BUILDING SYSTEM FOR A WALL

SYSTEME DE CONSTRUCTION MURALE

English Abstract

1. Building system for a wall
2.1 A building system for a wall that uses shaped blocks that
can be joined to each other by dry walling [non-mortared] methods
is already known. In this system, one supporting surface has a
groove and the other supporting surface has a spline that is
matched to said groove. A disadvantage in this is that, for
example, precise positioning cannot be ensured when the shaped
blocks are laid one on top of the other because of dirt and
foreign bodies, so that the blocks can shift in the longitudinal
direction. This makes additional work necessary on the finished
wall and results in an uneven appearance that is caused by the
joints being off-set. It is the task of the present invention to
simplify overall construction of the wall and guarantee the
optimal appearance of the completed wall.
2. To this end, provision is made such that each groove (10) or
each associated spline (2) is provided with notches or with
projections (3) that form a positive fit with these, as well as
with continuous fill cavities in the blocks, these cavities being
formed as a middle opening (4) and semi-circular dished end
openings that (5) that are associated with these on the opposing
abutting surfaces.
2.3 The present invention permits very simple erection that
satisfies all demands with respect to the appearance of the
masonry and which, in addition, can be effected very quickly.
3. Figure 1.

French Abstract

1. Méthode pour construire un mur 2.1. Il existe déjà une méthode pour construire un mur par maçonnerie en pierres sèches, sans mortier, en utilisant des blocs formés pouvant être joints les uns aux autres. Selon cette méthode, une surface porteuse comporte une rainure et l'autre surface porteuse comporte une clavette correspondant à ladite rainure. L'un des désavantages de cette méthode réside dans le fait que la précision du positionnement ne peut être assurée lorsque les blocs formés sont superposés, à cause de la présence de poussière et de corps étrangers, de sorte que les blocs peuvent se déplacer longitudinalement. La finition d'un mur selon cette méthode exige donc plus de travail, et il en résulte une surface inégale due au décalage des joints. La présente invention a pour but de faciliter la construction d'un mur et d'assurer la meilleure apparence possible du mur fini. 2. C'est pourquoi chaque rainure (10) ou clavette correspondante (2) comporte des encoches ou des saillies (3) s'ajustant parfaitement à la rainure ou à la clavette ainsi qu'à des cavités à remplissage continu présentes dans les blocs, ces cavités formant une ouverture intermédiaire (4) et des ouvertures bombées semi-circulaires (5) correspondantes sur les surfaces opposées adjacentes. 2.3 La présente invention permet de construire très facilement et très rapidement un mur répondant à toutes les exigences sur le plan de l'apparence de la maçonnerie. 3. Figure 1.

Claims

Patent Claims
1. A building system for a wall that uses shaped blocks that
are connected to each other by dry walling methods, the
supporting surfaces of each such block being provided with a
groove or with a spline that matches said groove and
incorporating fill cavities that connect the supporting
surfaces that are arranged at right angles to the supporting
surfaces, these fill cavities being formed by a middle
opening and semi-circular dished end openings that are
arranged on the opposing abutting services, characterized in
that each groove (10) or each associated spline (2) is
provided with notches (12) or projections (3) that
correspond to these so as to prevent the blocks from
shifting in the longitudinal direction.
2. A building system as defined in Claim 1, characterized in
that the projections (3) or the notches (12) extend to the
side of the spline (2) or the groove (10).
3. A building system as defined in Claim 2, characterized in
that the projections (3) or the notches (12) are arranged so
as to be symmetrical relative to the longitudinal and/or
transverse axis.
4 . A building system as defined in Claim 1, characterized in
that one edge area of each abutting surface of each block
(1) is provided with a recess (17) and the other edge area
is provided with a raised area (18), the shape of which
matches the shape of the recess (17).
5. A building system as defined in Claim 4, characterized in
that in the edge areas that are associated with a long side
of the block (1), on one side there is a recess (17) and on
the other side there is a raised area (18).

6. A building system as defined in Claim 4 or Claim 5,
characterized in that the depth of the recess (17) is
slightly greater than the height of the raised areas (18).
7. A building system as defined in Claim 1, characterized in
that corner blocks (8) are provided and these are installed
in the corner areas of the wall, one abutting surface of the
corner block (8) being smooth.
8. A building system as defined in Claim 1 or Claim 7,
characterized in that a filler (9) is provided, this being
laid between the corner block (8) and the block (1) that is
set at an angle to this, said filler being matched to the
shape of the block (1) in the area of its supporting surface
or its abutting surface that is associated with the block
(1).
9. A building system as defined in one or more of the preceding
claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the outer edges of the
blocks (1) of the fillers (9) and of the corner blocks (8)
have a bevelled face (14).
10. A building system as defined in Claim 7, characterized in
that the corner block (8) is provided with vertical openings (15)
in the area that is associated with the smooth abutting surface.

