US2055184A

US2055184A - Cork or plug for holloiw tiles

Info

Publication number: US2055184A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1936-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 1953-09-22

Description

7 Sept. 22, 1936. F. A. STIRRUP 2,055,184

CORK OR PLUG FOR HOLLOW TILES Filed NOV. 25, 1932 I6 INVENTOR.

fim/wr ,4. ST/RRl/P ATTORN Patented Sept. 22, 1936 UNITED STATES CORK OR PLUG FOR HOLLOW TILES Frank A. Stirrup, Westfield, N. J., assignor of one-third to Albert C. Ayer, Scarsdale, N. Y., and one-third to Frank F. Engstrom, Newark,

Application November 25, 1932; Serial No. 644,226

11 Claims.

This invention relates to corks or plugs, particularly designed for use in sealing or closing the ends of hollow tiles, blocks or slabs,'used in the construction of buildings; and the object of the invention is to provide a closure'device of the class described fashioned from a sheet of inexpensive material, preferably sheet metal, and so formed as to provide on opposed edges thereof means for engaging the walls. of a chamber or passage in a hollow body to retain the device against displacement therefrom; a further object being to provide closure devices of the class described wherein the retaining means are in the form of flexing prongs or tongues projecting from opposite side portions of the device and adapted to engage the hollow body in connection with which the device is mounted by placing the prongs or tongues under compression; a further object being to provide in conjunction with and/or as part of said prongs freely flexing sidewall members including at their ends laterally extending flanges for limiting inward movement of the cork or plug devices in the chamber of a hollow body to definitely position said devices therein; a further object being to so fashion the closure devices from sheet material as to eliminate any possible waste of material and to form the greatest number of such devices possible from a sheet or strip of material; and with these and other objects in view, the invention consists in a device of the class and for the purpose specified, which is sim ple in construction, efiicient in use, and which is constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which:

' Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one end of a building tile showing a number of my improved devices mounted in the chambers thereof.

Fig. 2 is a partial, transverse sectional view through two adjacent tiles showing my devices mounted therein and illustrating the arrangement of a concrete or other body therebetween.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the devices shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are formed.

Fig. 4 is a'plan view of a modified form of device.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing another modification.

Fig. 6 is a detail, perspective view of a part of the device shown in Fig. 5; and,

Fig. '7 is a sectional view through one edge of a 5 tile showing a modified form of closure.

The cork, plug or other closure device herein shown, described 'and claimed, constitutes an improvement on a similar device shown, described and claimed in a prior application for Letters 10 Patent of the United States filed by me October 1, 1932, and. bearing Serial Number 635,710.

In the present construction, I have indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawing, one end portion of a building tile l0 having three chambers or passages "extending therethrough. At I2, I have shown a cork or plug arranged to close the end of each of the passages I l The blank from which the plugs shown in Fig. 1 are formed, is illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing. 0

In Fig. 2 of the drawing, I have shown in section the adjacent ends of two tiles ll], Illa and at H, Ha, I have shown the bores or chambers thereof. The corks or plugs are shown at l2, lZa, for closing the chambers ll, Ila, and between 25 adjacent plugs and tiles is a body of concrete l3 which extends into the chambers I I, Ila, to the extent permitted by the corks [2, I211, thus forming key concrete bodies for keying the tile one with the other, and thus forming large hol- 39 low chambers within the tile.

As set forth in said earlier application, the advantages of providing corks, plugs or closures of the class described is to effect a material saving in the. amount of concrete used in conjunction with the tile in forming concrete, floor and ceiling constructions, or in fact,in forming any type of concrete structure in which hollow tiles are used and arranged in the manner disclosed. This also saves in the cost of the steel structural work as lighter steel frames may be employed.

While I have illustrated my invention as applied to concrete tiles, it will also be understood at this time that my improved closure devices may be used in conjunction with other hollow 45 bodies. The plug 12 is fashioned from a sheet or strip of material which is blanked to form extending and flexible side and end wall members l4. Three of these wall members are shown on one side of the device, two on the opposite side, 50

two at one end and one at the other end in the construction shown. Between the multiple wall members I4 are spaces l5 which are of a width equal to the width of the wall members so that in blanking, the two side wall members are formed from the two recesses between the three side wall members of an adjacent strip. In like manner, the end wall members are formed. Centrally of each recess i5 is an outwardly projecting prong member It, the inclination of which with respect to the central rectangular body ll of the blank is not as great as the inclination of the walls M. In fact, in some cases, it may be desirable to allow the members l6 to extend outwardly in the plane of the central portion l1 and to be flexed outwardly in the operation of inserting the device in one of theflanges is arranged to engagethe outer ends of the tile to limit the inward movement of the plug as will be apparent.

It will also be understood that I am not necessarily limited to the use of the end walls M or the prongs E6 on the ends of the central body H, as the prongs and walls may be arranged on the sidesonly of said central body as in the arrangements shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing.

