Abstract:
A brick veneer assembly having improved accommodation of brick tolerances, simple assembly, and lower cost relative to the prior art. A plurality of bricks having a tapered locating surface are provided. A support panel includes horizontal rows of L-shaped retainers and corresponding rows of holes. Each L-shaped retainer further includes a leg portion extending away from the support panel, and a foot portion that depends downwardly away from the leg portion. The tapered locating surface of each brick is inserted into the L-shaped retainer thereby elastically deforming the foot portion away from the support panel such that the tapered locating surface is interferingly engaged by the foot portion of the resilient retainer. Mortar is applied between the bricks and flows through the holes in the support panel to interlock the bricks and support panel.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    Not applicable.  
         FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not applicable.  
         REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX  
         [0003]    Not applicable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0005]    The present invention generally relates to an external wall for a building. More specifically, this invention is directed to an improved support panel to secure external wall forming members such as brick, tiles or stones to complete an external wall assembly for a building.  
           [0006]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0007]    Brick walls have been used for centuries as a premium building material due to their strength, beauty, and durability. Unfortunately, brick walls are typically laid brick-by-brick, which tends to be time consuming, labor intensive, and therefore expensive. Thin brick veneer was developed as a means for achieving the beauty and durability of brick walls without the associated expense.  
           [0008]    Thin brick veneer is produced using a variety of manufacturing methods including thin bed set, thick bed set and prefabrication in cast molds. Thin brick panels can be premanufactured or can be assembled to a wall of a building on-site. Thin brick panels generally include a substratum, such as steel, aluminum, plywood, asphalt-impregnated fiber board, cementitious board, polyurethane, and polystyrene foam board. With the on-site assembly method, the substratum is fastened to the exterior wall of a building and an array of thin bricks are applied to the substratum, typically with an adhesive. Then mortar, or grout, is applied between the thin bricks to obtain a permanent brick veneer wall assembly.  
           [0009]    The prior art has suggested a variety of thin brick panel constructions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,924,963 to Taylor et al. teaches a method for attaching a clay veneer brick to pre-existing buildings. Taylor et al. disclose a brick unit, a wall clip, and mortar. The brick unit includes a back side, a face section, and longitudinal ribs along the top and bottom. The longitudinal ribs are beveled at a front side at a 45 degree angle. The clip is made from sheet metal and is made to resiliently receive the brick unit. The clip includes a flat upstanding lug and a bent tail lug, both of which have fastener holes punched therethrough. Extending perpendicularly from the clip are a plurality of resilient clamping members, each having a downturned lip to resiliently receive a respective longitudinal rib of a respective brick unit. The downturned lip also has an upturned flange, which, when the clip is fitted to the veneer brick, rides against the longitudinal rib of the brick unit, causing the downturned lip to deflect and resiliently retain the brick unit.  
           [0010]    Unfortunately the clip of Taylor et al. is unnecessarily complex with many detailed bends. Moreover, an overabundance of individual clips must be handled and secured to a building just to construct a single wall, which is inefficient, labor intensive, and costly. Finally, great amounts of care and time must be given to the precise positioning of each clip to ensure that each brick is squarely aligned with respect to the other bricks.  
           [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,087,931 to Wallace et al. teaches a means for attaching bricks to a wall such that each brick is individually supported so that its position in the wall is not dependent upon the other bricks. Specifically, Wallace et al. disclose wall sheeting having a plurality of spaced apart strap members secured thereto by nails. A plurality of support clips are riveted to the strap members at regularly spaced intervals. The support clips have extending portions that are bent outwardly to form arms with inwardly bent terminals for engagement with surfaces of the bricks. The natural resiliency of the clip so constructed forces the terminals into engagement with the brick surfaces. The terminals are angularly disposed relative to the adjacent surfaces of the brick such that a sharp edge of the terminals engage the brick thereby materially increasing the tenacity of the holding action.  
           [0012]    The Wallace et al. disclosure relies on a plurality of strap members and a plurality of support clips for applying bricks to a wall. Manufacturing all the components required for the Wallace et al. disclosure and the process of assembling the components to a wall unnecessarily incur additional labor and material cost. Furthermore, Wallace et al. do not teach a means for accommodating oversized and undersized bricks.  
