US2309842A - Stone ceiling - Google Patents

Description

web. 2,-1-1943. l (E. GW'R r2,309,842

Y 'STONE CEILINGS Filed Feb. 7, 1939 2 Sheets-SheetZ Patented Feb. 2, 1943 STONE CEILING Engelbert Grwer, Leipzig, Germany, assigner to Ignacio Arane'ta, Lima, Peru Application February 7, 1939, Serial No. '255,061 'In Germany ApriLZlO, 1937 3 Claims.

This invention relates to fhollow .stone ceilings built without boardings, and more particularly tohollowstone ceilings and methods of building the same utilizing yauxiliary iron girders 'for the support of the ceiling stones during construction of the ceiling.

It is an object of this invention to provide ceiling stones which, when .being suspended from an auxiliary iron girder, take vand :maintain a strictly horizontal position;

It Sis another object of this invention to provide auxiliary iron girders vfrom which the ceiling :stones are suspended in strictly horizontal position, which are .highly resistant to bending or torsional stresses, which lend themselves to Aready adaptation to varying widths and loads of the ceiling, and which can be used in connection with additional lauxiliary supporting structures.

Other objects, and the manner in which the same are attained, will appear from the following description.

Inrthe prior art, reinforced hollow stone ceilings were ordinarily constructed with the aid of a Wooden lboarding supporting the ceiling .from below during the setting of the concrete mortar and simultaneously insuring the ceiling of -a plane surface. Attempts have also 4been lmade to build lceilings of the aforenoted type without `the assistance of a supporting wooden-boarding,

lbyrusing auxiliary iron girders supporting the individual stones in rows. Prior to the present invention, however, the relimination of wooden boardings and the substitution` therefor or auX- 4iliary girders resulted in anumb'er 'of drawbacks which rendered this method more or less impractical. For example, the ceiling stone when suspended from the auxiliary girders would not take Va strictly horizontal position, -as is required in order `to obtain a planeceiling. .Moreoven the auxiliary girders were exposed `to deterioration iby lall Vsortsof bending and torsional stresses and frequently proved even inoperable where the width `and .loads of the ceiling deviated somewhat from the more customary standards.

The present invention contemplates the elimination of the drawbacks exemplied above, and

.the construction of a hollow stone ceiling with Athe aid of auxiliary iron girders, `by arranging on the stones projections and recesses cooperating-so as to engage part of the girder in a'mannersuch that by virtueof this controlled engagement,'the stones are positively caused to `'take and maintain. a strictly horizontal position. Therinvention .further contemplates the vprovision of auxliliafry..girders having such shapes Sas ltoren'der them highly resistive to bending and torsional stresses, to vpe-rmit 4their combination in partly nested form .toinsure optional extension, and the Aprovisionol `auxiliary supporting structures for use in connection With the auxiliary girders und'er certain speciedconditions.

11n the drawings a'ixed to this speci'lcation and for-ming part thereof several embodiments of this finventionrare illustrated diagrammatically byway of example.

In the drawings,

.Figure `1 is a perspective view-of one form of a stone ceiling according 'to the invention in the process `ol being assembled,

v Figure 2 .is a perspective view of a detail of Figure 1,

Figure 3 illustrates a cross-section taken along line III-III of yFigure l,

Figure 4 is va, cross-section taken along line IIV-IV in Figure 3,

Figure?) illustrates a hollowstone accord-ing to the 'invention as shown in Figures l `to 4, drawn to a larger rscale,

lFigures 16, f7 .and -8 .show .modified forms of a fhollow stone according to the invention;

Figures 19 .and V1'() illustrate auxiliary girders .employed in lne'stedicondition in connection with lthe stones according v'to Figures 5 and 6, respectively;

Figures llan-d .12 illustrate modied forms of the :auxiliary girders likewisein nested condition; .and

AFigur-es v13, .14 and 15 show various embodilments of additional supporting structures to be .usedin connection with the Iauxiliary girders.

