Improved Mode of Building Walls, Pillars, and the like of Iron Frame-works and Concrete.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Mar., 1893-Accepted, 17th June, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Mode of Building Walls, Pillars, and the like of Iron
Frame-works and Concrete.
I, PETER JENSEN of 77 Chancery Lane London Chartered Patent Agent do
hereby declare the nature of this invention a communication to me from abroad
by Albert Rau of Pforzheim in the Kingdom of Würtemberg, Germany, Architect
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained by the following statement :-
This invention relates to an improved mode of building walls, pillars and the
like of iron frame-work and concrete.
Hitherto concrete (a mixture of cement, sand and gravel, cinder, slag or the
like) has not been used for building walls, partitions, pillars and the like of con-
siderable dimensions and which have to bear weights and loads and are provided
with apertures.
The mode of building now to be described is essentially different for instance
from Rabitz's mode of building (as described in his German Patent Specifications
378978, 459078 and 4688788) because the building parts do not contain any layers of
netting or weft, but only consist of iron framework filled in with concrete and
constituting bearing or supporting building parts, whilst the walls of Rabitz's
construction are merely partitions or screens.
At first a separate framework of sectioned or special iron is made, to the sides of
which are then fixed shelves or slabs of timber. Into the space between these
shelves concrete is beaten or rammed down. As soon as the concrete is hardened,
the shelves or slabs are to be taken away.
The accompanying drawings show several ways of performing this improved mode
of building.
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 represent a wall of a warehouse in elevation and vertical and
horizontal section. The special iron pieces forming the framework are left visible
at the outside. The framework bears some similarity to ordinary so called
"half timber" work with this difference only that alternatively 2 vertical
standards "a a¹" run through two storeys, whereby a solid vertical bond is
secured.
e,
These standards as well as the other vertical standards "a," the frames of the
windows " el" and the horizontal members "f" consist of U-iron. The central
standards are of I-iron and the vertical corner standards of angle-iron. In the
larger panels there are arranged ties d of flat iron, which are embedded in the
concrete. The assemblage of the iron pieces with one another is effected in
the ordinary way by fishing and bolting.
The construction of the improved structures takes place as follows:-
The iron parts of the first storey are fitted together that is the vertical standards
are firmly attached to the ground-sleeper and the upper transverse member fis
provisionally fixed to the standards in order to secure their exact positions.
Then the shelves are fixed to the frames and concrete rammed in between them.
The concrete being hardened the shelves are removed again, and in the same way
a second and third storey and so on is constructed.
The arrangement of the shelves and the way of fixing them to the vertical iron
standards is shown in Figures 4 to 7. Figure 4 shows the broadside or front
elevation of a fixed shelf with two cross sections drawn therein, Figure 5 is the
plan or edge view of the shelf, Figure 6 shows the outer and inner view of two
superposed shelves, that is; an inside view of the upper shelf, and an outside view
of the lower shelf, Figure 7 is a plan of Figure 6.
Every shelf is provided at one end with hooks or clips hand at the other end

page_text: with a casing of sheet metal i. In this casing i there are arranged sliding bolts
which can be operated that is moved to and fro by means of handles i¹.
The shelves are now laid against the sectioned iron pieces a a¹ b or c so that the
hooks h project over the flange of any of the standards. The iron case i is then
moved telescopically on its shelf till it touches the opposite standard whereupon
the bolts are pushed forward in order to grasp behind the flange of the said
standard. In consequence of the movableness of the iron case i upon its shelf it
is possible to utilise the same shelf for different widths of panels. Each time 2 or
4 shelves are fixed to the iron standards on each side whereupon concrete is filled
and beaten in. The wall being nearly worked up to the transverse member of the
latter is taken off in order to fill up the remaining space with concrete; the trans-
verse is then pressed into the concrete and fastened to the vertical standards.
Then the floor beams k are laid, and the following storey erected in the same way
To take away the shelves the bolts 2 must be drawn back which has often to be
done by attaching levers to the handles or by hammering in cases where the
concrete exerts too great a pressure upon the bolts against the flanges of the iron
standards, that no hand power can pull them back. This done the shelves may be
taken away.
As may be seen from Fig. 7 the inside faces of the shelves are not in the same
plane with the outside faces of the section iron, so that the faces of the concrete
reinain somewhat behind the plan of the iron faces. For this thickness the
concrete-faces are covered with a lining of mortar, plaster, tiles or the like. The
visible iron faces may be painted. This exterior appearance is recommendable for
buildings of second order like warehouses slaughter-houses and the like, the
appearance of which may be simple and plain.