Description

~l~S~6~
A Bu~ldlng System for a Wall
The present lnventlon relates to a bulldlng ~ystem for a wall as
set out ln the preamble to Patent Clalm 1.
DE 14 09 139 and DE 27 01 771 descrlbe shaped blocks of this
kind, wlth which lt is posslble to bulld a wall uslng dry walling
methods.
1~ However, there are dlsadvantages to uslng these known, shaped
blocks, and these do not permlt optlmal constructlon of a wall.
In the flrst lnstance, there ls a danger that the shaped blocks
that are to be laid one on top of the other, or whlch have
already been lald ln thls manner, wlll shlft long1tudlnally
because of faulty holdlng means.
When thls hArp~ns, even the smallest shifts caused, for example,
by forelgn bodles collectlng ln the vlclnlty of the abuttlng
surfaces, can become so large as a result of accumulatlon that
ultlmately lt becomes lmposslble achleve a preclse structure that
ls of the e~act dlmenslons that are requlred.
In thls case, the partlcles of dlrt between the butt ~olntc can
result ln faulty seallng that can affect the resultlng wall, ln
partlcular wlth respect to lts thermal lnsulatlng propertles.
In addltlon, ln the known shaped blocks, the flll cavltles are
formed as contlnuous openlngs so that when the shaped blocks are
laid so as to be staggered, the flll cavlty of the upper block
lles above the flll cavlty of the lower lock that ls arranged on
the opposlte a~uttlng surface.
Should lt be necessary to use a half bloc~, for e~ample, in order
to deflne an openlng for a wlndow or a door, the thlckness of the

~1 7~i61
material between the two fill cavities is halved, for all
practical purposes, and this results in a considerable weA ke~; ng
of the block as a whole. This is important mainly if such an area
is to be used as a supporting surface, for example, for a window
or door lintel.
For this reason, it is the task of the present invention to
create a building system of the type described above, the shaped
blocks of which can be laid very precisely under all conditions
and which has an optimal load-bearing capacity in every case.
This problem has been solved by a building system that displays
the distinguishing features set out in Patent Claim 1.
The block is locked in the longit~ n~l direction by the notches
in the-yro~ve that is f~chioned in one supporting surface of the
block and the projections in the associated spline of another
adjoining block, which corresponds to the notches so as to form a
positive fit.
This means that any displacement of the block resulting, for
example, from particles of dirt as discussed above, and which
could bring about a change in dimensions, is thus precluded, and
this ensures not only an even masonry ~pre~ance, which is
determined by the joints, but also eliminates any subsequent
work caused by the need to shorten the last block in a course.
The advantages that result from this are clear to see.
It can be advantageous to provide a seal between the supporting
surfaces of blocks that face each other and, optionally, between
the abutting surfaces of adjacent blocks.
When this is done, the seal between the supporting surfaces can
be in the form of a strip and be matched to the shape of the
groove or spline, respectively.

2 ~ ~5~6 1
Because it is soft, the particles of dirt that lie on the
supporting surfaces can be pressed into the seal, so that when
the blocks are laid up in courses there will be no significant
changes in dimension. The height of the spline or the depth of
s the groove is to be matched to the thickness of the seal. The
surface of the seal can be either smooth or rippled.
It is particularly advantageous if a sealing strip or, as an
equivalent to this, a sealing band can be unrolled from a roll
and then cover a complete course of adjoining blocks.
It is, however, also possible to provide a rigidly attached seal
on the appropriate side of each block, said seal being secured by
adhesive, for example.
Usually, however, the blocks are joined to each other by
adhesive, when a suitable applicator automatically lays a thin
bed of adhesive on the upper surface of the block.
In particular, a very efficient method of working will result,
given the formation of the notches and projections at identical
levels relative to the associating grooves or splines.
Vertical grooves can be provided in the area of the abutting
surfaces, and after assembly of the blocks these can be sprayed
with a sealant such as silicone. However, it is also possible to
insert se~l ;ng strips that are of a suitable material at these
locations.
According to another concept of the present invention, provision
is made such that a corner block can be inserted for the corner
area of a wall, one face of such a block being configured not as
an abutting surface, but rather as a flat, exposed surface.

