U.S. patent application number 10/850479 was filed with the patent office on 2005-11-24 for thin brick veneer panel.
Invention is credited to Gong, Ruigang, Gong, Xi.
Application Number | 20050257475 10/850479 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35373838 |
Filed Date | 2005-11-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050257475 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gong, Ruigang ; et
al. |
November 24, 2005 |
Thin brick veneer panel
Abstract
A thin brick veneer panel for covering an exterior or interior
wall construction includes a solid polymer back sheet having
plurality of brick holders which are disposed in a plurality of
horizontal rows to receive a plurality of thin brick veneers which
have a tongue edge on bottom side. The brick holders comprise of a
bottom fin and a top fin that extend outwardly. The back sheet is
mounted to a wall structure with normal fasteners. The thin brick
veneers slide into the brick holders to attach to the back sheet
mechanically. Mortar then applied to the space between the brick
veneers to form a brick wall facing. Before applying mortar, a
special nail besides normal fasteners will be fastened to the wall
structure through the back sheet to add addition security. The nail
has a shoulder and a cap. The shoulder fastens the back sheet and
prevents the cap from all the way down to the back sheet. Thus
mortar is applied into underneath and over the cap. After mortar
cured, the nail not only secures the back sheet but also secures
the whole thin brick facing to the wall structure.
Inventors: |
Gong, Ruigang; (Clayton,
OH) ; Gong, Xi; (Clayton, OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
RUIGANG GONG
203 SAGEBRUSH DR.
CLAYTON
OH
45315
US
|
Family ID: |
35373838 |
Appl. No.: |
10/850479 |
Filed: |
May 21, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/506.05 ;
52/391; 52/442 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04F 13/0862
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/506.05 ;
052/391; 052/442 |
International
Class: |
E04C 001/00 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A real thin brick veneer panel is as thin as 1/2 inch or less,
Said panel comprising: a plurality of specially shaped thin brick
veneers which have a tongue edge on at least one of bottom side and
top side; a plurality of specially shaped nails having a shoulder
and a cap; a solid thin polymer back sheet having plurality of
brick holders which are disposed in a plurality of horizontal rows
to receive a plurality of said thin brick veneers, said back sheet
is formed of solid extruded plastic material and is as thin as
{fraction (1/16)} inch thick or less, said brick holders are
integrally formed with the back sheet and could have different
hardness, said brick holders comprise of a bottom fin and a top fin
that extend outwardly at a 0 to 90 degree angle, said fins could
have different shapes to receive different shapes of said tongue
edge of said thin brick veneers.
2. The panel of clam 1, wherein said nail which is formed of metal
has a shoulder and a cap. The shapes of said shoulder and said cap
could be round, triangle, square, rectangle, polygon, or others.
The dimension between said shoulder and said cap is less than the
thickness of said brick units.
3. The panel of clam 1, wherein said thin brick veneers may be kiln
clay, cut stone, concrete, or other materials, said brick units
have a tongue edge on at least one of bottom side and top side, the
shape of said tongue edge is not limited, slop edge is preferable,
said brick veneers are {fraction (7/16)} inch thick or less.
Description
[0001] It is a continuation of the provisional application filed on
May 19, 2003, application No. 60/470.994
CROSS-REFERENCES
[0002]
1 U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 2392232 January, 1946 Crafton 3499256
March, 1970 Schaaf et al. 3740910 June, 1973 Taylor et al. 3740911
June, 1973 O'Leary. 3968610 July, 1976 Medow 4011702 March, 1977
Matyas. 4241554 December, 1980 Infantino. 4290248 September, 1981
Kemerer et al. 4407104 October, 1983 Francis. 4589241 May, 1986
Volpenhein 4662140 May, 1987 Porter et al. 4809470 March, 1989
Bauer et al. 4841705 June, 1989 Fuhrer 4956949 September, 1990
Francis. 5228937 July, 1993 Passeno. 5311714 May, 1994 Passeno.
5373676 December, 1994 Francis et al. 5501049 March, 1996 Francis
et al. 5526630 June, 1996 Francis et al. 5930964 August, 1999
Boehning 6164037 December, 2000 Passeno. 6516578 February, 2003
Hunsaker
OTHER REFERENCES
[0003] I-XL Thin Brick Brochure
[0004] The Insulock Thin Brick System Brochure
[0005] US Brick Systems, Brochure
[0006] Thin brick technical notes 28, Brick Industry
Association
[0007] Thin brick technical notes 28a, Brick Industry
Association
[0008] Thin brick technical notes 28b, Brick Industry
Association
[0009] Thin brick technical notes 28c, Brick Industry
Association
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0010] This invention relates a method and material for forming a
thin brick veneer panel covering an exterior or interior wall
construction. The panel can also be used for other purposes, such
as brick fences, landscaping, and community entrances.
[0011] It is well known that a major disadvantage of conventional
brick construction is that it is expensive, labor intensive, and
should be done by people skilled in the brick laying art.
