US3382632A

US3382632A - Compressed, interlocked block wall

Info

Publication number: US3382632A
Application number: US475369A
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul W Grofcsik
Original assignee: Paul W. Grofcsik
Current assignee: PAUL W GROFCSIK
Priority date: 1965-07-28
Filing date: 1965-07-28
Publication date: 1968-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 1985-05-14

Description

y 968 P. w. GROFCSIK 3,382,632

COMPRESSED, INTERLOGKED BLOCK WALL Filed July 28, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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BY 40, A! lfM United States Patent 3,382,632 COMPRESSED, INTERLOCKED BLOCK WALL Paul W. Grofcsik, 720 Borbeck Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19111 Filed July 28, 1965, Ser. No. 475,369 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-228) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A block and wall construction comprising blocks having cooperating projections and cavities and an embedded tie bar for use in securing the blocks of a wall together by means of tie rods.

Summary of the invention Briefly stated, the present invention relates to a block and Wall construction particularly adapted for use in various water control applications such as dams, dikes, jetties, coastal erosion projects or the like. Some of the advantages of the invention are the provision of a block and Wall construction which is inexpensive in both manufacture and installation, which provides a sturdy, long lasting wall structure, which will maintain its water control function effectively throughout long periods of time, and which is adapted to be disassembled for use at another application. The manner in which these advantages are achieved in accordance with the invention is by the provision of a block construction whereby a plurality of blocks may be assembled together by means of cooperating projections and cavities formed thereon and suitable tie rods which secure the blocks together under vertical tension so as to prevent leakage through the wall structure and to provide a sturdy wall construction, there being provided tie bars extending transversely through vertical passages in each block and adapted to be engaged by the tie rods for securing layers of the blocks together in vertical tension.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a vertical section view of a block construction in accordance with the invention taken on line 11 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a block in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section of a portion of a vertical wall construction in accordance with the invention comprising a plurality of blocks stacked vertically;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view showing a wall comprising a plurality of the blocks shown in FIGURES 1 to 3;

FIGURE 1A is a vertical section of another form of block construction in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2A is a vertical section of a plurality of the blocks shown in FIGURE 1A stacked vertically in a wall construction;

FIGURES 3A and 4A are views of an interlocking block used in assembling the blocks as shown in FIGURE 2A, FIGURE 3A being a section taken on line 3A-3A of FIGURE 4A; and

FIGURE 5A is a perspective view showing a wall con:

struction comprising the blocks of FIGURE 1A.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 to 3, the block, which is indicated generally at and has a rectangular shape, comprises end walls 12 and 14, side walls 16 and 18, top wall 20 and bottom wall 22. Eight cavities 24 are formed in the block 10 to extend downwardly from the top wall 20. Each cavity 24 has a shape of inverted truncated ice square pyramid as viewed in the drawings whereby the cavities 24 are defined by four walls inclined progressively inwardly from the top to the bottom of the block. Each cavity 24 is spaced equally from a cavity adjacent thereto at right angles. The distance between the axis of each cavity and an adjacent side or end wall is equal to one half the distance between the axes of adjacent cavities. In accordance with the above block construction, it is possible to assemble the blocks in various positions with respect to one another as will appear hereafter.

At the lower end of each cavity 24 there is formed a horizontally extending shoulder 26 having a square shape. There is provided a passage 28 extending downwardly from the lower end of each cavity 24 entirely through the block 10. Each passage 28 is arranged to be concentric with the corresponding cavity 24 and also has the shape of an inverted truncated square pyramid as viewed in the drawings although the passages 28 are somewhat narrower than the cavities 24. It will be apparent that the cavities 24 and the passages 28 cooperate to provide eight vertically extending openings in the block 10, the axes of these openings being equally spaced as discussed above.

On the bottom wall 22 of the block 10 there are provided eight projections 30 in alignment with the upper cavities 24 and having a shape similar thereto whereby the projections will fit snugly within the cavities 24 when stacked on a lower block as shown in FIGURE 4. In the assembled stacked condition of the blocks, the inclined Walls of the projections 30 cooperate with the inclined walls of the cavities 24 to position the blocks relative to one another and to limit any lateral movement therebetween. A pair of blocks assembled together with the projections 30 of the upper block extending within the cavities 24 of the lower block will provide an arrangement in which the bottom wall 22 of the upper block is in contact with the top wall 20 of the lower block and the side walls 16 and 18 of the stacked blocks lie in the same vertical planes,

In an actual wall construction, the blocks would most likely be staggered relative to one another as shown in FIGURE 5.

