Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Identical blocks or modular panels fitted to reversed blocks...
Reexamination Certificate
1997-04-30
2001-03-13
Kent, Christopher T. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Identical blocks or modular panels fitted to reversed blocks...
C052S284000, C052S589100, C052S591100, C052S590100, C052S604000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199339
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a novel construction system, which is particularly suitable to make a durable, modular, adaptive landscape containment system.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,898,297 describes a child's building block set made of unspecified material. The block set consists of a plurality of four-sided corner blocks, each side having a dove-tail vertical groove, and a plurality of side members, each provided at each end with a dove-tail projection to fit said grooves, and combined filler and locking blocks to fit and fill the grooves in said corner blocks.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,494 describes a connecting structure for timbers, suitable for building log cabins, in which the mating ends of adjacent logs are provided with matching half dovetail cores which are perpendicularly insertable in overlapping relation into transverse notches formed around a core in an intersecting log. The half dovetail cores when inserted together form a core the length of which is appreciably less than the overall width of the timber so that the vertical edges of the timbers on opposite sides of the notches in the intersecting core are tightly drawn against the adjacent opposite sides or faces of the intersecting timber.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a modular and adaptive containment system for containing soil and plants.
It is an object of the present invention to provide such a system that is durable and capable of surviving the elements for decades.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a system that is resistant to rot and insect damage without the need to De impregnated with environmentally harmful compounds.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a system from which environmentally harmful compounds do not leach.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a system that does not require one to wear a dust mask when cutting the components of the system as would be required to cut wood impregnated with environmentally harmful compounds.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide such a system that is dimensionally stable and not subject to unacceptable warping, swelling, or freezing and splitting when in contact with water.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a system that is environmentally friendly to manufacture, using recycled materials, e.g., scrap wood and recycled plastic.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide an improved process for the manufacture of the systems of this invention.
These objects, as well as further objects which will become apparent from the discussion that follows, are achieved, in accordance with the present invention, by a durable, modular, adaptive containment system, which has a composite composition comprised of wood fibers embedded in a polymeric matrix, the system being suitable for holding soil and plants, and which is comprised of rails, preferably of rectangular cross-section, each of said rails being joined by means of a T-shaped tenon along one of its ends and a complementary T-shaped channel on the side of the rail near its other end, or which is comprised of a connector having T-shaped channels so that when four rails, each of which has a T-shaped tenon on each end, pairs of which are of equal length, are joined by inserting the T-shaped tenons of each rail into a complementary T-shaped channel on one of four connectors, a rectangular containment system is formed.
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Fuessenich L. Cleveland
Mudry Thomas
Smith Arthur J.
Kent Christopher T.
Litchfield Gardening Systems, LLC
Milde Hoffberg & Macklin, LLP
Thissell Jennifer I.
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