Therefore, thin brick panel has been developed for many years to
reduce the cost and the time involved and the amount of skill
required to produce a brick construction.
[0012] One thin brick panel is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,578
which includes an expanded polystyrene foam panel having a
plurality of laterally extending channels formed therein for
receiving a plurality of thin brick units. The thin brick units are
bonded with an adhesive directly on to the foam panel. The backside
of foam panel has a plurality of depressions adapted to provide
increased surface area for an adhesive used to bind the backside to
a substrate. The panel has mating features for mating the sides of
the panel with an adjacent panel, which include tongue and groove
features. Strips of a mesh fabric may span several panels to bind
the panels together. The panel is fastened to an existing structure
or a building with an adhesive and/or a mechanical fastener that
includes a washer member and a threaded or non-threaded fastener,
such as a nail, inserted through the washer member.
[0013] A major problem for this invention is cost. The panel is
considerably thick because of the mating features on the sides of
panel, and the depth of the channels holding brick units in
position. A thick panel means more raw materials and more
difficulty when replacing the vinyl siding or cedar panels of an
existing house if no modifications to the exiting construction. For
binding thin brick unit to the backboard, other components
(adhesives and wash members and fabric mesh strips) are employed,
which adds more cost to the invention. Complicated manufacturing
processes are required to form brick retaining channels, mating
features, and back side depressions. Some wastes of materials are
inevitable during the cutting processes.
[0014] Due to these reasons such thin brick panel is not very cheap
compared to a conventional brick wall and is relatively expensive
compared to vinyl sidings. Thus, people use conventional bricks for
high-end houses and vinyl sidings for low-end houses.
[0015] Another thin brick panel is provided in U.S. Pat. No.
4,662,140, which includes a sheet of metal having a plurality of
tabs punched therein and extending outward from a first side
thereof. Also positioned on the first side of the sheet metal panel
are adhesive strips for permanently affixing bricks to the panel's
first, or outer, side with the bricks positioned in a given spaced
array on the panel by the tabs extending therefrom. The tabs
provide support for the bricks when initially positioned upon the
panel.
[0016] The use of metal sheets is not desirable since such
materials often have sharp edges making them dangerous to handle.
Metals are subject to corrosion and deterioration creating paths
for potential leakage and dislodgment of the bricks or mortar. In
addition, a metal panel is difficult to cut and shape in meeting
custom requirements at the work site. Some of thin brick panels are
pre-fabricated. The pre-fabricated brick panels generally consist
of one-half inch bricks secured in conventional patterns to a
backing board. The major problem of the panels is that the
pre-fabricated brick panels are difficult to transport and
difficult to cut into desired shapes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0017] Accordingly, it is an advantage of present invention to
provide a thin brick veneer panel which has few components and low
cost to compete with not only conventional bricks but also vinyl
sidings and cedar panels.
[0018] It would be another advantage of present invention to
provide a very thin brick veneer panel which is as thin as 1/2 inch
or less for easily replacing the vinyl sidings of a existing house
with no modification of the existing construction.
[0019] It would be a further advantage of present invention to
provide a simple and effective method to hold brick units
mechanically and permanently without any adhesive, mesh strips, and
other devises.
[0020] It would be another advantage of present invention to
provide the simplest method to fasten mortar and whole brick facing
to the wall structure permanently by using only specially designed
nails.
[0021] It would be further advantage to provide a flexible brick
panel which can be easily adapted to various building structures,
such as windows, doors, and corners at work site.
[0022] It would be another further advantage to provide a very
light weight of brick panel, which can be easily transfer from one
place to another place
[0023] It would be another advantage to provide a brick panel with
flexible assembly processes, which can be easily assembly at plant,
or on ground of work site, or on the wall during installation.
[0024] The present invention discloses a real thin brick veneer
panel for covering an exterior or interior wall construction. It is
about 1/2 inch thick. The brick veneer includes a solid polymer
back sheet having plurality of brick holders which are disposed in
a plurality of horizontal rows to receive a plurality of thin brick
veneers which have a tongue edge on at least one of bottom side and
top side. The brick holders comprise of a bottom fin and a top fin
that extend outwardly at 0 to 90-degree angle. The back sheet may
be attached to a wall structure with nails, staplers or other
normal fasteners.
[0025] The thin brick veneers can be slide into the brick holders
to attach to the back sheet mechanically. Mortar then applied to
the space between the brick veneers to form a brick wall
construction. However, before applying mortar, a special nail
besides normal fasteners will be fastened to the wall structure
through the back sheet to add addition security. The nail has a
shoulder and a cap. The shoulder fastens the back sheet and
prevents the cap from all the way down to the back sheet. The space
between shoulder and cap will receive mortar to form a mortar
fastener. Mortar will flow underneath and over the cap. After
mortar set, the nail not only secures the back sheet but also
secures the whole thin brick facing to the wall structure for
permanent attachment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1. A front view of a thin brick panel in accordance
with the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 2. A cross-sectional side view through the thin brick
panel along line A-A'.
