JP7645539B2 - Slope protection device, installation structure and method for protecting a slope - Google Patents

Description

Patent Law Article 30, Paragraph 2 applied 1. Test 1) Test date: June 10, 2021 2) Test location: Forest road (Shimoyoshida area, Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture)

The present invention relates to a slope protection device that is installed on a slope such as an incline to protect the slope, an installation structure in which the slope protection device is installed on a slope, and a method for protecting a slope using the slope protection device.

On slopes such as embankments, efforts are being made to protect the slopes by preventing the loss of soil and sand. Conventionally, vegetation mats that hold vegetative materials (or vegetative substrates) such as soil, seeds, fertilizer, and water-retaining materials are fixed to the soil using anchors or the like, thereby protecting the slopes while also greening them.

Patent Document 1 shows a vegetation mat laid on the surface of soil to be greened with natural vegetation plants. In the following paragraphs, the reference number of Patent Document 1 is shown in parentheses. The vegetation mat (100) comprises a first storage section (102) that stores on-site generated soil (106) including buried soil seeds (111) corresponding to the natural environment of the soil (P) to be greened, and a second storage section (103) that stores artificial soil (107) at a position different from the first storage section (102). The first and second storage sections (102, 103) are made of a net-like elongated cylinder extending in the longitudinal direction, and are configured to be able to hold a vegetation bag (108) that stores on-site generated soil (106) or artificial soil (107). The vegetation mat (100) is installed on the soil (P) to beautify slopes and the like and to prevent soil loss.

Patent No. 5981062

However, while conventional vegetation mats (slope protection devices) such as those in Patent Document 1 are capable of greening slopes, including inclined faces, they do not have sufficient strength to prevent the movement of soil and sand on the slope surface or small-scale rock falls. Another problem is that the installed vegetation mats can break or peel off from the slope over time due to the load. In other words, the objective of the present invention is to improve the slope protection performance of conventional slope protection devices.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a slope protection device that enables more effective slope protection, an installation structure for installing the slope protection device on a slope, and a method for protecting a slope using the slope protection device.

A slope protection device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a slope protection device for being installed on a slope to protect the slope, comprising:
A sheet material that extends lengthwise and widthwise in a plane and is laid on the slope so that the lengthwise direction is along the inclination direction of the slope;
A plurality of storage portions are formed in the sheet material and extend in a long cylindrical shape along a lateral direction of the sheet material;
The sheet material is held integrally with the sheet material, and is disposed within the storage section. The sheet material is extended longitudinally in the lateral direction to increase the strength of the sheet material.

A further form of a slope protection device of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned form of slope protection device, the reinforcing member is made of a material having higher rigidity than the material of the sheet material so as to increase at least one of the tensile strength, bending strength, and shear strength of the slope protection device.

A further form of a slope protection device of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned form of slope protection device, the reinforcing member is arranged so as to contact the upper vertical end of the accommodating portion, and the upper end is located on the toe side of the slope when the slope protection device is installed on the slope.

A further form of a slope protection device of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned form of slope protection device, the reinforcing member has an engaging portion for engaging with a fastener that is driven into the slope to fix the sheet material to the slope.

A slope protection device according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that, in the slope protection device according to the above-mentioned embodiment , the reinforcing member is a wire, a rod or a plate made of an elastic-plastic material.

A slope protection device of one form of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned form of slope protection device, the storage section is composed of a mesh-like elongated cylinder extending in the longitudinal direction and is configured to hold a bag-shaped or tubular bag containing vegetative material.

In one aspect of the slope protection device of the present invention , in the slope protection device of the above aspect , the elongated cylinder is formed by combining a coarse portion having a large mesh and a fine portion having a small mesh, and the coarse portion is formed biased toward one end side in a width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the elongated cylinder in a plan view of the sheet material,
The sheet material is characterized in that, when laid on the slope, the sparse portion is capable of being laid so as to be located on the toe side of the slope and the dense portion is capable of being laid so as to be located on the toe side of the slope.

