GB2455284A - Brick faced concrete panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is directed towards a method of forming a prefabricated block 1 having a predetermined pattern of face members, e.g. half bricks 2 moulded into a front portion 4 in one surface. The block has a rear portion 6 formed from a layer of concrete. The method comprises the steps of providing a mould 16 having side walls 18; providing a template which is laid parallel to a first mould face 20 and adjacent said side walls 18, said template defining a pattern of face member sites; loading a plurality of face members onto positions indicated by the pattern of face member sites; pouring a matrix into the mould 16, such that the matrix surrounds the face members and is retained by the side walls 18; curing the matrix such that the face members are bound into the cured matrix and are retained in the predetermined pattern to form the prefabricated block; and removing the prefabricated block from the mould 16. The matrix may be concrete. The template may be a printed fabric. A foam may be provided on the mould face before providing the template. A plastics sheet may separate the brick from the template.

Description

BRICK FACED CONCRETE PANEL

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed towards a method of forming a prefabricated block, particularly a prefabricated block having a predetermined pattern of face members in one surface. The method is particularly directed towards a method of forming a concrete block which includes a pattern of bricks in a front face so that, when installed, that face looks substantially the same as a brick wall.

b. Related Art Pre-cast blocks, usually of concrete, are used in many different situations. They are often used to create temporary or permanent walls, such as retaining walls, on industrial sites, but suffer the disadvantage that the concrete walls created are not aesthetically pleasing. In many cases, after the concrete wall has been installed, the blocks are painted or otherwise disguised to improve the look of the wall. In some cases a false brick wall is constructed in front of the concrete wall to hide it.

Such additional, non-functional decorative work increases the time and costs of installation.

It would therefore be desirable to have pre-cast blocks for making such walls that :"25 include a brickwork pattern on one face so that the finished wall gives the impression of a brick wall, which is generally accepted as looking better than a concrete wall. *. S. * . S

Prefabricated blocks including a brickwork pattern on one face can be created by hand laying a brick wall section of the desired block area. Such a block requires time and skill to create due to the hand pointing between the bricks that is required. Such a brick section may also not be as strong as, for example, a concrete wall section of an equivalent size and may therefore need reinforcement at additional cost.

A face of a concrete wall section can be moulded to give the 3-D impression of brickwork, by the texture and colour of the bricks' do not provide a convincing impression of real brick unless further processing operations, such as colouring, are performed.

Another method that has been used to make a concrete block more aesthetically pleasing is the use of thin sections of brick material to effectively tile' a brickwork pattern onto a surface of concrete block. This tiling operation can be performed manually, or by using computer controlled apparatus, both of which operations are time consuming and costly. However, such tiling can suffer in frost or other adverse weather as the tiles can become detached and fall from the block, spoiling the effect.

United Kingdom Patent Application No GB 2422620 discloses a method of forming a prefabricated block. The method uses a mould having a mould face seal which includes a pattern of sealing protrusions defining load sites. Bricks or part bricks are loaded into the load sites and a concrete matrix is poured into the mould. The :. concrete is prevented from reaching the display face by the seal. The concrete is then cured, and the prefabricated block thus formed is removed from the mould.

United Kingdom Patent Application No GB2434119 discloses an improved method :...25 which the mould includes a resiliently deformable surface layer and there is an insert to contact the brick or part bricks and force the display face of the brink or :::: brick parts into the resiliently deformable surface layer so that the surface layer is S deformed, prior to pouring the concrete mix into the mould. This helps to avoid the problem of the concrete seeping to the front face of the brick and stain them, and helps to avoid the need to point the prefabricated block after manufacture.

However, all of the known methods are time consuming and it is desired to provide a more convenient method of forming a prefabricated block, which is simpler but which allows the bricks or part bricks to be arranged accurately in a predetermined pattern prior to pouring a concrete mix into the mould to secure the brick face.

