Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The insulation of masonry building blocks has taken a
variety o~ ~ormsO After a wall has been constructed or partial-
ly constructed o~ such blocks, insulation has been introduced
in situ. Insulation has also been molded dir,ectly in $he
cavities of such blocks. Further, various splecial types o~
blocks have been provided with insulation mounted internally or
secured externally. One ~orm of block insulation, rapidly gain-
ing in popularity, is disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 3,885,363
to Richard W. Whittey entitled INSU~ATED BLOCK. As disclosed
therein, pre~ormed insula-ting inserts are introduced to the
cavities o~ building blocks at the block plant a~ter the blocks
have been ~ormed and the blocks may therea~ter be handled dur-
~ng c~ns~ruct~on ln the ordinary manner o~ uninsulated blocksO
Obvious advantages in ei~iciency and convenience are thus
achleved~
In the last mentioned insulating technique, however,
as in substantially all oi the methods employed, the building
blocks have two or more transverse webs between inner and outer
side sections and substantial heat transier occurs conductively
therethroughO To date, there has been no e~ec-tive solution to
th~s problem~
It is the general object o~ the present invention to
provide an insulated masonry building block oi the type which
has one or more cavities containing a pre~ormed insulating in-
sert and which also includes transverse webs modi~ied in such
manner as substantially to reduce heat trans~er thereacross.
IN THE DRAWINGS:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view oi an improved insulated
building block ~orming a ~irst embodiment o~ the present inven-
tionO
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Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken generally asindicated at 2-2 in Fig. 1 and showing the internal con~igura-
tion o~ the block and its insulating inserts~
Fig. 3 is a vertical section -taken generally as indi-
cated at 3-3 and showing a portion o~ the block and an insert~ `
Directional and/or geometrical terms such as "top", -
"bottom", 'tside", '~transverse", "horizontal", "vertical", etc~
axe used ~reely hereinbelow but it is to be understood that
such terminology is employed ~or convenience of description
only and is not to be regarded as in any way l~miting the invenr
tion in the speci~ication or the claims which ~oltow.
~ e~erring particularly to Figs. 1 thxough 3, it will
be ob~erved that an insulated building block indicated general-
ly at 10 ~s o~ a conventional ltype. While the present inven-
tion contemplates conventional masonry building blocks~ it is
to be ~urther understood that the invention is not l~mited to
block~ o~ any particular con-~iguration or material.
The building block 10 illustrated in Figs. 1-3 is
generally rectangular in ~orm and includes ~irst and second
ldentical cavities or vertical through openings 12, 14. That
i~, the openings or cavities 12, 14 extend throughout the verti-
cal dimension o~ the block and are bounded transversely by webs
16, lB and 20. The transverse webs 16 and 20 are located
approximately at end portions o~ the block and the web 18 is lo-
cated approximately centrally or intermediate the length
thereo~. Opposite parallel side sections 22, 24 o~ the block
extend longitudinally in transversely spaced relationship and
are con~entionally ~ormed integrally with the webs 16, 18 and 20,
The building block 10 is pre~ormed in a conventional
manner and it will be apparent that the block can be readily
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li-fted and manipulated by a mason or other workman grasping one
of the webs thereof ~rom above9 -finger access from above thus
being essentialO Similarly, ~inger access to the webs ~rom be-
low should be provided for when the blocks are handled in an
attitude inverted from that shown, the latter attitude being
conventional during construction while the ~ormer prevails dur-
ing block manufacture.
The cavities 12 and 14 taper gradually inwardly and
downwardly as shown and during block manufacture the cores em-
ployed in molding the blocks may of course vary somewhat in
dimension, particularly as abrasive wear occurs on the ou-ter
sur~aces thereof over long periods oi use. Thus, the cross
sectional con-~igurations and/or dimensions o~ cavities such as
12, 14 are subject to variat~on over a substantial range~ Such
variation may occur ~rom block to block and even from cavity to
cavity within a single blockO
First and second or le~t and right hand insulating in- ~
serts 26, 26 in Figs. 1-3 are ~ormed o~ a light weight iorami- : -
nous heat insulating and fire retardant material. Thus, a fire
stop iunction and a substantial degree o~ resistance to sound
.0 a~d mo~stuxe transmission are also provided~ molded expanded
polystyrene presently comprising a pre~erred material. The in-
serts are preiormed in a con~iguration such as to enter and sub-
stantially ~it the cavities in the building blocks and a sub-
stantial cross sectional compressibility is provided ~or whereby ~
a condition o~ slight compression exists when an insert is en- ~ -
tered and secured ln its cavity. Thus, the external sur~ace of
the insert is in ~irm engagement with the cavity walls
irrespective o~ the dimensional variations as aforesaid and the
inserts are ~rictionally retained within the cavitles against
accidental or unintended displacement during transport, etcO
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A second important consideration in insert configura-
tion resides in the provision of an insert whercin at least a
part of one end portion adjacent a web is substan-tially removed
or otherwise modified to provide for finger access to the web,
lifting and manipulation of the building block thus being
~acilita tedO "'
As described more fully in the aforesaid U. S. ;;
Patent No. 3,885,363, at least one elongated vertical opening ~
is provided in each insert and extends from top to bottom ;
whereby to enhance the cross sectional compressibility of the
insert. In each of theinserts 26, 26 illustrated, a relatively
large and centrally located vertical through opening is provid-
ed at 28. Further, the required finger access to the end webs
16, 20 ol' the block is provided for by removal of an outer or
end wall of each insert 26 at an area 290 More particularly,
and as illustrated in Figs o 1-3 ~ the entire outer or end wall
o~ each insert 26 at 29 is dispensed with from top to bottom `
and a U-shaped insert cross section results, each insert thus
having a body portion 30 and first and second similar legs 32,
34 integra~ with the body portion~ The "U" configuration :Eor
the ins~rts is found to be particularly desirable in the p:rovi-
sion o~ both top and bottom finger access to the end webs 16,
20 and in a relatively high level of cross sectional compressi-
bility resulting from both the provision of the central through
openings 28, 28 and the removal of outer end walls, inwardly
flexible legs 32, 34 thus being provided.
