CA2670469A1

CA2670469A1 - Grass paver

Info

Publication number: CA2670469A1
Application number: CA002670469A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Rolf Scheiwiller
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-11-20
Filing date: 2007-11-20
Publication date: 2008-05-29
Also published as: US20090274513A1; ZA200903435B; EP2092121A1; WO2008061695A1; DE102006054852A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a grass paver (1) comprising a rectangular, grid-type body (2), formed by intersecting transverse portions (3, 4) and longitudinal portions (5, 6), said portions forming at least one grid opening (8), the transverse portions (3, 4) projecting beyond the longitudinal portions (5, 6) and the longitudinal portions (5, 6) projecting beyond the transverse portions (3, 4). Each corner (10a - 10d) of the grass paver (1) is formed by a limb (3a, 3b, 4a, 4b) of one of the transverse portions (3, 4) and a limb (5a, 5b, 6a, 6b) of one of the longitudinal portions (5, 6). At least one transverse portion (3, 4) and/or at least one longitudinal portion (5, 6) has or have a zig-zag and/or serpentine form (Z3 - Z6) when viewed from above.

Description

"Grass paver"

The invention relates to a grass paver according to the preamble of claim 1.
DE 20 2004 009 898 U1 discloses a grass paver which has a lattice-like body which is formed by intersecting transverse struts and longitudinal struts which form at least one lattice opening, wherein the transverse struts project beyond the longitudinal struts and the longitudinal struts project beyond the transverse struts, wherein corners of the lattice paver are each formed by a leg of one of the transverse struts and a leg of one of the longitudinal struts. The disadvantage of such grass pavers is that, regardless of whether there is any variation in the laying technique between, for example, a running bond and cross-joint bond and/or a change in the orientation, they give a virtually unchanged appearance to a paver arrangement composed of a plurality of identical grass pavers.

The object on which the invention is based is to develop a grass paver by means of which paver arrangements having different structures can be produced, with the result that identical grass pavers can be used, for example, to construct driving areas, parking areas or walking areas having a different appearance.

Taking the features of the preamble of claim 1 as a starting point, this object is achieved by the characterizing features of claim 1. Advantageous and expedient developments are given in the subclaims.

The grass paver according to the invention comprises at least one transverse strut and/or at least one longitudinal strut which have a zigzag-shaped and/or wavy profile when seen in plan view. It is possible by selecting different laying techniques and/or different orientations of the grass pavers for paver arrangements having different geometries to be produced with such grass pavers. Therefore, the essence of the invention is a grass paver which can be used for paver arrangements having different intended uses. Such a grass paver allows optimum cohesion between the grass pavers of the paver arrangements having different intended uses, since identical grass pavers optimally tailored to one another are used. Furthermore, such a grass paver makes the planning of building projects considerably easier, since only the requirement for a certain area has to be calculated first of all and the intended use or the appearance of an area can be determined at a later time.
Furthermore, the invention provides for at least one of the corners of the grass paver to be formed by legs of different length. This makes it possible to further vary the appearance of paver arrangements in which the grass pavers are laid with different laying techniques and/or orientations.

Provision is made according to the invention for at least one of the transverse struts and/or longitudinal struts to be provided, at an underside, with a tunnel-like recess which extends in the direction of the transverse strut or the longitudinal strut and which opens at the lateral ends of the transverse strut or longitudinal strut. This makes it possible, for example, to lay electrical lines and/or irrigation lines continuously over the paver arrangement.
Furthermore, the invention provides for at least one strut, and in particular the longitudinal struts and/or the transverse struts, to be formed with a trapezoidal cross section. A tunnel-like recess can be easily integrated in such struts without substantially weakening the strut. Furthermore, compressive loads and tilting moments can be readily transmitted or absorbed by a downwardly widening strut.

The invention also provides for the longitudinal struts to be designed with a greater height than the transverse struts and to be allowed to project beyond the transverse struts at an underside of the grass paver. As a result, higher vehicular traffic loads can be achieved for the individual grass pavers, since the grass paver also interacts positively with the ground and therefore can better take up shear loads in particular.

Provision is made according to the invention to design the grass paver with a square grid when seen in plan view. As a result, a change in orientation of the grass paver in 90 steps is possible even within a paver arrangement. Such a change in orientation of the grass paver increases the number of laying variants.
According to the invention, provision is made to arrange undersides of the transverse struts and longitudinal struts of the grass paver in an upper bearing plane and a lower bearing plane. As a result, any floating of the grass paver on the ground is better prevented, because the grass paver penetrates the ground by way of individual struts.

The invention provides a paver arrangement having grass pavers as claimed in claim 1, in which arrangement a grass paver, which is surrounded by six or eight grass pavers, forms together with these adjacent grass pavers at least two lattice openings which differ from one another in their shape andlor area, wherein at least one of these lattice openings differs from a rectangle.
A completely different visual impression can be achieved with such paver arrangements when changing the laying technique and/or the alignment of the grass pavers with identical grass pavers.

Finally, the invention provides a further paver arrangement composed of grass pavers as claimed in claim 1, in which arrangement a grass paver, which is surrounded by six or eight grass pavers, forms together with these adjacent grass pavers at least three lattice openings which differ from one another in their shape and/or area, wherein at least two of these lattice openings differ from a rectangle. A completely different visual impression can also be achieved with such a paver arrangement when changing the laying technique and/or the alignment of the grass pavers with identical grass pavers.

Further details of the invention are described in the drawing by way of schematically illustrated exemplary embodiments.
In the drawing:

figure la shows a plan view of a grass paver according to the invention;
figure lb shows a section through the grass paver shown in figure la along a section line Ia-Ia;

figure 2 shows a paver arrangement in which the grass paver shown in figure la is laid in a cross-joint bond;

figure 3 shows a paver arrangement corresponding to figure 2 in which the grass pavers do not have any notches on their upper sides;

figure 4 shows a paver arrangement in which the grass paver shown in figure la is laid in a running bond;

figure 5 shows a paver arrangement corresponding to figure 4 in which the grass pavers do not have any notches on their upper sides;

figure 6a shows a second variant of a grass paver according to the invention, in plan view;

figure 6b shows a section through the grass paver shown in figure 6a along a section line VIa-VIa;

figures 7a, 7b show a third variant of a grass paver according to the invention, in side view and plan view;

figure 7c shows a paver arrangement composed of grass pavers corresponding to figure 7b;
figure 8a shows a fourth variant of a grass paver according to the invention, in plan view;

figure 8b shows a paver arrangement composed of grass pavers corresponding to figure 8a;

figures 9a, 9b show a fifth variant of a grass paver according to the invention, in plan view, and a paver arrangement composed of corresponding grass pavers, and figures 10a - 10c show a sixth variant of a grass paver according to the invention, in plan view, and two paver arrangements composed of corresponding grass pavers.

Figure la depicts a plan view of a first grass paver 1 according to the invention. The grass paver 1 has a body 2 which comprises two transverse struts 3, 4 and two longitudinal struts 5, 6. These together form a lattice 7 which has a laterally closed lattice opening 8. The struts 3 to 6 resemble a double cross or a so-called hash sign. The intersecting transverse struts 3, 4 and longitudinal struts 5, 6 each project laterally beyond one another by way of legs 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b. Between these legs 3a to 6b are situated further lattice openings 9a to 9h. Four corners 10a to 10d of the grass paver 1, which has a square grid RQ
when seen in plan view, are respectively formed by two legs 4a, 5a and 6a, 4b and 3b, 6b and 5b, 3a. The transverse struts 3, 4 and the longitudinal struts 5, 6 each have a zigzag-shaped profile corresponding to the zigzag lines Z3 to Z6 when the upper side 14 of the grass paver 1 is seen in plan view. The zigzag lines each have two inflection points Kl, K2. Two spacers 12, 13 are arranged on each of the lateral ends 11 of the transverse struts 3, 4 and longitudinal struts 5, 6 for interlocking with an adjacent grass paver (not shown here). The grass paver 1 has a grid width RB and grid length RL, where RB = RL in the case of the grass paver 1 depicted in figure la. With regard to the lateral ends 11 of the transverse struts 3, 4 or longitudinal struts 5, 6 and the spacers 12, 13 arranged thereon, they are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to a center point M of the grass paver 1. The grass paver 1 is provided on its upper side 14 with four notches 15 which give the grass paver 1 the appearance of four individual pavers.

Figure lb illustrates a section through the grass paver 1 depicted in figure la along the section line Ia-Ia shown in figure la. The transverse strut 3 which can be seen in the sectional view and the longitudinal strut 5 which can be seen in the sectional view each have identical heights H3 and H5, respectively.

