AU2003201380A1 - Mechanically Joined Wall Building and Wall Forming System - Google Patents

Description

Australia Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Mechanically Joined Wall Building and Wall Forming System The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best manner known to me.

Mechanically Joined Wall and Wall Forming System Walls are conventionally built using bricks or concrete masonry units CPUs which are joined together using mortar. It is standard practice when building a CPU wall which requires high load bearing capacity, to include steel reinforcing bar in the matrix and fill the internal cavities of the wall with concrete. This system here consists of concrete masonry units, joining devices, reinforcing members, ground anchors and an external sealer if required. While other systems are on the record using joining devices they produce a stack-bond configuration. Stack-bond is the location of one block on top of another throughout the wall. This existing stack bond method raises issues of market perception and structural integrity.

The stretcher-bond system documented here has developed a method and componentry to deliver a wall which is highly reliable, economic, structurally sound, visually pleasing and has market acceptance. These walls may be built of the CMUs and joining devices alone. To this base structure may be added steel reinforcing bar and concrete to form a wall of greater structural load capacity.

Blocks may be core filled as the work proceeds to a determined schedule and using specific equipment, concrete mixes and techniques, to be fully described later. Any of these dry/reinforced/concrete filled options may be full size walls or panels of masonry within some other structure. The blocks may be sized to be generally used in building or of larger dimensions to provide a system suited to large structures such as marine or dam retaining walls.

Importantly when used in the dry configuration i.e. building a wall with joining devices, blocks and re-bar without concrete filling the wall may be disassembled easily by hand and relocated or changed. This may be useful in shopping centres, dwellings and other temporary spaces where flexibility is needed. Additionally the wall may be built using a classical post and beam method with the structure being stabilised by ground anchors as described further here.

The primary component is the CPU as described in drawing numbers 001, 002 and 002a attached. It is made to Australian Standards. Of importance is the internal configuration of the two full height cavities and webs. The central web is twice the thickness of the end webs. These cavities and webs are used to locate the joining devices. In addition the block is relieved on the top surface to allow reinforcing rods to be horizontally inserted into the structure refer to drawing numbers 003 and 004. In addition the block has minor full height cavities which allow the infusion of concrete of another material to retard fire.

Re-bar may also be introduced vertically into the wall through the small central hole or through the main cavities. Additionally internal cavities may be used to allow the distribution of services such as electrical power, throughout the structure.

The CMUs include all the basic units as described above and special units required to complete a masonry structure. These special units include footing blocks, corner blocks, spacers, angles, rounds, pier blocks, foundation blocks with lintels, door and window frames refer to drawing numbers 004, 005, 006, 007, 008 and 009. Additional angle transition pieces, form and joiners are shown on 009.

Three types of joining devices are closely described here. While the drawings show specific configurations we claim here any geometric or other shape which fulfils the same function in the same or similar position. All are placed by hand.

Drawing number 010 and 013 describes the "Sleeve"; drawing 010 the "Clamp" and drawing 011 the "Claw" generally. These devices align the blocks and pretension the wall and may be manufactured from metal, plastic, reinforced plastic, wood, wood composite or any combination of the foregoing. In some cases they locate reinforcing bar.

The 'Claw' sits on top of the central web and locates the CMUs both vertically, radially and horizontally. A number of 'Claw's may be joined in series by attaching two or more reinforcing rods as described in drawing 019 to form a combined reinforcing/locking unit, which both reinforces the wall structure and locks the CMUs together, at the same time. This structural unit is laid on top of a course of blocks by hand with a further course laid on top.

The 'Sleeve' locks the blocks vertically, radially and horizontally refer to drawing number 012. The 'Sleeve' fits tightly into the cavities using wall compression features and connects block to block in a vertical plain 015. In addition, the 'Sleeve' may be cut away where material is not required to maintain its function horizontally refer to drawing numbers 013 and 014. It can have protuberances which allow the location of re-bar.

The 'Clamp' as drawing number 010, primarily acts at the ends of the blocks and has apertures which locate and clip in the re-bar to allow an integrated structural beam to be formed.

The 'Ground Anchor' is device which is of a section with linear sides of four or more and having a length and mass appropriate to the height of the wall to be built. The section may taper from bottom to the top and is made of concrete which may be reinforced with steel bars or mesh. Protruding from the top of an anchor is a connection bar with a hook shape incorporated into it. This bar is connected into the horizontal reinforcing steel which forms part of the beam and wall structure. The placement of the bar into the ground is carried out by drilling the ground with a round hole. In sand a tube is placed into the hole as formwork. The anchor is placed into the hole and surrounded by concrete.

The face of the block may be treated to fulfil architectural requirements. A rebate around the face refer drawing number 016 will allow an appropriately formulated sealer to be inserted into the join between all the block in any wall.

This sealer may have various profiles, colours and textures. The device to insert the sealer is specific to this method and consists of a head which can take a number of tooling profiles, a delivery system which may be powered by any means and a storage system. The blocks may be coloured as generally described in drawing number 017 and have decorative grooves as generally described in drawing number 018. All of this process shall be covered by this patent.

100 Also the wall building system may be used to build soil retaining walls with or without concrete reinforcements as delineated in drawing numbers 025 and 026. The angle of the wall may be set at 45 degrees using the 'sleeve' or at any other angle using locating bars and or 'Claws' 105 In addition the above the system may be used together with additional componentry to build perimeter walls. These walls will consist of a unique system of piers and panels with infill panels and capping. The capping snap cap) will have a number of decorative options and the panels can be made from a 110 broad range of materials which are both homogeneous and composite. They may include advertising media. The piers and walls can include blocks with such functions as water and power reticulation, audio/visual equipment, light transference and emission and other emergency systems such as flashing coloured lights and audio alarms. Gates may be included and a special purpose 115 eye bolt/hinge attachment used together with vertical capping. This perimeter wall system is described by drawing numbers 020,021,022, 023 and 024.

Claims (7)

1. This system and method of constructing walls, piers and other vertical 125 structures in a stretcher-bond configuration using concrete blocks with mechanical joining devices and ground anchors and with and or without concrete filling and structural reinforcement.

2. The CPU central to end web configuration 2:1 ratio which allows the 130 internal cavity method of joining block to block to work.

3. The 'Claw' joining devices.

4. The 'Claw' and re-bar structural reinforcing unit. 135 The 'Sleeve' joining device.

6. The' Clamp' joining device. 140 7. The 'Ground Anchor' device.

8. The rebating and subsequent sealing of the face of the CMUs together with the equipment and method required to complete the task 145

9. A perimeter wall system using the forgoing together with a series of functional and decorative panels and including in-built services. Using the system to build soil or water retaining walls. 150 155 Robert bDavid Selby and Philip Edward Walker 2 0 t h March 2003