U.S. patent application number 16/770284 was filed with the patent office on 2020-10-01 for thin stabilized segmental wall blocks, soil reinforcing system, and methods.
This patent application is currently assigned to Tensar International Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Tensar International Corporation. Invention is credited to Willie Liew, Stephen A. Luptak, Andres F. Peralta, Aaron D. Smith, Kord J. Wissmann.
Application Number | 20200308800 16/770284 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000004927231 |
Filed Date | 2020-10-01 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200308800 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liew; Willie ; et
al. |
October 1, 2020 |
THIN STABILIZED SEGMENTAL WALL BLOCKS, SOIL REINFORCING SYSTEM, AND
METHODS
Abstract
A segmental wall block, soil reinforcing system, and method
related thereto, wherein the wall block may be used for
constructing retaining walls. In one embodiment, the segmental wall
block may include: a front face; a rear face; a slot disposed along
the rear face; a troughed top face; a bottom face; a first and
second open core extending from the top face to the bottom face; a
first side having a tongue; and an opposing second side having a
groove, wherein the tongue is shaped to interlock with the groove.
A soil system may include: a wall block component including a first
configuration of interlocked segmented wall blocks as described,
and a stabilizing component. A method of reinforcing soil may
include the steps of: installing a leveling pad of concrete or
gravel; and providing a soil stabilizing system.
Inventors: |
Liew; Willie; (Alpharetta,
GA) ; Peralta; Andres F.; (Alpharetta, GA) ;
Wissmann; Kord J.; (Alpharetta, GA) ; Luptak; Stephen
A.; (Alpharetta, GA) ; Smith; Aaron D.;
(Alpharetta, GA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Tensar International Corporation |
Alpharetta |
GA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Tensar International
Corporation
Alpharetta
GA
|
Family ID: |
1000004927231 |
Appl. No.: |
16/770284 |
Filed: |
December 11, 2018 |
PCT Filed: |
December 11, 2018 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US2018/064996 |
371 Date: |
June 5, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62596939 |
Dec 11, 2017 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E02D 2300/0029 20130101;
E02D 2600/30 20130101; E02D 2300/0084 20130101; E02D 2200/13
20130101; E02D 2300/0006 20130101; E02D 2300/002 20130101; E02D
2300/0009 20130101; E02D 29/025 20130101; E02D 2300/0079 20130101;
E02D 2600/40 20130101; E02D 29/0266 20130101; E02D 2300/0015
20130101; E02D 29/0233 20130101 |
International
Class: |
E02D 29/02 20060101
E02D029/02 |
Claims
1. A segmental wall block comprising: (a) a front face; (b) a rear
face; (c) a slot disposed along the rear face; (c) a troughed top
face; (d) a bottom face; (e) a first and second open core extending
from the top face to the bottom face; (f) a first side having a
tongue; and (g) an opposing second side having a groove, wherein
the tongue is shaped to interlock with the groove.
2. The segmental wall block of claim 1, wherein the front face is
textured.
3. The segmented wall block of claim 1, wherein the wall block has
a length, a height, a depth, a tongue length, and a weight.
4. The segmented wall block of claim 3, wherein the length is from
about 10 inches to about 36 inches.
5. The segmented wall block of claim 3, wherein the height is from
about 6 inches to about 12 inches.
6. The segmented wall block of claim 3, wherein the depth is from
about 5 inches to about 12 inches.
7. The segmented wall block of claim 3, wherein the tongue length
is from about 1 inch to about 3 inches.
8. The segmented wall block of claim 3, wherein the weight is from
about 35 lbs to about 60 lbs.
9. The segmented wall block of claim 1, further comprising a top
groove along said top face adapted to receive a mechanical
connector.
10. A soil reinforcing system comprising: a wall block component
including a first configuration of interlocked segmented wall
blocks, each of the wall blocks comprising: (a) a front face; (b) a
rear face; (c) a slot disposed along the rear face; (c) a troughed
top face; (d) a bottom face; (e) a first and second open core
extending from the top face to the bottom face; (f) a first side
having a tongue; and (g) an opposing second side having a groove,
wherein the tongue is shaped to interlock with the groove; and a
stabilizing component connected to the wall block component.
11. The soil reinforcing system of claim 10, wherein one or more of
the wall blocks include a top groove along the top face adapted to
receive a mechanical connector.
12. The soil reinforcing system of claim 10, wherein the
stabilizing component comprises a stabilizing hoop connected
intermittently to the slot at the rear face of the configuration of
interlocked segmented wall blocks.
13. The soil reinforcing system of claim 12, wherein the
stabilizing component further comprises a fill material in the
stabilizing hoop.
14. The soil reinforcing system of claim 10, wherein the
stabilizing component comprises an anchor connected to the
slot.
15. The soil reinforcing system of claim 10, wherein the
stabilizing component comprises a horizontal plate at the rear
face.
16. The soil reinforcing system of claim 10, wherein the
stabilizing component comprises a second configuration of segmented
wall blocks, wherein one of the second configuration of segmented
wall blocks is connected to the rear face of one of the first
configuration of segmented wall blocks.
17. The soil reinforcing system of claim 10, wherein the
stabilizing component is a geogrid structure,
18. The soil reinforcing system of claim 10, wherein the
stabilizing component is a combination of stabilizing hoops and
horizontal geogrids connected to the first configuration of wall
blocks.
19. A method of reinforcing soil comprising the steps of:
installing a leveling pad of concrete or gravel; providing at least
three wall blocks, wherein each wall block has a rear face; a slot
disposed along the rear face; a troughed top face; a bottom face; a
first and second open core extending from the top face to the
bottom face; a first side having a tongue; an opposing second side
having a groove, wherein the tongue is shaped to interlock with the
groove; forming a first row of the wall blocks by connecting the
tongues and grooves of the at least three wall blocks; installing
stabilizing elements at the rear face of the wall blocks; and
placing backfill and compacting up to the first row of the wall
blocks.
20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the steps of:
providing a geogrid soil reinforcing strip and engaging the geogrid
soil reinforcing strip to the groove of the first row of the wall
blocks with one or more mechanical connectors; and placing a second
row of the wall blocks while engaging the mechanical connectors of
the first row of the wall blocks.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The presently disclosed subject matter is related to and
claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.
62/596,939 entitled "Thin Stabilized Segmental Wall Blocks, Soil
Reinforcing System, And Methods" filed on Dec. 11, 2017; the entire
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The presently disclosed subject matter relates generally to
the retention of earthen formations and the field of retaining
walls and more particularly to a thin stabilized segmental wall
block, a soil reinforcing system, and methods related thereto.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Retaining walls are commonly used for architectural and site
development applications and such soil reinforced earthen works
have now become a recognized civil engineering structure useful in
the retention of hillsides, right of way embankments, and the like.
The wall facing elements, which typically consist of masonry
blocks, concrete blocks, concrete panels, or welded wire forms,
must withstand lateral pressures exerted by backfill soils.
Reinforcement and stabilization of the soil backfill in
mechanically stabilized earth applications is commonly provided
using geosynthetic materials such as geogrids or geotextiles that
are placed horizontally in the soil fill behind the wall face. The
geosynthetic materials interlock with the soil and create a stable
reinforced soil mass. The geosynthetic materials are connected to
the wall face elements either mechanically with connectors or
frictionally between wall face elements and geosynthetics.
[0004] A preferred form of grid-like tie-back sheet material used
to reinforce the soil behind a retaining wall structure, known as
an integral geogrid, is commercially available from The Tensar
Corporation of Alpharetta, Ga. ("Tensar") and is made by the
process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,798 ("the '798 patent").
Integral geogrid tie-back sheet material may be uniaxially oriented
according to the '798 patent to provide grid-like sheets including
a plurality of elongated, parallel, molecularly oriented strands
with transversely extending bars integrally connected thereto by
less oriented or unoriented junctions, the strands, bars and
junctions together defining a multiplicity of elongated openings.
With biaxial (i.e., 2-dimensional) stretching, the bars may be
oriented into elongated strands. While integral geogrids are
preferred as reinforcing materials in the construction of retaining
walls, other forms of tie-back sheet materials have been used in a
similar manner.
[0005] The use of full height pre-cast concrete wall panels for
wall-facing elements in a retaining wall is known, such as is
disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,568,998 and 5,580,191. These types of
systems typically require, during construction, that the panels be
placed using a crane because they are very large, perhaps 5 feet by
10 feet or even larger and, as a result, are quite heavy such that
they cannot be readily man-handled. To avoid such problems in the
use of pre-cast wall panels, other types of retaining wall
structures have been developed.
