JP7671264B2 - Concrete blocks for planting and their manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a concrete block for planting and a manufacturing method thereof, and more specifically, to a concrete block for planting in which a water-retaining material or the like is filled into porous concrete, and a manufacturing method thereof.

Conventionally, a technique for greening the slopes of retaining walls and the like has been to mix seeds into slurry soil and spray it onto the surface of the wall. However, this type of greening method not only requires large-scale equipment, but also has various problems, such as the seeds not germinating due to lack of moisture, or even if they do germinate, they do not grow well. As a result, various concrete blocks for planting have been developed for use in greening slopes and the like (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

The technology described in Patent Document 1 relates to a vegetative concrete base made of hardened porous concrete, in which a liquid water-retaining material is filled into the continuous voids of the hardened porous concrete. In this vegetative concrete base, the water-retaining material is filled throughout the entire area of the hardened porous concrete. In addition, the hardened porous concrete is filled with seeds, fertilizer, soil, etc., or a thin layer of fiber-reinforced soil mixed with seeds, fertilizer, etc. is sprayed onto the surface of the hardened porous concrete.

The technology described in Patent Document 2 involves the provision of a porous concrete base containing a water-retentive material, and a layer of soil containing seeds and a curing agent on top of the porous concrete base. In other words, only the porous concrete base contains the water-retentive material, and the soil layer does not contain the water-retentive material, and the soil layer is not filled into the voids in the porous concrete.

JP 2000-204556 A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-18293

Conventionally, the commonly used greening method using porous concrete involves laying soil on top of the porous concrete, as in the technology described in Patent Document 2. Such greening methods employ a method of laying grown grass. There are also greening members that use porous concrete, but most of them do not contain soil or water-retaining material. With such greening members, it is not possible to scatter seeds directly on the surface of the porous concrete, and it is only possible to attach grown grass, etc.

In the method of laying soil on the surface of porous concrete filled with water-retentive material, the porous concrete filled with water-retentive material is underneath the soil. For this reason, when scattering seeds, the moisture required for the germination and growth of the plants from germination to root growth must be provided by rainwater or, if there is no rain, by watering.

In addition, the technology described in Patent Document 1 fills the entire porous concrete hardened body with a mixture of water-retaining material and added soil, so if the water-retaining material and added soil are not filled evenly, there is a risk that the water-retaining effect will decrease in areas where the amount of water-retaining material mixed is insufficient.

There is also a method of greening the wall surface by spraying soil seed. This greening method is generally called "mud spraying", and involves constructing a concrete retaining wall, mixing seeds into a slurry of soil and spraying it onto the surface of the wall to allow vegetation to grow. If the retaining wall has a steep slope, a net is laid over the surface of the wall, and soil seed spraying is then carried out on top of that to green the wall. This method requires mud spraying after the construction of the retaining wall, which requires time (construction period) and costs for construction machinery, as well as land for installing the machinery.

Another method is to construct blocks in a stepped pattern and fill the back of the blocks with soil to allow vegetation to grow. The blocks are heavy and require a slope with depth. For this reason, if the construction site is tall, the depth must also be large. In addition, work must be done to fill in the soil for vegetation, which not only takes time (construction period) but also increases costs.

Another method is to put soil on the back of the blocks and then plant vegetation. With this method, vegetation only grows in the gaps between the blocks, and it is not possible to plant vegetation on the entire surface of the blocks, so the vegetation is insufficient.

The present invention was proposed in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a concrete block for planting and a method for manufacturing the same, which allows plants to grow from seed stage by reliably retaining water-retaining material and added soil within the voids of the porous concrete, and which allows plants to germinate and grow well by fully utilizing the water-retaining effect of the water-retaining material.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the concrete block for planting and its manufacturing method according to the present invention have the following features. That is, the concrete block for planting according to the present invention comprises a box-shaped block body with an open top and closed bottom, and a porous concrete section provided inside the block body. The porous concrete section is provided with a water-retentive material layer, a soil-addition/water-retentive material layer, and a seed-sowing layer, in that order from the bottom . The upper part of the water-retentive material layer and the lower part of the soil-addition/water-retentive material layer, and the upper part of the soil-addition/water-retentive material layer and the lower part of the seed-sowing layer are in contact with each other.

