DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a building element or block, in particular for building masonries that are equipped with raceways for tubes and cables, and a procedure for manufacturing said raceways. The bricks and elements for the building of masonries of a know type are shaped in such a way that they do not permit an easy insertion of technological systems in buildings.

In order to permit the housing of these systems it is necessary to lay an always greater amount of electric, telephonic, and television cables, tubes for the supply of water and gas as well as tubes for heating and air-conditioning systems.

The insertion of this duct network is carried out, in the masonries, using an expensive and complex procedure which is carried out in three phases: formation ofthe chases in the masonry, insertion ofthe duct into the chases and the re-closing ofthe chases. This procedure, apart from weakening the masonry structures, has a notable effect on the final cost ofthe system, and causes a complex organisation of the work on the building yard.

The aim ofthe present invention is to eliminate the necessity to create and re-close the chases, so as to permit the construction workers to lay, almost autonomously, the systems that they are allowed to do, thus permitting the laying of other or of different systems also after the completion of the building, without heavy intervention on the walls.

A further aim of the present invention is to make available a building element, particularly simple and economical, which also reduces the laying times.

Said aims are fully achieved by the building element and the procedure, object ofthe present invention, as characterised in the appended claims. In particular the building element comprises a series of housings for cables and/or tubes, so as to avoid the traditional making of chases using chisels or millers and their subsequent re-closing using mortar. The procedure envisages, once the construction ofthe masonry along with the above mentioned elements has been carried out, the creation of an inlet hole until reaching a horizontal or vertical raceway, the insertion of the cable or flexible tube into said raceway and the creation of an outlet hole. This and further characteristics and advantages ofthe present invention will better emerge from the detailed description that follows of a preferred embodiment here illustrated in the form of a non-limiting example in which: -The figures from la to lh show a front view of the building element in different embodiments;

-The figures from 2a to 2h show a view from the bottom of the building element in different embodiments; -The figures from 4a to 4h show a right lateral view ofthe building element

in different embodiments;

-The figures from 5a to 5h show the building element in a section A-A of the relative figures la-lh;

-The figures 6 and 7 show a axonometric view ofthe building element, once installed, in different embodiments.

With reference to the figures, 1 denotes one building element or block of a substantially parallelepipedal shape, provided with a vertical through hole 2 which crosses the whole block and is equidistantly positioned from first grooves 3 and 4 which are obtained in the opposed lateral faces which cannot be seen from the block.

Said grooves 3 and 4 are vertical, parallel to each other and to the through hole 2 and are coplanar to said through hole.

The grooves 3 and 4 are complementary to each other, that is, each of them is shaped as a "half through hole" in such a way that with the blocks 1 laid, said grooves originate a network of coplanar vertical raceways wherein each channel has constant sections, both if said channel originates from overlapped through holes 2, or results from a coupling of opposed grooves 3 and 4. With reference to the figures, 5 denotes a projection on the upper face of the block 1 , 6 denotes a corresponding groove, of a substantially congruent shape, obtained in the lower part of the block, both projection and corresponding groove through the whole length ofthe block in a horizontal direction so as to form an embedding and to make easier the laying ofthe blocks when they have to be overlapped and so as to prevent closure ofthe through holes 2 in the case of laying with binders.

The projection or relief 5, the groove 6, the through hole 1 and the first grooves 3 and 4 are substantially coplanar.

The figures from lb to 5b show a further embodiment wherein the block 1 is equipped with a supplementary groove 7, which is obtained by deepening the groove 6, and capable of creating a horizontal housing for tubes, pipes and wires.

The same function can be achieved by creating a channel 8 in the projection 5, as shown in the figures from lc to 5c, or by creating both the groove 7 and the channel 8, as shown in figures from Id to 5d, in such a way that the horizontal housing is obtained partly in the upper block and partly in the lower block.

According to a further embodiment, applicable to all the embodiments that have been described above, it is envisaged a plurality of embeddings, designed to facilitate the laying, which can be obtained by equipping each block 1 with the suitable teeth 10 and the relative recesses 9 in the lower and upper faces, as shown in figures le and 5e, or by inserting tubular connecting plugs into the through holes 2, in such a way so as to guarantee a perfect alignment ofthe vertical raceways. According to a still further embodiment it is possible to eliminate the vertical joints (that is the passing cracks between two adjacent blocks which make it possible to see through the walls of the blocks), which would form alongside the blocks without the use of mortar on the vertical faces by modifying the design of the sides containing the grooves 3 and 4, for example by eliminating the horizontal linearity (with a bend or a broken line) and/or the squareness ofthe borders with respect to the surface ofthe wall.

Also by lengthening one ofthe two borders and shortening the other next to the grooves and to the same measurement, the contact joints are staggered. Figures from If to 5f show an example wherein one of the borders is shortened until it comes to an end, while the other is lengthened until it substends all the area ofthe groove-housing (as shown in detail in figure 2f); the block can take up a horizontal section substantially shaped as a "Z". In figures from lg to 5g is represented a vertical embedding system, with a projection 15 and a groove 16, similar to the horizontal embedding system (figures b-c-d). The building element or block object ofthe present invention also makes it possible to take up, especially for blocks with a greater thickness, in alternative or contemporary with the solution shown in the figures described above (f, g), the known embedding systems used in bricks and blocks so as to avoid the use of mortar in the vertical joints or to break the linearity ofthe vertical joints.

Said block can be constituted by more blocks laid next to each other ofthe type shown in figures from la to 5a.

With reference to the laying procedure of the element or the block 1 , the through hole 2 and the first grooves 3 and 4 make sure that by coupling the blocks for constructing the masonry, a vertical raceway system is created with the distance between the centres being equal to half block wherein it is possible to introduce, also when the masonry is completed, tubes, pipes or electric wires of a suitable flexibility without the necessity to create chases, as shown in figures 6 and 7. It is sufficient, in fact, to carry out small inlet and outlet holes wherein, if necessary, can be housed connector blocks,

junction boxes, or the like.

The supplementary groove 7 and/or the channel 8 also permit to obtain a possible second horizontal raceway in correspondence with each horizontal joint ofthe masonry, thus, determining a vertical and horizontal pattern grid of raceways for all ofthe masonry extensions, as shown in figures 6 and 7. The possible presence of any embedding system obtained with teeth and relative housings obtained in the horizontal faces of the block (example, figures from le to 5e) or with plugs housed in the vertical through holes, provides for a more accurate alignment ofthe blocks during the laying, so as to guarantee a perfect continuity of the vertical raceways.

The ideal plane which contains the raceways can be situated both equidistantly with respect to the faces exposed ofthe block (in the case in which the walls are of a modest thickness or partition walls), and in adhesion to one ofthe faces exposed in the case of masonries of a greater thickness, in such a way that cables and tubes run at a modest depth with respect to the surface ofthe walls.

In the case of masonries of a greater thickness there can be two planes of raceways (as shown in figure 6) in adhesion to the two faces exposed, with the possibility to insert tubes and cables on both the faces ofthe masonry, particularly useful in the case of main inside walls.

The block object ofthe present invention can be constructed using traditional building materials (such as plain or light concrete, brick earth, hard mixes and plaster) by extrusion or moulding. The block object of the present invention can be manufactured using one single material or using more than one material or also it can be lined (for

example, concrete with the lining in exposed plaster) and it can also present lightening holes, as used in the traditional concrete blocks and tile bricks or cavities 11, destined to be filled with concrete in the mould version with dry laying and subsequent filling, as shown in figures from lh to 5h. The particular arrangement of the raceway system (through hole and coplanar grooves), as well as the horizontal embedding (projection groove), permit the blocks to be mounted both dry and using a modest amount of binders, or, in the case of hollow blocks, dry with a subsequent jet of concrete filling. Any possible binders, buttered on the horizontal faces ofthe block, because ofthe projection 5, do not close either the vertical or horizontal raceways. In the case ofthe presence of vertical embeddings (figures from lg to 5g) it is possible to butter the binders also on the vertical faces without causing the closure ofthe raceways.