[0006] As one known example, retaining walls have been formed from
modular wall blocks which are typically relatively small
cementitious blocks as compared to precast wall panels. The
assembly of modular wall blocks usually does not require heavy
equipment. Such modular wall blocks can be handled by a single
person and are used to form retaining wall structures by arranging
a plurality of blocks in courses superimposed on each other, much
like laying of brick or the like. Each block includes a body with a
front face which forms the exterior surface of the formed retaining
wall. Examples of such modular wall block systems are disclosed in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,010,707; 5,522,682; 5,568,999; 5,823,709;
5,911,539; 5,934,838; and 6,287,054.
[0007] The use of welded wire (WW) facing units in the construction
of retaining walls is also well known to reinforce earthen
formations. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,856,939; 6,595,726; and 8,197,159
disclose the construction of geogrid-reinforced earthen retaining
walls incorporating welded wire facing units wherein portions of
the face sections of the wire facing units include kinks or hooks
which serve, inter alia, to retain the ends of geogrids, the
remainder of the geogrids being designed to extend rearwardly into
the fill to reinforce the wall. U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,124 also
discloses the use of wire "baskets" that are designed to be filled
with granular or rock material to define the forward or face of the
wall, the elements of which are also reinforced with grid-like
reinforcing sheet material to provide stability of the soil
mass.
[0008] In the case of modular block walls that are typically used
for structural earth walls, the block is normally 11 to 12 inches
deep and weigh between 75 to 100 pounds (lbs) to provide stability
to the facing during wall installation. The weight is relatively
heavy and would require lifting by two persons or handled with
small equipment with a block picking tool since Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) limit the maximum weight to be
carried by a person to 50 lbs. This typically leads to slower wall
installation or increased costs for the wall.
[0009] As such, improvements in the art are desired to provide a
retaining wall block system that utilize thin and lightweight block
to ease wall installation and improve productivity while
maintaining the structural integrity and stability of the block
wall system. A thin block would allow for an increase to the
loading capacity or area of block onto a truck compared to
traditional blocks, thus saving transportation costs and reducing
environmental impacts. A thin block could be placed faster and
requires less costly and environmentally harmful cement during
fabrication. A thin block must, however, include provisions for
block stability during construction and during wall loading.
SUMMARY
[0010] A segmental wall block, soil reinforcing system, and method
related thereto are disclosed. The wall block may be used for
constructing retaining walls.
[0011] In one embodiment, the segmental wall block includes: a
front face; a rear face; a slot disposed along the rear face; a
troughed top face; a bottom face; a first and second open core
extending from the top face to the bottom face; a first side having
a tongue; and an opposing second side having a groove, wherein the
tongue is shaped to interlock with the groove.
[0012] In another embodiment, a segmental wall block may include a
front face that is textured.
[0013] The segmental wall block may have a length from about 10
inches to about 36 inches; a height from about 6 inches to about 12
inches; a depth from about 5 inches to about 12 inches; a tongue
length from about 1 inch to about 3 inches; and a weight from about
35 lbs to about 60 lbs.
[0014] Further, the segmented wall block may include a top groove
along the top face that is adapated to receive a mechanical
connector.
[0015] A soil reinforcing system of the present invention may
include: a wall block component including a first configuration of
interlocked segmented wall blocks, each of the wall blocks
including: a front face; a rear face; a slot disposed along the
rear face; a troughed top face; a bottom face; a first and second
open core extending from the top face to the bottom face; a first
side having a tongue; and an opposing second side having a groove,
wherein the tongue is shaped to interlock with the groove; and a
stabilizing component connected to the wall block component.
[0016] The stabilizing component may include a stabilizing hoop
connected intermittently to the slot at the rear face of the
configuration of interlocked segmented wall blocks. The stabilizing
component may further include a fill material in the stabilizing
hoop.
[0017] The stabilizing component may further include an anchor
connected to the slot or may include a horizontal plate at the rear
face.
[0018] The stabilizing component may include a second configuration
of segmented wall blocks, wherein one of the second configuration
of segmented wall blocks is connected to the rear face of one of
the first configuration of segmented wall blocks.
[0019] The stabilizing component may include a geogrid structure,
or the stabilizing component may include a combination of
stabilizing hoops and horizontal geogrids connected to the first
configuration of wall blocks.