The block 10 is provided with means for use in securing or clamping a plurality of blocks together vertically. To this end, there is embedded in each block 10 a tie bar 32 which has a rectangular shape as shown in FIGURE 3 and lies in a horizontal plane. The tie bar 32 is arranged to extend transversely through each of the vertical passages 28 in the block 10.

FIGURE 4 illustrates the manner in which a plurality of the blocks 10 are stacked vertically and various layers are secured together. This vertical stacking of the blocks is achieved by placing one upon the other so that projections 30 of the upper block extend within the corresponding cavities 24 in the lower block as will be obvious from a consideration of FIGURES 4 and 5 The cooperation between the projections and the cavities will hold the blocks together and prevent any lateral movement therebetween.

In order to secure the vertically stacked layers of blocks together tightly, a plurality of tie rods, such as 34, 36 and 38, are interconnected in tension between various pairs of blocks in different layers. Each of the

tie rods

34, 36 and 38 has a hook at the lower end and is externally threaded at the top end. In order to interconnect a pair of blocks, a tie rod is hooked in engagement with the tie bar 32 of the lower block and extends vertically upwardly through the aligned passages 28 in the blocks into engagement with an anchor plate 40 supported on the horizontal shoulder 26 of the upper block. The means for engaging the upper end of the tie bar with the anchor plate 40 comprises a nut 42 threaded onto the upper end of the tie bar, the nut cooperating with a washer 44 and being adjusted to clamp the blocks of the different layers together by providing the proper tension on the tie bar. The tie bars may be of various sizes and may span various layers of blocks. As shown in FIGURE 4, the tie bar 34 is arranged to clamp blocks in the upper and the intermediate layers together and the tie bar 36 is arranged to clamp blocks in the upper and lower layers together while extending through the aligned passage 28 in the intermediate layer block.

In the assembly of a wall structure, the tie bars are arranged to extend between various layers of the wall. Moreover, the tie bars will be provided only as needed in accordance with the particular application involved. As the wall is built, the tie rods will be provided as needed to clamp the added layers of blocks to those beneath and will be arranged to span various layers of the blocks as is shown in FIGURE 4.

It will be noted that the tie bars 36 serve two functions, namely, as a connection for clamping the blocks together, and as a place where the blocks can be engaged for moving the blocks during assembly of a wall or for some other purpose.

In FIGURE 5, there is shown an illustrative wall construction demonstrating the versatility of the block and wall construction in accordance with the invention. In this figure, the blocks are shown in an arrangement providing a right angular wall construction. This type of construction is possible by reason of the construction of each block with the openings spaced equally and being spaced from the side walls of the blocks a distance so that as the blocks are placed side-to-end or end-to-end, there will be provided an arrangement which can accept another layer of blocks at a plurality of locations. To provide maximum strength, the blocks are staggered relative to adjacent layers as shown in FIGURE 5.

The blocks may be made of various sizes and may be constructed of concrete, cement or any of the well-known materials used for building blocks. By way of a typical example, the block 10 will, for many water control applications, comprise approximately one cubic yard of material.

In order to increase the sealing of a wall constructed of the blocks 10, a suitable sealer and/ or gaskets may be positioned between the abutting faces in accordance with procedures well known in the art. Moreover, in order to increase the corrosion resistance of the blocks, they may be sprayedwith a suitable corrosion resistant material such as Fiberglas.

A feature of a wall construction in accordance with the invention is that it may be assembled quickly and easily. Moreover, for many applications it can be used instead of walls formed by the pouring of concrete in accordance with present practices. Furthermore, the wall constructed in accordance with the invention may be of a temporary nature in that it can be disassembled if desired and moved to another application or location. It will be obvious that disassembly may be achieved very simply by merely disconnecting the tie rods and removing the blocks.

In FIGURES 1A to 5A there is disclosed a second form of the invention involving a block and wall construction in which the rectangular blocks 50 are constructed so that they may be used on either side. The block 50 is similar to the block except that there are no projections on either horizontal face and the vertically extending passages have a different shape. The block 50 is rectangular and is provided with a flat upper face 52 and a fiat lower face 54 as viewed in FIGURE 1A. Extending downwardly from the upper face 52 are eight cavities 56 having a pyramid-like shape similar to the cavities 24 of block 10. Extending upwardly from the bottom face 54 are eight cavities 58 identical with the cavities 56 except that they project in the opposite direction. As is apparent from FIGURE 1A the

cavities

56 and 58 are in alignment and are symmetrically arranged with respect to the central horizontal plane of the block 50. The spacing of the

cavities

56 and 58 with respect to the sides of the rectangular block is similar to the arrangement of the cavities 24 of block 10 in order to permit the blocks to fit together in various positions. At the inner ends of the

cavities

56 and 58 there are provided horizontally extending

shoulders

60 and 62, respectively. A vertically extending passage 64 is provided between each aligned pair of

cavities

56 and 58, wherefore there are provided, in effect, eight vertically extending passages through each block 50.

