Structural Assembly for Producing Walls

The present invention relates to a structural assembly for suitably producing walls. More particularly, the invention relates to an assembly which includes elements which jointly or separately define dovetail connection members.

Garden walls are produced, for example, from natural stone or from panels resembling natural stone, from planks or sleepers such as those used in the construction of railroads or from concrete slabs which, however, need to be reinforced if they exceed a certain length and which, in consequence, have relatively high manufacturing and production costs. While laying straight wall portions comprised of natural stone and similar materials is relatively simple, of securing of such elements to one another is generally complicated. The configurations of the corners of these types of walls are often aesthetically unpleasing, and their configuration also complicates the task of securing the elements.

Generally, the procedure of securing components of the above-described walls is such that encasement boards are provided behind the wall, so as to face the soil, and the rear surface of the walls is reinforced with concrete. If wooden sleepers are employed, securement may also be achieved by laying such sleepers transversely, but this arrangement complicates the construction of the wall. Moreover, railway sleepers are generally old and do not usually have a particularly attractive appearance. A further complication in the securing of stone or concrete walls arises, because the walls generally have to be partially encased during construction and have to be secured by means of concrete.

Structural elements having dovetailed joints are known, per se, from French publication FR-A-2 376 269, for example. This document describes structural elements which have circumferential grooves and which can be interconnected, through the intermediary of a connecting element having a tongue member at each end. Such structural elements can be used for the composite erection of smooth walls. However, these elements are not suitable for the erection of garden walls which need to be secured.

The present invention seeks to provide a structural assembly for the erection of walls, particularly garden walls, which is easy and economic to produce, permits a simple method of erection to be employed, has a simple means of securement, and has a pleasing appearance.

According to the present invention, there is provided a structural assembly capable of being used for producing walls, comprising a plurality of structural elements, each element including at least one surface defining at least a portion of a dovetail joint. A first one of the elements is a parallelepiped and includes a first longitudinal side, defining a half dovetail groove at each of its ends. A full dovetail groove is disposed at the center of the element, and, a full dovetail tongue or primary protrusion separates the full groove from each half-groove. A second of the elements corresponds one half of the first element and securing element means is also provided, securing element including at least one side, the defining a dovetail tongue member or primary protrusion corresponding to the full groove in the first element. The securing element also includes an aperture.

The present invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a wall erected utilising the structural assembly of the present invention;

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are sectional views of three different modifications of elements of the structural assembly;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views of two different walls of the type shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of a further wall arrangement erected using the structural assembly of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, there are shown four different elements belonging to the structural assembly of the present invention. These comprise a first element 1, a second element 2, a third element 3 and a securing element 4. The element 1 has a substantially parallelepiped form and is provided with a dovetailed groove 5 in the centre of one of its longitudinal sides. A dovetail tongue member or primary protrusion 6 is disposed on each side of the groove 5, and half a dovetailed groove 5a and 5b respectively is disposed at each end of the element. The plane coincident with the recessed portion of the grooves 5, 5a, and 5b are referred to as connecting faces of the first element 1. These dovetail joint components are uniformly distributed along the length of the assembly. The second element 2 is exactly half the size of the element 1 and, in consequence, has two dovetail groove halves 5a and 5b between which is defined the dovetail tongue member 6. Again, the plane coincident with the most recessed portion of grooves 5a and 5b are the connecting faces of the second element 2.

The length of the third element 3 corresponds to half that of the first less the width of second element 2-- in the present embodiment, corresponding approximately to one-third of the length of the first element 1. In consequence, the third element 3 has one half of a dovetailed groove 5a at one of its ends. The plane coincident with recessed portion of groove 5a is the connecting face of third element 3. The other end of the third element 3 has a stepped or shoulder portion 7 whose length corresponds to the depth of the groove 5 of the first element 1. As seen in FIG. 1, the length 7 is the dimension running parallel to the connecting face of the third element 3. The depth of shoulder 7 is slightly greater than its length, as is shown in FIG. 1.

The securing element 4 has a substantially square cross-section and is provided with an aperture 8 which extends therethrough. The aperture 8 is, in the present case, rectangular but it may also be round or of any other desired configuration. On one of its sides, the securing element 4 is provided with a tongue member 6a which fits into the groove 5 or into the two half-grooves 5a and 5b provided on adjacent elements. In the center of each of the other three outer surfaces of the securing element 4, there is provided an elongated groove 9 which extends over the entire height of the element and may accommodate plates or panels 10 which may either be encasement boards, if concrete is to be layed behind at least a portion of the wall, or which may serve to establish or form a gravel bed.

On their upper surfaces, each of the three elements 1, 2 and 3 is provided with two longitudinally extending cementing joints 11 which may have a permanently resilient cementing substance inserted therein for the purpose of achieving easier laying and better retention. There do not, of course, need to be two cementing joints and the cementing joints do not necessarily need to extend therethrough. Any type of recess may be provided.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate three possible different profiles for the elements 1, 2 or 3. In FIG. 2, which shows the preferred embodiment, the dovetail tongue member 6 includes a shoulder or stepped portion 12 on its upper surface, so that it is not visible after soil has been filledin, with the result that the wall appears to be continuous and straight when viewed from above. This can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. The element shown in FIG. 3 does not have such a stepped portion, while the dovetail tongue member 6 shown in FIG. 4 includes an inclined portion 13 on its upper surface rather than a stepped portion. If a wall is produced utilizing elements shown in FIG. 3, and a straight upper edge is desired, a coping stone 14, of the type shown in FIG. 7 may be used. The stone 14 may have one or two shoulder portions 15 formed on its lower surface to prevent sliding. To improve the appearance of the elements, the longitudinal and vertical edges of the elements 1, 2 and 3 may be chamfered.

