EP4108846A1

EP4108846A1 - A device for coupling building elements into a composition of the elements

Info

Publication number: EP4108846A1
Application number: EP21180767.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Johannes Stefanus KEIJZER
Original assignee: Heddes Bouw En Ontwikkeling BV
Current assignee: Heddes Bouw En Ontwikkeling BV
Priority date: 2021-06-22
Filing date: 2021-06-22
Publication date: 2022-12-28

Abstract

A device (1) for coupling building elements together, comprising an extending element having a first leg (5) in a first direction and a second leg (6) oriented at an angle of substantially 90° with respect to the first leg, and wherein at least one of the two legs comprises a receiver (7) adapted to receive a leg of a similar device. A method for manufacturing an assembly of building elements using this device, comprising the steps of: placing a first leg of a first device in a joint between a first building element and a second building element placed on the first building element, wherein the second leg, in particular the receiver of the second leg, of the first device extends to the height of a joint between the second building element and a third building element placed on the second building element, and placing a first leg of a second device in the receiver of the second leg of the first device and in the joint between the second and the third building element and wherein the second leg, in particular the receiver of the second leg, of the second device extends to the height of a joint between the third building element and a fourth building element placed on the third building element.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for providing mutual reinforcement of a coupling between building elements according to the preamble of claim 1. In particular, the invention is directed to a bracket for improving a mutual coupling of masonry stones in a wall.
Masonry stones in a wall are interconnected by mortar. Such a coupling provides sufficient strength when the wall is supported on a firm and stable foundation. With free-hanging dams, such a coupling with mortar is often not sufficient when the dam has to be installed in place as a prefab element, or the dam does not meet constructional and safety requirements. In such a situation a reinforcement has to be provided to improve the stability in a width direction of the dam. A solution applied in practice is to provide an elongate element in the longitudinal direction of a joint, which element extends over several stone lengths. A drawback of this solution is that a reinforcement of the compressive strength only is obtained, not of the tensile strength. When lifting a wall part according to the prior art, it is therefore necessary to provide a support on the entire underside of the wall part.
This known method of handling offers insufficient security, so that until now preference has been given to bricklaying wall sections on site, also in high buildings, which necessitates the construction of scaffolding, which costs a lot of time and money.
It is an object of the invention to provide a solution for lifting and placing prefabricated wall parts, generally referred to as dams, in a facade.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a solution whereby the prefabricated dam can be placed in its final position all at once and in its entirety.
In particular, it is an object to provide a solution whereby the dam can be handled in its entirety, substantially without support of the dam on the entire underside.
It is therefore also an object of the invention to make it easier to place a dam.
It is also a goal to install a prefabricated dam faster and cheaper.
In order to obtain at least one of the aforesaid objects, according to a first embodiment, the invention provides a device comprising the features of claim 1. This device, hereinafter also referred to as a bracket, has the advantage that a downwardly directed force of a building element, for example a masonry brick, is transferred by the bracket to the upper bracket and thus to an upper building element. A building element will therefore never be able to become detached from an above building element or row of building elements. This provides great security when lifting and moving a prefabricated dam and the like.
The invention therefore relates to a device for coupling building elements together, comprising an extending element having a first leg in a first direction and a second leg oriented at an angle of substantially 90° with respect to the first leg, and wherein at least one of the two legs comprises a receiver adapted to receive a leg of a similar device. The receiver can take many shapes suitable to provide tensile strength when both devices are subjected to a force directed away from each other. A simple shape is obtained when the receiver is a bend of the leg through at least 90°.
