Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Plate Walls, Ceilings, Partitions, and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 9th July, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Plate Walls, Ceilings,
Partitions, and the like.
We, THE FIREPROOF PLATE WALL COMPANY LIMITED, of 41, Corporation
Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, and CHARLES HENRY SIDEBOTHAM,
of 3, Macdonald's Lane, Corporation Street aforesaid, Agent for Building
Specialities, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and accompanying drawings:-
Our said invention has reference to improvements in and in the construction
of walls, ceilings, partitions and the like from plates or slabs of gypsum, plaster-
of-Paris, cement, and similar material and relates particularly to further advances
on the subject matter disclosed in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 18583
of 1893.
In order that our improvements may be clearly understood and defined we have
attached hereto an illustrative sheet of drawings to which we shall refer through-
out the following description.
In the said drawings.
Fig. 1 shows in elevation a portion of a wall or partition made up plates con-
structed and connected together according to our invention.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of a couple of slabs or plates.
Fig. 4 is a slight modification.
Fig. 5 represents an improved method of staying a wall composed of plates
constructed according to our invention.
Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line A B.
Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views.
Fig. 9 shows a wall having cross or double diagonal stays.
Referring now to Figs. 1 to 4.. The moulded, or suitably formed plates or
slabs a, which go to compose a wall are (as in the hereinbefore mentioned patent)
formed on their upper and under edges with tongues and grooves a¹ which fit
together as is clearly indicated and maintain the rows of plates or slabs one above
the other.
In order to prevent displacement and give rigidity to a wall structure each
plate or slab was formerly provided with a central perforation or passage and
with recessed vertical meeting faces and through the perforations or passages
so left or formed liquid cement was run in, vertical stays or bolts being embedded
in certain of the passages where additional strength was required.
We now find it much more advantageous to form each slab with two or more
through passages or channels a³ adapted to receive a filling of cement a*.
The vertical meeting edges of the slabs are either semi-circularly recessed as
shown in Fig. 3 or are tongued and grooved as indicated in Fig. 4.
In case the vertical edges be recessed the connection between each two adjacent
slabs would be made by means of liquid cement or the like.
LD077

page_text: Where staying is required, as for instance to strengthen a structure of con-
siderable extent or at a point where a door or the like is hung, we prefer to have
two stays a running through each slab.
The stays a are inserted during the building of the wall, tightened, and
embedded in the channels a2 by means of some binding mass or fluid which
hardens on setting all as is indicated in the earlier patent.
The slabs or plates are arranged to break joint one rank with another and by
reason of the presence of two supporting columns of cement, with the metallic
stays where necessary, in the body of each slab or plate and the additional sup-
port afforded by the interlocking of the horizontal and vertical edges, a maximum
of rigidity is obtained.
Although we prefer to have occasional stays running down the through passages a²
we might under some circumstances fill the whole of these through passages with
cement only.
We form each slab or plate a, with a series or number of inlets or channels b,
which extend vertically from the bottom of the slab towards the top but do not
penetrate the upper edge, stopping rather short of that.
As each row of plates is placed in position liquid cement or binding material
1s poured into the through channels a A quantity of this cement forces its
way, or is forced in any suitable manner, along and beneath each slab this cement
slightly ascending and sealing the ends of the inlets or channels b so that they
constitute a series of air wells, each inlet or well being isolated from another.
These air wells or stoppered chambers effectually prevent the transmission of
noise and also prevent damp and moisture from penetrating the wall.
The whole or a portion only of the slabs composing a wall might be formed with
these air wells as is thought desirable.
We find a wall built up of plates in accordance with our invention is much more
efficiently supported against rupture or distortion by the use of diagonal stays
and we propose to employ such stays.
We also propose to arrange for the through cement passages or conduits a³ to
run diagonally the diagonal stays being introduced where necessary.
A single stay passing where required through the slabs or tiles in a diagonal
direction affords amply sufficient support under average circumstances but we
might if necessary have two stays passing through each slab in an inclined
direction.
As is shown in Figs. 5 to 8 the slabs are moulded with inclined through per-
forations or passages 2 which in the building up of a wall correspond or come
over each other forming inclined channels extending from floor to ceiling, and
within these channels the cement is run and the strengthening and supporting
stays embedded. The horizontal and vertical meeting edges of each slab may be
either tongued and grooved or recessed as thought desirable. In Fig. 7 the slab
or plate is tongued on one side only and grooved on the other three, whilst in
Fig. 8 the slab is tongued on two sides.
When using diagonal supporting stays we prefer to mould the air channels or
wells so that they extend into the tile in a diagonal direction running about
parallel with the through channels a² but of course a diagonal direction is not
arbitrary.
In Fig. 9 we show a cross or double diagonal supporting stay embedded in a
plate wall, this arrangement being particularly suitable for holding together a
light structural wall. The outer ends of the supporting stays a³ are screwed or
secured to the floor and ceiling whilst the inner ends are coupled together by the
unions d tightening means being employed to bind and make all perfectly rigid.
The remaining channels a² through which the stays do not pass are filled with
cenient as usual.
The supporting stays which may take the form of tubes, rods, or the like,
may be fixed in any suitable manner but as in the aforementioned patent, we

page_text: prefer to couple them between floor and ceiling by means which permit of adjust-
ment so as to tighten and bind the whole structure more firmly together.
We employ the same screwed plugs which take into the floor and ceiling and
carry internally threaded sleeves into which the lengths of the tubes are screwed
the said lengths being attached one to the other by means of unions.
One or more of the unions is or are provided with right and left hand screw
threads and the tube ends are threaded accordingly so that by operating the
union or unions by a key or lever the requisite tightening is effected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:-
A wall, ceiling, or the like, built up of slabs or plates each slab or plate
having two or more straight through going passages or channels or one or more
diagonal through passages or channels, and a series of air chambers partially
extending therethrough, the horizontal and vertical faces of the slabs or plates
being grooved or tongued and grooved, and the whole structure bound and held
firmly together by running cement or a similar substance into the through
passages or channels certain of which may or may not contain straight or diagonal
stays, in the manner, for the purposes, and substantially as hereinbefore set
forth and shown.
Dated this 19th day of April 1898.
For the Applicants,
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
Chartered Patent Agents, 5, John Dalton Street, Manchester.