US1378735A - Building-block - Google Patents

Description

G. H; TALBOT.

BUILDING BLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.5,1919.

Fig.1.

h-N nror. George H.Ta|boi arr . orrica,

nurnnnvannocn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 17 1921.

Application filed September 5, 1919. Serial No. 321,854.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Greece H. TALBOT, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Newtonville, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in BuildingBlocks, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in composition building block construction and the principal object thereof is to provide a composition block which may be readily and economically constructed and which can be laid by practically unskilled laborers thereby lessening the cost of building construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide composition blocks of such a character that when laid will produce a wall of greater strength and stability than walls formed of ordinary building blocks.

Another object of the invention is to produce a building block having means to receive the mortor or other bonding material which will avoidthe necessity of troweling when the blocks are laid to form a wall and which will avoid mortar staining of the face of the wall.

A further object of the invention is to provide a form of building block which can be laid equally well in winter and in summer. This is accomplished by providing a building block of such configuration that when a series of courses of such blocks are laid the edge courses of said blocks will rest directly upon each other while the bonding material will be retained in inclosedgrooves or recesses in such a manner that the expansion due to freezing in cold weather will not displace the blocks themselves.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of building block having preferably a series of air chambers so disposed as to prevent the direct passage of moisture or heat through the block. A further feature of the invention consists in providing a building block with marginal grooves to receive a pointing comosition which may be applied before the lock is laid, whereby the excess of pointing material will-be squeezed out as the block is laid and a finished joint provided by merely scraping off such excess.

Other objects and features of the invention will more fully appear from the followin descrlptlon and accompanying drawing and Wlll be pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is an elevation of a corner portion of a wall built of blocks embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same showing the top faces of the blocks of a course,

Fig. 3 is an underneath plan view showing the bottom faces of the blocks of a course, 1 1g. 4: 1s an end vlew of two superposed building blocks, and, Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View through one of the blocks on line 5-5 Fig. 3.

The building blocks forming the subject matter of the present invention may be all of the same form except corner blocks which are varied from the standard form only to present the proper formation to provide for the corner of the wall.

Each block is provided with a top face having at or adjacent its edges longitudinally extending ribs 1, 2 forming a mortar receiving groove 3 therebetween, the mortar receiving groove preferably presenting a fiat surface extending across the major portion of the top of the block.

The bottom face of the block is provided with edge surfaces 4, 5 complementary to the surface of the ribs 1, 2 these surfaces preferably being fiat. The bottom face of the block'is provided with a projecting central portion 6 presenting a surface which is complementary to the surface 3 of the top of the block. The depth of the central projection 6 is slightlyfiless than the depth of the mortar receiving groove to provide a mortar space 8 therebeneath.

The block is provided with a chamber or preferably a series of chambers extending upwardly from the under face to a short distance from the upper face of the block. As illustrated in the accompanying drawing three series of such chambers is provided, a central series comprising chambers 9 and 10 which extend upwardly from the central portion and other series comprisin chambers 11, 12 and 13,14 which exten upwardly from the edge surfaces 4 and 5 respectively. The walls between the chambers 11, 12 and 13, 14 and the central chambers 9, 10, are preferably arranged inparallelism. The transverse wall 15 between the chambers 10- and 11 is located out of alinement with the wall 16 between 'the chambers 9 and 10 and the wall 17 between the chambers 13 and 14 out of alinement with either of said wallsso that the passa .e of moisture directly through the block w1ll be prevented by the air chambers.

Any other arrangement of air chambers may be provided but in any case it is desirable that the transverse partition walls between the chambers of each series shall be arranged in staggered relation. The ends of the block are provided respectively with projections or tenons 18' and recesses or mortises 19 which are complementary in form. The length of the tenons are slightly less than the depth of the mortises or recesses to provide a vertical mortar receiving space 20. Preferably the ends of the block are provided with registering apertures 21, 22

which when filled with mortar will provide a dowel uniting the blocks in the course.

Inasmuch as the chambers which extend upwardly from the lower face of the block terminate short of the upper face of the block, the longitudinal partition walls between the chambers, which are integral with ends of the adjacent the upper wall of the block, form an arched construction which is highly resistant to the compressive force exerted by. the superstructure of the wall.