           [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,363 to Yaguchi teaches a support panel for supporting external wall forming members, or bricks. The bricks are of rectangular parallelpiped shape, meaning they have oppositely parallel surfaces all over. The bricks each have a main surface, a rear surface, side surfaces, and end surfaces. The side surfaces include elongated upper and lower lateral extensions that define flat ledges or minor surfaces that are parallel with the main surface. The support panel includes a flat back plate and is stamped from stainless metal sheet to form parallel rows of C-shaped upper and lower engaging members terminating in respective upper and lower securing fingers. The distance between the upper and lower engaging members is substantially identical to the width of a respective brick. A brick is inserted between the upper and lower engaging members. This insertion pushes the upper lateral extension of the brick into a space defined by the upper engaging member and upper securing finger thereby causing the upper engaging member to elastically deform while the lower lateral extension of the brick is urged flat against the back plate of the support panel within the lower engaging member. As a result, the brick is clamped between the upper and lower engaging members and by the bent securing fingers.  
           [0014]    In an alternative embodiment, each brick only has an upper lateral extension and an oppositely disposed flat side surface. Respectively, the support panel includes only rows of upper engaging members and securing fingers. Each upper engaging member has an outer, top surface and an inner bottom surface. As before, the upper lateral extension of each brick is pushed into the space defined by the respective upper engaging members such that the upper lateral extension of the brick engages the inner bottom surface of the respective upper engaging member. Simultaneously, the brick is pushed toward the back plate of the support panel until the flat side surface locates against the top surface of the respective engaging member below. Thus, the brick becomes pinched between the upper engaging member and the top of an upper engaging member from the row of upper engaging members below the brick.  
           [0015]    In both of the Yaguchi embodiments, however, the support panel clamps on oppositely disposed parallel surfaces of the brick. This is detrimental because the size of the bricks varies significantly compared to the stamping tolerances attainable with the support panel. In other words, either one of two undesirable conditions must occur. The bricks must be held to an extremely close width tolerance to accommodate reliable and repeatable snap fit insertion to the support panel. This is extremely costly, if at all possible, on a mass production basis. Or, each brick must be oversize with respect to the distance between the rows of engaging members to ensure firm clamping of each brick. Oversize bricks will fit fine in the first row of engaging members, but will start to interfere when they are assembled to adjacent rows of engaging members because the engaging members will be filled with bricks and have no room to deflect. Alternatively, if the bricks are undersize, they will fit loosely within the engaging members thereby leading to problems. When the mortar gets applied, loose bricks will shift due to the slack and hairline cracks in the mortar may result.  
           [0016]    From the above, it can be appreciated that thin brick panel assemblies of the prior art are not cost effectively optimized to accommodate typical brick tolerances, simplify assembly, and thus lower costs. Therefore, what is needed is a combination of a thin brick veneer assembly that incorporates novel and simple retaining features in a substratum or support panel and related features in a brick to advance the art of veneer brick assembly.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0017]    According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a brick veneer assembly adapted for mounting to a wall of a building structure. The method and apparatus for making a brick veneer wall facing includes thin bricks, a support panel and mortar.  
           [0018]    The thin bricks are generally rectangular and each brick, as viewed when assembled on a wall, has a front surface, a back surface, a top surface, a bottom surface, and opposed side surfaces. The back surface of the thin brick is in contact with the wall and is higher than the front surface of the thin brick. It is an important feature of the present invention that a surface of the brick is tapered and serves as a locater. In one embodiment, the top surface of the thin brick is tapered between the front surface and the back surface. However, the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter as having a stepped surface extending generally perpendicularly from the front surface toward the back surface, and a tapered locating surface between the top surface and the stepped surface. The top surface, the stepped surface and the bottom surface are approximately parallel in the preferred embodiment.  
           [0019]    The width of each thin brick is defined between the opposed side surfaces, the height is defined between the top and bottom surfaces, and the thickness or depth is defined between the back and front surfaces. Most manufacturing processes known in the art for producing the thin bricks introduce variation such that some bricks are oversized and some are undersized. Manufacturing variation thereby defines a maximum width, height and depth, and a minimum width, height and depth.  
