DESC:
FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See Section 10 and Rule 13]

1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION
“CONNECTION SYSTEM FOR REINFORCING SOIL WALL AND SLOPE STRUCTURES ”

2. APPLICANT

a) Name: Reinforced Earth India Pvt. Ltd.
b) Nationality: Indian
c) Address: E-11, Block B1 Extension, Mohan Co-operative Industrial Estate, Mathura Road, New Delhi-110044, India

3. PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connection system used for the construction of reinforced soil wall and slope structures.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Reinforced soil walls and slope structures have been used in the earthwork industry for a very long time. In reinforced soil walls system, a wall-facing elements, which are made up of concrete blocks, concrete panels, and/or welded wire forms, are designed to withstand pressures exerted by backfill soils. Reinforcement of soil walls or slope structures of the soil backfill in mechanically stabilized earth applications is commonly provided using metallic or geosynthetic materials. The reinforcing elements are connected to the wall face elements and interact with the soil to create a stable reinforced soil/slope mass.

Nowadays, many types of connection systems are used in the industry of connecting the reinforced soil walls or slope structures. A connection system is described in WIPO publication No. WO2011/010048 wherein the invention provides a link device between a facing element of a reinforced ground construction work and a longitudinal reinforcement, intended to extend in a backfill of said work, in which said link device comprises a portion for fixing to the facing element, two connecting portions of which a first end of each of them is linked to a point of the fixing portion, in which a second end of each connecting portion is linked to a first end of a first and of a second return portion, in which the return portions are substantially parallel to one another and in which a second end of each of the return portions is linked to a securing segment substantially perpendicular to the return portions.

Another invention described in WIPO publication No. WO2011/117476. The invention relates to a connection system between the reinforcement strips and the backfill. The connection system includes fasteners having the shape of a continuous closed loop, each including two first portions for hooking to the facing and, alternating with the first portions along the closed loop shape, two-second portions extending towards the back of the facing where they are folded back to form two loops inside of which at least one reinforcement strip extends.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel and inventive mechanical connection system used for construction or maintenance of both reinforced soil wall and slope structures. Further, the present invention provides a connecting device that is very light/easy to handle, has simple arrangement, easy to install with self-supporting system, cost effective and lighter prefabricated facia units, and can be used for both reinforced soil walls and reinforced soil slopes. In addition, the present connecting device is less expensive, user-friendly and provides even load distribution when used for both reinforced soil walls and reinforced soil slopes.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention describes a novel and inventive mechanical connection system used for the construction of breast walls or retaining walls more specifically reinforced soil wall and slope structures. The connection system comprises of a grid made of a network of wires/rods or a twisted wire mesh/rods or a combination of a network of wires/rods and twisted wire mesh/rods, one or more connectors linked to the grid at one end and a horseshoe shaped means/ U-shaped means at another end. The one or more connectors is located between the grid and the horseshoe shaped means/U-shaped means and connecting the grid with the horseshoe shaped means/U-shaped means. The connector has a bottom side, a top side and one or more locking arrangements for locking the grid with the connector. One end of the bottom side as well as the top side are housed inside the horseshoe shaped means or U-shaped means and other end of the top and bottom sides are connected to the grid. The connection system further comprises a strap or strip located over the horseshoe shaped means/ U-shaped means for binding the connectors system to a fixed structure. The grid, the connectors, the horseshoe shaped means or U-shaped means, and the straps/strips form a coherent structure to hold or reinforce soil wall or slope structures.

Another embodiment the horseshoe shaped means or U-shaped means is horseshoe shaped plate or U-shaped plates.

Another embodiment of the invention is to provide a connector having a bottom side and top side both together to form two triangular shape structures. Each triangular shape structure has three sides namely a continuous lower side, a continuous upper side and a discontinues front side which is an extension of the lower and upper sides. The discontinuous front part can be connected to the grid by various means such as mechanical hooks, welding, using adhesive, coupling, clamps etc..
Yet another embodiment of the invention is to provide a connector having one or more U-shaped notch at the discontinues side of the top and/or bottom portions of the connectors for firmly engaging the connectors with the grid.
One more embodiment of the present invention is to provide a connector having U-shaped hooks either at the top and/or bottom side portions of the discontinued side.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a connector having a U-shaped hooks either at the top or bottom of the discontinues front side and U-shaped notch at the either at the top or bottom of the discontinues front side.

