Patent Application
20210222455
The present inventions generally pertain to wall structures, and more particularly to wall or fence structures for securing a border, including related systems and methods.
One of the political issues that has been part of the public discourse in recent years in the United States has related to illegal immigration, and to efforts to secure the border between the United States and Mexico with a border wall. The process of building a border wall along parts of the border has commenced. Currently, border walls are being constructed by pouring concrete foundations in place at the border where the wall is to be constructed. The current process generally entails digging a trench, installing steel rebar reinforcement rods in the trench, filling the trench with concrete, suspending bollard fence sections with the lower portions of the bollards disposed in the concrete, bracing the bollard fence sections to hold them in place until the concrete solidifies, and then removing the bracing. This is a time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly process.
As will become apparent from the following descriptions and discussion, the present inventions have been developed to provide a means to construct border walls for less money and in less time in comparison to the above-described process of constructing border walls. As will be seen from the below description, use of the present inventions will enable contractors to greatly expedite the rate at which bollard fence walls can be constructed on-site at the border.
Border walls and related systems and methods are disclosed. In one aspect, a specific embodiment of the present inventions may be a border wall comprising: a plurality of bollard fence sections, each bollard fence section including a plurality of bollards; and a plurality of base members, each base member being adapted for engagement with and to support a corresponding bollard fence section, each base member including a plurality of openings extending downwardly from a top surface of the base member, the number of openings corresponding to the number of bollards in the corresponding bollard fence section, each opening being disposed to receive a lower portion of a corresponding bollard, and at least one of the bollards being matched to at least one of the openings. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that each base member may include a plurality of connectors to facilitate connection of adjacent base members when positioned in end-to-end relationship. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that each base member may include an alignment notch and an alignment protrusion. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that at least one of the openings in each base member may be in the form of a cylinder. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that at least one of the openings in each base member may be in the form of a rectangular prism. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that the at least one opening may be defined by a section of square tubing. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that the openings may be aligned with and equidistantly spaced from each other.
In another aspect, a specific embodiment of the present inventions may include a base member comprising: a precast concrete base in the form of a rectangular prism and having a top surface, a front side surface, a back side surface opposite the front side surface, a left end surface, and a right end surface opposite the left end surface; and a plurality of aligned openings extending downwardly from the top surface of the base member and partially into the base member, each opening having a longitudinal axis, and each longitudinal axis of each opening is generally disposed in parallel relationship to one another. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that each base member may include a plurality of connectors to facilitate connection of adjacent base members when positioned in end-to-end relationship. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that each base member may include an alignment notch and an alignment protrusion. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that at least one of the openings in each base member may be in the form of a cylinder. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that at least one of the openings in each base member may be in the form of a rectangular prism. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that the at least one opening may be defined by a section of square tubing. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that the aligned openings may be equidistantly spaced from each other.
In another aspect, a specific embodiment of the present inventions may include a method of making a border wall comprising: excavating a trench; positioning a first precast concrete base member in the trench, the base member including a plurality of openings extending downwardly from a top surface of the base member; and engaging a first bollard fence section with the precast concrete base member, the bollard fence section including a plurality of bollards, the number of openings in the precast concrete base member corresponding to the number of bollards in the bollard fence section, each opening being disposed to receive a lower portion of one of the bollards, and at least one of the bollards being matched to at least one of the openings. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that the method may further include positioning a second precast concrete base member in the trench adjacent the first precast concrete base member; connecting the first and second precast concrete base members; and engaging bollards on a second bollard fence section with corresponding openings descending from a top surface of the second precast concrete base member. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that each of the first and second precast concrete base members may include a plurality of connectors to facilitate connection of the first and second precast concrete base members when positioned in end-to-end relationship. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that the base member may include an alignment notch and an alignment protrusion. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that at least one of the openings in the base member may be in the form of a cylinder. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that at least one of the openings in the base member may be in the form of a rectangular prism. Another feature of this aspect of the present inventions may be that the at least one opening may be defined by a section of square tubing.