           [0020]    The support panel is preferably composed of thin sheet metal, and has a front surface, a rear surface, rows of L-shaped retainers and corresponding rows of holes. The L-shaped retainers are integrally stamped from the support panel such that the holes are generated by the removal of the material from which the L-shaped retainers are formed. Each L-shaped retainer has a leg portion and a foot portion. The leg portion of each L-shaped retainer has a top surface and a bottom surface. The foot portion of each L-shaped retainer depends downward from the leg portion and toward the support panel such that initial engagement of the tapered locating surface of the thin bricks deforms the foot portion away from the support panel thereby creating an interference fit between the thin bricks and the foot portion of the L-shaped retainer.  
           [0021]    The vertical distance between the leg portions of adjacent rows of L-shaped retainers is greater than the height of an oversized brick so that a brick can be mounted between adjacent leg portions and a clearance exists. Furthermore, the foot portion of the L-shaped retainers is long enough to engage the tapered locating surface of an undersized brick seated on adjacent L-shaped retainers directly below. In this manner, the support panel is able to accommodate variation of the thin bricks height in a manner that does not interfere with the other bricks.  
           [0022]    The back surface of the support panel is attached to a wall of a building structure with fasteners such as nails or screws. Then, each thin brick is mounted to the support panel by approaching the panel holding the brick at an angle such that the top of the brick having the tapered locating surface is introduced into a space between the front surface of the support panel and the foot portions of a respective L-shaped retainer. Each thin brick is then pushed flat against the support panel to rest on the leg portion of the lower row of retainers, thereby deforming the foot portion of the upper row of L-shaped retainers and engaging with the brick to create an interference fit. In this manner, the thin bricks locate on the top surfaces of a respective lower row of L-shaped retainers and are interferingly restrained by a respective leg portion of the upper row of L-shaped retainers.  
           [0023]    After the thin bricks are applied to the support panel, mortar is disposed between the thin bricks. The mortar flows into the holes and between the top surface of the thin bricks and the bottom surface of the leg portion of the L-shaped retainers creating an improved mortar lock between the bricks and the support panel.  
           [0024]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved brick veneer assembly and related method.  
           [0025]    It is another object to provide a brick veneer assembly capable of accommodating dimensional variation of bricks in a manner that does not interfere with other bricks.  
           [0026]    It is still another object to provide a support panel that offers improved brick retention compared to the prior art.  
           [0027]    It is yet another object to provide a brick veneer assembly and related method that does not rely on adhesive for brick retention before the mortar is applied.  
           [0028]    It is a further object to provide a brick veneer assembly and related method that offers improved mortar interlock compared to the prior art.  
           [0029]    It is still a further object to provide a more positive brick location means to prevent movement of the bricks while the mortar sets.  
           [0030]    It is yet a further object to provide a less expensive and less labor intensive brick veneer assembly and related method.  
           [0031]    These objects and other features, aspects, and advantages of this invention will be more apparent after a reading of the following detailed description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0032]    [0032]FIG. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of a brick panel assembly according to the present invention;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 2 is a front view of the brick shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 3 is a side view of the brick shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 4 is a partial exploded side view of the brick shown in FIG. 3;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 5 is a front view of the support panel shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 6 is a side view of the support panel shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 7 is a partial exploded side view of the support panel shown in FIG. 6;  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 8 is a side view of a brick being assembled to the support panel;  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 9 is a side view of a brick as assembled to the support panel; and  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 10 is an exploded side view of a support washer according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0042]    Generally shown in the Figures, a brick veneer assembly is provided in accordance with the present invention. While the figures depict an embodiment of the present invention in which thin bricks are applied to an exterior wall of a building, it should be appreciated that the present invention also teaches the application of other materials (i.e. tile, stone, etc.) to a variety of surfaces (i.e. interior walls, floor, ceiling, etc.). Referring to the Figures, there is shown in FIG. 1 a portion of a brick veneer assembly  10  that is constructed in accordance with a method of the present invention. The brick veneer assembly  10  includes thin bricks  20 , a support panel  70 , and mortar (not shown). The brick veneer assembly of FIG. 1 depicts the thin bricks arranged in rows, however, it should be understood that other thin brick arrangements could be adopted by one of ordinary skill in the art.  
