Hydraulic and earth engineering – Earth treatment or control – Shoring – bracing – or cave-in prevention
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-14
2003-12-23
Shackelford, Heather (Department: 3673)
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Earth treatment or control
Shoring, bracing, or cave-in prevention
C405S285000, C405S286000, C405S262000, C256S065140, C256S065020, C256SDIG005, C052S165000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06666625
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention concerns garden landscaping. More particularly, it concerns support posts for use in the construction of retaining walls and/or fences used in garden landscaping.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional practice in garden landscaping when erecting retaining walls is to construct the retaining wall or walls using bricks, or stones, and mortar. If the retaining wall does more than simply form the edge of a garden bed, it is an inherently expensive structure and takes a considerable time to erect. Consequently, large retaining walls are usually permanent garden structures.
To facilitate the construction of such large retaining walls, special bricks or blocks have been proposed. Recent examples of such bricks or blocks are described in the specification of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,555 (angular building blocks); in WIPO Publication No. WO 95/23897 (the specification of International patent application No. PCT/US95/02543-modular wall block system); and in the specification of Australian patent No. 665,923 (interlocking bricks).
Large retaining walls are also constructed using heavy timber. In Australia, treated logs and so-called “railway sleepers” have been used in garden landscaping. The specification of Australian patent application No. 27444/92 describes landscaping logs adapted to be combined together and fastened to each other to form a retaining wall structure.
Another type of large retaining wall is constructed using boards, panel members, planks or the like positioned between specially shaped posts. For example, posts having a T cross-section are erected along the required line of the retaining wall with the top arm of the “T” aligned with the wall direction and the vertical arm of the “T” at a right angle to the wall direction. Planks, panels, and even logs may then be positioned with their ends abutting (or nearly abutting) the inwardly directed arms of the T-section posts to form a wall. Such retaining wall constructions are featured in, for example,
(a) the specification of Australian patent application No. 12612/88 (in which the T-section posts are provided with an elongated base and a vertical plate, to enable earth or other fill to stabilise the frames formed with the T-section posts);
(b) WIPO Publication No. WO 95/13431 (the specification of International patent application No. PCT/AU94/00692, in which the T-section posts are constructed using T-section modular units, with varying lengths of the “vertical” arm of the “T”, and are restrained by a footing and a “deadman” anchor arrangement); and
(c) WIPO Publication No. WO 84/04768 (the specification of International patent application No. PCT/US84/00781, in which concrete T-posts are assembled with post-tensioning devices and the stability of the retaining wall is achieved with base members onto which soil or other fill is placed).
A similar retaining wall construction uses posts which include a channel member each side of the post. A number of these posts are erected along the required line of the retaining wall. Panel members, planks or the like, each having a length essentially the same as the distance between adjacent posts of the wall, are then mounted with their ends inside the facing channels of adjacent posts. Suitable bracing or anchoring means are provided, then soil or other fill is placed behind the panels or planks. Examples of such constructions are described in the following documents:
1. The specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,584, to John F Mueller. This specification discloses the use of “H-beam” post members, which are post members specially constructed to have a central cavity so that the post members can be placed over respective stakes which have been driven into the ground along the required line of the retaining wall. There is a channel on each side of the “H-beam” post. A retaining wall is constructed by sliding the ends of a plank into the facing channels of adjacent “H-beam” posts, then repeating this procedure with additional planks. If necessary, anchors connected by cables to holes in the “H-beam” posts are used to ensure that the retaining wall remains upright after back-filling.
2. The specification of Australian patent application No. 54785/96, by M. Vincentini and G. Belladonna. This specification discloses a retaining wall constructed by sliding panel members into channels—grooves—in upright post members formed by folding lengths of sheet metal.
3. WIPO Publication No. WO 99/20846 (the specification of International patent application No. PCT/CA98/00961 by Durisol, Inc.). This document describes the construction of a retaining wall with posts that have channels formed by two flanges connected by a web, which are held in position by anchors that are similar to the anchor of Mueller's retaining wall—see the aforementioned specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,584.
4. The specification of Australian patent application No. 81448/75, which describes a sea retaining wall formed using panels—baffle elements—which are inserted into the channels of a series of I-beams that have been driven into the earth, with a series of “earth weight anchoring support elements” extending rearwardly from the baffle elements.
5. The specification of Australian patent No. 697,901, to Armstrong & McGovern Limited of New Zealand. This specification discloses how sheet metal panels are progressively lowered into the grooves of adjacent piles, to form a retaining wall, as the region in front of the retaining wall is excavated.
6. The specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,255 of H. D. Burdett, which describes a channelled post and plank system, to form a fence.
DISCLOSURE OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The first paragraph of the aforementioned specification of Australian patent application No. 81448/75, filed in May 1975, begins:
“Prior to the present invention, there have existed numerous complicated and impractical sorts of retaining walls from the standpoint of required strength and durability while concurrently being of simple structure . . . that may be mass produced and shipped and assembled on site, with a minimum of experience . . . ”
That statement could well begin the present specification, as a reference to retaining walls used in garden landscaping today.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a support post for a retaining wall which enables the retaining wall to be constructed more economically, in a significantly shorter time, and with the facility to remove the retaining wall without difficulty or to change the position of the retaining wall should a revised garden landscape be required in the future.
It should be noted that in this specification, including the claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “top”, “bottom”, “vertical”, and other “directional” terms, will be used in the sense that these terms will have when the invention is used in the construction of a retaining wall. In addition, the term “wall member” will mean a generally elongate member, preferably of substantially uniform width, such as a plank or beam (typically, but not necessarily, of wood), having, at least at each end thereof, a flat face, the plane of each flat face being orthogonal to the elongate direction of the member.
The above-mentioned objective is achieved by providing a support post in the form of a plate member which has at least one hole in it through which a bolt, screw or heavy gauge nail can pass to hold a wall member firmly against the plate member. The plate member is pointed at its lower end so that it can be driven into the ground a distance which is sufficient to ensure that the post, when free-standing, will be a rigid and substantially vertical support for the wall member or wall members. The plate member may be formed with at least one stiffening or reinforcing feature, which may be a length of metal rod or angle iron, or may be a fold or ridge, extending the length of the plate member. A spike extending below the point of the plate may be provided, to assist (a) in the penetration of the ground, and (b) in ensuring that the support post is substantially vertical.
Lagman Frederick L
Shackelford Heather
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