The water-retentive material used in the water-retentive material layer and the added soil/water-retentive material layer is a material that has fluidity when filled into the voids of the porous concrete section and gels after a certain time has passed. The water-retentive material layer is a layer in which the water-retentive material is filled into the voids of the porous concrete section and gelled so that it does not flow out of the voids of the porous concrete section, and the added soil/water-retentive material layer is a layer in which the added soil and the water-retentive material are mixed uniformly and the added water amount according to the moisture content of the added soil is filled into the voids of the porous concrete section to create fluidized soil, which is then filled into the voids of the porous concrete section to hold the plantings and supply water to the plantings. The seeding layer is a layer in which the voids of the porous concrete section are filled with fluidized plant seeds and added soil, or seeds are mixed into the top of the added soil filled in the porous concrete section and the top of the seeds is covered with soil.

In the above-mentioned concrete block for planting, fertilizer may be mixed into the soil/water-retaining material layer.

The method of manufacturing a concrete block for planting according to the present invention includes the steps of providing a porous concrete section in a box-shaped block body with an open top and closed bottom, filling the voids in the porous concrete section located at the bottom of the porous concrete section with a water-retentive material made of a material that has fluidity when filled and gels after a predetermined time has elapsed, thereby forming a water-retentive material layer for retaining moisture to be supplied to plants without the gelled water-retentive material flowing out of the porous concrete section , and filling the voids in the porous concrete section located above the water-retentive material layer with the water-retentive material . The process includes the steps of: forming a layer of dome soil and water retention material for holding plantings by uniformly mixing the dome soil and water retention material so that the layer is in contact with the upper part of the water material layer, and filling the layer with fluidized soil prepared by adding an amount of water corresponding to the moisture content of the dome soil ; and forming a seeding layer by filling the voids in the porous concrete section located on the open side of the block body, above the dome soil and water retention material layer, with fluidized plant seeds and dome soil so that the layer is in contact with the upper part of the dome soil and water retention material layer, or by mixing seeds into the upper part of the dome soil filled in the porous concrete section .

The process of providing a porous concrete section inside the block body, the process of providing a water-retaining material layer in the voids of the porous concrete section , the process of providing a soil/water-retaining material layer, and the process of providing a seeding layer are carried out at the manufacturing plant.

In the planting concrete block and its manufacturing method according to the present invention, a water-retaining material layer is provided at the bottom of the porous concrete section, a soil/water-retaining material layer is provided above the water-retaining material layer, and a seeding layer is provided at the top.

The planting concrete block and its manufacturing method according to the present invention, having such a configuration, can sufficiently retain and supply the moisture necessary for the germination and growth of seeds. In addition, by fluidizing the mixed soil and water-retentive material, the soil can be evenly filled into the voids in the porous concrete section.

In addition, after the plant germinates and its roots grow into the porous concrete, it can grow by absorbing nutrients and water from the soil and water-retaining material in the porous concrete.

In addition, because there is soil added within the voids and on the surface of the porous concrete, even if the plants used for greening are annual plants, fallen seeds or seeds that fly in can be used to green the area repeatedly each season without the need to scatter new seeds.

Furthermore, while typically greening is done on the surface of a concrete block after it is constructed, with the planting concrete block and its manufacturing method of the present invention, the concrete block and the greening area are integrated. As a result, not only is it possible to carry out greening measures at the concrete block construction site as with general methods, but it is also possible to manufacture and ship concrete blocks for planting that are ready for greening at the concrete block manufacturing factory. As a result, only the construction of the concrete blocks is required at the construction site, eliminating the need for on-site greening work, which shortens the construction period and reduces construction costs.