Figure 2 depicts a paver arrangement 16 in plan view in which the grass paver 1 shown in figure la is laid in a cross-joint bond KFV. To aid better understanding, one of the grass pavers 1 depicted is distinguished by means of a hatching. Together with adjacent grass pavers 101 to 108, the grass paver 1 forms around its laterally closed lattice opening 8 a further eight laterally closed lattice openings 9a to 9h. Of these, the lattice openings 9a, 9c, 9e and 9g take the form of squares when seen in plan view. The lattice openings 9b, 9d, 9f and 9h each form a lozenge when seen in plan view.

In figure 3, the paver arrangement 16 known from figure 2 is additionally depicted without notches (see figure la) in order to simplify the overview. The cross-joint bond KFV depicted exclusively comprises cross joints KF between the grass pavers 1.

Figure 4 depicts a further paver arrangement 16 which is made up of grass pavers 1 corresponding to figure la. By contrast with figure 2, the grass pavers 1 in this paver arrangement 16 are laid in a so-called running bond LVB. This means that adjacent paver rows R1 to R3 are each staggered relative to one another by half a grid width RB. The grass paver 1, which is emphasized by means of a hatching, forms around its laterally closed lattice opening 8, together with six adjacent grass pavers 101 to 106, a further eight laterally closed lattice openings 9a to 9h. Here, the lattice opening 9e is configured as a square when seen in plan view. The lattice openings 9c, 9d, 9f and 9g are configured as congruent quadrilaterals. The lattice openings 9a, 9b and 9h are formed by further polygons which are not congruent to one another.

In figure 5, the running bond LVB shown in figure 4 is depicted, analogously to figure 3, again without notches (see figure la). In the paver arrangement 16 illustrated in figure 5, the T-joints TF which occur between the individual grass pavers 1 as a result of the laying with a running bond LVB can be seen clearly.
Figure 6a depicts a second variant embodiment of a grass paver 1 in plan view. Reference is made in principle here to the description relating to figure la. By contrast with the grass paver shown in figure la, the transverse struts 3, 4 and longitudinal struts 5, 6 of the grass paver 1 shown in figure 6a extend along zigzag lines Z3 to Z6 which each have three inflection points K1 to K3. The grass paver has four short legs KS, namely legs 4b, 3b, 6b and 5b, and four long legs LS, namely legs 3a, 4a, 5a and 6a. A
first corner 10a of the grass paver 1 is formed by two long legs LS, that is to say 5a, 5a. A diagonally opposite corner 10c is formed by two short legs KS, that is to say 3b, 6b. Two further diagonally opposite corners 10b, 10d are formed by one respective short leg KS, that is to say b4 and 5b, and one respective long leg LS, that is to say 6a and 3a. With regard to the lengths of its legs, the grass paver 1 is not point-symmetrical with respect to a center point M. By virtue of notches 15, the grass paver 1 is divided into four congruent cruciform sub-bodies TK1 to TK4 having the same orientation.

Figure 6b depicts a section through the grass paver 1 illustrated in figure 6a along a section line VIa-VIa.

In the sectional view can be seen the transverse strut 3 and the longitudinal strut 5 which have uniform heights H3 and H5, respectively.

Figures 7a and 7b show a third variant of a grass paver 1 according to the invention, in side view and plan view. The grass paver 1 has two transverse struts 3, 4 and two longitudinal struts 5, 6. The transverse struts 3, 4 run along wavy lines or meandering lines S3, S4.
The longitudinal struts 5, 6 extend rectilinearly and are designed to resemble a trapezoid when seen in section or in side view. Furthermore, the transverse struts 5, 6 are each provided at undersides U5, U6 with a tunnel-like recess T5, T6 which is intended for laying electrical lines or irrigation lines. By contrast with the grass pavers shown in figures la and 6a, the grass paver 1 shown in figures 7a and 7b has different heights H4 and H5, H6 for its transverse struts 3, 4 and longitudinal struts 5, 6. The transverse struts 3, 4 and longitudinal struts 5, 6 form a planar upper side 14 of the grass paver 1. At an underside 17 of the grass paver 1, the longitudinal struts 5, 6 protrude beyond the transverse struts 3, 4.
As a result, undersides 18 and 19 of the transverse struts 3, 4 and the longitudinal struts 5, 6 of the grass paver 1 lie in two different bearing planes AE1 and AE2 (see figure 7a) . This shear protection in the gravel bed and/or sand bed and/or soil bed is particularly effective since the grass paver 1 is supported on soil layers situated at different levels, and consequently a gradual smoothing of the subsurface by the grass paver is made more difficult. According to a variant embodiment (not shown) of the invention, at least the underside 18 of the transverse struts 3, 4 or the underside 19 of the longitudinal struts 5, 6 is provided with additional ribs. As a result, the respective bearing plane becomes a shear protection plane which increases further still the supporting of the grass paver on or in the subsurface against shear forces.

Figure 7c depicts a paver arrangement 16 which is formed from grass pavers 1 which each correspond to the grass paver shown in figures 7a and 7b. Within the paver arrangement 16, the grass pavers 1 are laid in different orientations. A grass paver 1, which is marked by means of a hatching, is surrounded by eight grass pavers 101 to 108. Around the laterally closed lattice opening 8 of the grass paver 1, the lattice openings 9a to 9h are closed by the adjacent grass pavers 101 to 108. Here, the lattice openings 9a, 9b, 9d, 9c, 9f and 9h are congruent to one another when seen in plan view. Furthermore, the lattice openings 9c and 9g are congruent to one another.

Figure 8a depicts a plan view of a fourth grass paver 1.
Figure 8b shows a further paver arrangement 16 which is built up from grass pavers 1 which correspond to the grass paver shown in figure 8a. In a left subarea I of the paver arrangement 16, the grass pavers 1 are arranged in a cross-joint bond KFV. In a central subarea II of the paver arrangement 16, the grass pavers 1 are arranged in a running bond LVB. Dependent on the laying technique - cross-joint bond or running bond - there result, as seen in plan view, different geometric shapes of the lattice openings 9a to 9h which are formed by interacting grass pavers 1. This also produces a different overall impression which does not result from the joint pattern as in the case of conventional paving stones but from the geometries of the lattice openings 9a to 9h. In the left subarea I, the grass paver 1 marked by a thick contour line is surrounded by eight grass pavers 101 to 108. Around the laterally closed lattice opening 8 of the grass paver 1, lattice openings 9a to 9h are closed by the adjacent grass pavers 101 to 108. Here, the lattice openings 9b, 9d, 9f and 9h are congruent to one another when seen in plan view. Furthermore, the lattice openings 9c and 9g are congruent to one another and, finally, the lattice openings 9a and 9e are also congruent.
In the central subarea II, the grass paver 1 marked by a thick contour line is surrounded by six grass pavers 101 to 106. Around the laterally closed lattice opening 8 of the grass paver 1, lattice openings 9a to 9h are closed by the adjacent grass pavers 101 to 106. These lattice openings are partially congruent to one another. In a right subarea III, the grass paving stones 1 are each rotated by 90 with respect to the grass paving stones 1 of the left and central subareas I, II. Overall, the different laying techniques or different orientations shown in figure 8b result in areas having different actions. Thus, it is possible to use a single type of a grass paver to produce paver arrangements of different appearance. This allows the formation of traffic areas having different purposes, such as roadways, pathways, cycleways or parking places, from identical grass pavers. Here, the different appearances are determined by the openings which result between adjacent grass pavers in the paver arrangement.

Figure 9a depicts a plan view of a fifth grass paver 1.
It has two transverse struts 3, 4 which are bent in an S shape and extend parallel to one another and two rectilinear longitudinal struts 5, 6 which extend parallel to one another. The lateral ends 11 of the transverse struts 3, 4 and the longitudinal struts 5, 6 are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to a center point M of the grass paver 1.

Figure 9b shows a further paver arrangement 16 which is built up from grass pavers 1 which correspond to the grass paver shown in figure 9a. These pavers are laid in different orientations and with different laying techniques.

Figure 10a depicts a plan view of a sixth grass paver 1. It has two transverse struts 3, 4 bent in an S shape and two rectilinear longitudinal struts 5, 6 extending parallel to one another. The lateral ends 11 of the transverse struts 3, 4 and the longitudinal struts 5, 6 are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to a center point M of the grass paver 1. By contrast with the grass paver shown in figure 9a, the S-shaped transverse struts 3, 4 are arranged mirror-symmetrically with respect to a mirror plane SE.
Figure 10b shows a further paver arrangement 16 which is built up from grass pavers 1 which correspond to the grass paver shown in figure 10a. The paver arrangement 16 is laid as a so-called cross-joint bond KFV.
Figure 10c shows a further paver arrangement 16 which is built up from grass pavers 1 which correspond to the grass paver shown in figure 10a. The paver arrangement 16 is laid as a so-called running bond LVB.
The grass pavers described are preferably embodied as paving stones and produced from concrete. However, according to a variant embodiment, provision is also made to configure the grass pavers from plastic or other suitable materials or combinations of materials.
The invention is not limited to exemplary embodiments which have been depicted or described. Rather, it encompasses developments of the invention within the scope of the claims. According to a variant embodiment which has not been depicted, provision is also made for paving stones embodied as grass pavers which have a rectangular grid when seen in plan view and in which the grid length and the grid width are dimensioned differently.

List of reference signs:

1 Grass paver 2 Body 3, 4 First, second transverse strut 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b Leg of 3 and 4, respectively 5, 6 First, second longitudinal strut 5a, 5b Leg of 5 6a, 6b Leg of 6 7 Lattice 8, 9a-9h Lattice opening 10a-10d Corner of 1 11 Lateral ends of 3, 4, 5 and 6 12, 13 Spacer on 11 14 Upper side of 1 15 Notch on 14 16 Paver arrangement 17 Underside of 1 18, 19 Underside of 3, 4 and 5, 6, respectively 101-108 Adjacent grass paver to 1 H3-H6 Height of 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively K1-K3 Inflection point of Z3 to Z6 or S3, S4 KF, KFV Cross-joint, cross-joint bond KS, LS Short leg, long leg LVB Running bond M Center point of 1 R1-R3 Paver row RB, RL, RQ Grid width of 1, grid length of 1, grid S3, S4 Meandering line AE1, AE2 Bearing plane T5, T6 Recess TF T-joint TK1-TK4 Sub-body of 1 U5, U6 Underside of 5 and 6, respectively Z3-Z6 Zigzag line I - III Left, central, right subarea of 16

Claims

1. A grass paver (1, 101 - 108) with a lattice-like body (2) which is formed by intersecting transverse struts (3, 4) and longitudinal struts (5, 6) which form at least one lattice opening (8), wherein the transverse struts (3, 4) project beyond the longitudinal struts (5, 6) and the longitudinal struts (5, 6) project beyond the transverse struts (3, 4), wherein corners (10a - 10d) of the grass paver (1, 101 - 108) are each formed by a leg (3a, 3b, 4a, 4b) of one of the transverse struts (3, 4) and a leg (5a, 5b, 6a, 6b) of one of the longitudinal struts (5, 6), characterized in that at least one transverse strut (3, 4) and/or at least one longitudinal strut (5, 6) has a zigzag-shaped and/or wavy profile (Z3 - Z6; S3, S4) when seen in plan view.

2. The grass paver as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the corners (10a - 10d) is formed by legs (3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b) of different length.

3. The grass paver as claimed in either of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the transverse struts (3, 4) and/or the longitudinal struts (5, 6) has, at an underside (U5, U6), a tunnel-like recess (T5, T6) which extends in the direction of the transverse strut (3, 4) or the longitudinal strut (5, 6) and which opens at lateral ends (11) of the transverse strut (3, 4) or longitudinal strut (5, 6).

4. The grass paver as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the transverse struts (3, 4) and/or longitudinal struts (5, 6), and in particular the transverse struts (3, 4) and/or longitudinal struts (5, 6), have a cross section which resembles a trapezoid.

5. The grass paver as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the longitudinal struts (5, 6) have a greater height (H5, H6) than the transverse struts (3, 4) and project beyond the transverse struts (3, 4) at an underside (17) of the grass paver (1, 101 - 108).

6. The grass paver as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the grass paver (1, 101 - 108) has a rectangular grid when seen in plan view.

7. The grass paver as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the grass paver (1, 101 - 108) has a square grid (RQ) when seen in plan view.

8. The grass paver as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that undersides (18, 19) of the transverse struts (3, 4) and longitudinal struts (5, 6) of the grass paver (101 - 108) lie in an upper bearing plane (AE1) and a lower bearing plane (AE2).

9. A paver arrangement (16) comprising grass pavers (1, 101 - 108) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that one of the grass pavers (1), which is surrounded by six or eight grass pavers (101 - 108), forms together with these adjacent grass pavers (101 - 108) at least two lattice openings (9a - 9f) which differ from one another in their shape and/or area, wherein at least one of these lattice openings (9a - 9f) differs from a rectangle when the paver arrangement (16) is seen in plan view.

10. A paver arrangement (16) comprising grass pavers (1, 101 - 108) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that one of the grass pavers (1), which is surrounded by six or eight grass pavers (101 - 108), forms together with these adjacent grass pavers (101 - 108) at least three lattice openings (9a - 9f) which differ from one another in their shape and/or area, wherein at least two of these lattice openings (9a - 9f) differ from a rectangle when the paver arrangement (16) is seen in plan view.