WO2022242784A1

WO2022242784A1 - Building block, wall assembled from it and method of manipulating it

Info

Publication number: WO2022242784A1
Application number: PCT/CZ2022/000022
Authority: WO
Inventors: Štěpán Kočí; Jakub Maršík
Original assignee: Wienerberger s.r.o.
Priority date: 2021-05-20
Filing date: 2022-05-11
Publication date: 2022-11-24
Also published as: EP4341506A1; CZ2021241A3; CZ309301B6

Abstract

A building block, in particular a building block (1) for robotic building assembly, which comprises two abutment walls (8), two side walls (9) and two front walls (2), at least one of its front walls (2) comprising at least one shaped gripping element (3) for attachment by a robotic handling device. A building wall, specifically the wall of a building (5) composed of building blocks (1), which comprise shaped gripping elements (3), which are arranged on their front walls (2) facing towards the inner parts of the building. A method of manipulating a building block, according to which the building block (1) is first held by at least one shaped gripping element (3) arranged on one of the front walls (2) by a robotic manipulating device, then the building block (1) is moved by the robotic manipulating device to position before its placement in the wall (5) of the building, and finally the building block (1) is pushed into its place in the wall (5) of the building by a robotic manipulation device in a substantially horizontal plane.

Description

Building block, wall assembled from it and method of manipulating it Technical Field

The invention relates to a building block, specifically to a building block made of brick material, wood, plastic, concrete and/or aerated concrete, intended for robotic assembly of buildings comprising two abutment walls, two side walls and two front walls, the walls assembled from it and, to a method of manipulating this building block.

State of the Art

A whole range of designs of building elements are known from current technology, from which buildings are assembled. These can include brick building elements, such as brick blocks and brick building elements, which may be, for example, lintels. The building elements have their walls made to be smooth or are provided with a great number of types of shaped elements. These shaped elements are in particular arranged in the form of grooves and locks which interlock in them arranged on the walls of two adjacent building components.

From patent document CZ304563 is further known a precision fired wall element for applying thin plaster or glue or sealant, which comprises the above-mentioned grooves and locks arranged on the walls to connect adjacent building components. This masonry element further comprises post-firing ground, load surfaces and one single, pot-firing ground facing surface, which comprises regularly arranged grooves, their depth being in the range of 0.5 to 4 mm. These grooves form a regular roughening of the facing of the ground surfaces and serve to optimise the attachment of the minimum layer of plaster on the ground, precisely manufactured facing surface of the building component. The disadvantage of grooved surface roughening is that it can only serve to improve the adhesion of the surface as described above in order to improve its connection with the plaster.

Furthermore, a number of brick elements are known which contain different forms of grooves which serve, with the help of of another connecting means, to interconnect the two brick components and thus also to strengthen the walls. Such a technical solution, replacing the above-mentioned groove-lock system, is known, for example, from the patent documents US 2392551 and US 4597236. The disadvantage is that the grooves which receive the connecting means must be relatively large so as to ensure strength and stability of the connection, and also so as to make it possible to insert the connecting element into the connection of the two brick components. In other words, the disadvantage is in particular the more complex assembly of the walls.

This technical solution is also known from patent document CZ 303550, in which is described a modular system, which consists of a set consisting of a breeze block in the shape of a block of the same height, namely the first base breeze block having a square base, the second base breeze block having a rectangular base, from the derived breeze blocks, and from the outer connecting strips and the inner connecting strips. Each base breeze block being provided with at least three outer grooves in its side walls along its entire height. The length of the derived blocks is determined to be at least twice the width. The derived breeze blocks are, at their centres, provided with one inner groove along their entire height and at least two and at most six outer grooves in their side walls, with a maximum of one outer groove in each shorter side wall and a maximum of two outer grooves in the longer side walls. The outer connecting strips and the inner connecting strips are designed for self-locking connection with outer grooves and inner grooves. The big disadvantage of this modular system is the complex and time-demanding assembly of buildings.

From current technology building systems for robotic building assembly are also known, in which the individual building components are gripped by the robotic arm by their upper part in such a way that the gripping elements of the robotic arm grip the building component using the side facings of the building component. The disadvantage of these building systems is that the construction is usually performed by a robotic device from a single location, and so the size of the construction is limited by the length of the robotic arm. In the case of deployment in a certain part of the building, it is a disadvantage that due to the fact that the building component is gripped by its upper part, it is necessary to have longer and therefore less agile robotic arms for the construction.