. IReferring :now to the drawings, and rst to EEigures l itol, the walls I :support two Vbed stones 12, which preferably are .ordinary ceiling stones, and which in turn support-an .auxiliary girder 3, preferably-made l'of iron. rEhe girders 3 are pro- 'vided with a :flange f4 adapted 4to Vengage a re- :cess 5 protected @by a tongue-shaped projection '6 :arranged Ain 'or 'on theitop part of 'the `ceiling stones Igener'ally indicated at .1. The joints intermediate the ceiling stones arenlled with morftarlas -indicated vat 8, reinforcing irons 9 'being inserted in the mortar so as to be completely enclosed thereby.

Inthe construction @of the ceiling, two ceiling stones-2 are put -on opposite walls and an auxiliary girder `3y-lis -put on top of these bed stones solas 'to engage with its ypart Y'2l the recess v". provided therein. -Now-ithe ceiling stones 'l are suspended individually from `the auxiliary Vg-irder 3, Iby engagement of their recess l5 as protected by the projection 6 with the girder part 4, while inserting mortar so that the longitudinally extending joint to the rear of the stones and likewise the joints intermediate any two stones are completely filled with mortar, as indicated at 8. Hereafter the front of the entire stone row is supplied with a mortar bed consisting, e. g., of stiff concretemortar mixedin the proportion 1:3 and in this mortar bed there is inserted the reinforcing iron 9 having the statically required strength so as to be completely enclosed by the mortar. Now a second auxiliary girder is laid on Figure 7 indicating this arrangement with respect to the structure shown in Figure while Figure 8 shows a similar modification of the structure indicated at Figure 6.

The auxiliary girder from which the stone are to be suspended must answer manifold requirements. It must be of light weight and easy to handle and it must be adapted for causing the stones to take a strictly horizontal position once they are suspended therefrom. The auxiliary girder further must possess high resistance to bending stresses so as not to be pulled downtwo additional bed stones put on the walls and L the suspension of ceiling stones from this second is built up and reinforced until the entire ceiling is completed. This operation is preferably performed by a brick-layer standing on a displaceable scaffold as indicated at I0 in Figure 1.

With ceilings of this type it is of prime importance that the ceiling stones, when suspended from the auxiliary girder, take and maintain a strictly horizontal position. For this reason, the ceiling stone must be provided for a particuluar engagement with the girder such as to insure its taking and maintaining a horizontal position, and Figure 5, showing the arrangement of the preceding figures however drawn to a larger scale, indicates one structural arrangement for this purpose. In this embodiment of the invention, the stone 'I is formed with a wedge-like or conical recess 5 protected by a similarly shaped tongue or projection 6, said recess and said projection being so arranged with respect to the girder portion 4 from which the stone is suspended, that the pointof suspension, indicated at Il, is located at some distance from the vertical of gravity indicated at l2. This asymmetric arrangement creates a tilting Vmoment in the stone acting in the direction 0f the arrow I3 and producing a horizontal clamping effect which causes the stone to be pressed onto the portion i of the auxiliary girder 3. this portion 4 extends in strictly horizontal direction, the stone of necessity must take and maintain a corresponding, strictly horizontal position.

As shown in Figure 6, the stone portion adapted for engagement with the portion 4 of the girder 3 may also be formed by a recess such as indicated at I4, a rectangular projection I5 and a ledge-shaped portion I6, the latter two delimiting the recess on opposite sides thereof. The vertical distance intermediate the bottom surface of the projection I5 and the top surface of the ledge i6 is equal to the thickness of the bottom portion 4 of the girder 3, and the horizontal distance between the near edges ofthe projection I5 and the ledge I6 is provided sufficiently large for permitting the stone of being slipped on the portion 4 of the girder by a small rotary movement. The ledge I6 is sufficiently close to the opposite wall l1 of the recess so as to permit of support of the portion 4 on the ledge even when the portion 4 extends fully into the recess lil. With this arrangement likewise is the point of suspension arranged outsideof the axis of gravity l2 and therefore results likewise in a positive, strictly horizontal guidanceof the stone.

