NZ331005A - Paver with recess in a side wall to define a liquid drainage cavity - Google Patents

Abstract

Paver 10 is of star-shaped configuration formed of three uniformly dimensioned hexagonal bodies A,B,C unitary formed so that two contiguous sides of each hexagonal body merge with a side of one of the other two hexagonal bodies. A recess 19 interrupts two adjacent side walls of the paver to form a drainage cavity when identically shaped pavers are laid.

Description

Patent Form No 5 NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION A PAVER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 3 0 OCT 2001 RECEIVED We, ROCLA LIMITED of 6 THOMAS STREET, CHATSWOOD, NSW 2067 AUSTRALIA an Australian Corporation (A C N 000 032 191) do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement N \IRN\NZ10035-98\speccoversheet doc 33 ^ W A PAVER The present invention relates to a paving unit, which is alternatively known as a paving block or tile, for paving outdoor areas. For simplicity, the paving unit, block or tile will hereinafter be referred to as a "paver".

Pavers for outdoor areas are well known and these can take various shapes and forms. For example, pavers are often square or rectangular, or alternatively, they are often shaped so as to nest with one another. Such known pavers are normally laid on a bed of sand or an open coarse gravel bed and this material also fills the gap between adjacent pavers. This arrangement provides a stable 10 supporting bed for the pavers and also allows a limited flexibility between pavers which is advantageous in supporting a load.

There is a substantial requirement given the nature of paved areas for them to have an overall aesthetically pleasing appearance For that reason, pavers are often manufactured in shapes which promote such appearance and often pavers of 15 different colours, and sometimes different surface textures, are laid together to provide a paved area having a patterned appearance which adds to the aesthetic quality of the paved area.

One difficulty with known pavers is that surface water, such as rain water or water from sprinkler systems, will collect on the upper surface of the paved area if 20 facility is not provided for drainage of that water. It is an aim of the present invention to provide a paver which includes such facility suitable for drainage of surface water.

It is a further aim of the invention to provide a paver which includes a recess, which enables the formulation of a paved surface having a pattern of 25 drainage cavities in the surface of the paved area.

In a first aspect the present invention provides a paver having a star-shaped configuration formed of three uniformly dimensioned hexagonal bodies unitarily formed so that two contiguous sides of each hexagonal body merge with a side of one of the other two hexagonal bodies, each of the hexagonal bodies having a top 30 surface, a bottom surface, and four peripheral side walls extending between said top and bottom surfaces; the paver further including a recess interrupting two of the N \IRN\NZ10035-98\speci amendment - 23may2001 doc\ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 2 8 MAY 2001 received 3 dS S v :■ four side walls of at least one of the hexagonal bodies, and extending from the top surface to the bottom surface, the recess being provided to cooperate with two peripheral side walls of an identically shaped paver laid adjacent thereto, to define a liquid drainage cavity therebetween.

In a preferred form each top surface is formed with a bevelled edge which extends thereabout to result in a recessed three pointed channel-like structure which is formed in the top of the paver and which extends between and separates each of the top surfaces.

In a preferred form the recess has a pair of planar surfaces that converge 10 from each of the two side walls that it interrupts and which planar surfaces form a wedge shape.

In a particularly preferred form the planar surfaces are angled with respect to one another at substantially the same angle as defined between any contiguous walls of the three hexagonally shaped bodies.

In a second aspect the present invention provides a paved area including a plurality of uniformly shaped pavers, each of the pavers having a star-shaped configuration formed of three uniformly dimensioned hexagonal bodies unitarily formed so that two contiguous sides of each hexagonal body merge with a side of one of the other two hexagonal bodies, each of the hexagonal bodies having a 20 hexagonal top surface, a bottom surface, and four peripheral side walls extending between said top and bottom surfaces; each paver further including a recess interrupting two of the four side walls of at least one of the hexagonal bodies, and extending from the top surface to the bottom surface, said recess being provided to cooperate with two peripheral side walls of an identically shaped paver laid 25 adjacent thereto, to define a liquid drainage cavity therebetween, and wherein each of the pavers being disposed so that two side walls of each paver contact two side walls of an adjacent paver and so that each drainage cavity communicates with one end of a three pointed channel-like structure.

