EP0486454B1 - Paving element for road- and other ground-coverings and roads and other grounds covered with these elements - Google Patents

Abstract

The embeddable paving block intended for surfacing roadways and other areas of ground, of the type including four identical arms disposed at right-angles to one another, each of the arms having shoulders distributed over the lateral faces and the ends of each of these arms, the shoulders being disposed to overlap in the plane of the surfacing the corresponding shoulders on the adjacent blocks in order to prevent the plane from opening up under the effect of any traction and in order to ensure a constant thickness of the joints.

Description

The present invention relates to the production of road surfaces and other areas admitted to the circulation of vehicles or pedestrians or even of riprap, embankments, embankments and embankments of sea or watercourses, and relates to an original design of paving stones with interlocking forming recesses between them in all directions.

• rompre la planéité des faces de contact, de façon à empêcher les déplacements longitudinal et transversal des pavés les uns par rapport aux autres;
• augmenter le périmètre des pavés et donc leur surface de contact pour en accroître la friction et ainsi la résistance à l'enfoncement individuel sous charge;
• briser la rectilinéarité des joints, de manière à les empêcher de jouer le rôle de charnière dans le plan du revêtement circulable et à lutter contre le phénomène d'orniérage.

There are many types of interlocking pavers providing the following functions more or less effectively:

• break the flatness of the contact faces, so as to prevent the longitudinal and transverse displacements of the blocks with respect to each other;
• increase the perimeter of the pavers and therefore their contact surface to increase friction and thus the resistance to individual sinking under load;
• break the rectilinearity of the joints, so as to prevent them from playing the role of hinge in the plane of the circulating covering and to combat the rutting phenomenon.

However, these three objectives can only be achieved if each paver is unable to move away from its neighbors, which is only achieved thanks to a perfect buttress of the assembly, ensuring horizontal transfer of the load. However, this is not always possible. We can cite for example the traffic areas on roofs, where the thickness and the load are limited and the possibilities of buttressing reduced by as much, or the cycle paths and other narrow roads, where the importance of the banks is disproportionate compared to on the surface.

In any event, any rutting results in traction on the upper or lower face of the covering, depending on whether it is located in the raised area or the depressed area of said ruts.

Document FR-A-2 608 648 discloses a cross-shaped interlocking block, the four branches of which are the same width, the length of a branch being equal to its width. Such a paving stone is only capable of withstanding a thrust stress.

Document EP-A-0 377 460 describes a paver for floor covering, of square shape comprising on its lateral faces spacing projections to allow the placement of grass between the assembled pavers.

These projections coincide or overlap in neighboring cobblestones depending on the importance to be given to the spacing for the lawn.

The object of the invention is to design a built-in paving stone which, by itself, can contribute to opposing tensile forces either on the covering edges, or in areas subject to a risk of rutting or dislocation.

We know a built-in cross paver, the subject of a model filed by the applicant, which with its four equal and slightly flared branches was already trying to meet this completely new objective.

However, the necessary limitation of the angle of flaring of the branches, under penalty of reducing the attachments too strongly, means that the embedding cannot be very effective.

A built-in paver according to the invention is of the type comprising four orthogonal and equal branches which, once the pavers are laid, cause the entire surface to be covered. It is characterized in that the lateral faces and the ends have shoulders arranged in the half closest to the edges of the faces or ends of the branches on which they are distributed, so as to overlap, in the plane of the covering, the shoulders corresponding to neighboring blocks, and so as to prevent said plane from opening under the effect of any traction and to ensure the constant thickness of the joints.

• Figure 1 une vue en perspective d'un pavé encastrable suivant l'invention;
• Figures 2 et 3 respectivement une vue en plan et une vue partielle en élévation du pavé de figure 1;
• Figure 4 une coupe partielle en plan dans deux pavés voisins détaillant le chevauchement;
• Figures 5 à 8 des vues d'assemblage de pavés encastrables suivant d'invention.

To better understand the invention, it is now described on the basis of the appended drawings, by way of examples only, showing in:

• Figure 1 a perspective view of a built-in paving stone according to the invention;
• Figures 2 and 3 respectively a plan view and a partial elevational view of the block of Figure 1;
• Figure 4 a partial sectional plan in two neighboring blocks detailing the overlap;
• Figures 5 to 8 of assembly views of recessed pavers according to the invention.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, a built-in paving stone according to the invention is of the type comprising four orthogonal and equal branches forming a cross.

Shoulders 1 are provided on the lateral faces of each branch of the block. These shoulders 1 consist for example of vertical ribs projecting from said faces (FIGS. 1 to 4).

In the box shown, the branches are twice as wide as long. On the small side faces 2 is provided a shoulder but on the ends 3 of the branches are provided either a shoulder or two shoulders for assembly with respectively one end of neighboring block or two small side faces of neighboring block.

These shoulders 1 are arranged so as to overlap the corresponding shoulders of neighboring pavers.

The shape and the dimension of the shoulders 1 are indifferent as long as they fulfill their office, ensuring an omnidirectional embedding allowing the covering to resist a tensile or even bending force in its plane and simultaneously ensuring the correct sizing of the joints.

According to the invention it is intended that the shoulders are arranged in the half closest to the edges of the lateral faces or ends which they occupy; that is to say, as seen in FIGS. 1 to 4, closer to the free edge 4 of each lateral face or ends.

FIG. 5 shows an assembly of built-in pavers according to the invention with the appearance of a cross.

This somewhat archaic aspect of the cross can be masked by a series of false joints 5 printed in the visible face of the paving stones and giving the covering the appearance of an assembly of squares and / or rectangles (respectively Figures 6, 7 and 8).

Of course, the invention can be extended to all formats as defined by the appended claims, colors and paving materials capable of ensuring the desired resistance and aesthetic effect. Similarly, the thickness of the joints, and therefore of the shoulders, can vary as much as the geometry allows so as, for example, to ensure the passage of water.

Claims (4)

1. Paving-block for pavement of roads and other grounds, of a type comprising four orthogonal identical branches, characterized in that the side faces (2) and the ends (3) have shoulders (1) arranged in the closest half of the edges of the faces (2) or the ends (3) of the branches, on which they are distributed so as to overlie, in the coating plane, the corresponding shoulders of adjacent paving-blocks and to prevent said plane to be opened by the effect of any tension and to secure a constant thickness of the joints.
2. Embedding paving-block according to claim 1, characterized in that the block has on the visible face thereof false joints (5) for masking the cross-shaped assembly of the coating.
3. Road or other area for circulation traffic coated with embedding paving-blocks according to claim 1 or 2.
4. Stone-pitching, embankment, banked edges and sea or river dams, coated with embedding paving-blocks such as described in claim 1 or 2, so as to resist pressures and counterpressures exerted by water on those coatings.

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