INSULATED CEMENTACEOUS BUILDING BLOCK SYSTEM AND BLOCKS
A concrete building block for masonry block walls is formed with first, second and third spaced rectangular face shells, where the second face shell is intermediate the first and third face shells. First and second cross webs connect the first and second face shells and a third cross web connects the second and third face shells. Insulating cores include end protrusions extending outwardly at the top edge thereof to fit into notches of the cross webs and include cutouts to accommodate mortar crumbs. The insulating cores further mate, creating an overlap that serves to (i) insulate against temperature transfer and (ii) provide a sound barrier. A unique block permits a combination of insulating inserts and solid grouting as well as a symmetric arrangement.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/776,388 filed on Jan. 29, 2020 which is incorporated herein for all purposes.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe embodiments of the present invention relate to an improved insulated cementitious building block system and blocks.
BACKGROUNDBuilding blocks made of concrete or cementitious material are widely used for building structures. Typically, these blocks are laid in running courses with horizontal and vertical mortar joints, known as butt joints and head joints, to construct a wall. The mortar bonds the block material together to form the completed wall construction. Conventional cement block wall construction employs blocks which are closed at the ends by cross webs, and which typically include a single cross web substantially at the midpoint of the block. The open spaces between the cross webs are used to provide air spaces for insulation purposes and to reduce the weight of the block. These open spaces also are used to accommodate reinforcing bar placement and grout cells for providing a structurally reinforced wall.
Efforts have been made to improve the insulation qualities of concrete block walls by filling the voids between the supporting cross webs with molded insulating material during manufacture of the block. When such cells are prefilled, however, and the block is stored in an outdoor storage yard pending shipment, the insulating material frequently deteriorates in reaction to ultraviolet rays and the like. In addition, when the hollow cells in a masonry block are pre-filled at manufacture, the block is difficult to handle, because of an inadequate means of picking up the block. The foam fills the cores preventing a mason from efficiently grasping the central web or the end web of the block and placing it, a process that is repeated for each and every block during construction. Masons generally prefer a block which can be handled with one hand so that the other hand can be free to hold a trowel, some other tool, or carry another block.
It is desirable to provide an improved insulated masonry building block which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art, and which employs generally conventional masonry techniques in wall construction using the block coupled with effective insulation and ease of handling.
SUMMARYThe embodiments of the present invention broadly comprise an insulated masonry building block system including masonry blocks constructed with first, second and third spaced parallel rectangular face shells, commonly referred to as face shells within the industry, in which the second face shell is intermediate the first and third face shells. First and second vertical end cross webs connect the first and second face shells and each of the first and second end cross webs have a notch in them extending a predetermined distance from the top toward the bottom. First and second spaced intermediate vertical cross webs then are located on planes between the planes of the first and second end webs to connect the second and third face shells, leaving open cavities at the ends of the second and third face shells. Each of these intermediate cross webs also have a notch therein extending from the top a predetermined distance toward the bottom.
The insulated masonry building block system further includes a first insulating core dimensioned to substantially fill the space between the first and second face shells and the first and second end cross webs with end protrusions extending outwardly near the top thereof to fit into the notches in the first and second end cross webs. The first insulating core includes top and bottom edges, with end protrusions extending outwardly at the top edge thereof to fit into notches of cross webs of said masonry building blocks, said end protrusions having cutouts in bottoms thereof to accommodate mortar crumbs; and a longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge and a longitudinal notch along the entire top edge wherein said longitudinal notch along said bottom edge is dimensioned to fit into a longitudinal notch along a top edge of a neighboring one of said insulating cores creating an overlap that serves to (i) insulate against temperature transfer and (ii) provide a sound barrier.
The insulated masonry building block system may further include a second insulating core dimensioned substantially to fill the space between the first and second spaced intermediate cross webs with end protrusions extending outwardly at the top edge thereof to fit into the notches in said first and second spaced intermediate cross webs, said end protrusions having cutouts in bottoms thereof to accommodate mortar crumbs; and a longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge and a longitudinal notch along the entire top edge wherein said longitudinal notch along said bottom edge is dimensioned to fit into a longitudinal notch along a top edge of a neighboring one of said second insulating cores creating an overlap that serves to (i) insulate against temperature transfer and (ii) provide a sound barrier.
Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a block design configured for solid grouting in combination with insulating inserts.
Other variations, embodiments and features of the present invention will become evident from the following detailed description, drawings and claims.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive feature illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention claimed.
Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numbers are used throughout the different figures to designate the same components.