Each block preferably is provided on the inner side adjacent its end with lateral projections or flanges 23, 24 providing between them a recess 25 preferably of sufficient depth to enable gas or water pipes or other construction elements to extend vertically along the wall. By reason of this construction metallic lathin s 26 may be readily secured to the inner 51cc of the wall by nails or other fastenings driven into the joints between the adjacent ends of the blocks of the courses. Where it is desired to provide the wall with lines of pointing, each of the blocks desirably is provided with a marginal groove or crevice 27 preferably extending along the upper edge of the face of the block and upwardly across one end of the block. Pointing material may then be placed in this groove preferably 'before the block is laid, the excess of the pointing material being squeezed out when the block is forced into its lace in the course in which it is laid. The excess of mortar thus squeezed out may be scraped off by a trowel or pointer, thereby forming a finished joint.

The corner block 28 may be and is formed substantially in the same manner as the standard blocks in the side of the wall except that the ribs are disposed in part at right angles. to each other as illustrated in Fig. 2 to provide a proper corner.

In laying courses of blocks in accordance with my invention the mortar may be poured into the mortar receiving groove 3 of the blocks of onecourse, the blocks of the next superposed course are then placed thereupon and pressed down until the edge surface 4, 5 of the superposed block engages the surfaces 1, 2 of the block on which they are placed, preferabl no mortar being interposed between sai surfaces. Any excess of mortar which is in the mortar receiving groove 3 will be forced or pressed up into the chambers in the superposed block and will not be caused to overflow, consequently the danger of motar stains upon the faces of the blocks which are exposed will be entirely eliminated.

By reason of this construction of the blocks they can be readily assembled by practically unskilled laborers. Furthermore, inasmuch as the motar is protected from the action of the air the wall can be laid in the winter quite as well as in the summer since any freezing of the mortar will merely cause it to expand upwardly into the chambers.

In thus pouring the mortar into the mortar receiving groove 3 it will also work down into the spaces between the ends of the blocks and into the dowel recesses, thereby forming a firm bond between the ends of the blocks of adjacent layers.

The flanges 23, 24 project a sufficient dis tance beyond the bottom of the recesses 25 which are located between them to provide a space deep enough to permit plaster which is forced through the lathing to form the usual anchored construction which prevents the plaster from breaking away from the latter, thus the necessity of employing a furring to support the lath is entirely avoided. The lath, wainscoting, or any other covering can be secured to the wall by nails or other fasteners driven through it into the vertical joints between the ends of adjacent blocks in the course. The recesses 25 in the blocks make convenient spaces through which gas, water and other pipes may be led beneath the plastering and thus concealed.

It will understood that the embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein is illustrative and not restrictive and that various modifications in size, form and construction may be made within the the following claims:

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

1. A building block comprising a top face having ribs adjacent its edges forming a mortar receiving groove therebetween, and a bottom face having fiat surfaces complementary to said mortar receivin groove but of less depth, the lower face emg chambered, whereby mortar in said groove which is displaced by a superimposed block will enter the chamber in the latter without overflowing from said groove and will serve more spirit and scope of I effectively to bond the blocks of successive courses, and the flat edge portions of the superimposed blocks will be directly engaged without the interposition of mortar therebetween.

2. A building block comprising a top face having ribs adjacent its edges forming a mortar receiving groove therebetween, and a bottom face having surfaces complementary to said mortar receiving groove but 01 less depth, the block being provided with a central series of longitudinal air chambers extending from the lower face to within a short distance of the upper face, and a plurality of series of air chambers in parallelism therewith cxtending upwardly from the lower face to within a short distance of the upper face of the block, the transverse partitions between said chambers being staggered relatively to one another whereby the assage of heat and moisture through the block will be effectively prevented.

3. A building block comprising atop face having ribs adjacent its edges forming a longitudinall extending mortar receiving mortise there etween and a bottom face having edge surfaces complementary to said ribs and a projecting central tenon complementary to said mortarreceiving mortise, the ends of the block being provided respectively with a complementary tenon and mortise, said mortises being of slightly greater depth than the length of the tenon to provide mortar receiving recesses, chambers extending upwardly from the bottom face to within a short distance of the upper face of the block, the end walls of said chambers corresponding in contour substantially to the end of the block whereby the passage of moisture directly through the body of the block will be prevented.

4. A building block presenting a solid upper face having a plurality of parallel series of chambers extending upwardly from the lower face of said block to within a short distance of the upper face of said block, the upper walls of said chambers and the partitions between said chambers providing a rigid arched construction.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE H. TALBOT

Images