Sectional-block tile.

Application filed Inly 24,1916. Serial No. 111,058.

To dll whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fredrick FI. Meier, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Marshalltown, in the county of Marshall 5 and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Sectional-Block Tile, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a sectional block tile of simple, durable and 10 inexpensive construction.

A further object is to provide a tile made of sectional blocks, whereby it is made possible to store and ship the tile in a minimum space.

Still a further object is to provide such a tile made of such sectional blocks, so constructed and arranged that the blocks may be assembled on the job where the tile is to be installed and the blocks may be secured 20 together with cement or concrete if desired, so as to make a water tight joint.

. A further object is to provide such a sectional block tile which, when the blocks are assembled is held together against any acci25 dental dis-assembling.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby, the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more 30 fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompaanying drawings, in which—

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a completed sectional block tile embodying my in35 vention.

Fig. 2 shows an end elevation of the same, one-half of the tile being shown in the vertical cross section.

Fig. 3 shows a vertical, sectional view 40 through the interlocking joint members at one end of the tile.

Fig. 4 shows an inside face or plan view of one of the outer tile sections.

Fig. 5 shows a detail, sectional view taken 45 on the line 5—5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 shows an end view of a portion of three tile sections placed together.

Fig. 7 shows a side elevation partly in section of a plurality of tiles placed together 50 in a course.

Fig. 8 shows a sectional, perspective view of three blocks of tile placed together.

Fig. 9 shows a perspective view at the out side of three sections of blocks of the tile during the progress of assembling, parts be- 55 ing broken away, and parts being shown in . section, and

Fig. 10 shows a perspective view of three of the tile blocks during the progress of manufacture. 60

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a tile made up of outer blocks or sections which I have indicated by the reference numeral 10 and the inner blocks or sections 11. 65

The blocks are curved from side to side on the radius of a circle having its center at the center of the completed tile.

The outer blocks are each provided at one end with an inwardly extending flange 12, 70 and may be provided at the same end with an outwardly extending flange 12^c, as shown in Figs. 1 and 7.

Each outer block is provided with a pair of spaced ribs 13 preferably located near the 75 side edges of the inner surface of the tile block and extending from the flange 12 to the opposite end of the tile block or section. The flanges 12 are preferably somewhat thicker radially of the completed tile 80 than the ribs 13. At their ends adjacent to the flange 12, the ribs 13 are provided with laterally extending off-set portions 14 preferably extending to the adjacent edges of the tile block. 85

Adjacent to the flange 12 and located between the ribs 13 of each tile block are formed lugs 15. The ribs 13 are tapered or beveled, at one side edge as shown in Fig. 6, so that said ribs are narrower where they 90 join the body of the block 10 than at their inner faces. The faces of the lugs 15 adjacent to the ribs 13 are beveled, so that the lugs 15 are narrower from side to side at their portions adjacent to the body of the 95 block 10 than at their faces farther from the body of the block 10.

Each inner block or section 16 is provided on its outer surface, at one end with an outwardly extending flange 12^a and with other 100 parts similar to those described on the outer sections, the only difference between the outer and inner blocks 10 being that the outer blocks are somewhat wider than the inner blocks 16 on account of the greater 105 diameter of the outer part of the tile, and

1,252,012 that the inner blocks have the flange 12^a, the lug 15^a and the ribs 13^b similar to the parts 12, 15 and 13 above described extending outwardly instead of inwardly, the difference being clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 9.

