ELEMENTS MODULAIRES A VERROUILLAGE RECIPROQUE

INTER LOCKING MODULAR ELEMENTS

Abrégé anglais

INTERLOCKING MODULAR ELEMENTS
PANDHARINATH D. KARNICK
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
Interlocking modular elements for use in combination with
each other wherein the elements are identical to one another and
wherein an element consists of a central body; two opposing side
faces, the faces having identical projections located on each
face forming recesses for engagement of identical projections
from another element.

Revendications

The embodiment of the invention in which property or
privilege is claimed are defined as follows.
Claim 1
"Interlocking modular elements for use in combination with
each other wherein the elements are substantially identical
to one another and wherein an element in a solid form consists
of a parallelopiped central body having two identical square
faces separated by a thickness equal to half the measure of
a side of its square face, the element also consists of two
identical cubical projections which are in thickness equal to
the thickness of the central body, the said projections being
symetrically located on one of the said square faces of the said
central body leaving recesses on the said square face for
engagement of identical projections from another element, the
element also consists of a second set of identical cubical
projections which are equal in thickness to the thickness of
the said central body the second set of projections being
symetrically located on the second square face of the said
central body leaving recesses for engagement of identical
projections from yet another element."
Claim 2
Interlocking mocular elements as claimed in Claim 1 wherein
the said cubical projections are located diagonally on
opposite corners of each of the said two square faces of the
said central body of the element.
Claim 3
Interlocking modular elements as claimed in Claim 1, wherein
the elements are of hollow form.

Description

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INTERLOCKING MODULAR ELEMENTS
PANDHARINATH D. ~ARNICR
CI~IZENSHIP: CANADIAN
RESIDENCE: 25 WILDROSE CIRChE
TORONTO, CANADA _....
..... ~ . ..
BACXGRO~ND OF THE INV~N'YION
Thls inventlon rela~es to modular elements of appopriate
shape whiah can be used a~ building blocks fPr larger struc~ures
typlcally but nok l~mited to f~oo~/ walls, columns, arches,
retaining walls, and for model~ and toys~ etc.
Several previous patents have descrlbed nterlockin~ building
blocks and elements of various shapes. To construct large
,
structures utllizlng su~h elements, various shaped element~ have
. j , .
to be selec~ed so that they can interlock with one another. It
is also necessary to predetermine the quantitie~ of each o~ the
various shaped elements required to ~orm a deslred structure~
Thus to manufacture these aforementioned blocks or elements
several different shapes of formwork or molæ~, are neaessary.
Secondly, at least a semiskilled wor~er is required ~o interlock
the elements to construc~ the desired ~tructure. ~hlrdly~ these
variou~ shapes take up more space during transportation, thereby
increasing the co~ts.

331
osJEc~ OF THE l~v~lIO~
It is an object of the inventio. to overcome most of the
above mentioned disaclvantages, and it is more particularly an
object of my invention to provide an element or elements which
are simple and hence economical in cost, simple and easy to
assemble thereby saving time of construction and labor costs; and
are convenient and economical to transport.
Another objec* o~ my invention is to produce a structure
having shear strength substantially the same in all the three
directions of the structures made up of these elements.
Another object of my invention is to provide hollow
interlocking prefabricated elements in which concrete may be
poured to form a solid structure
Another object of my invention is to provide a simpIe means
for constructing a curved structure without the use of mortar or
the like~ For example, during khe excavati,n of a tunnel the
elements can be interlocked to form an arch so as to act as
temporary support for the shattered roof and later on act as
permanent lining, thereby eliminating the time consuming9
laborious, and costly concreting operation.
All the above mentioned objectives are achieved by the novel
feature of my invention that only "one type" of the special
elements is required to construct a given structure. Jus~ like
the common brick or concrete bloclc with the added advantage that
no mortar or the like is needed to connect one element with
another elemerlt.
The elements may be manuactured from concrete, metal,
plastic or the like.

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A BRIEE` SYMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the invention which could be solid or
hollow has a central body; juxtaposed two side faces having
cubical projections symmetrically located on each of the two
faces leaving recesses for engagement of identical projections
from a similar elemen~
These and othe~ characteristics will be ~learly app~rent rom
the following descrip'cion, with reference to the attached
drawings in which the object of the invention is more
particularly illustrated, without however limiting it to the
forms of embodiment shown therein. In these drawings:
FIG~ 1 is a perspective view lllustrating a first form of
embodiment.
FIGo 2 is a perspective view illustrating in hollow ~hape the
first form of embodimen~
FIG. 3 ? S a perspective view illustrating in another hollow
shape the first form of embodiment.
FIG. 4 7 llustrates one method of Eorming a wall using a
number o the elements which are identical to each other. This
Fig. 4 shows in elevation a portion of a wall. The bottom layer
of the wall iB made up oE a number of identical elèments 1, 2, 3,
4, and 5 which are placed dovetailing each o'her to form a
continuou~ ooting for the wall. The second row consists of the
elements numbered 6, 7, and 8, which are placed separated from
each other by a distance equal to the thickness of the central
body of an element so that when the third row of elements
numbered 9 and 10 is placed above this second ro~, interlocking
takes place between these two rows leaving voids (hatched), as
shown, above the bottom layer. These voids ~ay be used as
passages for waterl sewage, etc., an~/or closed with concrete or
the like. Construction of the wall is continued by placing the
Eourth row consi~ting of elements numbered 11, 12, 13, and then
the fifth row and so on until the desired height of wall is
obtained. It can be seen that a fully integrated wall is
formed. To obtain a flat top surfac~, a horizontal layer similar
;71~

~12~8~!3~
to the bottom layer may be placed as shown using the elements
numbered 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28, which are placed dovetailing
each other but not interlocking with the row under it. Thus
leaving voids as shown (hatched), these may be used to
support the ends of roof beams, or as passages for utilities,
and/or closed as aforementioned.
In a similar manner a floor or a patio may be formed
using a number of identical elements.
FIG. 5 illustrates the use of the elements to form an
arch or roof of a tunnel. In this construction the outer
elements 31, 32, 33 are identical to one another and the
inner elements 34, 35, 36 are also identical to each other.
The outer elements and the inner elements are substantially
identical to each other except that their matching faces are
made with matching slants, the angle of the slants depending
on the radius of the desired arch.
FIG. 6. illustrates the formation of a reinforced column
using the hollow elements, where in the identical hollow
elements 41, 42, 43, 44 are placed one on top of another, bars
51 are then inserted and concrete 60 is poured in to complete
the construction. It will be cleax that if elemen-ts of the
solid form are used a solid column will be formed which may
be used immediately.
A detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the
invention is explained here under referring to FIG. 7 and
FIG. 8:
The element consists of five parts. A parallelopiped
central body 101 and four identical cubical projections 104,
105, 106, and 107. The central body 101, has two identical
square faces, defined by the points a b c d and e f g h, and
has a thickness a e defined by the two square faces. This
thickness a e is equal to half the width a b of its square
face a b c d. The thickness a e is also equal to the
thickness of the identical cubical projections."
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