US3430404A - Apertured wall construction - Google Patents

Description

March 4, 1969 G. B. MUSE APERTURED WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed March 20, 1967 INVENTOR. 650,905 5. M05: BY f flrapA/zvj United States Patent 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apertured wall construction comprising a series of building blocks or bricks rigidly connectable to each other. Each block defines an aperture extending therethrough from top to bottom adjacent each of its ends. The block of each course of blocks in the wall are disposed in spaced, end to end disposition and the blocks of the course next above are positioned to overlap the spaces. A sleeve is positioned in each aperture of the blocks of a course of blocks to protrude from the top surface from each block and the blocks of the course of blocks next above are positioned with their apertures disposed about the sleeves. After the wall has been assembled in this manner, mortar is poured through the aligned apertures from the top of the wall, which passes through the aligned apertures of the blocks and the sleeves disposed therewithin.

Background of the invention When constructing decorative walls, it is occasionally desirable to construct an apertured brick or block wall wherein the blocks of a course of blocks are spaced apart, and the blocks of the course of blocks next above overlap the spaces. Walls of this type are eye appealing and permit circulation of air and filter sunlight through the wall. While walls of this type have many obvious functional and decorative advantages, the basic disadvantages are that walls of this type are ditficult to construct since the spacing betwen the ends of the bricks is critical if the wall is to be symmetrical and eye appealing and the wall is inherently Weak since a substantial length of each brick is required to overlap the spaces between the bricks of the next adjacent courses of bricks, thereby leaving a smaller area of brick to rest upon and adhere to the bricks in the next adjacent courses of bricks. Where a strong wall is needed, the usual procedure in a solid wall is to construct the wall with several thicknesses of bricks; however, in an apertured wall, the placement of more than one thickness of bricks in the wall detracts from the decorativeness of the wall, and is not practical.

Summary of the invention This invention comprises an apertured wall construction, and the individual components necessary for such a construction, wherein a plurality of bricks each having apertures extending from top to bottom therethrough at each of its ends are placed in spaced, end to end disposition in a course of bricks in a wall, sleeves are inserted in each aperture of each brick, and the bricks of the course of bricks next above are placed over the sleeves to that the sleeves extend through the apertures of the bricks. The bricks of the adjacent courses of bricks are positioned so as to span the spaces between the ends of the bricks in the next adjacent courses of bricks. After the wall has been assembled in this manner, mortar, or similar bonding material, is poured down through the aligned apertures of the bricks and through the sleeves disposed in the apertures and left to harden. After the mortar has hardened a structurally strong apertured wall will have been formed.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an apertured wall of rigid construction.

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Another object of this invention is to provide an apertured wall wherein the bricks of the wall are accurately aligned with one another.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apertured wall wherein the bricks are bonded together by metallic sleeves and mortar.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sleeve for use in the construction of an apertured Wall to aid in the construction and strength of the wall.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of easily and accurately constructing an apertured wall having high strength characteristics.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing 'FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a building block utilized in the construction of the apertured wall.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sleeve utilized in conjunction with the building block of FIG. 1 in forming an apertured wall.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, in cross section, of the building block of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, partially in cross section, of an apertured wall construction.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows a building block 10 utilized in forming an apertured wall. Building block 10 comprises end walls 11, side walls 12, top wall 13 and bottom wall 14. End walls 11 are generally square in configuration; however, in some applications it may be desirable to have building block 10 dimensioned with a rather large thickness in comparison to a relatively shallow height.

Side walls 12 are proportioned so as to be of equal height as end walls 11 but approximately three times the length of end walls 11. As is best shown in FIG. 3, building block 10 defines apertures 15 adjacent its ends which extend from bottom wall 14 through top wall 13. A central cavity 16 extends from bottom wall 14 into the central portion of building block 10. Central cavity 16 is of a length which is approximately equal to one-third the length of the building block and of a width approximately equal to one-half the width of the building block. Cavity 16 extends approximately two-thirds the way through building block 10, from bottom wall 14 toward top wall 13.

