 25 and 26 extend downwardly across a side face of the brick from the ends of ribs 23 and 24. The brick 20 also has a raised portion or key 2'! disposed centrally of the bottom thereof and a corresponding portion 28 extending upwardly from the bottom across the other end of the brick. As clearly shown in Figure 16, the bricks 20 at the outside corner 2! of the wall cooperate with the bricks in courses at right angles to each other. That is to say, the left-hand end of the brick 2|], as shown in Figures '7 and 8, engages the ribbed end of the stretcher brick ID in the same manner as the abutting ends of all adjacent bricks. At the same time, the side of the brick 28 having the ribs 25 and 26 has the same relation to the adjacent end of an abutting brick. The rib 24, furthermore, provides a continuous water stop across the end 4 of the brick and leaves the wall corner fully finished.

Bricks 20a generally similar to but difiering slightly from bricks 20 are laid at the inside corner 2 la of stretcher courses.

It will be understood that while the corner 2| has been referred to as an outside corner and the corner 2la as an inside corner, it is immaterial which one is considered the outside or the inside since either face of the wall of Figure 16 could be considered the interior.

Figures 10, 11 and 12 show a brick 29 adapted to be laid in header courses at an inside wall corner such as shown at 30 in Figure 17. The brick 29 has ribs 3| and 32 corresponding to the ribs l2 and it of brick H). A rib 33 continues from one end of rib 3| across the width of the brick. The rib 32 terminates short of that end of the brick. Ribs 3-4 and 35 extend downwardly from the ribs 3! and 32 across the other end of the block. A centrally disposed raised portion or key 36 is formed on the bottom of the brick and a similar portion 3'! on one side between the ribs 32 and 33. The bricks 29, as shown in Figure 17, have the i same engagement with adjacent header bricks 33 in courses at right angles as is provided between adjacent header bricks laid side by side, in the portions of the wall between corners.

Figures 13, 14 and 15 illustrate the header or bonder brick 38 for use in the header'courses which are laid at intervals in the building up of a wall. The header brick has spacer ribs 39 and 4!} extending across the top adjacent each end but spaced slightly inwardly thereof. Spacer ribs 41 and 42 continue downwardly across one side face from the ribs 39 and 40. Spaced raised portions or keys 43 and 44 extend across the bottom face of the brick and similar raised portions 55 and 46 extend upwardly from the bottom across the side face opposite that on which the ribs 4| and 42 are formed.

Figure 17 shows how the header bricks 38 engage each other when laid up in a course. It will be evident that the ribs 39 and serve as spacers and water stops in the same manner as the ribs i2 and I3 of the stretcher brick-s l0. Figure 17 also shows bricks 41 for use in header courses at outside corners such as 48. These bricks are not identical with the bricks 20 and 23 but are generally similar thereto and the details of the former will be apparent from the above description of the latter, taken together with the showing of Figure 17. Figure 17 also illustrates half bricks 49 which are needed to fill out the header course adjacent the corners. These half bricks are similar to the bricks l0 but are only half the length thereof.

Figure 18 illustrates the appearance of a corner in a wall composed of bricks according to my invention. As is shown, the wall has the appearance of an ordinary brick wall with raked joints. The spacing between bricks is uniform, however, since the body portion of each brick is seated firmly on the ribs on top of the brick in the course below. The joints between the ribs of one brick and the body portion of adjacent bricks thus appear merely as fine lines and are particularly invisible.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that my invention is characterized by numerous advantages over conventional bricks. In the first place, the spacing between adjacent bricks is uniform at all points, as explained above. The interfitting ribs and raised portions of adjacent bricks further provide a mechanical interlock which imparts great strength to the Wall in resistance to lateral thrust. The spacing of the ribs inwardly from the side faces of the bricks gives the finished wall the appearance of having been laid with raked joints. This is one of the more costly finishes when used in a Wall composed of conventional brick but does not introduce any additional expense in-a wall constructed of bricks of my invention. The function of the ribs in providing a stop against the entry of wind and water has already been sufficiently explained as has also the matter of saving in mortar efiected by my invention as compared with conventional construction of masonry walls.

Although I have disclosed but a few forms of bricks embodying the principle of my invention, it will be apparent that other forms may be provided utilizing similar principles, for various special functions. Such modifications of the general idea may, of course, be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

1. A building block comprising a body having two opposite ends and four lateral sides defining a right rectangular prism, a pair of spaced ribs projecting integrally from two contiguous lateral sides of said body, and a plurality of spaced keys keys projecting integrally from the other two lateral sides of said body, said ribs and keys all extending parallel to said opposite ends of the body, one rib being adjacent one of said ends and the other rib being adjacent the other of said ends, and said keys being spaced substantially further inwardly of said ends than said ribs, and the projection of said ribs from said body being greater than the projection of said keys from said body, whereby a series of such blocks in a 'wall are in contact with each other only where the ribs of the respective blocks are in contact with the lateral sides of adjacent blocks, the keys of each block being entirely out of contact with any portion of the adjacent blocks.

2. A building header block comprising a body having two opposite ends and four lateral sides defining a right rectangular prism, a pair of Number spaced ribs of equal and substantially sduai cross-section projecting integrally from two contiguous lateral sides of said body, and a pair of spaced keys of equal and substantially rectangular cross-section projectin integrally from the other two lateral sides of said body, said ribs and keys all extending parallel to said opposite ends of the body, one rib being adjacent one of said ends and the other rib being adjacent the other of said ends, and said keys being spaced substantially further inwardly of said ends than said ribs, and the projection of said ribs from said body being about twice the projection of said keys from said body, whereby a series of such blocks in a wall are in contact with each other only where the ribs of the respective blocks are in contact with the lateral sides of adjacent blocks, the keys of each block being entirely out of contact with any portion of the adjacent blocks.

. VICTOR A. RIGAUMONT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Van Camp Sept. 8, 1903 Clehous June 3, 1913 Talbot May 17, 1921 Kroonen Apr. '10, 1923 Stevens Aug. 16, 1927 Willetts May 13, 1930 Pedersen Sept. 17, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Mar. 1, 1906 Great Britain Aug. 17, 1926 Great Britain Apr. 28, 1932 Great Britain Apr. 26, 1937 Great Britain Apr. 30, 1940 France Aug. 2, 1921 Great Britain Oct. 22, 1941 Lahmann May 6, 1902 Patent No. 2,482,719 September 20, 1949 Certificate of Correction VICTOR A. RIGAUMONT It is hereby certified that errors appear in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 2, line 23, for shaped read spaced; column 4, lines 68 and 69, for particularly read practically; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 17th day of January, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents.

Images