JP7707748B2 - Partition material - Google Patents

Description

The invention disclosed in this application relates to a partition material that divides the ground.

In outdoor landscaping work for gardens, flower beds, vegetable gardens, parks, plazas, etc., when the ground is finished with various types of materials such as grass, gravel, soil, plantings, etc., partition materials (trimming materials, edging materials) may be installed at the boundaries where the finishing materials change to prevent the vegetation from spreading and the soil from being washed away by rain. For example, long synthetic resin members buried to an appropriate depth in the ground, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, are often used as such partition materials.

Registered Utility Model No. 3065447 JP 2009-165419 A JP 2012-80852 A

These conventional partition materials are inexpensive, but the parts that appear above ground are cylindrical synthetic resin structures, making them monotonous in appearance and lacking in texture. Therefore, they are not a good choice if you want to create an appealing space in your garden or park.

The invention disclosed in this application was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a partition material that takes advantage of the texture of natural materials and is suitable for creating an attractive landscape.

The partition material according to the invention disclosed in this application, which was conceived to achieve the above-mentioned object, comprises a bottomed, container-like cage having an opening, gravel-like material contained inside the cage, and an embedding member connected to the cage so as to cover the opening, and is configured such that the cage containing the gravel-like material is exposed and maintained above ground by burying the embedding member in the ground with the opening of the cage facing downward.

In this partition material, the cage body is characterized as a wire mesh cage formed by joining metal wires in a lattice shape or weaving them into a net shape.

Furthermore, the cage is characterized as having a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a height greater than its width and a length greater than its height, and one side surrounded by the sides in the width direction and the sides in the length direction is an opening.

The embedding member is characterized as having a lid portion that is attached to the opening surface of the cage to close the opening surface, and a wedge portion that extends from the lid portion in a direction away from the cage, and the lid portion is provided with an attachment portion that connects the lid portion to the vicinity of the periphery of the opening surface of the cage.

The attachment portion is characterized as having a claw-shaped protrusion that can be attached to the vicinity of the periphery of the opening surface of the cage.

Furthermore, the claw-shaped projections may be formed so as to protrude laterally from the lid portion and hook around the periphery of the opening surface from the outside of the cage.

The embedded member can be configured so that a portion of the lid can be opened and closed or expanded and contracted in the width direction of the cage, and can be joined to the cage by closing the opening/closing or expanding/contracting portion to sandwich the cage in the width direction.

Alternatively, the embedding member can be configured to be divisible in the width direction of the cage body, and the divisible parts can be joined to the cage body by combining them and sandwiching the cage body in the width direction.

The partition material of the invention disclosed in this application is constructed by combining an embedding member with a cage that contains stone or other gravel-like material, and by burying the embedding member in the ground, the cage containing the gravel-like material is kept exposed above ground. By connecting such partition materials to divide the ground, it is possible to create a tasteful landscape that makes use of the texture and feel of the gravel-like material, compared to the monotonous synthetic resin partition materials that have been commonly used in the past.

1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a cage body in a partition material of the present invention disclosed in the present application. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a partition material according to a first embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present application. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a partition material according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the installed state of the partition material according to the first embodiment. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a partition material according to a second embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present application. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a partition material according to a third embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present application. FIG. A cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a partition material according to a fourth embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present application. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of installation of the partition material according to the fourth embodiment. A cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a partition material according to a fifth embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present application. A cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a partition material according to a sixth embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present application.

Below, embodiments of the invention disclosed in this application will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of multiple embodiments, components with common functions or actions are given the same numerical symbols to simplify the description of the embodiments described later. When distinguishing or contrasting a specific component in the previous embodiment with a similar component in the following embodiment, an alphabet (A, B, C...) is added to the numerical symbol corresponding to the component, but the basic concept of components with common numerical symbols is common throughout the embodiments.

<Cage body>
The partition material according to the present invention is composed of a bottomed container-like cage body for containing gravel-like material, and an embedding member connected to the cage body. Fig. 1 shows an example of the cage body configuration.

The illustrated cage 1 is a smaller version of a wire mesh cage, also known as a gabion, and is made of stainless steel wire, steel wire, copper wire, or other metal wire 11. The metal wires 11 are assembled in a lattice pattern that crosses vertically and horizontally at approximately equal intervals, and the metal wires 11 are fixed by welding where they come into contact. The cage 1 is a roughly rectangular parallelepiped with a height H greater than its width W and a length L greater than its height H, and one side surrounded by the side in the width direction (shortest side) and the side in the length direction (longest side) is an opening.

