Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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RETAINING WALL BLOCK WITH CLIPPABLE WINGS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to retaining wall blocks. More
specifically, the invention relates to retaining wa!! blocks that can easily
be adapted for
to use to construct a straight, curved or serpentine wall.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Concrete blocks are often used in the construction of retaining walls and the
~.5 like. For example, they are particularly suitable for landscaping around
residential or
commercial structures to retain and preserve the surrounding soil while
maintaining
the aesthetics of the area.
A problem with the existing blocks is that they usually have parallel
sidewalk.
2 o Of course, it is always possible to place them at an angle with respect to
each other in
order to build up a curved and/or serpentine wall. However, in such a case,
their
sidewalls are not adjacent (only their front or rear edges are adjacent to
each other)
and such may cause a problem of stability in addition to reducing the
efficiency of the
wall to retain earth, especially in the case of rain. US patents Nos 6,149,352
25 (MacDonald), 5,598,679 (Orton et al.), 5,282,700 (Radrique), 6,152,655
(Hull) and
6,082,933 (Maguire et al.) show such retaining blocks.
To remedy this major drawback regarding this type of block, blocks have been
devised which have severabie elements intended for adjusting the shape of the
block,
3 o and, in some cases, to facilitate the construction of serpentine walls
while using a
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single building element. For example, wall blocks having rear wings that may
be
clipped whenever required, are well known in the art. These blocks allow the
construction of a curved wall. Even if the design of such blocks often allows
to form
inward curves or outward curves in a wall, it rarefy offers the possibility to
construct an
efficient serpentine wall. As examples of such blocks, reference can be made
to US
patents Nos 6,168,354 (Martin et al.), 5,941,042 {Dueck), 5,865,006 {Dawson),
5,795,105 (Goth), 5,711,129 {Woolford), 5,709,062 (Woolford), 5,704,183
{Woolford),
5,653,558 (Price), 5,505,034 (Dueck), 5,490,363 (Woolford), 4,920,712 (Dean,
Jr.),
US patent Application No 2009!0004822 {Martin et a(.) and International patent
1 o Application WO 94/08097 {Sievert),
Moreover, most of existing retaining blacks are generally provided with a
protruding structure intended to help anchor the block in position after
construction.
However, this protruding structure often restricts the placement of the
retaining block
and its movements relative to the adjacent blocks.
Therefore, there is a need for retaining wail blocks having clippable wings on
both their front and rear walls to allow the construction of a curved wall or
a
serpentine wall whenever desired.
SUMMARY OF THE tNVENTiON
An object of the present invention is to provide a stackable retaining wall
block
allowing the construction of a straight, curved or serpentine wail.
In accordance with the invention, this object is achieved with a retaining
wall
block for use to construct a straight, curved or serpentine wall, which block
comprises
a front surface, a rear surface and a pair of opposite side surfaces defining
four
vertical edges, a top surface and a bottom surface. Each of the side surfaces
is V-
3 a shaped and projects outwardly when seen in top or bottom plan view,
thereby giving a
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general truncated diamond-shaped to the top and bottom surfaces of said block.
Each
of the opposite side surfaces is provided with two integral clippable wings.
These
clippable wings extend along the vertical edges of the corresponding side
surface,
respectively, each clippable wing projecting outwardly from the corresponding
side
surface so as to extend laterally at least as fiar away as the corresponding
side
surface. 6n use, the wings may be kept or cut depending on the shape selected
forthe
wall to be erected.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a concrete splittable
block
comprising two retaining wall blocks as defined above and having their front
surfaces
in integral adjacent relationship. The two retaining wall blocks are separable
by
splitting their front surfaces, thereby giving a rough aspect to their front
surfaces.
The present invention and its advantages will be better understood upon
reading the following non-restrictive description of several preferred
embodiments
thereof made with reference to the appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
2 o Fig. 1 is a perspective front view of a retaining wal! block according to
a first
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a concrete splittable block comprising two
retaining wall blocks as shown in Fig. 1.
Figs. 3 and 4 are top plan views of a retaining wall block as shown in Fig. 1,
a
clippable wing of which has been removed.
