Concrete retaining wall block, retaining wall and method of construction therefore

Claim 1

A retaining wall comprising: a plurality of stacked, individual blocks, each said block comprising: a front outer wall presenting a block face having a predetermined width; a rear wall spaced from said front wall and having a width substantially equal to that of said front wall; a pair of side walls extending between said front outer wall and said rear wall, an upper block surface; and a lower block surface; wherein each said block is provided with a core therethrough, with the area of said block disposed between the core and the rear wall of said block defining a rear web; said wall being formed by a plurality of courses of said blocks, with a joint being formed between the blocks in adjacent upper and lower courses by the lower and upper block surfaces, respectively, of the blocks forming said upper and lower courses, each said course comprising a plurality of said blocks placed in a side-by-side relationship, wherein each end of the front outer wall of each block is located closely adjacent an end of the front outer wall of its neighboring block, and each end of the rear wall of each block is located closely adjacent an end of the rear wall of its neighboring block; engagement means interposed between the blocks in adjacent courses for preventing relative forward movement between the blocks in adjacent courses, said engagement means comprising clip means mountable to the rear web of a block in one of said upper and lower courses, said clip means including a substantially horizontal portion for placement adjacent the surface of said block forming said joint, and a substantially vertical projecting portion adapted to engage the rear web of a block placed in an adjacent course for preventing forward movement of blocks in an upper course relative to blocks forming the course therebelow; and a recess formed in one of said block surfaces forming said joint for receiving the substantially horizontal portion of said clip means to prevent interference thereof with said joint, with the vertical projecting portion of said clip means projecting outwardly past said recess

Claim 18

A method of constructing a retaining wall from a plurality of blocks, comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of blocks, each said block comprising a front outer wall presenting a block face; a rear wall spaced from said front wall; a pair of side walls extending between said front wall and said rear wall; an upper block surface; and a lower block surface; each said block having one or more cores therethrough, with the area of said block disposed between the core and the rear wall of said block defining a rear web; forming a recess extending transversely across said rear web and opening onto one of the upper or lower surfaces; placing a first series of said blocks in a side-by-side relationship to form a lower course of said blocks; placing a second series of said blocks on said first series of blocks to form an upper course above said lower course, with a joint being formed between blocks in said upper and lower courses by the lower and upper surfaces, respectively, of blocks forming said upper and lower courses; providing a clip including a block mounting portion and a portion projecting therefrom; and mounting said clip to the rear web of the blocks in one of said courses such that the block mounting portion thereof is disposed within said recess so as not to interfere with said joint, with the projecting portion of said clip extending past the surface of said block onto which said recess opens; wherein said second series of said blocks are placed on said first series of said blocks such that the rear web of blocks in one course are engaged by the projecting portion of said clip mounted to the rear web of blocks in the adjacent course, so as to prevent forward movement of the blocks in said upper course relative to the blocks in said lower course.

Claim 19

A method of constructing a retaining wall from a plurality of blocks, comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of blocks, each said block comprising a front outer wall presenting a block face; a rear wall spaced from said front wall; a pair of side walls extending between said front wall and said rear wall; an upper block surface; and a lower block surface; each said block having one or more cores therethrough, with the area of said block disposed between the core and the rear wall of said block defining a rear web; forming a recess extending transversely across said rear web and opening onto one of the upper or lower surfaces; placing a first series of said blocks in a side-by-side relationship to form a lower course of said blocks; placing a second series of said blocks on said first series of blocks to form an upper course above said lower course, with a joint being formed between blocks in said upper and lower courses by the lower and upper surfaces, respectively, of blocks forming said upper and lower courses; providing a clip including a block mounting portion and a portion projecting therefrom; and mounting said clip to the rear web of the blocks in one of said courses such that the block mounting portion thereof is disposed within said recess so as not to interfere with said joint, with the projecting portion of said clip extending past the surface of said block onto which said recess opens; wherein said second series of said blocks are placed on said first series of said blocks such that the rear web of blocks in one course are engaged by the projecting portion of said clip mounted to the rear web of blocks in the adjacent course, so as to prevent forward movement of the blocks in said upper course relative to the blocks in said lower course.