21 75761
In order to make it possible to arrange the butt joint between
two blocks exactly in the middle above a block that is laid
off-set below them, and thereby achieve an acceptable appearance,
filler blocks are arranged between a corner block and a block
that it is set at an angle to this. By doing this, the size
difference relative to the mid-point that results from the offset
of the sides between the groove of one abutting surface and the
spline of the other abutting surface is evened out.
Other advantageous versions of the present invention are
described in the secondary claims.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater
detail below on the basis of the drawings appended hereto. These
drawings show the~ollowing:
Figure 1: part o~'the cornp~ area of a wall according to the
present i~v~lLion,
Figure 2: a plan view o~ a shaped block;
Figure 3: a cross-section through a block on the line III-III in
Fiqure 2;
Figure 4: a block as viewed from the front;
Figure 5: another embodiment of the present invention showing two
blocks in plan view.
Figure 1 shows the corner area of a wall made up of a
multiplicity of shaped blocks 1 that are laid in courses one
above the other.

21 75761
Each shaped block has a groove 10 and a spline Z on one
supporting surface, the supporting surface having the spline 2
forming the upper side.
The spline 2 and the groove 10 are both matched to each other
with respect to their shapes and their dimensions, so that when
the blocks l are laid one above the other, a positive fit will
result.
This also applies to the projections 3 that are formed on the
sides of the splines 2 and the notches 12 that are adjacent to
the groove 10; when the blocks 1 are laid one on top of the other
these engage in each other and ensure that the blocks are locked
in the longit~ direction.
The projections 3 and the notches 12 are arranged so as to be
symmetrical relative to both the longitllA; n~ 1 and lateral axes of
the block.
The embodiment that is shown in Figure 5, in which each a~utting
surface has a recess 17 and a raised area 18 in the outer edge
area, makes it particularly simple to m~nirll~te the blocks when
they are being assembled. When one block is laid on a lower lock
it is a matter of choice as to which of the two long sides is
Z5 used as the exposed side, i.e., the shaped block can be rotated
- through 180 degrees in the plane.
To this end it is necessary that, at one end, there be a recess
and, at the other end, a raised area in the edge areas of the
opposing abutting surfaces that are associated with a long side;
it is best that each of these extend to the whole height of the
block l.
It is advantageous if the depth of the recess be somewhat greater
than the height of the raised area that fits in it. This will
s

21 75761
result in a gap 19 that can be filled with an adhesive or with a
sealant, for example.
In addition, each block 1 incorporates fill cavities; these are
in the form of continuous middle openings 4, and semicircular,
dished openings S in the area of each abutting surface.
As is shown in Figure 1, supports 11 consisting, for example, of
metal tubes, can be inserted into these fill cavities, which lie
above each other when the bloc~s 1 are laid so as to be
staggered, and thus result in cavities that extend to the whole
height of the wall; these supports are then anchored to the floor
at the bottom and similarly secured at the top so as to satisfy
all demands with re~L to static stability.
One of the abutting surfaces of each block l is provided with a
spline 6, whereas the other-end that is opposite to this
incorporates a groove that is matched to this spline 6; this
results in a positive ~it that, on the one hand, ensures
positional stability and, on the other, makes it impossible to
see through the joint. In this connection, it should be noted
that each outer edge of the block 1 is formed as a bevelled face
14, which has a particularly advantageous effect on the overall
visual appearance of the wall.
In order to save weight, the blocks 1 have holes 13 which, in the
present example, are in the form of blind holes although, of
course, they can be continuous and can be of any cross section.
Figure 1 also shows that in the corner area of the wall, corner
blocks 8 are used, and essentially these are assembled in the
same way as the blocks 1, although they are made smooth in the
area of an abutting surface that forms a face end, which is to
say that they have no end opening 5 at this location.

2 1 75 76 1
The supporting surfaces that are associated with this outer area
that forms a visible face are provided with openings 15 through
which an additional reinforcement can be introduced to the whole
height of the wall in order to accommodate the increased loads in
the corner area.
The corner block 8 that is used can be fixed by means of a
centring pin 16 that is installed in the area adjacent to the
openings, and this corner bloc~ 8 also incorporates a
corresponding centring hole.
A filler 9 is used between a corner block 8 and the block 1 that
abuts against it at a right angle and this fi~s positively into
the associated groove 7 of the block 1 because the abutting
surface that faces-the block 1 is configured as a spline. For the
rema;n~, the supporting surfaces of the filler 9 are configured
as either splines or as grooves.
The present invention is characterized, in particular, in that
for all practical purposes a wall can be erected with
no additional work, said wall forming an exposed surface that is
visually acceptable; such a wall can be erected extremely quickly
and, because of this, in a very economical manner.

21 7S761
Key to Reference Numbers
1 - shaped block
2 - spline
3 - projection
4 - middle opening
5 - end opening
6 - spline
7 - groove
8 - corner block
9 - filler
10 - groove
11 -- suppor~
12 - notch
13 - hoIe
14 - bev~ face
15 - or~n;n~
16 - centring pin
17 - recess
18 - r~;.e~ area
19 - gap

Representative Drawing