The size of the cage body 1 can be designed appropriately according to the scale of the ground to be partitioned, the type of finishing material, the soil quality, etc., but practical dimensions are a width W of 60 to 150 mm, a height H of 100 to 250 mm, and a length of about 300 to 1000 mm. If the overall volume is too small or too large, workability is impaired, so it is preferable to adjust the length according to the width and height so that a single worker can transport and set it up.

The thickness of the metal wire 11 and the spacing between the lattices may be determined as appropriate according to the overall volume of the cage 1 and the size of the gravel-like material to be stored inside (details will be described later), but practical dimensions are an outer diameter of the metal wire 11 of 1.5 to 4.0 mm and a spacing between the lattices of about 10 to 40 mm. Once the cage 1 is installed on the ground, the weight of the gravel is hardly applied to the cage 1 itself, so the cage 1 only needs to be strong enough not to be deformed by the weight of the gravel-like material during construction, and it is preferable from the standpoint of appearance to select metal wire 11 that is as thin as possible within that range.

The cage 1 may be formed by weaving metal wires 11 into a net shape. The shape of the net (weave) may be diamond or tortoiseshell (hexagonal). In addition to the metal wires 11, the cage may be made of thin wires such as bamboo, rattan, and synthetic resin. Instead of wires, the cage 1 may be made of expanded metal, which is made by cutting and expanding a thin metal plate. The overall shape may be such that two opposing sides are open and a separate bottom member can be attached to one of the two openings, or that one of the opposing sides is connected to an embedded member (described later) and the other side is left open and embedded facing upward. In addition to a rectangular parallelepiped, a shape such as a roughly trapezoid or U-shaped cross section in the width direction may be used.

The inside of the cage 1 contains gravel 2 of a size that will not fall out of the lattice or mesh of the cage 1. As the gravel 2, pebbles such as boulders and pebbles, or fragments of natural stone or lava can be suitably used. In addition to stone, it is also possible to use various solid granular or crushed bodies for exterior construction, such as ceramic sand (fragments of recycled roofing tiles), recycled glass cullet, crushed concrete waste, large bark chips (bark pieces of red pine or black pine), and shells, which are collectively referred to as "gravel" in this specification. The type of gravel can be selected appropriately according to the type of finishing material and soil quality of the ground to be constructed, and also taking into consideration the landscape.

<Embedded parts>
2 and 3 show a first embodiment of an embedding member 3 to be joined to the cage body 1. The illustrated embedding member 3A is a synthetic resin member having a substantially uniform cross-sectional shape in the length direction, and is integrally formed with a lid portion 4 to be attached to the opening surface of the cage body 1 and a wedge portion 5 extending from the lid portion 4.

The lid 4 has a cross section perpendicular to the length direction that is approximately triangular, and its bottom surface is rectangular so that it fits exactly within the opening surface of the cage 1. The bottom surface is inserted into the opening surface of the cage 1 by about a few centimeters, and the opening surface is blocked so that the gravel 2 does not fall out of the cage 1. Accordingly, the gravel 2 is shallowly filled in the cage 1 by the insertion depth of the lid 4. The lid 4 is formed with an attachment portion 41 that protrudes on both sides in the width direction and extends to approximately the same height as the bottom surface of the lid 4. The attachment portion 41 is formed so that it can elastically deform outward in the width direction, and the peripheral portion of the opening surface of the cage 1 is sandwiched in the gap provided between the attachment portion 41 and the lid 4. On the inside of the attachment portion 41, a claw-shaped protrusion 42 with a sawtooth cross section in two or three stages is formed, and this claw-shaped protrusion 42 hooks onto the metal wire 11 on the periphery of the opening surface, thereby connecting the embedding member 3 to the cage body 1. If the connecting force of this claw-shaped protrusion 42 alone is insufficient, the attachment portion 41 is fastened to the lid portion 4 from the outside at several points with screws.

The outer surfaces of the lid portion 4 and the attachment portion 41 are tapered and narrow in the direction away from the cage body 1, and continue to the wedge portion 5. The wedge portion 5 extends outward with a substantially uniform width in the direction away from the cage body 1, and its tip edge is formed with a pointed portion 51 having a V-shaped cross section.

The partition material 6 assembled by joining the embedding member 3 to the cage body 1 containing the gravel 2 is fixed by burying the embedding member 3 in the ground with the opening of the cage body 1 facing downwards, as shown in Figure 4. The height of the cage body 1 exposed to the ground G is aligned, and the partition materials 6 are buried adjacent to each other in the lengthwise direction, so that the ground G is divided into desired areas. Note that the above-mentioned "exposed to the ground G" also includes a buried state in which only the bottom surface of the cage body 1 is visible in the ground.