Fig. 5 is a top plan view of three retaining wall blocks as shown in Fig. 1,
the
3 o rear wings of the central block having been clipped to form a convex wall.
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Fig. 6 is a top plan view of four retaining wall Mocks as shown in Fig. 1, the
front wings of these blocks having been clipped to form a concave wall.
Fig. 7 is a top plan view of a plurality of retaining wall blocks as shown in
Fig. 1
stacked one above the other to form a concave curved wall.
Fig. 8 is a side elevated view of two stacked retaining wail blocks according
to
the first preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in Figures 1
to 7.
Fig. 9 is a top plan view of two stacked retaining wall blocks according to a
second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a top plan view of two stacked retaining wall blocks according to a
third preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 11 is a perspective front view of a retaining wall block according to a
fourth
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
2 0 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Fig. 1 shows a retaining wall block 1 according to a first preferred
embodiment
of the invention for use to construct a straight, curved or serpentine wall.
The retaining
wall block comprises a front surface 31, a rear surface 41 and a pair of
opposite side
2 5 surfaces 3, 5 defining four vertical edges, and a top surface 11 and a
bottom surface
21. Each of the side surfaces 3, 5 is V-shaped and projects outwardly when
seen in
top or bottom plan view, thereby giving a general truncated diamond-shaped to
the
top and bottom surfaces 11, 21 of the retaining wail block 1. Each of the
opposite side
surfaces 3, 5 is provided with two integral clippab(e wings 13, 23 and 15, 25
3 0 respectively. The clippable wings 13, 23, 15, 25 extend along the vertical
edges of the
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corresponding side surface 3, 5, respectively, and project outwardly from the
corresponding side surface 3, 5 so as to extend laterally at least as far away
as the
corresponding side surface 3, 5. The wings 13, 23 and 15, 25 are sized in such
a
manner as to project to the same extent on both sides of the retaining wail
block 7 .
5 Accordingly, the blocks 1 may be positioned side by side in adjacent
relationship to
form a rectilinear wall as shown in the bottom portion of Fig. 5. in such a
case, each
retaining wall block 1 has its wings 13, 23 in contact with the wings 15, 25
of the
adjacent block and vice versa (see again the bottom portion of Fig. 6).
zo Each clippable wing 13, 23, 15, 25 is preferably provided with a notch 19
parallel to the adjacent vertical edge of the retaining wall block 1 for
facilitating
clipping of said wing from the vertical edge. Preferably, the notch 19 extends
along
the corresponding side surface of the retaining wail block 1. Thanks to the
presence
of the notch 19, the wing can be easily clipped by a hammer or a chisel.
Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, each of the clippable wings 13, 23, 15, 25 is
provided with an external sloping contact surface 53, 63, 55, 65, positioned
laterally
with respect to the retaining wall block 1. Each sloping contact surface is in
alignment
with a portion of the adjacent V-shaped side surface that is opposite to the
clippable
2 o wing on the same side surface so as to allow correct juxtaposition of the
retaining wall
blocks when at least one of the clippable wings is clipped (as better seen on
Fig. 5).
Preferably, each of said V-shaped side surfaces 3, 5 is provided with an apex
a, which
is preferably of about 160 degrees when seen in top or bottom plan view for
allowing
such a juxtaposition (see Fig. 4). Due to the fact that the block 1 may be of
different
2 s sizes and shapes (square or rectangular) andlor provided with wings of a
given width,
the apex of the V-shaped side surfaces may, of course, be modified so as to
allow two
adjacent portions of the V-shaped side surfaces of two adjacent blocks to be
in
alignment. Moreover, in order to allow the construction of a wall having a
smaller or
greater curvature radius, the retaining wall block 1 may be provided with
clippable
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wings more or less wide, thereby, the apex of the V-shaped side surfaces and
the
sloping contact surfaces could be slightly adapted.