The paved area preferably includes a pattern of drainage cavities viewable 30 from the exposed surface of the paved area which are formed as a regular pattern having an aesthetic appearance. This can be achieved using one or more paver N \IRN\NZ10035-98\speci amendment • 23may2001 doc\ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 2 8 MAY 2001 RECEIVED shapes for the paved area provided that at least some of the pavers are of the type hereinbefore described.

N MRNNNZ10035-98\speci amendment • 23may2001 doc\ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 2 8 MAY 2001 RECEIVED The problem of dispersing surface water on paved areas has been overcome in some instances in the past, by constructing the paved area on an incline so that surface water flows towards a designated area. This area for example, may be a drainage outlet or gutter. The need for inclination however, complicates the 5 construction of the paved area and is therefore undesirable This need for inclination may be advantageously avoided with the use of pavers according to the present invention, because in a paved area formed of these pavers, the drainage facility can be provided throughout the paved area itself. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the drainage cavities are uniformly provided throughout the paved 10 area with adjacent drainage cavities being formed not more than 200 mm apart so as to facilitate good drainage across the entire paved area and to minimise puddling. Most preferably, adjacent drainage cavities are no more than 140 mm apart In order to assist in arriving at an understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment is illustrated in the attached drawings. However, it should be 15 understood that the following description is illustrative only and should not taken in any way as a restriction on the generality of the invention as described above.

Referring to Figure 1, a paver according to the invention is shown The paver 10 includes a top surface 11 which is the surface which will be exposed when the paver is laid. The bottom surface 12 is the surface which is laid on the supporting 20 surface which supports the paver Both of these surfaces are planar and are substantially parallel to one another. A peripheral side wall 13 extends substantially perpendicular between the upper and lower surfaces 11 and 12 and defines the peripheral edge of the paver 10.

The paver 10 is star-shaped, being formed of 3 hexagonal bodies A, B and C 25 which are integrally joined. The paver 10 could be made of any suitable material, such as concrete or ceramic and may be manufactured by any suitable process such as moulding.

The side wall of the paver 10 is interrupted in extending portion 21 by a recess 14 which extends inwardly of the wall 13. The recess has side faces 15 and 16 30 which converge to an apex 17 at an angle a In the embodiment illustrated, the recess is provided in the hexagonal body A. The recess 14 extends the full height of SC C \WINWORO\SHAROMWNOREWWOOELETBPAVERNZ DOC the side wall 13 and extends through the upper and lower surfaces 11 and 12. The paver has inset portions 22, 23 and 24.

Figure 2 illustrates a paved area 18 which includes a plurality of the pavers shown in Figure 1 and nested together. It can be seen from this figure that the 5 recesses provided in the pavers 10 cooperate with the two parts of the side wall of the inset portion 22 of an adjacent paver to form a regular cavity 19 which extends from the upper or exposed surface of the paved area 18 to the lower surface which rests against a supporting surface. This is typically a bed of sand or an open coarse gravel bed. The cavities 19 allow drainage of surface water from the upper surface 10 of the paved area to the supporting surface, where it is likely to be absorbed or drained away. The recess 14 lies adjacent the side wall 13 of an adjoining paver and the position of the recess 14 relative to an adjacent paver is always the same. Thus, a regular pattern is formed by the recesses and in Figure 2, this is seen as a plurality of diagonally disposed recesses. In the embodiment shown adjacent cavities 19 are 15 approximately 130 mm apart.

The drainage cavities 19 advantageously can be filled with gravel or an alternative suitable material, so that they do not become filled with refuse that renders them blocked and restricts or prevents drainage therethrough.

As is apparent from Figure 2, the cavities 19 are formed as parallelograms by 20 virtue of the recess 14 being positioned to lie at the junction of adjacent hexagons that form the paver 10. This configuration contributes to the aesthetic appeal of the pattern which is formed when the pavers are laid.

