WO2002097199A1

WO2002097199A1 - The landscape block with receiving rainwater within retaining wall

Info

Publication number: WO2002097199A1
Application number: PCT/KR2002/001009
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hee-Jung Moon
Original assignee: Dae Sung Wall-Stone Co. Ltd.
Priority date: 2001-05-29
Filing date: 2002-05-29
Publication date: 2002-12-05
Also published as: KR20020090781A; KR100408850B1

Abstract

Disclosed is a landscape block assembly for a retaining wall and a method of constructing the same, which provides stable connection between upper and lower adjacent blocks for reinforcing a retaining wall and allowing afforestation. The landscape block assembly comprises: basic blocks, each of which includes: an outer body having a polygonal hole in which anchors of an adjacent basic block placed thereon are received, and having three front faces, front side faces, slanted faces, and a pair of anchors; a neck having an elliptical hole and having mediate side faces and a pair of protrusions; and an inner base having first inclined faces connected to the mediate side faces, second inclined faces, end side faces and an inner end face; planting blocks, each of which has a front semicircular groove and a rear semicircular groove; and water receivers having semicircular sections to be fitted in the front and rear grooves of the planting blocks, each of which includes an outer face having forward extensions, an inner face disposed below the outer face, support beams disposed between the outer and inner faces of the water receiver to join them together, and a pair of wedges attached to both lower sides of the outer and inner faces such that their front ends are slightly higher than their rear ends.

Description

THE LANDSCAPE BLOCK WITH RECEIVING RAINWATER WTTHTN

RETAINING WALL

Technical Field

The present invention relates, in general, to a landscape block assembly for a retaining wall with water receiver and a method of constructing the same which is capable of supplying rainwater thereto to enable trees and flowers to be planted thereon and, more particularly, to a landscape block assembly for a retaining wall with water receiver and a method of constructing the same, which is adapted to be used in afforestation for retaining walls of roadways, sand-trap dams, airports, educational establishments, dwelling houses, industrial establishments and so on, afforestation for soundproof walls of roadways and afforestation for shore banks to provide afforesting ability as well as structural stability of concrete as a basic function of an existing soil reinforced retaining wall, by providing water receivers for enabling trees and flowers to be vertically planted thereto and allowing natural rainwater or sprayed water to be directed to roots of the trees and flowers.

Background Art

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, prior art landscape blocks for retaining walls adapted to enable trees and flowers to be planted thereon are disclosed in Korean Utility Model Laid-Open Nos. 1998-062419 (1998. 11. 16) and 2000-0015981 (2000. 08. 16). Landscape blocks disclosed in the former Utility Model No. 1998-062419 are designed such that each of the landscape blocks has an upper protrusion and a lower recess to be fitted to each other, and soil in a reception hole is in contact with soil in a supporting member. However, the landscape blocks for retaining walls are relatively weak in their outer and inner reinforcing structure and do not sufficiently provide rainwater to trees and flowers planted thereon. Landscape blocks disclosed in the latter Utility Model No. 2000-0015981 are somewhat similar to the landscape blocks disclosed in the former Utility Model except for the shape of drain holes and wing portions. However, the blocks have disadvantages in that components for reinforcing binding strength between adjacent blocks are complicated, and it is difficult to apply separate concrete slurry thereto and to connect reinforcing bars to one another. Furthermore, trees or flowers planted on the uppermost blocks are apt to be blighted due to rapid moisture evaporation by excessive numbers of drain holes.

