GB2346388A

GB2346388A - Interlocking building block with cavity for accepting ballast

Info

Publication number: GB2346388A
Application number: GB9901294A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Abdul Rauf; Thomas Joseph Maguire
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-01-22
Filing date: 1999-01-22
Publication date: 2000-08-09
Also published as: GB9901294D0

Abstract

A building block comprises a pair of parallel side walls and a pair of shorter parallel end walls and a floor (15) which is located above the lower edge of the walls so as to define a recess on the underside of the block and an internal space, which may be divided into more than one cavity, above the floor. The block also includes protrusion formations (18, 19) extending above the upper edge of the side walls which are approximately equal in height to the distance between the lower surface of the floor and the lower edge of the side walls. In order to form a structure the cavities are filled, through the open topped protrusions with ballast, for example sand, earth or water and the blocks are stacked such that a protrusion from each adjacent block extends into the recess of the block above. Preferably the blocks are made from a fire resistant plastics material and may include a formation for accommodating pipe or cable. Also disclosed is the use of capping strips on the uppermost blocks of a structure.

Description

Title: BUILDING BLOCK Description of Invention This invention relates to a building block which is able to be stacked together with other such blocks to form a structure, without the need for any adhesive, cement, or other bonding medium to prevent separation of the blocks.

Such blocks of this type are generally known, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved, more versatile block, for use in a variety of different circumstances.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a building block having protrusion and recess formations whereby a plurality of such blocks may be assembled together by location of the or a protrusion formation of one block in the or a recess formation of another, and wherein the block comprises a cavity able to receive a ballast material.

Preferably the block comprises side walls and a floor extending between the side walls to define a lower boundaiy or base of the cavity, upon which the ballast material can be received.

Conveniently the block is generally rectangular in plan view, having two parallel shorter side walls and two parallel longer side walls disposed substantially at right angles to the shorter side walls.

Preferably the block is provided with two of said protrusion formations, each extending above the side walls of the block and, in plan view, disposed inwardly of the side walls so as to be engageable in a recess formation defined by lower parts of the side walls of another said block, beneath said floor.

Preferably the height of the protrusion formations above the upper edges of the side walls is approximately equal to the distance by which a dov-nwardly facing surface of the floor is disposed above the lower edges of the side walls.

In this way, a plurality of blocks may be stacked one upon the other, with the upper edges of the side walls of one block abutting or nearly abutting the lower edges of the side walls of a superimposed block. The recess formation of an upper block may receive the adjacent protrusion formations of two adjacent lower blocks so that the bond or staggering of successive rows of bricks in a conventional brick-built structure may be reproduced in a structure built of the blocks according to the invention.

The blocks may be about the size of a common brick, or may be larger, e. g. about the size of a breeze block.

Blocks in accordance with the invention preferably are made of a plastics material which preferably is one which is fire-resistant. They may be of a colour which is characteristic of bricks or other similar building elements : a range of colours may be provided to match those in which bricks or the like are available.

A block in accordance with the invention may have a single internal cavity, or the internal space may be divided into two or more cavity parts.

Preferably access is gained to the cavity or cavity parts by way of an open top of the or each protrusion formation at the top of the block.

It is envisaged that sand, gravel, earth, rubble or the like may be used as the ballast material which may be introduced into the cavity of a block.

Possibly even water could be used as a ballast material. If a structure is being built by use of the blocks, the ballast material may be introduced into each block before it is laid in the required position relative to adjacent blocks, or for example a row of blocks may be laid and then ballast material introduced before the next course of blocks is laid on top of it.

Building blocks in accordance with the invention have the major avantage that, by virtue of their plastics construction, they are light in weight and easily transportable. When they are used they may be filled with the ballast material so that they have sufficient weight to form a reasonably weather-resistant temporary structure. It is envisaged that such a method of use has significant avantages in respect of the construction of, for example, garden features such as walls or sheds which might not require to be permanent, children's playhouses, garages, flower display boxes, internal dividing walls, site offices, toilets, beach structures such as changing huts, film/TV/stage sets, exhibition stands. In some such uses, where a structure is not required to have sufficient weight to resist wind forces and the like, little or no ballast material may be used.

It is also envisaged that blocks in accordance with the invention may be usable in disaster areas, e. g. to construct temporary buildings or in place of sand bags in flooded areas.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which : Figure 1 is a side view of a building block in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the block of Figure 1 ; Figure 3 illustrates the blocks in use ; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of a modified block in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 show a building block indicated generally at 10, which is rectangular in plan view having a pair of opposed longer side walls 11,13 and a pair of opposed spaced parallel shorter side or end walls 12, 14. Between the walls 11-14 there extends longitudinally and transversely a substantially horizontal partition or floor 15, which is spaced above the lower edge 16 of the side walls so as to define a recess 17 on the underside of the block and an internal cavity above the floor.

Two protrusion formations 18,19 extend above the upper edge 20 of the side walls 11-14 of the block, each protrusion being substantially rectangular in plan view and defined by walls spaced inwardly, in plan view, of the walls 11-14 of the block. The height of the protrusions 18,19 is approximately equal to the height of a lower surface 21 of the floor 15 above the lower edge 16 of the side walls of the block.

