WO1999001625A1

WO1999001625A1 - Building brick and method for building with a building brick of this nature

Info

Publication number: WO1999001625A1
Application number: PCT/NL1998/000345
Authority: WO
Inventors: Teunis Jan Hartkamp
Original assignee: Teunis Jan Hartkamp
Priority date: 1997-07-02
Filing date: 1998-06-16
Publication date: 1999-01-14
Also published as: ZA985497B; AU7940998A; NL1006452C2

Abstract

Building brick (1), the bottom face (3) of which describes a non-planar form which is parallel to the top face (2) which runs with an identical form, and a method for building with bricks of this nature. The top face (2) of the building brick (1) is provided with one or more channel-like recesses (10, 11) at a distance from a side edge of the top face (2), for accommodating a joining means for joining the building brick (1) to a building brick (1) lying above it. The side faces of the building brick are provided with one or more cavities (14, 15). These cavities open out, on one side, into a cavity in the top face (2) and, on the other side, at a location in the bottom face (3) which is such that when the building brick (1) is placed on a corresponding building brick the cavity adjoins a cavity in the top face or side face of the building brick (1) lying below it. After stacking the building bricks (1), a liquid joining agent is poured into the recesses (10, 11) in the top row of building bricks (1).

Description

Short Title : Building brick and method for building with a building brick of this nature

The invention relates to a building brick having a bottom face and a top face, the bottom face describing a non- planar form which is parallel to the top face which runs with an identical form. The invention also relates to a method for producing buildings using a building brick of this nature.

Such a building brick is known, for example, from French patent application FR-A-1, 394, 232. In this known building brick, the top face comprises an elevated central part which extends in the longitudinal direction of the building brick, while the bottom face, in the centre, comprises a recess along its length which is essentially complementary to the elevated central part of the top face. Due to the fact that the shape of the bottom face is complementary to the shape of the top face, the building bricks can be stacked on top of one another quickly and easily, in such a manner that the front and rear faces are precisely aligned with respect to one another. However, this advantage would disappear if it were necessary to join the building bricks together using a jointing layer of, for example, cement. An uneven thickness of the joint could still cause the building bricks to stand at an angle to one another. In the building bricks according to the abovementioned French patent application, this problem is prevented by arranging the cement between, on the one hand, the upright walls of the elevated central part of the top face of the building brick lying at a lower level and, on the other hand, the inner walls of the cavity in the bottom face of the building brick lying above it. However, this is extremely laborious, since this location is very difficult to reach. For this purpose, the building brick has to be designed to be so hollow that only a shell remains, which then has to be strengthened again with the aid of a reinforcement .

The object of the invention is to provide a building brick and a method for building with such a type of building brick in which it is possible in a very simple manner for unskilled workers to construct straight walls very quickly - and without problems, in order thus to build buildings such as houses. Another object of the invention is to provide a building brick or block which can be used as a toy and in which the building blocks can be used, during play, to make structures in which the building blocks are not attached permanently to one another, but rather can be taken apart again, after which a new building can be produced using the blocks .

The object of the invention is achieved with a building brick according to the invention by the fact that the top face of the building brick is provided with one or more channel -like recesses at a distance from a side edge of the top face, for accommodating a joining means for joining the building brick to a building brick lying above it. This measure means that the building bricks can be joined toge- ther quickly and easily with a sufficient quantity of joining agent without producing a thick, irregular joint. As a result, the bricks are always precisely straight above one another. The recesses are easy to reach and consequently can be filled quickly, so that construction can take place quickly and efficiently using, if desired, semiskilled or unskilled labour. Trowels and similar tools are not required. Building bricks of this kind can easily be designed in T-piece, corner piece and half-brick variants, so that a modular construction system is obtained, and there is no need for the building bricks to be sawed or broken to size.