1 is a perspective view of a concrete block for planting according to an embodiment of the present invention. Schematic diagram of a porous concrete section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a planting state in the planting concrete block according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The concrete block for planting and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 3 explain the concrete block for planting, with Figure 1 being a perspective view of the concrete block for planting, Figure 2 being a schematic diagram of the porous concrete portion, and Figure 3 being a schematic diagram showing the planting state.

<Outline of concrete blocks for planting>
As shown in Fig. 1, the planting concrete block 10 according to the present invention comprises a box-shaped block body 20 and a porous concrete section 30 provided inside the block body 20. As shown in Fig. 2, the porous concrete section 30 comprises, from the bottom, a water-retentive material layer 31, a soil/water-retentive material layer 32, and a seeding layer 33.

<Block body>
The block body 20 is, for example, a member with a square cross section with a side of about 1 m and a height of about 30 cm, and is box-shaped with an open top and closed bottom. That is, the block body 20 is box-shaped with a closed bottom, and has a bottom 21, a frame-shaped part 22 protruding upward from the bottom 21, and a recess 23 surrounded by the frame-shaped part 22 in FIG. 1. The depth of the recess 23 is, for example, 3 to 10 cm (standard is about 5 cm), and the porous concrete part 30 is provided in this recess 23. That is, the thickness of the porous concrete part 30 is 3 to 10 cm (standard is about 5 cm).

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the block body 20 has a rectangular cross section, but the shape of the block body 20 is not limited to a rectangular cross section and may be any other shape as long as it is capable of constructing a retaining wall or the like.

<Porous Concrete Department>
The porous concrete forming the porous concrete portion 30 is made by solidifying aggregate with cement paste. For example, crushed stone No. 5 (13-20 mm), crushed stone No. 6 (5-13 mm), and crushed stone No. 7 (2.5-5 mm) are used as aggregate. The mixing ratio of aggregate, cement, and water is, for example, 2235 g of aggregate, 410 g of cement, and 125 g of water. The amount of each material is adjusted according to the amount of porous concrete to be created.

To make porous concrete, cement and water are mixed uniformly, crushed stone is added, and the mixture is mixed evenly. In the present invention, the prepared porous concrete is filled into the recesses 23 of the block body 20, compacted, the surface is leveled, and the mixture is cured for a specified period of time. The compaction method and curing time are adjusted appropriately according to the amount of porous concrete used in the present invention.

As mentioned above, the thickness of the porous concrete section 30 is about 3 to 10 cm, and is typically about 5 cm. If the thickness of the porous concrete section 30 is less than 3 cm, the depth of the soil/water-retaining material layer 32 (fluidized soil) is insufficient and sufficient moisture cannot be maintained. On the other hand, if the thickness of the porous concrete section 30 exceeds 10 cm, there is a risk that not only herbaceous plants but also woody plants will take root, and if woody plants take root, there is a risk that the block body 20 will be destroyed. In this embodiment, the thickness of the porous concrete section 30 is set to the standard thickness of about 5 cm within the preferred range mentioned above.

The porosity of the porous concrete forming the porous concrete portion 30 is about 10 to 50%, and preferably about 25 to 30%. If the porosity of the porous concrete is below 10%, the fluidized soil cannot enter the voids and plants cannot take root. On the other hand, if the porosity of the porous concrete is above 50%, the adhesion between the aggregates will come apart and the porous concrete will crumble. For this reason, in this embodiment, the porosity of the porous concrete is set to a standard value of about 25 to 30%, within the above-mentioned preferred range.

<Water retention material>
The water-retentive material is a polymeric water-absorbing polymer. The polymeric water-absorbing polymer used in this embodiment may be in powder or liquid form. The amount of water-retentive material added varies depending on the type of water-retentive material used, but is, for example, about 2% of the added soil in the added soil/water-retentive material layer 32. A water-retentive material made of a general polymeric polymer gels when it absorbs water.

In the present invention, a water-retaining material that has fluidity when filled into the porous concrete section 30 and gels after a specified time has passed is used, making it easy to fill the voids in the porous concrete section 30 and preventing it from flowing out of the porous concrete section 30 after gelling.

