AP149A

AP149A - A building element or block manufuctured from concrete or sand cement.

Info

Publication number: AP149A
Application number: APAP/P/1989/000149A
Authority: AP
Inventors: Gordon Macdonald Robertson
Original assignee: Gordon Macdonald Robertson
Priority date: 1988-11-04
Filing date: 1989-10-30
Publication date: 1991-10-23
Also published as: AU3516489A; AP8900149A0; ZW14588A1

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a building element which includes the steps of: forming a pair of complementary side members; and connecting the side members together via connecting members arranged to maintain the side members at a predetermined transverse spacing.

Description

THIS INVENTION relates to a building element. More particularly it relates to a method of manufacturing a building element, a building element, a method of building a structure and to a building.

Building elements known to the Applicant include clay bricks and concrete blocks. In certain applications such as low cost housing, concrete blocks have to a large extent replaced clay bricks due mainly to the reduced costs associated with concrete blocks. However, concrete blocks suffer from certain disadvantages including inter alia that a fairly high percentage of breakage occurs during manufacture and transport. In addition a finishing operation such as painting or plastering is usually required to provide concrete blocks with an acceptable surface finish.

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It is an object of this invention to provide a building element which the Applicant believes will overcome or alleviate at least some these problems.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a building element which includes the steps of:

forming a pair of complementary side members; and connecting the side members together via connecting members arranged to maintain the side members at a predetermined transverse spacing.

Forming the side members may include moulding the side members from a cementitious material, such as concrete.

Forming the side members may further include locating securing lugs in the side members such that they project from those faces which in use are the inner faces of the side members.

Connecting the side members together may include locating the side members in a jig, and connecting ends of the connecting members to the securing lugs.

The method may include securing at least part of a structural member to the side members.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a building element which comprises a pair of transversely spaced side members defining the width, length and height of the building element, the side members being provided with connecting formations on at least those surfaces which in use are the inner surfaces; and connecting members connected to and extending between at least some of the connecting formations to retain the side members at a desired spacing. _____

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The side members may be planar and parallel. Alternatively, the side members may be curved.

The building element may include longitudinally extending reinforcing elements positioned between the side members.

The connecting formations may be lugs projecting from the inner surfaces of the side members, the connecting members being elongate rods connected at their ends to the lugs.

The side members may be moulded of a cementitious material, the rods and the lugs being of a metallic material and the ends of the rods being welded to the lugs.

The building element may include at least part of a structural member, eg a door frame or window surround, mounted to the side members. The part of the structural member may be moulded of a cementitious material and provided with lugs on a surface which in use is an inner surface, the lugs being connected to the connecting members to retain the part of the structural member at a desired position relative to the side members.

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According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a building element which comprises a pair of transversely spaced side members defining the width, length and height of the building element; and— a plurality of connecting members connected to the side members and extending between them to retain them at a desired spacing, the connecting members being of metal.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of building a structure which includes the steps of laying a foundation;

laying a plurality of courses of building elements in accordance with the invention on top of one another to form walls of the structure; and pouring a settable filler material, into the spaces between the side members.

Laying the foundation may include digging a foundation ditch;

laying at least one course of the building elements in the foundation ditch;

connecting the building elements together with reinforcing;

and pouring a settable filler material into the spaces between the side members.

According to still yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a building which includes a foundation; and walls comprising a plurality of courses of building elements in accordance with the invention laid one on top of the other, the building elements being connected together by a filler material occupying the spaces between the side members.

The filler material may be concrete.

The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows	a three-dimensional	view	of	a	building
element in accordance	with the invention;
. FIGURE 2 shows	a three-dimensional	view	of	a	building
element with part of	a structural member	mounted	to	the side
members in accordance	with the invention;
FIGURE 3 shows	a three-dimensional	view	of	a	building

element with part of another structural element mounted to the side members in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 4 shows a three-dimensional view of a building element with part of still another structural element mounted to the side members in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 5 shows a three-dimensional view of a plurality of the building elements connected together; and

FIGURE 6 shows a three-dimensional view of another building element in accordance with the invention.

In Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, of the drawings, reference numeral 10 refers generally to a building element in accordance with the invention. The building element 10 comprises a pair of transversely spaced substantially identical side members 12 and a plurality of connecting members 14 extending * I 0 0 0 dV between and connecting the side members 12 together.

The side members 12 are planar and rectangular and they are moulded of a cementitious material. Each side member 12 has a plurality of lugs 16, eg four, projecting from that surface which in use is the inner surface of the side member 12.

The connecting members 14 are elongate rods connected at their ends to the lugs 16 on the side members 12 to retain the side members 12 at a desired spacing.

Typically the lugs 16 and rods 14 are of steel, the ends of the rods being welded to the lugs.

To manufacture the building element 10 the side members 12 are located in a jig (not shown) and a plurality of rods 14 are welded to the lugs 16 to provide a lattice work of connecting members retaining the side members 12 at the desired spacing. In this manner a high degree of dimensional accuracy can be obtained with opposite sides of the building element being parallel. In addition, the surface texture of the blocks can be determined by the finish on the mould in which the side members are moulded. A pigment can be added to the cementitious mix from which the side members are moulded to produce building elements 10 of a predetermined colour and surface finish which will not requite lui liter Jinir.ltinq.

In Figures 2 to 4 inclusive, part of a structural member is mounted to the side members of the building elements —— BADORIGINAL

10. In Figure 2 part of a door frame 18 is mounted between the one ends of the side members 12. The part of the door frame 18 is moulded from a cementitious material with lugs (not shown) projecting from that surface which faces the interior of the building element 10. The part of the door frame 18 is secured in position by connecting members in the form of rods 20 (one of which is shown in Figure 2) being connected between the lugs in the part of the door frame and the lugs 16.