Due to slight unevenness in. the wall structure of thebores orlchambers H or" tile or of concrete blocks, and further, in the slight differences in the dimensions of said chambers, it is practical and desirable to construct or shape the main body portion ll of the plug so as to fit the smallest boreor passage H and rely upon the inward flexure of the walls M to compensate for any irregularities in' the dimensions or contour of said .bores or passages. By providing the relatively short projecting prongs, a firm and relatively rigid engaging prong or prongs are provided which will flex outwardly. in mounting the closure device in the bore or passage of a tile, and yet insure the plug against any possible accidental displacement from the tile, it being apparent that the prongs it, by virtue of their arc-shaped contour, will establish practically a point engagement with the 'wall of the tile and will engage such wall under compression. .It will also be understood that in forcing the plugs in position, the flanges l9 will engage the outer edges of the tile and thus limit inward movement of the plugs, and when properly placed, it will require definite, forcible pressure to remove the plugs from the tile. At this time, it will be understood that my invention is not necessarily limited to any particular number of the tongues or prongs l6 nor to any particular contour therefor.

In Fig. 4 ofthe drawing, I haveshown a slight modification wherein a central body 20 similar to the body I! has projecting flexible walls 2i at opposite sides thereof, said walls terminating at their outer ends in flanges 22 similar to the flanges l9. Instead of providing the prongs it within the openings 23 between the walls 2l,.I

form a plurality of tongues Mfrom the material ofeach of the walls 2i.

In the construction shown, three of these tongues are formed fromeach wall, one at the base of the wall and similar in this respect to the tongues l6 and the others adjacent the outer ends of the walls 2|. With this construction, all of the tongues 24 will be disposed at a less inclination to the body H] than the walls 2!, and the outermost tongues 24 will be inclined preferably to a degree intermediate that of the wall 2| and tongues 24.

As stated in connection with the structure shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, the lower tongues which are shown larger in Fig. 4 of the drawing may extend in alinement with the body 25 and have no inclination whatever.

In Fig. 5 of the drawing, I have shown another modification which differs from the structure shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in that the inclined side walls 25 at opposite sides of the rectangular body 26 are provided with angular prongs 2'! which are fashioned from the material thereof and extend at right angles to the plane of the 'walls 25 to engage the walls of the tile passages I I as will be understood, especially from a consideration of Fig. 6 of the drawing, in which a perspective view of one wall and the prong 21 is shown.

At the outer end of the walls 25 are angular flanges 28 which limit the inward movement of the plug as in the use of the flanges 19. It will also be noted upon a. consideration of Fig. 5 of the drawing that the tongue or prong 21 of one wall is cut from the wall of an adjacent plug in the blanking operation, thus forming the recesses 29, and the walls 25 from one side of the blank are arranged in alinement with the recesses between the Walls at the opposite side of the blank to eliminate the loss of material in the construction of my improved devices.

In Fig. '7 of the drawing, I have shown a slight modification of the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, wherein one continuous cork, plug or closure 30 is substituted for the three independent closures l2 shown in Fig. 1. The device 30 has plug parts 30a, 30b and 300 which are of the general construction of the separate plugs l2, with the exception that the upper and lower yielding walls M are eliminated as well as the upper and lower prongs I6 and the adjacent yielding side walls 3! of the parts 39a, b and 39b, 390 are continuous instead of being cut out, that is to say, are of a width equal to the width of the strip from which the complete device 39 is formed and fashioned from these walls are a plurality of prongs 32 similar to the prongs It or the lower prongs 24 of the construction shown in Fig. 4.

The walls 3| are connected by an outer wall 33 which passes over the outer face of the partition wall 34 between the chambers 35 of the tile 36, and these outer walls 33 are preferably beaded outwardly as seen at 3'! so as to provide flexure of the walls 33 to permit separation of the walls 3| to compensate for different thicknesses of the partitions 34. At the outer ends of the parts 30a and 300 are independent flexing wall members 38, between which are prongs 39. These wall members terminate at their ends in flanges which seat upon the outer edge of the tile. The walls 38 and prongs 39 are in all respects similar to the walls [4 and prongs l6 of the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive.

With the construction shown in Fig. 7, it will be apparent that a tile or block of any kind or class having two or more bores or chambers therein may be closed by corks, plugs or the like having two or more plug parts united together to form a unitary construction. It will thus be seen that with this type of a device, the placement of the corks or plugs will be simplified.