An installation structure according to one embodiment of the present invention is an installation structure in which the slope protection device according to the above embodiment is installed on a slope,
The sheet material of the slope protection device is fixed to the slope by driving a plurality of fasteners into the slope, and a reinforcing member of the slope protection device abuts against the fasteners from the upper side of the slope.

A method according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for protecting a slope using the slope protection device according to the above aspect , comprising the steps of:
laying a sheet of the slope protection device on the slope;
a step of installing a reinforcing member of the slope protection device on the slope so as to conform to a surface shape of the slope;
and a step of driving the plurality of fasteners into the slope so that the fasteners engage with the reinforcing member.

According to one aspect of the slope protection device of the present invention , the strength of the sheet material can be effectively increased by providing a reinforcing member in the receptacle extending laterally of the sheet material. That is, the reinforcing member extending laterally of the sheet material partially increases the strength of the slope protection in the direction perpendicular to the inclination direction of the slope, and effectively suppresses the movement of soil and rockfall. Furthermore, the reinforcing member is integrally held by the sheet material and arranged in the direction perpendicular to the inclination direction of the slope, so that the sheet material is prevented from being torn due to the load being concentrated on a part of the sheet material in the lateral direction, and the sheet material is also prevented from being peeled off from the slope. Therefore, the slope protection device of the present invention makes it possible to protect slopes more effectively than ever before.

According to a further form of slope protection device of the present invention , in addition to the effects of the above-mentioned forms of the invention, the reinforcing member is made of a material having higher rigidity than the material of the sheet material, and by increasing at least one of the tensile strength, bending strength, and shear strength of the sheet material, it is possible to provide more robust slope protection.

According to a further aspect of the slope protection device of the present invention , in addition to the effects of the above aspect , the reinforcing member is arranged to be in contact with the upper end of the storage part in the vertical direction (located on the toe side of the slope), so that the reinforcing member can bear the weight of the sheet material and the tensile force acting on the sheet material downward on the slope in a nearly uniform manner. Therefore, the slope protection device of the present invention can prevent the sheet material and the storage part from partially sagging downward on the slope and being torn or damaged.

According to a further form of slope protection device of the present invention , in addition to the effects of the above-mentioned forms of the invention, by driving a fastener into the engaging portion of the reinforcing member so that the fastener engages with the engaging portion, the load between the fastener and the slope protection device can be directly received by the reinforcing member, and the fixed state of the slope protection device to the slope by the fastener can be maintained for a longer period of time.

According to a further aspect of the slope protection device of the present invention , in addition to the effects of the above aspect , the reinforcing members, which are wires, bars or plates made of elastic-plastic material, are plastically deformed to conform to the uneven shape of the slope surface when installed, thereby exerting the effect of holding down the slope and more effectively suppressing soil movement and rockfall during slope protection. Furthermore, since the reinforcing members have elasticity, even if they are deflected by external tensile force, they can elastically return to their original shape after the cause of the tensile force is removed.

According to a further form of the slope protection device of the present invention , in addition to the effects of the above-mentioned form of the invention, by filling the storage section with a bag containing vegetative material, it is possible to protect the slope and green the slope at the same time.

According to one embodiment of the slope protection device of the present invention , in addition to the effects of the above embodiment , the sheet material can be arranged on the slope so that the coarse portion of the net-like long cylinder is located on the toe (upper) side of the slope and the dense portion of the net-like long cylinder is located on the toe (lower) side of the slope. In other words, since the mesh on the toe side of the slope is coarse, the germination and growth of plants is not hindered by the net. On the other hand, since the mesh on the toe side of the slope is fine, it is possible to stably hold vegetative materials. Furthermore, it is possible to capture fine soil that flows down in the dense part of the storage section, thereby reducing the amount of soil runoff.

According to the installation structure of one embodiment of the present invention , the effects of the invention relating to the slope protection device of the above embodiment can be exhibited as an installation structure. Moreover, by driving the fixing device into the slope with the reinforcing member in contact with the fixing device from above the slope, the fixing device supports the reinforcing member from below, and the reinforcing member bears the load between the fixing device and the slope protection device, so that the fixing state of the slope protection device to the slope by the fixing device can be maintained for a longer period of time. Therefore, the installation structure of the present invention has a higher slope protection effect than the conventional one.

