AU731427B2 - Brick structure - Google Patents

Description

F/~UUIU11 2a1991 Regulation 3.2(2)

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: BRICK STRUCTURE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 1 BRICK STRUCTURE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an anti-seismic brick structure constructed from bricks or concrete blocks. The invention further relates to a method of constructing an anti-seismic brick structure from bricks or concrete blocks. The invention also provides a novel brick element for use in the construction of an anti-seismic brick structure.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Bricks or concrete blocks (hereinafter collectively referred to as a "brick elements" or "bricks") are widely used in the building of structures, particularly walls. Typically, when a brick structure such as a wall is constructed the brick elements are solely bonded together with mortar. As a consequence the brick structure as a whole may lack the desired strength against external loads, particularly horizontal loads. This represents a particular problem in regions of 15 the world where earthquakes are prevalent.

In addition, conventional brick laying requires an acquired level of skill in order to achieve uniform mortar thickness as well as good alignment of the •bricks, which in turn necessitates the use of skilled bricklayers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a brick structure which possesses anti-seismic characteristics, which is easier to build and which eliminates or reduces the need for skilled bricklayers.

is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of constructing a brick structure which possesses anti-seismic characteristics.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel brick element for use in the construction of an anti-seismic brick structure.

SUMMARY OF PRESENT INVENTION To this end one aspect of the present invention provides a brick structure comprising: a plurality of brick elements, wherein each brick element includes an aperture which passes through the brick from an upper face of the brick to a lower face of the brick, and a groove located in an end face of the brick and extending from said upper face of the brick to said lower face of the brick; a plurality of courses of said brick elements, wherein the apertures in the bricks in a course of bricks align with the grooves of the bricks in an adjacent course of bricks so as to create shafts through said courses of bricks; a plurality of substantially flat reinforcement members, said reinforcement members including one or more holes wherein said reinforcement members are located between adjacent courses of bricks and extend over at least two bricks in a course of bricks and said one or more holes are placed in registration with *"said shafts through said courses of bricks; and a plurality of fastening members located in said shafts through said courses of bricks; and providing a compression force to hold the bricks firmly 15 together.

The present invention also provides a method of constructing a brick structure from a plurality of brick elements, said brick elements each including an aperture which passes through the brick from an upper face of the brick to a lower face of the brick, and a groove located in an end face of the brick and 20 extending from said upper face of the brick to said lower face of the brick; said method comprising: laying said brick elements in a plurality of courses such that the apertures in the bricks in a course of bricks align with the grooves of the bricks in an adjacent course of bricks so as to create shafts through said courses of bricks; placing substantially flat reinforcement members between adjacent courses of bricks so as to extend over at least two bricks in a course of bricks, said reinforcement members including one or more holes which are placed in registration with said shafts through said courses of bricks; and placing fastening members in said shafts through said courses of bricks to provide a compression force to hold the bricks firmly together.

3 A further aspect of the present invention provides a brick element for use in the construction of the anti-seismic brick structure defined above wherein the brick element is operatively adapted to be arranged in relation to other identical brick elements to form a brick structure in accordance with the method described above, the brick element including: an aperture which passes through the brick element from an upper face of the brick to a lower face of the brick, and a groove located in an end face of the brick element and extending from said upper face of the brick to said lower face; the aperture being arranged and adapted such that, when the brick element is laid in accordance with said method as part of a course of other identical brick elements and with one course on top of another, the aperture in the brick is adapted to align with the grooves of the identical brick elements in adjacent courses so as a create a shaft through said courses, the shaft being 15 adapted to receive a fastening member therein in order to provide a compressive force to hold the bricks firmly together; the brick element also being provided withengagement means that allows the brick element to engage with a substantially flat reinforcement member which includes one or more holes and which is also adapted, in use, to extend over said 20 brick element and at least another identical brick element in the same course, the engagement means being adapted to engage the reinforcement member such that the reinforcement member is able to be located between said brick element and the bricks of adjacent courses and such that one of the holes of the reinforcement member aligns with the shaft.

