GB2477296A

GB2477296A - Wall section for a free standing wall

Info

Publication number: GB2477296A
Application number: GB201001359A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Hamilton Jardine
Original assignee: Poundfield Products Ltd
Current assignee: Poundfield Products Ltd
Priority date: 2010-01-28
Filing date: 2010-01-28
Publication date: 2011-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 2030-01-28
Also published as: GB201001359D0; GB2477296B

Abstract

The wall section 10 has two side panels 12 which extend from an upper region 14 to a base 16, where the distance between the panels is larger at the base. The section is made from a cementitious material. A protecting member 30, which may be a metal sheet, is located on one or both of the panels. The panels may also form feet 22 at the base defining a recess 24 between two feet. The member may extend underneath 32 the feet. The member may lie substantially in the same plane as the outer face 18 of the panel. The wall may be formed by securing together the upper regions of several members. Also claimed is a method of making the section by placing the member in a mould, filling the mould with material and allowing the panel to be integrally fixed within the section.

Description

Wall section

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a section for a freestanding wall and a method of making such a wall section.

b. Related Art When storing bulk products it is often desirable to contain the product within a predetermined area. Permanent structures can be built for this purpose, but often a temporary structure is preferred.

These temporary structures often take the form of a sectional freestanding wall.

These are quick to assemble and can easily be built by a single individual with a forklift. One such design for a sectional wall is disclosed in GB 2377949. These wall sections are made from reinforced concrete and as such are relatively easy to manufacture, furthermore, the A-shaped cross-section makes them inherently

stable.

However, concrete is a brittle material and repeated moving of the wall sections with a forklift causes the sections to become damaged, shortening their usable life.

In addition, forklifts are used to dump material into areas bounded by the wall sections, and therefore the sections are prone to damage from the movement of these materials.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved wall section that is more robust.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a wall section for a free-standing wall, the wall section having two side panels extending between an upper region and a base and the distance between said side panels being greater at the base of the wall section than at the upper region, wherein the wall section is made from a cemetitious material and wherein protecting means are located on an outer surface of at least one side panel in a lower portion of the wall section to protect the wall section from impact damage.

Preferably, protecting means are located on the outer surfaces of both side panels.

Because the protecting means only cover a lower region of the wall section, which is most likely to be damaged by the tines of a forklift for example, the maximum benefit is gained for the least addition of weight to the wall section. Furthermore, the additional weight is added towards the base of the wall section thereby increasing its stability.

In embodiments in which the side panels extend so as to form feet at the base of the wall section thereby defining a recess in the base of the wall section between said feet, it is advantageous if the protecting means extend under said feet. This protects the feet from impact damage, for example from being dropped onto a hard surface.

Preferably, an outer face of the protecting means lies in substantially the same plane as the outer surface of the side panel in an upper portion, such that the protecting means does not protrude substantially from the surface of the wall section. This has the advantage that when bulk products are being stored within an area bounded by the wall sections, the bulk products will not become caught within any gaps around the protective means. These gaps would be likely to be formed if a protective plate were simply fixed to the outer surface of a wall section, for example by being bolted to the outer surface.

Therefore, it is beneficial if the protecting means are integrally formed within the wall section. This also means that the outer surfaces of the wall sections comprise substantially flat surfaces which aids in the easy removal of bulk products from within an area bounded by the wall sections.

In a preferred embodiment, a first end of the protecting means extends a distance into the side panel of the wall section so as to secure the protecting means to the wall section. In this way, it is not necessary to use any other fixing means to secure the protecting means to the wall section.

Generally the wall sections have heights between 2 m and 7 m and the protecting means covers a lower portion of these wall sections so that the protecting means have a height of between 0.5 and 1.5 m.

Also according to the invention there is provided a method of making a wall section, the wall section having two side panels extending between an upper region and a base and the distance between said side panels being greater at the base of the wall section than at the upper region, wherein the wall section is made from a cemetitious material and wherein protecting means are located on an outer surface of at least one side panel in a lower portion of the wall section, the method comprising: -placing protecting means within the mould so that the protecting means are positioned against an outer surface of the mould; -filling said mould with settable cementitious material; and -allowing the cementitious material to set in contact with the protecting means such that the protecting means are permanently fixed to the cast wall section.

Also according to the invention there is provided a freestanding wall comprising a plurality of wall sections in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 9, wherein adjacent waU sections are joined together by securing members in an upper region of said wall sections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a wall section according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is an end view of a lower region of the wall section of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an end view of a wall section according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is a side view of the wall section of Figure 3; Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the lower region of the wall section of Figure 3; Figure 6 is a wall section according to another embodiment of the present invention with ground fixing means; and Figure 7 is a freestanding wall comprising wall sections as shown in Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows a wall section 10 according to the present invention. The wall section 10 is typically predominantly made of concrete or other cement-based or cementitious materials. Generally wall sections 10 are formed by pouring concrete into a suitable mould (not shown) which includes steel reinforcing bars (rebars), although smaller wall sections may be formed without rebars.