<Soil Addition>
The added soil is a mixture of sand, silt, clay, etc., and soil of appropriate soil quality can be used as the added soil. When the water-retaining material and added soil are filled into the porous concrete portion 30 of the planting concrete block 10 at the construction site, the added soil may be collected at the construction site. By using soil from the surface layer of the local ground as the added soil, there is a possibility that the soil already contains seeds, and it becomes possible to perform vegetation using seeds from the local area.

To form the added soil/water-retentive material layer 32, it is preferable to fluidize the added soil beforehand. That is, an appropriate amount of water is added according to the moisture content of the added soil to create fluidized soil. At this time, fertilizer may be mixed in. The created fluidized soil is then mixed evenly with a water-retentive material, and the layer of added soil/water-retentive material 32 can be formed by pouring the mixture into the voids in the porous concrete section 30.

<Water-retaining material layer>
The water-retentive layer 31 is a layer provided at the bottom of the porous concrete section 30. To create the water-retentive layer 31, a powdered or liquid water-retentive material may be poured into the upper surface of the porous concrete section 30. Since there are voids in the porous concrete section 30, the water-retentive material travels through the voids to reach the bottom of the porous concrete section 30. When a powdered water-retentive material is used, the water-retentive layer 31 can be formed by injecting water after the water-retentive material reaches the bottom of the porous concrete section 30. The thickness of the water-retentive layer 31 is appropriately set according to the environment (weather, etc.) of the place where the planting concrete block 10 is installed and the type of seeds to be used.

<Soil addition/water-retaining layer>
The added soil/water-retentive material layer 32 is a layer provided on top of the water-retentive material layer 31, and is the thickest layer in the planting concrete block 10 according to the present invention. To form the added soil/water-retentive material layer 32, as described above, an appropriate amount of water is added according to the moisture content of the added soil to prepare fluidized soil, and the prepared fluidized soil is mixed uniformly with the water-retentive material and poured into the voids of the porous concrete section 30. As described above, fertilizer may be mixed into the fluidized soil.

<Seeding layer>
The seeding layer 33 is a layer provided near the upper surface of the porous concrete section 30. The seeding layer 33 may be prepared by mixing seeds and soil to prepare fluidized soil in advance, and filling the voids in the porous concrete section 30 with the fluidized soil containing the seeds, or by sowing seeds on top of the soil/water-retentive material layer 32 and covering them with a thin layer of soil to form the seeding layer 33. It is also preferable that the seeding layer 33 contains a water-retentive material in addition to the seeds and soil.

<Production Method Procedure>
To manufacture the planting concrete block 10 of the present invention, first, a porous concrete section 30 is provided in a box-shaped block body 20 that is open at the top and closed at the bottom. Then, a water-retentive material layer 31, a soil/water-retentive material layer 32, and a seeding layer 33 are formed in the porous concrete section 30.

The formation of each layer will be explained in order: the water-retaining material layer 31 is formed by filling the gaps located at the bottom of the porous concrete section 30 with water-retaining material; the added soil and water-retaining material layer 32 is formed by fluidizing and filling the gaps in the porous concrete section 30 located above the water-retaining material layer 31 with mixed added soil and water-retaining material; and the seeding layer 33 is formed by filling the gaps in the porous concrete section 30 located above the added soil and water-retaining material layer 32, located on the open side of the block body 20, with added soil mixed with seeds.

In addition, instead of filling the seeding layer 33 with soil containing seeds, the gaps in the porous concrete section 30 located on the open side of the block body 20 may be filled with soil (which may contain a water-retaining material), and seeds may be sown on the top surface of the porous concrete section 30 at the construction site, etc., to provide a thin layer of soil covering, thereby forming the seeding layer 33.

The process of providing the porous concrete section 30 inside the block body 20 and the process of providing the water-retaining material layer 31, the soil/water-retaining material layer 32, and the seeding layer 33 in the voids of the porous concrete section 30 may be carried out at the manufacturing plant or at the construction site.

