CONCRETE-MOLDED STONE AND READY-TO-ASSEMBLE CONSTRUCTION MADE OF MOLDED STONES
An essentially quadrate paving stone having a corresponding base block (21) is provided on all four side surfaces (25, 26) with flange-like, upright spacers (22) which are spaced apart from each other at intervals corresponding approximately to the width of the spacers, making it possible for them to make an interlocking connection with adjacent shaped paving stones of the same type. Furthermore, the bottom side (24) of the paving stone features a number of transverse, gutter-like depressions resulting in the formation of ribs between these depressions. This creates an additional dentification, or anchoring, in the bed surface of the installed paving stones.
This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/490,710 having a filing date of 25 Oct. 2004, now pending, which is a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Chapter II National Phase application of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP02/09475 having an International Filing Date of 24 Aug. 2002 and which designates the United States of America, which claims priority on German Patent Application No. 101 49 250.2 having a filing date of 5 Oct. 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates to shaped concrete paving stones for the installation of ground covers, in particular paving stones or paving slabs, with an essentially flat top side and bottom side as well as four vertical lateral sides, and with spacers at the side surfaces. The invention also relates to a kit comprising such shaped paving stones for pavements.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONFor technical reasons involving production as well as to facilitate installation, it is desirable that paving stones exhibit a geometric shape, namely having a square or rectangular top side. On the other hand, the pavements formed by paving stones should be resistant to horizontal force components resulting from traffic loads.
The invention therefore is based on the object of providing shaped paving stones with a simple geometric configuration so that a pavement comprising such stones on a ground plane is resistant to horizontal load components.
To achieve this object the shaped paving stone according to the invention is characterized by the following features:
a) spacers are arranged at all four lateral surfaces,
b) the spacers are arranged at the lateral surfaces in a regular grid pattern,
c) the spacers are spaced at the same intervals on all lateral surfaces.
This “all-round denticulation” ensures that interlocking support is provided at all upright lateral sides of each paving stone using a plurality of spacers appropriately arranged with respect to the spacers of adjacent paving stones. Optimum or maximum stability is provided when the “all-round denticulation” is fixed to the pavement bed or ground plane in conjunction with an anchoring system on the underside of the paving stones. To this end, the invention has also provided for depressions to be formed in the underside of the paving stone, in particular transverse grooves having a trapezoidal cross-section. This creates the corresponding projections on the underside of the paving stone between the grooves, which are preferably spaced at identical intervals, namely ribs which likewise have a trapezoidal shape. The latter enter the roadbed (plane), thereby anchoring the paving stones. In conjunction with the invention's dentification of the lateral surfaces, this results in an optimal fixation of the pavement surface.
Despite the all-round dentification of the paving stones, their shape and size allow for the configuration of installation units of different structure, it being possible to lay adjacent paving stones of the same or different size offset to one another.
Further, advantageous details of the shaped paving stone according to the invention and its installation kit are provided in the dependent claims and in the remainder of this description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSIn the following, the preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described in conjunction with the drawings, which show:
The shaped paving stone pursuant to
The shown paving stones 20 can be deployed with other paving stones 20 to make a pavement cover 29. In the process of laying the stones, joints, namely longitudinal joints 30 and transverse joints 31, having a constant joint width 32 are formed between the paving stones 20. In order that an approximately constant joint width 32 is maintained when the paving stones 20 are laid, the base blocks 21 of the paving stones 20 have spacers 22 in the region of the upright side walls—namely longitudinal side walls 25, transverse side walls 26 or side walls 28. The circumference of paving stone 20 has spacers 22 on all four upright side walls 28 or longitudinal side walls 25 and transverse side walls 26. The paving stone has an identical number of spacers 22 of identical size and shape on its respective opposing side walls 28, or longitudinal side walls 25 and transverse side walls 26. The paving stone 20 pursuant to
Furthermore, the spacers 22 are used to produce a horizontal bond between adjacent paving stones 20 within a pavement cover 29. To this end the paving stones 20 are laid to form a pavement cover 29 in such a manner that each spacer 22 of a paving stone 20 fits between two adjacent spacers 22 of an adjacent paving stone 20. Here the width 33 of a spacer 22 corresponds approximately to the distance between two adjacent spacers 22. However, the distance between adjacent spacers 22 is slightly greater, so that a certain amount of joint filler is assigned to the width of the joint between the contact surfaces of the spacers 22. As is the case in the region of the joints, the joint filler between the contact surfaces also serves to compensate for any dimensional inaccuracies in the supplied materials. In the paving stones 20 shown here, the depth 34 of the spacers 22 is approximately 3 mm and the joint width 32 is approximately 4 mm, so that there is an approximately 1 millimeter space 37 between the visible side 36 of the spacers and a facing side wall 25, 26, 28 of an adjacent paving stone 20. The horizontal space 38 between the base blocks 21 of adjacent paving stones 20 above the chamfer 27 is approximately 10 mm (
One special feature concerning the positioning of the spacers 22 is that they are arranged in a uniform grid pattern 39 (
Another special feature is that, when regarded in plan view, the spacers 22 of facing side walls 28 are respectively offset to one another, namely in gaps, with a spacer 22 of one side wall 28 immediately bordering the adjacent side wall 28. As shown in
Another special feature can be seen in the illustrations pursuant to FIGS. 11 to 16, where paving stones 20 of various formats are laid out to form a number of unified ground covers. Here all paving stones 20 are configured in the manner described above, namely regarding the arrangement and configuration of the spacers and with exterior dimensions which correspond to a whole multiple of a grid unit, i.e. to the distance between two grid lines 40 pursuant to
The starting point of the uniform grid pattern 39 is the distance from a first grid line 40 to the next parallel grid line 40. This distance will hereinafter be referred to as the grid unit 42. A grid unit 42 corresponds approximately to the width 33 of a spacer 22 plus the distance between two adjacent spacers 22 (
Another special feature, which is exhibited by all hitherto described paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 as well as by the border stone 49 where applicable, is present in the formation of shifting prevention in the region of the bottom side 24. To this end, the paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 have a number of depressions 56 on the bottom side 24. The depressions 56 are arranged parallel to each other and spaced at regular intervals. In paving stones having a rectangular base block 21, the depressions 56 run continuously from one longitudinal side wall 25 to the opposite longitudinal side wall 25; in paving stones having a square base block 21, they run analogously between two opposite side walls 28. The depressions 56 have an approximately trapezoidal cross-section and are cut into region of the bottom side 24 of the paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 in the manner of a groove, resulting in corresponding projections at the bottom side 24 of the paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 arranged between the equally-spaced grooves. The grooves and projections extend across the entire bottom side 24 of the paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49. The depth 57 of the depressions 56 is approximately 8 mm in a paving stone having a height of approximately 88 mm. The depressions 56 prevent a horizontal shifting of the paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 on the pavement bed 58 since their configuration increases the coefficient of friction in the shear joint 59 between the bottom side 24 of the pavement stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 and the pavement bed 58. The depressions 56 as seen in the view are slightly offset laterally to the respective spacers 22 so that the latter are slightly truncated by the depressions 56. Each bottom side 24 of the paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 has one depression 56 less than the number of spacers 22 provided at the longitudinal side walls 25 or side walls 28.
By virtue of the spacers 22 at the upright side walls 25, 26, 28 and the depressions 56 in the region of the bottom side 24 of the paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, the five side surface thus involved exhibit shifting prevention. The paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 are interlocked to each other on all sides 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 by means of the spacers 22 and also interlocked to the pavement bed 58 by means of the depressions 56. Through the arrangement of the spacers 22 in a uniform grid pattern 39 it is possible to lay paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 having different outline dimensions with each other to create a ground cover without interrupting the interlocking bond. In this case as well, the paving stones 20, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49 interlock with each other in a practically “seamless” manner.
LIST OF DESIGNATIONS
- 20 paving stone
- 21 base block
- 22 spacer
- 23 top side
- 24 bottom side
- 25 longitudinal side wall
- 26 transverse side wall
- 27 chamfer
- 28 side wall
- 29 ground cover
- 30 longitudinal joint
- 31 transverse joint
- 32 joint width
- 33 width
- 34 depth
- 35 chamfer
- 36 visible side
- 37 space
- 38 space
- 39 grid pattern
- 40 grid line
- 41 row
- 42 grid unit
- 43 ground cover
- 44 paving stone
- 45 paving stone
- 46 paving stone
- 47 ground cover
- 48 paving stone
- 49 paving stone
- 50 edge
- 51 side wall
- 52 side wall
- 53 edge
- 54 cutting edge
- 55 ground cover
- 56 depression
- 57 depth
- 58 pavement bed
- 59 shear joint
Claims
1. A ground cover laid on a pavement bed, comprising paving stones made of concrete each having a flat top side, a bottom side, four upright side sides, spacers arranged continuously around the four upright side sides in a uniform grid pattern, and shifting prevention devices on the four sides and the bottom side, wherein:
- a) the spacers of one of the stones are arranged to engage in an offset manner with the spacers of a neighboring stone;
- b) the spacers extend along the upright side sides from the bottom side to slightly below the top side, and, in the transition of the spacers to the side walls at a point slightly below the top side, the top sides of the spacers are beveled and provided with a chamfer;
- c) the spacers have a flange-shaped, trapezoidal cross-section and have a constant width and depth and are arranged in a regular grid pattern;
- d) the spacers of adjacent side sides are respectively offset to one another, namely in gaps, with the spacer of one of the side sides immediately bordering the adjacent one of the side sides;
- e) the shifting prevention devices on the bottom side are a plurality of depressions, within the stone, that interlock with the pavement bed and extend continuously from one of the upright side sides to another of the upright side sides;
- f) the bottom side has projections between the depressions extending across the entire bottom side and the depressions are arranged parallel to one another and are spaced at equal distances from one another by a space that corresponds approximately to one grid unit; and
- g) the stones are arranged on the pavement bed in a continuously interlocked manner such that one of the four side sides of one of the stones abuts one of the four side sides of a neighboring stone along the side wall and a continuous paving surface is formed between neighboring stones,
- wherein the ground cover is resistant to horizontal force components resulting from traffic loads.
2. The ground cover according to claim 1, wherein the depressions are laterally offset to the spacers such that the spacers are partially truncated by the depressions.
3. The ground cover according to claim 2, wherein an identical number of the spacers are arranged at the respective opposite side surfaces.
4. The ground cover according to claim 3, wherein the distance between the spacers arranged adjacently on one of the sides corresponds approximately to the width of the spacer.
5. The ground cover according to claim 4, wherein all of the spacers are identical in dimension and shape.
6. The ground cover according to claim 5, wherein each of the stones is a square.
7. The ground cover according to claim 6, wherein each stone has six spacers.
8. The ground cover according to claim 7, wherein the bottom the depressions end laterally from the top surface, along one of the upright side surfaces, along the bottom surface, and along another of the upright side surfaces.
9. A ground cover laid on a pavement bed, consisting of paving stones made of concrete each having an essentially flat top side, a bottom side, four upright side sides, spacers arranged continuously around the four upright side sides in a regular grid pattern, and a plurality of depressions on the four sides and the bottom side that interlock with the pavement bed and that extend continuously from one of the upright side sides to another of the upright side sides, wherein:
- a) the spacers of one of the stones are arranged to engage in an offset manner with the spacers of a neighboring stone;
- b) the spacers extend along the upright side sides from the bottom side to slightly below the top side, and, in the transition of the spacers to the side walls at a point slightly below the top side, the top sides of the spacers are beveled and provided with a chamfer;
- c) the spacers have a flange-shaped, trapezoidal cross-section and have a constant width and depth and are arranged in a regular grid pattern;
- d) the spacers of adjacent side sides are respectively offset to one another, namely in gaps, with the spacer of one of the side sides immediately bordering the adjacent on of the side sides;
- e) all of the spacers are identical in dimension and shape;
- f) the bottom side has projections between the depressions, within the stone, extending across the entire bottom side and the depressions are arranged parallel to one another and are spaced at equal distances from one another; and
- g) the stones are arranged on the pavement bed in a continuously interlocked manner such that one of the four side sides of one of the stones abuts one of the four side sides of a neighboring stone along the side wall.
10. The ground cover according to claim 9, wherein an identical number of the spacers are arranged at the respective opposite side surfaces.
11. The ground cover according to claim 10, wherein the distance between the spacers arranged adjacently on one of the sides corresponds approximately to the width of the spacer.
12. The ground cover according to claim 11, wherein each of the stones is a square.
13. The ground covering according to claim 12, wherein a continuous paving surface is formed between neighboring stones.
14. A combination of paving stones made of concrete laid on a pavement bed, each paving stone comprising a base block having a horizontal flat top side, a bottom side parallel to the top side, four upright longitudinal side sides forming a rectangle, and spacers on the side sides of the base block that are continuously arranged to engage in an offset manner to the spacers of a neighboring stone, wherein:
- a) the base block has a rectangular layout and is provided with a surrounding chamfer in the region of the top side;
- b) the bottom side has a plurality of depressions that interlock with the pavement bed and that extend continuously from one of the upright side sides to another of the upright side sides;
- c) the bottom side has projections between the depressions extending across the entire bottom side;
- d) the depressions are arranged parallel to one another, are spaced at equal distances from one another by a space that corresponds approximately to one grid unit, and run continuously from one of the side sides to an opposite one of the side sides;
- e) the spacers have a flange-shaped, trapezoidal cross-section and have a constant width and depth and are arranged in a regular grid pattern; and
- e) the stones are arranged on the pavement bed to continuously interlocked manner such that one of the four sided sides of one of the stones abuts one of the four side sides of an adjacent stone along the side wall.
15. The combination of claim 14, wherein the dimensions of stones corresponds to a whole multiple of the grid unit.
16. The combination of claim 15, wherein each of the stones is a square.
17. The combination of claim 16, where the depressions prevent horizontal movement of the stone.
18. The combination of claim 17, wherein the combination of stones forms a continuous paving surface across neighboring stones.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 29, 2007
Publication Date: Jan 3, 2008
Inventor: Gerhard Hagenah (Worpswede)
Application Number: 11/771,648
International Classification: E04C 2/04 (20060101);