Furthermore some of these known methods require the manufacture of a mould face seal having sealing protrusions for each and every brick face layout required, which means that every time the design changes a new mould face must be produced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a method of forming a prefabricated block, the method comprising the steps of: providing a mould having side walls; providing a template which is laid parallel to a first mould face and between said side walls, said template defining a pattern of face member sites; loading a plurality of face members onto positions indicated by the pattern of face member sites; pouring a matrix into the mould, such that the matrix surrounds the face members and is retained by the side walls; curing the matrix such that the face members are bound into the cured matrix and are retained in the predetermined pattern to form a prefabricated block; and removing the prefabricated block from the mould. * S

Preferably the template is provided as a printed fabric. A soft foam may be provided on the mould face prior to providing said template. A thin plastic sheet :25 may be provided to separate the brick from the template, which will have the advantage that the template will be protected from the matrix and may be reused.

Preferably the matrix is concrete, and even more preferably the concrete is self * 5 compacting. In a preferred embodiment the face members are half bricks.

In one embodiment a dry sand is poured into spaces between the face members prior to pouring said matrix into the mould.

Preferably the step of providing the template comprises the sub steps of: designing a required pattern of face member sites using a computer aided design system; and printing the design onto a fabric.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures Ia and I b show a top and front view respectively of a prefabricated concrete block having half bricks moulded into a front face; Figure 2 shows a mould suitable for use in forming the pre-cast block of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a half brick; Figure 4 illustrates layers of material laid on the mould face; and Figures 5a and 5b are flow charts illustrating the method of the present invention. S. * S * *.*

DETAILED DESCRIPTION * S *S..

Figures Ia and lb show a top and front view respectively of a prefabricated :25 concrete block I having face members, in this case half bricks 2, moulded into a front portion 4. The block has a rear portion 6 formed from a layer of concrete or reinforced concrete. It should be understood that, in Figure Ia, the shape of the * upper face of the half bricks is shown for illustration only and that in the prefabricated block of this example these upper surfaces are covered by concrete.

However, a block could be moulded to include such a feature if desired.

Figure 2 shows a mould 16 suitable for creating the block I shown in Figure 1.

The mould 16 has side walls 18 surrounding a first mould face 20. The mould 16 has a template laid parallel to a mould face 20. It will be understood that the mould face may be provided by placing the side wall on a flat surface (for example the ground) in which case the flat surface form the mould face 20. The template is laid on soft foam to help secure the face members when they are laid in place on the template. In this case the pattern defined by the template is a brickwork pattern having a plurality of adjacent horizontal layers, with each adjacent layer being staggered by half a brick length. Printed outlines 22 define a plurality of load sites 24 into which a half brick 2 is to be loaded so that, when loaded the half bricks 2 are arranged in the brickwork pattern. Figure 2 also shows apertures 21 in the walls 18 of the mould through which formers (not shown) can be inserted to create slots in opposing edges of the block 1. The formers can be removed from the mould 16 after curing to allow the prefabricated block Ito be removed.

The mould 16 is shown in this drawing having a film lining 74 over some, but not all, of the mould 2. The film liner 74 is a plastic film more commonly used in wrapping food. The drawing shows the mould in the process of having the first mould surface fully lined with the film 74, which, in this case, is supplied in strips.

Figure 3 shows a close-up view of a half brick 2 suitable for use in the mould 16 of :. Figure 2. The half brick 2 is, in this case, a conventional brick that has been cut in half along its long axis of symmetry. The half brick 2 has a display face 26 defined by a periphery 28. The display face 26 is the face of the brick that would commonly be seen in a brick wall. The half brick of Figure 3 includes a recess 30 :25 as a result of the shape of the original brick. Half bricks for use as face members in the mould 16 could have any suitable shape as a result of the original brick shape, whole brick could be used or the face members could be fabricated * specially for use in the mould.

Figure 4 is an illustration (not to scale) showing layers arranged on the front face of the mould prior to placing face members in position. Layer 43 is a soft foam, layer 42 is a fabric template generated by printing a pattern, full size on a fabric, and layer 41 is a thin layer of clear plastic film 74.

Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating the method of the present invention. Referring now to Figure 5a, at step 51 the design which is required for a particular panel is designed using a computer aided design (CAD) system. Every prefabricated block may be created using a completely unique design if required. By printing the design at actual size, and placing on the front face of the mould each individual face member can be laid to exact tolerances to within the accuracy of the computer aided design drawing.