According to the method of one embodiment of the present invention , the effect of the invention related to the slope protection device of the above embodiment can be exerted as a method for protecting a slope. In addition, by installing the reinforcing member on the slope so as to follow the surface shape of the slope, the slope can be held down and soil movement and rockfall can be more effectively suppressed. Furthermore, by driving a plurality of fasteners into the slope so that the fasteners are hooked on the reinforcing members, the reinforcing members can bear the load between the fasteners and the slope protection device, and the fixed state of the slope protection device to the slope by the fasteners can be maintained for a longer period of time. Therefore, the method of the present invention makes it possible to protect the slope more firmly than ever before.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a slope protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the slope protection device of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a plan view of the slope protection device of FIG. 1 . 4 is a cross-sectional view of the slope protection device of FIG. 3 along line AA. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view showing a reinforcing member of the slope protection device of FIG. 1 . 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an installation structure in which a slope protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed on a slope. FIG. 7 is a partial enlarged view of the installation structure of FIG. 6 . FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the installation structure of FIG. 6 along the line B-B. 13 shows test results of an installation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, with (a) a photograph of the installation structure according to the embodiment taken from a relatively long distance, and (b) a photograph of the installation structure taken from a relatively short distance, 180 days after installation. 13 shows test results for the installation structure of an embodiment of the present invention, with (a) a photograph of the installation structure of the comparative example taken from a relatively long distance, and (b) a photograph taken from a relatively close distance, 180 days after installation. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of a reinforcing member of the slope protection device of the present invention. FIG.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the shapes of the figures referred to in the following description are conceptual or schematic diagrams for explaining preferred shapes and dimensions, and the dimensional ratios do not necessarily match the actual dimensional ratios. In other words, the present invention is not limited to the dimensional ratios in the drawings.

The slope protection device 100 of one embodiment of the present invention is intended to be installed on a slope such as an incline, and to protect the slope by preventing soil erosion and rockfall, etc. On the other hand, the slope protection device 100 can also be used as a vegetation mat for greening the slope surface with vegetation plants by filling it with a bag 110 containing vegetation material. Note that in this specification, "vegetation material" refers to materials used for vegetation, and includes at least one of seeds, fertilizer, soil improvement material, water retention material, water repellency suppression material, soil, growth base material, etc.

The slope protection device 100 of this embodiment is configured in a sheet shape as a whole so as to extend vertically and horizontally to a predetermined size so as to cover the slope surface to be protected. As shown in FIG. 1, the slope protection device 100 is long in the vertical direction and can be stored in a rolled shape. When laying the slope protection device 100 on a slope, one end of the slope protection device 100 is supported on the toe side of the slope, and the rolled part is rolled on the toe side to unfold the slope protection device 100, so that the slope protection device 100 can be easily installed on the slope. The slope protection device 100 may optionally include a bag body 110 containing vegetative material as a component. The slope protection device 100 may also include one or more fixing devices 111 for fixing itself to the slope as a component.

The configuration of the slope protection device 100 will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of the slope protection device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the slope protection device 100. Figure 3 is a plan view of the slope protection device 100. Figure 4 is an A-A cross-sectional view of the slope protection device 100. In this specification, the direction along the inclination direction of the slope when the slope protection device 100 is laid on a slope is defined as the "vertical" direction, and the direction along the contour line direction of the slope is defined as the "horizontal" direction. Furthermore, the side of the slope protection device 100 that is placed on the toe side (upper or higher side) of the slope when laid on a slope is defined as the "upper" position, and the side that is placed on the toe side (lower or lower side) of the slope is defined as the "lower" position.

The slope protection device 100 of this embodiment includes a sheet material 101 that extends horizontally and vertically in a plane and is laid on a slope so that the vertical direction is along the inclination direction of the slope, a number of storage sections 104 that are formed in the sheet material 101 and extend in a long cylindrical shape along the horizontal direction of the sheet material 101, and a number of reinforcing members 106 that are integrally held by the sheet material 101 and are disposed within the storage sections 104, and extend longitudinally in the horizontal direction to increase the strength of the sheet material 101.

