AU608121B2 - Building apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The Commissioner of Patents, COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.

al ,rATION ACCEPTED AND AMENDMENTS ALLOW ED l l I i ri; i i. i

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B 121 8?1R rIa y This document contains the amendments made under Section 49 and is correct for printing.

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1952

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0 *1 Name of Applicant Address of Applicant ANTON PILZ and PAMELA PILZ 17 Camuglia Street, Garbutt, Townsville, Queensland, 4814, Australia Actual Inventor(s) Address for Service 414 4 6 C 0

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GRANT ADAMS COMPANY, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 333 Adelaide Street, BRISBANE. QUEENSLAND. 4000

AUSTRALIA.

41 4 9 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED: "BUILDING APPARATUS" The following statement is a full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to the applicant, i: i -L i r L 1 -I i~~I h THIS INVENTION relates to apparatus for use in the construction of buildings.

In the erection of buildings using block or brick techniques, special provisions have to be made to support walls at points over doors and windows where the rows of blocks or bricks would be otherwise unsupported and liable to collapse. Lintels of various kinds have been devised to enable brickwork to span over an opening. Whilst the prior means of enabling 10 construction to proceed are effective, there is scope for further improvement.

o It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for use in the construction of 15 buildings whereby block or brick walls may be laid over 15 windows and doors, which apparatus is reusable. Other a objects, and various advantages of the present invention will hereinafter become apparent.

The invention achieves its objects in provision of an apparatus enabling formation of windows or doors in block or brick walls comprising: a: an elongate support member with an inverted U-shape cross section which, in use, enables blocks or bricks to be laid thereover; and end supports attached to the elongate 25 support member whereby the support member may be supported in place, in use, spanned across the top of an opening being formed in a wall; the elongate support member having a top surface over which block or brick laying may progress; the end supports being opposed plate-like tongues which substantially lie in the same plane as the top surface and slidably extend in the direction of the length of the elongate support member to overlap (in use) the course of bricks or blocks at the top of the window or door at each side thereof to support the 2 i elongate member therebetween; the plate-like tongues being retractable upon actuation of a retraction means engaged against an engagement means provided on each of their lower surfaces.

The invention will now be described with reference to various preferred embodiments which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1 illustrates an arch template; FIGS. 2 to 4 are top, bottom and end views respectively of a window head in accordance with the present invention; 10 na.

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i i e *o 1 0 09 O o9 0 00 0 00 o0 0 0600 0 0 0 00 0 ao o o a 0 00 V 00 °000 0 00 00 0 00 0 0 0 I 0 t FIG. 5 shows the window head of FIGS. 2 to 4 in use, FIGS. 6 to 8 show modified versions of the embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 4, FIGS. 9 to 11 show various means by which the embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 8 may be stiffened, FIGS. 12 and 13 show how two of the apparatus of any one of FIGS. 2 to 11 may be utilised together.

The arch template 10 of FIG. 1 has a brick supporting member 11 extended between two ends 12 and 13 and is spanned by an elongate structural member 14 which comprises end arms 15 and 16 which may have braces 17 and 18 respectively interconnecting them to the brick supporting member 11 whose arch may be varied by 15 adjustment of the intermediate member 19 interposed between the end arms 15 and 16 to complete the elongate structural member 14. The intermediate member 19 is variable in length so as to vary the gap between the end arms 15 and 16 and the length of member 13 and the arch 20 of brick supporting member 11. The intermediate member 19 may have a threaded rod 20 held in end arm 16 such that turning nut 21 against an abuttment on member 19 pulls the end arms together.

In order to be able to use the above described arch template, the ends 12 and 13 may be provided with inwardly directed feet 22 and 23, which, in use, rest upon a suitable support such as bracket 24 with a shelf thereover upon which foot 23 can rest. A like bracket may be placed at the other end. Bracket 24 is provided with a multiple of holes 26 through which a bolt or bolts may pass to hold the bracket to a brick wall edge at an arched opening. The multiple holes enable the one bracket to be used with a variety of brick types.

In use, a wall in which an archway is to be provided is constructed up to the base of the arch with the requisite break in the wall provided to accommodate the archway.

Brackets such as 24 may be fixed by pins or other suitable connectors to the edge of the brickwork at both sides of the archway with the shelf 25 uppermost and projecting inwards. Such pins or other suitable connectors to be inserted through holes in the bracket 24 into the mortar joint between the courses of brickwork. An arch template may then b: stood over the gap upon the brackets when standard archwork may proceed in bricking over the template to create a finished wall.

Finally, the template may be removed by removal of the %o ;O brackets and turning of nut 21 to release the template o 00 9 G and leave a clean bricked archway.

0o' 15 The arch template is best simply constructed 0o 0o by welding of stock steel items. The brick support a member need only be a relatively rigid length of steel 0 0" strip-like material capable of holding its arch shape under the weight of bricks thereover whilst mortar sets 20 or bond beams are poured. Additional braces may be oO° added to the pair shown in FIG. 1 between the arch strip and the end arms.

