TOOL TO HANDLE PERFORATED BLOCKS FOR CONSTRUCTION

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The invention concerns the building sector. More specifically, it relates to a tool suitable for acting as a lifting handle for gripping and moving perforated construction blocks, particularly bricks.

Currently no specific tools for said use exist on the market. According to the known art, the building worker manually lifts the perforated blocks, one at a time with one single hand, inserting his fingers in the holes in the bricks. With the introduction of the new anti-seismic laws and new soundproofing requirements, the blocks most commonly used have a different configuration with respect to the traditional construction blocks, in particular the perforation percentage varies from 60% to 45%, hence the holes are considerably smaller and the weight increases up to 10-14 kg per piece. It is therefore increasingly difficult for the operator to lift the block with one single hand and he often has to use both hands, thus slowing down work.

Said manual technique has some limits or drawbacks: the operator's arm is greatly overloaded and in particular his hand and joints are subject to incorrect and harmful rotations. Furthermore the skin of the hand is also damaged, with the risk of abrasions and cuts.

If work gloves are used, they can easily tear and be damaged to the extent that they cannot be re-used, entailing a waste of material and money. The invention aims to overcome these limits, providing an L-shaped

handle, lightweight and easy to handle, which is inserted into the holes in the brick and allows the building worker, who grips it, to easily transport the block with one single hand as if it were a suitcase.

Said object is achieved with a tool to handle perforated blocks for construction characterized in that it comprises a handle, an holding prong and a stop element, wherein said holding prong is connected to the handle forming a right angle and the stop element is arranged so as to limit the insertion of the prong in the holes of the block to be moved. Advantageously the end of the holding prong is provided with teeth raised in the manner of hooks towards the handle, which improve anchoring of the end of the prong on the inner wall of the holes of the brick block.

According to another embodiment of the invention the holding prong comprises two blades positioned side by side and separated by a slit, each of which fits into a hole in the block.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the holding prong comprises two overlaid blades of equal length or different length, also suitable for fitting each into a hole of the block. To oblige the operator to grasp the handle far enough away from the holding prong, thus favouring the lever effect, a hand stop is provided to move the gripping area of the handle back from the holding prong.

The invention has numerous advantages: the L-shaped handle allows the bricklayer to handle the block with one single hand, without being forced to insert his fingers in the brick, thus improving his

working conditions: the tool prevents damage to the skin and hand joints and also to the upper part of the body which is no longer subject to harmful torsions.

Advantageously the operator always has one hand free with which he can shield himself if necessary in the event of difficulty, thus guaranteeing maximum safety for himself and for his fellow workers.

Advantageously far fewer gloves will be consumed resulting in economic and environmental saving.

A further advantage concerns the operating technique: the invention allows the bricklayer to position the brick with one single movement adjacent to the block previously laid, so that the joint between the two elements is less than one centimetre, as required by the new anti-seismic and soundproofing laws. Furthermore, a spirit level can also be arranged on the tool to ensure level positioning of the brick in the wall under construction.

The advantages of the invention will become more evident from the following description which illustrates a preferred embodiment, by way of non-limiting example, and with the help of the figures in which:

Fig. 1 shows an overhead view of the L-shaped handle according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a lateral view of said handle;

Figs. 3, 5 show a lateral view of further embodiments of the handle;

Fig. 4 shows a lateral view of the handle inserted in a brick block ready for being lifted by the operator; Fig. 6 shows an overhead view of the L-shaped handle according to

the embodiment of Figure 1 ;

Fig. 7-12 show front and lateral views of further embodiments of the handle according to the invention.

Referring to the Figures, the tool basically comprises a handle 1 or grip, an holding prong 2 or blade, and a stop element 3 or shoulder.

The handle 1 comprises a metal tube which is hollow to make the product lightweight and ensure comfortable use of the handle. It can also be produced with a rubber coating, knurled and anatomical and in any case such as to facilitate gripping. Perpendicular to said handle is the holding prong 2, which gives the tool a characteristic L shape. It is made mainly of steel and is of suitable width, in any case narrower than the hole of the generic brick. Said prong can have different thicknesses, can be double and have a central separation slit, as illustrated in fig. 1 , offering several slot-in and working solutions.

The prong terminates in teeth 4, or similar forms, able to improve gripping of the inner walls of the brick block B. For said purpose the teeth are bent slightly in the manner of a hook towards the handle 1.

The holding prong can also comprise two overlaid blades, as illustrated in Figs. 9-12, separated by an appropriate space, obtained by means of spacers 8, to permit the insertion of the two blades in two adjacent holes of the brick.

Said blades can be of equal length, as shown in Fig. 10, or of different length as illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12. At least one prong can have anchoring teeth 4 at the end and at

least one intermediate serration 6 protruding towards the separation space between the blades.

Parallel to the handle 1 and perpendicular to the prong 2, on which it is fixed, is a stop plate 3, which limits insertion of the prong into the hole in the brick block, protecting the operator's hand from contact with the block and guaranteeing correct insertion of the prong.

With reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 5 said stop element 3 can be produced in different shapes and by adopting different equivalent technical solutions. If the stop element 3 is obtained with an elongated and fairly wide plate, it can also perform another function, i.e. that of controlling the level positioning of the brick lifted and placed on the wall under construction, with the help of a spirit level (not shown) which could be combined with the same stop plate. Moreover said stop plate maintains the function of preventing the bricklayer's hand from coming into contact with the brick.

A hand stop element 7 can be provided on the handle 1 , as illustrated in Fig. 7-12, which makes the area of the handle nearest the holding prong 2 unusable and obliges the user to grasp the handle in a gripping area away from said prong, thus increasing the lever effect which establishes the connection between block and handle. With reference to fig. 3 and 5, said holding prong 2 can be of the removable type, i.e. connected to the handle 1 via quick connection means, for example two bolts 5, so that it can be easily interchanged and therefore the same handle can be adapted and re-used for the

many different hole sizes of the bricks on the market.

In order to limit the weight, it is possible to produce the handle/stop plate structure also in one single plastic part, as illustrated in the variation of figure 5. In use, the L-shaped tool according to the invention is gripped like a handle with one single hand. The handle 1 is gripped and the holding prong 2 is inserted into one of the holes in the brick block B, until the stop element 3 rests on the face of the block. The prong must be inserted near the perimeter of the block, so that the weight of the latter improves the levering effect with respect to the plane of the prong and the rotation causes the teeth 4 to grip the inner wall of the hole.

With the handle blocked as above, the brick block can be handled deftly with one single hand. The block can therefore be lifted and positioned in the required place, using the stop plate provided with level, or in any case a suitable instrument, to ensure correct levelling.

If the holding prong comprises two overlaid blades, they are to be inserted in opposite sides of the walls that define the holes of the brick blocks, so as to contain or grip the wall between them and so as to give the handle the function of lever lifting and the function of gripping the partition walls of the holes of the block.

As is evident to a skilled man, the invention has been described with reference to mainly anti-seismic perforated bricks, but it can be used more generally with any type of perforated brick or construction block made of other material, of any size, always achieving the advantages highlighted above.