Masonry block and building panels

Claim 1

A masonry block capable of cooperating with other like blocks to provide a structural panel, said block having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and including substantially parallel and smooth top and bottom faces and two end faces, said block having an axial plane extending perpendicularly of said top and bottom faces and extending longitudinally of said block subdividing the width of said block into two areas of substantially equal dimension, a central core extending between and substantially perpendicularly to the top and bottom faces and crosssectionally shaped so that the portion thereof on one side of said plane is the mirror image of and has the same crosssectional area as the portion thereof on the other side of said plane, a recess formed in each end face and extending between said top and bottom faces, each of said recesses having the same crosssectional dimension and having a combined cross-sectional shape and area substantially the same as those of the central core, and four satellite cores positioned with a first two between the central core and the recess in one end face of the block an a second two between the central core and the recess in the other end face of the block, each satellite core having substantially the same crosssectional area and extending between and substantially perpendicularly to said top and bottom faces, the satellite cores being separated from each other, the central core and the recess within the block by material of construction of the block, one member of each of said first and second two satellite cores being positioned on one side of said axial plane and each having substantially the same cross-sectional shape and the other member of each of said first and second two satellite cores being positioned on the other side of said axial plane and each having the same cross-sectional shape which is the mirror image of the cross-sectional shape of said one member, the central core having a cross-sectional shape consisting of two part-circular portions the ends of which are joined by straight line portions, the two part-circular portions of the central core having the same centre and radius of curvature, the centre of curvature of the two part-circular portions being located in said axial plane, the straight line portions of said central core being parallel to the longitudinal edges of the block, each of the satellite cores having a cross-sectional shape which includes a semicircular portion and a diametrical portion joining the ends of the semicircular portion, the diametrical portions of said satellite cores being parallel to the longitudinal edges of the block, the one members of said first and second two satellite cores having their diametrical portions in the same straight line and in straight line alignment with one of the straight line portions of the central core, the other members of said first and second two satellite cores having their diametrical portions in the same straight line and in straight line alignment with the other straight portion of the central core, each recess having a crosss-sectional shape including a partcircular portion of substantially the same radius of curvature and circumferential length as the part-circular portions of said central core and having its centre of curvature located at the bisection of the plane of the respective end face and said axial plane, the semicircular portions of the satellite cores projecting inwardly of the longitudinal areas of the block and the radius of curvature thereof being such that the furthest diStance between the adjacent longitudinal edge of the block perpendicularly thereto and the semicircular portion is substantially equal to the radius of curvature of the partcircular portions of the central core and the part-circular portion of the recesses, the total cross-sectional area of said satellite cores being less than the cross-sectional area of said central core, the ends of said diametrical portions of said first two satellite cores closer to their adjacent recess lying in a plane which extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal edges of the block, the ends of said diametrical portions of said second two satellite cores closer to their adjacent recess lying in a plane which extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal edges of the block, the centres of curvature of the semicircular portion of said first two satellite cores being located substantially onequarter of the length of the block from their adjacent end face, the centres of curvature of the semicircular portions of said second two satellite cores being located substantially onequarter of the length of the block from their adjacent end face.