The sheet material 101 is a flexible, flat, longitudinal mat having a predetermined length and width and a predetermined thickness. The sheet material 101 has a front surface that is placed on the side opposite the slope, and a back surface that is placed on the slope side. The sheet material 101 is formed by bonding a second layer 103 made of a net body (mesh sheet) formed by weaving warp and weft threads at approximately right angles to the front surface side of a mat-like first layer 102 made of a nonwoven fabric sheet. The second layer 103 has multiple locations where the net body is doubled, and multiple storage sections 104 that extend horizontally in a long cylindrical shape are provided at these locations.

The first layer 102 may be configured as a vegetation sheet made of nonwoven fabric, paper, woven fabric sheet, or the like, so as to give the slope protection device 100 the function of a vegetation mat. More specifically, in this embodiment, the first layer 102 is provided with the function of a vegetation sheet by sandwiching and adhering seeds and fertilizer between a water-decomposable (water-soluble, water-labile) nonwoven fabric and paper. The water-decomposable nonwoven fabric is one that can easily lose its shape and strength in a short period of time (one to several rainfalls) after installation, such as by being water-decomposed or dissolved by rainfall. The second layer 103 may be configured of a net body woven with warp and weft threads. The warp and weft threads of the net body may be formed from synthetic resin material or natural material fibers. In the second layer 103, a plurality of storage sections 104 are arranged continuously in the vertical direction.

The storage section 104 is composed of a net-like long cylinder extending in the longitudinal direction, and is configured to hold a bag-like or tubular bag 110 containing vegetative material together with the reinforcing member 106. Each storage section 104 extends longitudinally across the lateral direction of the sheet material 101 on the first layer 102. More specifically, the net-like storage section 104 is composed of a plurality of warp threads positioned in the longitudinal direction and weft threads connecting the warp threads, and is formed into a tube by dividing the weft threads into front and back and weaving each warp thread into each of these weft threads alternately in the lateral direction. In other words, the storage section 104 is formed into a bag-like shape with two nets overlapping each other. The storage section 104 extends from one end to the other end so that its longitudinal direction is along the lateral direction of the sheet material 101. One or both ends of the longitudinal end of the storage section 104 are open, and the long reinforcing member 106 and the cylindrical bag body 110 can be inserted through the opening. The bag body 110 that is assumed to be filled in the storage section 104 of the slope protection device 100 in Figures 1 to 4 is depicted by a dotted line. Also, for the sake of convenience in each figure, the storage section 104 (without the bag body 110 filled) is depicted as being inflated and open, but in reality, the two nets of the storage section 104 overlap each other due to gravity and are in a closed state.

The storage section 104 is formed by combining a coarse portion 104a with a coarse mesh and a dense portion 104b with a fine mesh. The coarse portion 104a and the dense portion 104b are defined as areas in which the mesh size is relatively different in both the vertical and horizontal directions or in either direction. In a plan view of the slope protection device 100, the coarse portion 104a is formed biased toward one end side in the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the storage section 104. In particular, the coarse portion 104a occupies approximately the upper half of the vertical direction in the sheet material plane, and the dense portion 104b occupies the remaining approximately lower half. As a result, as described later, when the slope protection device 100 is laid on a slope, the coarse portion 104a, which occupies a part of the outer periphery of the storage section 104, is located on the upper side of the slope, and the dense portion 104b, which occupies the remaining outer periphery of the storage section 104, is located on the lower side of the slope. In this embodiment, the mesh size of the sparse portion 104a is approximately 20 mm x 12.5 mm, and the mesh size of the dense portion 104b is approximately 3 mm x 12.5 mm, but the present invention is not limited to these specific dimensions.

