Concrete wall construction

Claim 1

A concrete wall structure comprising a plurality of concrete piles of cylindrical cross section positioned adjacent each other and extending into and supported by a supporting bed in the earth and elongated filler elements arranged in the spaces between adjacent ones of said piles and above said supporting bed, each filler element including a framework cage and a hardenable substance encased within an elongated tubular bag, said framework cage being arranged and configured with portions positioned on the opposite sides of the smallest span between adjacent cylinder piles and having a greater dimension on each side of said span than the span itself, said filler elements also having an hourglass shaped cross section which conforms to the shape of and abuts against the outer wall surfaces of adjacent ones of said concrete piles.

Claim 17

A method of forming a water retaining wall extending up from the surface of the earth, said method comprising the steps of installing a plurality of cylinder piles in the earth to be supported thereby and to extend up from the surface thereof in closely spaced, substantially parallel relationship, inserting elongated, tubular, flexible wall bags into the spaces between adjacent ones of said piles to extend along the length thereof above the earth, flowing a hardenable material into the bags through a filler pipe which extends down from the upper end of each bag and which is gradually raised to expand each bag against the mutually facing surfaces of the adjacent piles so that the bag conforms to the shape of said surfaces and becomes interlocked with said piles when said material hardens to form a continuous integral wall, wherein said filler pipe is initially telescopically arranged in an outer pipe and is withdrawn out from said outer pipe while said hardenable material flows out from the bottom of said filler pipe and passes through openings along the length of said outer pipe into said bag.

Claim 18

A method of forming a water retaining wall extending up from the surface of the earth, said method comprising the steps of installing a plurality of cylinder piles in the earth to be supported thereby and to extend up from the surface thereof in closely spaced, substantially parallel relationship, inserting elongated, tubular, flexible wall bags into the spaces between adjacent ones of said piles to extend along the length thereof above the earth, flowing a hardenable material into the bags through a filler pipe which extends down from the upper end of each bag and which is gradually raised to expand each bag against the mutually facing surfaces of the adjacent piles so that the bag conforms to the shape of said surfaces and becomes interlocked with said piles when said material hardens to form a continuous integral wall, wherein said filler pipe is initially telescopically arranged in an outer pipe and is withdrawn out from said outer pipe while said hardenable material flows out from the bottom of said filler pipe and passes through openings along the length of said outer pipe into said bag.

Claim 19

A method of forming a water retaining wall extending up from the surface of the earth, said method comprising the steps of installing a plurality of cylinder piles in the earth to be supported thereby and to extend up from the surface thereof in closely spaced, substantially parallel relationship, inserting elongated, tubular, flexible wall bags into the spaces between adjacent ones of said piles to extend along the length thereof above the earth, providing within each bag a cage-like framework arranged and configured with portions positioned on opposite sides of the smallest span between adjacent cylinder piles and having a greater dimension on each side of said span than the span itself to prevent the framework or the bag in which it is contained from moving laterally between adjacent piles, thereafter flowing a hardenable material into the bags to expand each bag against the mutually facing surfaces of the adjacent piles so that the bag conforms to the shape of said surfaces and becomes interlocked with said piles when said material hardens to form a continuous integral wall.

Claim 20

A method of forming a water retaining wall extending up from the surface of the earth, said method comprising the steps of installing a plurality of cylinder piles in the earth to be supported thereby and to extend up from the surface thereof in closely spaced, substantially parallel relationship, inserting elongated, tubular, flexible wall bags into the spaces between adjacent ones of said piles to extend along the length thereof above the earth, providing within each bag a cage-like framework arranged and configured with portions positioned on opposite sides of the smallest span between adjacent cylinder piles and having a greater dimension on each side of said span than the span itself to prevent the framework or the bag in which it is contained from moving laterally between adjacent piles, thereafter flowing a hardenable material into the bags to expand each bag against the mutually facing surfaces of the adjacent piles so that the bag conforms to the shape of said surfaces and becomes interlocked with said piles when said material hardens to form a continuous integral wall.