In assembling the blocks to form a tile in a ditch or the like, two of the outer blocks are laid side by side, as shown in Fig. 8. I preferably then fill the spaces on opposite 10 sides of the ribs 13 with concrete 17, or any suitable plastic material as shown in Fig. 8, and then place the outer face of an inner block against the inner face of the two blocks already assembled and force the 15 inner block outwardly pressing the plastic filling aside. At this stage in the assembling of the tile, the inner block or section is placed over the joint between the two outer sections, but the encl of the inner sec20 tion having the flange 12^a is arranged opposite the ends of the outer sections having the flange 12 and is made to project longitudinally beyond the adjacent ends of the outer sections a short distance. It will be 25 noted that the ribs 13 of the inner blocks or sections have their side edges, which are adjacent to each other, so arranged as to lie in planes radial of the completed tile, whereas the outer side edges of said ribs are 30 tapered inwardly toward the block, as clearly shown in Fig. 8. On the other hand the side edges of the outer blocks are similarly arranged, so that when the block is placed adjacent to the inner surface of two 35 outer blocks lying edge to edge, the inner block may be moved outwardly until its ribs rest against the outer blocks with the radially arranged faces of the ribs of the inner block arranged adjacent to the radially ar40 ranged faces of the ribs of the outer blocks, as shown in Fig. 8. When the inner section has been pressed against the outer section, the inner section is then moved longitudinally until the ribs 13^b of the inner section 45 slide between the lugs 15 and the ribs 13 of the outer sections. It will be noted that on account of the shape of the ribs 13, hereinbefore mentioned, it is not neccessary to slide the inner blocks longitudinally on the 50 outer blocks the entire length of the blocks in order to lock the inner and outer blocks together, but said inner blocks may be moved longitudinally of the outer blocks only a distance equal to the length of the 55 lugs 15 longitudinally of the blocks. In this connection it will be noted that the ribs and lugs are so beveled that the inner and outer sections will be firmly locked together by the engagement of the ribs 13 of the outer 60 blocks with the lug 15^a and the ribs 13^b of the inner section or block and by the engagement of the ribs 13^b and lug 15^a on the inner section with the ribs 13 and. lugs 15 of the outer sections, so that when all of the 65 inner and outer blocks or sections of each tile have been assembled around the tile, there will be a tight joint entirely around the tile at each end thereof, made up of interlocking parts, and the interlocking parts will be bound by plastic filler and will 70 be covered by bodies of the sections and the flanges 12 and 12^a.

When the tile has once been assembled, it can be. handled with considerable freedom and will not come apart. . ⁷⁵

It will readily be seen that when the plastic filler in the tile has set, a very strong rigid construction will be made.

Where the device is used for sewers, I preferably use the type of tile having outer 80 sections provided at one end with the flanges 12, having outward extensions 12^e, as shown in Fig. 7, while at the opposite end of each tile, the flanges 12^a of the inner sections or blocks are made to. project 85 outwardly beyond the outer sections or blocks at 13^a and to abut against the flanges 12^c of the adjacent alined tile. The joints between the two tiles can then be covered with concrete 18, as shown in Fig. 7 for ®θ making a water tight conduit.

In the manufacture of sections of blocks, for tile of the kind herein described, I make three sections of blocks at a time arranged in a triangle, as shown in Fig. 10, secured ⁹⁵together’ along their side edges.

The tile sections or blocks can be made in this way and can be burned without serious warping, whereas, it is difficult to burn the sections of blocks singly. The three sections ¹⁰⁰of blocks shown in Fig. 10 may be very easily broken apart at edges where the material connecting them is very thirl.

The advantage of a sectional block of this type is very great. It is well known to the ¹⁰⁵trade that it is expensive and difficult to make clay tile of large size. The weight of the material in such a tile is such that the tile tends to lose its shape during the process of manufacture and during the handling Πθ of the tile while the tile is being moved or transferred for burning.

There is a certain point where the size of tile tile becomes so great that clay tile cannot economically be made. For instance, 115 small clay tile can be made cheaper per ton than large clay tile but after a certain size is reached, clay tile manufacturers cannot compete with concrete tile manufacturers, on account of the fact that large clay tile 120 are much more expensive in proportion to their size and weight than small tile. Where the tile is made in blocks, as shown, the expense of manufacture, storage and transportation is very greatly reduced, and even 125 when the expense of assembling is added, the tile made in sections can be installed in a job cheaper than large tile made in a single piece.

Another advantage of a tile of this type 130

1,262,012 8 lies in the fact that the block sections can be assembled on the job.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of 5 my improved tile without departing from the essential features and purposes, thereof, and it is my intention to cover by this application, any such changes which may be included within the scope of my claims.