The aim of the invention is the design of a building block that will allow a simple, firm and accurate grip with a robotic arm, as well as the easy variable use of robotic building systems even in smaller confined spaces. Principle of the invention

The mentioned disadvantages are largely eliminated and the goal of the invention fulfilled by a building block, in particular a building block for robotic building assembly, which comprises two abutment walls, two side walls and two front walls which, according to the invention, is characterised by that at least one of the front walls comprises at least one shaped gripping element for attachment by a robotic handling device. The advantage is that due to the fact that the shaped gripping element is located on the front wall, the arm of the robotic device can have a significantly shorter arm.

To advantage, the shaped gripping element is arranged over the entire width of the front wall. The advantage is that, with regard to the location of the building block in the building, the robotic device can select on the entire width of the front wall the part of the shaped gripping element which is optimal from its point of view.

It is also advantageous if the shaped gripping element is arranged in the direction of the stretching of the building block production mixture by the shaping template. The advantage is the simple and efficient creation of a shaped gripping element.

According to a first advantageous variant, the building block is in the form of a masonry block for assembling the building wall. The advantage is the possibility of simple and quick assembly of the walls of the building.

According to a second advantageous variant, the building block is in the form of a lintel for bridging the free parts of the wall of the building. The advantage is the possibility of simple and fast inclusion of the lintel into the wall of the building.

It is to great advantage if the shaped gripping element for attachment by the robotic handling device is arranged on the front wall facing towards the inner parts of the building. The advantage is that the construction can be realised from the interior of individual rooms with the help of a compact robotic device.

To advantage, the shaped gripping element is a groove which is, from the point of view of a precise and firm gripping, the most advantageous. At the same time, the groove, preferably dovetail, allows for easier, more reliable manipulation and the possibility of unifying the ways in which the building blocks are manipulated by the robotic arm. It is to advantage if the groove has a smaller outer width "x" than the inner width "y". The advantage is that there is an easy and firm grip by the arm of the robotic device.

To greatest advantage, the groove has an outer width "x" of 8 to 30 mm, an inner width "y" of 10 to 40 mm, a depth "z" of 4 to 15 mm, the groove widening inwards at an angle "a" of 30° to 60° and the radius of curvature of the outer and inner edges a radius "r" of 0.5 to 5 mm. The advantage is that, given the usual size of the building blocks, the dimensions of the groove are very small, which means a minimal increase in plaster consumption, while the groove also significantly improves the bond strength of the building wall and plaster.

The mentioned disadvantages are largely eliminated and the goal of the invention fulfilled by a wall of a building wall, specifically the wall of a building composed of building blocks, which comprises two abutment walls, two side walls and two front walls, according to the invention, is characterised by that the building blocks comprise shaped gripping elements which are arranged on their front walls facing towards the interior of the building. The advantage is that the construction can be realised from the interior of individual rooms, with the fact that the dimensions of the robotic arm and thus the entire robotic device can be minimised, which allows its efficient and flexible deployment.

It is to advantage if the shaped gripping elements of the adjacent building components are connected to one another. The advantage is the possibility to place various types of distributions or handles in the shaped gripping element, which protrude above the surface of the plaster of the wall.

In an advantageous variant, the shaped gripping elements of the adjacent building components are connected vertically.

It is to further advantage if the shaped gripping elements are provided with a cover which reduces the consumption of the plaster mixture.

The mentioned disadvantages are removed to a large degree and the goal of the invention fulfilled by a method of manipulating the above-mentioned building block according to the invention is characterised by that the building block is first held by at least one shaped gripping element arranged on one of its front walls by a robotic manipulating device, then the building block is moved by the robotic manipulator into a position before its placement in the wall of the building, and finally the building block is pushed into place in the wall of the building by a robotic manipulator in a substantially horizontal plane. The main advantage of this method is the minimisation of the path of movement from the place of its storage to the place of its location in the wall of the building. Another advantage is a more reliable gripping due to the simple locating of a regularly arranged shaped gripping element by means of suitable sensors on the gripping mechanism.