In a preferred embodiment of the building brick according to the invention, the side faces of the building brick are provided with one or more channel-like cavities or recesses, which cavity, on the one side, opens out into a cavity or recess in the top face and, on the other side, opens out at a location in the bottom face which is such that when the building brick is placed on a corresponding building brick the cavity adjoins a cavity in the top face or side face of the building brick lying below it. The result is a network of mutually adjoining recesses, along which the liquid joining agent can spread easily. This network is connected to the outside environment via the recesses in the top row of building bricks. Via the channels in the top row of bricks, mortar or a similar joining agent can be poured into the network of passages which is formed by the adjoining channels. As a result, the mortar passes between all the stacked building bricks. As a result, after setting, a strong wall is formed in which the bricks are permanently attached to one another. In order to ensure that the joining agent or cement passes between all the building bricks in sufficient quantities, cement should be introduced into the channels each time a row of building bricks is laid, after which a following layer of bricks can be laid.

In a further embodiment of the building brick according to the invention, the top face is provided, along the longitudinal direction, with an elevated central piece while the bottom face is provided, in the longitudinal direction, with a hollow, the shape of which essentially corresponds to the central piece, both the top face in the longitudinal direction and the side faces being provided with two channel-like recesses, and one of the channel-like recesses in the top face being arranged between the front face and the elevated central piece and the other channel-like recess being arranged between the rear face and the elevated intermediate piece, while one of the two channel-like recesses in the side face opens out into one of the two channel-like recesses in the top face and the other channel-like recess in the side face opens out into the other channel-like recess in the top face. This design of the building brick according to the invention is easy to produce using moulds, and it comes out easily. Due to the fact that recesses for the provision of the joining agent are present on either side of the elevated central part, i.e. both in the region of the front faces and in the region of the rear faces, the building bricks are connected together with extra strength. Due to the simple, complementary shapes of the bottom face and the top face, the building - bricks can be stacked on top of one another quickly and easily, the bricks being accurately aligned and lying directly above one another.

In a further preferred embodiment of the building brick, the elevated central piece of the top face is trapezium- shaped in cross-section. As a result, the building bricks can easily and quickly be laid on top of one another with a minimum of play.

Preferably, the bricks are provided with a hollow which runs from the top face to the bottom face and is more or less elliptical to rectangular and the width of which is at least 1.5 cm and the length of which is at least 6 cm, so that four fingers of one hand can be placed therein. As a result, the bricks are easy to take hold of. The hollows improve the insulating properties of the building bricks. Due to the fact that the hollows in the building bricks come to lie above one another, they form a vertical passage, through which lines or wiring can be guided. In order to be able to form the building brick easily, for example in a casting mould, the inner walls of the hollow taper downwards, at an angle of approximately 5 to 10°, so that a draft angle is obtained.

Furthermore, the building bricks are preferably made from lightweight concrete or cellular concrete. These materials are very suitable for house-building, due to the fact that they are very resistant to the effects of weathering and have good insulating properties. With these materials, the desired shape of the building bricks can be obtained in a simple manner, for example by means of casting.

Furthermore, the building brick is preferably provided on one or both of the sides with a slot for holding one side of a window/door casing in a snug fit, so that window/door t to in o LΠ o UI O tπ , rt 0 Ω i CD hh pi rt rt Pi Hi CL Hi rt hi Hi σ rt O TJ Pi Hi rt Pi Ω rt rt Ω P P M P Ω tr P 0 P- 0 Pi P tr P- Pi P- 0 tr tr Φ H hi tr Hi hi P O O P- 0 0 P- tr hi hi CO P P P

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bricks of this first layer being placed over the elevated part of the foundation beam, after which the joining agent is added via the channel-like recesses. As a result, the first layer of building bricks can be arranged in the same simple and rapid manner as the other layers.

Preferably, the method according to the invention is designed in such a manner that the agent which joins the bricks together consists of a quick-setting mortar or cement. In this way, a strong building can be obtained within a short construction time. Preferably, a setting two-component cement is used, so that the cement cannot set until the two components have been added together.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 : Shows a building brick according to the invention; Figure 2: Shows a side view of a building brick in accordance with Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 : Shows a half-brick design of a building brick according to the invention;

Figure 4 : Shows a third possible building brick according to the invention;

Figure 5 : Shows a fourth possible building brick according to the invention;

Figure 6 : Shows a T-shaped building brick according to the invention; Figure 7: Shows a T-shaped building brick according to the invention for connection to a non-supporting wall;

