Brick with internal support structure

Abstract

Shown and described herein are various embodiments for a brick having one or more honeycomb assemblies encased within a concrete encasement, each of said honeycomb assemblies having a top plate, a bottom plate spaced apart from and parallel to the top plate, and a honeycomb layer positioned between the top plate and the bottom plate. The brick may also have a side rib extending outwardly from a first end of the brick and a side notch sized to accept the side rib and placed on an opposing second end of the brick. Some embodiments may also have a top rib extending upwardly from a top surface of the brick and a bottom notch sized to accept the top rib and placed on a bottom surface of the brick

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A brick comprising:
 one or more honeycomb assemblies encased within a concrete encasement, each of said honeycomb assemblies comprising
 a top plate, 
 a bottom plate spaced apart from and parallel to the top plate, and 
 a honeycomb layer positioned between the top plate and the bottom plate. 
   
     
     
         2 . The brick of  claim 1  wherein:
 the honeycomb layer comprises a plurality of cavities where each cavity has a central axis which is oriented vertically. 
 
     
     
         3 . The brick of  claim 1  wherein:
 the honeycomb layer comprises a plurality of cavities where each cavity has a central axis and the central axis of each cavity is parallel to one another. 
 
     
     
         4 . The brick of  claim 1  wherein:
 the honeycomb layer comprises a plurality of cavities where each cavity has at least one vertical wall, where each cavity shares a vertical wall with an adjacent cavity. 
 
     
     
         5 . The brick of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a side rib extending outwardly from a first end of the brick; and 
 a side notch sized to accept the side rib and placed on an opposing second end of the brick. 
 
     
     
         6 . The brick of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a top rib extending upwardly from a top surface of the brick; and 
 a bottom notch sized to accept the top rib and placed on a bottom surface of the brick. 
 
     
     
         7 . The brick of  claim 6  further comprising:
 a pipe slot placed within the top rib. 
 
     
     
         8 . A brick comprising:
 a hollow center;   a first honeycomb assembly placed within the hollow center;   a second honeycomb assembly placed within the hollow center and positioned directly atop the first honeycomb assembly.   
     
     
         9 . The brick of  claim 8  wherein:
 the first and second honeycomb assemblies each comprise
 a top plate, 
 a bottom plate spaced apart from and parallel to the top plate, and 
 a honeycomb layer positioned between the top plate and the bottom plate. 
 
 
     
     
         10 . The brick of  claim 9  wherein:
 the top plate of the first honeycomb assembly is in contact with the bottom plate of the second honeycomb assembly. 
 
     
     
         11 . The brick of  claim 9  wherein:
 the top plate and bottom plate of both the first and second honeycomb assemblies are each oriented horizontally. 
 
     
     
         12 . The brick of  claim 9  wherein:
 the honeycomb layer for both the first and second honeycomb assemblies comprises a plurality of hexagonal tubes, each tube having a central axis which is oriented vertically. 
 
     
     
         13 . The brick of  claim 12  further comprising:
 a side rib running vertically along on first end of the brick; and 
 a side notch sized to accept the side rib and running vertically along a second end of the brick. 
 
     
     
         14 . The brick of  claim 13  wherein:
 the axes of the hexagonal tubes are each parallel to the side rib. 
 
     
     
         15 . The brick of  claim 13  further comprising:
 a top rib which extends along a top surface of the brick to join with the side rib at a right angle. 
 
     
     
         16 . A brick comprising:
 a first honeycomb assembly comprising
 a first top plate, 
 a first bottom plate spaced apart from and parallel to the first top plate, and 
 a first honeycomb layer positioned between the first top plate and the first bottom plate; 
   a second honeycomb assembly comprising
 a second top plate, 
 a second bottom plate spaced apart from and parallel to the second top plate, and 
 a second honeycomb layer positioned between the second top plate and the second bottom plate; and 
   a concrete encasement layer which completely surrounds the first and second honeycomb assemblies; and   wherein the first and second honeycomb assemblies are placed atop one another such that the first top plate is in contact with the second bottom plate.   
     
     
         17 . The brick of  claim 16  further comprising:
 a side rib extending outwardly from a first end of the brick; 
 a side notch sized to accept the side rib and placed on an opposing second end of the brick; 
 a top rib running horizontally along a top surface of the brick; and 
 a bottom notch sized to accept the top rib and placed on a bottom surface of the brick. 
 
     
     
         18 . The brick of  claim 17  wherein:
 the side rib and side notch each have a rectangular shape. 
 
     
     
         19 . The brick of  claim 17  wherein:
 the top rib comprises a strip of the concrete encasement layer which extends upwardly. 
 
     
     
         20 . The brick of  claim 17  further comprising:
 a pipe slot placed within the top rib.