The opposite ends of the face shells 11 and 18 are joined together to form a closed compartment by first and second vertical end cross webs 15 and 17. These cross webs 15 and 17 have U-shaped notches 14 and 16 located in them extending a short distance from the top of the cross webs toward the bottoms thereof This is shown most clearly in
As shown most clearly in
The resulting structure of the block is illustrated in its various parts in
The center face shell 18 is designed with an ergonomically designed handle formed by a void or U-shaped hollow area located approximately 2½ inches from the top of the face shell 18. This is shown most clearly in
In constructing a wall with the blocks shown in
It readily can be seen that when a series of the blocks 10 are laid in a course in a conventional manner, the head joints on the sides are mortar filled, as are the bottom butt joints. It is well known that standard mortar masonry practices frequently result in some excess mortar seepage along the bottom of the cavity 12 and along the edges spilling into the open-ended cavities located on the right and left-hand sides of the intermediate cross webs 21 and 23, shown in
As is apparent from an examination of
Since the wall thicknesses of the face shells 11, 18 and 20 and the wall thickness of the cross webs 15, 17, 21 and 23 are uniform from top to bottom (or have a slight taper from top to bottom for manufacturing purposes), a maximum volume of the cavities in the block is provided. This permits the thicknesses of the insulating core inserts 30 and 40 to be uniform (or nearly uniform) from top to bottom to permit a maximum filling of insulating material into the blocks during the construction of a wall.
As desired, various ones of the cells in the blocks may be filled with rebar and grout installation, in accordance with standard concrete block installation practices. It also is a simple matter to provide horizontal rebar in various courses of a wall by laying the rebar in the notches 14, 16 or 22, 24 and applying grout as necessary. Obviously, when this is done, those particular blocks are not provided with the insulating cores 30 and 40.
An additional improvement may be provided in the middle face shell 18 in the form of precision vertical scoring at each end of the handle formed by the undercut or void area 19. This permits a mason to lightly tap the handle with a hammer to easily remove the handle in the event that a vertical rebar protruding from either footings, stem walls or lower bond beams interferes with the handle.
As illustrated in
In the block which is shown in
During the normal building block manufacturing process, some excess of the aggregate cement mixture from which the building blocks 100 are fabricated inadvertently falls into the notches 145, 155, 165 and 175 of the building blocks 100. This unwanted aggregate debris, termed “crumbs” 180 herein becomes a nuisance to the mason during the installation of the insulating cores 30, 40 (shown in
Now referring to
The first insulating core 200 also has a pair of longitudinal notches 240-1, 240-2 along the bottom thereof and a longitudinal notch 230 along the top thereof. Longitudinal notch 240-2 is dimensioned to mate with the top longitudinal notch 230 of a neighboring insulating core as shown in
Now referring to
Cores 200, 300 may include a vertical groove 333 extending from the top to the bottom thereof at substantially the midpoint. The vertical groove 333 is located in the region of the head joints between the blocks to accommodate any mortar seepage which takes place in the area.
Now referring to
The insulating cores 400-1 through 400-3 have first longitudinal notches 430-1 through 430-3 and second longitudinal notches 440-1 through 440-3 along the bottom thereof and longitudinal notches 450-1 through 450-3 along the top thereof. Longitudinal notches 325-1, 325-2 are dimensioned to mate with the longitudinal notches 330-1, 330-2 of neighboring insulating cores 300-1, 300-2 as shown in
In one embodiment, the inserts have a height of 7.87″ or 0.13″ (⅛″) short of 8″ which equals the sum of the a 7.625″ tall building block and the 0.375″ thick butt mortar joint. This height permits the inserts to overlap as detailed above. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other building blocks may require the dimensions of the inserts to be modified.
As best shown in
As designed, the block 500 permits a symmetric arrangement whereby reinforcement bars are able to be positioned in a center of the structural foundation of the block 500. As shown in
In practice the block 500 may be used to form a wall as shown in
Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to several embodiments, additional variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of the invention as described and defined in the following claims.
Claims
1. An insulated masonry building block system for use in a mortar set masonry wall comprising:
- blocks having: first, second and third spaced, rectangular face shells, with said second face shell located intermediate said first and third face shells, wherein said first, second and third rectangular face shells each have a bottom edge located in a first horizontal plane and said first, second and third rectangular face shells each have a top edge located in a second horizontal plane; first and second cross webs connecting said first and second face shells in first and second respective planes, each of said first and second cross webs having a notch therein extending a predetermined distance from the top thereof toward the bottom thereof; a third cross web connecting said second and third face shells, said third cross web having a notch therein extending from the top thereof a predetermined distance toward the bottom thereof;
- one or more insulating cores dimensioned to substantially fill space between said first and second face shells and said first and second end cross webs, said one or more insulating cores having top and bottom edges, with end protrusions extending outwardly at the top edge thereof to fit into the notches in said first and second end cross webs, said end protrusions having cutouts in bottoms thereof to accommodate mortar crumbs, said one or more insulating cores having a longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge and a longitudinal notch along the entire top edge wherein said longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge is dimensioned to fit into a top longitudinal notch of a neighboring one of said one or more insulating cores; and
- wherein space between said second face shell and said third face shell is dimensioned to receive one or more reinforcement bars and grout whereby said reinforcement bars are positioned approximate to a center of a structural foundation of said block.