At step 52 a full size template is printed out on a fabric. At step 53 a soft foam is laid on the front face of the mould and then the fabric template is laid out and the template is covered with a thin plastic sheet 74.

Then at step 54 the face members, which in the specific embodiment are half bricks are laid on the template and at step 55 kiln dried sand is poured into spaces between the face members. The use of the kiln dried sand help to avoid the concrete from seeping to the front faces of the half bricks and spoiling the appearance of the finished product.

:. Referring now to Figure 5b, at step 56 side walls are provided for the mould, although it will be appreciated that the side wall may be provided at any point in * *..

the method prior to pouring matrix into the mould which is carried out at step 57. in the preferred embodiment the matrix is a self compacting concrete so that no : 25 vibration is required, and deflection of the face members during curing is reduced.

:::: After the panel has cured, at step 58 the panel is removed from the mould and the * kiln dried sand is brushed away from the spaces between the face members at step 59. In the event that the panel needs pointing to improve the appearance then this is carried out at step 60.

It is to be recognized that various alterations, modifications, and/or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts described above without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. In particular it will be appreciated that some of the steps may be carried out in a different order to that presented in Figures 5a and 5b. S. * * * S.. *.I. * . * SS.

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*55555 * * ****S * * **. S * **S. S. ** * * * * S BRICK FACED CONCRETE PANEL

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed towards a method of forming a prefabricated block, particularly a prefabricated block having a predetermined pattern of face members in one surface. The method is particularly directed towards a method of forming a concrete block which includes a pattern of bricks in a front face so that, when installed, that face looks substantially the same as a brick wall.

b. Related Art Pre-cast blocks, usually of concrete, are used in many different situations. They are often used to create temporary or permanent walls, such as retaining walls, on industrial sites, but suffer the disadvantage that the concrete walls created are not aesthetically pleasing. In many cases, after the concrete wall has been installed, the blocks are painted or otherwise disguised to improve the look of the wall. In some cases a false brick wall is constructed in front of the concrete wall to hide it.

Such additional, non-functional decorative work increases the time and costs of installation.

It would therefore be desirable to have pre-cast blocks for making such walls that :"25 include a brickwork pattern on one face so that the finished wall gives the impression of a brick wall, which is generally accepted as looking better than a concrete wall. *. S. * . S

Prefabricated blocks including a brickwork pattern on one face can be created by hand laying a brick wall section of the desired block area. Such a block requires time and skill to create due to the hand pointing between the bricks that is required. Such a brick section may also not be as strong as, for example, a concrete wall section of an equivalent size and may therefore need reinforcement at additional cost.

A face of a concrete wall section can be moulded to give the 3-D impression of brickwork, by the texture and colour of the bricks' do not provide a convincing impression of real brick unless further processing operations, such as colouring, are performed.

Another method that has been used to make a concrete block more aesthetically pleasing is the use of thin sections of brick material to effectively tile' a brickwork pattern onto a surface of concrete block. This tiling operation can be performed manually, or by using computer controlled apparatus, both of which operations are time consuming and costly. However, such tiling can suffer in frost or other adverse weather as the tiles can become detached and fall from the block, spoiling the effect.

United Kingdom Patent Application No GB 2422620 discloses a method of forming a prefabricated block. The method uses a mould having a mould face seal which includes a pattern of sealing protrusions defining load sites. Bricks or part bricks are loaded into the load sites and a concrete matrix is poured into the mould. The :. concrete is prevented from reaching the display face by the seal. The concrete is then cured, and the prefabricated block thus formed is removed from the mould.

United Kingdom Patent Application No GB2434119 discloses an improved method :...25 which the mould includes a resiliently deformable surface layer and there is an insert to contact the brick or part bricks and force the display face of the brink or :::: brick parts into the resiliently deformable surface layer so that the surface layer is S deformed, prior to pouring the concrete mix into the mould. This helps to avoid the problem of the concrete seeping to the front face of the brick and stain them, and helps to avoid the need to point the prefabricated block after manufacture.

However, all of the known methods are time consuming and it is desired to provide a more convenient method of forming a prefabricated block, which is simpler but which allows the bricks or part bricks to be arranged accurately in a predetermined pattern prior to pouring a concrete mix into the mould to secure the brick face.