One more embodiment of the present invention is to provide a connector wherein the bottom side is two-legged trapezoidal shaped steel bar fixed horizontally to the welded steel grid. Similarly, the top side is two-legged trapezoidal shaped steel bar fixed at certain angle to the welded steel grid, which performs structing action.
One more embodiment of the present invention is to provide a connection system which provide self-support to the facing system at a different possible angle. This system does not require any additional support from outside due to the unique construction of the connector unlike other systems required external support during the installation of each unit/system.

Further embodiment of the present invention provides a connector having thicker continues bottom side and thinner continues top side to withstand more load at the
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a connection system useful for construction or support of reinforced soil walls and slope structures, comprising: one or more connectors, each having a bottom part and a top part, linked to a network of wires/rods/plank forming a grid at one end; a horseshoe shape means or U-shaped means at the other end of each connector; a strap or strip or wire or cord located over the horseshoe shape means/U-shaped means for banding the connectors to one or more fixed structure(s); and the bottom part and/or top part of each connector has a locking arrangement.
The bottom part and top part of the connection system both together to form two triangular shape structures and each triangular shape structure has a continuous lower side, a continuous upper side and a discontinues front side which is an extension of the lower and upper sides. The discontinuous front side of the connector having a locking arrangement. The locking arrangement includes firmly connecting the lower and upper parts of the discontinuous front side by any suitable means such as welding, using adhesive, clips, hooks, bends, ropes clamp.
The bottom part and top part of each connector are connected to the grid at any angle, preferably the bottom part is horizontally fixed to the grid and the top part at an angle between 20 to 80 degrees from the bottom part.
Further, the connectors are adjustable to accommodate different loading requirements based on the height and shape of the grid. The connectors are connected to grid, provide a coherent structure to distribute tensile load over a wider area of the grid.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the horseshoe shape means, or U-shaped means is made of synthetic or non-synthetic material selected from alloys, steel, HDPE, plastic, and rubber. And the connection system is constructed to accommodate both reinforced soil walls with slope angles between 70 to 90 degrees with the horizontal and reinforced soil slope structures with slope angles between 45 to 70 degrees with the horizontal.
Another embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the bottom part of the connector is thicker than the top part of the connector to withstand more load at the lower side. The connectors are of high-strength thermos mechanically treated steel bars of grade FE-500 or FE-550 or equivalent. The connector having a U-shaped hook or notch at the discontinues front side either in bottom part or in top part or in both bottom and top parts. The connection system provides self-support to the reinforced soil wall and slope structure at a different possible angle.
In an additional embodiment of the present invention, wherein the locking arrangement includes a hollow tube closed at bottom end and open at top end, which forms the lower part of discontinuous front side, and a rod which forms the upper part of discontinuous front side, said rod is capable of sliding into the hollow tube, and both parts provide the locking arrangement.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a connector wherein the continues bottom side and the continues top side are in the form of extended U-shaped structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1(a) and 1 (b) discloses the structure of the connector system to accommodate both reinforced soil wall and reinforced slope in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2(a) discloses a blowen-up drawing of the connection system
FIG. 2(b) discloses a close-up view of the housing of the lower part and upper part, U-shaped plate, and strip.
FIG. 2 (c) shows the U-shaped notch of the upper and lower sides of the discontinuous side.
FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 disclose the arrangement of the connectors to cater to different loading requirements with respect to different height of the structure.
FIG. 5 shows the U-shaped notch at the top side of the discontinued side.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention describes the subject matter for patenting with specificity to meet statutory requirements. However, the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent application. The principles described herein may be embodied in many different forms.

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to elements throughout.

The present invention describes a novel and inventive mechanical connection system used for the construction of breast walls or retaining walls more specifically reinforced soil wall and slope structures. The connection system comprises of a grid made of a network of wires/rods or a twisted wire mesh/rods or a combination of a network of wires/rods and twisted wire mesh/rods, one or more connectors linked to the grid at one end and a horseshoe shaped means/ U-shaped means at another end. The one or more connectors is located between the grid and the horseshoe shaped means/U-shaped means and connecting the grid with the horseshoe shaped means/U-shaped means. The connector has a bottom side, a top side and one or more locking arrangements for locking the grid with the connector. One end of the bottom side as well as the top side are housed inside the horseshoe shaped means or U-shaped means and other end of the top and bottom sides are connected to the grid. The connection system further comprises a strap or strip located over the horseshoe shaped means/ U-shaped means for binding the connectors system to a fixed structure. The grid, the connectors, the horseshoe shaped means or U-shaped means, and the straps/strips form a coherent structure to hold or reinforce soil wall or slope structures. The connection system (100) as disclosed in FIG 1(a) and 1(b) comprises of a front panel welded wire grid (1); connector (2); horseshoe plate or U-shaped plate (3); strap or strip (4) and connector locking arrangement (5).
The connector (2) assembly comprise of two components, as disclosed in FIG 1(a), 1(b), 2(a) and 2(b) a bottom side and a top side. The bottom side is two-legged trapezoidal shaped steel bar fixed horizontally to the welded steel grid (1). Similarly, the top side is two-legged trapezoidal shaped steel bar fixed at certain angle to the welded steel grid (1), which performs structing action.
In figure 2 (a) and (b) shows housing of the bottom side and top side, U-shaped plate and strip. The bottom side and top side are housed inside the horseshoe plate or U-shaped plate. The connection system further comprising a strap or strip located over the horseshoe plate/ U-shaped plate for binding the connectors to a fixed structure. The grid (1), the connectors (2), the horseshoe plate or U-shaped plate (3) and the straps/strips (4) form a coherent structure to hold or reinforce soil wall or slope structures (1). The U-shaped steel plate is provided to bear the soil reinforcement load without damaging the yarns. The U-shaped plate (3) can be made of made of horseshoe steel, HDPE, Plastic, rubber etc.
The triangular shaped connector (2) can be adjusted depending upon the load of retaining wall or slope. The lateral end of the connectors (2) is connected to with the reinforcements (4). The connectors (2) and the reinforcements (4) together form a coherent structure. The coherent structure of the connectors enables the spread of tensile load over a wider area.
In an embodiment of the present invention the connectors (2) are connected to the welded steel grid (1) of various dimensions, more preferably 3.0m x 0.65m. The welded steel grid (1) has a uniform bar thickness, preferably 6 or 8mm.

In an embodiment of the present invention the reinforcements (4) can be a polymeric strip, a steel strip, more specifically a polymeric strip or a steel strip.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention, the coherent structure of the connectors (2) enables the connectors to have a very high load-carrying capacity, to resist any deformation, and allows ease in the installation at site. The coherent structure of the connectors (2) enables the load distribution on the welded steel grid (1). The welded steel grid (1) provides a larger surface area due to its grid pattern, preferably 0.5m x 0.5m grid pattern at four points thus enabling load distribution.
The connectors (2) as disclosed in FIG 2 illustrate the connection detail (1) and locking arrangement (5) with welded mesh. The connector assembly, bottom side, and top side comprises two-legged trapezoidal-shaped steel bars of various grades and configuration for specific requirements. Based on the adequate load transfer mechanism, installation requirements and good locking mechanism, the connector sides have been designed accordingly.
The connector’s bottom and top sides are bent parallel toward the welded steel grid. The connector side projection length will ensure the adequate locking mechanism and load-carrying capacity of the connector. The connectors (2) as disclosed in FIG 5 wherein the top side’s front face can be in a U-shape for giving the assembly more strength. Further, the front-facing end of the top side can be extended projection, or it can be U-shaped and join with the front panel with the help of welding or any other means.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the connectors (2) are longer with steady four-legged hooks. The connector head is projected outside the drainage gallery zone, which facilitates easy fixing of soil reinforcement.
The connectors (2) as disclosed in FIG 2(c) discloses the connection detail (100) with soil reinforcement (5)
FIG 3 and 4 describe the customization in the connection arrangement that enables the connectors (2) to withstand different loads. The structure of connectors (2) and reinforcements (4) can be customized to cater to different loading requirements with respect to different heights of the structure. The material properties, dimension of the connector, and the hook arrangement are varied for specific requirements
The connectors are of high-strength thermo mechanically treated steel bars of grade FE-500 or FE-550 or equivalent. The prefabricated connectors are galvanized and customized as per site requirements.
The grid can preferably have one or more frames at outer edges and one or more reinforcing bars in any direction within the frames or without frames.
The grid can be made of rods, wire, mesh, planks of any suitable shape or size. Even the grid can be of any suitable shape and size essentially to hold to surface of reinforced soil wall and slope structures.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the connection system (100) has been designed to accommodate for both reinforced soil walls having a slope angle between 70 to 90 degrees with the horizontal and reinforced soil slope structures having slope angles between 45 to 70 degrees with the horizontal. The use of prefabricated connector (100) with various customized configurations helps in easy handling and installation at site.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods, devices, and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods, devices, and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