The main advantage of the building block, the walls assembled from it and the method of handling it, according to the invention, is that it allows the use of significantly shorter robotic arms, thanks to which even entire robotic devices can have compact dimensions. Thanks to the possibility of gripping by moving "from the front" and not "from above", the reach of the robotic arm is significantly increased, because it does not have to "tilt" over the building block and thus further from its base. All that must be done is to move the robotic arm in front of the building block. All this speeds up the gripping and the whole manipulation process. The possibility of releasing the building block by moving "from the front" and not "upwards" again increases the reach of the robotic arm. Another advantage of arranging the shaped gripping element on the front wall is the possibility of "sliding" the building blocks into the last row at the top when making a wall, for example under a ceiling or other structure, which limits the possibility of moving the robotic arm over the building block. Another advantage is the possibility of dividing the building blocks into parts while maintaining the possibility of manipulating these parts with a robotic arm, or even gripping the building blocks only by one of the grooves and cutting off the rest, then manipulating the still gripped cut section.

Overview of the Figures

The invention will be further elucidated using drawings, in which fig.1 shows a detail of an design of a shaped gripping element in the form of a groove, fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a wooden wall block in which one shaped gripping element is arranged on one of the front walls, fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a plastic masonry block, on both front walls of which always two shaped gripping elements are arranged, fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a building wall which is composed of plastic masonry blocks, on both front walls of which always two shaped gripping elements are arranged, fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a brick masonry block, on both front walls of which always two shaped gripping elements are arranged, fig. 6 shows a perspective view of a lintel in which a number of shaped gripping elements are arranged on one of the front walls, which are oriented perpendicular to the longer side of the lintel, fig. 7 shows a perspective view of a lintel, in which two shaped gripping elements are arranged on one of the front walls, which are oriented longitudinally with the longer side of the lintel, and fig. 8 shows a perspective view of a building wall which is composed of brick masonry blocks, on the two front walls of which always two shaped gripping elements are arranged.

Examples of the Performance of the Invention

The building block 1 (fig .1 , fig.2) for robotic building assembly according to the first variant has the shape of a wooden masonry block 6 for building walls 5 of a building which comprises two abutment walls 8, two side walls 9 and two front walls 2. One of its front walls 2 comprise one shaped gripping element 3 for attachment by a robotic manipulation device. The shaped gripping element 3 is arranged over the entire width of the front wall 2, from one edge to the other edge of the front wall 2.

The building block 1 (fig.1 , fig. 3) for robotic building assembly according to the second variant has the shape of a plastic masonry block 6 for building walls 5 of a building, which comprises two abutment walls 8, two side walls 9 and two front walls 2. Both front walls 2 comprise two shaped gripping elements 3 for attachment by a robotic manipulation device. The shaped gripping elements 3 are arranged over the entire width of the front wall 2, from one edge to the other edge of the front wall 2. The shaped gripping elements 3 are grooves 4. The grooves 4 have an outer width "x" of 12.5 mm, an inner width "y" of 15 mm, a depth "z" of 6 mm, the grooves 4 widening inwards at an angle "a" of 45° and the radius of curvature of the outer and inner edges is a radius "r" of 2 mm. The wall 5 of the building (fig. 4) is composed of plastic masonry blocks 6 in such a way that the shaped gripping elements 3 which the building blocks 1 comprise are arranged on their front walls 2 facing towards the inner parts of the building. The shaped gripping elements 3 of the adjacent building components 6 are connected vertically to one another.

The building block 1_ (fig .1 , fig. 5) for robotic building assembly according to the third variant has the shape of a brick masonry block 6 for building walls 5 of a building, which comprises two abutment walls 8, two side walls 9 and two front walls 2. Both front walls 2 comprise two shaped gripping elements 3 for attachment by a robotic manipulation device. The shaped gripping elements 3 are arranged on the front wall 2 facing towards the inner parts of the building, over the entire width of the front wall 2, from one edge to the other edge of the front wall 2. The shaped gripping elements 3 are arranged in the direction of the stretching of the production mixture of the building block 1 by the shaping template. The shaped gripping elements 3 are grooves 4. The grooves 4 have an outer width "x" of 16 mm, an inner width "y" of 21 mm, a depth "z" of 10 mm, the grooves 4 widening inwards at an angle "a" of 48° and the radius of curvature of the outer and inner edges is a radius" r "of 2 mm. The wall 5 of the building (fig. 8) is composed of brick masonry blocks 6 in such a way that the shaped gripping elements 3, which the building blocks 1 comprise, are arranged on their front walls 2 facing towards the inner parts of the building. The shaped gripping elements 3 of the adjacent building components 6 are connected vertically to one another.

The building block 1 (fig .1 , fig. 6) for robotic assembly of buildings according to the fourth variant has a wooden lintel shape 7 for bridging the free parts of the building wall 5, which comprises two abutment walls 8, two side walls 9 and two front walls 2. One of the front walls 2 comprise a number of shaped gripping elements 3 for attachment by a robotic manipulation device. The shaped gripping elements 3 are arranged vertically over the entire width of the front wall 2, from one edge to the other edge of the front wall 2. The shaped gripping elements 3 are grooves 4.

