GB2247702A - Building brick or block - Google Patents

Abstract

A building block or brick 1 having on at least one surface a support 2 adapted to stably support the block when resting on the support and further the support is of a height equal to the optimum depth of cementing material used to cement adjacent blocks together. As shown, the support may be 4 nodules, a further nodule 3 being present for spacing the bricks horizontally; alternatively 2 nodules or parallel ridges may be provided. <IMAGE>

Description

Improvements Relating to Building Materials This invention relates to building materials and especially, but not exclusively, building bricks.

Building bricks are well known and well used materials, they typically comprise rectangular blocks and they are made of appropriately strong material such as baked clay. A number of building bricks are erected one on top of the other in a conventional manner to produce a wall. The laying of bricks as aforementioned requires skill and experience since it is critical that the bricks are aligned in the correct manner and cemented there together using an appropriate amount of cement in order that a straight, strong and upright wall is produced. For these reasons, the building of structures is commonly left to those skilled in the trade.

However, even a skilled builder is frustrated by conventional building materials since when building a house or some other form of shelter a builder can only lay bricks to a height of approximately 1 metre on the first day of construction.

This is because it is necessary for the cement on the lower bricks to set before further bricks are added to the structure. If this was not the case, then the weight of a finished wall would force the cement between the bricks at the base of the wall to leak out of the gaps between the bricks, resulting in the cementing between the lower bricks being inadequate.

It is therefore the aim of the invention to overcome or at least mitigate the above described disadvantages.

The invention provides a means whereby bricks can be laid in a quick, easy and reliable fashion and moreover the invention provides for an entire wall to be built in a single day.

The above is achieved by a building brick having at least one support on at least one surface, said support being adapted to stably support a brick when resting on the support, and the support being of a height equal to the optimum depth of building cement used to cement building bricks together.

The support may comprise a ridge or a nodule and where a ridge is provided preferably two opposed ridges will be located on a single surface and moreover they will extend parallel with the longitudinal axes of the brick. Where at least one nodule is provided preferably two diagonally opposed nodules will be located on a single surface at two corners of the brick, or alternatively, four nodules will be located on a single surface, one at each corner of the brick.

Preferably further still a further support will be located on a transverse face of the brick.

To facilitate manufacture of the bricks, ridges may be provided by means of an extraction process.

It will thus be understood that the provision of at least one support on, for example, the lower surface of a brick, will act as a depth gauge for measuring the amount of cement to be placed in between building bricks. Thus the problem of judging the correct amount of cement to be placed between adjacent building bricks is overcome.

Moreover, since the bricks are supported one on top of the other by means of the spaced supports it is no longer necessary to wait for cement between lower building bricks to dry before placing more bricks on the structure. Therefore it is no longer necessary to experience any delay when building a wall or some other such structure.

The invention also provides for a dispensing means adapted to dispense an optimum layer of cement to the surface of a brick. The dispensing means comprises a container having a sealable opening and a funnel shaped exit, the container being operationally connected to a plunger such that cement placed in the container can be dispensed from the funnel shaped exit by means of the plunger and wherein the said exit is adapted to dispense a measure of cement that is as wide as the width of a wall having a single stack of bricks and as deep as the optimum depth of cement used to cement building bricks together.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a first building brick in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a second building brick in accordance with the invention; Fig. 3 shows a side elevation view of a wall constructed from building bricks in accordance with the invention; Fig. 4 shows a side elevation view of a cement dispenser; and Fig. 5 shows a plan view of the cement dispenser shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the figures and firstly to Fig. 1, a conventional building brick is referenced by numeral 1 and it is provided with a plurality of nodules 2 located on its first surface A. Four nodules 2 are provided on surface A and each nodule 2 is located in a corner of surface A. It will be understood that although four nodules 2 are shown, the invention also provides for the use of two diagonally opposed nodules. Moreover, it can also be seen that a further nodule 3 is provided on the transverse face B of building brick 1.

It will be understood that in the preferred use of the invention a measure of cement is applied to surfaces A of building brick 1. Building brick 1 is then placed on the ground resting on supports 2. Thereafter, an optimum amount of cement may be placed on surfaces A and B of a further brick or bricks, these bricks are then located on the upper surface of brick 1 or next to the surface B of brick 1. The provision of a plurality of building bricks having nodules on surfaces A and B enables a builder to build a wall or similar structure in a quick and easy manner as the amount of cement used on surfaces A and B will be determined by the size of nodules 2 and 3 respectively, which are adapted to approximately equal the optimum depth of cement used to cement building bricks together.

