Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02257032 1998-12-24
MORTARLESS BRICK
)field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of construction. In particular, the
present
invention provides a novel building material for use in wall construction.
Background of the Invention
The invention is a building block of the type commonly referred to as a
mortarless
brick. That is, the building block of the present invention is stackable to
present the
appearance of a brick wall, but without the application of mortar between
adjacent bricks and
courses of bricks. It is particularly appropriate for applications in which
the appearance of a
brick surface is desired, but cost considerations do not permit bricking of a
wall. Moreover, it
will be appreciated that in many, or even most, situations, brick is not used
as a structural
support material, but rather for its aesthetic appeal. Therefore, it is
desired to provide a low
cost alternative to traditional brick wall construction, while retaining the
appearance of brick.
A mortarless brick product is described in Canadian Patent Application No.
2,220,413 (Bouchard et al). In that patent application, a mortarless brick
product is described
as:
"A tongue and mortise block, for use in the construction of a wall wherein a
plurality of like blocks are stacked in successive mortarless overlapping
cocrrses so as to
define a wall face,
said tongue and mortise block comprising
two side ends spaced apart by
a top face
a bottom face
a front face and
-1-
CA 02257032 1998-12-24
a rear face
said top face comprising a tongue interlock element and a declining face
portion,
said declining face portion connecting the tongue interlock element to the
front face,
said bottom face comprising a mortise interlock element and a forward face
portion, said forward face portion connecting the mortise interlock element to
the front
face,
said two side ends, said top face, said bottom face, said front face and said
rear face
being configured such that, when said block and an underlying, like, block
form part of
the wall and the bottom face of the block engages the top face of a said
underlying, like,
block such that the front face of the block defines a portion of the wall
face,
the tongue interlock element of a said underlying block is able to register in
the
mortise interlock element of the block so as to be able to interlock both
blocks such that
relative forward and rearward displacement is inhibited,
and
the front face of the block is vertically offset rlownwardly relative to the
tongue
element thereof. "
It is observed that the "declining faces" of the Bouchard et al brick, which
function to
provide a secure tongue and groove type of fit between courses, also give the
Bouchard et al
brick a depth that approximates that of a standard brick
The applicant has discovered that it is not necessary to approximate the
dimensions of
a standard brick to provide a mortarless brick with all of the essential
attributes of a
mortarless brick. That is, the applicant has designed a mortarless brick
incorporating features
that make it possible for the brick to have considerably less depth, and
consequently less
weight, while still having a "genuine" brick appearance.
Object of the Invention
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a mortarless
brick that is
lightweight, and easy to assemble into a wall.
-2-
CA 02257032 1998-12-24
A further object of the present invention is to provide a mortarless brick
that resists
the incursion of water behind the brick.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a mortarless brick
that interfits
with adjacent bricks in a course of bricks.
In a broad aspect, then, the present invention relates to a building block for
stacking
with other like building blocks to fabricate a wall, said building block
having top, bottom,
front rear and end surface, the front and rear surfaces being substantially
planar, the top
surface being ridged and the bottom surface being channeled to intermit with
the ridge on the
said bottom surface, and the ends being notched so as to overlap.
Brief Descritttion of the Drawings
In drawings that illustrate the present invention by way of example:
Figure 1 is an end view of a portion of a wall assembled with bricks according
to the
present invention;
Figure 2 is a top view of a course of bricks according to the present
invention;
Figure 3 is a front view of a portion of wall constructed with bricks
according to the
present invention;
Figure 4 is an end view of a starter strip and support angle used in
conjunction with
the bricks of the present invention;
Figure 5 is an end view of a wall tie angle for supporting the tops of bricks
according
to the present invention;
-3-
CA 02257032 1998-12-24
Figure 6 is an end view of a wall tie angle for supporting the ends of bricks
according
to the present invention;
Figure 7 is an end view of a mortarless brick according to a second embodiment
of the
present invention;
Figure 8 is a top view of a mortarless brick according to a second embodiment
of the
present invention;
Figures 9 and 10 are top views of corner bricks according to the second
embodiment
of the present invention.
Detailed Descri tion
Referring now to the drawings, in Figure 1, the basic course to course
interlocking
structure of the mortarless brick of the present invention is shown. As can be
seen, the brick
of the present invention has flat vertical front 1 and rear 2 faces. The top
surface of each
brick is defined by a ridge 3 that interfits with a groove 4 on the lower
surface of the brick.
Ridge 3 is of greater height than groove 4, to provide the visual appearance
of a mortar line 5
between courses of bricks, as can best be seen in Figure 3.
Ridge 3 is preferably provided with a forwardly sloped portion 6 and a
rearwardly
sloped portion 7. The sloped portions 6, 7 of ridge 3 permit water that may
enter between the
courses to drain from between stacked bricks.
Referring to Figure 2, a row of bricks in a course is illustrated, to show the
lap,joint
that is formed between adjacent bricks in a row by the overlap of front 8 and
rear 7 end edges
of adjacent bricks. Moreover, as can be seen from Figures 2 and 3, front end
edge 7 of a brick
-4-
CA 02257032 1998-12-24
is recessed from the front face 1 of a brick to present the appearance of a
mortar line 9
between adjacent bricks in a row.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 illustrate tie angles for maintaining the structure of a
wall
constructed according to the present invention, in place against a wall. In
Figure 4, a starter
tie 10 is shown, that conforms to the shape of the groove in the bottom
surface of the brick of
the present invention. The starter tie 10 includes a profiled base plate 1 1
and a wall plate 11,
to be screwed or otherwise fastened to a wall, such as a framed plywood wall.
A spacer plate
12 extending upwardly from the base plate 10 maintains the brick a desired
distance from the
wall, to permit air circulation.
In Figure 5, a wall tie angle is shown, for placement between courses of
bricks, to
maintain them straight and plumb. The wall tie angle consists of a profiled
base 13 to be
inserted between courses, a wall plate 14 for fastening to a wall, and a
spacer plate 15. Wall
tie angles are meant to be inserted between every first to fourth course of
bricks, depending
on the needs of a particular location.
In Figure 6, a wall tie angle for insertion between bricks in a course is
shown. It
consists of a profiled bracket portion for gripping an end edge 7 of a brick
and spacing it from
a wall, and a wall plate 17, for attachment to a wall.
It will be understood that tie angles of Figures 4, 5 and 6 are made from a
thin but
strong material, such as sheet steel.
-5-
CA 02257032 1998-12-24
In Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10, a second embodiment of the present invention is
illustrated,
in which the ridge 3 and groove 4 portions of each brick are front to rear
symmetrical, and the
joint formed between bricks in a course is a simple mortice 18 tenon 19 joint,
the mortice
being shallower than the tenon, to provide a mortar line appearance.
Figure 9 and 10 illustrate examples of specialized corner bricks, in which the
mortice,
or the tenon is formed in the side, rather than the end, of the brick.
It will be appreciated that a significant advantage of the present invention
over known
mortarless brick products is the shallow depth (front to rear) required, which
represents
savings of up to 50% in materials, while still presenting a brick pattern
having many of the
attributes of a more expensive and labour intensive brick and mortar wall.
It is to be understood that the examples described above are not meant to
limit the
scope of the present invention. It is expected that numerous variants will be
obvious to the
person skilled in the field of masonry without any departure from the spirit
of the invention.
The appended claims, properly construed, form the only limitation upon the
scope of the
invention.
-6-