The four elements 1, 2, 3, and 4 will generally be produced from concrete, although not necessarily reinforced concrete. However, in order to permit as economic a production as possible by conventional means while producing elements which can be easily carried by one or, at most, two workers, and in order to permit a high degree of flexibility in use, it is desirable if the element 1 has a length of one meter, a width of 15 cm plus an additional 5 cm for the dovetail tongue members, and a height of 15 cm. Accordingly, the elements 2 and 3 will have lengths of 50 cm and 35 cm respectively. The dimensions of the securing element 4, except for the side provided with the dovetail tongue member 6a, are of lesser significance that those of elements 1, 2 and 3. The securing element 4 may, for example, have a surface area of 25 cm.times.25 cm and a height of 15 cm although the height may also be 30 cm. Such dimensions permit economic production with maximum utilization of space, whereby unit elements may be produced with parting lines or separation joints. Alternatively, elements which are separate from the outset may be cast or moulded. In addition to normal concrete, lightweight concrete may also be used to fabricate the various elements. In particular, lightweight concrete sold under the commercial name of "Lecca", may be used. Other known materials which may, of course, have different colourations as well as treated or untreated surfaces may also be used.

The erection of a back-filled garden wall will be explained hereinafter with particular reference to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6. FIG. 5 shows the wall portion between two securements, while FIG. 6 shows the securement with the securing elements 4. FIG. 5 shows a concrete foundation or base 16 which is erected in the soil and on which a few layers of the elements 1, 2, and 3 are built. In such a case, the elements are sandwiched together by means of a permanently resilient cementing substance which fixedly retains the elements 1, 2, and 3 in their correct position. In FIG. 6, the securing elements 4 are mounted at intervals of 50 cm or one meter simultaneously with the construction of the layers of slabs. Vertical reinforcements 17 are inserted into the openings in securing elements 4. As is particularly apparent from FIG. 6, it is advantageous to offset the securing elements by a distance corresponding to half the height of the slab elements, so as to achieve a better composite arrangement thereby.

After the entire wall has been erected, after the securing elements 4 have been fitted and the vertical reinforcements have been inserted, the whole wall can be checked once more and aligned, prior to the apertures 8 in the securing elements 4 being filled with concrete. A good drainage facility is very important for such walls which are to be back-filled with soil. The present elements are ideally suited therefor, because the rear surface of the elements is not smooth as a result of their being provided with grooves and tongue members. Consequently, the elements allow space for adequate water drainage. It is advantageous for the rear surface of the elements to be coated with a geotextile webbing or non-woven fabric 18 or the like, and for the lower surface of the elements to be provided with drainage material 19 and/or a gravel bed 20, as well as a conventional drainage pipe 21, so that the wall can be subsequently back-filled with soil.

Although assembly comprises only two major elements 1 and 2, a corner element 3, a securing element 4, the number of different applications thereof is very large. Thus, the securing element 4 can also be utilized as a visible feature of the wall. Thus, it can be seen in FIG. 7, for example, that corners may be formed in both directions and in both cases, a neatly-edges corner is produced. As a result of the selected dimension for the framework, especially in the case of the corner elements 3 having a width of approximately 35 cm plus 15 cm, the entire wall can be conveniently secured by the securing elements 4. In FIG. 7, it is further shown that the securing elements 4, if built one above the other, can form a column which may, for example, be used for the securement of a flagpole or for illumination purposes. It is, of course, also possible for the securing elements 4 to be built upwardly along the whole wall or along a portion thereof, and panels or the like may be placed therebetween to form a fence along which, for example, plants or shrubs may be trained. As has already been mentioned, the edge may be formed by means of edge panels and end plates 14.

As is shown in FIG. 1, the securing element 4 may also be used as a corner element or configuration element whereby, for example, the element 1, which is shown in its entirety, is displaced rearwardly and lies behind the thickened portion of the dovetailed tongue member 6a while the slab element, which continues to extend to the left, may form an angle, for example, in such a manner that its lower edge engages in the lower corner of the left-hand longitudinal groove 9 in the securing element 4 or is aligned with the first slab element. This arrangement also produces a co-operation between the slab elements and the securing element. It is self-evident that, by so doing, a better securing can be provided in those cases where mounting is particularly associated with a risk of slippage. The slippage risk is reduced because, for example, two securing elements 4 are used which are disposed one behind the other and which, in addition, are horizontally interconnected by reinforcement rods.

As is further apparent from FIG. 1, the slab elements may also be interconnected in such a manner that the dovetail tongue members 6 and dovetail grooves 5 engage in one another, thereby forming a double row with a side intended to be seen facing outwardly on both sides.