Building blocks equipped with the specific U-shaped
insulating inserts shown and described above or with other in-
serts within -the scope of the invention exhibit substantial re-
duction in thermal conductivity or heat transfer characteristics,
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commonly expressed in the industry as an improvement in "UFactor". It is known, however, that substantial heat transfer
occurs through the transverse webs o~ the blocks~ such as indi-
cated at 16, 18, 20. Accordingly, the present inventiGn contem-
plates the modification o~ such webs to substantially improve
the desired heat transfer characteristics, i.e. -to improve or to
lower the"U Factor ~t such that there is less heat loss through
the building blocks comprising the walls o~ a heated building or
conversely, a lesser degree o~ heat transfer inwardly through
the walls o~ an air conditioned building. The pre~erred manner
in which web modification is accomplished involves the provision
o~ slots in one or more o~ the transverse webs in a building
block, th~ slots being ~illed with integral projections ~ormed
on ad~acent insulating inserts.
The coniiguxationsand dimensions oi the slots provided
ln the transverse webs may vary within the scope o~ the inven-
tion, but must represent a judicious compromise between insulat-
ing efficiency and maintenance of top to bottom compressive
strength o~ the building blocks. It is presently pre~erred
practice to provide a slot having a depth at least one fourth
(1/4j the thickness o~ the web in which it is ~ormed and, more
particularly, optimum slot depth is thought to be approximately
one hal~ (1/2) the thickness of the web. Thus, where a web
thickness of approximately one inch is provided, as is conven-
tional in many building block designs or con~igurations, a slot
depth o~ approximately one hal~ (1/2) inch is provided for.
Similarly, the volume o~ the web slot should be at least one
fourth (l/4) of the volume iound by multiplying web thickness
times web heig~ times the width at the mouth o~ the slot. With
the slot depth o~ one hal~ (1/2) web thickness, the slot volume
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is o~ course, one hal~ (1/2) this volumeO Slot width may also
vaxy but should be at least thxee fourths (3/4) of an inch, a
three ~ourths (3/4) inch insulated gap having thermal resistance
characteristics equal to that of a much larger gap.
Reverting now to Figs. 1-3, and with particular refer-
ence to Fig. 2, it will be obsexved that the transverse end web
16 is provided with a pair of similar vertical insulatin~ slots
36, 38~ Ths slots 36, 38 extend thxough approximately one half
(1/2) the thickness of the web 16, ~rom top to bottom thereo~
and the width thereo~ may be regarded as approximately three
fourths (3/4) of an inch. Further, the slots are respectively
ad~acent and aligned with end poxtions of the legs 32, 34 o~
~hc ~t hand insulating in~ert Z6 and, ex~ensions or proJections
on the legs extend into and substantially ~ill the slots. That
is, 1~ the insert 26 is regarded as normally having legs extend-
ing to the interior sur~ace or wall o~ the transverse web 16 the
extreme end portions of the legs shown may be regarded as exten-
sions ox projections entering and ~illing the slots 36, 38.
The intermediate transverse web 18 in Fig. 2 is also
pro~ided with insulatlng slots and, pxe~erably, a pair of trans-
versely spaced slots are arranged as illustxated at 40, 42. That
is, a ~ixs~ slot 40 is provided adjacent a body portion 30 o~
the le~t hand insert and a second slot 42 adjacent the body por-
tion 30 of the right hand insert 26. The slots 40, 42 are or
may bs identical with the slots 36, 38 extending through one
hal~ (l/2~ web thickness, ~rom top to bottom of the web, and
ha~ing a width o-~ approximately three fourths (3/4) o~ an inch.
As will be obvious, the slots 40, 42 are o~set transversely an
equal distance from a longitudinal center line through the
building block and this provides for identity and convellient
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molding of the inserts 26, 26 each with a projection 4~ thereon.
The projections 44, 44 on the inserts 26, 26 extend into and
substantially fill the slots 40, 42 from the body portions 30,
30 of the inserts.
The right hand web 20 is provided with insulating -
slots 46, 48 in a manner identical with the provision of the in-
sulating slots 36, 38 in the left hand end web 16. FUrther,
projections on the ends of the legs 32, 34 of the right hand in-
sert 26 respectively enter and fill the slots as in the case of
the left hand insert.
With the presently preferred block and insert configu-
ration of Figs. 1~3, a substantial U-Factor improvement is
achleved~ ancl no signi~icant loss in vertical compressive
strength is encountered. The use o~ insulating inserts alone
and without any form of web treatment is iound to achieve a U- t,'
Factor improvement from approximately .3 to .2 or slightly below.
With the web and insert modifica-tion illustrated in Figs. 1-3 a
further reduction from a U-Factor of approximately .2 to a U-
Factor of appxoximately .13 to u15 is achieved, a substantial
conservation o~ energy being thus realized.
From the foregoing, it will be appaxent that the
building block and insert assembly achieves substantial improve-
mant in thermal resistance or insulating characteristics, due
consideration is nevertheless given to the ease and convenience
with which blocks can be lifted and manipulated during transport
and on site construction, and manufacture of both blocks and in-
serts can be achieved at economic advantageu Still further, mo-
dification or slo-t treatment of -the trallsverse webs of the
building blocks is accomplished in such manner as not to effect
significantly the top to bottom compressive s-trength thlereof.
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