Modular Building Elements For Constructing Retaining Wall and the Construction Method Thereof

Abstract

This present invention relates to modular building elements which are used to construct mortarless retaining walls or like structures. Main body elements (1), footing elements (2), upper-side finishing elements (3), edge finishing elements (4), corner finishing elements (5), corner building elements (40), column building elements (32), concave curved main body element (47), convex curved main body elements (56), double-sided main body elements (101), double-sided footing elements (102), double-sided upper-side finishing elements (103), double-sided edge finishing elements (104), double-sided corner finishing elements (105), double-sided corner returning first elements (140a), double-sided corner returning second elements (140b), double-sided corner footing elements (202), double-sided upper-corner finishing elements (243), double-sided corner returning third elements (310), double-sided corner footing second elements (320), double-sided window opening bottom elements (340), double-sided inclination elements (350) and curved double-sided main body elements (147) are parts of modular building elements which are used to construct mortarless retaining walls or like structures.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This present invention relates to the modular building elements fixed to each other without using mortar or reinforcement elements in order to construct a retaining wall which is capable of providing the desired resistance force against the external forces applied by the back-fill materials. This invention can be evaluated within the technical fields of construction and structural landscaping. Additionally, modular building elements of this present invention can be made in miniature form and due to their geometric properties can also be used as a construction toy and in the field of model construction.

PRIOR ART

Within known technics, there are many ways of constructing a retaining wall such as usage of natural stones stacked with mortar, concrete retaining walls molded on-site, and usage of prefabricated modular blocks. Retaining walls which are constructed by using natural stones generally has a thicker base relative to the upper part in order to increase the strength of the wall. Stones are processed generally manually until they reached to the appropriate shape to fit to each other and placed each one on the top of the other with the use of mortar in between. One of the main disadvantages of those kind of walls is the difficulty of using mortar since it requires special skills and also improper use of mortar or the stones may result with a weakened wall. It is obvious that constructing a retaining wall with the use of natural stones is labor intensive and time consuming.

Concrete retaining walls require molding on-site. After preparing the mold, reinforcement elements are placed into the mold. Generally iron rods are used as a reinforcement element so that the desired strength level of concrete can be obtained. Iron rods are placed inside the mold and by casting the concrete into the mold construction is completed. Constructing a concrete retaining wall again labor intensive, expensive and time consuming. Casting concrete on-site also requires specially skilled persons to be employed. In addition to these disadvantages, transferring the equipments or devices as well as the materials required to the construction area is not always possible or too expensive.

Another way of constructing a retaining wall is to use the prefabricated modular concrete blocks which are generally have a projection and a recess located at oppositely facing surfaces so that the modular blocks can be fixed to each other without using mortar. In this method, each block needs to be fixed into the ground behind the wall with ground anchors. Ground anchors are fixed into the ground 5-6 meters apart from the wall. Using modular concrete blocks seems to be the most economical and quick way of constructing a retaining wall. However, since it requires the usage of reinforcement elements such as anchors, specially skilled persons should be employed and special technics have to be used. Another point is that the concrete modular blocks generally have large surface area causing the weight of the blocks to be increased. Because of this reason, heavy duty devices or equipments are used during construction for carriage or placement purposes.

Consequently, conventional ways of constructing retaining walls are generally labor intensive, time consuming, requiring usage of special skills and technics as well as special devices or equipments. It is obvious that all these factors cause the construction cost of the wall to increase. Also it is very difficult or nearly impossible to repair partially damaged walls unless it is reconstructed with the risk of losing time and money.

There are many studies and previously patented art which has similar conceptual perspective with the present invention such us FR2619138, FR2703716 and WO0070154. In FR2619138, inventor discloses an H-shaped concrete block which is suitable for constructing a mortarless retaining wall. The concrete block disclosed by inventor comprises ribs and grooves located at oppositely facing surfaces and superimposed upon each other to form a retaining wall. The depth of the grooves and so the compensating ribs may not always assure the strength of the wall under high forces applied by the back-fill material. Because of this reason a second courses of the blocks needs to be piled up consecutively so that more resistive force can be obtained from the wall. However, this way of constructing a retaining wall might be time consuming and expensive.

Another example of wall structure comprising mortarless prefabricated concrete construction elements is disclosed in FR2703716. The inventor discloses a T-shaped concrete elements which include a part forming the head with a visible front face and a part forming a footing with a smooth rear face. The elements are interconnected to each other at the footing region of the elements so that the front faces are visible from both sides of the wall structure. A single row of the wall is constructed by placing the elements side-by-side and each row is stacked on top of each other to form the wall structure. Although the concrete elements within the single set of rows are interlocked to each other, there is no interconnection mechanism in between the successive rows. This may cause the overall strength of the wall to be weakened.

Another type of modular blocks that can be used to construct mortarless retaining walls are described in WO0070154. The inventor discloses triangular, rectangular or circular projections at the upper surface of the rectangular shaped block while at the bottom surface there are compensating recesses again designed at triangular, rectangular or circular forms. The modular blocks are placed side-by-side and superimposed upon each other to form a retaining wall. The wall structure disclosed in WO0070154 is the gravity wall type and the strength of the wall depends on the capability of producing the required resistive forces of the projections and the recesses. The thickness of the projections and the recesses may not always assure the strength of the wall. Also complexity of the shapes designed for the projections and the recesses may increase the manufacturing cost of the modular blocks.

THE AIM OF THE INVENTION

The main purpose of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional methods mentioned above and to achieve considerable improvements both in economics of construction and the construction period. It should be kept in mind that while obtaining these improvements, the main purpose is to create more stable and resistant structures. The improvements and advantages that can be obtained with the use of the present invention can be summarized as follows:

• • Since modular building elements of the present invention have inter-locking and self-aligning properties, there is no need to use any kind of mortar for plastering or surfacing purposes. While constructing, there is also no need for using any kind of reinforcement elements neither in between the modular building elements of the present invention nor within the ground behind the wall. All these properties of modular building elements of the present invention eliminate the requirements of using special skills or technics while constructing the wall, causing the construction time and the construction costs to be decreased considerably.
  • With the use of modular building elements of the present invention, the main cost items of constructing a retaining wall consists of cost of modular building elements themselves and carriage cost of them to the construction site only. So there is no need to carry any extra device, equipment or material to the construction site. This is an important factor that has a decreasing effect on the total cost of construction.
  • Ground water passes through the modular building elements easily. So there is no need to apply an extra method to drain the ground water out of the wall. This property of modular building elements of the present invention ensures the stability of the wall while keeping the construction costs down.
  • Any structure such as a retaining wall or the like which is constructed by using the modular building elements of the present invention forms a vertical structure without using any kind of reinforcement technics or anchoring mechanisms. To be able to build a vertical retaining wall or the like without using any kind of reinforcement technics or anchoring mechanisms has many advantages. The most important one is the capability of constructing a retaining wall adjacent to a building or other structure where it may not be possible to provide any anchoring mechanism. Another one is that constructing a vertical retaining wall will let the usage of the upper land area to be maximized. Further, to be able to construct a vertical retaining wall without using any anchoring mechanism also eliminates or reduces the amount of excavation required. So, to be able to construct a vertical retaining wall without using any kind of reinforcement technics or anchoring mechanism is one of the main improvement that can be obtained from the modular building elements of the present invention.
  • In case of any damage of the retaining wall composed of the modular building elements of the present invention, it is possible to repair the wall by changing the damaged elements only. So repairing the partially damaged walls are relatively easy and less expensive compared to the conventional ways of constructing a retaining wall.
  • With the use of modular building elements of the present invention, the height or the length of the wall can be increased or decreased easily.
  • Even the place of the wall can be changed without suffering large amount of material or money losses.
  • The retaining wall which is constructed by using modular building elements of the present invention provides a view of brick layered wall. Also it is possible to add textures or colors to the front faces of the elements. So by using modular building elements of the present invention it is possible to obtain more decorative and aesthetic appearances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Modular building elements of the present invention and the method used to construct a retaining wall thereof are shown in the attached figures. The explanation of the figures are given below:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main body element for constructing a retaining wall according to the invention;

FIG. 2 contains plan views of main body element from top (FIG. 2a), front (FIG. 2b), side (FIG. 2c) and rear (FIG. 2d) point of views;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the footing element;

FIG. 4 contains plan views of footing element from top (FIG. 4a), front (FIG. 4b), side (FIG. 4c) and rear (FIG. 4d) point of views;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of upper-side finishing element;

FIG. 6 contains plan views of upper-side finishing element from top (FIG. 6a), front (FIG. 6b), side (FIG. 6c) and rear (FIG. 6d) point of views;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of edge finishing element;

FIG. 8 contains plan views of edge finishing element from top (FIG. 8a), front (FIG. 8b), left-side (FIG. 8c), right-side (FIG. 8d) and rear (FIG. 8e) point of views;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of corner finishing element;

FIG. 10 contains plan views of corner finishing element from top (FIG. 10a), front (FIG. 10b), left-side (FIG. 10c), right-side (FIG. 10d) and rear (FIG. 10e) point of views;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a sample base ground prepared to construct a retaining wall by using the modular building elements of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the footing elements after being placed into the base ground;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the completed base ground after which footing elements are placed into;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the partial retaining wall constructed by using the main body elements and the edge finishing elements of the present invention which are placed over the footing elements;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the partial retaining wall showing the placement position of the edge finishing elements of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the partial retaining wall showing the placement position of the upper-side finishing elements and the corner finishing elements of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the completed retaining wall which is comprised of the modular building elements of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a retaining wall constructed without using the edge finishing elements, corner finishing elements and the upper-side finishing elements of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a rear perspective view of a partial retaining wall which is constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of a partial retaining wall which is constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a column building element according to the invention;

FIG. 22 contains plan views of column building element from top (FIG. 22a), front (FIG. 22b), side (FIG. 22c) and rear (FIG. 22d) point of views;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the column structure which is comprised of column building elements of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a corner building element according to the invention;

FIG. 25 contains plan views of corner building element from top (FIG. 25a), front (FIG. 25b), left-side (FIG. 25c) and right-side (FIG. 25d) and rear (FIG. 25e) point of views;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a partial retaining wall showing the placement position of a corner building element of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a completed retaining wall including a corner structure according to the invention;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of a concave curved main body element to form a curved or circular wall according to the invention;

FIG. 29 contains plan views of a concave curved main body element from top (FIG. 29a), front (FIG. 29b), side (FIG. 29c) and rear (FIG. 29d) point of views;

FIG. 30 is a top view of a concave curved main body element showing the placement position into a circular wall according to the invention;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a partial circular retaining wall which is constructed by using the concave curved main body elements according to the invention;

FIG. 32 is a top view of a convex curved main body element showing the placement position into a circular wall according to the invention;

FIG. 33 is a side view of a vertically convex curved main body element showing the placement position into a curved wall according to the invention;

FIG. 34 is a side view of a vertically concave curved main body element showing the placement position into a curved wall according to the invention;

FIG. 35 is a perspective view of a double-sided main body element for constructing a retaining wall according to the invention;

FIG. 36 contains plan views of a double-sided main body element from top (FIG. 36a), front (FIG. 36b), side (FIG. 36c) and rear (FIG. 36d) point of views;

FIG. 37 is a perspective view of a double-sided footing element;

FIG. 38 contains plan views of a double-sided footing element from top (FIG. 38a), front (FIG. 38b), side (FIG. 38c) and rear (FIG. 38d) point of views;

FIG. 39 is a perspective view of a double-sided upper-side finishing element;

FIG. 40 contains plan views of a double-sided upper-side finishing element from top (FIG. 40a), front (FIG. 40b), side (FIG. 40c) and rear (FIG. 40d) point of views;

FIG. 41 is a perspective view of a double-sided edge finishing element;

FIG. 42 contains plan views of a double-sided edge finishing element from top (FIG. 42a), front (FIG. 42b), left-side (FIG. 42c), right-side (FIG. 42d) and rear (FIG. 42e) point of views;

FIG. 43 is a perspective view of a double-sided corner finishing element;

FIG. 44 contains plan views of a double-sided corner finishing element from top (FIG. 44a), front (FIG. 44b), left-side (FIG. 44c), right-side (FIG. 44d) and rear (FIG. 44e) point of views;

FIG. 45 is a perspective view of a sample base ground prepared to construct a retaining wall by using the double-sided modular building elements of the present invention;

FIG. 46 is a perspective view of the double-sided footing elements after being placed into the base ground;

FIG. 47 is a perspective view of a partial retaining wall showing the placement position of double-sided main body elements over double-sided footing elements;

FIG. 48 is a perspective view of a partial retaining wall showing the placement position of double-sided edge finishing elements;

FIG. 49 is a perspective view of a partial retaining wall showing the placement position of double-sided main body elements over a row comprising double-sided main body elements and double-sided edge finishing elements;

FIG. 50 is a perspective view of a partial retaining wall showing the placement position of double-sided main body elements and double-sided edge finishing elements over a row comprising double-sided main body elements;

FIG. 51 is a perspective view of a partial retaining wall showing the placement position of double-sided main body elements over a row comprising double-sided main body elements and double-sided edge finishing elements;

FIG. 52 is a perspective view of a partial retaining wall showing the placement position of double-sided upper-side finishing elements and double-sided corner finishing elements over a row comprising double-sided main body elements;

FIG. 53 is a perspective view of a partial retaining wall showing the placement position of double-sided corner finishing elements;

FIG. 54 is a perspective view of a completed retaining wall which is comprised of double-sided modular building elements of the present invention.

FIG. 55 is a perspective view of a double-sided corner returning first element according to the invention;

FIG. 56 contains plan views of a double-sided corner returning first element from top (FIG. 56a), front (FIG. 56b), side (FIG. 56c) and rear (FIG. 56d) point of views;

FIG. 57 is a perspective view of a double-sided corner returning second element according to the invention;

FIG. 58 contains plan views of a double-sided corner returning second element from top (FIG. 58a), front (FIG. 58b), left-side (FIG. 58c), right-side (FIG. 58d) and rear (FIG. 58e) point of views;

FIG. 59 is a perspective view of a double-sided corner footing element according to the invention;

FIG. 60 contains plan views of a double-sided corner footing element from top (FIG. 60a), front (FIG. 60b), side (FIG. 60c) and rear (FIG. 60d) point of views;

FIG. 61 is a perspective view of a sample foundation structure of a retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements and including a 90 degrees turning point showing the placement position of double-sided footing elements and double-sided corner footing element into the foundation;

FIG. 62 is a perspective view of a sample foundation structure of a retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements and including a 90 degrees turning point showing the double-sided footing elements and double-sided corner footing element are located into the foundation;

FIG. 63 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements and including a 90 degrees turning point showing the placement position of second row or second course of double-sided modular building elements into the wall structure;

FIG. 64 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements and including a 90 degrees turning point showing the double-sided modular building elements are located into the wall structure to form the second row;

FIG. 65 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements and including a 90 degrees turning point showing the placement position of third row or third course of double-sided modular building elements into the wall structure;

FIG. 66 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements and including a 90 degrees turning point showing the double-sided modular building elements are located into the wall structure to form the third row;

FIG. 67 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements and including a 90 degrees turning point showing the placement position of fourth row or fourth course of double-sided modular building elements into the wall structure;

FIG. 68 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements and including a 90 degrees turning point showing the double-sided modular building elements are located into the wall structure to form the fourth row;

FIG. 69 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements and including a 90 degrees turning point showing the double-sided modular building elements are located into the wall structure to form the fifth row;

FIG. 70 is a perspective view of a double-sided upper-corner finishing element from top and bottom point of views;

FIG. 70a is a perspective view of a double-sided upper-corner finishing element from top;

FIG. 70b is a perspective view of a double-sided upper-corner finishing element from bottom;

FIG. 71 contains plan views of a double-sided upper-corner finishing element from top (FIG. 71a), front (FIG. 71b), side (FIG. 71c) and rear (FIG. 71d) point of views;

FIG. 72 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall including a 90 degrees turning point showing the uppermost row of the wall where flat finishing is not provided;

FIG. 73 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall including a 90 degrees turning point showing double-sided upper-side finishing elements and double-sided corner finishing element are located at the uppermost row of the wall and the placement position of a double-sided upper-corner finishing element to the corresponding row;

FIG. 74 is a perspective view of a sample retaining wall including a 90 degrees turning point showing double-sided upper-side finishing elements, double-sided corner finishing elements and a double-sided upper-corner finishing element are located at the uppermost row of the wall;

FIG. 75 is a perspective view of a curved double-sided main body element to form a curved or circular wall according to the invention;

FIG. 76 contains plan views of a curved double-sided main body element from top (FIG. 76a), front (FIG. 76b), side (FIG. 76c) and rear (FIG. 76d) point of views;

FIG. 77 is a perspective view of a partial circular retaining wall which is constructed by using curved double-sided main body elements according to the invention;

FIG. 78 is a perspective view of an alternative double-sided main body element from front and rear point of views;

FIG. 78a is a perspective view of an alternative double-sided main body element from front;

FIG. 78b is a perspective view of an alternative double-sided main body element from rear;

FIG. 79 is a front view of partial retaining wall comprising alternative double-sided main body elements;

FIG. 80 is a front view of partial retaining wall comprising alternative double-sided main body elements showing another part of the wall;

FIG. 81 is a rear view of partial retaining wall comprising alternative double-sided main body elements;

FIG. 82 is a perspective view of a double-sided corner returning third element according to the invention;

FIG. 83 contains plan views of a double-sided corner returning third element from top, front, left and right sides and rear point of views;

FIG. 84 is a perspective view of a double-sided corner footing second element according to the invention;

FIG. 85 contains plan views of a double-sided corner footing second element from top, front, side and rear point of views;

FIG. 86-97 are schematic representation of construction method of a retaining wall including a 90 degrees turning point by using double-sided corner returning third elements and double-sided corner footing second element.

FIG. 98 is a perspective view of a double-sided corner footing second element without reinforcing bars according to the invention;

FIG. 99 contains plan views of a double-sided corner footing second element without reinforcing bars from top, front, left and right sides and rear point of views;

FIG. 100 is a perspective view of a double-sided window opening bottom element according to the invention;

FIG. 101 contains plan views of a double-sided window opening bottom element from top, front, side and rear point of views;

FIGS. 102-103 is a perspective view of a double-sided inclination element;

FIG. 104 contains plan views of a double-sided inclination element from top, front, left and right sides and rear point of views;

FIGS. 105-113 are schematic representation of a sample utilization of the double-sided modular building elements of the present invention;

FIG. 114 is a schematic representation of a sample curved or circular structure formed by using curved double-sided modular building elements.

In order to identify the parts of the modular building elements of the present invention, each part is numbered and plotted in the accompanying drawings and the explanations for these numbers are provided below respectively:

• • 1. Main body element
  • 2. Footing element
  • 3. Upper-side finishing element
  • 4. Edge finishing element
  • 5. Corner finishing element
  • 6. Main rectangular block
  • 7. Left column
  • 8. Right column
  • 9. Frontal surface of main rectangular block
  • 10. Upper part of footing element
  • 11. Bottom part of footing element
  • 12. Footing element reinforcing bars
  • 13. Base ground
  • 14. Soil mass
  • 15. Filling material of base ground
  • 16. Frontal ground level
  • 17. Left column left-hand side
  • 18. Main rectangular block left-hand side
  • 19. Right column right-hand side
  • 20. Main rectangular block right-hand side
  • 21. Frontal cavity of main body element
  • 22. Frontal cavity of footing element
  • 23. Frontal cavity of upper-side finishing element
  • 24. Frontal cavity of edge finishing element
  • 25. Frontal cavity of corner finishing element
  • 26. Left column upper surface of main body element
  • 27. Right column upper surface of main body element
  • 28. Left column bottom surface of main body element
  • 29. Right column bottom surface of main body element
  • 30. Main rectangular block upper surface
  • 31. Main rectangular block bottom surface
  • 32. Column building element
  • 33. Pin of column building element
  • 34. Corresponding pin hole of column building element
  • 35. Column frontal surface of column building element
  • 36. Column rear surface of column building element
  • 37. Main rectangular block frontal surface of column building element
  • 38. Main rectangular block rear surface of column building element
  • 39. Column structure
  • 40. Corner building element
  • 41. Frontal surface block of corner building element
  • 42. Left column of corner building element
  • 43. Right column of corner building element
  • 44. Right-hand side of edge finishing element
  • 45. Rear surface of edge finishing element
  • 46. Left-hand side of edge finishing element
  • 47. Concave curved main body element
  • 48. Rear surface of concave curved main body element
  • 49. Frontal surface of concave curved main body element
  • 50. Left column frontal surface of concave curved main body element
  • 51. Right column frontal surface of concave curved main body element
  • 52. Inner circle arc
  • 53. Outer circle arc
  • 54. Inner circle radius
  • 55. Intermediate circle arc
  • 56. Convex curved main body element
  • 57. Rear surface of convex curved main body element
  • 58. Column upper surface of edge finishing element
  • 59. Column bottom surface of edge finishing element
  • 60. Vertically convex curved main body element
  • 61. Vertically concave curved main body element
  • 101. Double-sided main body element
  • 102. Double-sided footing element
  • 103. Double-sided upper-side finishing element
  • 104. Double-sided edge finishing element
  • 105. Double-sided corner finishing element
  • 106. Frontal main rectangular block
  • 110. Upper part of double-sided footing element
  • 111. Bottom part of double-sided footing element
  • 112. Double-sided footing element reinforcing bars
  • 124. Double-sided edge finishing element interior cavity
  • 125. Column bottom part of double-sided edge finishing element
  • 126. Column upper part of double-sided edge finishing element
  • 127. Double-sided edge finishing element side surfaces
  • 140a. Double-sided corner returning first element
  • 140b. Double-sided corner returning second element
  • 141. Column heads of double-sided corner returning second element
  • 142. Double-sided corner returning second element corporal cavities
  • 147. Curved double-sided main body element
  • 202. Double-sided corner footing element
  • 210. Upper part of double-sided corner footing element
  • 211. Bottom part of double-sided corner footing element
  • 212. Double-sided corner footing element reinforcing bars
  • 243. Double-sided upper-corner finishing element
  • 301. Alternative double-sided main body element
  • 305. Relatively weakened areas
  • 310. Double-sided corner returning third element
  • 311. Columns of double-sided corner returning third element
  • 316. Frontal block of double-sided corner returning third element
  • 320. Double-sided corner footing second element
  • 321. Bottom part of double-sided corner footing second element
  • 322. Upper part of double-sided corner footing second element
  • 325. Double-sided corner footing second element reinforcing bars
  • 330. Double-sided corner footing second element without reinforcing bars
  • 340. Double-sided window opening bottom element
  • 341. Internal cavity of double-sided upper-side finishing element
  • 350. Double-sided inclination element

A-A Section: Central section of main body element (1) at horizontal plane

B-B Section: Central section of main body element (1) at vertical plane

C-C Section: Central section of upper-side finishing element (3) at vertical plane.

D-D Section: Central section of double-sided main body element (101) at horizontal plane

E-E Section: Central section of double-sided main body element (101) at vertical plane

F-F Section: Central section of double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) at vertical plane

G-G Section: Central section of double-sided corner returning first element (140a) at horizontal plane

H-H Section: Central section of frontal block (316) of double-sided corner returning third element (310) at horizontal plane

I-I Section: a section of frontal main rectangular block (106) of double-sided main body element (101) crossing through bottom right corner to the central point of upper side of main rectangular block (106).

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Detailed descriptions for each of the modular building elements of the present invention which are used to construct any structure such as a retaining wall or the like is provided below along with the method used to construct these structures thereof.

Modular building elements of the present invention consists of the following elements:

in order to be used in a retaining wall or a like structure which has a flat or planar surface:

• • Main body elements (1), footing elements (2), upper-side finishing elements (3), edge finishing elements (4), corner finishing elements (5), corner building elements (40).

in order to be used in a retaining wall or a like structure which has a curved or circular shape:

• • Concave curved main body elements (47) and concave curved footing elements, concave curved upper-side finishing elements, concave curved edge finishing elements, concave curved corner finishing elements which are compatible with concave curved main body element (47).
  • Convex curved main body elements (56) and convex curved footing elements, convex curved upper-side finishing elements, convex curved edge finishing elements, convex curved corner finishing elements which are compatible with convex curved main body element (56).
  • Vertically convex curved main body elements (60) and vertically convex curved footing elements, vertically convex curved upper-side finishing elements, vertically convex curved edge finishing elements, vertically convex curved corner finishing elements which are compatible with vertically convex curved main body element (60).
  • Vertically concave curved main body elements (61) and vertically concave curved footing elements, vertically concave curved upper-side finishing elements, vertically concave curved edge finishing elements, vertically concave curved corner finishing elements which are compatible with vertically concave curved main body element (61).

in order to be used in a column structure,

• • Column building elements (32)

Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a perspective view of a main body element (1) which is the essential component which forms the main structure of a retaining wall or the like. All other supplementary modular building elements are derived from the geometry of main body element (1). As shown in FIGS. 1-2, main body element (1) comprises one main rectangular block (6) and two rectangular shaped columns, namely left column (7) and right column (8) which are placed over the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9) and they are located separately at both vertical sides of main rectangular block (6). Both left column (7) and right column (8) are perpendicular to the horizontal side of frontal surface of main rectangular block (9) and mate with the vertical sides of frontal surface of main rectangular block (9). Total width of left column (7) and right column (8) is approximately equal to the width of the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9) and the height of the left column (7) or the right column (8) is longer than the height of the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9) and at most it can be two times longer than the height of the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9). When main body elements (1) are stacked on top of each other to form the retaining wall, they provide an exact match to each other in such a manner that there will not be any gap in between the main body elements (1). So when the longitudinal and lateral forces applied by the back-fill material to the wall, main body elements (1) are compressed so that the required resistive forces are produced.

For the preferred applications of main body element (1), detailed geometric properties and proportional measurements are described below. With the given geometry of main body element (1), it is intended to produce more stable structures.

• • The length of horizontal side of main rectangular block (6) is two times longer than the vertical side of main rectangular block (6),
  • Total width of left column (7) and right column (8) is approximately equal to the width of the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9),
  • The height of the left column (7) or the right column (8) is approximately equal to the length of the horizontal side of main rectangular block (6),
  • Left column left-hand side (17) is at the same plane with main rectangular block left-hand side (18),
  • Right column right-hand side (19) is at the same plane with main rectangular block right-hand side (20),
  • Left column upper surface of main body element (26) is at the same plane with right column upper surface of main body element (27) and higher than main rectangular block upper surface (30),
  • Left column bottom surface of main body element (28) is at the same plane with right column bottom surface of main body element (29) and lower than main rectangular block bottom surface (31).

Still referring to FIGS. 1-2, the depth of the main rectangular block (6), left column (7) and right column (8), in other words, the width of main rectangular block left-hand side (18), main rectangular block right-hand side (20), left column left-hand side (17), right column right-hand side (19) can be increased or decreased voluntarily depending on the site or soil conditions or the material from which main body elements (1) are made.

Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown a perspective view of a footing element (2) which is used at the base or foundation of a retaining wall constructed by modular building elements of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 34, footing element (2) comprises an upper part (10) and a bottom part (11). Upper part of footing element (10) is integrated to the bottom part of footing element (11). The geometry of upper part (10) is derived from main body element (1) by taking a central section of main body element (1) at horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 2b A-A Section. Bottom part of footing element (11) comprises preferably a rectangular shaped compact body and includes footing element reinforcing bars (12) in the form of protrusions which are preferably positioned at front and rear surfaces of bottom part of footing element (11). Footing element reinforcing bars are used to secure the footing elements (2) into the base ground (13) so that the stability of the wall against the lateral or longitudinal forces applied by the back-fill material is assured. Footing element reinforcing bars (12) can be designed at different shapes and can be produced by different materials such as iron rods or welded-wire.

Referring to FIG. 5 there is shown a perspective view of upper-side finishing element (3) which is used at the uppermost row of the retaining wall. As shown in FIGS. 5-6, upper-side finishing element (3) has same geometric properties and proportional measurements with the footing element (2). For the preferable applications of upper-side finishing element (3), it is also possible to add reinforcing bars to upper-side finishing element (3) in a same way as applied to the footing element (2) so that it is possible to connect or secure the upper part of the retaining wall or any other structure comprising modular building elements of the present invention to a building or any other structure. FIGS. 5-6 describes upper-side finishing element (3) in such a manner that reinforcing bar structure is not applied. The main purpose of upper-side finishing element (3) is to obtain a smooth or flat finishing at the top of the wall or the like.

Referring to FIGS. 7-8 there is shown a perspective view of edge finishing element (4) which is used at the vertical edges of the wall where there forms cavities in between two successive rows of the wall. It can be observed in FIG. 18 that a retaining wall comprising footing elements (2) and main body element (1) includes cavities at both vertical edges where the wall structure ends. Preferably edge finishing elements (4) can be used to fill these cavities. The geometry of edge finishing element (4) is derived from main body element (1) by taking a central section of main rectangular block (6) of main body element (1) at vertical plane as shown in FIG. 2b B-B Section.

Referring to FIG. 9 there is shown a perspective view of corner finishing element (5) which is used at the upper-left or upper-right corners of the wall. As shown in FIGS. 9-10, the geometry of corner finishing element (5) is derived from upper-side finishing element (3) by taking a central section of upper-side finishing element (3) at vertical plane as shown in FIG. 6b C-C Section. This vertical division of upper-side finishing element (3) produces left and right parts individually so they are used at upper-left corner and upper-right corner respectively. FIG. 9 refer to the division taken from left hand-side.

In order to prepare the base of the retaining wall, a base ground (13) preferably in the form of a trench is excavated at a level slightly lower then the frontal ground level (16) in such a manner that soil mass (14) or back-fill materials stay at the back of the trench. FIG. 11 represents a perspective view of a sample base ground (13) of a retaining wall over which modular building elements are laid upon to form the wall.

Referring to FIG. 12, there is shown a perspective view of footing elements (2) which are located side-by-side into the base ground (13) so that the commencing row of the retaining wall is formed. Preferably footing elements (2) are located into the base ground (13) in such a manner that footing element reinforcing bars (12) or bottom part of footing element (11) is completely buried down the frontal ground level (16). Another point that should be taken into consideration is that the rear surfaces of the footing elements (2) (shown in FIG. 4d) should be at the side of soil mass (14) or the back-fill materials by which the load is applied to the wall. In other words, columns of the footing element (2) should be at the outer or empty side of the wall.

Referring to FIG. 13, there is shown a perspective view of base ground (13) after which footing elements (2) are located into the base ground (13). As a final step in preparing the base, filling material of base ground (15) such as compacted granular mortar or concrete is poured into the base ground (13) so that footing elements (2) are secured to the base ground (13) to form the commencing row of the wall. The completed form of the base is such that the level of filling material of base ground (15) is preferably same with the frontal ground level (16).

Referring to FIG. 14, there is shown a perspective view of a partial retaining wall constructed by using main body elements (1) and edge finishing elements (4) which are placed over the footing elements (2). First row of the wall comprising main body elements (1) is laid upon the footing elements (2) and similarly subsequent rows of main body elements (2) are laid thereupon. When the main body elements (1) are superimposed upon each other, it should be noted that the rear surface of main body elements (1) (shown in FIG. 2d) should be at the side where the load is applied from by soil mass (14) or the back-fill materials. As shown in FIG. 14, edge finishing elements (4) are also used to fill the cavities formed at two opposite edges of the wall and again while placing the edge-finishing elements (4) into the wall, the rear surface of edge-finishing elements (4) (shown in FIG. 8e) should be at the side where the load is applied from.

FIG. 15 represents the placement position of the edge finishing element (4) into the corresponding row of the wall.

Referring to FIG. 16, there is shown a perspective view of the partial retaining wall showing the placement position of the upper-side finishing elements (3) and the corner finishing elements (5) into the wall. Upper-side finishing elements (3) is used at the uppermost row of the retaining wall in order to obtain a flat finishing. As described above, corner finishing elements (5) are used at the left and right corners of the uppermost row of the wall again to obtain a flat finishing. Finally, the rear surfaces of the upper-side finishing elements (3) and the corner finishing elements (5) (shown in FIG. 6d and FIG. 10e respectively) should be at the side of back-fill materials where the load is applied from.

FIG. 17 illustrates a perspective view of a completed retaining wall which is constructed by aforementioned modular building elements of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 18 there is shown a perspective view of a retaining wall from which edge finishing elements (4), corner finishing elements (5) and the upper-side finishing elements (3) are removed. In other words, as it is illustrated in FIG. 18, it is also possible to construct a retaining wall comprising main body elements (1) and footing elements (2) only. By this way the retaining wall may represent a different aesthetic view without loosing of its stability and durability attributes. So those kind of different configurations of aforementioned modular building elements can be applied depending on the kind or amount of load that is going to be resisted.

A rear perspective view of a partial retaining wall comprising main body elements (1) is shown in FIG. 19 whereas the front view illustrated in FIG. 20.

As it is described above and illustrated in FIGS. 11-20, main geometric properties of modular building elements of the present invention ensure the stability of the constructed structures in such a way that: upper and bottom part of each column which belongs to an individual element pass through the frontal cavities of the modular building elements which are placed over or beneath the referenced element; the bottom surface of left and right columns (28, 29) and again the bottom surface of main rectangular block (31) contact with the upper surfaces of corresponding columns and the main rectangular blocks that exist just beneath the referenced element. Frontal cavities of the modular building elements of the present invention, that is to say, frontal cavity of main body element (21), frontal cavity of footing element (22), frontal cavity of upper-side finishing element (23), frontal cavity of edge finishing element (24) and frontal cavity of corner finishing element (25) are shown in FIGS. 2a-4a-6b-8a-10b respectively.

Referring to FIG. 21, there is shown a perspective view of column building element (32) which is used to construct a mortarless column structure (39). A perspective view of column structure is shown in FIG. 23. As shown in FIGS. 21-22, a column building element (32) has the same geometric properties and the proportional measurements with the main body element (1). The main difference is that the column building element (32) has preferably at least one pin component (33) and the corresponding pin hole (34). In order to form a column structure (39) comprising column building elements (32) firstly, a column building element (32) is placed over the ground or a base in such a manner that column frontal surface of column building element (35) is parallel to the ground plane. All the subsequent column building elements (32) that are superimposed upon each other to form the column structure (39) placed at the same position. A column building element (32) is located on top of the other by turning it 90 degrees clock-wise or counter clock-wise so that column building elements (32) forms the column structure (39) without leaving any space or gaps in between the column building elements (32). Additionally, it can be stated out that, in a column structure (39), main rectangular block frontal surface of column building element (37) contacts with the main rectangular block rear surface of column building element (38) which lays therebelow. Similarly, column frontal surface of column building element (35) contacts with the column rear surface of column building element (36) which lays therebelow. In order to prevent sliding laterally of the column structure (39) and to obtain more stable structures, column building element (32) includes preferably at least one pin component (33) and the corresponding pin hole (34). The pin component which belongs to a column building element (32) is embedded into the corresponding pin hole of the subsequent column building element (32). The important point here is that the pin component and the corresponding pin hole should be placed in the column building elements (32) in such a manner that they represents an exact match to each other when they are overlapped. So considering this point, different alternative usage of the pin component can be developed. For example, pin components can be manufactured separately and assembled to the column building elements (32) during construction. It is also possible to apply different ideas to resist to lateral forces applied to the column structure (39) such that the contacting surfaces of the column building elements (32) can be prefabricated including projections and recesses designed at various shapes instead of using a pin component.

It is obvious that in order to construct a column structure (39) as shown in FIG. 23, main body elements (1) can also be used instead of column building element (32) where there is no lateral force applied to the column structure (39).

Referring to FIG. 24 there is shown a perspective view of a corner building element (40) to supply a 90 degrees turning to a retaining wall constructed with the aforementioned modular building elements of the present invention. As it is shown in FIGS. 24-25 a corner building element (40) comprises a frontal surface block (41), a left column (42), and a right column (43). Corner building elements (40) interconnects the modular building elements at the corner region of the wall so that any possible separation of the sides of the wall because of any longitudinal forces can be avoided. It should also be noted that by using the corner building elements (40) a smooth finishing can be obtained at the corner region, that is to say, there will not be any gaps or spaces in between the modular building elements.

Still referring to FIGS. 24-25, the geometry of the corner building element (40) is derived from two edge finishing elements (4) (shown in FIG. 8) in such a manner that; first edge finishing element (4) is turned 180 degrees at the horizontal plane relative to the second edge finishing element (4); rear surface of the first edge finishing element (45) mates with the right-hand side surface of the second edge finishing element (44) as well as rear surface of the second edge finishing element (45) is at the same plane with the left-hand side of first edge finishing element (46). Complementarily, column upper surfaces of both edge finishing elements (58) and respectively column bottom surfaces of both edge finishing elements (59) should be at the same plane.

Referring to FIG. 26 there is shown a perspective view of a partial retaining wall showing the placement position of a corner building element (40) into a wall structure. In order to construct a wall including a 90 degrees turning, first footing elements (2) are located inside the base ground (13) including a 90 degrees turning point, afterwards main body elements (1) are stacked over the footing elements (2) along with the corner building elements (40) appropriately placed at the turning point of the wall. Additionally, as it is illustrated in FIG. 27, upper-side finishing elements (3) and corner finishing elements (5) can preferably be used at the uppermost row of a retaining wall which includes a 90 degrees turning in order to obtain a flat finishing.

Referring to FIG. 28, there is shown a perspective view of a concave curved main body element (47) which is used to form a curved or circular shape retaining wall. As shown in FIG. 29, the geometric properties of a concave curved main body element (47) is characterized in that: by twisting or bending a main body element (1) over a plane which coincides with the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9), so as a result, rear surface of main body element (1) takes a concave shape which is suitable to form a curved or circular structures around a vertical axis which is perpendicular to the ground plane. In FIG. 30, there is shown top view of appropriate placement position of a concave curved main body element (47) to form a circular structure. In FIG. 30, it can be observed that, rear surface of concave curved main body element (48) coincides with inner circle arc (52) as well as left column frontal surface of concave curved main body element (50) and right column frontal surface of concave curved main body element (51) coincides with outer circle arc (53) of the wall structure. Similarly, frontal surface of concave curved main body element (49) coincides with intermediate circle arc (55). Circles constituting inner circle arc (52), outer circle arc (53) and intermediate circle arc (55) have common center. Additionally, inner circle radius (54) shown in FIG. 30 is same with the radius of a curved retaining wall structure shown in FIG. 31.

In FIGS. 28-29, the rear surface of concave curved main body element (48) is shown in the form of a concave curved shape and the rear surface of a concave curved main body element (48) forms inner circle or interior surface of a circular retaining wall comprising concave curved main body elements (47) as shown in FIG. 31. Alternatively, rear surface of concave curved main body element (48) can also be designed and manufactured at the convex curved form. Referring to FIG. 32 there is shown top view of a convex curved main body element (56) placement position into a circular wall structure. As it is illustrated in FIG. 32, the geometric properties of a convex curved main body element (56) is characterized in that: by twisting or bending a main body element (1) over a plane which coincides with the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9) rear surface of main body element (1) takes a convex curved shape which is suitable to form a curved or circular structures around a vertical axis which is perpendicular to the ground plane. In that case, the rear surface of a convex curved main body element (57) forms outer circle arc (53) of a circular retaining wall comprising convex curved main body elements (56).

Referring to FIG. 33, there is shown side view of a vertically convex curved main body element (60) placement position into a curved wall according to the invention. Vertically convex curved main body element (60) is another form of modular building elements of the present invention which can be used to construct a curved or circular shape retaining wall or the like. The geometric properties of a vertically convex curved main body element (60) is characterized in that: by twisting or bending a main body element (1) over a plane which coincides with the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9), column frontal surfaces of main body element (1) takes a convex curved shape which is suitable to form a curved or circular structures around a horizontal axis which is parallel to the ground plane.

In FIG. 34, there is shown side view of a vertically concave curved main body element (61) placement position into a curved wall according to the invention. Similarly, vertically concave curved main body element (61) is another form of modular building elements of the present invention which can be used to construct a curved or circular shape retaining wall or the like. The geometric properties of a vertically concave curved main body element (61) is characterized in that: by twisting or bending a main body element (1) over a plane which coincides with the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9), column frontal surfaces of main body element (1) takes a concave curved shape which is suitable to form a curved or circular structures around a horizontal axis which is parallel to the ground plane.

Some preferred alternative applications of modular building elements of the present invention and the method of construction of the previously mentioned structures comprising these modular building elements are summarized below.

Depending on the site conditions, footing elements (2) can be located into the base ground (13) in such a manner that footing elements (2) can form an angle relative to the ground plane so that inclined wall structures can be obtained and over this inclined foundation structure, modular building elements such as main body elements (1), upper-side finishing elements (3), edge finishing elements (4) corner finishing elements (5) and corner building elements (40) can be superimposed upon each other to complete the inclination wall structure.

As it is described herein, concave curved main body element (47) is used to construct curved or circular shape retaining walls. At the preferable applications of the modular building elements of the present invention it is also possible to manufacture concave curved footing elements, concave curved upper-side finishing elements, concave curved edge finishing elements, concave curved corner finishing elements which are compatible with the concave curved main body element (47). Similarly, it is also possible to manufacture convex curved footing elements, convex curved upper-side finishing elements, convex curved edge finishing elements, convex curved corner finishing elements which are compatible with the convex curved main body element (56) which is another form of modular building elements used to construct curved or circular structures.

As it was stated out before, another form of modular building elements of the present invention is vertically convex curved main body element (60) which is again suitable for constructing curved or circular shape retaining walls. At the preferable applications of the modular building elements of the present invention it is also possible to manufacture vertically convex curved footing elements, vertically convex curved upper-side finishing elements, vertically convex curved edge finishing elements, vertically convex curved corner finishing elements which are compatible with the vertically convex curved main body element (60). Similarly, it is also possible to manufacture vertically concave curved footing elements, vertically concave curved upper-side finishing elements, vertically concave curved edge finishing elements, vertically concave curved corner finishing elements which are compatible with vertically concave curved main body element (61) which is another form of modular building elements used to construct curved or circular structures.

Alternatively, projections and recesses at various geometric shapes or any kind of pin mechanisms (not shown) can be designed and applied over the contacting surfaces of the modular building elements of the present invention. So when they are superimposed upon each other, these projections and recesses along with the pin mechanisms provide an exact fixing or interlocking of the modular building elements to each other so that the structures comprising modular building elements can even be resistive against the forces applied from the exterior or empty side.

Modular building elements of the present invention also includes the following modular parts as an addition to aforementioned and described modular building elements. Double-sided modular building element is the generic name given to these parts. These parts are designed:

in order to be used in a retaining wall or a like structure which has a flat or planar surface such as;

• • double-sided main body elements (101), double-sided footing elements (102), double-sided upper-side finishing elements (103), double-sided edge finishing elements (104), double-sided corner finishing elements (105), double-sided corner returning first elements (140a), double-sided corner returning second elements (140b), double-sided corner footing elements (202), double-sided upper-corner finishing elements (243), alternative double-sided main body elements (301), double-sided corner returning third elements (310), double-sided corner footing second element (320), double-sided corner footing second element without reinforcing bars (330), double-sided window opening bottom element (340), double-sided inclination element (350);

in order to be used in a retaining wall or like structure which has a curved or circular shape such as;

• • curved double-sided main body elements (147) and curved double-sided modular building elements which are compatible with curved double-sided main body element (147).

As illustrated in FIG. 35-77, double-sided modular building elements are designed to be able to construct wall structures which are resistive against the forces applied from both sides of the wall. In other words, any structure such as a retaining wall or like comprising double-sided modular building elements has self-standing property.

The geometric properties and proportional measurements of double-sided main body element (101), as shown in FIGS. 35-36, is characterized in that: a second rectangular block which is similar to main rectangular block (6) of main body element (1), namely frontal main rectangular block (106), is located at the frontal surfaces of left column (7) and right column (8) of main body element (1) and frontal main rectangular block (106) forms an integrated structure with the main body element (1).

Referring to FIGS. 37-38, there is shown a double-sided footing element (102) which is the part used at the foundation of a wall structure comprising double-sided main body elements (101). Double-sided footing element (102) comprises upper part (110) and bottom part (111). Upper part of double-sided footing element (110) is integrated to the bottom part of double-sided footing element (111). The geometry of upper part of double-sided footing element (110) is derived from double-sided main body element (101) by taking a central section of double-sided main body element (101) at horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 36b D-D Section. Bottom part of double-sided footing element (111) comprises preferably a rectangular shaped compact body and includes double-sided footing element reinforcing bars (112) in the form of protrusions which are preferably positioned at front and rear surfaces of bottom part of double-sided footing element (111). Double-sided footing element reinforcing bars (112) are used to secure the double-sided footing elements (102) into the base ground so that the stability of the wall against the lateral or longitudinal forces applied by the back-fill material is assured. Double-sided footing element reinforcing bars (112) can be designed at different shapes and can be produced by different materials such as iron rods or welded-wire.

A double-sided upper-side finishing element (103), as shown in FIGS. 39-40 is used at the uppermost row of a retaining wall. Still referring to FIGS. 39-40, double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) has same geometric properties and proportional measurements with a double-sided footing element (102). For the preferable applications of double-sided upper-side finishing element (103), it is possible to add reinforcing bars to double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) in a same way as applied to the double-sided footing element (102) so that it is possible to connect or secure the upper part of a retaining wall or any other structure comprising double-sided modular building elements of the present invention to a building or any other structure. FIGS. 39-40 describes double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) in such a manner that reinforcing bar structure is not applied. The main purpose of double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) is to obtain a smooth or flat finishing at the top of the retaining wall or the like.

Referring to FIGS. 41-42 there is shown a perspective view of double-sided edge finishing element (104) which is used to fill the cavities formed at the vertical edges of the wall in between two successive rows. A retaining wall comprising double-sided footing elements (102) and double-sided main body element (101) includes cavities at both vertical edges where the wall structure ends. Preferably double-sided edge finishing elements (104) can be used to fill these cavities. The geometry of double-sided edge finishing element (104) is derived from double-sided main body element (101) by taking a central section of frontal main rectangular block (106) of double-sided main body element (101) at vertical plane as shown in FIG. 36b E-E Section.

Referring to FIG. 43 there is shown a perspective view of double-sided corner finishing element (105) which is used at the upper-left or upper-right corners of a wall structure comprising double-sided modular building elements of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 43-44, the geometry of double-sided corner finishing element (105) is derived from double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) by taking a central section of double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) at vertical plane as shown in FIG. 40b F-F Section. This vertical division of double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) produces left and right parts of double-sided corner finishing element (105) which are symmetrical to each other and used at upper-left and upper-right corners respectively.

Referring to FIGS. 45-54, there are shown phases of constructing a sample retaining wall structure by using double-sided modular building elements, namely double-sided main body elements (101), double-sided footing elements (102), double-sided upper-side finishing elements (103), double-sided edge finishing elements (104) and double-sided corner finishing elements (105). Such a sample wall structure shown in FIGS. 45-54, is resistive against the forces applied from both sides (front and rear) of the wall structure. This means that the back-fill materials can be found at either side of the wall without disturbing the overall stability of the structure.

Two separate double-sided corner returning elements are designed in order to be able to add a 90 degrees turning point structure to a retaining wall comprising double-sided modular building elements. These elements are double-sided corner returning first element (140a) (shown in FIGS. 55-56) and double-sided corner returning second element (140b) (shown in FIGS. 57-58).

Further, double-sided corner footing element (202) is used at the corner of the foundation structure comprising double-sided footing elements (102) which includes 90 degrees turning point. Double-sided corner footing element (202) is given in FIGS. 59-60.

The geometry of a double-sided corner returning first element (140a), shown in FIGS. 55-56, is characterized in that: a compact body is obtained when double-sided edge finishing element interior cavity (124) is full and over this compact body, column bottom part of double-sided edge finishing element (125) and column upper part of double-sided edge finishing element (126) slided towards the centre of this compact body.

The geometric appearance of a double-sided corner returning second element (140b) as shown in FIGS. 57-58, is same with the geometry obtained by: mating the side surface of a substance obtained by putting a hole at the place of column heads of a double-sided corner returning first element (140a) having the same cross-section with a column, all the way along the body of double-sided corner returning first element (140a); with the double-sided edge finishing element side surfaces (127) (shown in FIG. 42) which belongs to a double-sided edge finishing element (104); integrating or mating these two substances to each other over the same plane, double-sided corner returning second element (140b) is obtained.

Referring to FIGS. 59-60, there is shown a perspective view of a double-sided corner footing element (202) which is the part used at the corner of a foundation structure of a wall comprising double-sided modular building elements so that a 90 degrees turning can be added to the wall structure. Double-sided corner footing element (202) comprises upper part (210) and bottom part (211). Upper part of double-sided corner footing element (210) is integrated to the bottom part of double-sided corner footing element (211). The geometry of upper part of double-sided corner footing element (210) is derived from double-sided corner returning first element (140a) by taking a central section of double-sided corner returning first element (140a) at horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 56b G-G Section. Bottom part of double-sided corner footing element (211) comprises preferably a rectangular or square shaped compact body and includes double-sided corner footing element reinforcing bars (212) in the form of protrusions which are preferably positioned at front and side surfaces of bottom part of double-sided corner footing element (211). Double-sided corner footing element reinforcing bars (212) are used to secure the double-sided corner footing element (202) into the base ground so that the stability or strength of the wall is assured. Double-sided corner footing element reinforcing bars (212) can be designed at different shapes and can be produced by different materials such as iron rods or welded-wire depending on the site or soil conditions.

Referring to FIGS. 61-69, there are shown phases of constructing a sample retaining wall structure including 90 degrees turning point. As illustrated in FIGS. 61-62, first or commencing row of a wall structure including 90 degrees turning point comprises double-sided footing elements (102) which are located side-by-side all the way through both direction and double-sided corner footing element (202) which is placed at the corner. At the second row of the wall, construction of first side started with double-sided main body elements (101) placed side-by-side until ending edge of the wall is reached where double-sided edge finishing element (104) is used; and for the other side, construction started with a double-sided corner returning second element (140b) located at the corner and continued with double-sided main body elements (101). Modular building elements used to form the second row is shown in FIGS. 63-64. The third row of a 90 degrees turning wall comprises a double-sided corner returning first element (140a) located at the corner and double-sided main body elements (101) placed side-by-side towards the both direction of the wall. Modular building elements used to form the third row is shown in FIGS. 65-66. At the fourth row, construction of first side started with double-sided corner returning second element (140b) located at the corner and continued with double-sided main body elements (101) until the ending edge is reached; and for the other side, construction started with a double-sided edge finishing element (104) and continued with double-sided main body elements (101). The modular building elements used to form the fourth row is shown in FIGS. 67-68. Finally, as shown in FIG. 69, the fifth row of a 90 degrees turning wall comprises a double-sided corner returning first element (140a) located at the corner and double-sided main body elements (101) placed side-by-side towards the both direction of the wall in a same way as it is done in first or third rows. Again referring to the FIGS. 61-69, height of a retaining wall structure including 90 degrees turning can be increased with the method described above.

Referring to FIG. 70 there is shown a perspective view of a double-sided upper-corner finishing element (243) from top and bottom point of views. Also referring to FIG. 71 there is shown plan views of a double-sided upper-corner finishing element (243) from top, front, side and rear point of views. Still referring to FIGS. 70-71, a double-sided upper-corner finishing element (243) is placed at the uppermost corner of a 90 degrees turning wall and used to provide a flat or smoot finishing at that location. The geometric appearance of a double-sided upper-corner finishing element (243) is same with a substance obtained by removing one of the column head of double-sided corner returning second element (141) which belongs to double-sided corner returning second element (140b) (shown in FIG. 58) and double-sided corner returning second element corporal cavities (142) is covered up at the side where column head is removed in such a manner that the depth of double-sided corner returning second element corporal cavities (142) is at least equal to the height of column heads of double-sided modular building elements of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 72 there is shown a perspective view of a sample retaining wall including a 90 degrees turning point illustrating the state of the uppermost row when flat finishing is not applied. Referring to FIG. 73 there is shown is a perspective view of the same wall structure as double-sided upper-side finishing elements (103) and double-sided corner finishing elements (105) are located at the uppermost row and the placement position of a double-sided upper-corner finishing element (243) is shown. Now referring to FIG. 74 there is shown a perspective view of a sample retaining wall including a 90 degrees turning point as double-sided upper-side finishing elements (103), double-sided corner finishing elements (105) and a double-sided upper-corner finishing element (243) are located at the uppermost row so that a flat finishing is obtained.

Referring to FIG. 75, there is shown a perspective view of a curved double-sided main body element (147) which is used to form a curved or circular shape retaining wall according to the invention. As shown in FIG. 76, the geometric properties of a curved double-sided main body element (147) is characterized in that: by twisting or bending a double-sided main body element (101) over a plane which coincides with or parallel to the frontal main rectangular block (106), so as a result, double-sided main body element (101) takes a curved shape around a vertical axis which is perpendicular to the ground plane. In FIG. 77, there is shown a perspective view of a partial circular retaining wall which is constructed by using curved double-sided main body elements (147) according to the invention.

Preferably, to form circular or curved structures, it is also possible to produce curved double-sided modular building elements for each of the aforementioned double-sided modular building elements that are compatible with curved double-sided main body element (147). Consequently, by using these curved double-sided modular building elements, concave or convex curved structures can be constructed around a vertical axis which is perpendicular to the ground plane, as shown in FIG. 77 as well as around a horizontal axis which is parallel to the ground plane. Additionally, it is also possible to form circular or curved wall structures around an axis which forms any angle relative to the ground plane.

The geometric properties of curved double-sided modular building elements which are compatible with curved double-sided main body element (147), namely double-sided footing element (102), double-sided upper-side finishing element (103), double-sided edge finishing element (104), double-sided corner finishing element (105), double-sided corner returning first element (140a), double-sided corner returning second element (140b), double-sided corner footing element (202) and double-sided upper-corner finishing element (243) is characterized in that: by twisting or bending double-sided modular building elements mentioned above over a plane which coincides with or parallel to the frontal surface of the elements, and obtaining curved shaped double-sided modular building elements around a vertical axis which is perpendicular to the ground plane. For all the curved double-sided modular building elements, the curvature shapes (concave or convex) or directions (longitudinal or lateral) can vary depending on the design considerations or the necessities at the construction site.

Alternatively, frontal main rectangular block (106) and/or main rectangular block (6) can be designed and manufactured at different geometric shapes. In FIG. 78 there is shown an alternative double-sided main body element (301) which is obtained by locating a diamond shaped block instead of frontal main rectangular block (106). Frontal perspective view of a partial retaining wall structure comprising alternative double-sided main body elements (301) is shown in FIGS. 79-80, as well as the rear perspective view can be seen in FIG. 81. Obviously, in a wall structure shown in FIGS. 79-81, it is possible to use alternative double-sided modular building elements which are compatible with alternative double-sided main body element (301). Vast variety of geometric shapes can be applied as well as a diamond shape for frontal main rectangular block (106) of a double-sided main body element (101) (or main rectangular block (6) of a main body element (1)). Further, main rectangular block (6) or frontal main rectangular block (106) can be designed in such a manner that they can include openings for drainage purposes of ground water or projections and recesses for aesthetic purposes.

Retaining wall structure including a 90 degrees turning point constructed by using double-sided corner footing element (202), double-sided corner returning first element (140a) and double-sided edge finishing element (104) (construction method is illustrated in FIGS. 62-69) may include relatively weakened areas (305) as shown in FIG. 69. These weakened areas (305) may cause the wall strength to be decreased at the turning point. So, in order to overcome this problem, double-sided corner returning third element (310) (shown in FIG. 82) and double-sided corner footing second element (320) (shown in FIG. 84) can be used instead of using aforementioned elements (202, 140a, 104). As a result, relatively weakened areas (305) are removed from the 90 degrees turning point of a retaining wall structure. This alternative construction method of a 90 degrees turning point comprising elements 310 and 320 is illustrated in FIGS. 86-97.

Referring to FIG. 82, there is shown a perspective view of a double-sided corner returning third element (310) and plan views are provided in FIG. 83. The geometric property of a double-sided corner returning third element (310) is characterized in that: the outmost cavity of the double-sided corner returning second element (142) is filled and over this filled area, column heads (311) are located both at lower and upper side which has the same cross-section with column heads of double-sided corner returning second element (141).

Now referring to FIG. 84, there is shown a perspective view of a double-sided corner footing second element (320) and plan views are provided in FIG. 85. Double-sided corner footing second element (320) is an element used at the corner of the foundation of a wall structure including 90 degrees turning point and the aim of using this element is to eliminate the relatively weakened areas (305) (shown in FIG. 69) from the wall structure. Double-sided corner footing second element (320) comprises an upper part (322) and a bottom part (321). Upper part (322) is integrated to the bottom part of double-sided corner footing second element (321). The geometry of upper part (322) is derived from double-sided corner returning third element (310) by taking a central section of frontal block of double-sided corner returning third element (316) at horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 83b H-H Section. Bottom part of double-sided corner footing second element (321) comprises preferably a rectangular shaped compact body and includes double-sided corner footing second element reinforcing bars (325) in the form of protrusions which are preferably positioned at front and rear surfaces of bottom part of double-sided corner footing second element (320). Double-sided corner footing second element reinforcing bars (325) are used to secure the double-sided corner footing second element (320) into the base ground so that the stability or strength of the wall is assured. Double-sided corner footing second element reinforcing bars (325) can be designed at different shapes and can be produced by different materials such as iron rods or welded-wire depending on the site or soil conditions.

Construction technique of a 90 degrees turning point comprising double-sided corner returning third elements (310) and double-sided corner footing second element (320) is illustrated in FIGS. 86-97. It can be observed that the weakened areas (305) are eliminated with this technique.

Still referring to FIGS. 86 and 87, commencing row of a retaining wall including 90 degrees turning point is constructed by locating double-sided footing elements (102) side by side and double-sided corner footing second element (320) at the corner. At the second row of the wall, a double-sided corner returning second element (140b) is located at the corner and double-sided main body elements (101) are placed side-by-side towards the both direction of the wall as shown in FIGS. 88-89. While constructing the third row, first double-sided corner returning third element (310) is located at the corner and double-sided main body elements (101) are placed side-by-side in a same way done for the second row. Construction of the third row is shown in FIGS. 90-91. In FIGS. 92-97, construction technique of the following rows is illustrated. As a summary, double-sided corner returning second element (140b) and double-sided corner returning third element (310) is used consecutively and double-sided main body elements (101) are located beside these elements towards the both direction of the wall. Referring to FIG. 97, there is shown a completed form of the wall. As its explained before, in order to obtain smooth finishing at the finishing sides of the wall, double-sided edge finishing elements (104), double-sided corner finishing elements (105), double-sided upper-side finishing elements (103) and double-sided upper-corner finishing element (243) are used.

Referring to FIG. 98, there is shown a perspective view of a double-sided corner footing second element without reinforcing bars (330) and plan views are provided in FIG. 99. The geometric properties of a double-sided corner footing second element without reinforcing bars (330) is same with the geometry of upper part of double-sided corner footing second element (322). This element (330) is again used at the corner point of the foundation structure of a 90 degrees turning wall where reinforcing is not possible or is not required.

Referring to FIG. 100, there is shown a perspective view of a double-sided window opening bottom element (340) and plan views are provided in FIG. 101. Double-sided window opening bottom element (340) is used at the bottom sides of wide openings such as windows or doors which may form in a wall structure comprising double-sided modular building elements of the present invention. The geometric properties of a double-sided window opening bottom element (340) is same with the double-sided upper-side finishing element (103), the only difference is that the internal cavity of double-sided upper-side finishing element (341) (shown in FIG. 40a.) is all along the body of the element.

Now referring to FIGS. 102-103, there is shown a perspective view of a double-sided inclination element (350) and plan views are provided in FIG. 104. A double-sided inclination element (350) is used to obtain an inclined finishing to a wall structure so that some special applications can be possible such as obtaining a roof structure or inclined finishing at the upper side of door or window openings. The geometry of a double-sided inclination element (350) is obtained by taking a cross-section preferably through bottom right corner of frontal main rectangular block (106) of double-sided main body element (101) to the mid-point of upper side of main rectangular block (106) over an angled horizontal plane which is perpendicular to the frontal main rectangular block (106) as shown in FIG. 36b I-I section.

Referring to FIGS. 105-113 there is shown a sample utilization of double-sided modular building elements of the present invention. FIG. 105 illustrates a foundation structure comprising double-sided footing elements (102) and double-sided corner footing second elements (320). Over this foundation structure, placement positions of the other double-sided modular building elements such as 101,104,140b, 310 and 340 are shown in FIGS. 106-107. Similarly, FIGS. 108-110 illustrates the placement position of double-sided inclination elements (350) over the window and door openings. Finally in FIGS. 111-113, again the placement position of double-sided inclination elements (350) are shown in order to obtain a roof structure.

Now referring to FIG. 114, there is shown a perspective view of a sample curved structure comprising curved double-sided main body elements (147). Obviously, it is also possible to give curved forms to all the other double-sided modular building elements in order to be able to construct structures like one given in FIG. 114.

All the modular building elements of the present invention described herein may not only be used in the construction of a retaining wall or the like structures, but it is also possible to produce them in a miniature form and use them as a construction toy or model constructing elements.

Further, all the modular building elements described herein also have the following properties and attributes:

• • Depending on the site requirements, footing elements (2, 102) can be disposed into the base ground (13) in such a manner that they can form an angle relative to the ground plane so that inclined wall structures can be obtained and over this inclined foundation structure, other corresponding modular building elements can be superimposed upon each other to complete the inclined wall structure.
  • Any structure such as retaining walls or the like comprising modular building elements of the present invention can successfully be used to secure vast variety of back-fill materials including soil mass, constructional loads which belongs to a structure, or even the liquids against sliding, slumping or flowing. For the applications where the liquids needs to be secured, the interior surface of the wall can be covered preferably with an elastic coating material in such a manner that coating material lays in between the wall surface and the liquid so that any leakages can be prevented.
  • Depending on the attributes of the forces that is going to be resisted, the material from which the elements are made, or the usage conditions, the modular building elements can be manufactured in different forms such as hollowed body or including hole structures. By applying this alternative forms to the modular building elements it is obvious that considerable amount of reductions can be achieved in the amount of materials used so that the overall weight of the elements and the total cost of production will be decreased. The modular building elements can also be manufactured by concrete in which reinforcing materials are used such as iron rods or welded-wire. Further, it is also possible to manufacture the modular building elements with beveled edges instead of sharp edges in order to facilitate stacking process of the modular building elements to each other during construction.
  • Alternatively, projections and recesses at various geometric shapes can be designed and applied over the contacting surfaces of the modular building elements of the present invention. In other words, frontal main rectangular block (106) or main rectangular block (6) upper and lower surfaces can be designed in such a manner that these surfaces include projections and recesses in a linear or curved forms. Consequently, when they are superimposed upon each other, these projections and recesses in the form of male-female interconnections provide an exact fixing or interlocking of the modular building elements to each other so that more stable structures can be produced.
  • Additionally, by using the modular building elements of the present invention it is also possible to produce walls or structures for decorational purposes. Different textures or colors can be applied to the front faces of the elements so that more decorative and aesthetic appearances can be obtained.

Thus it is believed that the geometric and physical properties of the modular building elements of the present invention and the suggested methods of construction thereof will be apparent from the foregoing descriptions. However, it should be noted that foregoing descriptions characterized as being preferred does not necessarily restrict the protection scope of the present invention. Any changes and modifications made to the geometry or form of the modular building elements of the present invention as well as the materials from which the elements are made and the construction methods of the aforementioned structures such as retaining walls, column structures or the like should be evaluated within the scope of invention.

Claims

1-73. (canceled)

74. A set of modular building elements, used to form a mortarless retaining wall or a like structure which secures a soil mass or like material residing behind; said wall adapted to allow ground water to pass through said elements ensuring the stability of the said wall; said wall adapted to be repaired by replacing the broken or damaged elements only; height or the length of said wall adapted to be increased or decreased when needed; place of said wall adapted to be changed by disassembling said its elements (1); said wall adapted to be formed as a vertical structure without using any kind of anchoring or reinforcing techniques in between the said wall and the back-fill material; and each of said modular building elements comprising at least a main body element (1) comprising, one main rectangular block (6) and two rectangular shaped columns, namely left column (7) and right column (8); both said left column (7) and said right column (8) being perpendicular to the horizontal side of the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9) and mating with the vertical sides of frontal surface of main rectangular block (9); total width of said left column (7) and said right column (8) being approximately equal to the width of the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9); wherein the height of the left column (7) or the right column (8) is longer than the height of the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9) and at most it can be two times longer than the height of the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9) and said modular building elements are characterized in that said columns (7,8) are placed over the frontal surface (9) of main rectangular block (6) and disposed separately at both vertical sides of main rectangular block (6).

75. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein preferred detailed geometric properties and proportional dimensions of main body element (1) are such that:

The length of horizontal side of said main rectangular block (6) is two times longer than the vertical side of said main rectangular block (6);

The height of said left column (7) or said right column (8) is approximately equal to the length of the horizontal side of said main rectangular block (6),

Left column left-hand side (17) is at the same plane with main rectangular block left-hand side (18),

Right column right-hand side (19) is at the same plane with main rectangular block right-hand side (20),

Left column upper surface of main body element (26) is at the same plane with right column upper surface of main body element (27) and higher than main rectangular block upper surface (30),

Left column bottom surface of main body element (28) is at the same plane with right column bottom surface of main body element (29) and lower than main rectangular block bottom surface (31).

76. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein it further comprises at least a footing element (2) comprising and said upper part (10) and said bottom part (11) of said footing element (2) being integrated to each other.

upper part of footing element (16) obtained from said main body element (1) by taking a central section of said main body element (1) at horizontal plane (A-A Section);

bottom part of footing element (11) comprising preferably a rectangular shaped compact body;

77. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 76, wherein said bottom part of footing element (11) comprises footing element reinforcing bars (12) which is used to secure said footing elements (2) to the base ground (13) so that the stability of said wall is assured.

78. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 77, wherein said footing element reinforcing bars (12) is designed in the form of protrusions which are preferably positioned at front and rear surfaces of said bottom part of footing element (11); said footing element reinforcing bars (12) are made up of industrial materials such as iron rods or welded-wire.

79. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 76, wherein it further comprises at least an upper-side finishing element (3) having the same geometric properties and proportional dimensions with a said footing element (2).

80. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 79, wherein parts like said reinforcing bars (12) can be applied to an upper-side finishing element (3) in order to connect or secure the upper part of said wall to a building or any other structure in a same way as applied to a said footing element (2).

81. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein it further comprises at least an edge finishing element (4) being obtained from said main body element (1) by taking a central section of said main rectangular block (6) of main body element (1) at vertical plane (B-B Section).

82. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 79, wherein it further comprises at least a corner finishing element (5) being obtained from said upper-side finishing element (3), by taking a central section of upper-side finishing element (3) at vertical plane (C-C Section); and this vertical division of upper-side finishing element (3) produces left and right parts individually in order to be used at upper-left corner and upper-right corner of said retaining wall respectively.

83. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein it further comprises at least a column building element (32) having the same geometric properties and proportional dimensions with a said main body element (1); such that the only difference is that said column building element (32) contains at least one pin component (33) and at least one corresponding pin hole (34); and wherein said column building elements (32) are used to construct a mortarless column structure (39).

84. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 83, wherein said pin component (33) is an integrated part of column building element (32).

85. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 83, wherein said pin component (33) can be manufactured as a separate part and assembled to column building element (32) during construction.

86. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 81, wherein it further comprises at least a corner building element (40) being obtained geometrically from two said edge finishing elements (4) in such a manner that:

first edge finishing element (4) is turned 180 degrees at horizontal plane;

rear surface of the first edge finishing element (45) mates with the right-hand side surface of the second edge finishing element (44);

rear surface of the second edge finishing element (45) is at the same plane with the left-hand side of first edge finishing element (46);

column upper surfaces of both edge finishing elements (58) and respectively column bottom surfaces of both edge finishing elements (59) are at the same plane.

87. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein it further comprises at least a concave curved main body element (47) being obtained by twisting or bending a said main body element (1) over a plane which coincides with the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9), and consequently, rear surface of main body element (1) takes a concave shape around a vertical axis which is perpendicular to the ground plane.

88. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 87, wherein said concave curved main body element (47) has:

rear surface of concave curved main body element (48) which coincides with inner circle arc (52) of a concave curved wall structure;

left column frontal surface of concave curved main body element (50) and right column frontal surface of concave curved main body element (51) which coincides with outer circle arc (53);

frontal surface of concave curved main body element (49) which coincides with intermediate circle arc (55);

circles constituting inner circle arc (52), outer circle arc (53) and intermediate circle arc (55) which have a common center.

89. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein it further comprises at least a convex curved main body element (56) being obtained by twisting or bending a main body element (1) over a plane which coincides with the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9), and consequently, rear surface of main body element (1) takes a convex shape around a vertical axis which is perpendicular to the ground plane.

90. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein it further comprises at least a vertically convex curved main body element (60) being obtained by twisting or bending a main body element (1) over a plane which coincides with the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9), and consequently, column frontal surfaces of main body element (1) takes a convex curved shape around a horizontal axis which is parallel to the ground plane.

91. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein it further comprises at least a vertically concave curved main body element (61) being obtained by twisting or bending a main body element (1), over a plane which coincides with the frontal surface of main rectangular block (9), and consequently, column frontal surfaces of main body element (1) takes a concave curved shape around a horizontal axis which is parallel to the ground plane.

92. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein it further comprises at least an additional element, said element is a double-sided main body element (101) being obtained by locating a second rectangular block namely frontal main rectangular block (106) which has a similar geometric properties with a main rectangular block (6) of the said main body element (1), over the frontal surfaces of left column (7) and right column (8) of main body element (1); consequently frontal main rectangular block (106) forms an integrated structure with the main body element (1).

93. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided footing element (102) comprising: and said upper part (110) and said bottom part (111) of said double-sided footing element (102) being integrated to each other.

upper part of double-sided footing element (110) being obtained from said double-sided main body element (101) by taking a central section of said double-sided main body element (101) at horizontal plane (D-D Section);

bottom part of double-sided footing element (111) comprising preferably a rectangular shaped compact body;

94. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 93, wherein said bottom part of double-sided footing element (111) comprises double-sided footing element reinforcing bars (112) being used to secure said double-sided footing elements (102) to the base ground (13) so that the stability of said wall is assured.

95. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 94, wherein said double-sided footing element reinforcing bars (112) are designed in the form of protrusions which are preferably positioned at front and rear surfaces of said bottom part of double-sided footing element (111 ); said double-sided footing element reinforcing bars (112) are made up of industrial materials such as iron rods or welded-wire.

96. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 93, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) having the same geometric properties and proportional dimensions with said double-sided footing element (102).

97. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 96, wherein said reinforcing bars (112) can be applied to a said double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) in order to connect or secure the upper part of said retaining wall to a building or any other structure in a same way as applied to a double-sided footing element (102).

98. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided edge finishing element (104) being obtained from said double-sided main body element (101) by taking a central section of said frontal main rectangular block (106) of the said double-sided main body element (101) at vertical plane (E-E Section).

99. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 96, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided corner finishing element (105) being obtained from said double-sided upper-side finishing element (103), by taking a central section of said double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) at vertical plane (F-F Section); and this vertical division of said double-sided upper-side finishing element (103) produces left and right parts individually.

100. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 98, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided corner returning first element (140a) being obtained from the geometry of the said double-sided edge finishing element (104) by filling the interior cavity (124) of the said double-sided edge finishing element (104); and wherein a compact body is obtained when this interior cavity (124) is full and over this compact body, column bottom part of double-sided edge finishing element (125) and column upper part of double-sided edge finishing element (126) are slided towards the centre of this compact body.

101. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 100, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided corner returning second element (140b) being obtained by mating the side surface of a substance obtained by putting a hole at the place of column heads of the said double-sided corner returning first element (140a) which has the same cross-section with a column, all the way along the body of the said double-sided corner returning first element (140a); with the double-sided edge finishing element side surfaces (127) which belongs to the said double-sided edge finishing element (104); integrating or mating these two substance to each other over the same plane.

102. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 100, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided corner footing element (202) comprising: and said upper part (210) and said bottom part (211) of said double-sided corner footing element (202) being integrated to each other.

upper part of double-sided corner footing element (210) being obtained from said double-sided corner returning first element (140a) by taking a central section of said double-sided corner returning first element (140a) at horizontal plane (G-G Section);

bottom part of double-sided corner footing element (211) comprising preferably a rectangular or square shaped compact body;

103. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 101, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided upper-corner finishing element (243) being same with a substance obtained by removing one of the column head of double-sided corner returning second element (141) which belongs to double-sided corner returning second element (140b) and double-sided corner returning second element corporal cavities (142) being covered up at the side where column head is removed in such a manner that the depth of double-sided corner returning second element corporal cavities (142) is at least equal to the height of column heads of double-sided modular building elements.

104. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein it further comprises at least a curved double-sided main body element (147) being obtained by twisting or bending a double-sided main body element (101) over a plane which coincides with or parallel to the frontal main rectangular block (106); and wherein consequently, double-sided main body element (101) takes a concave shape around a vertical axis which is perpendicular to the ground plane.

105. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 101, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided corner returning third element (310) being obtained by filling the outmost cavity (142) of the said double-sided corner returning second element (140b); and wherein over this filled area, column heads (311) are located both at lower and upper side which has the same cross-section with column heads of double-sided corner returning second element (141).

106. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 105, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided corner footing second element (320) comprising: and said upper part (322) and said bottom part (321) of said double-sided corner footing second element (320) being integrated to each other.

upper part of double-sided corner footing second element (322) being obtained from said double-sided corner returning third element (310) by taking a central section of said double-sided corner returning third element (310) at horizontal plane (H-H Section);

bottom part of double-sided corner footing second element (321) comprising preferably a rectangular shaped compact body;

107. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 106, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided corner footing second element without reinforcing bars (330) having the same geometric properties and proportional dimensions with the upper part of double-sided corner footing second element (322).

108. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 96, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided window opening bottom element (340) having the same geometric properties and proportional dimensions with the double-sided upper-side finishing element (103).

109. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 108, wherein said double-sided window opening bottom element (340) has preferably an internal opening in such a manner that the internal cavity of double-sided upper-side finishing element (341) is elongated through the body of the element.

110. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein it further comprises at least a double-sided inclination element (350) being obtained by taking a cross-section preferably through bottom right corner of frontal main rectangular block (106) of double-sided main body element (101) to the mid-point of upper side of main rectangular block (106) over an angled horizontal plane which is perpendicular to the frontal main rectangular block (106) (I-I section).

111. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, which are used in retaining walls or structures.

112. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, which are used in retaining walls or structures.

113. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 83, wherein contacting or facing surfaces of the said column building elements (32) can be prefabricated including projections and recesses designed at various geometric shapes instead of using pin component (33) and corresponding pin hole (34).

114. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein projections and recesses at various geometric shapes or any kind of pin mechanisms designed and applied over the contacting or facing surfaces of the modular building elements; providing an exact fixing or interlocking of the modular building elements to each other when they are superimposed upon each other to build retaining walls or structures.

115. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein projections and recesses at various geometric shapes or any kind of pin mechanisms designed and applied over the contacting or facing surfaces of the modular building elements; providing an exact fixing or interlocking of the modular building elements to each other when they are superimposed upon each other to build retaining walls or structures.

116. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein said modular building elements are made up of various kind of materials as well as concrete or reinforced concrete.

117. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein said modular building elements are made up of various kind of materials as well as concrete or reinforced concrete.

118. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein said modular building elements are alternatively prefabricated in the form of an hollowed body or including hole structures depending on the site or soil conditions and the material from which the said elements are made.

119. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein said modular building elements are alternatively prefabricated in the form of an hollowed body or including hole structures depending on the site or soil conditions and the material from which the said elements are made.

120. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein it further comprises at least an alternative double-sided main body element (301) being obtained by locating a diamond shaped block instead of frontal main rectangular block (106) which belongs to a double-sided main body element (101).

121. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein upper and lower surfaces of the said main rectangular block (6) comprise projections and recesses in linear or curved forms; wherein these projections and recesses form exact match when they are superimposed upon each other as well as they can form openings for drainage purposes of ground water.

122. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein upper and lower surfaces of the said frontal main rectangular block (106) comprise projections and recesses in linear or curved forms; wherein these projections and recesses form exact match when they are superimposed upon each other as well as they can form openings for drainage purposes of ground water.

123. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 74, wherein said modular building elements are not only used in the construction of a retaining wall or the like structures, but they can also be produced in miniature form and used as a construction toy or model constructing elements.

124. A set of modular building elements, according to claim 92, wherein said modular building elements are not only used in the construction of a retaining wall or the like structures, but they can also be produced in miniature form and used as a construction toy or model constructing elements.