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, it is by no means necessary to provide the girder engaging portion in a recess of the stone, and it is equally possible to arrange thisstructure on ,top .Of the stone, i'

Since wardly by the ceiling in case heavy stones are employed. The auxiliary girder further must possess as high as possible a resistance to torsional stresses, since the load applies on the outer edge of the bottom portion of the girder so as to tend to twist the girder near the center thereof. It is further desirable that the girders may be nested to permit of using a combination of several auxiliary girders whenever the width of the ceiling extends the permissible length of a single girder. This nesting is particularly irnportant in a case where a ceiling is to be constructed between two already existing walls and where the girders would have to be cut to size unless two similar girders can be nested so that their total length corresponds exactly to the desired width of the ceiling. Finally, with very considerable widths of the ceiling it is desirable to employ the auxiliary girders in vconnection With additional auxiliary supports.

The manifold requirements enumerated above are answered by the auxiliary girders according to the invention.

As best seen in Figures 9 and 10 the `auxiliary girder also shown in the preceding figures comprises a straight center portion 20, and top and bottom flanges 2| and 22 extending in opposite directions at right angles to the center portion. Figure 9 illustrates two such girders in nested condition in engagement with a stone according to Figure 5, whereas Figure 10 is a similar showing of the same girder, also in nested condition, in engagement with a stone according to Figure 6. y

Instead of comprising a vertical center portionv and two flanges extending at right angles thereto, the auxiliary girder also may take the shapes indicated in Figures 11 and 12, with a somewhat sloping center portion 23 and top and bottom flanges V24 and 25l extending in opposite directions and strictly horizontally, these shapes resemblingZ or S shapes. It is noted that here again two girders are shown in their nested, i. e., partly overlapping condition.' Y

The auxiliary girders according to the invention preferably are made' of strong sheet iron, of a thickness in the neighborhood of, e. g., 4 mm., soV as to be of considerably lighter weight than the customary girders and prole irons having the same resistivity. Accordingly, the auxiliary girders according to the invention are much more readily handled than are the heavier girders now on the market. The high center portion and the two flanges render the auxiliary girds highly resistant to` bending and torsional stresses so that frequently one of these girders alone Will be suflicient to bridge even comparatively large Widths. In a case where the length of one auxiliary girder is not sufficient, two such girders can be used, as shown'in the drawings. Since it is possible to nest the lauxiliary girders in the manner shown, itis possible to provide in the center of the'width` to be 'covered' Aa-ternporary third support by means of an auxiliary support on which a ceiling stone is laid which in turn supports the overlapping portions of the two auxiliary girders. In the same manner it is possible to provide a fourth temporary support and t subdivide the width into three portions, as may be required in a case where, e. g., a very strong pressure concrete is to be appliedto the ceiling.

As seen in Figure 9, the conical shapes of the projection and recess portion on the stone are eminently suitable for these auxiliary girders, as they permit of ready engagement even With the double thickness of the flanges as caused by the over-lapping thereof. However, as seen in Figure 10, the stone according to Figure 6 likewise may readily be used in connection with overlapping, nested auxiliary girders, since at the points where the girders over-lap a brick-layer must merely remove, by a single blow of his hammer, the small stone ledge so as to create space for the double thickness of the flanges.

With respect to the Z or S-shaped auxiliary girders shown in Figures 11 or 12, it is noted that these profiles are particularly advantageous in that the rounded back of these girders enables the same to be readily driven out after the setting of the mortar in the joints of the stones; moreover these auxiliary girders are so constructed that when they over-lap they lie particularly closely together. Furthermore, these girders may be used in any position without an angular displacement about 180 being necessary. The bent flanges 24 and 25 increase the resistance of the auxiliary girder to torsional stresses. Finally, the bends of the flanges 24 and 25 permit of ready insertion of a wooden wedge for holding the girder in position, which is prevented from escaping sidewardly by the bent flanges.

