EP2116663A1

EP2116663A1 - Insulating composite block for the building industry, and method of manufacturing said block

Info

Publication number: EP2116663A1
Application number: EP08155860A
Authority: EP
Original assignee: Stamford Consulting Ltd
Current assignee: Stamford Consulting Ltd
Priority date: 2008-05-08
Filing date: 2008-05-08
Publication date: 2009-11-11

Abstract

An insulating composite block (1) for the building industry comprises a first and a second brick element (2, 3), at least one insulating body (4, 5) interposed between said brick elements (2, 3), and at least one metal clamp (7) that is preferably applied onto the top base (20, 30) of both brick elements (2, 3) and connects them by passing through a portion of the at least one insulating body (4, 5) projecting with respect to said elements. A method of manufacturing the block is also provided.

Description

The present invention relates to an insulating composite block for the building industry and to a method of manufacturing said block.
It is known to build walls of buildings, especially external walls that must have thermal and/or acoustic insulation properties, by using composite blocks comprising a first and a second brick element and at least one insulating body arranged between said elements. Said blocks are known for instance from EP 0041417 and EP 1085137 .
It is desirable that the brick elements should be kept joined and aligned when building a wall, and it is an object of the invention to provide a block of the kind discussed above, and a method of manufacturing said block, which allow meeting such requirement.
According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the block further comprises at least one metal clamp that is applied onto and in contact with at least one base of both brick elements and connects them by passing through a portion of the at least one insulating body projecting with respect to said base.
Preferably, the clamp is secured to the brick elements, in particular by gluing.
Advantageously, the clamp has a central portion, adhering to both brick elements, and two end portions, each adhering to a respective one of the brick elements and substantially transversally arranged with respect to the central portion, and the clamp is glued to the brick elements in correspondence of its central portion and/or its end portions.
The end portions can lie substantially in the same plane as the central portion, or they may be arranged in respective planes perpendicular to the plane of the base on which the clamp is applied. In the latter case, the end portions are secured to the central portion near their bottom edges.
The invention also concerns a method of manufacturing said block, wherein a first and a second brick elements are formed, at least one insulating body projecting with respect to at least one base of said elements is placed between said brick elements, and the two brick elements are connected by at least one metal clamp that is applied onto and in contact with at least said base and that passes through the projecting portion of the at least one insulating body
The features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of non limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a block according to the invention, using a first embodiment of the clamp;
Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the block shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a block using a second embodiment of the clamp; and
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the clamp used in the block shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, an insulating block 1 includes, in known manner, two brick elements 2 and 3 between which one or more bodies of thermally and/or acoustically insulating material are interposed, for instance two bodies 4 and 5 associated with brick elements 2 and 3, respectively. Insulating bodies 4 and 5 are slightly higher than brick elements 2 and 3, so as to project beyond the bases of such elements in order to contact the insulating bodies of an overlying or underlying block 1, thereby leaving the space for the application of mortar for securing superimposed blocks.
According to the invention, in order to obtain an alignment and a mechanical connection between brick elements 2 and 3, at least one substantially flat clamp 7 is applied onto at least one base of such elements, in particular top base 20, 30, which clamp joins both elements 2 and 3 by passing through the projecting portions of insulating bodies 4 and 5.
Preferably, clamp 7 is secured, for instance glued, to bases 20 and 30 at one or more points 8 and 9, respectively, of an edge of at least one of vertical channels 10 formed in elements 2 and 3. Clamp 7 can however be kept in position only by the mortar applied while building a wall.
Clamp 7 has a central portion 70 adhering to both elements 2 and 3 and two end portions 71 and 72 each adhering to a respective one of elements 2 and 3. The end portions are oriented in a different direction with respect to central portion 70, for instance, substantially transversally thereto. More particularly, end portions 71 and 72 have one end joined to central portion 70 and extend in mutually opposite directions, thereby giving a substantially double-L shape to the clamp.
In the illustrated example, securing points 8 and 9 are provided along central portion 70.
In the variant embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 4, clamp 7A still comprises a central portion 70A and two end portions 71A and 72A, substantially transversally arranged with respect to central portion 70A. End portions 71A and 72A have the shape of substantially rectangular closed frames and extend in respective planes perpendicular to the plane of bases 20 and 30 of brick elements 2 and 3, for instance over an height substantially corresponding to the height of the projecting portions of insulating bodies 4 and 5. End portions 71A and 72A are joined to central portion 70A at an intermediate point of the side (in particular, the bottom side) through which they rest on the respective base 20, 30. Preferably the end portions are perpendicular also to central portion 70A so that clamp 7A, when viewed in plan, is substantially H-shaped.
Also in this variant, securing points 8A and 9A are provided along central portion 70A.
For manufacturing the block according to the invention, after brick elements 2 and 3 and insulating bodies 4 and 5 have been formed, a hole will be pierced in said bodies at the level of bases 20, 30 of brick elements 2, 3. Brick elements 2 and 3 and insulating bodies 4 and 5 are then brought in contact, clamp 7 or 7A is made to pass through the hole and is glued, if desired, to the brick elements. Block 1 is thus ready for use.
It is clear that the above description has been given only by way of non-limiting example and that changes and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, clamp 7 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 can be Z- or S-shaped, etc., instead of being double-L-shaped. End portions 71A and 72A of clamp 7A can have a polygonal shape other than rectangular, e.g. a trapezoidal shape, or can be shaped as circular segments the bases of which rest on elements 2, 3, respectively. The same end portions 71A and 72A could also consist of plates instead of frames. Moreover, both clamp 7 and clamp 7A can be applied onto the bottom base or onto both bases of a block, and can be glued in correspondence of end portions 71 and 72 or 71A and 72A, respectively, in the alternative or in addition to gluing along central portion 70 or 70A.