Preferably the brick element is shaped in the form of a rectangular prism.

It is further preferable that the bricks are made from either baked clay or concrete.

3a It is also preferable that the aperture in the brick element is centrally located in the brick; that is, the aperture lies at the centre of the bed of the brick.

When the brick is laid, the aperture passes vertically through the brick.

Preferably the brick element includes a groove in both end faces of the brick. It is further preferable that the groove is centrally located in each end face of the brick. It is semicircular in profile. When the brick is laid, the aperture groove extends vertically.

The reinforcement members act to provide the brick elements with a horizontal joining effect and to distribute the load throughout the brick structure.

The reinforcement members are preferably made of either metal, such as steel, or reinforced plastic.

It is preferable for washers or the like to be used in conjunction with the fastening and reinforcement members in order to more effectively transfer the ,prestress of the fastening members to the brick elements.

15 It is also preferable to inject mortar into spaces or joints between the brick elements once a tightening force has been applied with the fastening members.

The mortar acts to bond the brick elements and to assist in the distribution of the load throughout the brick structure.

*o Each fastening member may be of a length which allows only one brick element to be fastened or of a length which permits more than one brick element to be fastened.

The fastening members may have threads around the bottom end (male) of the shank and a threaded hole at the top end (female) or vice versa, thereby allowing any length of fastening member to be assembled in order to meet the total height of the brick construction. By coupling a number of fastening members in this way, bricks of the respective courses can be tightened as much as needed, allowing different levels of prestresses to be applied and distributed in accordance with a stress distribution map of the brick structure, such as is obtained through structural design and/or stress analysis. In order to provide such prestresses it is advisable to use appropriate torque wrenches.

If prestress is initially applied to the bottom course of bricks and then to each subsequent course of bricks, the tightening force applied to the upper 15 courses is transferred to the lower courses. For example, experiments by the inventors have shown that with a constant tightening force given to each course of bricks, the tightening of the sixth course of bricks produced a prestress in the bottom course of bricks three times as much as the initial prestress. Therefore in the structure of exemplary embodiments the present invention a relatively small tightening force can produce a large prestress.

In the brick structure of embodiments of the present invention, the brick *elements are secured by means of the fastening members and the horizontal reinforcement member so as to form a solid body. This allows the brick structure as a whole to withstand external loads. Moreover, the brick fastening system of embodiments of this invention in which apertures and end grooves of brick elements in adjacent courses provide shafts for the fastening members, makes it possible to adjust the alignment of bricks after the bricks have been laid by merely loosening the relevant fastening members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a brick element useable in the brick structure of the present invention.

Fig. 2 depicts a preferred embodiment of a brick element used in the brick structure of the present invention.

Fig. 3 depicts a further preferred embodiment of a brick element used in the brick structure of the present invention.

Fig. 4 illustrates a preferred form of a partially constructed brick structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a front view of a brick structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a side view of the brick structure depicted in Fig. DESCRPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a brick element useable in the present invention. The brick element 1 includes a centrally located aperture la which passes through the brick from its upper face to its lower face. The brick element further includes a vertically extending groove lb on both end faces of the brick.

15 The groove lb extends from the upper face to the lower face of the brick and is located at or near the middle of both end faces of the brick. Preferably the groove lb is semicircular in profile. By placing two bricks together end to end an aperture is formed by the pair of adjacent end grooves 1 b in each brick.

A preferred embodiment of a brick shown in Fig. 2 further includes a right- 20 angled recess 1 c along each longitudinal edge of the upper face of the brick so as to make joint filling easier. Alternatively where for example no joint filling is needed on the rear side of a brick construction the top of the brick may be provided with a right-angle recess 1c along one longitudinal edge only.

So Referring to Fig. 3, the brick 1 may further include downward projections 1 d along the longitudinal edges of the lower face of the brick which act to conceal the reinforcement members located between each course of bricks and also improve the accuracy of brick alignment.