The wall section 10 comprises two substantially rectangular side panels 12. The side panels 12 are joined at an apex or top region 14 and extend downwards and outwards from this point 14. The panels 12 are therefore at an angle to each other, with the gap between the side panels 12 at a lower edge or base 16 of the wall section 10 being greater than the gap between the side panels 12 nearer the top 14 of the wall section 10. In this way, the outer surfaces 18 of the side panels 12 form an inverted V shape.

Beams or ribs 20 span the gap between the side panels 12. In this example, a first rib 20a extends between the side panels 12 proximal the base 16. End portions 22 of the side panels 12 extend beyond the first rib 20a thereby forming feet 22 of the wall section 10. A recess 24 therefore exists below the first rib 20a and between the feet portions 22. A second rib 20b extends between the side panels 12 about halfway up the wall section 10. The first 20a and second 20b ribs are substantially parallel to each other and are substantially horizontal when the wall section 10 is standing on the feet 22.

The arrangement of the ribs 20 creates two cavities 26a, 26b that extend the full width of the wall section 10. A first cavity 26a is bounded by the top 14 of the wall section, the two side panels 12 and the second rib 20b and has a substantially triangular vertical cross-section. The second cavity 26b is bounded by the first and second ribs 20 and the two side panels 12.

It will be appreciated that the wall section may have more or fewer ribs 20 than in this example and that the ribs 20 may be positioned anywhere between the base 16 and the top 14 of the wall section 10. Alternatively, the wall section may be solid. It is preferable, however, that the wall section includes cavities 26 to minimise weight and material usage. It will also be appreciated that although the wall section in this example has a substantially triangular vertical cross-section, the wall section may have other cross-sectional shapes. However, for stability reasons, it is preferred that the footprint of the wall section 10 is significantly larger than the horizontal area of the top 14 of the wall section.

Typically the wall sections 10 will be transported or moved using a forklift (not shown). One of the tines of the forklift is passed through the lower cavity 26b in the wall section 10 and the wall section can then be lifted into position.

In order to protect the wall sections 10 from impact damage when hit by the tines of a forklift, lower portions 28 of each of the outer surfaces 18 are protected using metal plates 30 covering the full width of the wall section 10.

Figure 2 is an end view showing the lower part of a wall section 10. The metal plates 30 extend from a short distance below the upper rib 20b to the base 16 of the wall section 10. A lower end region 32 of the metal plate 30 on each surface 18 of the wall section 10 is bent so as to cover the outer edge 36 of the feet 22 and pass under the feet.

The metal plates 30 are fully integral with the wall sections 10. This is achieved by placing the metal plates 30 into the mould before the concrete is poured to form the wall section 10. In this way, the concrete is cast around the metal plates 30.

This method of construction means that the outer faces 38 of the metal plates 30 are flush with the outer surfaces 18 of the upper portions 42 of the wall section 10, in other words, an outer surface 38 of a metal plate 30 and an outer surface 18 of the corresponding upper portion 42 lie in substantially the same plane. This is shown most clearly in Figure 2.

In this embodiment, the wall section 10 has a height of 3 m, a width of 1.2 m and a span (the distance between the side panels 12 at the base 16 of the wall section 10) of 1.2 m. Typically, the protective metal plates 30 cover approximately the lower third of the wall sections 10, that is they extend about 1 m up from the base 16 of the wall section 10. The metal plates 30 are usually made from steel and have a thickness of approximately 10 mm.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 3 to 5. Most of the features of this wall section 110 are identical or similar to features of the previous embodiment, and like features have been indicated with reference numerals incremented by 100.

The side panels 112 of the wall section 110 shown in Figure 3 are thicker below the rib 120b than above the rib 120b. This means that there is greater weight in the lower half of the wall section, giving the wall section 110 greater stability.

In this embodiment, a first end 40 of a metal plate 130 is bent approximately at right angles to the rest of the plate so that, when incorporated into a wall section 110, the first end 40 points inwards towards the centre of the wall section 110 and extends into the side panel 11 2. The first end 40 is therefore held securely in place by the surrounding concrete. The second end 42 of the metal plate 130 is shaped so as to pass fully under the foot 122 of the wall section 110, as shown most clearly in Figure 5. A first bend 44 is formed so that the metal plate 130 passes around the outer edge 136 of the feet 122 of the wall section 110 and under the base 116 of the wall section 110. A second bend 46, nearer the end of the metal plate 130, deflects the metal plate so that it follows the inside faces 48 of the feet 122 and forms the sides of the recess 124. In this way, the metal plate protects the feet 122 of the wall section from impact damage when the wall section 110 is being moved and placed on hard surfaces.