Fig. 2 shows a further embodiment of the invention wherein a building brick 1A is provided with spaced, opposed ridges 4 which extend along the longitudinal axis of brick 1A. As shown in Fig. 1, this building brick may also be provided with a spacing structure on the transverse surface B (not shown).

A partial view of a wall is shown in Fig. 3 and it can be seen, that bricks IA have been cemented together in order to produce the wall. The lower layer of bricks 1A are shown having ridges 4 on their lower surface. Ridges 4 facilitate the cementing together of a further number of bricks as described above.

It will be understood that for optimum working of the invention supports will be placed only on one functionally lower surface and only on one side surface. Although the invention has been described with particular reference to building bricks, other stackable building materials fall within the scope of the invention.

Fig. 4 shows a cement dispenser adapted for use in accordance with the invention. The dispenser comprises a container 10 having a funnel-shaped head 11 and including a plunger 12.

Plunger 12 is adapted to fit slidably within container 10 and is further provided with a plunging rod 13 and a handle 14 attached to the furthermost end of rod 13. Fig. 5 shows a plan view of the dispenser shown in Fig. 4, wherein the width of the funnel-shaped head is clearly illustrated. The funnel-shaped head has a width X and a depth Y. The width X corresponds to the width of a wall made of a single stack of bricks 1 and 1A and the depth Y corresponds to the height of nodules 2 and 3 and ridges 4. Moreover the depth Y also corresponds to the optimum amount of cement conventionally placed between adjacent bricks. Thus it will be understood that the dispenser is adapted to dispense an optimum layer of cement when applied to the surface of bricks 1 or 1A.

It can therefore be seen that an amateur using the dispenser can simply depress plunger 12, using handle 14, by a predetermined amount in order to dispense a layer of cement which can be applied to surfaces A or B. Once the cement has been applied to the brick a further brick can be placed on either surface A or B and the process can be repeated.

It can thus be seen that in combination the brick and the dispenser provide a building kit which has been adapted for easy use and is expected to appeal to the amateur builder.

It will also be understood that the bricks shown in Figs. 1 and 2 will offer advantages to the experienced builder as, although an experienced builder can measure the depth of cement to be applied, the bricks provide for the building of an entire structure without having to wait for the cement at the base of the structure to dry before proceeding with the building.

It can thus be seen that a brick and dispenser in accordance with the invention have obvious advantages to the building industry.

Claims (15)

1. A building block having at least one support on at least one surface, said support being adapted to stably support the block when the block rests on the support.

2. A building block according to claim 1 wherein the block is of rectangular construction.

3. A building block according to claim 1 wherein the support is of a height equal to the optimum depth of building cement used to cement building blocks together.

4. A building block according to claims 1 or 3 wherein the support comprises a ridge.

5. A building block according to claim 1 or 3 wherein the support comprises a nodule.

6. A building block according to claims 1 or 3 wherein two opposed ridges are provided on a single surface of the block.

7. A building block according to claim 6 wherein the ridges extend parallel with respect to a longitudinal axis of the block.

8. A building block according to claim s 1 or 3 wherein two nodules are located in diametric opposition on a single surface of the block.

9. A building block according to claims 1 or 3 wherein a nodule is provided on each corner of the block.

10. A building block according to any preceding claim wherein at least one support is provided on a second face at right angles to the position of the said surface.

11. A building block according to any preceding claim wherein the blocks are manufactured by an extraction process.

12. A dispensing means for dispensing an optimum layer of cement on to a surface of a building block comprising a container having a sealable opening and an exit adapted to dispense at least a portion of cement of a predetermined size and shape and also having an expelling means such that cement placed in the container can be dispensed from the exit.

13. A dispensing means according to claim 12 wherein the exit is adapted to dispense a measure of cement as wide as a preselected building block and in deep as an optimum amount of cement used to cement building blocks together.

14. A dispensing means according to claims 12 or 13 wherein the exit is funnel shaped.

15. A dispensing means according to claim 12 wherein the expelling means is a plunger.