A reinforcing member 106 is disposed inside each of the multiple storage sections 104. The reinforcing member 106 is made of a long wire or rod extending from near one end of the storage section 104 in the longitudinal direction to near the other end. The reinforcing member of the present invention may also be a long plate material as shown in FIG. 11(c). In this embodiment, the reinforcing members 106 are held integrally in every other storage section 104, but the reinforcing members 106 may be disposed in all storage sections 104, or may be disposed irregularly. Furthermore, the vertical spacing of the reinforcing members 106 is preferably 100 mm to 1000 mm, and more preferably 500 mm to 600 mm.

In this embodiment, the sheet material 101 is made of a flexible material, while the reinforcing member 106 is made of a material having a relatively higher rigidity than the material of the sheet material 101. In other words, the reinforcing member 106 is made of a material that increases the strength (tensile strength, bending strength, shear strength) of the entire slope protection device 100. More specifically, the reinforcing member of the present invention may be a wire, rod, or plate made of a metal material such as iron, stainless steel, or aluminum, a high-strength plastic material obtained by molding or stretching synthetic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene, or a high-strength fiber material obtained by fiberizing or felting polyester, vinylon, glass carbon, aramid, or the like. In addition, the reinforcing member 106 is preferably made of an elastic-plastic material having both elasticity and plasticity. In this embodiment, the reinforcing member 106 is made of a metal material such as an iron wire or steel wire, which is an elastic-plastic material having rigidity. Furthermore, when the reinforcing member 106 is an iron wire, taking into consideration the weight and strength of the reinforcing member 106 itself, it is preferable that the diameter be 1 mm to 8 mm, and more preferably 2.6 mm to 3.2 mm. Note that the material and shape and dimensions of the reinforcing member are not limited to the form described here, and can be selected from those that improve at least one of the tensile strength, bending strength, and shear strength of the slope protection device 100.

The reinforcing member 106 is arranged so as to contact the upper end of the storage section 104 in the vertical direction. The upper end is a portion located on the toe side of the slope when the slope protection device 100 is installed on the slope. The reinforcing member 106 is fixed integrally to the weft at the upper end of the storage section 104 by a plurality of connectors 108 along the longitudinal direction. Here, the connectors 108 are C-rings, but they may also be cable ties or wires. As shown in FIG. 5, both ends of the reinforcing member 106 are provided with engagement parts 107 for engaging with fixing devices (anchors) 111 that are driven into the slope to fix the sheet material 101 to the slope. The engagement parts 107 are portions curled into a ring shape at both ends. The fixing device 111 is an L-shaped anchor having a rod-shaped head and a sharp tip that bends from the head and penetrates into the ground. By inserting the tip of the fastener 111 into the annular portion of the engaging portion 107, the engaging portion 107 and the fastener 111 can be engaged with each other. The engaging portion 107 only needs to have a shape that allows it to be hooked onto the fastener 111, and may be a wire bent into a hook shape or an ellipse shape, such as the reinforcing members 106', 106" and their engaging portions 107', 107" shown in Figures 11(a) and (b), or a hole drilled in a plate material, such as the reinforcing member 106'" and its engaging portion 107'" shown in Figure 11(c).

When filling the storage section 104 with the bag body 110, it is preferable to select a storage section 104 in which a reinforcing member 106 is arranged inside and fill the bag body 110 with the bag body 110. This is because, by arranging the reinforcing member 106 at the upper end of the storage section 104 that holds the bag body 110, the load of soil, sand, snow, etc. applied to the bag body 110 can be effectively distributed laterally by the reinforcing member 106. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the bag body 110 may be filled into any selected storage section 104.

Next, an installation structure 10 in which the slope protection device 100 of this embodiment is laid on the soil surface of the slope G will be described. Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of the installation structure 10. Figure 7 is a partially enlarged view of the installation structure 10, with a portion of the installation structure 10 cut away. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the installation structure 10 taken along line B-B.