Disclosure of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a landscape block assembly for a retaining wall with water receiver and a method of constructing the same, which is not only intended to provide stable connection between upper and lower adjacent blocks for reinforcing an inclined retaining wall and a vertical retaining wall by engagement and weight thereof and a strong and stable soil reinforcing retaining wall resulting from firm engagement of geogrids between basic blocks, but also intended to provide afforesting ability by planting blocks and water receivers, thereby affording stability to natural disaster, environmental beautification and environmental conservation.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a landscape block assembly for a retaining wall, comprising: basic blocks, each of which includes: an outer body which is centrally provided with a polygonal hole in which anchors of an adjacent basic block placed thereon are received, and which is provided at its front portion with three front faces, at its both sides with front side faces and slanted faces, and at its bottom surface with a pair of anchors; a neck portion which is formed with an elliptical hole, and which is provided at its both sides with mediate side faces, and at its bottom surface with a pair of protrusions; and an inner base which is provided with first inclined faces connected to the mediate side faces, second inclined faces, end side faces and an inner end face; planting blocks, each of which is constructed to assume the same shape as that of the outer body of the basic block, and is formed at its lower surface with a front semicircular groove and a rear semicircular groove; and water receivers having semicircular sections to be fitted in the front and rear grooves of the planting blocks, each of which includes an outer face having forward extensions at both lower sides of its front end, an inner face disposed below the outer face and extended forwardly together with the extensions of the outer face, support beams disposed between the outer and inner faces of the water receiver to join them together, and a pair of wedges attached to both lower sides of the outer and inner faces such that their front ends are slightly higher than their rear ends to allow rainwater collected on the inner face of the water receiver to be directed rearwardly.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention also provides a method of constructing a retaining wall by a landscape block assembly, comprising the steps of: preparing basic blocks, each of which includes: an outer body which is centrally provided with a polygonal hole in which anchors of an adjacent basic block placed thereon are received, and which is provided at its front portion with three front faces, at its both sides with front side faces and slanted faces, and at its bottom surface with a pair of anchors; a neck portion which is formed with an elliptical hole, and which is provided at its both sides with mediate side faces, and at its bottom surface with a pair of protrusions; and an inner base which is provided with first inclined faces connected to the mediate side faces, second inclined faces, end side faces and an inner end face; stacking the basic blocks to a height of 2-4 meters such that the front faces of the basic blocks are exposed to the front side and the polygonal hole of the basic block is engaged at its both corners with two adjacent anchors of two basic blocks placed thereon; fitting a geogrid on the protrusions of the basic blocks to be extended rearwardly therefrom, and filling miscellaneous stones and aggregate in spaces between the basic blocks and spaces behind the basic blocks; placing nonwoven fabrics on the uppermost basic blocks to be extended rearwardly, and pouring planting soil on the nonwoven fabrics, followed by filling aggregate behind the nonwoven fabrics; preparing planting blocks, each of which is constructed to assume the same shape as that of the outer body of the basic block, and is formed at its lower surface with a front semicircular groove and a rear semicircular groove; preparing water receivers having semicircular sections to be fitted in the front and rear grooves of the planting blocks, each of which includes an outer face having forward extensions at both lower sides of its front end, an inner face disposed below the outer face and extended forwardly together with the extensions of the outer face, support beams disposed between the outer and inner faces of the water receiver to join them together, and a pair of wedges attached to both lower sides of the outer and inner faces such that their front ends are slightly higher than their rear ends to allow rainwater collected on the inner face of the water receiver to be directed rearwardly; stacking the planting blocks on the basic blocks in three to five layers such that blossoms and stems of trees or flowers are positioned at the outside and root portions are positioned in the planting soil and the trees or flowers are covered with the water receivers which are fitted in the front and rear grooves of the planting blocks, and placing additional nonwoven fabrics on the planting blocks and the planting soil; repeatedly carrying out the above steps on the planting blocks; and placing finishing blocks on the uppermost basic blocks.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of conventional blocks for a retaining wall;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of other conventional blocks for a retaining wall;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a basic block according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the basic block of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view a planting block according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the planting block of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a water receiver according to the present invention; FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the planting block and the water receiver coupled to each other;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a landscape block assembly according to the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of the landscaped block assembly according to the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same or similar components.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing a basic block according to the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the basic block 100 according to the present invention comprises an outer body 10, a neck 20 and an inner base 30, and looks like a rail in section. The outer body 10 is centrally provided with a trapezoidal hole 1 1 in which anchors 15 of an adjacent basic block placed thereon are received. The outer body 10 is further provided at its front portion with three rectangular front faces 12, and is provided at its both sides with front side faces 13 and slanted faces 14. The anchors 15 are provided at a bottom surface of the outer body 10. The neck 20 is formed with an elliptical hole 21. The neck 20 is further provided at its both sides with mediate side faces 22, and provided at its bottom surface with a pair of protrusions 25. The inner base 30 is provided with first inclined faces 31 connected to the mediate side faces 22, second inclined faces 32, end side faces 33 and an inner end face 34, which are connected to one another in this order. The three rectangular front faces 12 may have various colors and may be formed into various shapes such as elliptical and polygonal shapes depending on environmental requirements. Furthermore, the rectangular front faces 12 may be provided with various surface conditions such as smooth and rough surfaces to afford various surface feelings. FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing a planting block according to the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the planting block 200 is constructed to assume a shape of the outer body 10 of the basic block 100, in which the neck 20 and the inner base 30 of the basic block 100 are omitted therefrom and a front semicircular groove 51 and a rear semicircular groove 52 are formed on a lower surface thereof. The front groove 51 is shaped to have a height "H" slightly higher than a height "h" of the rear groove 52.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective view of a water receiver 300 and a perspective view showing the planting block 20 and the water receiver 300 coupled to each other. As shown in the drawings, the water receiver 300 is made of material having an affinity to wood, such as reinforced plastic material and hard rubber material, and includes an outer round face 61, an inner round face 64, support beams 63 and wedges 65. The outer round face 61 is provided at both lower sides of its front end with forward extensions 62 to collect rainwater fallen on a front exposed portion of the inner round face 64 and to direct the rainwater rearwardly. The water receiver 300 is positioned such that the outer round face

61 is in contact with the front and rear grooves 51 and 52. The support beams 63 serve to join the outer and inner round faces 61 and 64 and to support external load. The wedges 65 are positioned such that their front ends are slightly higher than their rear ends to allow the collected rainwater to be directed rearwardly. FIG. 9 shows a landscape block assembly according to the present invention which is constructed on a sloping ground of a hill or a bank, in which the basic blocks 100, the planting blocks 200, the water receivers 300 and geogrids 500 are stacked on one another. The geogrids 500 are known reinforcing substances, which are controllable in their number and disposition depending on soil pressure and a height of a retaining wall. Charging amount of soil, gravel etc. in the present invention is the same as that in a prior art. That is, the present invention mainly pertains to construction of the basic blocks 100, the planting blocks 200 and the water receivers 300.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a landscape block assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention. As illustrated in the drawing, it will be appreciated that a construction of the basic blocks 100, the planting blocks 200, the water receivers 300, planting soil 650 and nonwoven fabrics 600 are a characteristic aspect of the present invention but a construction of miscellaneous stones 630, aggregates 670, geogrids 500 and finishing blocks 400 pertains to a prior art. A method of constructing a landscape block assembly according to the present invention will now be described in detail.

The basic blocks 100 are first stacked on one another up to a height of 2-4 m such that the front faces 12 of the basic blocks 100 are exposed to the front side so as to prevent the block assembly from interrupting passage of passengers or vehicles. At this point, the polygonal hole 11 of the basic block 100 is engaged at its both corners with two adjacent anchors 15 of two basic blocks 100 placed thereon. A geogrid 500 is fitted on the protrusions 25 of the basic blocks 100, and then extended rearwardly therefrom. Spaces between the basic blocks 100 and spaces behind the basic blocks 100 are filled with miscellaneous stones 630 and aggregate 670. After the basic blocks 100 are stacked to a level where the planting blocks 200 begin to be stacked, nonwoven fabrics 600 are interposed between the uppermost basic blocks 100 and the planting blocks 200, and then extended rearwardly. Planting soil 650 is poured on the nonwoven fabrics 600, and aggregate 670 is filled behind the nonwoven fabrics 600. When the planting blocks 200 are stacked on the basic blocks 100, trees or flowers are horizontally positioned such that their root portions are positioned in the planting soil 650. The planting blocks 200 are stacked in three to five layers such that the trees or flowers are covered with the water receivers 300 which are fitted in the front and rear grooves 51 and 52 of the planting blocks 200. Thereafter, additional nonwoven fabrics 600 are covered on the planting blocks 200 and the planting soil

650. Additional basic blocks 100 are stacked on the planting blocks 200 with the nonwoven fabrics 600 therebetween as in the above procedure. Finally, the finishing blocks 400 are placed on the uppermost basic blocks 100.

Thanks to the above construction process, the anchors 15 formed at the lower surfaces of the basic and planting blocks 100 and 200 are perfectly engaged with acute corner portions of the polygonal holes 1 1 of the basic and planting blocks 100 and 200 disposed thereunder. Furthermore, since the planting blocks 200 are alternately stacked one on another such that the planting blocks 200 are partially exposed between two upper blocks 200, trees or flowers planted on the blocks are sufficiently exposed to sunlight. By the water receivers 300, trees or flowers planted on the planting blocks 200 can easily obtain rainwater. In the present invention, the planting soil 650 serves to supply nutrient content to trees or flowers from the backside of the planting blocks 200, the nonwoven fabrics 600 serve to prevent washout or loss of planting soil and to maintain a certain humidity, the miscellaneous stones 630 serve to protect the resulting retaining wall by providing efficient drainage, and the aggregate 670 serves to firmly support the blocks and reinforcing materials.