[0028] FIG. 3. A front view of a back sheet in accordance with the
present invention.
[0029] FIG. 4. A cross-sectional side view through the back sheet
along line B-B'.
[0030] FIG. 5. A front view of a thin brick in accordance with the
present invention.
[0031] FIG. 6. A cross-sectional side view through the thin brick
along line C-C'.
[0032] FIG. 7. A top view of a special nail in accordance with the
present invention.
[0033] FIG. 8. A cross-sectional side view through the special nail
along line D-D'.
[0034] FIG. 9. Samples of different shapes of thin bricks and brick
holders.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0035] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 & 2, a thin brick veneer panel
is comprised of a solid polymer back sheet (2), a plurality of thin
brick veneers (3), and mortar (4) between adjacent thin brick
veneers (3).
[0036] The back sheet (2) has plurality of integrally formed brick
holders (5) to receive a plurality of thin brick veneers (3) which
have a slop tongue edge (6) on bottom. The brick holders (5)
comprise of a bottom fin (7) and a top fin (8) that extend
outwardly. The bottom fin (7) bears the weight of the brick veneers
(3) at an acute angle. The top fin (8) works with bottom fin (7) to
keep the brick veneers (3) in place. Each brick holder (5) is
separated from an adjoining brick holder by a notch (9) or a slot.
The thin Brick veneers (3) slide into brick holders (5) to attach
to the back sheet (2) mechanically.
[0037] FIGS. 3 and 4 show a front view and a side view of the back
sheet (2). The back sheet (2) may be extruded or co-extruded with a
plurality of brick holders (5) which extend across the length of
the back sheet (2). The brick holder (5) are defined by a top fin
(8) and a bottom fin (7) that are integrally formed into the back
sheet (2). The material of back sheet (2) is variable. Plastic
material with low LTEC is preferred. Hardness of fins may be higher
than that of back portion of back sheet (2). The back sheet (2) can
be extruded in many widths and with many fin shapes and does not
have a thickness limitation. For a 1/2 inch thick panel, the
thickness of the sheet is about {fraction (1/16)} inch. The
extruded sheet may be cut into any length depending on the needs of
the user. After extrusion, the fins are notched out at certain
locations to form the brick holders and provide a path for water or
moisture to escape.
[0038] FIGS. 5 & 6 show the front and side view of a thin brick
veneer (3). The thin brick veneer (3) has a slop tongue edge (6) on
bottom side. With this tongue (6), the brick holders (5) will
firmly hold brick veneers (3) permanently in place without any
adhesive.
[0039] The thin brick veneers (3) may be kiln clay, cut stone, or
concrete, or other materials. It is normally {fraction (7/16)}/inch
thick or less. Shapes of the tongue edge of the thin bricks are not
limited. FIG. 9 shows some different shapes of thin bricks and
brick holders.
[0040] In FIG. 2, the thin brick panel is mounted to a wall
structure 1 with a plurality of normal fasteners (10) and special
nails (11). The fasteners (10) firmly hold the back sheet (2)
against the wall structure (1). And the special nails (11) firmly
hold the back sheet (2) and whole brick facing to the wall
structure (1). The special nails (11) should be attached to the
wall structure (1) through back sheet (2) before applying mortar
(4).
[0041] As illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. The nail (11) has a
shoulder (12) and a cap (13). The shoulder (12) fastens the back
sheet and prevents the cap (13) from all the way down to the back
sheet (2). The space between shoulder (12) and cap (13) will
receive mortar (4) to form a mortar fastener. Mortar (4) flows into
underneath of cap (13) and over the cap (13). After mortar cured,
the nail (11) not only secures the back sheet (2) but also secure
the whole thin brick facing. Shape of the cap may be various.
[0042] In order to bind the adjacent panels together, the sides
(14) and (15) of the back sheet are overlapped and then fastened to
the wall structure (1) by normal fasteners (10). The width of edge
of back sheet is similar to the distance between adjacent brick
veneers. The thickness of edges is about {fraction (1/16)} inch or
less.
[0043] The assembling of thin brick veneer panels is flexible to
fit any needs. Brick veneers (3) could be attached to the brick
sheet (2) in manufacture plant, or on ground at work site, or on
the wall during installation. Because the back sheet (2) is thin
plastic sheet, it is easy to be cut and shaped to accommodate
variations in existing or new wall structures and to meet any
architecture requirements, such as windows, doors, and corners.
[0044] Typical installation procedures are as follows:
[0045] 1. Attach back sheets to a wall structure. First
horizontally, then vertically
[0046] 2. Attach special nails to the back sheet and wall
structure
[0047] 3. Slide brick veneers into brick holders
[0048] 4. Apply mortar to space between brick veneers
[0049] The back sheet could be formed in different processes. A
typical process is as follows:
[0050] 1. Extrusion or co-extrusion of back sheet
[0051] 2. Cutting to desire length
[0052] 3. Punch or cut notches
* * * * *