Paver Restraint System

The present invention relates to a restraint system for holding an exposed edge of a paver block in place and, more particularly, to a restraint system using boss members that are positioned at an angle with respect to the ground, allowing for spikes (nails) to be driven into a fixed position underneath the paver block.

Paving blocks (referred to hereinafter at times as simply “pavers”) are commonly used in landscaping to achieve both a decorative and utilitarian function. Inasmuch as the pavers are known to move after placement (whether by natural cycles of freeze/thaw, or movement of people and vehicles over the surface, or both), it has become common to utilize some type of restraint system (edge support) with the initial installation of the pavers.

For the most part, paver restraint systems take the form of L-shaped support members, with one leg of the L resting on the ground and the other leg positioned against an exposed side surface (edge) of a paver block. The ground leg includes openings through which nails or spikes are driven directly downward (i.e., in a position parallel to the paver edge) to anchor the support member in place against the paver. While useful, it has been found that attaching nails/spikes in this fashion may impart a slightly rotational movement to the L-shaped support member, based on the spacing between the inner corner of the L and the aperture location. The slight movement of the restraint system may result in additional movements over time, resulting in the restraint system becoming loose and the nail/spike working its way clear of the restraint system.

As described in detail below, the present invention addresses the needs remaining in the art and takes the form of a paver block restraint system where the included bosses are disposed at an angle with respect to the ground such that the anchoring nails (or spikes) are into a fixed position underneath the paver block. The anchoring nails may be driven at an angle that essentially passes through (or near) the inner corner of an L-shaped support member and thus substantially minimizes (if not eliminates) any movement of the paver restraint system with respect to the edge of the paver block.

In an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of angled boss apertures is disposed at an angle of about 45°; that is, at a half-way position between the pair of arms forming an L-shaped support member. In other examples, the angled boss apertures may be either greater than 45° or less than 45°, as long as the securing nails pass through the apertures and anchor into position underneath the paver itself.

A particular embodiment of the present invention may take the form of a paver restraint system comprising a vertical wall for positioning against an exposed edge of a paver block, a horizontal base attached to a lower termination of the vertical wall so as to form an L-shaped configuration, where the combination of the vertical wall and horizontal base extend in a longitudinal direction. The present invention is related to the use of at least one boss member formed in the horizontal base and oriented at an angle with respect to the vertical wall such that upon driving an anchoring element through a central aperture formed in the boss member, the anchoring element is not parallel with the vertical wall and a distal termination of the anchoring element is disposed underneath of the paver block.

Other and further aspects and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent during the course of the following discussion and by reference to the accompanying drawings.

is an isometric view of a typical prior art L-shaped restraint device. Deviceis shown as including a vertical plate, which takes the form of a long flat piece of material having a contact side.C for contacting the paving blocks and a support side.S. A horizontal plateattaches along a lower edge of contact side.C of vertical plate. The L-shaped structure is shown as extending in the longitudinal direction, allowing for one or more pavers to be positioned against contact side.C. In this example, horizontal plateis formed to include a set of spaced-apart legs, with openingsbetween adjacent legs. A combination of an angular braceand vertical bossare formed on each leg as shown. In this typical prior art configuration, bossis formed to have a vertical aperturethat is parallel with vertical plate.

is a cut-away side view of the prior art configuration of, illustrating in this particular view the parallel arrangement between vertical plateand vertical boss(vertical apertureis also parallel with vertical plate. Also shown inis a conventional anchoring spike(also referred to at times as a “nail”) which has been driven into apertureto hold paver restraint devicein place.is an isometric view of an exemplary anchoring spike, showing the headH which comes into contact with vertical boss, as shown in.

As mentioned above, the separation S between the fixation point (here, the location of anchoring spike) and vertical wallresults in permitting rotational movement (however slight) about the corner C between vertical plateand horizontal plate. Over time, any kind of movement or shifting may result in dislodging the paver from its position in a manner where it is no longer restrained.

is an isometric view of an exemplary paver restraint systemformed in accordance with the principles of the present invention to address and overcome the problems of the prior art.is an enlarged view of a portion of paver restraint systemto better illustrate the details of the inventive structure, andis a cut-away side view of the inventive structure. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, paver restraint systemretains the basic L-shaped configuration of the prior art, here defined as comprising a vertical walland a horizontal base, with both extending in the longitudinal direction as shown in. Various features and/or modifications may be made to this basic structure without impacting the principles of the present invention in terms of using an angularly-positioned boss member.

The embodiment of the present invention as shown inillustrates the use of a plurality of boss memberspositioned in a spaced-apart manner along the length of the L-shaped system. The number of individual boss membersincluded within an exemplary structure is not relevant to the invention. As best shown inand in accordance with the principles of the present invention, each boss memberis disposed at an angle θ with respect to vertical wallsuch that boss memberis not parallel to vertical wall(which is the case in the prior art as shown in). Each boss memberincludes a central aperturethrough which an anchor spike may be inserted. It is contemplated that in most cases aperturewill be disposed at an angle of about 45° with respect to vertical call.

By virtue of disposing boss membersin an angular position, the spacing between an interior corner C of systemand the intersection of boss membersalong horizontal baseis substantially reduced, if not eliminated, when compared to the prior art configuration as shown in. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the use of an angular arrangement to anchor paver restraint systeminto place along an edge of a paver minimizes the possibility for the position of the restraint system to shift with respect to the paver block.

is a cut-away side view of paver restraint system, in this case illustrating systemis position against an edge E of a paver block P. For the sake of illustration, paver block P is positioned on a prepared substrate which in this example consists of a sand bed immediately underneath paver block P and a layer of stone below the sand. Boss memberis clearly shown as oriented at an angle θ with respect to vertical wall. In this particular example, boss memberis positioned along horizontal basesuch that apertureessentially coincides with the interior corner C of system. Anchoring spikeis shown here as driven through aperture, with the distal termination of spikeshown as positioned within the underlying stone layer (at a location underneath of paver block P).

illustrates the same configuration as shown in, with the exception of anchoring spike, which is remove to best illustrate the position of aperturewith respect to paver block P and the underlying materials. The use of an angularly-disposed bossthus essentially eliminates the ability for any torque to be generated that would otherwise result in rotational movement/shifting of the paver block.

It is to be understood that the particular angle θ as shown in(which is depicted to be approximately 45°) is not the only suitable angle for orienting bosswithin paver restraint system. For example,is a side view of a paver restraint systemB where bossB is oriented at an angle β which is shown as being greater than θ. Configurations where the orientation of aperturewithin bossis positioned at an angle α<θ are also contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Summarizing, the present invention is directed to a paver restraint system that uses angled boss members such that anchoring spikes passing through the boss members are driven at angle with respect to the ground and terminate underneath the paver blocks. This configuration is contemplated as applying a force to the paving structure that prevents the restraint system from shifting or rotating with respect to the paver block itself.

While the present invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications by those skilled in the art and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the invention that come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and may be applied to the essential features set forth hereinabove and as set forth in the following claims.