BUILDING BLOCK AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING OF SUCH BLOCK

Abstract: A building block having cavities (12, 13) receiving a heat-insulating, plastics material (14). The side (11) of the block (10) wherein the cavities open is partly covered by a panel (15) of heat-insulating plastics material said panel having a width which is less than the width of the building block to leave a region (18) for joint material (20) between the edge of the panel and the edge of the building block extending in parallel therewith. The panel (15) is formed integrally with cores (16, 17) each of which is inserted into a cavity in the block to fill substantially said cavity. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such a building block.

Description: BUILD1NGBLOCKANDMETHODFORFABRICATINGOFSUCHBLOCK The present invention relates to a building block having cavities therein which contain a heat-insulating plastics material, and a method for manufacturing such a building b1o ck . The requirement that external main walls of build¬ ings shall have good heat-insulating properties has been accentuated by rising energy costs. Additional and supplementary insulation is provided to an increasing extent in order to reduce the heat losses through external main walls. The heat insulation of external main walls can be provided in different manners with different building materials. A satisfactory heat-insulating wall structure is obtained e.g. with building blocks constructed as hollow blocks of concrete, light concrete or lightweight clinker concrete; the building blocks of the wall structure are then dressed e.g. with facade brick an air space being left between the building blocks and the bricks. In order to improve the heat-insulating properties of hollow blocks it has been proposed to mount separate panels of a heat-insulating plastics material such as polystyrene or urethane resin in the individual cavities of the hollow block. It has also been prop sed to fill the cavities of hollow lightweight clinker blocks with an insulating material, preferably foamed polyurethanej the material being injected into the cavities in liquid form and allowed to set therein. In order that the finished wall structure shall obtain the required tensile properties a binder has to be used in horizontal joints between the building blocks. Although the heat-insulating properties of the building blocks are satisfactory and have been further - ls EA improved by the insertion of a heat-insulating plastics material into cavities in the building blocks, the heat-insulating properties of the existing joints between the building blocks are inferior to those of the building blocks as such, which results in cold bridges in the joints. - It has been proposed to eliminate such cold bridges by arranging ribs of heat-insulating material such as foamed plastics material in the joints between the blocks. The object of the invention is to facilitate the manufacture of the building block of the kind initially referred £o, which is heat-insulated by means of plastics material , the occurrence of cold bridges in the horizontal joints between the building blocks in the wall structure composed thereof simultaneously being effectively prevented. This is achieved by providing, according to the invention, a building block of the kind referred to having the characteristics appearing from claim 1. An advantage of this building block, beside the simplified manufacture of the building block and the improved heat-insulating properties of the building block as such and the wall structure composed thereof, is that the building block can be handled and used in the same manner as conventional building blocks without applying a special technique, special joint material or special implements when the wall is under construction. The invention also provides a method of manufactu ing the building block having the characteristics appearing from claim 2. The invention will be described in more detail below reference being made to the accompanying draw- ings in which - FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hollow block and a moulded body of heat-insulating plastics material to be inserted''into the cav ties of the hoi low block, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the finished hollow block according to ' the invention with the plastics body inserted into the cavities, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of two building blocks according to the invention, laid one upon the other, a horizontal joint being provided between the blocks. The building block 10 in FIG. 1 has parallel- epipedic form and preferably is made of ce ent- -stabilized elastic granulate such as lightweight clinker, which imparts to the building block per se excellent heat-insulating properties. In a flat side 11 of the block there are provided perpendicularly from this side into the block extending blind holes 12 and 13 which are arranged in several rows. The blin holes 12 are of substantially rectangular cross- -sectional form with curved ends and extend in the longitudinal direction of the row, the holes of one row being displaced in relation to the holes of adjacent rows a distance corresponding to half the pitch of the holes. The blind holes 13 are circular and are arranged at the ends of each second row of holes. Since the holes are bottom holes, the flat side of the building block opposite to the flat side 11 is completely intact, but it is w thin the scope of the invention to provide the building block with through holes instead of blind holes. Moreover, the holes can have another form and distribution than that shown. The hollow block can be manufactured according to know methods . According to the invention, a separate unitary body 14 to be combined with the hollow block is injection moulded of heat-insulating plastics material , preferably foamed urea-formaldehyde resin or foamed styrene resin. The injection moulded body 14 comprises a flat panel 15 which is substantially congruent with the flat side 11 of t<he hollow block 10 and is planar and smooth at one sid-e thereof while a number of cores 16 and 17 project from the other planar side of the panel 15. These cores correspond as to form and spacing with the rectangular and cylindrical holes 12 and 13, respectively, in the hollow block 10. The body 14 is inserted with the cores 16 and 17 into the respective bottom holes as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 , the fit between the cores and the holes being such that the body can be pressed into the hollow block to be anchored therein by a light pressure against the panel 15, the cores being slightly deformed thereby. When the injection moulded body 14 is located with the cores 16 and 17 ' inserted into the bottom holes 12 and 13, respectivel the lower side of the panel 15 engaging the hollow block 10, a narrow strip of the panel 15 is removed along each of the 1 ongi tudi nal edges of the hollow block 10 e.g. by milling away the panel in this regio or by cutting away said panel by means of a heated wire carried along the flat side 11. The building blo will then have the appearance shown fn FIG. 2, a regi 18 for joint material being provided between the edge of the panel 15 and the edge of the building block extending in parallel therewith, on the flat side 11 of the block. The building block is ' now ready to be used in a wall structure. It should be mentioned that the panel 15 may hav from the beginning a width which is less than the wid of the hollow block such that no part of the panel ne " BϋRt OY-Pl r be removed when the injection moulded body 14 has been inserted into the hollow block. In a wall structure consisting of several build¬ ing blocks according to the invention, laid one upon the other the panel 15 forms a heat- nsulating spacer in the horizontal joints between two adjacent blocks * as shown in FIG. 3. Because the panel 15 has a width which is less than the width of the build ng block 10 a gap 19 is obtained between the blocks in the region 18 along the opposite longitudinal sides of the block and this gap is filled with mortar 20 deposited in the region 18 before the blocks are placed one upon the other, for the interconnection of the blocks. However, it is also possible to fill said gap 19 with adhering strips or rods. In vertical joints between adjacent building blocks heat-insulating panels of the same material as the body 14 may be located. The panels thus located in the joints between the building blocks prevent effectively that the joints form cold bridges in the wall structure between the outside cold surface and the inside warm surface thereof, while the pressure load between the blocks is received by the joint material provided in the gaps 19. 'BVJK E A C.'.'PI Λ, -,