[0020] A method of reinforcing soil may include the steps of:
installing a leveling pad of concrete or gravel; providing at least
three wall blocks, wherein each wall block has a rear face; a slot
disposed along the rear face; a troughed top face; a bottom face; a
first and second open core extending from the top face to the
bottom face; a first side having a tongue; an opposing second side
having a groove, wherein the tongue is shaped to interlock with the
groove; forming a first row of the wall blocks by connecting the
tongues and grooves of the at least three wall blocks; installing
stabilizing elements at the rear face of the wall blocks; placing
backfill and compacting up to the first row of the wall blocks; and
optionally, the steps of: providing a geogrid soil reinforcing
strip and engaging the geogrid soil reinforcing strip to the groove
of the first row of the wall blocks with one or more mechanical
connectors; and placing a second row of the wall blocks while
engaging the mechanical connectors of the first row of the wall
blocks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] Having thus described the presently disclosed subject matter
in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying
Drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and
wherein:
[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example of the
presently disclosed wall block, wherein the wall block can be used
to form retaining walls and/or any other soil reinforcing
element;
[0023] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a slight variation
at the rear to the wall block of the presently disclosed wall block
shown in FIG. 1;
[0024] FIG. 3 illustrates a front view, a top view, a bottom view,
and two end views of the wall block shown in FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective top view of an example of a
soil reinforcing system that includes an arrangement of the
presently disclosed wall blocks;
[0026] FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 illustrate various
stabilizing systems of the presently disclosed wall blocks;
[0027] FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of a free-standing
gravity wall utilizing stabilizing elements of the present subject
matter;
[0028] FIG. 10 illustrates a perspective view of another
arrangement of the presently disclosed wall blocks;
[0029] FIG. 11 illustrate a cross-section view of a soil
reinforcing system of the present subject matter;
[0030] FIG. 12 illustrates a perspective view of a connection
variation to the presently disclosed soil reinforcing system shown
in FIG. 4;
[0031] FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of another connection
variation to the presently disclosed soil reinforcing system shown
in FIG. 4; and
[0032] FIG. 14 illustrates a flow diagram of an example of a method
of using the presently disclosed wall blocks.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] The presently disclosed subject matter now will be described
more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying Drawings,
in which some, but not all embodiments of the presently disclosed
subject matter are shown. Like numbers refer to like elements
throughout. The presently disclosed subject matter may be embodied
in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to
the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are
provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal
requirements. Indeed, many modifications and other embodiments of
the presently disclosed subject matter set forth herein will come
to mind to one skilled in the art to which the presently disclosed
subject matter pertains having the benefit of the teachings
presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated
Drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the presently
disclosed subject matter is not to be limited to the specific
embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments
are intended to be included within the scope of the appended
claims.
[0034] In some embodiments, the presently disclosed subject matter
provides a thin stabilized segmental wall block, a soil reinforcing
system, and methods related thereto. The presently disclosed thin
stabilized segmental wall block can be, for example, a concrete
masonry block used for constructing retaining walls. The thin
stabilized segmental wall block would typically be fabricated
through a dry-cast process but also may be fabricated through a
wet-cast process. The wall block would ease lifting and
installation with the lightweight nature of the block.
[0035] An aspect of the presently disclosed thin stabilized block
would typically have a height of no more than 8 inches, a length
less than 18 inches, and depth less than 6 inches. The typical
weight of the block would be less than 50 lbs. The thin and light
block would likely not be stable by itself to support the lateral
load and vibration during construction of the modular block wall
systems. The thin and light block will need to be stabilized with
other means or methods for stability during construction of the
modular block wall systems.
[0036] An aspect of the presently disclosed wall block is that it
may include a tongue and groove system for support of the
construction of modular block wall systems, wherein wall blocks
would interlock side to side to provide rigidity to the facing and
improve alignment of the wall system.
[0037] Another aspect of the presently disclosed wall block is that
it may include a "behind the face" groove for receiving mechanical
connectors for simple connection to adjacent wall blocks and/or to
any other soil reinforcing elements, such as, but not limited to, a
geogrid.
[0038] Yet another aspect of the presently disclosed wall block is
that it may include a slot or groove at the top or at the rear of
the wall blocks for receiving a stabilizing element to increase
stability of the lightweight stabilized block during
construction.
[0039] Still another aspect of the presently disclosed wall block
is that it may feature decreased block weight and increased
production rate as compared with conventional wall blocks.
[0040] Referring now to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are perspective views of
an example of the presently disclosed wall block 100, wherein the
wall block 100 can be used to form free-standing gravity walls,
retaining walls and/or any other soil reinforcing structure.