Apertures 15 at each end of building block 10 are centrally positioned between central cavity 16 and end walls 11. Apertures 15 are circular in cross section, and are of a diameter approximately equal to one-half the Width of building block 10. Apertures 15 open through top wall 13 and bottom wall 14 by means of annular grooves 18. Thus, annular grooves 18 are such as to effectively create a small counter bore about apertures 15.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a sleeve 20 is provided for each aperture 15. Sleeve 20 is generally cylindrical in configuration but defines a slot 21 which extends throughout its entire length. Thus, slot 21 tends to create a gap in the wall of sleeve 20. Sleeve 20 defines a bead or protrusion 22 which extends around its center portion. Sleeve 20 may be constructed by forming the head or protrusion 22 in a strip of metal and subsequently rolling the strip of metal to form the cylindrical configuration of the sleeve.

Slot 21 of sleeve 20 permits the sleeve to be contracted and the metal from which sleeve 20 is formed is resilient so that after such a contraction the sleeve will spring back to its original diameter. Sleeve 20 is formed with a diameter approximately equal to the inside diameter of apertures 15 of building blocks 10. The bead or protrusion 22 of the sleeve 20 is of an outside diameter approximately equal to the diameter of annular grooves 18 of apertures 15 of the building block 10. With this construction, sleeve 20 may be slightly contracted and inserted into an aperture 15 of building block until its bead or protrusion 22 engages the inside surface of annular groove 18. The sleeve can then be allowed to expand until it engages the inside surface. of aperture 15. Sleeve 20 is of a shorter length than the length of aperture of building block 10 so that the portion of the sleeve extending into an aperture 15 does not extend as much as half-way through the aperture. Generally, sleeve will extend approximately one-third the way into an aperture 15.

As is best shown in FIG. 4, a series of building blocks 10 are spaced apart in end to end relationship on a level surface 25 to form the first course 26 of building blocks to begin the construction of an apertured wall. Sleeves 20 are then inserted through the top wall 13 into the apertures 15 of each building block 10. The building blocks 10 for the next adjacent course 27 of building blocks are then placed over the spaces 28 between the adjacent blocks of the first course of blocks. The blocks in the course 27 are positioned with their apertures 15 disposed about the portion of the sleeves 20 protruding from the blocks of the course 26.

When the sleeve 20 is inserted into the blocks of course 26, bead or protrusion 22 of the sleeve will extend into the annular groove 18 of the aperture 15, and when the blocks of the course 27 are inserted over the sleeve 20, the portion of the bead or protrusion extending out of the annular groove 18 of the blocks in course 26 will be received in the annular groove 18 of the block in course 27. Thus, the blocks in course 27 will come to rest in abutting relationship with the blocks in course 26; that is, the bottom walls 14 of the blocks in course 27 will rest on the top walls 13 of the block in course 26.

Course 29 is positioned on course 27 in a manner similar to that described above in that sleeves 20 are inserted in each of the apertures of the blocks in course 27 and the blocks in course 29 are inserted over the sleeves.

When the blocks in course 26 are positioned on the surface 25, it may be difiicult for the builder to accurately space the blocks from each other; however, after sleeves 20 have been inserted in the apertures 15 of these blocks, the blocks of course 27 will not fit down over sleeves 20 unless they are spaced apart at the proper distance. Thus, when the blocks of course 27 are inserted over sleeves 20 extending up from the blocks of course 26, the blocks of course 26 may have to be adjusted in their spacing. When the second course of blocks have been positioned as described, the remaining blocks in the courses of blocks to be positioned above the first and second courses of blocks can be positioned without adjustment of the blocks present in the course next below since the spacing of the apertures 15 and dimensions of each block are uniform.

After the desired number of course of blocks have been assembled, mortar, or other bonding material, is poured down through the aligned apertures 15 and sleeves 20. The mortar is allowed to dry and a solid bond is made between the adjacent blocks.

Since sleeves 20 extend less than half-way through the apertures 15 of each block, the mortar 30 will contact both the interior surface of sleeves 20 and the middle third of the interior surface of each block 10. Thus, mortar 30 will bond to the blocks and to the sleeves.