6 to 8, the slope protection device 100 is fixed to the soil surface of the slope G using a plurality of fasteners 111. Here, a plurality of slope protection devices 100 are arranged side by side in a horizontal direction so as to cover a predetermined area of the slope G. In addition, in the installation structure 10, the long cylindrical storage section 104 extends in a direction perpendicular to the inclination direction of the slope G, and a plurality of reinforcing members 106 extend in the longitudinal direction inside the storage section 104. Since the storage section 104 is bag-shaped, it can also function to capture soil and sand that falls downward on the slope G. In addition, the plurality of reinforcing members 106 are arranged at approximately equal intervals in the inclination direction of the slope G. The reinforcing members 106 are bent and plastically deformed in their longitudinal direction so as to follow the unevenness of the surface shape of the slope G (not shown). The adhesion between the reinforcing members 106 and the surface of the slope G is improved, and a higher protective effect can be obtained. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, each reinforcing member 106 is arranged to contact the upper end located on the slope side of the vertical slope G of the storage section 104. This allows the reinforcing members 106 to receive the tensile force downward on the slope caused by the weight of the sheet material 101 itself and the weight of soil and rocks acting on the sheet material 101 in a nearly uniform distribution, thereby suppressing damage and deterioration of the sheet material 101 itself.

Furthermore, a plurality of fasteners 111 are driven into the slope G so as to abut against one reinforcing member 106. In particular, the fasteners 111 are driven into the slope G so as to penetrate the annular engaging portion 107 of each reinforcing member 106, and the reinforcing member 106 is directly fixed to the slope G by the fasteners 111. In other words, the engaging portions 107 at both ends of the reinforcing member 106 form the fixed portion to the slope G. In addition, a plurality of fasteners 111 are further driven into the slope G so as to abut from below on the intermediate portion between the pair of engaging portions 107, 107 of the reinforcing member 106. At this time, the reinforcing member 106 abuts against the plurality of fasteners 111 from the upper side of the slope G. In addition, the L-shaped head of the fastener 111 is arranged so as to face upward along the inclination direction of the slope G. This prevents the reinforcing member 106 from being engaged with the fasteners 111 and floating up. That is, by driving a plurality of fasteners 111 into the slope G with the reinforcing members 106 in contact with the fasteners 111 from above the slope G, the fasteners 111 support the reinforcing members 106 from below, and the reinforcing members 106 bear the load between the fasteners 111 and the slope protection device 100, so that the slope protection device 100 can be fixed to the slope G by the fasteners 111 for a longer period of time. In the present invention, the reinforcing effect of the support can be expected regardless of the driving position of the fasteners 111, but in particular, by driving the fasteners 111 into the engagement parts 107, the presence of the engagement parts 107 makes the fasteners 111 less likely to come off, so that the reinforcing effect can be further enhanced.

Furthermore, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 6, in adjacent slope protection devices 100, 100, the engaging portions 107, 107 of the reinforcing members 106, 106 adjacent to each other on the left and right are overlapped and fasteners 111 are cast in place, so that the left and right reinforcing members 106, 106 can be integrally connected to each other. In other words, multiple slope protection devices 100 can cover and protect the entire slope G without any gaps. As a result, the reinforcing effect of the slope G can be further enhanced.

In addition, in the installation structure 10, the slope protection device 100 also functions as a vegetation mat. A bag body 110 containing vegetation material is stored in the storage section 104, which is a part of the sheet material 101. The outer bag of the bag body 110 is preferably formed of a material that has root permeability that allows the roots of the covering plant to pass through and has water decomposition property that decomposes after installation by one to several rainfalls. As shown in FIG. 7, the coarse part 104a of the storage section 104 is arranged on the toe side of the slope G, and the dense part 104b of the storage section 104 is arranged on the toe side of the slope G. That is, the mesh of about the lower half of the storage section 104 is made finer than the mesh of about the upper half, and the bag body 110 is held by about the lower half of this long cylinder, so that even if the outer bag of the bag body 110 is dissolved in water and disappears, the contents remain reserved. In other words, the dense portion 104b, which is about the lower half of the net and has a fine mesh, catches the contents without letting them fall off the slope G. On the other hand, because the mesh on the toe side of the slope G is coarse, the net does not hinder the germination and growth of plants. Therefore, the installation structure 10 of this embodiment protects the slope G to prevent the movement of soil and falling rocks, and also makes it possible to effectively green the slope G.