In the second construction shown in Figures 8--15 and representing a water
tower the iron pieces are entirely embedded in concrete.
The mode of building is essentially the same as in the just explained construction.
The construction however of the front shelves is somewhat modified. In this case
the shelves are placed so that the inner sides of the shelves are more to the outward
than the outer faces of the iron framework. The construction of the suspension
hooks" is therefore somewhat different from that of the hooks "h" in the
previous example because in this case the hooks have to be completely embedded
in concrete and it must be taken into consideration that the shelves, after the
hardening of the concrete must be taken away easily. Figure 12 shows the
arrangements of the hooks.
In consequence of the inclined position of the hook the shelf might however
easily slip out by the shaking caused by ramming the concrete; to prevent this a
screw has been arranged at the other end of the shelf keeping the casing i
fixed to the shelf and protecting the latter from sliding and slipping.
65
The casing "" is provided with loops or staples "14" of sheet metal (Figure 15)
in which are fitted the bolts "." These bolts are fitted so exactly in said staples
that they remain in any desired position by their own friction and are moved by
hand or hammer when acting upon the handle "." For making recessed profiles
or material saving grooves, the inner side of the frontal shelves may be provided
with corresponding mouldings or planks "g" Figure 12.
Where it is necessary to make the walls as bad conductors of heat hollow spaces
must be provided in the interior of the walls. For this purpose cores are embedded
in the concrete which when the latter is duly hardened are withdrawn, or in another
manner wooden laths are fixed on the inner side of the wall whereon plates of
gypsum or similar material are nailed so as to leave a space between the plates of
gypsum and the wall.
The mode of construction in practice on hydraulic works, mining works and the
like is shown in Figures 16-21, construction of a quay wall and in Figures 22-26,
construction of a bridge pillar.
First an iron frame-wall is made which if the building has a considerable height
is divided into storeys, to be erected and filled up with concrete one after another

page_text: as in the desired over ground building. The method of fixing the shelves is
slightly different, when it is the question to erect big surfaces at the same time or
under water.
"
*
m
22
Vertical grooves are formed by U iron "/" either with the exterior faces of the
vertical standards "b" or with special flat iron bars " in which the shelves are
placed from above. The assemblage of the irons "" and "" or the assemblage
of the irons "1" and "m" attached to each other by means of intermediate iron-
pieces "m" is made by screw-bolts "n" which passing through the iron
bars "" or "1" and " mn are directly screwed into the iron standards "b" or into
nuts ""riveted upon the standards "b." This attachment takes place after
erecting the frame, whereupon the shelves are pushed in from above. The entire
screen of shelves is supported by its lower shelf resting underneath on the soil or on
a part of the frame, because the screw-bolts only act against lateral pressure
but not against the weight of the shelves.
66 "
n
After the hardening of the concrete the screw-bolts are screwed back allowing
thereby that the shelves and the iron pieces can be taken away.
This mode of attaching the shelves made be also applied to overground buildings
if it appears suitable.
The advantages of the described mode of building with regard to the hitherto
usual structures of bricks quarrystone or free stone the enumeration of which does
not belong to this Specification are numerous and very essential. As a peculiarity
of this construction it may be stated that the ironwork and the filling mass of
concrete support one another against deviations and form a firmly coherent
construction which acts as a carrier of weights. By their great resistance the
buildings erected in this way appear proper to stand not only heavy weights but
also transport peculiarly in high buildings and in those built upon a bad sub-soil.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. A mode of building walls, partitions, pillars and the like consisting in
making an iron frame corresponding to the requirements of size and shape of the
building to be erected to which iron frame shelves are fixed on both sides, leaving
a clear space beween one another which is filled up with concrete to be rammed in
after hardening of which the shelves are to be withdrawn substantially as and for
the purpose specified.
Second. A mode of fixing the shelves to the iron parts of the frame characterized
by hooks and bolts attached to the ends of the shelves and grasping behind the
flanges of the standards, the bolts being movable and arranged in an iron casing
sliding on the shelf substantially as described.
Third. A mode of fixing the shelves to the iron parts of the frame-work
characterized by special sectioned iron bars screwed to the exterior faces of the
vertical standards of the frame and which between each other and the exterior
faces form grooves in which the shelves are pushed from above substantially as
described.
Dated this 7th day of March 1802
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.