Thin Brick Panel Assembly System

Abstract

A brick veneer assembly having improved installation capabilities, improved accommodation of brick tolerances, improved moisture control, simple assembly, and lower cost relative to the prior art. A plurality of bricks having a mortised groove providing both a locating advantage and a locking mechanism are provided. An easy to handle support panel provides horizontal rows of shaped receptors, each of which are alternately aligned vertically, and each of which have resilient retainers integrated within the walls of said receptors to engage the brick.

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       17 . A brick panel assembly comprising:
 a. a support frame;   b. a plurality of brick receptors formed in the support frame;   c. one or more retainers associated with each receptor;   d. a plurality of bricks contained within the support frame, each brick having one or more grooves formed in the surface thereof; and   e. wherein each brick is disposed within a receptor and locked in place within the receptor by one or more retainers projecting into the one or more grooves formed in the brick.   
   
   
       18 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 17  including mortar disposed between adjacent bricks; 
   
   
       19 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 17  wherein the support frame includes a backing and the respective bricks are spaced from the backing; 
   
   
       20 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 19  including mortar disposed between the brick and the backing. 
   
   
       21 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 19  including mortar disposed between adjacent bricks, and between respective bricks and the backing. 
   
   
       22 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 21  wherein at least a portion of the mortar disposed between adjacent bricks is connected to at least a portion of the mortar disposed between the bricks and the backing. 
   
   
       23 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 17  wherein one or more of the retainers are resiliently flexible. 
   
   
       24 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 17  wherein the receptors form a grid-like pattern on the support frame, and the receptors are formed by generally horizontally-spaced walls intersecting generally vertically-spaced walls. 
   
   
       25 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 24  wherein the walls are formed integrally within the support frame. 
   
   
       26 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 24  wherein the retainers project from one or more of the walls. 
   
   
       27 . The brick assembly of  claim 24  wherein the retainers are integrally formed with one or more of the walls. 
   
   
       28 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 17  wherein the support frame includes a backing, and wherein a plurality of ribs project from a rear side of the backing. 
   
   
       29 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 28  including a series of moisture channels adjacent the backing. 
   
   
       30 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 28  wherein the ribs are diagonally disposed on the backing. 
   
   
       31 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 28  wherein the ribs are integrally formed with the backing. 
   
   
       32 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 29  wherein the ribs are spaced apart to form the moisture channels. 
   
   
       33 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 17  wherein the bricks are thin bricks. 
   
   
       34 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 33  each thin brick includes a top edge, a bottom edge, and a pair of opposed side edges and wherein each thin brick includes grooves formed in the top and bottom edges. 
   
   
       35 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 17  wherein the support frame includes a periphery that includes one or more tabs and one or more recesses to facilitate interconnecting one or more support frames on a wall. 
   
   
       36 . A brick panel assembly comprising:
 a. a support frame including a backing;   b. the support frame including an attaching structure for receiving and holding a series of bricks; and   c. a series of moisture channels disposed adjacent the backing for channeling moisture.   
   
   
       37 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 36  wherein a series of ribs are disposed on the backing; 
   
   
       38 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 37  wherein the ribs are spaced apart to form the moisture channels. 
   
   
       39 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 37  wherein the ribs extend diagonally on the backing. 
   
   
       40 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 37  wherein the ribs are integrally formed with the backing. 
   
   
       41 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 36  wherein each brick is spaced from the backing and wherein mortar is disposed between adjacent bricks and between the bricks and the backing. 
   
   
       42 . A brick panel assembly comprising:
 a. a support frame;   b. a backing extending across at least a portion of the support frame;   c. the support frame including an attaching structure for receiving and holding a series of bricks; and   d. wherein the series of bricks are held and supported in spaced apart relationship to the backing.   
   
   
       43 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 42  including a series of ribs disposed adjacent the backing for strengthening the backing and support frame. 
   
   
       44 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 42  wherein the ribs are diagonally disposed on the backing. 
   
   
       45 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 43  wherein the ribs are spaced apart to form moisture channels for channeling moisture. 
   
   
       46 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 43  wherein each of the respective bricks includes one or more grooves disposed on one or more surfaces thereof, wherein each respective brick is attached to the support frame by a retainer projecting into a groove on the brick. 
   
   
       47 . The brick panel assembly of  claim 42  including a series of openings formed in the backing. 
   
   
       48 . A method of forming an brick panel assembly comprising:
 a. placing a plurality of bricks into a support frame, wherein each brick is disposed within a receptor formed in the support frame;   b. locking the respective bricks in place by projecting one or more retainers of the support frame into one or more grooves formed into one or more surfaces of the bricks.   
   
   
       49 . The method of  claim 48  wherein projecting a retainer into a groove includes engaging at least one retainer with a brick, and urging the brick against the retainer causing the retainer to flex and move into the groove. 
   
   
       50 . The method of  claim 48  including attaching the support frame to a building wall. 
   
   
       51 . The method of  claim 50  including attaching more than one support frame to the building wall and by interconnecting the support frames by engaging tabs and recesses of a first panel with tabs and recesses of a second panel. 
   
   
       52 . The method of  claim 48  including securing the support frame to a building wall and thereafter placing the bricks into the support frame. 
   
   
       53 . The method of  claim 48  including placing mortar between adjacent bricks. 
   
   
       54 . The method of  claim 48  including spacing the bricks from a backing forming a part of the support frame. 
   
   
       55 . The method of  claim 54  including placing mortar between the bricks and the backing. 
   
   
       56 . The method of  claim 55  including placing mortar between adjacent bricks, said mortar connecting with the mortar between the bricks and the backing.