Claims

An insulating composite block (1) for the building industry, comprising a first and a second brick element (2, 3) and at least one insulating body (4, 5) interposed between said brick elements (2, 3), characterised in that the block (1) further comprises at least one metal clamp (7; 7A) that is applied onto at least one base (20, 30) of both brick elements (2, 3) and connects them by passing through a portion of the at least one insulating body (4, 5) projecting with respect to said base (20, 30).
The block as claimed in claim 1, wherein said clamp (7; 7A) is secured, in particular glued, to said base (20, 30).
The block as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said clamp (7; 7A) has a central portion (70; 70A) adhering to both brick elements (2, 3), and two end portions (71, 72; 71A, 72A) each adhering to a respective one of said brick elements (2, 3) and substantially transversally arranged with respect to the central portion (70; 70A), and wherein said clamp (7; 7A) is secured to said brick elements (2, 3) in correspondence of its central portion (70; 70A) and/or its end portions (71, 72; 71A, 72A).
The block as claimed in claim 3, wherein the end portions (71, 72) are substantially coplanar with the central portion (70).
The block as claimed in claim 4, wherein the end portions (71, 72) have one end joined to the central portion (70) and extend in substantially opposite directions with respect to the central portion (70).
The block as claimed in claim 3, wherein the end portions (71A, 72A) of said clamp (7A) extend in respective planes perpendicular to the plane of said bases (20, 30) and preferably perpendicular also to the central portion (70A), and are joined to said central portion (70A) in correspondence of a bottom edge.
The block as claimed in claim 6, wherein said end portions (71A, 72A) are joined to said central portion (70A) at an intermediate point of said bottom edge.
The block as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a clamp (7; 7A) applied to each of the two bases of the brick elements (2, 3).
A method of manufacturing an insulating composite block (1) for the building industry, wherein a first and a second brick elements (2, 3) are formed and at least one insulating body (4, 5) is interposed between the brick elements (2, 3) in such a manner that it projects with respect to at least one base (20, 30) of said elements, characterised in that the two brick elements (2, 3) are connected by a metal clamp (7; 7A) that is applied at least onto said base (20, 30) and passes through the projecting portion of the at least one insulating body (4, 5).
The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said clamp (7; 7A) is secured to said base (20, 30) in particular by gluing.
The method as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the brick elements (2, 3) are connected by a metal clamp (7; 7A) applied on each of the bases of the brick elements (2, 3).