According to the construction method of the present invention, after the basic blocks 100 are stacked up to a height of 2 to 4 meters so as not to interrupt passage of passengers, vehicles, etc., the planting blocks 200 are stacked on the basic blocks 100 in three to five layers such that upper portions of trees or flowers are positioned in the water receivers 200 fitted in the planting blocks 200 and lower portions are positioned behind the planting blocks 200. When the basic blocks 300 are required to be additionally stacked on. the planting blocks 200, the basic blocks 100 are stacked to a height of 1 to 3 meters, and trees or flowers are placed thereon in the same manner as in the lower basic blocks 100. Thereafter, the planting blocks 200 are stacked on the basic blocks 100. Therefore, the landscape block assembly according to the present invention can assure stability of a retaining wall resulting from the block assembly and can afford environmental harmony. Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides a landscape block assembly for a retaining wall with water receiver and a method of constructing the same, which is adapted to be used in soil reinforced retaining walls of roadways, sand-trap dams, airports, educational establishments, dwelling houses, industrial establishments and so on to provide afforestation as well as structural stability to the soil reinforced retaining wall, thereby assuring stability to natural disasters and environmental harmony.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A landscape block assembly for a retaining wall, comprising: basic blocks, each of which includes: an outer body which is centrally provided with a polygonal hole in which anchors of an adjacent basic block placed thereon are received, and which is provided at its front portion with three front faces, at its both sides with front side faces and slanted faces, and at its bottom surface with a pair of anchors; a neck portion which is formed with an elliptical hole, and which is provided at its both sides with mediate side faces, and at its bottom surface with a pair of protrusions; and an inner base which is provided with first inclined faces connected to the mediate side faces, second inclined faces, end side faces and an inner end face; planting blocks, each of which is constructed to assume the same shape as that of the outer body of the basic block, and is formed at its lower surface with a front semicircular groove and a rear semicircular groove; and water receivers having semicircular sections to be fitted in the front and rear grooves of the planting blocks, each of which includes an outer face having forward extensions at both lower sides of its front end, an inner face disposed below the outer face and extended forwardly together with the extensions of the outer face, support beams disposed between the outer and inner faces of the water receiver to join them together, and a pair of wedges attached to both lower sides of the outer and inner faces such that their front ends are slightly higher than their rear ends to allow rainwater collected on the inner face of the water receiver to be directed rearwardly.

2. The landscape block assembly for a retaining wall as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the front faces of the outer body of the basic block are shaped into a circular form or an elliptical form.

3. The landscape block assembly for a retaining wall as set forth in claim 1, wherein the front faces of the outer body of the basic block are smooth or rough.

4. The landscape block assembly for a retaining wall as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the front groove of the planting block is formed to have a height higher than that of the rear groove of the planting block.

5. The landscape block assembly for a retaining wall as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the water receiver is made of reinforced plastic material or hard rubber material, which has an affinity to wood.

6. A method of constructing a retaining wall by a landscape block assembly, comprising the steps of: preparing basic blocks, each of which includes: an outer body which is centrally provided with a polygonal hole in which anchors of an adjacent basic block placed thereon are received, and which is provided at its front portion with three front faces, at its both sides with front side faces and slanted faces, and at its bottom surface with a pair of anchors; a neck portion which is formed with an elliptical hole, and which is provided at its both sides with mediate side faces, and at its bottom surface with a pair of protrusions; and an inner base which is provided with first inclined faces connected to the mediate side faces, second inclined faces, end side faces and an inner end face; stacking the basic blocks to a height of 2-4 meters such that the front faces of the basic blocks are exposed to the front side and the polygonal hole of the basic block is engaged at its both corners with two adjacent anchors of two basic blocks placed thereon; fitting a geogrid on the protrusions of the basic blocks to be extended rearwardly therefrom, and filling miscellaneous stones and aggregate in spaces between the basic blocks and spaces behind the basic blocks; placing nonwoven fabrics on the uppermost basic blocks to be extended rearwardly, and pouring planting soil on the nonwoven fabrics, followed by filling aggregate behind the nonwoven fabrics; preparing planting blocks, each of which is constructed to assume the same shape as that of the outer body of the basic block, and is formed at its lower surface with a front semicircular groove and a rear semicircular groove; preparing water receivers having semicircular sections to be fitted in the front and rear grooves of the planting blocks, each of which includes an outer face having forward extensions at both lower sides of its front end, an inner face disposed below the outer face and extended forwardly together with the extensions of the outer face, support beams disposed between the outer and inner faces of the water receiver to join them together, and a pair of wedges attached to both lower sides of the outer and inner faces such that their front ends are slightly higher than their rear ends to allow rainwater collected on the inner face of the water receiver to be directed rearwardly; stacking the planting blocks on the basic blocks in three to five layers such that blossoms and stems of trees or flowers are positioned at the outside and root portions are positioned in the planting soil and the trees or flowers are covered with the water receivers which are fitted in the front and rear grooves of the planting blocks, and placing additional nonwoven fabrics on the planting blocks and the planting soil; repeatedly carrying out the above steps on the planting blocks; and placing finishing blocks on the uppermost basic blocks.