Interlocking slabs for the construction of paving or the like with an asymmetrical surface, designed to give the impression of hand-made crazy paving

Abstract

 This invention relates to a type of interlocking slabs designed to form road or driveway paving or the like, wherein the slabs or blocks are constituted by a substantially parallelepiped-shaped body which is bevelled or chamfered at the upper edges, thereby forming a raised part with dimensions smaller than those of the slab, which said raised part is designed to form the wearing surface of the paving. A feature of the invention is that said raised part is not symmetrical, and preferably not aligned with the sides of the slab, so that when the slabs are placed next to one another to form the paving, gaps of different widths are left between one slab and the next and the gaps are not perfectly aligned, thus giving the impression of crazy paving made from common, generally irregular blocks of stone rather than industrially manufactured slabs. The result is paving which gives the impression of being "old", ie. resembles paving made with the same technique as used to be employed for driveways.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a type of interlocking slabs designed to form road or driveway paving or the like, wherein the slabs or blocks are constituted by a substantially parallelepiped-shaped body which is bevelled or chamfered at the upper edges, thereby forming a raised part with dimensions smaller than those of the slab, which said raised part is designed to form the wearing surface of the paving.

[0002] A characteristic feature of the invention is that said raised part is not symmetrical, and preferably not aligned with the sides of the slab, so that when the slabs are placed next to one another to form the paving, gaps of different widths are left between one slab and the next and the gaps are not perfectly aligned, thus giving the impression of crazy paving made from common, generally irregular blocks of stone rather than industrially manufactured slabs.

[0003] The result is paving which gives the impression of being "old", ie. resembles paving made with the same technique as used to be employed for driveways.

[0004] The technique normally used to make paving for roads or driveways involves suitable preparation of a base, the positioning on said base of a series of stone blocks, for example porphyry blocks with dimensions of 10-15 cm, which are arranged in different configurations, the space between the blocks being filled with suitable filling and cementing material.

[0005] All these operations are performed manually by skilled personnel.

[0006] The result is a paving with a very attractive appearance which is laid increasingly often, for example, in historic town centres, when improvement work is performed, etc.

[0007] A second technique for the construction of road and driveway paving involves the use of interlocking slabs.

[0008] These are industrially manufactured slabs, constituted by blocks of concrete or other suitable material, for example with a parallelepiped shape, which have projecting areas on the sides with a thickness of approx. 2-3 mm that enable the slabs to be positioned against one another, but keep them slightly apart so as to leave a small gap between one slab and the next in which sand is inserted to act as filling and cementing material.

[0009] This system, which is much faster and cheaper than the preceding one, is very widespread, and this type of paving is used in an increasing number of cases. It is far less expensive than traditional paving and much quicker to lay, but has a uniform final appearance that is sometimes unsuitable for paving historic town centres, period buildings or the like.

[0010] Various attempts have been made to obtain a result which comes closer to that offered by traditional paving.

[0011] For example, patent no. 1,297,473, filed by the same applicant, describes a unit for making irregular bevels on the edges of paving slabs so as to give them an "antique" look.

[0012] However, despite the efficacy of the method, the result can be further improved.

[0013] With the current slabs, the joints (ie. the gaps between adjacent slabs) are always regular and perfectly aligned, whereas it would more appropriate for these gaps to be less regular, to give the impression of old paving.

[0014] This invention remedies said problem by offering interlocking slabs which are chamfered at the upper edges to form gaps destined to be filled with filling and cementing material; said chamfers have irregular positions and width so that the finished paving has an appearance far more similar to that of paving made by traditional techniques.

[0015] This invention will now be described in detail, by way of example but not of limitation, by reference to the annexed figures wherein:

• figures 1 and 2 are plan views of slabs according to the invention;
• figures 1 a and 2a are front views of the slabs shown in the preceding figures;
• figures 3 and 4 are plan views of further slabs according to the invention;
• figures 3a and 4a are front views of the slabs shown in figures 3 and 4;
• figure 5 is a schematic plan view of paving made with the slabs shown in figure 3.

[0016] As shown in figures 1 and 1a, a slab according to the invention is substantially constituted by a parallelepiped-shape block 1 made, for example, of concrete, grit or other suitable material, with raised areas 2 approximately 2-3 mm thick on the sides, which said areas are designed to rest against the adjacent slabs so as to ensure their correct positioning, and a raised central part 3, with smaller dimensions, the upper surface 4 of which is designed to form the wearing surface of the paving.

[0017] Said raised upper part 3 is obtained by means of chamfering or bevelling 5 of the four upper edges of the slab, on four sides.

[0018] A characteristic feature of the invention is that the chamfers on opposite sides have different widths; in particular, one of them, marked D, may have a width of 5-15 mm, whereas the other, narrower chamfer may have a width of 3-6 mm.

[0019] Advantageously, as illustrated in figures 3 and 4, for example, said bevels or chamfers will not be parallel to the sides of the slab, so that raised central part 3 is slightly inclined in relation to the sides of slab 1.

[0020] Thus the gaps between the various blocks that form the paving will be even more irregular, as in the case of paving made by the traditional technique.

[0021] Advantageously, moreover, the slabs according to the invention may have bevelled and brecciated edges, as described in said patent no. 1,297,473, to obtain paving with an appearance similar to that of traditional paving.

[0022] The use of the slabs according to the invention is extremely simple, and does not even require the experience of traditional layers.

[0023] Once the first row of slabs has been laid, it is sufficient to place the subsequent slabs against the preceding ones, as raised parts 2 ensure the correct positioning of the slabs, at such a distance as to ensure that they remain firmly positioned when the gap between them is filled with sand.

[0024] On the surface, the visible part will appear irregular because, due to the random pattern of the raised parts, the distance between the visible wearing surface of two adjacent slabs will vary, depending on the width of the chamfer and the angle at which the slabs are laid.

[0025] Paving with a pattern similar to that illustrated in figure 5 will thus be obtained.

[0026] As already mentioned, the slab according to the invention offers considerable advantages, because it can easily be laid even by a person without any specific experience of laying paving slabs, while still giving a result very similar to that of traditional paving laid according to the known technique, but with a substantial saving of cost and time.

[0027] The sizes and the materials employed can obviously vary, depending on use.

Claims

1. Interlocking slabs for road and driveway paving of the type constituted by a slab with lateral projecting areas designed to keep the slabs slightly apart when laid, to allow a filling material such as sand to be inserted in the gaps between the slabs, which said slabs are chamfered or bevelled at the edges to form a raised upper part that constitutes the wearing surface of the paving, characterised in that said raised upper part is asymmetrical with the slab, so as to form gaps of different widths at the sides.

2. Interlocking slabs as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the central upper projecting part is slightly rotated in relation to the body of the slab.

3. Interlocking slabs as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that at least one side of said projecting upper part is not parallel to the sides of the slab.

4. Interlocking slabs as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the sides of said projecting upper part are brecciated.

5. Interlocking slabs as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the edges are bevelled.

6. Interlocking paving slabs as described and illustrated.

Drawing