It will also be understood that the types of closure devices shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing as well as other forms may be made up in the dual construction, and further, that the particular manner of joining the multiple plug tile may b varied to suit different requirements.-

It will be apparent" that in theuse of my improved devices, both'ends of'the bores or chambers in tilesor building blocks will be closed by my improved corks or plugs, and as these plugs extend into the chambers of the tile, they will form therein key or anchor members of concrete which will prevent any possible shifting or movement of the tile one with respect to the other. While I have shown the main body portion of the corks or plugs of a plain wall construction, it will be understood that I am not necessarily limited in this respect, nor am I limited to the specific shape and form of the corks herein shown and described, and various changes in and modi-' fications of the construction herein disclosed may be made within the scope of the appended claims withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A cork or plug device for mounting in the chamber of a hollow member, said device comprising a central closure body, the peripheral edges of said body having relatively short prongs adapted to engage the walls of said chamber under compression in securing said device within said chamber, and means on said device independent of said prongs for limiting the inward movement thereof into the chamber of said member and for positioning the body portion of the device within said chamber.

2. A cork or plug device for mounting in the chamber of a hollow member, said device comprising a central closure body, the peripheral edges of said body having relatively short prongs adapted to engage the walls of said chamber under compression in securing said devices with in said chamber, means on said device independent of said prongs for limiting the inward movement thereof into the chamber of said member, and said means comprising flanges formed at the outer ends of yielding and angularly disposed walls at the periphery of said body.

3. A cork or plug device of the class described consisting of a large body of sheet material, opposed edges of which are provided with outwardly flaring yielding side wall members adapted to flex inwardly in mounting the device in the chamber of a hollow member, and said side Wall members including prongs fashioned from the material thereof and extending outwardly with respect to said side walls and adapted to engage the walls of said chamber under compression to retain the device against displacement.

4. A cork or plug device of the class described consisting of a body of sheet material, opposed edges of which are provided with outwardly flaring yielding wall members adapted to flex inwardly in mounting the device in the chamber of a hollow member, said side wall members including prongs fashioned from the material thereof and extending outwardly with respect to said side walls and adapted to engage the walls of said chamber under compression to retain the device against displacement, and the free ends cfsaid side wall members terminating in angular flanges for limiting inward movement of the device with respect to its support and for positional area of the chamber in the tile, prongs formed on the peripheral edges of said body adapted to engage the walls of said chamber under compression to retain said body against displacement therefrom, and means on the edge portions of said body-for limiting the inward movement thereof in the chamber of the tile and for positioning the body portion of the device a predetermined distance inwardly of the outer edge of the tile.

6. In building tile of the class described employing hollow chambers extending therethrough, means for corking the open ends of the chambers in said tile to limit the admission of concrete in said chambers when placed or poured around the tile, said means comprising a thin body portion of an area substantially equal to the cross sectional area of the chamber in the tile, prongs formed on the peripheral edges of said body adapted to engage the walls of said chamber under compression to retain said body against displacement therefrom, said body including yielding side wall members, and said prongs being fashioned from the material of said Wall members.

7. In building tile of the class described employing hollow chambers extending therethrough, means for corking the open ends of the chambers in said tile to limit the admission of concrete in said chambers when placed or poured around the tile, said means comprising a thin body portion of an area substantially equal to the cross sectional area of the chamber in the .tile, prongs formed on the peripheral edges of said body adapted to engage the walls of said chamber under compression to retain said body against displacement therefrom, said body including yielding side wall members, said prongs being fashioned from the material of said wall members, and the Wall members at one side of said body being disposed intermediate the wall members at the opposite side thereof.

8. In building material of the class described employing hollow chambers opening through the ends thereof, a cork for closing the openings of said chambers, said cork being fashioned from a sheet of material the main body portion of which is of a contour substantially similar to the cross sectional area of the chamber to be closed thereby, said body portion having angularly projecting side wall members having means engaging outer edges of the boundary walls of said chamber in supporting the cork within the chamber a predetermined distance, and prongs extending from opposite sides of said body portion and adapted to engage the walls of said chamber under compression to retain the cork against accidental displacement therefrom.

9. A cork or plug of the class described comprising a sheet metal body, peripheral edges of said body having outwardly flaring, yielding side wall members terminating at their ends in outwardly extending angular flanges, and independently yielding prongs at the periphery of said body to aid in holding the body against displacement from a support.

compression.

10. A closure device of the class described comprising a body of sheet material fashioned to form a plurality of plug parts adapted to be mounted in a plurality ofchambers or bores in a hollowmember, means on the plug parts for retaining the same against displacement from the chambers of said member, said means involving yielding side Walls on each of said plug parts,

and prongs at the sides of said plug parts adapted to engage the Walls of said chamber under '11. A closure device of the class described comprising a body of sheet material fashioned to form a plurality of plug parts adapted to be mounted in a plurality of chambers or bores in a hollow member, means on the plug parts for retaining the same against displacement from the chambers of said member, and yielding means intermediate the plug parts permitting relative movement between said parts to adjustably engage supports disposed intermediate said parts. l0

FRANK A. S'I'IRRUP.