Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for securing a tube to a comer of a previously laid brickwork comer to serve as a profde.

Background of the invention

A profile is a vertical post used in the building trade to ensure straight vertical corners and to attach a brick line. A brick line stretched between two profiles is used to ensure that courses of bricks are laid level, horizontal and with a uniform spacing. After a stable horizontal base has been formed, two or three courses of bricks are laid to form an internal or an external brickwork corner. A profile is next attached to these courses and used to align all higher courses. After a wall has reached a certain height, the profile is moved to the last laid courses.

It is possible to secure a profile so that it lies with one face overlapping a face of the brickwork comer. This method is not preferred as it acts as an obstruction while laying further courses of bricks and prevents correct finishing of the joints between bricks that are covered by the profile. Instead, the profile more commonly in use is a Blake’s profile that is positioned comer to comer with the brickwork.

A Blake’s profile comprises a steel tube of square cross section having two plates welded to its lower end to extend perpendicular to two of the faces of the square. The heads of bolts on these plates abut the surfaces of the comer and some of them are adjustable to enable the tube to be positioned plumb vertical. The plates also have holes for fixing rods that secure the profile to the brickwork. The opposite ends of the rods are anchored in some way in perpends of the brickwork.

Apart from the need for the profile to have welded plates, a disadvantage of the Blake’s profile is that the distance of the nearest perpend from the profile can vary considerably, and it is therefore necessary for a bricklayer to carry a wide variety of different fixing rods.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) Object of the invention

The present invention seeks to enable even a tube that has no features welded onto it to serve as a profile and to reduce the range of different components that need to be carried by a bricklayer.

Summary of the invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for securing a tube of uniform cross section to a previously laid brickwork corner to serve as a profile, comprising at least one collar for sliding onto the tube to define

(i) reference surfaces to contact the two faces of the comer, and

(ii) adjustable abutments for contacting the two faces of the comer at a distance from the reference surfaces to permit adjustment of the attitude of the tube in two orthogonal planes, and a tensioning arrangement for applying a force directly or indirectly to the tube to urge the reference surfaces and the adjustable abutments into contact with the two faces of the corner.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of securing a tube of uniform cross section to a previously built brickwork corner to serve as a profile, which method comprises sliding onto the tube at least one collar to provide

(i) reference surfaces to contact the two faces of the corner, and

(ii) adjustable abutments for contacting the two faces of the corner at a distance from the fixed reference surfaces, and applying a force directly or indirectly to the tube by means of a tensioning arrangement, to urge the reference surfaces and the adjustable abutments into contact with the two faces of the comer, and adjusting the adjustable abutments to set the attitude of the tube in two orthogonal planes. Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows an arrangement of a profile secured to an external corner,

Figure 2 is an exploded plan view of the arrangement of Figure 1,

Figure 3 shows an arrangement of a profile secured to an internal comer,

Figure 4 is an exploded plan view of the arrangement of Figure 3,

Figures 4 to 8 are perspective views of four different collars used in the arrangements of Figures 1 to 4,

Figure 9 shows a tensioning arrangement for securing a profile to an external corner that employs a flexible cable in place of a rigid bracket,

Figure 10 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 of an embodiment of the invention in which the bracket of the tensioning element is specifically designed for securing a profile to an external comer,

Figure 11 is a partial horizontal section through the embodiment of Figure 10, and Figure 12 is a perspective view of a detail of Figure 10 showing a modification of the collar shown in Figure 5.

Detailed description of the drawings

In all embodiments of the invention, the component serving as a profile is an extruded tube of square section that is of uniform cross section over its entire length. Unlike a Blake’s profile, it does not have any plates, or other special features, welded onto it to enable it to be secured in position and it is merely a length of extruded tube. The position of the tube relative to the brickwork comer is instead set by means of various collars of square cross section that are slid over the tube and the profile is secured to the brickwork by means of a separate a tensioning arrangement that presses the profile against the corner. In all embodiments, the profile is mounted comer to corner relative to the brickwork and is spaced from the brickwork by a predetermined distance.