In some embodiments, the wall section 210 is fixed to the ground using ground fixing means 50, as shown in Figure 6. Typically at least a part of the ground fixing means 50 is located within the recess 224 in the base 216 of the wall section 210. The provision of protecting means 230 in the form of metal plates that cover the feet 222 of the wall section 210 therefore protect the feet 222 from damage.

This helps to maintain the recess 224 in the base 216 of the wall section 210. If the feet 222 were damaged or broken then the height of the recess 224 may be reduced, or if the feet 222 are broken off then the recess 224 may be lost completely. If this were the case then it may no longer be possible to use the ground fixing means to secure the wall section to the ground as required.

In some embodiments, the metal plates 30, 130, 230 may be further secured to the wall section 10, 110, 230 using bolts or similar fastening means. For example, holes may be formed in the face of the metal plates and bolts may be used to secure the metal plate, through these holes, into boltholes pre-formed in the side panels of the wall section. However, usually, as the concrete is cast around the metal plates there is no need for further fixing means.

Returning to Figure 1, the outer surfaces 18 of the upper portions 42 of the wall section 10 also include recessed edge portions 52 at opposing sides 54, 56 of the wall section 10. The recessed edge portions 52 include pre-cast boltholes 58. The boltholes 58 are distributed along the length of the edge portions 52. It should be understood that the edge portions 52 do not need to be recessed for the invention to be worked. Securing straps 60 may be used to secure two adjacent wall sections together as described below.

The method for constructing a freestanding wall 62 from wall sections as described above is simple and a wall can be constructed quickly by one person with a forklift truck (not shown).

The forklift picks up a first wall section 31 Oa by inserting the tines of the forklift into the hollow 326b through the wall section 310, and places it in the desired location.

The forklift then picks up a next wall section 310b in the same way. This wall section 310b is transported to the previously located section 310a and is butted up against it. This process is continued until the wall 62 has reached the desired length, as shown in Figure 6.

Once all the wall sections are in position, securing straps 60 are used to join the wall sections 310 securely together. An elongate rectangular securing strap 60 with holes (not shown), the positions of which correspond to the positions of the pre-cast bolt holes 58 in the neighbouring edge portions 52, is attached to the edge portions 52 of the wall sections 310 with bolts (not shown).

Alternatively, securing straps 60 are attached to the edge portions 52 of one side 54 of the wall sections 310. As the wall sections 310 are lowered into place next to each other to form a free standing wall 62, the gradually tapering nature of the extending portion of the securing strap 60 can be used as a guide to aid the correct location of the next wall section 310. Bolts are then inserted through the remaining holes in the securing straps 60 and into the pre-cast bolt holes 58 to attach the securing straps 60 to the adjacent wall section 310.

As shown in Figure 6, the securing straps 60 cover joins 64 where the wall sections 310 have been brought together. This means that it is less likely that a bulk solid contained behind such a wall 62 could leak through.

Claims

Claims 1. A wall section for a free-standing wall, the wall section having two side panels extending between an upper region and a base and the distance between said side panels being greater at the base of the wall section than at the upper region, wherein the wall section is made from a cemetitious material and wherein protecting means are located on an outer surface of at least one side panel in a lower portion of the wall section to protect the wall section from impact damage.
2. A wall section as claimed in Claim 1, wherein protecting means are located on the outer surfaces of both side panels.
3. A wall section as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the protecting means is a metal plate.
4. A wall section as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the side panels extend so as to form feet at the base of the wall section thereby defining a recess in the base of the wall section between said feet, and wherein the protecting means extends under said feet.
5. A wall section as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein an outer face of the protecting means lies in substantially the same plane as the outer surface of the side panel in an upper portion, such that the protecting means does not protrude substantially from the surface of the wall section.
6. A wall section as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the protecting means are integrally formed within the wall section.
7. A wall section as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a first end of the protecting means extends a distance into the side panel of the wall section so as to secure the protecting means to the wall section.
8. A wall section as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the wall section has a height between 2 m and 7 m.
9. A wall section as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the protecting means is between 0.5 and 1.5 m in height.
10. A method of making a wall section, the wall section having two side panels extending between an upper region and a base and the distance between said side panels being greater at the base of the wall section than at the upper region, wherein the wall section is made from a cemetitious material and wherein protecting means are located on an outer surface of at least one side panel in a lower portion of the wall section, the method comprising: -placing protecting means within the mould so that the protecting means are positioned against an outer surface of the mould; -filling said mould with settable cementitious material; and -allowing the cementitious material to set in contact with the protecting means such that the protecting means are permanently fixed to the cast wall section.
11. A freestanding wall comprising a plurality of wall sections in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 9, wherein adjacent wall sections are joined together by securing members in an upper region of said wall sections.
12. A wall section, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.
13. A method of making a wall section, substantially as herein described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.