To form a brick structure according to the present embodiment, the brick elements are laid in courses in a staggered ("zig-zagged") manner as illustrated 6 in Figs. 4 and 5 such that the aperture 1 a in a brick in one course aligns with the aperture formed by the end grooves of a pair of adjacent bricks in the adjacent course of bricks. Thus vertical shafts are created in the brick structure by the aligned apertures and end grooves of the bricks.

Flat reinforcement members or bars 5, preferably of steel or wire-mesh reinforced plastic, are sandwiched between consecutive courses of bricks. The reinforcement members include holes which are placed in registration with the vertical shafts formed in the brick structure by the laid bricks.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, fastening members comprising a threaded rod 2 and a nut 3, are inserted into the vertical shafts formed by the aligned apertures la and pairs of end grooves lb of the bricks. The fastening members are used to provide the laid bricks with a compressive force so as to join them together and form a solid body.

A brick laying procedure in accordance with a preferred embodiment of 15 the present invention will now described with reference to Figs. 4 to 6.

Preferably the brick structure is constructed upon a concrete base 10. The fastening members include vertically extending anchor bolts 11 which are set in *place in the concrete base 10. Preferably a layer of hard sponge material 12 is placed on the concrete base 10 before the first course of bricks is laid so as to 20 compensate for variations in brick size and thereby provide for the horizontal alignment of the bricks. To construct a straight wall the bricks 1 of the first course are laid such that their front faces are aligned and the centres of the apertures la and the end grooves lb lie in a straight line.

One or more flat reinforcement members 5 and associated washers 4 are laid horizontally on the first brick course. Each reinforcement bar contains one or more holes spaced such that when the reinforcement bar is correctly positioned the holes register either with the apertures la in the bricks and the apertures formed by the end grooves 1 b of adjacent bricks.

The bricks 1 of the second course are laid over the reinforcement members such that the apertures la of the second course bricks align with the apertures formed by the end grooves 1 b of adjacent bricks in the first course.

Nuts 3 are screwed onto each anchor bolt 11, preferably through the aperture formed by a pair of end grooves lb of the second course bricks, so that a compressive force is transferred to the first course bricks so as to tie the course of bricks and the base together.

The same process as above is then repeated for each further course of bricks up to the last brick course and a fixing means (not shown) is screwed onto each anchor bolt and on the top of the last nut. The cross joints of the course work are then filled with mortar, acts to also provide a rust-proofing effect for the washers 4.

Each of the fastening members 2 and 3 act to provide prestress to the brick elements of the relevant brick courses. This prestress can be adjusted by varying the tightening torque applied to the nuts 3. It should be noted that due to the fastening process being applied from the bottom course to the top course, there is a cumulative prestress applied to the lower brick courses thereby 15 enabling a large amount of prestress to be applied to the lower courses where stress is likely to concentrate during an earthquake or the like.

By utilising the method described above, an anti-seismic brick structure 0 can be created wherein the brick elements are both horizontally and vertically joined together to form a solid body. The brick structure is not only joined 20 vertically by virtue of the prestress given by the anchor bolts and nuts but also joined horizontally by means of the reinforcement members laid between each course of bricks. Thus a brick structure is formed which as a whole withstands external loadings unlike conventionally bonded brick structures and exhibits excellent anti-seismic capabilities.

Furthermore, since brick elements in the structure are joined together by applying a tightening force to the relevant fastening members, it is possible to adjust the position of any brick element, even after brick laying has finished, by loosening the relevant fastening members. In this way brick laying can be carried out more easily and without the need for highly skilled brick layers.