Clipping one or both wings at one end of the block makes it possible to
position
the block at an angle to the adjacent and similarly clipped block, with the
tapering side
walls of the adjacent blocks remaining in contact. F'or example, Fig. 5 shows
a
concave wall constructed from three retaining wall blocks 1, the two rear
wings 23, 25
of the central retaining wall block 1 having been clipped. As can be seen, the
sloping
contact surfaces 53, 55 of the front wings 13, 15 of the central block 1 are
in integral
to contact with the adjacent sloping contact surfaces 53, 55 of the front
wings 13, 15 of
the adjacent retaining wall blocks.
Fig. 6 shows another wall, a portion of which is convex and another portion is
straight. The straight wall portion is constructed by placing several
retaining wall
blocks 1 side by side, with the wings of the adjacent blocks remaining in
contact at
both sides and both ends of the block 1. To construct the convex wall portion,
the
front wings 13, 15 of the different blocks 1 must be clipped prior to placing
the blocks
side by side.
2 o Thus, Figs. 5 and 6 show that, thanks to the V- shape of the side surfaces
3, 5
and the removal of the suitable clippable wings, one can construct a
serpentine wall, a
curvilinear wall, a convex or a concave wail, in stacking up rows of retaining
wall
blocks 1. Moreover, each side surface of all the blocks is still in adjacent
relationship
with the side surface of the adjacent block, thus providing a better stability
of the wall
2 5 in addition to improve the efficiency of the wall to retain earth,
especially in the case of
rain.
Referring again to Fig. 1, the top and the bottom surfaces 11, 21 are each
provided with locking elements 7, 9 to allow said retaining wail block 1 to be
stacked
3 o above other similar blocks to form a retaining wall.
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In the first preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in Figs. 1
and
8, the locking elements 7, 0 include a tongue 7 projecting transversally on
the top
surface 11 of the retaining wall block 1 and a groove 9 extending
transversally in the
bottom surface 21 of the block 1 for receiving the tongue ~ of another similar
block
positioned below. The groove 9 must be wider than the tongue 7 for allowing an
angular orientation of the block 1 with respect to the other similar block
positioned
below, as shown on Fig. 7.
Zo In a second preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 9, the locking elements 7, 9
include a diamond-shaped connector 7 of a given width projecting centrally on
the top
surface 11 of the retaining wall block 1 and a groove 9 extending
transversally in the
bottom surface 21 of the block for receiving the diamond-shaped connector 7 of
another similar block positioned below. The diamond-shaped connector 7 allows
an
angular orientation of the retaining wall block 1 with respect to the other
one
positioned below.
In a third preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 10, the locking elements 7, 9
include two circular connectors 7 transversally and centrally aligned and
projecting on
2 o the top surface 11 of the retaining wall block and a groove 9 extending
transversally in
the bottom surface 21 of the block 1 for receiving the circular connectors of
others
similar blocks positioned below for allowing an angular orientation of the
block with
respect to the others positioned below.
In a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Fig.
11,
the retaining wall block 1 is hollow-shaped to make it lighter and thus easier
to
handle. In this illustrated embodiment, the locking elements 7, 9 include a
partial
tongue 7, as in the first preferred embodiment.
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Obviously, any other types of suitable locking elements to retain the blocks
in
stacked relationship, such those known in the art, could be considered.
in practice, the retaining wall block is preferably made of concrete.
Moreover,
its front surfiace 31 is preferably provided with a rough aspect, as can be
seen in Figs.
1 and 3, thereby giving a better appearance to the retaining wail block 1 and
consequently to the wall to be constructed.
Referring again to Fig. 1, the front surface 31 of the retaining wall block 1
to preferably has a top edge, a bottom edge and two sidE; edges which are all
bevelled
for providing an attractive look to the retaining wall block 1.
Fig. 2 shows a splittable block 10 comprising tvvo retaining wall blocks 1.
The
two retaining wall blocks 1 have their front surfaces 31 in integral adjacent
relationship. So, the two retaining wall blocks are separable by splitting
their front
surfaces 31, thereby giving a rough aspect to the front surfaces 31. Moreover,
given
the fact that the edges of the front surface 31 are bevelled, it becomes
easier to split
the block 10.
2 o Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been
described
in detail herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be
understood
that the invention is not limited to these precise embodiments and that
various
changes and modifications may be effected therein without departing from the
scope
or spirit of the present invention.