         [0043]    Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the thin bricks  20  are generally rectangular and each, as viewed when assembled on a wall, has a front surface  22 , a back surface  24 , a top surface  26 , a bottom surface  28 , opposed side surfaces  30 , a stepped surface  32  and a tapered locating surface  34 . Although the stepped surface  32  and the tapered locating surface  34  are taught as part of a preferred embodiment, it is within the scope of this disclosure that a top surface (not shown) of a thin brick (not shown) may be a complete tapered surface between the front surface  22  and the back surface  24 .  
         [0044]    The width of each thin brick  20  is defined between the opposed side surfaces  30 , the height is defined between the top surface  26  and the bottom surface  28 , and the thickness or depth is defined between the front surface  22  and the back surface  24 . Most manufacturing processes known in the art for producing the thin bricks  20  introduce variation such that some bricks are oversized and some are undersized. The manufacturing variation thereby defines a maximum width, height and depth, and a minimum width, height and depth.  
         [0045]    As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the back surface  24  of each thin brick  20  is higher than the front surface  22  of the thin brick  20 . In the preferred embodiment, the top surface  26 , the stepped surface  32 , and the bottom surface  28  are approximately parallel. The stepped surface  32  extends generally perpendicularly from the front surface  22  of the thin brick  20  in a direction toward the back surface  24  of the thin brick  20 . The tapered locating surface  34  connects the stepped surface  34  and the top surface  26  of the thin brick  20 , and tapers in a direction toward the back surface  24  of the thin brick  20 .  
         [0046]    Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the support panel  70  has a front surface  72 , a rear surface  74 , a plurality of rows of resilient L-shaped retainers  76  and a corresponding plurality of rows of holes  78 . The support panel  70  is preferably composed of thin sheet metal or aluminum, and includes a plurality of stiffening channels  79  configured to reinforce the support panel  70 . The stiffening channels  79  extend along the entire length of the support panel  70  and are fabricated in the panel so as to not interfere with the positioning of the thin bricks  20  on the support panel  70 . This may be accomplished by locating the stiffening channels  79  between the L-shaped retainers  76  in any conventional manner. Each resilient L-shaped retainer  76  is punched out of the support panel  70  such that the hole  78  is generated in the region from which the material forming the L-shaped retainer  76  was taken.  
         [0047]    As best seen in FIG. 7, each L-shaped retainer  76  has a leg portion  80  and a foot portion  82 . The leg portion  80  has a top surface  84  and a bottom surface  86 , and extends away from the front surface  72  of the support panel  70 . The foot portion  82  extends downward from the leg portion  80  and inward toward the front surface  72  of the support panel  70  such that engagement of the tapered locating surface  32  of the thin bricks  20  resiliently deforms the foot portion  82  away from the support panel  70  thereby creating an interference fit between the thin bricks  20  and the resilient L-shaped retainer  76  as clearly shown in FIG. 9 which will be hereinafter described in detail.  
         [0048]    Referring again to FIG. 6, the vertical distance between the leg portions  80  of adjacent rows of L-shaped retainers  76  is greater than the maximum height of an oversized brick (not shown). Furthermore, the foot portion  82  of the L-shaped retainers  76  is sufficiently long to engage the tapered locating surface  34  of an undersized brick (not shown) seated on an adjacent L-shaped retainer  76  directly below. As best seen in FIG. 9, a clearance  85  (shown in FIG. 9) is provided between the top surface  26  of the thin bricks  20  and the bottom surface  86  of a respective L-shaped retainer  76  to accommodate oversized bricks. Additionally, the interference fit between the foot portion  82  of the L-shaped retainer  76  and the tapered locating surface  34  of the thin bricks  20  is adapted to accommodate undersized bricks.  
         [0049]    As seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, the rear surface  74  of the support panel  70  is attached to a wall of a building structure with fasteners such as nails or screws  96 . Optionally, a support washer  90  (best seen in FIG. 10) may be implemented to prevent the support panel  70  from tearing out around the fasteners  96  and to increase the holding power of the fasteners  96 . The support washer  90  preferably has an upper flange  92  adapted to engage the front surface  72  of the support panel  70  above a corresponding stiffening channel  79 , and a lower flange  94  adapted to engage the front surface  72  of the support panel  70  below the corresponding stiffening channel  79 , the remaining portion of the support washer  90  is disposed within the corresponding stiffening channel  79 . The stiffening channels  79  and support washer  90  are shown having a radial cross-sections, however a person skilled in the art will recognize that other cross-section configurations may be adopted. The upper and lower flanges  92 ,  94  are configured to provide preload upon engagement with the support panel  70 . Accordingly, the uppermost edge of the upper flange  92  and the lowermost edge of the lower flange  94  taper inward toward the wall whereby the fastener  96  deforms the upper and lower flanges  92 ,  94  whereby the support washer  90  is drawn into the support panel  70 . The support washer  90  configured as disclosed hereinabove provides increased vertical support such that incorporation thereof is particularly appropriate for applications wherein the brick veneer assembly  10  covers a large surface area, is excessively heavy, or is subjected to extreme wind load.  
         [0050]    Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, the back surface  24  of each thin brick  20  is then mounted against the front surface  72  of the support panel  70  at an angled approach such that the tapered locating surface  34  is introduced into the space between the front surface  72  of the support panel  70  and the foot portion  82  of respective L-shaped retainers  76 . The angle of the tapered locating surface  34  is provided so that the top surface  40  of the thin brick  20  is inserted between the front surface  72  of the support panel  70  and the foot portion  82  of the respective L-shaped retainer  76 . As the thin brick  20  is advanced toward the support panel  70 , the foot portion  82  of the respective L-shaped retainer  76  engages the tapered locating surface  34  to create the interference fit.  
         [0051]    After the thin brick  20  is initially inserted into the L-shaped retainer  76  at an angled approach, the thin brick  20  is pushed flat against the front surface  72  of the support panel  70  such that the bottom surface  28  rests on the top surface  84  of leg portion  80  of the adjacent row below. As the foot portion  82  of respective L-shaped retainers  76  engage the tapered locating surface  34  during the initial angled insertion of the brick  20 , the process of pushing the thin brick  20  flat against the support panel  70  resiliently moves the foot portion  82  of the respective L-shaped retainer  76  away from the support panel  70 . In this manner, the foot portion  82  of the respective L-shaped retainer  76  applies a force to the tapered locating surface  34  of the thin brick  20  such that the thin brick  20  is secured in place against the support panel  70 . The L-shaped retainer  76  holds the thin brick  20  against the support panel  70  tightly enough to prevent the thin brick  20  from shifting while mortar is applied and/or setting, however, additional retention is obtainable with the optional application of a temporary adhesive (not shown) between the thin brick  20  and the support panel  70 .  
         [0052]    Referring again to FIG. 1, after the support panel  70  is attached to the wall structure (not shown), and the thin bricks  20  are applied to the support panel  70 , mortar (not shown) is disposed between the thin bricks  20 . The mortar is preferably applied with a single point applicator nozzle and mortar pump system or in accordance with any other method well known in the art. The mortar flows into the holes  78  and between the top surface  26  of the thin bricks  20  and the bottom surface  86  of the leg portion  80  of the L-shaped retainers  76  creating an improved mortar lock between the thin bricks  20  and the support panel  70 .  
         [0053]    As is understood from the above discussion, the present invention provides improved accommodation of the tolerance variation of the bricks by providing a more resilient system for locating and retaining the bricks. Specifically, the present invention does not rely on oppositely disposed parallel surfaces of the brick as in the prior art, but rather provides a retention system based on an interference fit between a stepped locating feature of the brick and resilient L-shaped retainers such that the retention system is capable of accommodating both oversized and undersized bricks regardless of tolerance variation of the brick. Furthermore, the retention system is effective without the use of adhesive relied upon by the prior art so that the present invention is simpler to assemble and less expensive. Finally, the holes in the support panel enable better interlocking of the mortar, the bricks and the support panel.  
         [0054]    While the present invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. In other words, the teachings of the present invention encompass any reasonable substitutions or equivalents of claim limitations. For example, the structure, materials, sizes, and shapes of the individual components could be modified, or substituted with other similar structure, materials, sizes, and shapes. A Specific example includes substituting the steel support panel with aluminum or plywood. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims.