Claims
- 1. A modular wall block system to be used for forming a retaining wall, said modular wall block system comprising:
- a plurality of wall blocks each having a front face for forming a portion of an exterior surface of the retaining wall, a rear face, upper and lower surfaces, and opposed sidewalls extending between said upper and lower surfaces and said front and rear faces,
- a grid-like sheet of material comprising end portions to be secured to selected wall blocks with the remainder of the grid-like sheet of material extending rearwardly into fill material behind the retaining wall to reinforce the retaining wall, said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material defining a plurality of laterally spaced openings,
- a grid connector for securing said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material to said selected wall blocks and connecting and positioning adjacent wall blocks relative to each other, said grid connector comprising a spine and a plurality of finger members and at least one tab extending therefrom, a central axis of said finger members being spaced from a central axis of said at least one tab, said finger members being spaced apart by a distance corresponding to the spacing between selected openings in said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material, and
- a recess defined in each of said wall blocks below said upper surface thereof, said recess being dimensioned to frictionally receive and retain said finger members of said grid connector with said spine of said grid connector overlying said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material to secure said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material to said selected wall blocks,
- said at least one tab projecting above said upper surfaces of said wall blocks, said wall blocks each including a slot extending in said lower surfaces thereof, said slot in an upper wall block receiving said at least one tab of said grid connector in a lower wall block with a surface defining said slot engaging said at least one tab of said grid connector to position said front faces of said wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks relative to each other in one of a vertically aligned and vertically staggered orientation dependent upon a direction of positioning of said at least one tab.
- 2. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said slot extends between said opposed sidewalls of said wall block.
- 3. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said grid connector includes portions projecting laterally beyond said sidewalls of said wall blocks to span the space between sidewalls of adjacent wall blocks in a course of wall blocks and engage said recess of an adjacent wall block to position juxtaposed wall blocks in said course of wall blocks relative to each other.
- 4. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said finger members of said grid connector include serrations to frictionally secure said finger members in said recess.
- 5. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said grid connector is made of plastic.
- 6. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said grid connector is made of fiberglass reinforced plastic.
- 7. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said slot includes substantially parallel sidewalls and serrations of said finger members frictionally engage said sidewalls.
- 8. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said recess is defined by a continuous recess extending across said wall block between said opposed sidewalls.
- 9. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the length of the spine of said grid connector is less than or equal to the distance between said opposed sidewalls of said wall blocks.
- 10. A retaining wall comprising:
- a plurality of courses of superimposed wall blocks, each course including a plurality of modular wall blocks each of which has a front face forming a portion of an exterior surface of the retaining wall, a rear face, upper and lower surfaces, and opposed sidewalls extending between said upper and lower surfaces and said front and rear faces,
- a grid-like sheet of material comprising end portions secured to selected wall blocks with the remainder of the grid-like sheet of material extending rearwardly therefrom, said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material defining a plurality of laterally spaced openings,
- a grid connector securing said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material to said selected wall blocks and for connecting and positioning adjacent wall blocks relative to each other, said grid connector comprising a spine and a plurality of finger members and tabs extending therefrom, a central axis of said finger members being spaced from a central axis of said tabs, said finger members being spaced apart by a distance corresponding to the spacing between selected openings in said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material and passing through said openings,
- a recess defined in each of said wall blocks below said upper surface thereof, said recess frictionally receiving and retaining said finger members of said grid connector with said spine of said grid connector overlying said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material to secure said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material to said selected wall blocks, and
- fill material behind said wall blocks, portions of said grid-like sheet of material being embedded in said fill material,
- said tabs projecting above said upper surfaces of said wall blocks, said wall blocks each including a slot extending in said lower surfaces thereof, said slot in an upper wall block receiving said tabs of said grid connector in a lower wall block with a surface defining said slot engaging said tabs of said grid connector to position said front faces of said wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks relative to each other in one of a vertically aligned and vertically staggered orientation dependent upon a direction of positioning of said tabs.
- 11. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of said wall blocks includes a groove of said recess, said grid connector being selectively seated in said groove to vertically align said front faces of wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks with each other.
- 12. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 11, wherein said groove of said recess includes substantially parallel sidewalls and serrations of said finger members frictionally engage said sidewalls.
- 13. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of said wall blocks includes a groove of said recess, said grid connector being selectively seated in said groove to rearwardly offset said front faces of wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks relative to each other.