The building block 1 (fig.1 , fig. 7) for robotic assembly of buildings according to the fifth variant has the shape of a brick lintel 7 for bridging the free parts of the walls 5 of the building which comprises two abutment walls 8, two side walls 9 and two front walls 2. One of the front walls 2 comprise a number of shaped gripping elements 3 for attachment by a robotic manipulation device. The shaped gripping elements 3 are arranged, on the front wall 2 facing towards the inner parts of the building, horizontally across the entire width of the front wall 2, from one edge to the other edge of the front wall 2. The shaped gripping elements 3 are arranged in the direction of the stretching the production mixture of the building block 1 by the shaping template. The shaped gripping elements 3 are grooves 4. The grooves 4 have an outer width "x" of 16 mm, a depth "z" of 10 mm, the grooves 4 widening inwards at an angle "a" of 48° and a radius of curvature of the outer and the inner edges is a radius "r" of 2 mm.

The shaped gripping elements 3 of all the above-mentioned building block variants can be provided with a cover (not shown) after being placed in position. According to the method of manipulation, the building block 1 is first held by a shaped gripping element 3 arranged on its front wall 2 by inserting a gripping mechanism of a robotic manipulation device (not shown), then the building block 1 is moved by a robotic handling device into its position before being pushed into its place in the wall 5 of the building and finally, the building block 1 is pushed by the robotic manipulation device in a substantially horizontal plane into place in the wall 5 of the building and the grip of the robotic manipulation device is released.

Industrial Application

The building block according to the invention can be used for robotic assembly of buildings.

List of Reference Marks

1 building block

2 front wall

3 shaped gripping element

4 groove

5 walls of the building

6 masonry block

7 lintel

8 top wall

9 side wall

Claims

Patent Claims

1. A building block, in particular a building block (1) for robotic assembly of buildings, which comprises two abutment walls (8), two side walls (9) and two front walls (2), characterised by that at least one of its front walls (2) comprises at least one shaped gripping element (3) for holding by a robotic manipulation device.

2. The building block according to claim 1, characterised by that the shaped gripping element (3) is arranged over the entire width of the front wall (2).

3. The building block according to either one of claims 1 and 2, characterised by that the shaped gripping element (3) is arranged in the direction of the stretching of the production mixture of the building block (1) by a shaping template.

4. The building block according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised by that it is in the form of a masonry block (6) for assembling the walls (5) of a building.

5. The building block according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised by that it is in the form of a lintel (7) for bridging the free parts of the walls (5) of a building.

6. The building block according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised by that the shaped gripping element (3) for attachment by a robotic manipulation device is arranged on the front wall (2) facing towards the inner parts of the building.

7. The building block according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised by that the shaped gripping element (3) is a groove (4).

8. The building block according to claim 7, characterised by that the groove (4) has a smaller outer width "x" than the inner width "y".

9. A building block according to any one of claims 7 and 8, characterised by that the groove (4) has an outer width "x" of 8 to 30 mm, an inner width "y" of 10 to 40 mm, a depth "z" of 4 to 15 mm, while the groove (4) widens inwards at an angle "a" of 30° to 72° and the radius of curvature of the outer and inner edges is a radius "r" of 0.5 to 5mm.

10. A wall of a building, specifically the wall (5) of a building composed of building blocks (1), which comprises two abutment walls (8), two side walls (9) and two front walls (2), according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised by that the building blocks (1) comprise shaped gripping elements (3) which are arranged on their front walls (2) facing towards the inner parts of the building.

11.The wail of a building according to claim 10, characterised by that the shaped gripping elements (3) of the adjacent building components (1) are connected to one another.

12. The wall of a building according to either one of claims 10 and 11, characterised by that the shaped gripping elements (3) of the adjacent building components (1) are connected vertically to one another.

13. The wall of a building according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterised by that the shaped gripping elements (3) are provided with a cover (10).

14. A method for manipulating a building block according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised by that the building block (1) is first held by at least one shaped gripping element (3) arranged on one of its front walls (2) by a robotic manipulator, then the building block (1) is moved by the robotic manipulator into position before its placement into the wall (5) of the building, and finally the building block (1) is, by the robotic manipulator, substantially in the horizontal plane, inserted into place in the wall (5) of the building.