Figures 1 and 2 show an arrangement in which a profile is secured to an external corner formed by bricks 10. The profile comprises a tube 12 of uniform square cross section and two different collars that are slid over the lower end of the tube 12. The uppermost collar 14 is shown in more detail in Figure 5 and has two protrusions 16 that define two reference surfaces 20 at right angles to one another. After the collar 14 has been slid onto the tube 12, it can be locked in position by means of a thumb screw 22 engaged in a threaded hole 24 in the collar 14. In use, the two reference surfaces 20 are brought into contact with the comer of the uppermost course of the bricks.

To reduce manufacturing costs, the collar 14, in common with all the collars shown in Figures 5 to 8, is formed by machining slices cut from an aluminium extrusion that comprises four projections 36 with a dovetail cross section, or having other undercuts, on its four sides. One of the comers 38 of the extrusion is thickened so that it can be drilled and tapped to receive the thumb screw 22 used to secure the collar to the tube 12. The opposite comer is formed with the protrusions 16 that define reference surfaces 20 for contacting the comer of the uppermost course of bricks. In the case of the collar 14, parts of the dovetail projections are removed by machining and the comer facing the brickwork is cut away in order to ensure that contact with the brickwork only takes place at the upper end of the collar, and clearance is provided to permit the tube 12 to pivot about the reference surfaces relative to the brickwork. Because all collars are formed from the same extrusion, some of the collars may have features that are not relevant for their intended purpose. Hence in Figure 5, the projections 36 with a dovetail cross section on two sides of the collar are not essential.

A second collar 30, shown in more detail in Figure 6, is slid onto the tube 12 below the collar 14. The collar 14 is likewise clamped onto the tube 12 by means of a thumb screw 32. As seen in Figure 6, the corner 34 of the collar 30 opposite the thumb screw is thinned to allow the tube 12 to be positioned nearer to the comer of the brickwork than the collar 14.

The purpose of the projections 36 is to allow accessories to be securely attached to the collars. As best shown in the plan exploded view of Figure 2, the projections 36 of the collar 30 are intended to have slid onto them adjusters 40 formed with a complementary slot 42. After being slid onto the collar 30, the adjusters 40 are locked in place by thumb screws 44. Each adjuster has 40 a manually adjustable screw 46 of which an end surface contacts the brickwork to act as adjustable abutment.

By fitting the two collars 14 and 30 to the tube 12, the profile is provided with fixed reference surfaces 20 and adjustable abutments (screws 46). The adjustable abutments are spaced vertically from the reference surfaces and allow adjustment of the attitude of the tube 12 in two orthogonal planes. By suitable adjustment of the screws 46, it is possible using a spirit level to ensure that the tube 12 is positioned perfectly plumb. The cut away portion of the collar 14 and the thinned comer of the collar 30 provide some degree of freedom to compensate for any misalignment of the courses of bricks that have already been laid.

A tube 12 with the two collars 14 and 30 clamped to it can be regarded as equivalent to a Blake’s profile, which also has reference surfaces and adjustable abutments on the plates welded to the square tube, but it still requires some means for fixing it to the brickwork corner, so that the reference surfaces and the adjustable abutments all contact the brickwork at the same time.

In embodiments of the present invention, instead of the profile being pulled against a brickwork corner, it is pushed by applying a force to the corner of the profile diagonally opposite the corner adjacent the brickwork. The means for fixing the profile to the brickwork corner need not be not attached to the profile in any way and comprise a tensioning arrangement that pushes the profile against the brickwork comer.

As shown in Figure 9, the tensioning arrangement may simply comprise a cable 200 that is suitably anchored to the brickwork at its ends. The tensioning arrangement in some cases may not even need to be anchored at its ends to the brickwork. For example, if erecting a square column such as a chimney stack, a ratchet strap may be used to press all four profiles against their respective corners.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4, a bracket formed of rigid components is used as a tensioning arrangement. An advantage of using a rigid bracket is that it can be attached to the existing brickwork before the profile is positioned against the comer and will remain in position while the profile is manoeuvred into position. This greatly simplifies the task of fixing the profile to the corner. Furthermore, as will be apparent from the description below, in some embodiments, brackets using the same components can be used for both internal and external comers, which reduces the range of components needed by a bricklayer.