Figure 8 : Shows a corner brick according to the invention; Figure 9: Shows a building brick according to the invention for a non-supporting wall; Figure 10 : Shows part of a building with building bricks according to the invention; Figure 11: Shows a perspective view of another possible building brick according to the invention; Figure 12 : Shows a plan view of a building brick in accordance with Figure 11; Figure 13 : Shows a toy variant of a building brick ac- - cording to the invention;

Figure 14 : Shows a side view of a building brick in accordance with Figure 13.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a building brick 1 according to the invention. Figure 2 shows a side view of the same building brick 1. The building brick 1 is in the form of a hexahedron and thus has a top face 2, a bottom face 3, a front face 4, a rear face 5 and two side faces 6, 7. The top face 2 is provided with an elevated, trapezium- shaped central piece 8, which extends in the longitudinal direction of the building brick. The bottom face 3 is provided with a hollow 9, which is likewise trapezium- shaped and is parallel to the elevated central part 8 on the top face 2. The hollow 9 has the same shape as the central part 8 and lies directly below it. Both the central part 8 and the hollow 9 are essentially parallel to the faces 4 and 5. The top face 2 is provided, on either side of the elevated central part 8, with two channel -like recesses or channels 10, 11. Vertical, channel-like reces- ses or channels 12, 13 are arranged in the side faces 6 and 7, adjoining these channels 10, 11. Two vertical, continuous openings 14 and 15 with tapering internal walls are arranged in the region of the centre of the building brick 1. The openings 14, 15 lie next to one another and run from the top face 2, approximately in the centre of the central part 8, towards the bottom face 3, approximately in the centre of the hollow 9. These openings 14 and 15 are used as handles, through which the bricks, even if they are of relatively large format, can easily be taken hold of and moved. A groove 16 runs in the longitudinal direction along the building brick 1, in the centre of the top face 2. Wiring, lines or similar features can be guided through this groove 16. These features can also be guided via the vertical openings 14, 15. The front face 4 and the rear face 5 are bevelled at the edges 17, thus providing an aesthetic effect.

Figure 3 shows a half brick or half-brick design 18. There - is only one vertical opening 14 in this half brick. This half brick 18 is required in order to construct the walls in such a manner that the bricks are always staggered with respect to one another by half a brick length in the vertical direction.

Figure 4 shows yet another possible embodiment of a building brick 19 according to the invention. The building brick 19 corresponds virtually entirely to the building brick 1 shown in Figure 1. However, the building brick 19 is provided with an opening 20, which runs through from the front face 4 to the rear face 5. In the figure, this opening 20 is closed off with the aid of a suitable grid 21, which can optionally be closed off. On the other side of the building brick 19, on the rear face 5, the through opening 20 is also closed off by means of a grid 21. A plastic piece of tube or pipe is placed in the opening 20, between the two grids 21, so that the ventilation air cannot leak out via the openings 14, 15.

Figure 5 shows a building brick 22, which is provided in the front face 4 with a rectangular opening 23. This opening 23 runs through to the inner wall of the vertical opening 15. The opening 23 thus does not pass through the entire building brick. A line 24 for electricity wiring runs via the groove 16 and the vertical opening 15. This line 24 runs downwards via the vertical opening 15. A wall socket can be arranged in the opening 23, which socket can be connected in a simple manner to the line 24.

Figure 6 shows a T-piece 25, which comprises a part 26 which essentially corresponds to a building brick 1 in accordance with Figure 1. A second part 27 stands transversely to this part 26. This part 27 is narrower than the part 26 and is used to form part of a non-supporting inter- Ui Ui t to P> P"

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the joining agent can be poured. The building brick 41 comprises an elevated central part 45, which is trapezium- shaped, on the top face 44. In the bottom face 46 there is -arranged a hollow 47 of essentially the same shape as the elevated part 45. Two vertical openings 14, 15, through which lines or wiring can be guided, are arranged in the building brick 41. A building brick of this nature for a non-supporting wall may also be designed as a T-piece, a corner piece or in a half-brick embodiment.