The block 50 has embedded therein a tie bar 66 which has a rectangular shape and lies in the central horizontal plane of the block. The tie bar 66 is similar to the bar 52 of the block 10 and is arranged to extend through each of the vertically extending passages 64 in the block 50.

It will thus be apparent that the block 50 has a symmetrical construction with respect to the central horizontal plane so that the block 50 may be used on either side in the construction of a wall.

In order to assemble the blocks in a stacked condition for forming a wall, there are provided a plurality of interlocking blocks 70. Each block is constructed with identical upper and lower halves adapted to fit into the

cavities

56 and 58 when a pair of the blocks 50 are positioned on top of one another as is shown in FIGURE 2A. FIGURES 2A and 5A illustrate the manner in which a wall is constructed by stacking a plurality of the blocks 50 together. In order to add a layer of blocks on top of a previously assembled layer, the cavities 56 in the top wall have positioned therein one of the interlocking blocks 70. In this condition, the upper wall of the block 50 is provided with upwardly extending projections adapted to receive the cavities 58 in the bottom wall of the block comprising the next layer. The cooperation between the interlocking blocks 70 and the

cavities

56 and 58 will hold the blocks in each adjacent layer together and prevent any lateral movement between adjacent layers of blocks.

In order to secure the vertically stacked blocks together there are provided a plurality of tie rods similar to the tie rods employed in the form of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 to 5. These tie rods are indicated at 74, 76, and 78 in FIGURE 2A and each has a hook at its lower end and is externally threaded at its upper end. The

rods

74, 76, and 78 are arranged to extend vertically through aligned passages 64 in the layers of blocks so as to be hooked in engagement with the tie bar 66 of the lower block and to be anchored on the upper face of the interlocking block 70 for the upper block. The upper end of the tie bar is engaged with the interlocking block 70 by means of a nut 78 cooperating with a washer 80, the nut 78 being adjusted to provide the proper tension on the tie bar. As is shown in FIGURES 2A, 3A and 4A, the interlocking blocks 70 are provided with a vertically extending opening 82 to accommodate the tie bars as is best shown in FIGURE 2A.

FIGURE 5A illustrates the staggered arrangement of the blocks 50 in adjacent layers as they are stacked together to form a wall. This figure also illustrates the manner in which a corner may be formed by means of the blocks in accordance with the invention.

It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the scope of the invention wherefore it is not desired to be limited except as required by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A wall for use in water control applications and the like comprising a plurality of rectangular blocks arranged end to end and stacked in vertical layers, means interlocking blocks in at least a pair of adjacent layers, said interlocking means including a plurality of cavities in said blocks in the lower layer extending downwardly from the upper face thereof, a plurality of cavities in said blocks in the upper layer extending upwardly from the lower face thereof .and being in alignment with said first mentioned cavities, a plurality of interlocking members each of which is positioned to extend and fit within a pair of aligned cavities so as to restrict lateral movement between the interlocked blocks, means for clamping said layers of blocks together vertically, said interlocked blocks having a plurality of passages extending vertically therethrough and aligned with said cavities therein, said interlocking members having a vertically extending bore in alignment with said vertical passages, said clamping means including a plurality of tie rods, a tie bar in said blocks of the lower layer extending transversely through the vertically extending passages therein, and means mounting said tie rods in tension with the upper end being anchored to said upper block and the lower end being engaged with said tie bar and with each tie rod extending through aligned vertically extending passages in the blocks and the aligned bore in the corresponding interlocking member.

2. A wall according to claim 1 wherein all of the .blocks in each layer have a similar construction and are References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 411,027 9/ 1889 Heindel 52-227 869,770 10/ 1907 Birnstock 52-600 X 2,684,589 7/1954 Perreton 52-228 X 3,296,758 1/ 1967 Knudsen 52-584 X 1,630,698 5/ 1927 Florey 52-594 FOREIGN PATENTS 10,180 6/1900 Great Britain.

647,249 7/1928 France.

980,948 1/ 1951 France. 1,157,975 1/ 1958 France. 1,274,931 9/ 1961 France.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner.