Improvement in ceiling blocks

Ceiling block construction comprising cast concrete bottom parts with planar walls and upwardly opening depressions for the selective reception of depending projections integrally formed with foam plastic top parts, providing an interlocking structure. A single top part can be of a size so as to overlay multiple bottom parts with depending projections engaged within the depressions of each of the multiple bottom parts.

The present invention concerns a building block used for ceilings. 
It is the object of the present invention, to provide a ceiling block whose 
weight is as light as possible, which is thermally insulating and which 
can be finished to provide an attractive ceiling with as little outlay as 
possible. 
It is a further object of the present invention, to provide a ceiling block 
of light weight, so that when a ceiling is constructed with these blocks, 
the entire ceiling is comparatively light. Thus, it will be possible to 
save in supporting columns, reinforcing steel, building material and the 
like. 
The invention consists in a ceiling block having a bottom part cast of 
concrete or other suitable building material and having at least one 
depression, the other complementary top part being made of foamed plastic, 
having at least one integral projection, adapted to be lodged in said 
depression. 
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bottom part has at least 
two depressions, the complementary top part being made of foamed plastic 
having integral pairs of feet, at least one of each pair adapted to be 
lodged in a depression. 
Whenever concrete is mentioned in the context of this patent application, 
other suitable building materials such as plaster of Paris, mixtures of 
silicates, Ytong (T.M.), asbestos, light concrete, concrete mixed with 
glass fibres or other aggregates, ceramics or the like may be used. 
Not only is the weight of a ceiling made with the blocks according to the 
invention reduced considerably, but the transport and handling of these 
blocks is much cheaper than with conventional ceiling blocks.

The ceiling block may be constructed with a bottom part of concrete having 
one large depression, and a top part of foamed plastics having a foot or 
extension adapted to fit into said depression. However, it is preferable, 
as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to construct the building block so that it 
comprises one part, hereinafter called the bottom part 1, cast of concrete 
having four rectangular depressions 2 in its top, the depressions 2 being 
arranged in pairs in both directions and extending to near bottom part 2, 
whereby its weight is greatly reduced. 
The other part of the block hereinafter called the top part 3, is made of 
foamed plastic and is provided on its underside with integral downwardly 
extending pairs of feet 4. One of each of the feet 4 is designed to be 
inserted into one of the depressions 2 in order to assemble the block, the 
width of each foot corresponding to the width of the depressions. The 
bottom part of each foot is bevelled at 5 to facilitate the insertion of 
the foot into a depression 2. When the top part 3 is inserted into the 
bottom part 1, the two parts complement each other to form a light-weight, 
thermally insulating ceiling block. 
In FIG. 4 a plurality, i.e. four bottom parts 6 of concrete, light 
concrete. gypsum, asbestos, or the like, are juxtaposed in alignment, each 
of the concrete parts 6 having two adjacent depressions 7 along their top 
faces. The top 8 of the blocks is made of foamed plastics of a length 
equal to the length of the four bottom parts. Part 8 is provided with four 
pairs of feet 9 whose bottoms 10 are bevelled. Each pair of aligned feet 
are designed to be inserted into one of the depressions 7, at either of 
their ends, of a block part 6. A channel 11 is provided on the underside 
of part 8 for the disposition of electric wiring or other installations 
therein. If desired, channel 11 may be linked with metal or plastics 
during casting. 
When the blocks assembled from the top and bottom part here illustrated and 
described, are placed on a scaffolding to form a ceiling and a layer of 
concrete is cast thereon, a thermally insulating, light-weight floor is 
obtained. 
The top part 8, made of plastic foam, may be cast of any suitable length 
which is preferably a multiple of the width of one block part and for each 
width of one block part, a pair of feet are provided. These feet may be 
aligned in the longitudinal direction on a block part or they may be 
staggered, so that one foot will extend into one depression in the bottom 
part, and one into the other. 
If desired, the bottom part may also be made of a multiple of parts 1. 
In FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of bottom parts which may be the construction 
of FIG. 2 or 4 are shown. The top part which is cast of foamed plastics is 
made of one integral part 12 which is constituted by a plurality, in this 
case four parts which may be a multiple of part 3 of FIG. 1. 
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, each of the four attached parts has two 
depressions 13, the wall 14 between said depressions constituting a 
reinforcement of the block. In the corner of each depression an integral 
downwardly extending foot 15 which is bevelled on three sides, is 
provided, the feet of one part being staggered relative to each other. The 
depression is slightly cut out at 16, adjacent foot 15 and this for 
shipping and storing purposes, so that when one part 12 is placed onto 
another, the feet 15 of one will fit into the cut-out 16 of the 
depressions 13 of the other, thus preventing damage to said feet and 
minimizing the volume taken up by the parts. 
It is to be understood that the walls 17 between the two block parts of the 
part 12 have twice the width of the end walls 18 of said part 12, so that, 
if desired, one or more block parts may be sawed off to meet the 
particular requirements. Furthermore, reinforcement ribs (not shown) of 
any suitable height may be provided in depressions 13. Aligned cut-out 
channels 11a are made in end walls 18 and intermediate walls 17 for the 
disposition therein of electrical wiring or other desired utilities. 
Small cut-outs 19 are made on the bottom edges of the sides of the parts 1, 
i.e. the sides which face each other when two rows of adjacent blocks are 
placed on the scaffolding. When the concrete is poured over the top of the 
blocks to cast the floor, the concrete will enter these cut-outs 19 to 
form a solid connection. 
It can be seen that with the ceiling block above described all the objects 
cited above are obtained. In fact, the thicker a required ceiling, its 
relative weight is reduced, because only the top part 3 of the block needs 
to be higher. Thus even with deep floors, the cost of the supporting 
structure of the building is much less.