The tensioning arrangement generally designated 70 in Figure 1 is shown with all its components separated in Figure 2. The arrangement comprises a clamping assembly 72 having a main body 74 in which there is journalled a cylinder 76. A threaded hole in the cylinder 76 receives a manually adjustable screw 78, the end of which is fitted with a U- shaped prong 80 that can rotate relative to the screw 78. The main body 74 is attached to the brickwork by two anchors 82 and two variable length arms 84, 86.

Each anchor 82 (as best seen in Figure 4) is secured to the brickwork by a pin, bolt or screw engaging in holes drilled into perpends of the brickwork and carries two vertical pins. The variable length arms have cylinders 88 at their ends to fit over one of these pins, to provide a pivoting connection between each arm 84, 86 and the respective anchor 82. The opposite end of each arm 84, 86 is also provided with a cylinder to receive a pivot connecting it to the body 74 of the clamping assembly. In this case, the pivot is formed by a bolt 92 passing through a hole 90 in the upper end of the body 74 and in threaded engagement with a second hole at the lower end of the body 74.

The arms 84 and 86 are of variable length by virtue of being formed of two separate sections that can slide relative to one another and that can be held in different relative positions by means of retainers 94. The lengths of the arms may either be continuously variable or settable at different predetermined lengths. The illustrated retainers 94 comprise two metal plates straddling the sections of the arms and can be made to grip the sections of the arm by thumb screws 96. The arms in this case have elongate slots through which the screws 96 pass. Should friction not suffice to prevent the sections from moving relative to one another, they may be formed with teeth or other interlocking formations. The tensioning arrangement 70 is assembled by fixing two anchors 82 into the brickwork on opposite sides of the corner. The ends of the arms 84 and 86, which are preconnected pivotably to the assembly 72, are next pivotably attached to the anchoring points 82. The lengths of the two arms 84 and 86 can now be adjusted so that the ends of the prong 80 contact the tube 12, with the screw 78 preferably pointing diagonally at the corner of the tube 12. Once the lengths of the arms 84, 86 have been fixed by tightening the screws 96, the screw 78 is tightened to clamp the tube 12 against the corner of the brickwork. The use of a U-shaped prong allows the clamping assembly to act on the collar 14 instead of acting directly on the tube 12 and in this case the projections 36 serve to prevent the limbs of the U-shaped prong from splaying apart under the action of the applied force. Rotation of the cylinder 76 ensures that a force can be applied diagonally even if the main body 74 is not at 45° to the walls of the brickwork.

To secure the tube 12 to an internal corner, the components mounted on the tube and the procedure are generally the same, save that the lower collar 100 that is used is one as shown in Figure 7 instead of the collar 30 shown in Figure 6. In this case, to allow adjustment movement, the projections 36 on the faces of the collar adjoining the brickwork have been removed by machining, in addition to the comer between them being thinned. The adjuster 40 in this case is also slid onto the projections on the other two sides of the collar 100.

Though the same upper collar 14 is used for both internal and external corners, the reference surfaces in the case of an internal comer are those designed 21 in Figure 5 instead of the reference surfaces 20.

The tensioning arrangement 70 used to push the profile against the corner also uses the same components as are used on an external corner, save that the adjustable arms in this case are formed of only one section that, as previously, is pivotably attached to an anchor 82. The opposite end of each arm in this case is clamped directly to the assembly 72. For this purpose, the clamping assembly 72 also incorporates a retainer plate 102 that can clamp the arm to the assembly by means of thumb screws 104. For an internal corner, the two arms are first passed between the body 74 and the retainer plate 102 and pulled out to the extent necessary for their ends to engage the pivot pins of the anchoring points 82. The thumb screws 104 are then tightened to fix the lengths of the two arms 84, 86 and the screw 78 is turned to push the profile into the corner.

