US2911794A - Retaining wall - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 10, 1959 L. o. PEARSON RETAINING WALL Filed Nov. 4, 1955 awn/rap 100/: O pf/mso/v iqfa.

Elblllr" T OR/VE Y5 aar R TAINING .WALL

Louis, 0. Pearson, San Lorenzo, Calif. Appli cation, Nvernber4,. Serial.No. 544,889 z cl ai ns. (Cl. 61 35) This invention relates to concrete structures, ,andis more particularly directed towards a wall construction for retaining sloping banks of earth or the like against downward shifting or movement.

Retaining walls are widely used at the lower end of a slope to prevent the earth from gravit-a'lly moving down the slope and possibly onto a house or level area adjacentfsuch lower end. Heretofore, such walls were constructed out of any suitable material such as concrete, woodenboards or the like, and primarily consisted of a relatively high planar wall construction extending in a generally ,horizontal directionpwith' the back surface thereofadapted to be positioned against thehill or bank for preventing downward movement of the latter. Notwithstanding the wide usage of such an arrangement, this type of conventional retaining wall possesses numerous disadvantagesand shortcomings, among them being the high cost of construction, their unsightly appearance, and dangerous attributes.

Accord ingly, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a retaining wall arrangement which isex'treme- 1y economical in construction, and which is stronger and safer'than conventional types of such walls.

Another object of my'in'vention is to provide a retaining wall which is constructed in a plurality of relatively lowj'courses' or ti'e'rs whereby the large height of acouventi'onal retaining wall may he dispensed with.

"Afu'rthenobjectof the inventions to provide a retaining wall as hereinabove described which is extremely ornamental in appearance, permits terracing and planting of shrubs, flowers, trees, and the like along the slope, and which, due to minimum height requirements, is safer and stronger than previously used systems for hillside retaining.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accom panying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawing:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a hillside equipped with the retaining wall arrangement of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front perspective view, similar to Figure 1, but illustrating a modified form of retaining wall systern.

As hereinabove described, a conventional vertical retaining wall is usually in the neighborhood of from 4 to 6 feet and upward in height, and is adapted to retain a sloping hillside extending upwardly from the rear surface thereof. However, it will be appreciated that with such a construction, a relatively large mass of movable earth must be confined by a single planar structure and 2,911,794 Patente 1- 1 59 accordingly a great deal of strength and reinforcement mustbe' built into the wall to afford adequate protection. When this is done, it will be appreciated that such 'a Wall p'os'sesseslittle if any beauty, and usually prevents possible use of the hillside beyond the wall as the height of the wall presents a hazard for any one walking on the hillside. i i

The foregoing difllculties have been obviated by means of the wall of the present invention where, instead "of the unsightly and massive single wall, I provide a retaining system in which the wall height is kept to a minimu'rn but which is effective by providing a plurality of interconnected courses or tiers of retaining members.