The terms "comprise", "comprises", "comprised" and "comprising" when used in this specification are taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

S*

S

S

S S S

Claims (14)

1. A brick structure comprising: a plurality of brick elements, wherein each brick element includes an aperture which passes through the brick from an upper face of the brick to a lower face of the brick, and a groove located in an end face of the brick and extending from said upper face of the brick to said lower face of the brick; a plurality of courses of said brick elements, wherein the apertures in the bricks in a course of bricks align with the grooves of the bricks in an adjacent course of bricks so as to create shafts through said courses of bricks; a plurality of substantially flat reinforcement members, said reinforcement members including one or more holes wherein said reinforcement members are .located between adjacent courses of bricks and extend over at least two bricks in a course of bricks and said one or more holes are placed in registration with said shafts through said courses of bricks; and a plurality of fastening members located in said shafts through said courses of bricks; and providing a compression force to hold the bricks firmly S together. o*

2. A brick structure of claim 1 wherein each brick element is adapted to be •adjustable in terms of its position in the brick structure.

3. A method of constructing a brick structure from a plurality of brick elements, said brick elements each including an aperture which passes through the brick from an upper face of the brick to a lower face of the brick, and a groove located in an end face of the brick and extending from said upper face of the brick to said lower face of the brick; said method comprising: laying said brick elements in a plurality of courses such that the apertures in the bricks in a course of bricks align with the grooves of the bricks in an Sadjacent course of bricks so as to create shafts through said courses of bricks; placing substantially flat reinforcement members between adjacent courses of bricks so as to extend over at least two bricks in a course of bricks, said reinforcement members including one or more holes which are placed in registration with said shafts through said courses of bricks; and placing fastening members in said shafts through said courses of bricks to provide a compression force to hold the bricks firmly together.

4. A method of claim 3 including the step of placing the fastening members in the courses beginning with the bottom course and sequentially up to the top course thereby creating a cumulative prestress applied to the lower courses.

A method of claim 3 or 4 including the step of adjusting the position of any brick element in the brick structure after brick laying has finished which involves 0 0o loosening one of the fastening members associated with the brick element to be adjusted.

6. A brick element operatively adapted to be arranged in relation to other identical brick elements to form a brick structure in accordance with the method of any one of claims 3 to 5, the brick element including: an aperture which passes through the brick element from an upper face of the brick to a lower face of the brick, and a groove located in an end face of the brick element and extending from said upper face of the brick to said lower face; the aperture being arranged and adapted such that, when the brick element is laid in accordance with said method as part of a course of other identical brick elements and with one course on top of another, the aperture in the brick is adapted to align with the grooves of the identical brick elements in adjacent courses so as a create a shaft through said courses, the shaft being adapted to receive a fastening member therein in order to provide a compressive force to hold the bricks firmly together; the brick element also being provided with engagement means that allows the brick element to engage with a substantially flat reinforcement member which includes one or more holes and which is also adapted, in use, to extend over said brick element and at least another identical brick element in the same course, the engagement means being adapted to engage the reinforcement member such that the reinforcement member is able to be located between said brick element and the bricks of adjacent courses and such that one of the holes of the reinforcement member aligns with the shaft.

7. A brick element of claim 6 wherein the engagement means includes a part located in the upper face of the brick.

8. A brick element of claim 7 wherein the engagement means in the upper o face comprises a right-angled recess along one or both longitudinal edges of the upper face. :i

9. A brick element of any one of claims 6 to 8 wherein the engagement means includes a part located in the lower face of the brick.

~10. A brick element of claim 9 wherein the engagement means in the lower face comprises downward projections along the longitudinal edges of the lower face of the brick.

11. A brick element of any one of claims 6 to 10 wherein the brick structure is in accordance with claim 1 or 2.

12. A brick structure substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings. 11

13. A method of constructing a brick structure, the method substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A brick element substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to Figures 2 to 6 of the accompanying drawings. DATED this 23rd day of January, 2001 TOSHISADA HIROOKA YASUNORI MATSUFUJI WATERMARK PATENT TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS 290 BURWOOD ROAD HAWTHORN VICTORIA 3122 AUSTRALIA SKP/RJS/MEH P13674AU00.DOC *.r S* •q>