<Construction location>
The planting concrete block 10 of the present invention may be installed in any location, such as a road slope, a retaining wall, or a rooftop. The wall surface to be installed has a slope gradient that matches the installation location, but the planting concrete block 10 of the present invention can also be installed on a vertical surface. Since the water retention material gels in the voids of the porous concrete portion 30 of the planting concrete block 10 of the present invention, the water retention material, the added soil, the moisture, etc. filled in the water retention material layer 31, the added soil/water retention material layer 32, and the seeding layer 33 will not flow out even if the planting concrete block 10 is tilted.

<Planting status>
As shown in FIG. 3, when a seed germinates in the concrete block for planting 10 of the present invention, the roots grow toward the lower part of the porous concrete part 30, and the stems and leaves of the plant 40 grow upward from the porous concrete part 30. If the plant 40 is a perennial plant, sufficient moisture is supplied by the addition of soil and the presence of the water-retaining material, so that the planting can be maintained continuously. If the plant 40 is an annual plant, the seeds fall onto the surface of the porous concrete part 30, and sufficient moisture is supplied by the presence of the water-retaining material, so that the planting can be maintained continuously. Furthermore, if a seed of a plant flies in from another place and falls onto the surface of the porous concrete part 30, sufficient moisture is supplied by the presence of the water-retaining material, so that the seed germinates and the plant 40 grows, so that the planting can be maintained continuously.

<Advantageous effects compared to conventional technology>
Patent Document 1, which is cited as an example of a prior art document, describes a vegetation concrete base in which a liquid water-retentive material is filled into the continuous voids of a hardened porous concrete body, and seeds, fertilizer, soil, etc. are filled into the continuous voids. It also describes burying a hardened porous concrete body filled with a filler and the seeds of the plant to be planted in a rectangular frame as an experimental body. However, the rectangular frame is used only to form the experimental body, and such an embodiment is not adopted for the vegetation concrete base that is actually used.

The planting concrete block 10 according to the present invention has a porous concrete section 30 provided inside a box-shaped block body 20 with an open top and closed bottom. Therefore, when the planting concrete block 10 according to the present invention is produced in a factory and transported to a construction site, or when it is moved around the construction site, the porous concrete section 30 will not fall out from inside the block body 20. In addition, water held in the water-retaining material filled in the voids of the porous concrete section 30 will not leak out from the bottom of the block body 20.

The block body 20 of the planting concrete block 10 according to the present invention is box-shaped with a closed lower surface (bottom surface), and the porous concrete section 30 provided inside the block body 20 has a thickness of about 3 to 10 cm (typically about 5 cm). This structure allows plants to spread their roots inside the porous concrete section 30, but the presence of the lower surface (bottom surface) means that the roots do not grow into the ground. Therefore, herbaceous plants can grow, but woody plants have difficulty growing.

On the other hand, in the vegetation concrete base described in Patent Document 1, roots grow from the hardened porous concrete into the ground, allowing woody plants to grow there. If the hardened porous concrete is installed on the slope of a levee or the like, the roots of the woody plants that grow into the slope may destroy the levee. If the roots of plants penetrate into the slope of a levee or the like, slope erosion can be prevented. In this regard, in the planting concrete block 10 of the present invention, the block body 20 prevents slope erosion, so there is no risk of slope erosion.

Furthermore, the planting concrete block 10 according to the present invention has a water-retaining material layer 31 filled only with a water-retaining material at the bottom of the porous concrete portion 30. In this regard, Patent Document 1 states that "seeds, fertilizer, soil, etc. are filled together in the continuous voids of the hardened porous concrete." In this embodiment, particularly when the temperature rises in the summer, the soil dries and absorbs the moisture of the water-retaining material. If the soil dries further, there is a possibility that all the moisture in the soil filled in the continuous voids of the hardened body will evaporate. Therefore, as described in the "Effects of the Invention" section, the planting concrete block 10 according to the present invention has an excellent effect unique to the present invention, that is, by providing the water-retaining material layer 31, sufficient moisture necessary for the germination and growth of seeds can be accumulated and replenished.

The main source of moisture for plants planted on slopes is rainwater, but dew also provides another source of moisture. Dew occurs because the limit of the amount of moisture that can be dissolved in the air changes with changes in the humidity of the air. For example, before a seed germinates, moisture in the air turns into dew and is absorbed into the ground. Furthermore, during the process of germination and growth, condensation is likely to occur because the leaves and stems are present on the ground surface. As shown in Figure 3, when a plant is growing in the planting concrete block 10 of the present invention, the dew runs down the leaves and stems of the plant and penetrates into the soil/water retention layer 32, and is then accumulated in the water retention layer 31.

In this way, in the present invention, the water-retentive material layer 31 is present at the bottom of the porous concrete section 30, so rainwater and dew can be efficiently captured and retained (stored). Experiments conducted by the inventors of the present invention have shown that the water-retentive material can maintain a sufficient amount of moisture for seed germination and plant growth for about two weeks to one month.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Concrete block for planting 20 Block body 21 Bottom 22 Frame-shaped portion 23 Recess 30 Porous concrete portion 31 Water-retentive material layer 32 Soil-added/water-retentive material layer 33 Seeding layer 40 Plant

Claims (4)

A box-shaped block body having an open top and a closed bottom;
A porous concrete portion provided inside the block body and having a void therein;
Equipped with
The porous concrete portion is provided with a water-retaining material layer, a soil-retaining material layer, and a seeding layer in this order from the bottom, and the upper part of the water-retaining material layer and the lower part of the soil-retaining material layer, and the upper part of the soil-retaining material layer and the lower part of the seeding layer are in contact with each other,
The water-retaining material used in the water-retaining layer and the soil-water-retaining layer is a material that has fluidity when filled into the voids of the porous concrete portion and gels after a predetermined time has passed,
The water-retentive material layer is a layer in which the water-retentive material is filled into the voids of the porous concrete section, and the water-retentive material is gelled so that it does not flow out of the voids of the porous concrete section, thereby retaining moisture to be supplied to the plants;
The layer of added soil and water-retentive material is a layer in which the added soil and the water-retentive material are mixed uniformly, and the layer is filled into the voids of the porous concrete section with fluidized soil, which is made to hold the plants and supply water to the plants.
The seeding layer is a layer in which the voids in the porous concrete section are filled with fluidized plant seeds and soil, or the seeds are mixed on top of the soil filled in the porous concrete section and the top of the seeds is covered with soil.
A concrete block for planting characterized by the above features. Fertilizer is mixed into the soil/water-retaining material layer.
2. The concrete block for planting according to claim 1 . A step of providing a porous concrete portion having a void therein in a box-shaped block body having an open upper surface and a closed lower surface;
a step of filling the voids in the porous concrete section located at the bottom of the porous concrete section with a water-retaining material made of a material that has fluidity and gels after a predetermined time has elapsed, thereby forming a water-retaining material layer for retaining moisture to be supplied to plants without the gelled water-retaining material flowing out of the porous concrete section;
A step of filling the voids in the porous concrete portion located on top of the water-retentive material layer with fluidized soil prepared by uniformly mixing the water-retentive material with the added soil and adding water in an amount corresponding to the moisture content of the added soil, so that the added soil and the fluidized soil are in contact with the upper part of the water-retentive material layer, thereby forming a layer of added soil and water-retentive material for holding plantings;
A step of filling the voids of the porous concrete section located on the open side of the block body with fluidized plant seeds and soil so as to contact the upper part of the soil/water-retentive material layer, or by mixing seeds into the upper part of the soil filled in the porous concrete section to form a seeding layer;
Including,
The steps of providing a porous concrete portion inside the block body, providing a water-retaining material layer in the voids of the porous concrete portion , providing a soil/water-retaining material layer, and providing a seeding layer are carried out at a manufacturing plant.
A method for manufacturing a concrete block for planting, comprising: When forming the soil/water-retaining layer, fertilizer is mixed into the soil/water-retaining layer.
The method for manufacturing a concrete block for planting according to claim 3 .

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