Where the ceiling is very high above the floor, it is not always possible to employ such scaiolding as indicated in Figure 1. Moreover, it is frequently desired to keep the space below the newly constructed ceiling perfectly free from any auxiliary scaifolding. In cases of this character additional supporting structures comprising one or several auxiliary girders of suflicient resistivity may be used, in connection with the auxiliary girders mentioned above, which are suspended from these additional supports and fixed thereon r by means of an iron connecting piece engaging the upper ange of the auxiliary girder.

As shown in Figures 13 and 14, the auxiliary girder 30 may be mounted in a connecting piece or lamella 3| which in turn is supported on an additional auxiliary girder 32, which as shown, may display an I-prole. A wedge 33 is preferably provided for forcing the upper flange of the auxiliary girder B in contact with the additional auxiliary girder 32. It is obvious that, if the connecting piece or lamella is provided of a somewhat greater width, several I-proles may be used; likewise it is evident that various other proles, including rails, may be employed.

As indicated in Figure 15, the auxiliary girder 30 may also be suspended from a connecting piece or lamella 3| which extends in the space intermediate two U-shaped profiles 32a, 32h, a Wedge 33 securing contact of the auxiliary girder 30 with the U-shaped additional auxiliary girders 32a, 32h. In a similar manner, the auxiliary girder may be secured to various other additional auxiliary supports.

Ordinarily, the auxiliary girder is supported by the bed stones in strictly horizontal position, owing to its weight and the engagement cf its bottom ilange with the recesses provided in the bed stones. If it is desired to more rmly secure the auxiliary girder on the bed stones, a wedge, preferably of wood, may be inserted next to the bottom ange of the auxiliary girder in the recess of the bed stone so that the upper surface of th-e wedge abuts against the top iiangeof the auxiliary girder which thus gains additional importance for this purpose.

For the same purpose of securing the auxiliary girders in strictly horizontal position, an additional auxiliary support such as shown in Figures 13, 14 and 15 may be employed which may consist of thin profile iron as, in this case, it must not carry any weight, but solely serve the purpose of maintaining the auxiliary girders in strictly horizontal position and to inter-connect :and intersecure the various auxiliary girders. The auxiliary girders according to the invention thus prove advantageous also with respect to the task of securing them in strictly horizontal position to obtain a plane ceiling.

Wherever desired the ceiling stones according to the invention may be provided with suitably arranged stone ledges in order to facilitate the application of mortar and to increase the static Values of the stones.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details of construction or design las shown or described, as numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims will be obvious to any person skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. A ceiling stone for use in a ceiling produced with the aid of removable auxiliary girders including bottom flanges, comprising a wedgelshaped projection and a similarly shaped recess formed thereby, for suspending the stone from a bottom flange on one of said girders, said projection and said recess being arranged so that the point of suspension is located outside of the axis of gravity of the stone, so las to produce a tilting moment securing the stone firmly on the girder in a strictly horizontal position.

2. A ceiling stone for use in a ceiling produced with the aid of removable auxiliary girders including bottom flanges, comprising a recess portion, a rectangular projection partly covering said portion and a ledge portion adjoining said recess portion, said recess portion being adapted to engage a bottom flange on one of said girders so that it abuts against said projection and said ledge portion, the vertical distance between the projection and the ledge being equal to the thickness of the said ilange and the horizontal distance between the projection and the ledge being sufficient for permitting ready insertion of the flange into said recess, whereby the stone is secured on said flange in a strictly horizontal position.

3. The method of producing stone ceilings which comprises suspending the stones by their tops with their bottom faces extending freely in a common horizontal plane inserting in the interstices between the stones mortar and reinforcing means and, after the mortar has set, severing the connection between the stones and the points from which they are suspended.

ENGELBERT GRWER.

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