Other features, aspects and advantages of the present inventions will become apparent from the following discussion and detailed description.
While the present inventions will be described in connection with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the scope of protection is not intended to limit the inventions to those embodiments. On the contrary, the scope of protection is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the various inventions as defined by the appended claims.
Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals denote identical elements throughout the several views, there is shown in
Referring now to
In a specific embodiment, the square opening 26 may be formed or defined by a section of square tubing or similar structure that is precast in place in the base members 16/18 during when the base members 16/18 are being manufactured. In a specific embodiment, the square opening 26 may be preferably positioned generally in a central portion of the base member 16/18 and between the circular openings 24. The size of the square opening 26 is designed so as to closely or snuggly receive, or “match,” one of the bollards 15 on a bollard section 12/14. In a specific embodiment, the interior dimensions of the square opening 26 may be designed to provide for a clearance between each side of its matching bollard 15 and each corresponding side of the square opening 26 in the range of 1/16 to ⅛ inches. In a specific embodiment, the square opening 26 may be positioned on the diagonal or at a 45 degree angle relative to the longer sides of the base members 16/18 so as to matingly engage with its matching bollard 15. This can be accomplished by precasting a bollard matching section (e.g., a length of square tubing) in the square opening 26 to match the matching bollard 15 in the bollard sections 12/14. The mating engagement of the matching bollard 15 with the square opening 26 allows the square opening 26 to support the bollard fence section 12/14 without the need for bracing, such as that required with the current border wall manufacturing method described above.
With reference to
With reference to
As mentioned above, the base members 16/18 are preferably precast using concrete at a facility remote from the border, and then delivered to the border for installation. The installation process at the border begins by excavating a trench 20, as shown for example in
Next, as shown for example in
While the matching bollard 17 snuggly fits into the matching square opening 26, the other individual bollards 15 fit in the circular openings 24 with open space between each bollard 15 and the side walls of its corresponding circular opening 24. After a bollard section 12/14 is put into place as shown in
In light of the above and foregoing description, it can be seen that the present inventions provide advantages and benefits in comparison to the current method of constructing border walls as described above in the “Description of Related Art.” As discussed and shown above, by manufacturing the precast concrete base sections at a location remote from the border, the present inventions enable construction of bollard walls at a much faster rate in comparison to the construction method in current use. With the present inventions, the precast concrete base sections can be quickly positioned in the trench one after another in end-to-end abutting relationship, and connected to one another to form a cohesive and stable foundation to support the bollard fence sections. After the precast concrete base sections are installed in the trench, the individual bollard fence sections can be inserted into the openings on top of the base sections. As explained above, one of the bollards in each fence section is “matched” to one of the openings in the top of a base section. Engagement of that “matched” bollard with its “matched” opening in the base section supports the entire bollard fence section. Filling in the spaces around the other bollards and their corresponding circular openings with grout, concrete or other Tillable material adds additional support and stability to wall.
Unlike the current border-wall construction method as discussed above, border walls constructing in accordance with the present invention do not require any bracing of the bollard fence sections until concrete is allowed to set. This reduces construction time, and saves money in reduced material and labor costs. Similarly, unlike the current construction method, use of the present inventions do not require installing rebar in the trench, pouring concrete foundations, using expensive heavy machinery to suspend the bollard fence sections in place with the lower ends of the individual bollards positioned in the concrete (including at just the right depth and with the bollard fence section leveled), and then, as already mentioned, bracing the fence sections to hold them in place while the concrete sets. Thus, it can be seen that the additional expense and construction time of the current construction method is avoided through use of the present inventions.
It is to be understood that the inventions disclosed herein are not limited to the exact details of construction, operation, exact materials or embodiments shown and described. Although specific embodiments of the inventions have been described, various modifications, alterations, alternative constructions, and equivalents are also encompassed within the scope of the inventions. Although the present inventions may have been described using a particular series of steps, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present inventions is not limited to the described series of steps. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will be evident that additions, subtractions, deletions, and other modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the inventions as set forth in the claims set forth below. Accordingly, the inventions are therefore to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
