Improvements in the Manufacture of Moulded Blocks, Slabs, and other Articles, for use as Building Materials, from Cement or other similar Substance or Composition, and in Moulds for Producing the same.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 13th Jan., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Moulded Blocks, Slabs, and
other Articles, for use as Building Materials, from Cement or
other similar Substance or Composition, and in Moulds for
Producing the same.
I HUGO BEHRENS of 53 Teltowerstrasse, Berlin, in the Empire of Germany,
Architect, 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
My said invention relates chiefly to the production of blocks, slabs, bearers and
other building material, by moulding the said articles from cement or from a
kindred substance or composition. The said blocks and slabs may be used in the
building of all descriptions of dwelling houses, hotels, villas, warehouses, halls and
the like. Owing to the peculiarities of manufacture, and design which will be
hereinafter explained, walls, floors and other parts of buildings made from such
blocks can be cheaply built and quickly become dry, such buildings are also cooler
in summer and warmer in winter than is the case with buildings constructed from
the usual bricks or stone and lime.
The moulds for producing the said improved blocks and materials form a further
portion of my invention.
My invention will be best understood from a reference to the annexed two sheets
of drawings.
On Sheet 1.
Fig. 1 is a side view of a cement building block made in accordance with my
invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a building in course of construction
from my improved blocks.
Fig. 3 shows walls of different heights and thicknesses made from my improved
material.
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of a wall showing the spaces in the moulded blocks.
Figs. 5 and 6 are modifications similar to Fig. 4.
Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are longitudinal sections of bearers for flooring or for
supporting other parts of buildings, such bearers either consisting of straight slabs
as in Figs. 7 and 8 or of arched bearers as in Figs. 9 and 10.
Figs. 11, 12 and 13 show similar bearers in end view and in section.
Sheet 2 is devoted to views of the moulds and illustrations of the methods of
producing the hereinbefore referred to building materials.
Fig. 14 is a side view, Fig. 15 an end view, and Fig. 16 a section (at x x Fig. 14)
of a moulding frame which I use to produce such a block for example as shown at
Figs. 1 and 17 of the drawings, Fig. 18 being a plan view of the block shown at
Fig. 17.
Figs. 19, 20, 21 and 22 are views of a moulding frame such as I would use to
produce arched or tapered bearers similar to those shown in Figs. 23, 24 and 25,
Sheet 2, and also in Figs. 9 and 10 in Sheet 1.
As has been said the blocks and parts are moulded from cement or from a kindred
substance or composition such as concrete. These blocks A as clearly shown in
Figs. 1 and 2, are oblong in form and are made with spaces o which are tapered so
as to mould more easily.
Between the several holes o a sufficient thickness of materials is left. Holes o¹
also allow the various holes to communicate, the object being to allow free
circulation of air through the block A. The ends of the block A have projecting

page_text: fitting strips leaving a sunk recess f. When two blocks are placed together, the
spaces fare filled with mortar as shown in black in Figs. 4 and 6. Thus the blocks
are locked together and side movements are prevented. The holes or passages o in
the blocks are so arranged that when the blocks are built into a wall, as for
example in Fig. 3, the holes come opposite to each other and clear passages for air
extend from the top to the bottom of the wall. The wall is thus thoroughly
ventilated and dried and with so much air space, the blocks are to a certain extent
isolated, and vibration and jar is not so easily transmitted.
A house built from such blocks is cooler in summer and warmer in winter than
is the case with houses built in the ordinary manner.
In addition to the mortar between the blocks A I might use keys k as shown in
Figs. 4, 5 and 6 to hold the blocks still more securely together. The holes or
spaces o might be oval as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 or square or round as in Figs. 5
and 6 or of any other suitable shape..
My invention is not confined to the production of blocks such as those marked A.
I might also make slabs or bearers such as those marked B and shown in Figs. 7
to 13 Sheet 1. These slabs or bearers are supported by girders or between
beams as shown in the figs.
Spaces o separated by thicknesses & run longitudinally through the slabs or
bearers so as to lighten the slabs and give free circulation of air. The bearer
might either be of the full depth of the girder t as shown in Figs. 7 and 11,
or it might be of less depth and afford a substratum upon which wood or other
flooring material might be laid. The longitudinal edges of the bearer are made with
a step and lip m, p see Figs. 11 and 12 so as to partly connect the slabs as they
are laid down. In Figs. 9, 10 and 13 the bearer assumes the form of an arch,
with hollow spaces as in the foregoing instances. This might be made in one
piece or it might be made in halves and interposing pieces Z Z put between the
halves so as to make the halves up to any span.
Referring now to Sheet 2 and to the moulds illustrated therein, Figs. 14, 15
and 16 show a mould for making a block such as is shown is Figs. 1 and 2
Sheet 1, and in Figs. 17 and 18 Sheet 2. This would consist of a rectangular
frame composed of top and bottom pieces a a and two ends b, b. The ends b b
have projections f¹ which form the depressions in the ends of the block (see
Fig. 16) and generally the internal configuration of the mould corresponds to
the outer shape of the block A. The ends 'bbare, held to the top and bottom
pieces a a by cottars 9 which are driven through slots in the prolongations d
which project from the ends of the top and bottom pieces a a, and pass through
lugs e on the ends b. The spaces o in the block are provided for by removable
tapered cores cccc which pass through the top and bottom pieces a a.
The holes o are formed by the introduction of a transverse skewer which
also serves to hold the cores c in position. The interior surfaces of the frames
are polished so as to give a smooth surface to the block. The moulding of a
block A by means of this frame will be easily understood. The frame with the
cores c and skewer in position is laid on its side on a flat smooth surface u
(see Figs. 15 and. 16) and the cement or other material is poured or pressed
into the frame. The top surface of the cement is smoothed off flush with the
top and bottom and ends of the frame. When sufficiently dry the skewer his
withdrawn and the tapered cores c are also drawn out. The cottars g are then
knocked out and the ends band top and bottom pieces a removed, leaving a moulded
block of the form shown in Figs. 17 and 18 or of any other form defined by the
mould.
"if
In view of this description, the method of moulding the straight or arched slabs
or bearers B as shown in Figs. 19 to 25 will be easily understood. The step and
lip mp and the ledges i, n are provided for in the moulds shown in those figures,
by the parts m pl and i, n} as clearly shown in the drawings.
The passages through the bearers are marked 'o' and the thicknesses between the
spaces are marked. The mode of pouring or pressing in the cement or concrete
17

page_text: and flushing off and finishing the moulded object is precisely the same as in the
description referring to Figs. 14 to 18.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is.
1. The improved block A or any mere modification thereof for use in building
operations and moulded or formed from cement, concrete or other similar substance,
with passages or air spaces o, transverse holes o¹, and sunk recesses fat the ends, so
as to reduce the weight and allow free circulation of air throughout the wall formed
from such blocks, substantially as hereinbefore described and shown.
2. The straight, tapered or arched slabs, or bearers B for use in building
operations and formed or moulded from cement, concrete or other similar substance,
the said slabs or bearers having passages or holes o' and transverse holes o¹ for
reducing the weight and allowing the circulation of air through such slabs and
bearers substantially as described and shown.
3. The improved means for moulding or forming the aforesaid blocks, slabs and
bearers substantially as hereinbefore described and as shown in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 27th day of November 1893
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.