Furthermore some of these known methods require the manufacture of a mould face seal having sealing protrusions for each and every brick face layout required, which means that every time the design changes a new mould face must be produced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a method of forming a prefabricated block, the method comprising the steps of: providing a mould having side walls; providing a template which is laid parallel to a first mould face and between said side walls, said template defining a pattern of face member sites; loading a plurality of face members onto positions indicated by the pattern of face member sites; pouring a matrix into the mould, such that the matrix surrounds the face members and is retained by the side walls; curing the matrix such that the face members are bound into the cured matrix and are retained in the predetermined pattern to form a prefabricated block; and removing the prefabricated block from the mould. * S

Preferably the template is provided as a printed fabric. A soft foam may be provided on the mould face prior to providing said template. A thin plastic sheet :25 may be provided to separate the brick from the template, which will have the advantage that the template will be protected from the matrix and may be reused.

Preferably the matrix is concrete, and even more preferably the concrete is self * 5 compacting. In a preferred embodiment the face members are half bricks.

In one embodiment a dry sand is poured into spaces between the face members prior to pouring said matrix into the mould.

Preferably the step of providing the template comprises the sub steps of: designing a required pattern of face member sites using a computer aided design system; and printing the design onto a fabric.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures Ia and I b show a top and front view respectively of a prefabricated concrete block having half bricks moulded into a front face; Figure 2 shows a mould suitable for use in forming the pre-cast block of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a half brick; Figure 4 illustrates layers of material laid on the mould face; and Figures 5a and 5b are flow charts illustrating the method of the present invention. S. * S * *.*

DETAILED DESCRIPTION * S *S..

Figures Ia and lb show a top and front view respectively of a prefabricated :25 concrete block I having face members, in this case half bricks 2, moulded into a front portion 4. The block has a rear portion 6 formed from a layer of concrete or reinforced concrete. It should be understood that, in Figure Ia, the shape of the * upper face of the half bricks is shown for illustration only and that in the prefabricated block of this example these upper surfaces are covered by concrete.

However, a block could be moulded to include such a feature if desired.

Figure 2 shows a mould 16 suitable for creating the block I shown in Figure 1.

The mould 16 has side walls 18 surrounding a first mould face 20. The mould 16 has a template laid parallel to a mould face 20. It will be understood that the mould face may be provided by placing the side wall on a flat surface (for example the ground) in which case the flat surface form the mould face 20. The template is laid on soft foam to help secure the face members when they are laid in place on the template. In this case the pattern defined by the template is a brickwork pattern having a plurality of adjacent horizontal layers, with each adjacent layer being staggered by half a brick length. Printed outlines 22 define a plurality of load sites 24 into which a half brick 2 is to be loaded so that, when loaded the half bricks 2 are arranged in the brickwork pattern. Figure 2 also shows apertures 21 in the walls 18 of the mould through which formers (not shown) can be inserted to create slots in opposing edges of the block 1. The formers can be removed from the mould 16 after curing to allow the prefabricated block Ito be removed.

The mould 16 is shown in this drawing having a film lining 74 over some, but not all, of the mould 2. The film liner 74 is a plastic film more commonly used in wrapping food. The drawing shows the mould in the process of having the first mould surface fully lined with the film 74, which, in this case, is supplied in strips.

Figure 3 shows a close-up view of a half brick 2 suitable for use in the mould 16 of :. Figure 2. The half brick 2 is, in this case, a conventional brick that has been cut in half along its long axis of symmetry. The half brick 2 has a display face 26 defined by a periphery 28. The display face 26 is the face of the brick that would commonly be seen in a brick wall. The half brick of Figure 3 includes a recess 30 :25 as a result of the shape of the original brick. Half bricks for use as face members in the mould 16 could have any suitable shape as a result of the original brick shape, whole brick could be used or the face members could be fabricated * specially for use in the mould.

Figure 4 is an illustration (not to scale) showing layers arranged on the front face of the mould prior to placing face members in position. Layer 43 is a soft foam, layer 42 is a fabric template generated by printing a pattern, full size on a fabric, and layer 41 is a thin layer of clear plastic film 74.

Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating the method of the present invention. Referring now to Figure 5a, at step 51 the design which is required for a particular panel is designed using a computer aided design (CAD) system. Every prefabricated block may be created using a completely unique design if required. By printing the design at actual size, and placing on the front face of the mould each individual face member can be laid to exact tolerances to within the accuracy of the computer aided design drawing.

At step 52 a full size template is printed out on a fabric. At step 53 a soft foam is laid on the front face of the mould and then the fabric template is laid out and the template is covered with a thin plastic sheet 74.

Then at step 54 the face members, which in the specific embodiment are half bricks are laid on the template and at step 55 kiln dried sand is poured into spaces between the face members. The use of the kiln dried sand help to avoid the concrete from seeping to the front faces of the half bricks and spoiling the appearance of the finished product.

:. Referring now to Figure 5b, at step 56 side walls are provided for the mould, although it will be appreciated that the side wall may be provided at any point in * *..

the method prior to pouring matrix into the mould which is carried out at step 57. in the preferred embodiment the matrix is a self compacting concrete so that no : 25 vibration is required, and deflection of the face members during curing is reduced.

:::: After the panel has cured, at step 58 the panel is removed from the mould and the * kiln dried sand is brushed away from the spaces between the face members at step 59. In the event that the panel needs pointing to improve the appearance then this is carried out at step 60.

It is to be recognized that various alterations, modifications, and/or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts described above without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. In particular it will be appreciated that some of the steps may be carried out in a different order to that presented in Figures 5a and 5b. S. * * * S.. *.I. * . * SS.

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*55555 * * ****S * * **. S * **S. S. ** * * * * S

Claims (10)

1. A method of forming a prefabricated block, the method comprising the steps of: a. providing a mould having side walls; b. providing a template which is laid parallel to a first mould face and between said side walls, said template defining a pattern of face member sites; c. loading a plurality of face members onto positions indicated by the pattern of face member sites; d. pouring a matrix into the mould, such that the matrix surrounds the face members and is retained by the side walls; e. curing the matrix such that the face members are bound into the cured matrix and are retained in the predetermined pattern to form a prefabricated block; and f. removing the prefabricated block from the mould.

2. A method according to claim I in which said template is provided as a printed fabric.

3. A method according to claim I or claim 2, in which a soft foam is provided adjacent the mould face prior to providing said template. * * I...

4. A method according to any one of claims I to 3, in which a plastic sheet is laid over the template prior to load said face members. :: 25

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims in which a dry sand is poured into spaces between the face members prior to pouring said matrix into * the mould.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the matrix is concrete.

7. A method according to claim 6, in which the concrete is self compacting.

8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the face members are half bricks.

9. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the step of providing the template comprises the sub steps of: designing the pattern of face member site using a computer aided design system; and printing the design onto a fabric.

10. A method substantially as herein described, with reference to the accompanying drawings. * * * *** S... * * S..

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10. A method substantially as herein described, with reference to the accompanying drawings. * * * *** S... * * S..

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1. A method of forming a prefabricated block, the method comprising the steps of: a. providing a mould having side walls; b. providing a template which is laid parallel to a first mould face and between said side walls, said template defining a pattern of face member sites; c. loading a plurality of face members onto positions indicated by the pattern of face member sites; d. pouring a matrix into the mould, such that the matrix surrounds the face members and is retained by the side walls; e. curing the matrix such that the face members are bound into the cured matrix and are retained in the predetermined pattern to form a prefabricated block; and f. removing the prefabricated block from the mould.

2. A method according to claim I in which said template is provided as a printed fabric.

3. A method according to claim I or claim 2, in which a soft foam is provided adjacent the mould face prior to providing said template. * * I...

4. A method according to any one of claims I to 3, in which a plastic sheet is laid over the template prior to load said face members. :: 25

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims in which a dry sand is poured into spaces between the face members prior to pouring said matrix into * the mould.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the matrix is concrete.

7. A method according to claim 6, in which the concrete is self compacting.

8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the face members are half bricks.

9. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the step of providing the template comprises the sub steps of: designing the pattern of face member site using a computer aided design system; and printing the design onto a fabric.