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A building block having cavities (12, 13) therein which contain a heat^i nsul ati ng plastics material (14), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that 5 one side (11) of the block (10), wherein the cavities (12, 13) open, is partly covered by a panel (15) of a heat-insulating plastics material having a width which is less than the width of the building block to leave a region (18) for joint material (20) between the edge 10 of the panel and the edge of the building block (10) extending in parallel therewith, and that the panel (15) is made integral with cores (16, 17) each of whic is inserted into and substantially fills a cavity in the block. 15 2. A method of manufacturing a building block according to claim 1 having cavities (12, 13) which open in one side (11) of the block and contain a heat- -insulating plastics material (14) ' , c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a unitary body of the plastics materi ' 20 forming a number of cores (16, 17) and a panel (15) interconnecting said cores which projects from the pan is inserted with said cores into the cavities in the block by exerting a pressure on the panel the width of said panel being adjusted to the width of the building 25 block to leave a region (18) for joint material "(20) between the edge of the panel and the edge of the buil ing block (10) extending in parallel therewith. 3. A method according to claim 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the plastics material of the 30 panel (15) of the unitary body (14) is removed along said surface to provide said regions (18).

Inventors: INGESTROEM C, PETERSSON A
Applicants: INGESTROEM C, OESTGOETABETONG AB, PETERSSON A
Application year: 1979
Main classification: E04C1
IPC codes: E04B2, E04C1