In Figures 3 and 4 the part of the structural member is a window surround 20 and an end piece 22, respectively. The window surround 20 has a recess 23 for receiving a window frame 24. The end piece 22 abuts against the one ends of the side members 12. The building element 10 with the end piece 22 attached thereto would be suitable for positioning at an end of a wall.

The part of the structural member need not be located at an end of the building element but instead could be located at the top or bottom of the building element.

In Figure 5 of the drawings a plurality of the building elements 10 are connected together end-to-end by means of longitudinally extending reinforcing rods 26 connected, eg by welding, to the connecting members 14 to retain the building elements in the desired position.

In Figure 6 of the drawings reference numeral 30 refers generally to a building element in accordance with another.

AP 0 0 0 1 4 9 embodiment of the invention. The building element 30 includes a pair of transversely spaced side members 32 connected together by a plurality of connecting members 34 the ends of which are connected to lugs 36 on the inner surfaces of the side members 32, in the same manner as described above with reference to Figures 1 to 5. In this embodiment of the invention the side members 32 are curved by being segmented, each segment being disposed angularly relative to the adjacent segment. Instead of being segmented the side members can curve continuously. The building element shown in this embodiment of the invention is suitable for building curved or round structures such as storage tanks.

In use, to build the structure a foundation is laid. The foundation may be laid in a conventional manner by digging a foundation ditch and filling the ditch with concrete. Alternatively, the foundation may be laid by digging the foundation ditch and laying a plurality of the building elements together as shown in Figure 5 in the foundation ditch and filling the spaces between the side members 12 with concrete. The walls of the structure are built by laying a plurality of courses of building elements 10 on top of one another to form walls. Due to their high dimensional accuracy the building elements can be laid dry and the spaces between the side members 12, 32 are then filled with a settable filler material such as concrete which when it sets forms the structural core of the wall.

Further, due to the fact that structural members such as door and window frames form part of the blocks very little skill is required to build a structure making use of the building elements 10. The building elements 10 are simply laid with the parts of the structural members in alignment such that together they form the structural member. If desired features such as electrical boxes can be cast into the building elements during manufacture.

In addition to foundations, building elements connected together as shown in Figure 5 may be used as lintels and/or support beams.

The Applicant believes that building elements in accordance with the invention will be lighter than conventional building blocks known to him and hence transport costs will be reduced. Further, the Applicant believes that the building blocks will lead to greater productivity since their lighter weight will lead to less fatigue of a person laying them.

As mentioned above a further advantage of the building elements in accordance with the invention is that their surface finish can be closely controlled. Hence, a structure can be built which can requires no additional finishing such as plastering and/or painting further reducing the costs of the structure.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a building element which includes the steps of:

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1, in which forming the side members includes moulding the side members from a cementitious material.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which forming the side members includes locating securing lugs in the side members such that they project from those faces which in use are the inner faces of the side members.

4. A method as claimed in Claim 3, in which connecting the side members together includes locating the side members in a jig, and connecting ends of the connecting members to the securing lugs.

5. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims which includes securing at least part of a structural member to the side members.

6. A new method of manufacturing a building element substantially as described and illustrated herein. ______——

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7. A building element which comprises a pair of transversely spaced side members defining the width, length and height of the building element, the side members being provided with connecting formations on at least those surfaces which in use are the inner surfaces; and connecting members connected to and extending between at least some of the connecting formations to retain the side members at a desired spacing.

8. A building element as claimed in Claim 7, in which the side members are planar and parallel.

9. A building element as claimed in Claim 7, in which the side members are curved.

10. A building element as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 9 inclusive, which includes longitudinally extending reinforcing elements positioned between the side members.

11. A building element as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 10, inclusive, in which the connecting formations are lugs projecting from the inner surfaces of the eide members, the connecting members being elongate rods connected at their ends to the lugs.

12. A building element as claimed in Claim 11, in which the side members are moulded of a cementitious material, the rods and the lugs being of a metallic material and the ends of the rods

AP 0 0 0 1 4 9 being welded to the lugs.

13. A building element as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 12, inclusive, which includes at least part of a structural member mounted to the side members.

14. A building element as claimed in Claim 13, in which the part of the structural member is moulded of a cementitious material and provided with lugs on a surface which in use is an inner surface, the lugs being connected to the connecting members to retain the part of the structural member at a desired position.

15. A building element which comprises a pair of transversely spaced side members defining the width, length and height of the building element; and a plurality of connecting members connected to the side members and extending between them to retain them at a desired spacing, the connecting members being of metal.

16. A new building element substantially as described and illustrated herein.

17. A method of building a structure which includes the steps of laying a foundation;

laying a plurality of courses of building elements as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 16 inclusive on top of one another to form walls of the structure; and ___-—

AP 0 0 0 1 4 9 pouring a settable filler material, into the spaces between the side members.

18. A method as claimed in Claim 17, in which laying the foundation includes digging a foundation ditch;

laying at least one course of the building elements in the foundation ditch;

connecting the building elements together with reinforcing;

19. A new method of building a structure substantially as described and illustrated herein.

20. A building which includes a foundation; and walls comprising a plurality of courses of building elements as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 16 inclusive, laid one on top of the other, the building elements being locked together by a filler material occupying the spaces between the side members.

21. A building as claimed in Claim 20 in which the filler material is concrete.

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22. A new building substantially as illustrated herein.