;In FIGS. 2 to 4 is shown a window head having an elongate support member 27 with opposed tongues 28 and 29 which are slidably mounted underneath the 04. elongate support member between the member and channel defining hold plates 31 and 32. The tongues may be slid in and out of their channels by action against stop lugs 33 and 34.

For rigidity, the elongate support member 27 may be provided with downwardly depending flanges 30 and 31 so as to assist in supporting the courses of bricks that are laid thereover in use. Additionally, a brace may be extended between the window head and the window sill, or door step below, to add to the weight of bricks that can be supported.

Enna, FIG. 5 shows the above window head in use.

Window head 27 is extended over a gap to become a window with tongue 29 rested on the top course of wall 34 when the upper courses 35 and 36 may then be laid over the head. When the mortar and bond beams of concrete block constructions are set, the window head may be removed by use of tool 37 which is a leve" pivoting on lej 38 so that end 39 may push against stop lug 33 to withdraw tongue 29.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, support member 27 is provided with end stops 42 and 43 to retain 00,, the tongues and prevent their loss. The end stops 00 0 restrict movement away from the extended position.

o0 o In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 to 8, the o 15 flexural stiffness of the window head support, the 0 support member, is increased by adding a horizontal 00o o plate 41, between the lower lips 48 and 49. The lips are inwardly projected flanges at the ends of the downwardly projected arms of an inverted U-shape to° 20 sectioned member whose inverted base provides a support o. for blocks or bricks as described above. The plate 41 00 may be welded in place to produce a box section. The main member 27 is most readily made from a commercially available 'Lipped C' section.

FIGS. 9 to 11 show different ways in which the support member may be stiffened. In FIGS. 9 and 11, rectangular section, V-shaped bars 44 and 45 are welded intermittently to legs 30 and 31 respectively. In FIG.

8 a pair of vertical web members 46 and 47 are welded in place and run substantially the full length of member 27. Any one of these, or a combination thereof, or alternate means may be employed. In practice, convenience in fabrication and cost will be factors in deciding what is appropriate in any particular circumstance.

LQU~~' ii In application of the above described apparatus enabling the continuation of a block or brick 'all over an opening being built into a wall under fabrication, it is desirable to build an upwards camber into member 27 to offset deflection caused by subsequent applied loads. This precamber is of the order of L/1000, where L is the opening size, and is readily incorporated during fabrication.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show an additional detail that has been found to increase the utility of the items. A support piece 52 may be used to conveniently join two 009 members together end to end to increase the size of an opening that may be spanned. Item 52 is a connector a 00 o0 comprising a bottom plate 50 and side plates 51 and 53.

ao0o 15 The connection can be made by removing one of the tongue o o pieces from one adjoining end of one of the two support 00 a 0o o members that are to be connected. This is readily done by knocking off one end stop 42 and sliding the remaining tongue into the space normally occupied by the 20 other (not shown). The assembly may be enhanced by means o0 of the two cross bolts 56 and 55 and it can be vertically supported to the floor or sill by post 54.

S°0i Whilst the above has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be clear that many modifications and variations might be made f' thereto that are within the scope and spirit of the invention as hereinbefore set forth.

Claims (4)

1. An apparatus enabling formation of windows or doors in block or brick walls comprising: an elongate support member with an inverted U-shape cross section which, in use, enables blocks or bricks to be laid thereover; and end supports attached to the elongate support member whereby the support member may be supported in place, in use, spanned across the top of an 0 o o 10 opening being formed in a wall; 000 the elongate support member having a top o surface over which block or brick laying may progress; 0 o 0o the end supports being opposed plate-like 0000 tongues which substantially lie in the same plane as the O o 15 top surface and slidably extend in the direction of the 00 0 0 length of the elongate support member to overlap (in use) the course of bricks or blocks at the top of the window or door at each side thereof to support the 0o: 2 elongate member therebetween; O a 0000 20 the plate-like tongues being retractable 0000 O00 o upon actuation of a retraction means engaged against an o engagement means provided on each of their lower surfaces. o OO

2. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the 0 25 depending arms of the inverted U-shaped support member 0\ have inwardly projected flanges at their lower o extremities, the flanges co-operating with a stiffening means adding rigidity to the support member.

3. An apparatus as claimed in either one of Claims 1 or 2 wherein the opposed tongues are plate like bodies with orthogonal lugs bent downwardly therefrom by which the extended tongues may be withdrawn.

4. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the elongate support member is provided with a stop to limit i the travel of the tongue on withdrawal and the lug being engaged with the elongate support member stop at a point to limit its extension. An apparatus enabling the formation of window and door openings substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 11. DATED this eighteenth day of December 1990. ANTON PILZ and PAMELA PILZ, S 10 by their Patent Attorneys, o ft GRANT ADAMS COMPANY. 0 0 t 0 Ot 02 00 r 0 0 9 0000 00 0O O 0 0 0 0 09 a 000 o a 00 0 0 0 0 9 0000* O0 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 00 o 4 i