Further, FIG. 3 shows a front view, a top view, a bottom view, and
two end views of the wall block 100 shown in FIG. 1.
[0041] The wall block 100 can be, for example, a concrete masonry
block used for constructing retaining walls. That is, the wall
block 100 is an example of a modular wall block. The wall block 100
typically includes a front face 101, a rear face 102 that has a
slot/groove at the center 103, a troughed top face 104, and a flat
bottom face 105. Accordingly, the wall block 100 has a tongue 106
on one side and a groove 107 on the other side. The wall block 100
can also include top grooves 109 at the top face 104. Additionally,
two hollow open cores 108 pass through the wall block 100,
extending from the troughed top face 104 to the flat bottom face
105. Optionally, the front face 101 of block 100 can be textured to
provide a certain appearance and/or aesthetic feature.
[0042] The terms "top," "bottom," "front," "rear," "over," "under,"
and "on" are used throughout the description with reference to the
relative positions of components of the wall block 100, such as
relative positions of the front, rear, top, and bottom faces of the
wall block 100. It will be appreciated that the wall block 100 is
functional regardless of its orientation in space.
[0043] The wall block 100 has a length L, a height H, a depth D,
and extended tongue T. The length L of the wall block 100 can
generally be from about 10 inches to about 36 inches, and in a
preferred embodiment of approximately 16 inches. The height H of
the wall block 100 can generally be from about 6 inches to about 12
inches, and in a preferred embodiment of approximately 8 inches.
The depth D of the wall block 100 can generally be from about 5
inches to about 12 inches, and in a preferred embodiment of
approximately 5.5 inches. The extended tongue T of the wall block
100 can generally be from 1 inch to 3 inches, an in a preferred
embodiment of approximately 1.6 inches.
[0044] The wall block 100 is lightweight, and generally can weigh
between 35 lbs to 60 lbs, and in a preferred embodiment of
approximately 48 lbs. The lightweight wall block 100 would be
stabilized with various means of stabilizing elements to control
alignment and movement during application of construction
loads.
[0045] Referring now to FIG. 4, a soil reinforcing system 400 is
shown including a configuration of wall blocks 100 that can be
stacked in the standard running bond configuration utilizing a
combination of one or more connectors, such as mechanical
connectors 401, to connect one wall block 100 to another wall block
100 on top and below it and/or to connect the wall block 100 to any
other soil reinforcing elements. Accordingly, a top groove 109
along the top of wall block 100 is provided to receive the
mechanical connector 401; the groove 109 has a certain width and
depth. The mechanical connectors 401 along with the stabilizing
elements provide vertical stability to the thin and lightweight
wall blocks 100.
[0046] The tongue 106 of wall block 100 is shaped to fit the side
groove 107 to create an interlock mechanism and provide lateral
stability between wall blocks 100. The shape of the tongue 106 and
groove 107 would interlock wall blocks 100 side to side on a
straight wall and for a wide range of convex and concave
curvatures.
[0047] The soil reinforcing system includes a soil reinforcing
element 405 that may be, for example, a synthetic material, such as
high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyester geogrids, or may be
a steel reinforcing mesh, steel strips, or other soil reinforcing
elements. A "geogrid" is a grid whose primary purpose is to
strengthen or reinforce soil and has open meshes into which soil
particles can lock. The soil reinforcing element 405 can generally
be a full sheet-like soil reinforcement and in the preferred
embodiment a narrow strip reinforcement from about 6 inches to 20
inches, and in a preferred embodiment of approximately 10
inches.
[0048] Referring now to FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an example
of stabilizing system 500 of an arrangement of presently disclosed
wall blocks 100 to provide overturning stability to the thin
stabilized wall blocks during construction. In the wall blocks
stabilizing system 500, the wall blocks 100 are interlocked side to
side with the tongue 106 and groove 107 while also connected to a
stabilizing hoop 501 at the rear face 102 of the wall block 100 at
the wall block slot/groove 103 intermittently along the wall. The
stabilizing hoop 501 may be a synthetic material such as HDPE or
PET geogrids, or may be a steel reinforcing mesh or strap or band.