Figure 10 shows a perspective view of a number of assembled building bricks according to the invention, namely a building brick 1 next to a half-brick building brick 18 on which a building brick 1 has been laid. The building bricks are attached to a foundation 48, on which there is an elevated ridge 49, which can be fitted into the hollow 9 in a building brick 1, 18. A volume of mortar 50 is positioned in the channels 10, 11, 12, 13, by means of which mortar the building bricks 1, 18 can be joined together permanent- ly so as to form a strong wall. Owing to the elevated central part 8 on the top face of the building bricks 1, 18, the mortar cannot pass into the openings 14, 15. Lines 24 run through the vertical openings 14, 15. Wiring 51, for example for electrical features, such as cables or telepho- ne cables, runs via the grooves 16. All the building bricks, foundation beams, corner bricks, windowsills, wall plates and T-pieces are initially stacked in the dry state, i.e. without the addition of mortar. Mortar is then added into the channels 10, 11, 12, 13, with the result that the building bricks and the remaining building components are attached permanently to one another.

The dimensional relationships employed are such that the width of, for example, a door or a windowsill corresponds to the width of a whole number of building bricks, so that a modular system is obtained. For example, the building bricks may be 45 cm wide, while the doors are 90 cm wide. A multiple of 45 cm can then also be used as a measure for the width of the windows, windowsills, facade panels, roofing panels and other necessary building components. Modular dimensional relationships of this nature should preferably be used not only for the width of the various building components but also for their height.

Figure 11 shows another possible embodiment of a building brick 1 according to the invention. Figure 12 shows a plan view of this variant . This building brick 1 corresponds to the building brick in accordance with Figure 1, but is provided in the centre of both sides with a vertical cavity 52 which has an essentially rectangular cross-section. A casing for a door or a window, for example, can easily be fitted into this cavity 52. If the building brick 1 is not placed next to a door or window, the cavity 52 may if appropriate be filled with extra joining agent, such as cement or adhesive.

Figure 13 shows a small building brick 53, for example approximately 1 to 1.5 cm high, which is intended in parti- cular as a toy. This building brick 53 is shown in side view in Figure 14. The building brick 53 comprises a top face 2 and a bottom face 3. On the top face 2, the building brick is provided with a trapezium-shaped elevated central part 8. On the bottom face 3, the building brick 53 is provided with a hollow 9, the shape of which essentially corresponds to the elevated central part 8. On either side of the elevated central part 8, the building brick 53 is provided with a channel-like recess 54. In the region of the surface of the top face 2, these recesses 54 are slightly narrowed. On either side of the hollow 9, the building brick 53 is provided with a ridge 55 which has a cross-section which essentially corresponds to the cross- section of the channel -like recesses 54 and is therefore narrowed slightly in the region of the surface of the bottom face 3. The ridges 55 are used as joining means and can be clicked or pushed into the channel-like recesses 54 of another building brick 53 , so that buildings can be produced without much force, while the building bricks can easily be taken apart again.

Claims

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that the elevated central piece of the top face is trapezium-shaped in cross-section.

-5. Building brick according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bricks are provided with a hollow which runs from the top face to the bottom face and is more or less elliptical to rectangular and the width of which is at least 1.5 cm or more and the length of which is at least 6 cm, so that four fingers of one hand can be placed therein.

6. Building brick according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bricks are made from lightweight concrete or cellular concrete.

7. Building brick according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the joining means consists of two ridges which are arranged on the bottom face of the building brick, the cross-section of which ridges essenti- ally corresponds to the channel-like recesses in the top face and which lie in line and are parallel to the channel- like recesses in the top face, it being possible to clamp together the ridges in cooperation with the channel-like recesses in a corresponding building brick.

8. Building brick according to Claim 7, characterized in that the channel-like recesses are slightly narrowed in the region of the surface of the top face, while the ridges are slightly narrowed in the region of the surface of the bottom face, the building brick being made from a stiff, resilient material.

9. Building brick according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the building brick is provi- ded on one or both of the sides with a slot for holding one side of a window/door casing in a snug fit.

10. Method for producing buildings using building bricks, which building bricks each comprise a number of side faces,

foundation beam, after which the joining agent is added via the channel-like recesses.

13. Method according to one of the preceding claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the agent which joins the bricks together consists of a quick-setting mortar or cement, for example a two-component cement.