Figures 1 and 3 also show brick line blocks 120 that can be slid along the tube 12 and locked in any desired position. A brick line block 120 is shown in Figure 8 and can be seen to be machined from the same extrusion as the collars 14, 30 and 100. Two screws 122 in the corner projections 16 define the grooves for positioning of a brick line. It is important to note that the two projections 16 contact the comer of the comer brick of the course being laid so that as well as ensuring exact positioning of the brick line, the block 120 ensures perfectly straight and vertical corners.

An embodiment having an alternative tensioning arrangement 170 is shown in Figure 10 that is of simpler, and therefore less costly, construction, but is suitable only for external corners. The tensioning arrangement 170 may be used with the same lower and upper collars as used in Figure 1. Figure 10 also shows an improved uppermost collar 14 that is described below and is shown in more detail in Figure 12. To avoid excessive repetition, reference numerals with the same last two significant digits in the 100 series have been allocated to components of the tensioning arrangement of Figures 10 and 11 that are equivalent to components already described in relation to the embodiment of Figure 1.

The component of the tensioning arrangement 170 is a one-piece bracket that comprises a central section 174, serving the same purpose as the main body 74, and two lateral sections 184a and 186a inclined relative to the central that serve the same purpose as the first half of each of the two arms 84 and 86. The central section 174 receives, and acts as a bearing for, a cylinder 176 through which there passes a screw 178, at the end of a U-shaped prong 180 is mounted. The clamping arrangement is essentially the same as described by reference to Figure 1. Two arms 184b and 186b are connected to act as adjustable extensions of the lateral sections 184a and 186a. The end of each arm 184b, 186b is forms with a pin to be received in two holes of an anchoring plate 182 that is secured to the brickwork by means of a bolt, screw of pin that is inserted into a perpend between two bricks. Each of the arms has a keyhole slot to receive a clamping screw 196 that can be screwed at different positions in holes in the lateral sections 184a, 186a.

In use, the anchoring plates 182 are first mounted to the brickwork. The arms 184b and 186b are appropriately secured to the lateral sections 184a and 186a for their pins to line up with the holes if the anchoring plates 182. With the bracket 170 now securely attached to the brickwork, the screw 178 is turned to cause the prong 180 to push the profiled toward the brickwork comer. As previously, the cylinder 176 can rotate to ensure that a force is applied diagonally to the profile even if the central section 174 of the bracket is not at 45° to the sides of the brickwork corner.

Figures 10 and 12 show that to provide more sturdy location of the upper collar 14 relative to the brickwork comer, it may be fitted with a flat plate 210, made for example from stainless steel or aluminium, having two downtumed ears 212 having large area surfaces to abut the sides of the uppermost brick. The plate 210 also has a tongue 214 to rest on a comer top brick. The plate 210 is secured to the collar 14 by means of two screws inserted into the upper face of the collar 14 and received in keyhole-shaped slots 216.

In use, prior to sliding the collar 14 onto the profile 12, the plate 210 is secured to the collar 14. The latter has two screws pre-inserted into its top surface leaving a gap beneath the heads of the screws of sufficient thickness to receive the plate 210. The plate 210 is next slid diagonally onto the collar 14 after the heads of the screws have been passed through the larger ends of the keyholes 216. When the collar is next slid onto the profile 12, the plate is held captive and cannot move in any direction relative to the collar 14.

The collar 14 remains in this position even after more courses of brick have been paid with the tongue 214 trapper between two bricks. This will nevertheless not prevent the profile from being separated from the brickwork after completion of construction and the small hole in the rendering left by the tongue 214 can be filled with mortar after removal of the profile. Though the embodiments described above have two separate collars, one for the reference surfaces and the other for the adjustable abutments, it will be clear to the person skilled in the art that such features can be formed on a single elongate sleeve.