2. The insulated masonry building block system of claim 1 wherein said longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge fitting into said top longitudinal notch of a neighboring one of said one or more insulating cores creates an overlap that serves to (i) insulate against temperature transfer and (ii) provide a sound barrier.
3. The insulated masonry building block system according to claim 1 wherein said third cross web is positioned about one-half the length of said second and third face shells.
4. The insulated masonry building block system according to claim 1 wherein said first, second and third rectangular face shells, said first, second and third cross webs are formed from concrete.
5. The insulated masonry building block system according to claim 1 wherein said notches in said first, second and third cross webs have a generally U-shaped configuration.
6. An insulated masonry building block system for use in a mortar set masonry wall comprising:
- blocks having: first, second and third spaced, rectangular face shells, with said second face shell located intermediate said first and third face shells, wherein said first, second and third rectangular face shells each have a bottom edge located in a first horizontal plane and said first, second and third rectangular face shells each have a top edge located in a second horizontal plane; first and second cross webs connecting said first and second face shells in first and second respective planes, each of said first and second cross webs having a notch therein extending a predetermined distance from the top thereof toward the bottom thereof; a third cross web connecting said second and third face shells, said third cross web having a notch therein extending from the top thereof a predetermined distance toward the bottom thereof, inner surfaces of said second and third face shells angled as said inner surfaces extend from said third cross web;
- one or more insulating cores dimensioned to substantially fill space between said first and second face shells and said first and second end cross webs, said one or more insulating cores having top and bottom edges, with end protrusions extending outwardly at the top edge thereof to fit into the notches in said first and second end cross webs, said end protrusions having cutouts in bottoms thereof to accommodate mortar crumbs, said one or more insulating cores having a longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge and a longitudinal notch along the entire top edge wherein said longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge is dimensioned to fit into a top longitudinal notch of a neighboring one of said one or more insulating cores; and
- wherein space between said second face shell and said third face shell is dimensioned to receive one or more reinforcement bars and grout whereby said reinforcement bars are positioned approximate to a center of a structural foundation of said block.
7. The insulated masonry building block system of claim 6 wherein said longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge fitting into said top longitudinal notch of a neighboring one of said one or more insulating cores creates an overlap that serves to (i) insulate against temperature transfer and (ii) provide a sound barrier.
8. The insulated masonry building block system according to claim 6 wherein said third cross web is positioned about one-half the length of said second and third face shells.
9. The insulated masonry building block system according to claim 6 wherein said first, second and third rectangular face shells, said first, second and third cross webs are formed from concrete.
10. The insulated masonry building block system according to claim 6 wherein said notches in said first, second and third cross webs have a generally U-shaped configuration.
11. The insulated masonry building block system according to claim 6 wherein said inner surfaces of said second and third face shells are angled such that a distance between said inner surfaces of said second and third face shells increases away from said third cross web.
12. A masonry block comprising: wherein space between said second face shell and said third face shell is dimensioned to receive one or more reinforcement bars and grout whereby said reinforcement bars are positioned approximate to a center of a structural foundation of said block.
- first, second and third spaced, rectangular face shells, with said second face shell located intermediate said first and third face shells, wherein said first, second and third rectangular face shells each have a bottom edge located in a first horizontal plane and said first, second and third rectangular face shells each have a top edge located in a second horizontal plane;
- first and second cross webs connecting said first and second face shells in first and second respective planes, each of said first and second cross webs having a notch therein extending a predetermined distance from the top thereof toward the bottom thereof;
- a third cross web connecting said second and third face shells, said third cross web having a notch therein extending from the top thereof a predetermined distance toward the bottom thereof, inner surfaces of said second and third face shells angled as said inner surfaces extend from said third cross web; and
13. The block of claim 13 wherein said bock has a width of about 12″ and said second and third face shells are about 8″ in width.
14. The block of claim 13 wherein a space between said first and second face shell and said first and second end cross webs are configured to receive one or more insulating cores having top and bottom edges, with end protrusions extending outwardly at the top edge thereof to fit into the notches in said first and second end cross webs, said end protrusions having cutouts in bottoms thereof to accommodate mortar crumbs, said one or more insulating cores having a longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge and a longitudinal notch along the entire top edge wherein said longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge is dimensioned to fit into a top longitudinal notch of a neighboring one of said one or more insulating cores.
15. The block of claim 14 wherein said longitudinal notch along the entire bottom edge fitting into said top longitudinal notch of a neighboring one of said one or more insulating cores creates an overlap that serves to (i) insulate against temperature transfer and (ii) provide a sound barrier.
16. The block of claim 12 wherein said third cross web is positioned about one-half the length of said second and third face shells.
17. The block of claim 12 wherein said first, second and third rectangular face shells, said first, second and third cross webs are formed from concrete.
18. The block of claim 12 wherein said notches in said first, second and third cross webs have a generally U-shaped configuration.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 16, 2020
Publication Date: Jul 29, 2021
Inventor: Dennis Miller (Las Vegas, NV)
Application Number: 17/022,965