Next, a method of protecting a slope G using the slope protection device 100 of this embodiment will be described. First, the sheet material 101 of the slope protection device 100 is laid on the slope G. Next, with the sheet material 101 laid on the slope G, the reinforcing member 106 is installed on the slope G so as to follow the surface shape of the slope G. More specifically, if the surface shape of the slope G is uneven, the reinforcing member 106 is bent and plastically deformed so that the shape of the reinforcing member 106 fits the unevenness of the slope G. Next, a plurality of fasteners 111 are driven into the slope so that the plurality of fasteners 111 hook (or engage) with the reinforcing members 106. More specifically, the tip of the fastener 111 is penetrated into the inside of the annular portion of the engagement portion 107 of the reinforcing member 106, and the fastener 111 is driven into the sheet material 101 and the slope G. Furthermore, multiple fasteners 111 are driven into the slope G so as to support the intermediate portion between the pair of engagement portions 107, 107 of the reinforcing member 106. Through the above steps, the slope protection device 100 can be installed on the slope G to protect the slope G.

The inventors conducted a demonstration test to confirm the action and effect of the slope protection device of the present invention described above. The demonstration test was conducted by attempting to protect a slope in a completely private site where outside access was prohibited, and observing the results over time. The example had a similar configuration to the slope protection device 100 of the above embodiment. The slope protection device of the comparative example has a similar configuration to a conventional vegetation mat, with the reinforcing members omitted from the slope protection device of this embodiment.

9(a) and (b) are photographs of the example taken from a long distance and a short distance, showing the state 180 days after installation. FIG. 10(a) and (b) are photographs of the comparative example taken from a long distance and a short distance, showing the state 180 days after installation. In order to make the comparison conditions as close as possible, the slope protection device of the example and the slope protection device of the comparative example were installed as close to the slope as possible. In the installation structure of the example shown in FIG. 9(a) and (b), the reinforcing member prevents the net body from slackening, suppresses the net body from being torn or damaged, and the shape of the slope protection device is relatively maintained. On the other hand, in the installation structure of the comparative example shown in FIG. 10(a) and (b), it can be seen that the net body slackens, the net body is partially torn, the slope protection device is damaged, and the slope protection performance cannot be fully demonstrated. Therefore, it has been demonstrated that the slope protection device of the example has a higher slope protection effect than the conventional one.

The following describes the effects of the slope protection device 100 of one embodiment of the present invention.

According to the slope protection device 100 of this embodiment, the strength of the sheet material 101 and the storage section 104 can be effectively increased by providing a reinforcing member 106 in the storage section 104 extending laterally of the sheet material 101. That is, the reinforcing member 106 extending laterally of the sheet material 101 partially increases the strength of protecting the slope G along a direction perpendicular to the inclination direction of the slope G, and can effectively suppress the movement of soil and rockfall. In addition, the reinforcing member 106 is integrally held by the sheet material 101 and arranged in a direction perpendicular to the inclination direction of the slope G, so that the sheet material 101 is prevented from being torn due to a load being concentrated in a part of the lateral direction, and the sheet material 101 is also prevented from being peeled off from the slope G. Therefore, the slope protection device 100 of this embodiment makes it possible to perform slope protection more effectively than ever before.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. Modifications of the present invention are described below.

(1) In the above embodiment of the slope protection device, the sheet material is formed by a first layer of a vegetation sheet and a second layer of a mesh sheet including a storage section, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the sheet material may be composed only of a nonwoven or woven sheet including a storage section. Also, the sheet material may be a weed control sheet that has a surface that can be greened or a surface that cannot be greened and prevents the overgrowth of weeds in the soil. Alternatively, the sheet material may be formed by only the second layer of a mesh sheet including a storage section.

(2) In the above embodiment of the slope protection device, the sheet material is formed of a flexible material consisting of a net body and a vegetation sheet, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the sheet material may be a wire mesh or a synthetic resin net (Netron (registered trademark) sheet) that is stronger and more durable than a net formed by weaving fibers or threads. In this case, the reinforcing member is formed of a material or shape that has relatively high strength in at least one of the tensile strength, bending strength, and shear strength.

(3) The slope protection device in the above embodiment is capable of both slope protection and slope greening, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the slope protection device is only required to be able to perform at least slope protection, and does not have to be used as a vegetation mat. In other words, in the above embodiment, the storage section is formed so that it can store both the reinforcing member and the bag containing the vegetation material inside, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the storage section may be configured so that it can store only the reinforcing member.

(4) In the above embodiment of the slope protection device, the reinforcing member is a single elongated body extending across both lateral ends of the storage section, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the reinforcing member may be divided into multiple pieces in the lateral direction.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but may be implemented in various forms within the scope of the present invention.

10 Installation structure 100 Slope protection device 101 Sheet material 102 First layer 103 Second layer 104 Storage section 104a Sparse section 104b Dense section 106 Reinforcing member 107 Engagement section 108 Connecting device 110 Bag body 111 Fixing device

Claims (10)

A slope protection device for being installed on a slope to protect the slope, comprising:
A sheet material that extends lengthwise and widthwise in a plane and is laid on the slope so that the lengthwise direction is along the inclination direction of the slope;
A plurality of storage portions are formed in the sheet material and extend in a long cylindrical shape along a lateral direction of the sheet material;
a plurality of reinforcing members that are fixed integrally to the sheet material, disposed within the storage section, and extend longitudinally in the lateral direction to increase the strength of the sheet material ;
A slope protection device characterized in that each of the reinforcing members is fixed so as to contact the upper vertical end portion of each of the accommodating portions, and the upper end portion is positioned on the toe side of the slope when the slope protection device is installed on the slope. 2. The slope protection device according to claim 1, wherein the storage portion is configured to be able to hold the reinforcing member together with a bag-shaped or tubular bag containing vegetative material. A slope protection device as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reinforcing member is made of a material having higher rigidity than the material of the sheet material so as to increase at least one of the tensile strength, bending strength, and shear strength of the slope protection device. 4. A slope protection device according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing member is a wire, a bar or a plate made of an elastic-plastic material. A slope protection device for being installed on a slope to protect the slope, comprising:
A sheet material that extends lengthwise and widthwise in a plane and is laid on the slope so that the lengthwise direction is along the inclination direction of the slope;
A plurality of storage portions are formed in the sheet material and extend in a long cylindrical shape along a lateral direction of the sheet material;
a plurality of reinforcing members that are fixed integrally to the sheet material, disposed within the storage section, and extend longitudinally in the lateral direction to increase the strength of the sheet material;
The slope protection device is characterized in that the reinforcing member is made of a wire made of a rigid elastic-plastic material, and is capable of plastically deforming to conform to the uneven shape of the slope surface when installed on the slope, and when it is deflected by an external force, it is capable of elastically returning to its original shape after the cause of the force is removed. A slope protection device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the reinforcing member is made of iron wire and has an engaging portion for engaging with a fastener that is driven into the slope to fix the sheet material to the slope, and the engaging portion is formed by bending the iron wire into a ring shape or a hook shape. 7. The slope protection device according to claim 1, wherein the storage section is constituted by a mesh-like elongated cylinder extending in the longitudinal direction. The elongated cylindrical body is formed by combining a coarse portion having a large mesh and a fine portion having a small mesh, and the coarse portion is formed biased toward one end side in a width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the elongated cylindrical body in a plan view of the sheet material,
A slope protection device as described in claim 7, characterized in that the sheet material can be laid on the slope so that the coarse portion is located on the toe side of the slope and the dense portion is located on the toe side of the slope. An installation structure in which the slope protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is installed on a slope,
An installation structure characterized in that a sheet material of the slope protection device is fixed to the slope by driving a plurality of fasteners into the slope, and a reinforcing member of the slope protection device abuts against the fasteners from the upper side of the slope. A method for protecting a slope using a slope protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , comprising the steps of:
laying a sheet of the slope protection device on the slope;
a step of installing a reinforcing member of the slope protection device on the slope so as to conform to a surface shape of the slope;
and driving a plurality of fasteners into the slope such that the fasteners engage the reinforcing members.

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