Inasmuch as sleeves 20 are fabricated of a metallic substance, their resistance to shear forces between adjacent blocks is greater than that of mortar or any similar bonding substance. Furthermore, as is shown in the right portion of FIG. 4, the dried mortar or bonding substance 30 will form a solid core for each sleeve 20 so that any shearing forces applied to the sleeves 20 by the blocks will be resisted by the core extending through the sleeves. Furthermore, the core will prevent the sleeves 20 from contracting.

Since the apertures 15 of the building blocks are located centrally of the end one-third of each building block, the apertured wall constructed with the building blocks can include corner construction without interruption of the apertured design of the wall. For instance, if it is desirable to include a angle in the wall constructed with the building blocks 10, the builder merely pivots the building blocks about the sleeves 20 to the desired angle and continues to build the apertured wall, as previously described. The presence of the sleeves 20 at the junction or corner will properly position the various blocks with respect to one another and the sleeves 20 and bonding material 30 reinforce the corner construction. Since the end walls 11 are of a length substantially equal to one-third the length of the side walls 12, a 90 corner construction will be smooth and eye appealing.

When the builder gets to the point where he desires to terminate the wall, the blocks 10 may be sawed or broken on a line continuous with the side walls of central cavity 16 so that the end thirds of the broken block can be utilized to fill the gaps in the unfinished wall. In other words, the end one-thirds of a broken block can be aligned so that its end wall and aperture 15 are coextensive with the end walls and apertures of the building blocks in the courses next above and next below. Of course, sleeves can be inserted into the aperture 15 of the broken block as previously described.

While central cavity 16 and apertures 15 of the building block 10 are functional, as previously described, it should be understood that these openings also function to create a lightweight block. The material absence from the block that would ordinarily fill these spaces is of considerable weight; however, the geometrical construction of the block is such that the block retains its structural strength characteristics. For instance, the portion of the block surrounding central cavity 16 is the P I- tion that imparts the major strength characteristics to the block while the portion removed from the block to form central cavity 16 is the portion that imparts only minor strength characteristics to the block. Also, the portion of the block removed to form the apertures 15 imparts only minor strength characterictis to the block. Also, the circular configuration of apertures 15 lends structural rigidity to the block.

At this point, it should be understood that an extremely strong apertured wall construction cna be formed by the use of block 10 and sleeve 20. The use of these elements in the manner as described herein will cause the blocks to be self-aligning so that an unskilled layman can construct a wall of precise dimensions. Also, the wall can be completely assembled without the use of mortar and disassembled if desired. Only after the wall is completely assembled is it necessary to mix the mortar. Thus, the continuous use and mixing of mortar is avoided.

It should be understood that the building blocks and sleeves may be constructed of any desired material, including concrete or conventional brick substances for the block and metal or plastic substances for the sleeve, without departing from the scope of this invention.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiments chosen for the purpose of illustrating the preesnt invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an apertured wall structure, the combination of a plurality of rectangular blocks assembled in spa ed end to end relationship in horizontal courses of blocks with the middle /3 portions of the blocks of each course of blocks overlying the spaces between the blocks of the next adjacent lower course, each of said blocks defining a recess extending from its bottom surface up into its middle /3 portion, and each of said blocks including substantially vertically extending circular apertures of substantially constant cross sectional area along at least a major portion of their lengths centrally located in the end /3 portions of each block, counterbores defined in at least one surface of each block about its apertures, a plurality of cylindrical resilient metallic opened ended sleeves each including a slot from end to end along its length and a generally annular external protrusion intermediate its ends, said blocks of each course having their apertures aligned with the apertures of the blocks in the next adjacent course, and said sleeves positioned in the apertures at the juncture of blocks in adjacent courses of blocks and extending less than /2 the distance through adjaceri blocks, with the annular protrusion of each sleeve being positioned in the counterbore of at least one of the blocks.

2. The invention of claim 1 and further including a column of mortar extending through aligned apertures and sleeves.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1, 44,554 2/1923 Quillet 52585 575,209 1/1897 Bruckner 52-606 1,051,427 1/1913 McCluskey 52-585 1,151,974 8/1915 Straight.

1,296,342 3/1919 Tozzi 52585 2,382,098 8/1945 Robie 285397 FOREIGN PATENTS 72,297 10/1959 France. 588,302 5/1947 Great Britain.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

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