:With reference to the drawing, a hillside or bank is generally indicated by the numeral '6 which slopes upwardlyffromthe lower portion of the bank 7 to an upper portion 8. In conventional construction a single vertical wall of considerable heightwould be positioned adjacent the lower portion 7 for retaining the massive body of earth against downward'sliding jrnovementfln accordance with the present teaching,'in place of the single massive'structure there is provided a plurality of retaining members which'extend generally transversely 'offthe hill'slope so as to define aplurality of courses or tiers designated by the numerals 9 through 12 respectively. As-shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, each of the tiers is constructed in an extremely simple though strong manner with means interconnecting adjacent tiersffor optimum retaining qualities." Taking tier 10, for example, which is typical of all of'the tiers or courses it will't'be noted that the sarne'does'not lie in asingle "transverse planeacrossthe' hillside but insteadffollows a generally zigzag path with the lower edge 'surface thereof be'ing disposed in a generally horizontal plane. The foregoing is effected 'by using a 'giljura'lity of panelssuch ast ho'se illustrated at is, 17, 13,19 and 'zoj'vtith" all of the panels being integrally cast 'or' otherwise formed to provide "a unitary wallc'onstructiori'. Each of the panelsjisipreferably tapered along the length" thereof sofasfto fo'r ni a trapezoid havinga base portion 2 6,"a ldngitudinallyfex- 'tending'up'pe'r edge pd'rtionjZTQa vertically'extending edge 28'at oneendtliereof'and' a shorterwerticaFedge 29*at the other end thereof. When adjacent members such as 17 and 18 are cast, it will be seen that the longer edges 28 will be positioned together with a large included obtuse angle formed between the front faces of the panels, and with the shorter ends 29 positioned downhill from the higher end 28. Although the exact angular relationship will depend upon the grade of the hillside 6 it will be appreciated that with such an arrangement the base portions 26 may allbe positioned substantially along a horizontal path and likewise, notwithstanding the downward taper of the upper edge 27, as such edges extend upwardly of the hill the juncture of each set of adjacent panels in a single course at this upper portion will likewise lie along a generally horizontal path vertically above the base 26. As will be observed from the drawing, the adjacent tiers 9 and 11, relative to tier 10, are arranged so that the corners of minimum height are positioned in alignment with the corners of maximum height of the tier 10 so that after the respective tiers are installed, the corners 29 of each course will overlie and be supported on the corners 28 of a subjacent tier. In order to effect such securing at each juncture of the panel there is provided vertically extending reinforcing bars 31 which secure the respective tiers together against relative displacement. Obvously, in erecting the retaining wall of the instant invention the lowermost tier 9 is first erected by using any suitable forms for providing the zigzag arrangement of the respective panels. Suitable horizontally extending reinforcing bars 32 may extend through the panels so as to insure the unitary action of each tier. Byway of example, each one of the respective panels may be approximately 4 feet long, 6 inches in depth, 1 foot at its shallow end at 29 and 2 feet at its high end 28. It will be appreciated that these dimensions are merely illustrative but with dimensions in this general vicinity, the wall is low and there is little danger of cracking the same upon back filling behind the wall. After back filling to the level of the upper edges 27 of the panels the next course or tier 10 is ready to be poured and this is poured in a similar manner except that the respective panels are longitudinally staggered relative to the subjacent course so as to position the minimum height panel juncture 29 immediately over the maximum height panel juncture 28 of the subjacent tier so that the rod 31 may secure the same together. Once again, after the concrete has set, the forms may be stripped, the back filling behind the tier 10 finished and tiers 11 and 12, etc. subsequently formed. Upon completion of the structure it will be seen that there are a plurality of generally diamond shaped terraces 36 formed between pairs of adjacent panel members in each tier, and such terraces are not only decorative but also ofier ideal planting conditions for shrubs, ivy, flowers or any other vegetation.

Notwithstanding the fact that a number of tiers are used in place of a single retaining wall, the height of the individual tiers substantially reduces the labor cost in constructing the same and it has been found that the use of such a tier arrangement is not only stronger than the single wall but in many instances can be constructed more economically.

Each of the panels may likewise be provided with a suitable enlarged footingwhich is positioned in the soil to obtain the necessary stability.

In Figure 3 a slightly modified form of retaining wall is disclosed wherein each of the tiers 41, 42 and 43 comprise continuous sinuous panels extending transversely across the hill slope. Once again, the respective adjacent panels are positioned so that the downhill curved portion 44 of each panel immediately overlies the uphill portion 46 of a subjacent panel with a reinforcing rod 47 passing through each of the panels in this area. Although in this embodiment the panels are shown of a constant height, it would of course be possible to have the panels arranged with the portions 46 of a maximum height and portions 44 at a minimum height in a manner 4. more similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing. However, once again there is providedthe plurality of generally diamond-shaped terraces 48 which may be utilized in the manner above described.

From the foregoing description it should be appreciated that the retaining wall of the instant invention is extremely simple in construction, strong in operation and attractive in appearance.

What is claimed is:

1. A retaining wall construction for a hill, comprising a plurality of wall courses, each of said courses extending generally transversely to the slope of said hill and lying in a generally horizontal plane, each of said courses de fining a vertical wall extending substantially horizontally in a generally sinuous pattern with the points of maximum curvature being alternately directed laterally inwardly and outwardly relative to the length thereof, each course being laterally offset with the area of maximum downhill curvature of one course being supported on the area of maximum inward curvature of a subjacent course, thereby providing a plurality of open hill areas between adjacent courses.

2. A retaining wall construction for a hill comprising a plurality of wall courses, each of said courses extending in a serpentine manner along a horizontal path generally transversely to the slope of said hill, said courses being vertically disposed and generally laterally spaced from each other, and each course having longitudinally spaced portions supported on and secured to longitudinally spaced portions of a subjacent course thereby providing a plurality of open hill areas between adjacent courses.

References Cited in the file of this patent v UNITED STATES PATENTS 647,322 Newburg Apr. 10, 1900 936,843 Wood Oct. 12, 1909 1,073,278 Mosher Sept. 16, 1913 1,179,121 McGillivray Apr. 11, 1916 2,138,037 Lane Nov. 29, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 179,836 Germany Jan. 3, 1907 656,692 France 1929 291,959 Italy 1931

Images