The hoop 501 is then filled with gravel or stone 503 to complete
the stabilizing system. The stabilizing hoop is spaced at an
interval required to provide adequate overturning stability to the
wall blocks 100 during construction. While a stabilizing hoop is
discussed herein, it is contemplated that the structure may include
any suitable box/frame structure (e.g., rectangular, oval,
triangular, etc.), flexible or rigid, for stone retention and block
stabilization.
[0049] Referring now to FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8. are perspective
views of other examples of wall blocks 100 used in stabilizing
systems 600, 700, and 800. For example, FIG. 6 shows wall block 100
stabilized with a welded wire anchor 601 connected to slot 603 at
the rear of the block. The welded wire anchor provides overturning
stability through pullout anchorage. FIG. 7 shows wall block 100
stabilized with a horizontal plate 701 placed at the rear and
bottom of the block but connected to the block through the slot
703. The horizontal plate 701 engages the overburden pressure from
the backfill behind the reinforced wall and thus increases the
overturning stability of the stabilized wall blocks. All
stabilizing elements are spaced at intervals required to provide
adequate overturning stability to the wall blocks 100 during
construction.
[0050] In another example, FIG. 8 shows wall blocks 100 stabilized
with wall block 801 or series of wall blocks 801 by engaging the
tongue 806 of wall block 801 through the groove 803 at the rear of
the wall block 100 and therefore creates a stabilized system 800.
The stabilizing wall block 801, which may be of variable height,
thickness and depth, acts as an anchor to provide overturning
stability to the wall block 100.
[0051] Referring now to FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a
free-standing gravity wall system 900 utilizing wall blocks 100 and
a series of stabilizing hoops 901 filled with soil fill 902. The
soil weight of the confined soil fill 902 in the stabilizing hoop
901 increases the effective depth of the retaining wall to provide
sufficient vertical overburden weight to resist the lateral
pressure from the soil behind the stabilizing hoop.
[0052] Referring now to FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another
arrangement of wall block 100 in stacked bond configuration 1000.
In this arrangement, half-height block 1001 span between two wall
blocks 100 at the first row and the top row of the retaining wall.
The tongue 1006 and groove 1007 of wall block 1001 and 100 will be
stacked on top of one another, creating stacked vertical joints.
Wall blocks 100 and 1001 are connected to the soil reinforcing 1005
with one or more mechanical connectors 1004.
[0053] Referring now to FIG. 11 is a cross-section view of soil
reinforcing system 1100. The first layer of wall block 100 may be
placed on a leveling pad 1102 consisting of gravel or concrete. The
soil reinforcing system 1100 typically includes a first soil
reinforcing element 1101 that is integrated at a lower portion of
the wall blocks 100 and a second soil reinforcing element 1101 that
maybe integrated at an upper portion of the wall blocks. In one
example, the soil reinforcing elements 1101 are geogrid structures.
A "geogrid" is a grid whose primary purpose is to strengthen or
reinforce soil and has open meshes into which soil particles can
lock.
[0054] In the soil reinforcing system 1100 of the present
invention, multiple mechanical connectors 1103 may be used to
couple one wall block 100 to another and to couple the wall blocks
100 to the soil reinforcing elements 1101. The mechanical
connectors 1103 are often mechanical block connectors and alignment
devices.
[0055] Referring now to FIG. 12, the reinforced soil system 1200
allows for gravity or frictional connection between the wall blocks
100 and the soil reinforcing elements 1204 from the interaction of
the stabilizing hoops 1202 filled with gravel-type fill 1203 and
the reinforcing geogrid 1204. The stabilizing hoops 1202, which are
mechanically connected to the wall blocks 100, provide sufficient
short-term and long-term facing stability and performance without
connecting mechanically the wall blocks 100 to the soil reinforcing
elements 1204. Therefore, the connectors 1201 serve as alignment
tools for wall system 1200 and connect one wall block 100 to
another wall block 100 on top and below it without mechanically
connecting them to any soil reinforcing elements 1204.
[0056] Referring now to FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another
soil reinforcing system 1300. The stabilizing hoops 1301 are
backfilled with soil fill 1303. The confined soil fill in the
stabilizing hoop 1301 provide stability to the wall blocks 100
while the soil reinforcing elements 1302 provide tensile resistance
to stabilize the wall backfill. The soil reinforcing elements 1302
may be, for example, discrete strips of a synthetic material such
as High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) or Polyester (PET) or other
flexible reinforcing elements, and continuous wrap from the bottom
of the stabilized hoop 1301 to the top of the stabilized hoop 1301.