,CLAIMS:We Claim:
1. A connection system useful for construction or support of reinforced soil walls and slope structures, comprising:
one or more connectors (2), each having a bottom part (2a) and a top part (2b), linked to a network of wires/rods/plank forming a grid (1) at one end;
a horseshoe shape means or U-shaped means (3) at the other end of each connector (2);
a strap or strip or wire or cord (4) located over the horseshoe shape means/U-shaped means (3) for banding the connectors to one or more fixed structure(s);
and the bottom part (2a) and/or top part (2b) of each connector (2) has a locking arrangement (5).
2. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom part (2a) and top part (2b) both together to form two triangular shape structures (6) and each triangular shape structure (6) has a continuous lower side (7a), a continuous upper side (7b) and a discontinues front side (7c) which is an extension of the lower and upper sides (7a and 7b).

3. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the discontinuous front side (7c) of the connector (2) having a locking arrangement (5).

4. The connection system as claimed in claims 1-3, wherein the locking arrangement (5) includes a hollow tube closed at bottom end and open at top end, which forms the lower part of discontinuous front side (7c), and a rod which forms the upper part of discontinuous front side (7c), said rod is capable of sliding into the hollow tube, and both parts provide the locking arrangement.

5. The connection system as claimed in claims 1-3, wherein the locking arrangement (5) includes firmly connecting the lower and upper parts of the discontinuous front side (7c) by any suitable means such as welding, using adhesive, clips, hooks, bends, ropes clamp.

6. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom part (2a) and top part (2b) of each connector (2) are connected to the grid (1) at any angle, preferably the bottom part (2a) is horizontally fixed to the grid (1) and the top part (2b) at an angle between 20 to 80 degrees from the bottom part (2a).

7. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connectors (2) are adjustable to accommodate different loading requirements based on the height and shape of the grid (1).

8. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connectors (2) are connected to grid (1), provide a coherent structure to distribute tensile load over a wider area of the grid (1).

9. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the horseshoe shape means or U-shaped means (4) is made of synthetic or non-synthetic material selected from alloys, steel, HDPE, plastic, and rubber.

10. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connection system is constructed to accommodate both reinforced soil walls with slope angles between 70 to 90 degrees with the horizontal and reinforced soil slope structures with slope angles between 45 to 70 degrees with the horizontal.

11. The connection system as claimed in claims 1-10, wherein, the connectors (2) are of high-strength thermos mechanically treated steel bars of grade FE-500 or FE-550 or equivalent.

12. The connection system as claimed in claims 1-11, wherein, the bottom part (2a) of the connector (2) is thicker than the top part (2b) of the connector (2) to withstand more load at the lower side.

13. The connection system as claimed in claims 1-12, wherein, the connector (2) having a U-shaped hook or notch (8) at the discontinues front side (7c) either in bottom part (2a) or in top part (2b) or in both bottom and top parts.

14. The connection system as claimed in claims 1-13, wherein the connection system provides self-support to the reinforced soil wall and slope structure at a different possible angle.

15. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grid can preferably have one or more frames at outer edges and one or more reinforcing bars in any direction within the frames or without frames.

16. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grid can be made of rods, wire, mesh, planks of any suitable shape or size.

17. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the continues bottom side and the continues top side are in the form of extended U-shaped structure.

18. The connection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom side is two-legged trapezoidal shaped steel bar fixed horizontally to the welded steel grid and the top side is two-legged trapezoidal shaped steel bar fixed at certain angle to the welded steel grid, which performs structing action.