- 14. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 10, wherein said grid connector includes portions projecting laterally beyond said sidewalls of said wall blocks spanning the space between sidewalls of adjacent wall blocks in a course of wall blocks and engage said recess of an adjacent wall block to position juxtaposed wall blocks in said course of wall blocks relative to each other.
- 15. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 10, wherein said finger members of said grid connector include serrations which frictionally secure said finger members in said recess.
- 16. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 15, wherein said grid connector is made of plastic.
- 17. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 15, wherein said grid connector is made of fiberglass reinforced plastic.
- 18. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 10, wherein said recess is defined by a continuous recess extending across said wall block between said opposed sidewalls.
- 19. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 10, wherein the length of the spine of said grid connector is less than or equal to the distance between said opposed sidewalls of said wall blocks.
- 20. A modular wall block system to be used for forming a retaining wall, said modular wall block system comprising:
- a plurality of wall blocks each having a front face for forming a portion of an exterior surface of the retaining wall, a rear face, upper and lower surfaces, and opposed sidewalls extending between said upper and lower surfaces and said front and rear faces,
- a positioning device for locating juxtaposed wall blocks relative to each other in the retaining wall,
- a tab of said positioning device projecting above said upper surfaces of said wall blocks, said wall blocks each including portions defining a slot extending to said lower surfaces thereof, said slot in an upper wall block receiving said tab of said positioning device in a lower wall block with a surface defining said slot engaging said tab of said positioning device to position wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks relative to each other,
- and further portions of said positioning device projecting laterally beyond said sidewalls of said wall blocks to span the space between sidewalls of adjacent wall blocks in a course of wall blocks to position juxtaposed wall blocks in said course of wall blocks relative to each other.
- 21. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 20, wherein each of said wall blocks includes portions defining a groove extending inwardly from said opposed sidewalls and opening to said upper surface, said tab of said positioning device projecting above said upper surface of said block for reception in said slot defined in the lower surface of a wall block superimposed thereon so as to position wall blocks in superimposed courses of the retaining wall relative to each other in one of a vertically aligned and vertically offset orientation, said connector device further including portions projecting laterally beyond said sidewalls of said wall blocks to span the space between adjacent wall blocks in a course of wall blocks to position juxtaposed wall blocks in said course of wall blocks relative to each other.
- 22. A retaining wall comprising:
- a plurality of courses of superimposed wall blocks, each course including a plurality of modular wall blocks each of which has a front face for forming a portion of an exterior surface of the retaining wall, a rear face, upper and lower surfaces, and opposed sidewalls extending between said upper and lower surfaces and said front and rear faces,
- a positioning device positioning juxtaposed wall blocks relative to each other in the retaining wall,
- tabs of said positioning device projecting above said upper surfaces of said wall blocks, said wall blocks each including portions defining a slot extending to said lower surfaces thereof, said slot in an upper wall block receiving said tabs of said positioning device in a lower wall block with a surface defining said slot engaging said tabs of said positioning device to position wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks relative to each other in one of a vertically aligned and vertically offset orientation,
- and further portions of said positioning device projecting laterally beyond said sidewalls of said wall blocks spanning the space between sidewalls of adjacent wall blocks in a course of wall blocks to position juxtaposed wall blocks in said course of wall blocks relative to each other.
- 23. A retaining wall as claimed in claim 22, wherein each of said wall blocks includes portions defining a groove extending inwardly from said opposed sidewalls and opening to said upper surface, said positioning device being seated in said groove.
- 24. A modular wall block comprising:
- a front face,
- a rear face,
- an upper surface,
- a lower surface, and
- opposed sidewalls extending between said upper and lower surfaces and said front and rear faces,
- a recess defined below a level of said upper surface for receiving a grid connector for connecting a grid-like sheet of material to said modular wall block,
- said recess of said upper surface and a recess of an adjacent wall block receiving said grid connector for positioning adjacent wall blocks in a course of wall blocks with respect to each other, and
- a slot defined in said lower surface cooperating with said grid connector received in said recess for positioning superimposed course of wall blocks with respect to a lower course of wall blocks in one of a vertically aligned and vertically offset orientation.
- 25. A modular wall block as claimed in claim 24, wherein said rear face includes an arcuate cut out portion extending towards said front face.
- 26. A modular wall block as claimed in claim 24, wherein said recess extends continuously between said opposed sidewalls.
- 27. A modular wall block as claimed in claim 24, wherein the rearward portion of said upper surface is inclined upwardly from said recess toward said rear face.
- 28. A modular wall block as claimed in claim 24, wherein said opposed sidewalls converge toward each other from said front face to said rear face.