The wrapping of the soil reinforcing elements 1302 against the
stabilizing hoop 1301 filled with soil fill 1303 formed the
mechanical connection of the wall system 1300. The soil reinforcing
element 1302 in one embodiment is a narrow strip of reinforcement
from about 6 inches to 48 inches, and in a preferred embodiment of
approximately 24 inches.
[0057] FIG. 14 illustrates a flow diagram of an example of a method
1400 of using the presently disclosed wall blocks in a simple
configuration of three blocks. The method 1400 may include, but is
not limited to, the following steps.
[0058] At a step 1401, a level pad is to be constructed with gravel
or concrete to ensure a level surface or foundation for the
presently disclosed wall blocks 100.
[0059] At a step 1402, at least three of the presently disclosed
wall blocks 100 may be provided. The wall blocks may to be
connected to the left and right with the tongue and groove system
at step 1403.
[0060] At step 1404, one or more stabilizing elements may be
installed through the slot or groove at the rear of wall block 100.
Soil backfill is then placed and compacted up to the first row of
blocks at step 1405.
[0061] At step 1406, one or more soil reinforcing elements 1101 may
be installed and engaged to the grooves of the first row of blocks
with one or more mechanical connectors 1103.
[0062] At step 1407, a next row of blocks may be installed with one
or more of the mechanical connectors 1103 and/or soil reinforcing
1101 engaged in the grooves of the first row of wall blocks
100.
[0063] The wall blocks of the present invention provide a
significant manufacturing improvement over prior art modular wall
blocks and soil reinforcing systems. Namely, because the wall
blocks of the present invention may be oriented in either the
vertical or horizontal directions, the equipment necessary to
fabricate the wall blocks of the present invention is minimized.
Additionally, the shape and design of the wall blocks of the
present invention often provides for reduced materials and ease in
manufacturability when compared to prior art modular wall blocks.
Finally, the assembly of the wall blocks to create the soil
reinforcing system of the present invention represents a
significant improvement over prior art because of the simplicity in
design, reduced number of distinct components, and ability to
modify the components to the desired soil system configuration.
[0064] Following long-standing patent law convention, the terms
"a," "an," and "the" refer to "one or more" when used in this
application, including the claims. Thus, for example, reference to
"a subject" includes a plurality of subjects, unless the context
clearly is to the contrary (e.g., a plurality of subjects), and so
forth.
[0065] Throughout this specification and the claims, the terms
"comprise," "comprises," and "comprising" are used in a
non-exclusive sense, except where the context requires otherwise.
Likewise, the term "include" and its grammatical variants are
intended to be non-limiting, such that recitation of items in a
list is not to the exclusion of other like items that can be
substituted or added to the listed items.
[0066] For the purposes of this specification and appended claims,
unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing amounts, sizes,
dimensions, proportions, shapes, formulations, parameters,
percentages, quantities, characteristics, and other numerical
values used in the specification and claims, are to be understood
as being modified in all instances by the term "about" even though
the term "about" may not expressly appear with the value, amount or
range. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical
parameters set forth in the following specification and attached
claims are not and need not be exact, but may be approximate and/or
larger or smaller as desired, reflecting tolerances, conversion
factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like, and other
factors known to those of skill in the art depending on the desired
properties sought to be obtained by the presently disclosed subject
matter. For example, the term "about," when referring to a value
can be meant to encompass variations of, in some embodiments
.+-.100%, in some embodiments .+-.50%, in some embodiments .+-.20%,
in some embodiments .+-.10%, in some embodiments .+-.5%, in some
embodiments .+-.1%, in some embodiments .+-.0.5%, and in some
embodiments .+-.0.1% from the specified amount, as such variations
are appropriate to perform the disclosed methods or employ the
disclosed compositions.
[0067] Further, the term "about" when used in connection with one
or more numbers or numerical ranges, should be understood to refer
to all such numbers, including all numbers in a range and modifies
that range by extending the boundaries above and below the
numerical values set forth. The recitation of numerical ranges by
endpoints includes all numbers, e.g., whole integers, including
fractions thereof, subsumed within that range (for example, the
recitation of 1 to 5 includes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, as well as
fractions thereof, e.g., 1.5, 2.25, 3.75, 4.1, and the like) and
any range within that range.
[0068] Although the foregoing subject matter has been described in
some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of
clarity of understanding, it will be understood by those skilled in
the art that certain changes and modifications can be practiced
within the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *