Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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RETAINING WALL BLOCK
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a building block and a
block wall construction.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Retaining walls to prevent earth embankments from
sliding and slumping are well known. Conventional walls
are constructed from materials such as wood ties or
blocks of stone or concrete. The rows of a wall are
often offset with respect to one another to form a wall
face that is inclined with respect to the vertical.
Retaining walls formed from interconnectable blocks
are particularly popular as they are sturdy and
relatively easy to construct. Many block designs and
wall configurations have been developed. Examples of
such designs are shown in the following patents:
United States Patent 2,892,340 to Fort
United States Patent 4,671,706 to Giardini
United States Patent 4,825,619 to Forsberg
United States Patent 4,860,505 to Bender
United States Patent 4,920,712 to Dean, Jr.
United States Patent 4,964,761 to Rossi
United States Patent 4,965,979 to Larrivee et al.
United States Patent 5,017,049 to Sievert
United States Patent 5,044,834 to Janopaul, Jr.
United States Patent 5,161,918 to Hodel
The wall blocks and wall constructions disclosed in
the foregoing patents generally relate to blocks that use
a system of drilled holes and aligning pegs or a tongue
and groove arrangement to position and interlock together
the individual blocks of the retaining wall.
Tongue and groove interlocking blocks suffer from
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impossible to form into a curved configuration without
using specially shaped blocks. It is often necessary to
have a curve in a retaining wall to accommodate curves in
the terrain.
Blocks that use drilled holes and aligning pegs tend
to be time consuming to interfit together. The
additional cost of the aligning pegs and specially
drilled holes in blocks makes the blocks more expensive
to manufacture. The result is a retaining wall that is
costlier to construct in terms of both time and
materials.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides'a wall block that
addresses the foregoing disadvantages of the prior art.
The wall blocks of the present invention can be quickly
and efficiently assembled into a straight or curved
retaining wall using a single block design.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a block
for forming a retaining wall comprising:
a generally parallelepiped body with front, rear,
top, bottom and side surfaces and a central internal
cavity with internal walls;
projecting means integrally formed on the bottom
surface adjacent the front surface and positioned for
protruding into the central cavity of at least one other
block in a wall formed from the blocks, the projecting
means being engagable against the internal walls of the
open cavity to position the block in the retaining wall.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides
a retaining wall comprising:
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a lower tier of individual blocks arranged side by
side, each block having a body with an internal cavity
having internal walls;
an upper tier of individual blocks arranged side by
side, each block having integrally formed projecting
means formed on a lower surface of the block;
the upper tier being positioned on top of the lower
tier with the projecting means of the upper tier being
inserted_within corresponding internal cavities of the
lower tier to abut an internal wall of the cavities
thereby positioning the blocks of the upper and lower
tiers with respect to each other, the projecting means
and the internal cavity being dimensioned and positioned
such that the blocks of the upper tier are offset
rearwardly and laterally from the blocks of the lower
tier.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Aspects of the present invention are illustrated,
merely by way of example, in the accompanying drawings,
in which:
Figure 1 is a plan view of a block according to the .w
present invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the block of
Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a plan view of a second embodiment of
the block of the present invention;
Figure 4 is a side elevation view of the block of
Figure 3;
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Figure 5 is a perspective view of the block of Figure 1 and 2;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a straight retaining wall constructed using
the blocks
of Figure 1 and 2;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of a curved retaining wall constructed using
the blocks
of Figure 1;
Figure 8 is a plan view of a third embodiment of the block of the present
invention;
Figure 9 is a side elevation view of the block of Figure 8; and
Figure 10 is a plan view of a section of a wall constructed from the blocks of
Figure
3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figures 1, 2 and 5 illustrate a first embodiment of a block 2 for forming a
retaining
wall. The block includes spaced front and rear wall portions 4 and 6,
respectively. A
pair of sidewalk 8 extend between and join the front and rear wall portions to
define a
central open cavity 10 through the block having internal side walls 11,
internal front wall
13 and internal rear wall 17. The block has an upper surface 12 and a lower
surface 14.
The block is preferably formed from concrete and the fact of front wall
portion 4 is
formed with a roughened pattern 16. The block has a generally trapezoidal
shape in plan
view with the front wall portion 4 wider than the rear wall portion 6.
Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a second embodiment of the block having a greater
overall
length than the first embodiment. A reinforcing web 15 is provided between the
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sidewalls 8 at substantially mid-length along the
sidewalls. An internal cavity 10 is formed between web
15 and the front wall portion 4. The blocks of Figures 3
and 4 are used in larger retaining walls as their
additional size and mass allows them to support a greater
bulk of soil.
The blocks of the present invention are filled with
loose angular gravel and dirt poured into open cavities
once the blocks are assembled into a wall structure to
10 anchor the wall in place. The gravel or dirt permits
free drainage of water through the interior of the wall.
Both embodiments of the block are provided with
projecting means in the form of a pair of spaced,
cylindrical extensions or knobs 18. Knobs 18 are
integrally formed on the lower surface 14 of sidewalls 8
adjacent front wall portion 4. Knobs 18 are positioned
on lower surface 14 to protrude into the open cavity 10
of an underlying block when the blocks are stacked atop
each other to form a retaining wall as illustrated in
Figures 6 and 7. Knobs 18 of an upper block are abutted
against an internal side wall 11 and internal front wall
13 of a cavity 10 in a lower block to quickly position
the blocks in a wall structure. Knobs 18 extend slightly
ahead of cavity 10 by a distance 20 such that the front
wall portion 4 of an upper block is offset rearwardly
from the front wall portion of an underlying block when
the blocks are stacked one atop the other. This is the
case even when knob 18 is directly engaging internal
front wall 13. This offset distance can be increased by
moving knob 18 toward internal rear wall 17. In
addition, it is necessary to laterally offset or stagger
an upper block to stack it atop a pair of underlying
blocks. This staggered block arrangement permits each
knob 8 of the upper block to fit within the cavities 10
of two underlying blocks.
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Figure 6 illustrates a retaining wall constructed
with the blocks of Figures 1, 2 and 5. A lower tier 25
of individual blocks 2 are arranged side by side. An
upper tier 26 of blocks is positioned on top of lower
tier 25 such that knobs 18 of the upper tier are inserted
within corresponding internal cavities 10 of the lower
tier to abut an internal wall 11 of the cavities thereby
positioning the blocks of the upper and lower tiers with
respect to each other. The blocks of the upper tier are
offset rearwardly and laterally from the blocks of the
lower tier.
A retaining wall constructed according to the
foregoing description is formed from identical blocks 2.
The blocks can be arranged in a straight line as
illustrated in Figure 6. Figure 7 illustrates a
retaining wall in which the blocks are arranged in an
arcuate configuration. Rear wall portion 6 of the block
includes frangible extensions 28 that extend beyond
sidewalls 8. Frangible extensions 28 can be broken off
along pre-formed fault lines 29 so that each block is
reduced to essentially an arcuate segment. Each block
can then be rotated to a desired angle to form a curved
retaining wall as shown in Figure 7. The rounded surface
of knobs 18 accommodate any curve in the retaining wall
while maintaining consistent rearward and lateral offset
in relation to other blocks.
Figures 8 and 9 illustrate a third embodiment of the
block of the present invention intended for forming
straight retaining walls. The block of Figures 8 and 9
is formed with essentially rectangular knobs 18 that are
dimensioned for a close fit between the front and rear
walls 13 and 17, respectively, of an essentially
rectangular internal cavity 10 of another block.
Rectangular knobs 18 are offset rearwardly from front
wall portion 4 and behind the front wall 13 of internal
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cavity 10 unlike in the blocks of Figures 1 to 4 where knobs 18 extend
forwardly of the
cavity front wall. The result is that the blocks of Figure 8 and 9 must be
oriented such
that the knobs 18 are on the uppermost surface in order to construct a wall
that is inclined
at an angle to the vertical into the material to be held back by the wall.
This
arrangement is preferred as it allows the user to see knobs 18 of a lower
block when
aligning an upper block cavity 10 over the close fitting knobs. Knobs 18
permit lateral
adjustment of the blocks with respect to each other, however, forward or
rearward
movement of individual blocks is prevented.
Figure 10 illustrates a plan section of a wall constructed from blocks of the
embodiment illustrated in Figure 3. The projecting means 18 of upper tier
blocks 26a
and 26b are engageable against the internal walls of open cavity 10 of lower
tier block
25a, where all frangible extensions 28 have been broken off.
Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of
example
for purposes of clarity and understanding, it will be apparent that certain
changes and
modifications may be practised within the scope of the appended claims.
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