US1608868A - Hollow-tile backing for walls - Google Patents

Description

.m J a fi a4 n M n w\ A .v H //////A/////V//// \A. g P flm Q \V j brwm gw rhaam w J. A. STAHR HOLLOW mm: BACKING- FOR WALLS Nov. 30 1926.

Filed April 9; 1926 ill) Patented Nov. 30, 1926.

means U Nil TED ST ATIES ENT ()"F F IC E.

JOHN A. STAHR,OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO BRADLEY FIRE PBOOFING PRODUCTS COMPANY, INC., A CGBl- 'OEATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HOLLOW-TILE BACKING FOR WALLS.

Application filed April's,

My invention relates generally to constructions of hollow tiles for use in forming the walls of buildings and more specifically comprises a special form of hollow tile'particularly designed to. form an inner backing for an ordinary wall, the facing of which is composed of ordinary brick, stone or other material. My improved tile is particularly adapted for use in a backing for walls of this general description in which the backing tiles and the facing brick are bonded together at suitable intervals by courses of header bricks, that is to say, bricks or other elements of the facing wall which extend back beyond the main inner face of said facing wall and interlock with the courses of hollow tiles forming the backing, so as to unite these two portions of the wall structure securely and without substantially varying the unifori'nity of appearance of the outer surface ofthe facing courses of brick, stone or other tacing'material.

The rimary object of my invention is the production of a tile backing of this description which, when assembled in combination with the header courses, shall form a multiplicity of relatively small, closed air 'cells which shall increase the non-heat-conducting or insulatingqua-lities of said tile backing and at the same time require the use of only one standardized form of tile which shall be as light in weight as possible, consistent with the requirements as to strength in resistance to vertical compression, and have certain other minor advantages which will be hereinafterpointed out in detail.

To this end my invention comprises a tile having; the usual longitudinal voids or internal passages separated by ribs or partitions, the relative cross sectional areasof said voids and their separating and enclosing ribs or partitions being so designed that the ends oi some of said voids wiHbe closed off by the inter-position of the header courses, while others willbe closed off by reason of the fact that the ribstor partitions separating the individualmember'sof the setsin one course of the tileswill come-opposite to, and overlapth'e corresponding voids in an adjacent course of the tiles. The best form of tile at'p're'sent known to me embodyingmy invention, and: the-prea terredtarrangenient: 0t. such tiles :as emu 1926. Serial No. 100,808.

backing, are illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings in which,

, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a wall under construction employing my invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of another portion of such wall drawn on a larger scale.

Fig. 3 is'a plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 2, parts being broken away.

4 is adctail vertical section taken on line H of Figs. 2and 3, and,

Fig. 5 is adetail perspective view of a portion of thetop of one course of the backing tiles and of the lower portion of a superimposed course, the latter being cut away in section on a vertical plane to show more N clearly how the ribs of one course cover the ends of the voids in the adjacent course.

Throughout the drawings like reference characters indicate like parts.

1, 1, represent successive courses ct facing brick laid in the usual way and bonded with mortar or cement 5. Interposed header courses 9,2, of facing brick are formed by laying standard brick crosswise oi the courses 1, 1, so that the rear half portion of each header course 2, projects out behind the main body of the facing courses. 3, 3, represent the backing; tiles which constitute the main novel feature of my invention. All of these tiles are of uniform dimensions. Each tile has at one end a projecting stepped-up portion 13, the length of which projection (as shown in this particular embodimentof my invention) is a little greater 1 than 'halt'the thickness of a header course 2.

Usually this length equals one-halt the thickness of a header brick plus one-half the thickness of the usual layer of mortar used in bonding together the tacing brick. Accordingly, when the total over-all length of such tile approximately equals one-half the distance between the centers oi successive header courses of brick and courses of said tile-are arranged in pairs with their steppedup ends'outermost. as shown in Fig. 1, they will it inbetween the rearwardly projecting'portions of successive header courses 2.

Also each two' successive courses of tiles having their stepped-up ends abutting "will,

when bonded together, as shown in Fig, 2, form a recess into which "the 'rearwardly projecting portion of a course of header brick 2 may fittofoim a key, bonding the the other at 8 and 10. The voids 7 may be ii i made of any desired cross section to se cure the necessary lightness in weight con sistent with leaving sufiicient thickness of intervening ribs 11. to give the desired or necessary strength. In the drawings 1 have shown two such voids 7 in each his. but more or less voids could be employed if advisable. I preferably, however, employ two such voids in each tile arranged as shown in Fig. 3. These voids 7 are separated by a continuous rib or partition 12 from the rear set of voids or spaces 8 and 10. The narrower voids 8 of this rear series are separated one from another by ribs or partitions 9, the thickness of which is slightly greater than the width of the voids 8. The end walls or partitions 9 are of the same thickness as the intermediate ones 9, 9. The wider voids 10 of this rear series may, for the purpose of securing lightness in weight of the tile, be made of a width slightly less than the combined width of two adjacent end walls or ribs 9 and of the intervening layer 5 of mortar or cement.

Preferably the outer faces of each tile 3 which are to be in contact with layers of mortar are made of slightly irregular form as by molding dovetail grooves 4 therein, as indicated on one such face in Figs. 1 and This is for the purpose of creating a firmer bond between the tile and the mortar. In building a wall in accordance with my invention the tiles 3 are laid in reversely arranged courses 3 and 3 the tile of any one course, as 3, being staggered with reference to adjacent courses 3", as best shown in Fig. 4. The result of this is, first, that the ends of the large voids 7 in each pair of such tile courses are blocked off or closed by the header courses 2 of facing brick and by the bonding mortar applied to the upper and lower surfaces andthe rear ends of said header courses. Second, that the narrower voids 8 of each rear series of voids in each course of tile are blocked off or closed by the sli htly thicker ribs 9 of each adjacent course'of tiles, as best shown in Fig. 4. Also the ends .of all wider voids 10 in each rear series are blocked off or closed by the slightly greater combined thickness of two end walls or ribs 9" and of the intervening layer of mortar 5, also as best shown in Fig.