5 shows a second embodiment of the embedding member 3. The illustrated embedding member 3B is also made of synthetic resin, and is integrally formed with a lid portion 4 attached to the opening surface of the cage body 1 and a wedge portion 5 extending from the lid portion 4. The lid portion 4 of this embedding member 3B has a shape in which the width of the middle portion is slightly larger than the width of the opening surface of the cage body 1, and the width of the bottom surface is sufficiently smaller than the width of the opening surface of the cage body 1. Attachment portions 43 are provided on both sides of the narrow portion with an appropriate gap therebetween.
The engaging parts 43 are arranged at appropriate intervals in the length direction of the embedding member 3B. The engaging parts 43 are formed so as to extend to approximately the same height as the bottom surface of the lid part 4 and be elastically deformed inward in the width direction, and are pushed into the inside of the opening surface of the cage body 1 in a contracted state. Therefore, even in this form, the gravel-like material 2 is shallowly filled in the cage body 1 by the insertion depth of the lid part 4 and the engaging parts 4. On the outside of the engaging parts 43, a claw-shaped protrusion 44 and a recessed part 441 are formed. The outer surface of the claw-shaped protrusion 44 is inclined so as to contract in a tapered manner toward the cage body 1 side, and the claw-shaped protrusion 44 is engaged with the metal wire 11 on the periphery of the opening surface of the cage body 1, so that the metal wire 11 is restrained in the recessed part 441, and the embedding member 3B is joined to the cage body 1. In this form, a return claw 52 for preventing the wedge part 5 from coming off is formed on the side surface.

Figure 6 shows a third embodiment of the embedding member 3. The lid portion 4 of this embedding member 3C has a shape in which its bottom surface covers the opening surface of the cage body 1, and is cut from the center line in the width direction of the bottom surface to the base of the wedge portion 5 so that it can be opened and closed in the width direction. The cut surface has a convex portion 45 and a concave portion 46 with a sawtooth cross section that fit together. On both side edges of the lid portion 4, an engagement portion 41 that covers the outside of the cage body 1 is extended. The claw-shaped projections 42 with a sawtooth cross section formed on the inside of the engagement portion 41 are engaged with the metal wire 11 on the periphery of the opening surface of the cage body 1, and the embedding member 3C is joined to the cage body 1 by closing the cut surface and engaging the convex portion 45 and the concave portion 46. In other words, in this form, the cage body 1 is filled with gravel-like material 2 to its full depth.

Figure 7 shows a fourth embodiment of the embedding member 3. This embedding member 3D is obtained by dividing the lid portion 4 of the embedding member 3A according to the first embodiment described above along the center plane in the width direction. The wedge portion 5 extends from one of the divided bodies. When both divided bodies are combined, the bottom surface of the lid portion 4 fits within the opening surface of the cage body 1 to close the opening surface. Each divided body is formed with an engagement portion 41 that engages with the peripheral portion of the opening surface from the outside of the cage body 1, and is joined to the cage body 1 by hooking the claw-shaped projections 42 onto the metal wire 11 on the peripheral edge of the opening surface, as in the first embodiment.

In this way, by using a two-piece embedded member 3D that is divided in the width direction, when arranging the partition members 6 in a row in the length direction, as shown in Figure 8, it becomes possible to firmly connect adjacent partition members 6 by shifting one of the divided bodies in the length direction by half and joining it to the other divided body.

Figure 9 shows the fifth embodiment of the embedding member 3. This embedding member 3E is also a two-piece type, with the lid portion 4 and the wedge portion 5 divided along the center plane in the width direction. A convex portion 47 and a concave portion 48 that fit together are formed on the divided surface. In addition, each divided body has connecting arms 49 that engage with the other divided body at appropriate intervals. These connecting arms 49 are formed to a thickness that can be inserted into the mesh (weave) of the cage body 1, and the embedding member 3E is connected to the cage body 1 by elastically engaging the connecting arms 49 when inserted from the outside of the cage body 1 into the inside of the cage body 1. Therefore, in this embodiment, the gravel-like material 2 is shallowly filled in the cage body 1 by the height of the connecting arms 49. As the engagement form of the connecting arms 49, as shown in the example, the so-called approximately sickle joint engagement form, as well as engagement forms similar to joint structures such as sickle joints and dovetail joints can be appropriately adopted.

Figure 10 shows the sixth embodiment of the embedding member 3. This embedding member 3F is also a two-piece type, with the lid portion 4 and wedge portion 5 divided along the center plane in the width direction. A convex portion 47 and a concave portion 48 that fit into each other are formed on the divided surface. Also, like the first embodiment, one of the divided bodies is formed with the lid portion 4 that fits within the opening surface of the cage body 1 and an attachment portion 41 that protrudes to the side, and when the bottom surface of the lid portion 4 is inserted into the cage body 1, the peripheral portion of the opening surface of the cage body 1 is sandwiched between the lid portion 4 and the attachment portion 41. Therefore, in this form, the gravel-like material 2 is shallowly filled into the cage body 1 by the insertion depth of the lid portion 4.

On the other of the divided bodies, connecting arms 49 that engage with the lid 4 of the one of the divided bodies are formed at appropriate intervals. The connecting arms 49 are formed to a thickness that allows them to be inserted into the mesh (knit) of the cage body 1, and the embedding member 3 is joined to the cage body 1 by inserting the connecting arms 49 from the outside of the cage body 1 into the inside of the cage body 1 and engaging them with the lid 4. As for the form of engagement between the lid 4 and the connecting arms 49, in addition to a form in which triangular claws as shown in the example elastically engage with corresponding recesses, other suitable engagement forms such as sickle joints and dovetail joints can be used as appropriate.

As shown in each embodiment above, the partition material 6 according to the invention disclosed in this application can be assembled very easily by filling the cage body 1 with stones or other gravel-like material 2 with the open surface facing upwards, and then attaching the embedding member 3 so as to cover the open surface of the cage body 1. By turning the partition material 6 upside down, digging a trench of an appropriate depth in the ground G and embedding the embedding member 3, the upper part of the cage body 1 containing the gravel-like material 2 is exposed to the ground G. By arranging the partition materials 6 in a row in the length direction, the ground G can be divided. If the size of the cage body 1 is appropriately designed, construction can be carried out by a single worker. By selecting the materials of the cage body 1 and the gravel-like material 2 according to the type of finishing material and soil quality of the ground G to be constructed, and taking into consideration the scenery, it is possible to create an attractive scenery that makes use of the texture and feel of the material.

The technical scope of the invention disclosed in this application should not be interpreted as being limited by the illustrated embodiments, but should be interpreted conceptually based on the claims. When implementing the invention disclosed in this application, the shape, structure, material, quantity, joining form, relative positional relationship, etc. of components not specifically specified in the claims may be modified as appropriate within the scope that provides substantially the same or greater effect as the illustrated embodiments.

The invention disclosed in this application can be widely used as a partition material to divide areas with different ground finishing materials in outdoor landscaping works such as gardens, flower beds, vegetable gardens, parks, and plazas.

1 Cage body 11 Metal wire 2 Gravel 3 (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, 3F) Embedded member 4 Lid 41 Attachment portion 42 Claw-shaped projection 43 Attachment portion 44 Claw-shaped projection 441 Depression portion 45 Convex portion 46 Concave portion 47 Convex portion 48 Concave portion 49 Connecting arm portion 5 Wedge portion 51 Pointed tip portion 52 Barbed claw 6 Partition material G Ground

Claims (8)

A bottomed container-like cage having an open surface;
A gravel-like material contained inside the cage;
an embedding member connected to the cage body and closing the opening;
Equipped with
The embedding member has a lid portion attached to an opening surface of the cage body to close the opening surface, and a wedge portion extending from the lid portion in a direction away from the cage body and having a pointed portion formed on a tip edge thereof,
The outer surface of the lid portion is formed so as to be continuous with the wedge portion via a tapered surface that narrows in a direction away from the cage,
The partition material is configured such that the cage containing the gravel is exposed to the ground and maintained above ground level by burying the embedding member in the ground with the open surface of the cage facing downward. In the partition material according to claim 1,
The partition material, wherein the cage body is a wire mesh cage formed by joining metal wires in a lattice shape or weaving them into a net shape. In the partition material according to claim 1 or 2,
The cage has a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which the height is greater than the width and the length is greater than the height,
A partition material, characterized in that one surface surrounded by a width direction side and a length direction side is an opening surface. In the partition material according to claim 1, 2 or 3 ,
The partition member, wherein the lid portion is provided with an attachment portion that connects the lid portion to the vicinity of a peripheral edge of the opening surface of the cage. In the partition material according to claim 4,
The partition member, wherein the engaging portion has a claw-shaped protrusion that can be engaged with the vicinity of a peripheral edge of the opening surface of the cage. In the partition material according to claim 5,
The partition material, characterized in that the claw-shaped projections are formed so as to protrude laterally from the lid portion and to hook onto the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the opening surface from the outside of the cage. The partition material according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
The embedded member is formed so that a portion of the lid portion can be opened/closed or expanded/contracted in the width direction of the cage body, and is joined to the cage body by closing the opening/closing or expanding/contracting portion to sandwich the cage body in the width direction. The partition material according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
The embedding member is formed so as to be divisible in the width direction of the cage body, and is joined to the cage body by combining the divisible bodies and sandwiching the cage body in the width direction.