According to a preferred embodiment the second leg comprises the receiver and the thickness of the first leg is a maximum of 10 mm, preferably a maximum of 7 mm, more preferably a maximum of 5 mm. As a result, the first leg fits in almost every joint between two building elements to be placed on top of each other, for example masonry stones. Moreover, as a result, the strength of the device will be sufficient and it will not bend when a prefabricated assembly of building elements is lifted and tensile forces are exerted on the device.
In order to be able to place the device in the joint between each row of building elements of an assembly, it is preferred that the height of the second leg is identical to the height of the building element and the joint. In practice it is therefore preferred that the length of the second leg is between 40 mm and 100 mm, preferably between 40 mm and 85 mm, and preferably between 50 mm and 75 mm.
In order to provide optimum strength and to be able to manufacture the device simply and relatively cheaply, it is preferred that the device is formed as a unitary body.
It is especially preferred that the body is a bent steel wire.
As mentioned above, it is preferred that the receiver is a bent end of a steel element. The bending of the steel wire, or the degree of deflection, will have to be over at least 90° to be able to effectively hold a subsequent device. For example, it could be bent through an angle between 90° and 270°.
In order to obtain a simple manufacture of the device, the element has an equal thickness over the entire length. This also makes it cheap to manufacture.
Long-lasting operation is guaranteed when the device is manufactured from stainless steel.
An optional improvement of the fixation of the first leg in the joint is obtained with a variant where the second leg comprises the receiver and the first leg is located in a plane perpendicular to the second leg and is bent such that the first leg extends in at least two directions, both in said plane.
In particular, preference is given to a device according to the invention wherein the first leg is adapted for placement in a joint between two masonry stones to be placed on top of each other. This enables the manufacture of prefabricated wall parts of masonry bricks which, as an assembly, can be easily placed at a position in a wall of a building, in particular at a position remote from a ground floor. Due to the stable and sturdy construction obtained by means of the device according to the invention, the prefabricated assembly can be lifted simply and safely to and placed at the intended position without disintegration of the building elements being obtained.
According to a further aspect, the invention relates to a use of at least two devices according to any one of the preceding claims in an assembly formed from building elements, which assembly comprises at least three rows of building elements, wherein a first leg of a first device is placed in a joint between a first and a second building element and the second leg thereof extends to the height of a joint between the second and a third building element, and wherein a first leg of a second device is received in the receiver of the second leg of the first device and extends into the joint between the second and third building element and the second leg of the second device extends to the height of a joint between the third and a fourth building element. The desired goals are hereby obtained in a simple manner.
According to yet another aspect, the invention relates to a method for manufacturing an assembly of building elements using a device according to any one of claims 1-10, comprising the steps of: - placing a first leg of a first device in a joint between a first building element and a second building element placed on the first building element, wherein the second leg, in particular the receiver of the second leg, of the first device extends to the height of a joint between the second building element and a third building element placed on the second building element,
and - placing a first leg of a second device in the receiver of the second leg of the first device and in the joint between the second and the third building element and wherein the second leg, in particular the receiver of the second leg, of the second device extends to the height of a joint between the third building element and a fourth building element placed on the third building element. This method provides an assembly which satisfies the desired objectives and which offers the said advantages.
Finally, the invention relates to an assembly of building elements obtained with a method according to the invention or from a use as mentioned above, wherein the assembly has a visible side and a rear side, and the second legs of the devices are placed at the rear side of the assembly.
The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing. The drawing hereby shows in:

fig. 1, 2 and 3 a top view of the placement of a device in an assembly of building elements,
fig. 4 a sectional side view of the use of devices according to the invention in an assembly of building elements,
fig. 5 and 7 a view in different positions of a device according to the invention,
fig. 6 a view of an assembly according to the invention, and
fig. 8 a hoisting frame for moving an assembly of building elements.

In the figures, the same parts are indicated by the same reference numerals. However, the parts necessary for a practical implementation of the invention are not all shown, because of the simplicity of the representation.
Fig. 1, 2 and 3 show the arrangement of devices 1 according to the invention in an assembly 2 of building elements 3 in top view. In fig. 1, a row of five building elements 3 is placed next to each other with intermediate joints 4. A device 1 is placed at two different positions at the height of a joint 4. The device comprises a first leg 5 which is placed on the row of building elements 3 . A second leg 6 (not visible as such in Fig. 1) extends perpendicularly in the plane of the drawing. A receiver 7 is provided at the end of the second leg 6 . The width of the first leg 5 of the device 1 is slightly less than the width of the joint 4.
Fig. 2 shows a variant in which the device 1 is slightly rotated with respect to the positioning in Fig. 1. As a result, the first leg is positioned above two adjacent building elements 3, 3' .
For the sake of clarity, the mortar on the row of building elements is not shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. In practice, the device 1 according to the invention will be surrounded on all sides by mortar.
Fig. 3 shows a view of a variant of a row of building elements in which a building element 3" is provided next to and parallel to the other building elements 3.
In fig. 4 shows a side view of an assembly 8 of four rows 9, 10, 11, 12 of building elements 3. A layer of joint mortar is provided on each row of building elements, in which each time a first leg 5 of the devices 1 according to the invention is placed. The second leg 6 extends upwards along a building element 3, up to the next joint. The first leg of an upper device has passed through the receiver 7 of the previous device, as shown in Fig. 4 and in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 and Fig. 7 show the device 1 according to the invention from different angles. It is clear from Fig. 7 that the first leg 5 is formed of several parts 5', 5", 5'" each placed at an angle from each other. As a result, the device 1 according to the invention cannot be removed from a joint once the joint mortar has hardened.
Fig. 6 shows a view of an assembly of different rows of building elements 3, which are mutually coupled in each case with several devices 1 according to the invention. Fig. 6 shows a rear view of the assembly. The devices 1 are not visible on the other side of the assembly. The side shown in Fig. 6 can, for example, be placed at a cavity wall side.
Fig. 8 finally shows a hoisting frame 13 for moving an assembly of building elements according to the invention. A bottom row of building elements can be placed on the supporting surface 14 of the hoisting frame 13, formed from bottom arms 15, 15', while the arms 16, 16' at the top extend over the assembly and prevent the assembly from being released from the hoisting frame 13. The bottom arms 15, 15' can optionally be fitted in recesses on the underside of the assembly, which has the advantage that the assembly can be placed directly on a support surface in a wall. For instance, the recesses can be formed by omitting building elements from the assembly. After placing the prefabricated assembly, the omitted building elements can be fitted to fill the recesses.
The invention also extends to any combination of measures described above independently of each other.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the figures. The invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

A device for coupling building elements together, comprising an extending element having a first leg in a first direction and a second leg oriented at an angle of substantially 90° with respect to the first leg, and wherein at least one of the two legs comprises a receiver adapted to receive a leg of a similar device.
A device according to claim 1, wherein the second leg comprises the receiver and the thickness of the first leg is a maximum of 10 mm, preferably a maximum of 7 mm, more preferably a maximum of 5 mm.
A device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the length of the second leg is between 40 mm and 100 mm, preferably between 40 mm and 85 mm, and preferably between 50 mm and 75 mm.
A device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the device is formed as a unitary body.
A device according to claim 4, wherein the body is a bent steel wire.
A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the receiver is a bent end of a steel element, preferably bent through an angle between 90° and 270°.
A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the element has an equal thickness over the entire length.
A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein it is manufactured from stainless steel.
A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second leg comprises the receiver and the first leg is located in a plane perpendicular to the second leg and is bent such that the first leg extends in at least two directions, both in said plane.
A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first leg is adapted for placement in a joint between two masonry stones to be placed on top of each other.
A use of at least two devices according to any one of the preceding claims in an assembly formed from building elements, which assembly comprises at least three rows of building elements, wherein a first leg of a first device is placed in a joint between a first and a second building element and the second leg thereof extends to the height of a joint between the second and a third building element, and wherein a first leg of a second device is received in the receiver of the second leg of the first device and extends into the joint between the second and third building element and the second leg of the second device extends to the height of a joint between the third and a fourth building element.
A method for manufacturing an assembly of building elements using a device according to any one of claims 1-10, comprising the steps of:
placing a first leg of a first device in a joint between a first building element and a second building element placed on the first building element, wherein the second leg, in particular the receiver of the second leg, of the first device extends to the height of a joint between the second building element and a third building element placed on the second building element, and

placing a first leg of a second device in the receiver of the second leg of the first device and in the joint between the second and the third building element and wherein the second leg, in particular the receiver of the second leg, of the second device extends to the height of a joint between the third building element and a fourth building element placed on the third building element.
An assembly of building elements obtained with a method according to claim 12 or from a use according to claim 11, wherein the assembly has a visible side and a rear side, and the second legs of the devices are placed at the rear side of the assembly.