If, for example, the ribs 9, 9 11 and 12 are each one inch thick, the narrower voids 8 each 'Z ths of an inch in width, and the wider voids 10 are each approximately 2 inches in width, the above described result will be secured with the use of the minimum amount of material and a full compliance with the most rigid requirements of municipal building regulations.

The primary advantage of my invention is the formation of a multiplicity of series of closed air cells in which the confined air will exercise its well-known function of serving as a non-conductor of heat. Also this function will. be exerted to the highest degree by the greater number of smaller voids 8 and 10 forming the rear series, which will be adjacent the inner surface of the completed wall, and primarily exposed to the heating action of the artificially warmed air in the building interior. Each of these latter series of air cells has a length merely equal to the over-all length of a single tile 3, and the inner series of air cells 7 will have lengths equal only to the dis tance between two consecutive header courses 2 of facing brick. As a result, the trapped air in each of these relatively small hermetically closed cells soon becomes heated nearly to the temperature of the ad jacent room of the building and thereafter there is little loss of heat by conduction from the inner warm surface of the wall to the outer, cooler facing brick in winter; and, conversely, little conduction from the exterior heated facing brick in summer inward through the tile backing to the inte rior of the building. Thus the waste of heatwhich would result if there was a constant circulation of air throughout the voids in the tile backing, is avoided. At the same time the greater strength resulting from laying the backing tile in vertical position is conserved, as is also the convenience in handling resulting from retaining always the vertical position of the tile, it being more convenient for the masons to grasp them with one hand by inserting the fingers in the upper ends of the voids without having to lay down the trowel in the other hand. to use both hands for lifting and placing the tile, as is necessary when they are laid with the voids extending horizontally. As all these beneficial results are secured by the use of one standard form of tile which can be produced by a slight rearrangement of the present standard form of molds, and without any appreciable increase in weight of material used, the cost of manufacture is not increased.

Another advantage derived from the above described preferred construction results from the fact that each one of the horizontal layers of bonding mortar 51 between any two adjacent courses of tile is blocked off at the front either by a course of header brick 2 or of facing brick 1, as shown in Fig. 2, and conversely that each horizontal layer of mortar between successive courses of header brick and facing brick is blocked off at the rear by all, or a portion, of a course of tiles. This tends to prevent the transmission of a moisture through the mortar which is much more porous than the hard, burnt tile, from either surface of the wall structure to the other. This is particularly advantageous in reducing the possibility of the moisture deposited upon the exterior of the building wall creeping through to the inner surface of the wall and discoloring or decomposing the plaster or other ornamental finish of the interior wall surface, visible to the occupants of the rooms in the building.

Various modifications might be made in the dimensions and arrangement of ribs and voids above described as the preferred form of my invention without departing from the underlying principle thereof, so long as the feature of using the ribs of one course of tiles to substantially block off and close the ends of the voids in the adjacent course or courses, is retained.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A tile for use in backing walls of buildings. which tile has a plurality of voids of a uniform width separated by ribs of slightly greater thickness, whereby, when set one upon another in evenly staggered courses, the ribs of each tile close the adjacent ends of the voids in the tiles of the next course.

2. A tile for use in backing walls of buildings, which tile has a plurality of voids of uniform width separated and enclosed by a series of ribs of uniform thickness, and a central void of approximately double the width of that of the first mentioned ones, whereby, when set one upon another in evenly staggered courses, the ribs between said voids in one course close the adjacent ends of the narrower voids in the next course, and the end ribs of adjacent tiles in one course and the intervening layer of bonding material close the adjacent ends of the wider voids in the next upper and lower courses.

3. A tile for use in forming a backing to be tied to a wall facing by suitable header courses in said wall facing, which tile has a stepped-up portion at one end adapted to extend along the back of such a header course, and a series of longitudinal voids of uniform width separated by ribs of a thickness at least equal to said width all terminating in said stepped-up portion, whereby, when a plurality of said tiles are placed in evenly staggered courses behind said wall facing with their said stepped-up portions back of said header courses and bonded thereto, the ribs in each tile will close the adjacent ends of the voids in the next tile and form a continuous air cell backing for said wall located in the rear of said header courses.

4. A tile such as described in claim 3 the shorter section of which also contains longitudinal voids, the ends of which voids are closed by said header courses.

5. A tile such as described in claim 3 in which the length of the stepped-up portion is approximately equal to half the thickness of said header course, whereby successive courses of said tiles can be arranged with their stepped-up ends abutting to form recesses for the reception of a header course of the facing brick.

6. A tile such as described in claim 3 which also has a central void terminating in said stepped-up portion of a width approximate ly equal to the combined thickness of two ribs and an intervening layer of mortar, whereby the adjacent outer ribs of each two tiles and the intervening layer of mortar, in one course, will close the end of said central void in a tile of the next course.

7 A wall for buildings having a facing of solid bricks and a backing of hollow tiles bonded thereto, the rear portions of said tiles having a multiplicity of closed air cells uniformly distributed throughout a vertical plane, said cells being formed by vertically arranged voids in the tiles of each course, which voids are closed at their ends by the partitions forming similar voids in the tiles of an adjacent course.

8. A structure such as defined in claim 7 in which the bonding of the tiles to the wall facing is effected by spaced apart header courses of brick interlocking with both, and in which said air cells extend continuously to the rear of all said header courses.

JOHN A. STAHR.

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