- 29. A modular wall block system to be used for forming a retaining wall, said modular wall block system comprising:
- a plurality of wall blocks each having a front face for forming a portion of an exterior surface of the retaining wall, a rear face, upper and lower surfaces, and opposed sidewalls extending between said upper and lower surfaces and said front and rear faces,
- a grid-like sheet of material comprising end portions to be secured to selected wall blocks with the remainder of the grid-like sheet of material extending rearwardly into fill material behind the retaining wall to reinforce the retaining wall, said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material including a plurality of elongated strands extending generally parallel to said front face of said blocks interconnected by a multiplicity of rearwardly extending elongated strands together defining a plurality of laterally spaced openings,
- a grid connector for securing said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material to said selected wall blocks, said grid connector comprising a crossbar and a plurality of finger members integrally extending therefrom, said finger members being spaced apart by a distance corresponding to the spacing between selected openings in said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material, and
- an elongated recess defined in each of said wall blocks below said upper surface thereof, said recess being dimensioned to receive said fingers of said grid connector with said crossbar of said grid connector overlying a plurality of said rearwardly extending strands of said grid-like sheet of material to secure said end portions of said grid-like sheet of material to said selected wall blocks.
- 30. A modular wall block system as claimed in claim 29, wherein said crossbar overlies substantially all of said rearwardly extending strands.
- 31. A locating device for positioning front faces of wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks relative to each other in one of a vertically aligned and vertically staggered orientation, said locating device comprising:
- a spine,
- a plurality of finger members extending from said spine in one direction and collectively defining a plane,
- at least one tab extending from said spine in an opposite direction and at least a portion of said tab being in said plane of said finger members, and
- a central axis of said finger members being laterally spaced from a central axis of said at least one tab.
- 32. A locating device as claimed in claim 31, wherein a side edge of said plurality of finger members and a side edge of said at least one tab lie in a single plane.
- 33. A locating device as claimed in claim 31, wherein said finger members include serrations.
- 34. A locating device as claimed in claim 31, wherein said spine, said finger members and said at least one tab are integrally made of plastic.
- 35. A locating device for positioning front faces of wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks relative to each other in one of a vertically aligned and vertically staggered orientation, said locating device comprising:
- a spine having a top surface, a bottom surface and opposed side edges,
- a plurality of finger members extending from said bottom surface in one direction and collectively defining a plane, and
- at least one tab extending from said top surface in an opposite direction and at least a portion of said tab projecting in said plane of said finger members so that a central axis of said at least one tab is laterally offset from a central axis of said finger members.
- 36. A locating device as claimed in claim 35, wherein opposed sides of said finger members are aligned with said opposed side edges of said spine.
- 37. A locating device as claimed in claim 35, wherein said finger members include serrations.
- 38. A locating device as claimed in claim 35, wherein said spine, said finger members and said at least one tab are integrally made of plastic.
- 39. A locating device for positioning front faces of wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks relative to each other in one of a vertically aligned and vertically staggered orientation, said locating device comprising:
- a plurality of finger members,
- at least one tab assembly connecting said finger members together and projecting at least in a plane of said finger members, and
- a central axis of said finger members being laterally spaced from a central axis of said at least one tab assembly.
- 40. A locating device for positioning front faces of wall blocks in superimposed courses of wall blocks relative to each other in one of a vertically aligned and vertically staggered orientation, said locating device comprising:
- a first portion including a plurality of finger members extending in one direction and collectively defining a plane, said first portion having a central axis, and
- a second portion including at least one tab assembly extending from said first portion in an opposite direction and at least a portion of said second portion being in said plane of said finger members, said second portion having a central axis,
- said central axis of said first portion being laterally offset from a central axis of said second portion.
- 41. A modular wall block comprising:
- a front face,
- a rear face,
- an upper surface,
- a lower surface,
- opposed sidewalls extending between said upper and lower surfaces and said front and rear faces,
- a continuous recess defined in said upper surface extending across the wall block between said opposed sidewalls, said continuous recess having a front edge and a rear edge,
- a slot defined in said lower surface having a front edge and a rear edge,
- a distance between said front face and said front edge of said recess being one of equal to and different from a distance between said front face and said front edge of said slot, and
- a distance between said front face and said rear edge of said recess being the other of equal to and different from a distance between said front face and said rear edge of said slot.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/254,710, filed Jun. 6, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,525.
US Referenced Citations (43)
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Date |
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2075580 |
Feb 1994 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
254710 |
Jun 1994 |
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