The paver 10 as illustrated, not only facilitates the provision of drainage cavities 19 in a paved area, but the cavities 19 are provided in a manner which is of 25 high aesthetic quality, such that the provision of the cavities does not detract from the overall appearance of the paved area.

It is to be noted that the provision of the cavities 19 does not prevent the application of other pattern or ornamentation to the upper surface 11 of the paver 10 and as shown in Figure 1, the paver 10 includes a simple bevelled edge 20 30 extending about the upper peripheral edge of the paver. The bevel could also be applied to the upper edges of the side faces 15 and 16 of the recess 14 if desired SC C \WINWORD\SHARON\ANDR6WVNODELETE\PAVERNZ DOC Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there may be many variations and modifications of the configuration described herein which are within the scope of the present invention. sc c \winworo\sharon\andrew\nodelete\pavernz doc

Claims (10)

1. r// </' M ^ ' • 'It 8 rJ' ^ THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS-1 A paver having a star-shaped configuration formed of three uniformly dimensioned hexagonal bodies unitarily formed so that two contiguous sides of each hexagonal body merge with a side of one of the other two hexagonal bodies, 5 each of the hexagonal bodies having a top surface, a bottom surface, and four peripheral side walls extending between said top and bottom surfaces; the paver further including: a recess interrupting two of the four side walls of at least one of the hexagonal bodies, and extending from the top surface to the bottom surface, the 10 recess being provided to cooperate with two peripheral side walls of an identically shaped paver laid adjacent thereto, to define a liquid drainage cavity therebetween.
2. 2. A paver according to claim 1, wherein each top surface is formed with a bevelled edge which extends thereabout to result in a recessed three pointed channel-like structure which is formed in the top of the paver and which extends 15 between and separates each of the top surfaces.
3. 3 A paver according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the recess has a pair of planar surfaces that converge from each of the two side walls that it interrupts and which planar surfaces form a wedge shape.
4. 4. A paver according to claim 3, wherein the planar surfaces are angled with 20 respect to one another at substantially the same angle as defined between any two contiguous walls of the three hexagonally shaped bodies.
5. 5. A paved area including a plurality of uniformly shaped pavers, each of the pavers having a star-shaped configuration formed of three uniformly dimensioned hexagonal bodies unitarily formed so that two contiguous sides of each hexagonal 25 body merge with a side of one of the other two hexagonal bodies, each of the hexagonal bodies having a hexagonal top surface, a bottom surface, and four peripheral side walls extending between said top and bottom surfaces; each paver further including: a recess interrupting two of the four side walls of at least one of the 30 hexagonal bodies, and extending from the top surface to the bottom surface, said recess being provided to cooperate with two peripheral side walls of an identically N \lRN\NZ10035-98\speci amendment - 23may2001 doc\ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 2 8 MAY 2001 RECEIVED 9 0 shaped paver laid adjacent thereto, to define a liquid drainage cavity therebetween, and wherein each of the pavers being disposed so that two side walls of each paver contact two side walls of an adjacent paver and so that each drainage cavity communicates with one end of a three pointed channel-like structure. 5
6. 6. A paved area according to claim 5, wherein each said top surface is formed with a bevelled edge which extends thereabout to result in a recessed three pointed channel-like structure which is formed in the top of the paver and which extends between and separates each of the top surfaces.
7. 7. A paved area according to either of claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the recess 10 on each paver has a pair of planar surfaces that converge from each of the two side walls that it interrupts and which planar surfaces form a wedge shape.
8. 8. A paved area according to claim 7, wherein the planar surfaces are angled with respect to one another at substantially the same angle as defined between any two contiguous walls of the three hexagonally shaped bodies. 15
9. 9. A paver substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
10. 10. A paved area substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. 20 DATED: 24 May 2001 PHILLIPS ORMONDE & FITZPATRICK Attorneys for ROCLA LIMITED 25 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. N \IRN\nz10035-98\speci amendment 23may2001 doc\ 2 8 MAY 2001 RECEIVED