The dimensions of the block as above described are such that the blocks are able to be stacked one upon another with the protrusions of a block or blocks entering the recess formation (s) of a superposed block or blocks. As shown in Figure 3, the adjacent protrusions of two adjacent blocks may enter the recess of a superposed block which spans the two lower blocks, so that the blocks interlock in the manner of conventional brickwork with successive courses staggered relative to one another. Figure 3 also illustrates that the blocks have their internal cavities containing ballast material such as sand or the like so that a wall or other structure built of the blocks has sufficient weight to resist unintentional demolition.

It will be appreciated that variations may be made in the construction of blocks according to the invention without deviating from the general principle of the invention. For example, in the illustrated embodiment the protrusions 18,19 have adjacent walls 24,25 which do not extend down to the floor 15 of the block. In manufacture of the block by, e. g. a moulding process, it might be convenient to extend such walls down to the floor so that the internal cavity of the block into which ballast material can be introduced is divided into two separate parts. In this case, access to such cavity parts is still obtainable through the open tops of the protrusions 18,19.

A wall or other structure built of blocks in accordance with the invention may have its upper edge capped by the fitting over the protrusions of a number of the blocks of a capping strip or the like. Such a capping strip may be of approximately the height of the floor of each block above the bottom edge of its side walls, and may be sufficiently long to cover a plurality of individual blocks. Alternatively a capping member could be provided by cutting a block horizontally just above the floor thereof, to provide an inverted trough-like member which is able to receive two adjacent protrusions on blocks.

Blocks in accordance with the invention may be utilised to build most configurations of structure for which conventional bricks are commonly used.

They may incorporate recesses, passages, or other formations to accommodate pipes and plumbing elements, and/or electric cables and the like. They may have chamfered or otherwise configured edges on their walls, and be coloured to provide a simulation of mortar between courses of bricks. If not required for a use for which a heavyweight ballast material is desirable, their internal cavity may be honeycombed or filled with a foamed material or the like.

Referring now to Figure 4 of the drawings, this shows in plan view the extemal profile of a modified embodiment of block in accordance with the invention: details of the upward protrusions as 18,19 thereon is omitted. In this modified block, whilst it retains the overall generally rectangular configuration in plan view, one of its end walls 30 is provided with two endwise-extending protrusions 31, 32 and the opposite end wall 33 is provided with two complementary recesses 34, 35. Side wall 36 of the block is provided with two laterally extending protrusions 37, 38, and the opposite side wall 39 is provided with two complementary recesses 40,41. The recesses 40,41 are spaced from one another by the same distance as the protrusions 37, 38, but are offset lengthwise of the block therefrom.

The protrusions and recesses shown in Figure 4 enable blocks in accordance with the invention to have interfitting engagement with one another in the direction of the length of a course of the blocks, and also blocks positioned one behind the other are also able to intenfit. Such interfitting of protrusions and recesses, in addition to the interfitting between protrusions and recesses of blocks positioned on top of one another, enables a structure to be built which is extremely robust and resistant to unintentional demolition.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilise for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A building block comprising protrusion and recess formations whereby a plurality of said blocks can be assembled to form a structure by location by the or-a protrusion of one block in the or a recess formation of another, wherein the block further comprises a cavity for receiving a ballast material.
2. A block according to Claim 1 comprising side walls and a floor formation extending between said side walls to define a lower boundary of said cavity, upon which the ballast material can be received.
3. A block according to Claim 2 which is generally rectangular in plan view, having two parallel shorter side walls and two parallel longer side walls disposed substantially at right angles to the shorter side walls.
4. A block according to Claim 2 or Claim 3 comprising two of said protrusion formations, each extending above the side walls of the block and, in plan view, disposed inwardly of the side walls so as to be engageable in a recess formation defined by lower parts of the side walls, beneath said floor, of another superposed said block.
5. A block according to Claim 4 wherein the protrusion formations extend above the upper edges of the side walls by a height approximately equal to the distance by which a downwardly facing surface of the floor formation is spaced above the lower edges of the side walls.
6. A block according to any one of the preceding claims having a single said internal cavity.
7. A block according to any one of Claims 1 to 5 having an internal space divided into two or more cavity parts.
8. A block according to any one of the preceding claims wherein access to said cavity is by way of an open top of the or a protrusion formation at the top of the block.
9. A block according to any one of the preceding claims, which is made of a plastics material.
10. A block according to Claim 9 wherein said plastics material is fire resistant.

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l 1. A block according to any one of the preceding claims including a recess, passage or other formation for accommodating a pipe, electrical cable, or the like.
12. A block according to any one of the preceding claims-including projection and recess formations providing for the interfitting of said blocks when disposed end to end or alongside of one another.
13. A structure comprising a plurality of blocks according to any of the preceding claims assembled with said protrusion and recess formations cooperating with one another, and including a ballast material received in the cavities of said blocks.
14. A structure according to Claim 13 wherein said ballast material is sand, gravel, earth, rubble or the like.
15. A structure according to Claim 13 wherein said ballast material is water.
16. A structure according to Claims 13,14 or 15 wherein said ballast material has been introduced into said blocks subsequent to the disposition thereof in the required position in the structure.
17. A structure according to any one of Claims 13 to 16 comprising a capping strip or members on uppermost said blocks of the structure.
18. A building block, or structure incorporating same, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
19. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.