Modular concrete unit and an assembly thereof

Abstract

A modular concrete unit for load-bearing surfaces, and a concrete assembly having at least two modular concrete units connected by a hinging attachment. The modular unit has a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least three side walls extending between the top and bottom surfaces. The side walls of each modular unit include at least one engagement means configured for hinging attachment to a neighboring modular unit. The concrete assembly made from at least two modular units further includes at least one hinge pin connecting the engagement means of a first concrete unit and the engagement means of a second concrete unit.

1 . A modular concrete unit for load-bearing surfaces, comprising:
 a top surface;   a bottom surface, and   at least three side walls extending between the top and bottom surfaces, said side walls including at least one engagement means configured for hinging attachment to a neighboring concrete unit.   
     
     
         2 . The concrete unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the engagement means comprises a projection extending outwardly from the side wall, the projection having an elongate passage configured for receiving a hinge pin. 
     
     
         3 . The concrete unit according to  claim 2  wherein the engagement means further comprises a recess adjacent to the projection, the recess being a female interlocking member configured for receiving a male interlocking member of the neighboring concrete unit. 
     
     
         4 . The concrete unit according to  claim 3  wherein the projection is configured to be substantially in an abutting relation with a side wall of the adjacent concrete unit. 
     
     
         5 . The concrete unit according to  claim 3  wherein the projection is a male interlocking member configured to be received in a female interlocking member of the adjacent concrete unit. 
     
     
         6 . The concrete unit according to  claim 2  wherein the projection extends vertically parallel to the plane of the side wall, and the elongate passage is internally formed in the projection orthogonal to the vertical axis of the projection. 
     
     
         7 . The concrete unit according to  claim 6  wherein the elongate passage is in upper portions of the projection. 
     
     
         8 . The concrete unit according to  claim 1  wherein the top surface includes an aperture located at the center of gravity. 
     
     
         9 . The concrete unit according to  claim 5  wherein the aperture is configured for receiving attachment features selected from the group consisting of a lifting device and a road sign. 
     
     
         10 . The concrete unit according to  claim 1  wherein the top surface includes surface features selected from the group consisting of embossed markings, patterns and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The concrete unit according to  claim 10  wherein the embossed markings and patterns are configured to provide advertisements, road markings, warnings and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The concrete unit according to  claim 1 , further including a near field communication device incorporated therein. 
     
     
         13 . A concrete assembly comprising:
 (i) at least first and second modular concrete units connected by hinging attachment, each unit comprising:
 a top surface; 
 a bottom surface, and 
 at least three side walls extending between the top and bottom surfaces, said side walls including at least one engagement means configured for hinging attachment to a neighboring concrete unit; and 
   (ii) at least one hinge pin connecting the engagement means of the first concrete unit and the engagement means of the second concrete unit.   
     
     
         14 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein each engagement means of the at least first and second modular concrete units comprises a projection extending outwardly from the side wall of each concrete unit, the projection having an elongate passage configured for receiving the hinge pin, and at least a portion of the projection on the first concrete unit is aligned with at least a portion of the engagement means on the second concrete unit. 
     
     
         15 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 14 , wherein:
 the engagement means of the first concrete unit further comprises a recess adjacent to the projection extending from the first concrete unit, and   the projection extending from the second concrete unit is configured for interlocking with the recess of the first concrete unit.   
     
     
         16 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 15 , wherein:
 the engagement means of the second concrete unit further comprises a recess adjacent to the projection extending from the second concrete unit, and   the projection extending from the first concrete unit is configured for interlocking with said recess of the second concrete unit.   
     
     
         17 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 15 , wherein:
 the projection extending from the first concrete unit is configured to be substantially in an abutting relation with the side wall of the second concrete unit.   
     
     
         18 . The concrete unit according to  claim 14  wherein the projection extends vertically parallel to the plane of the side wall, and the elongate passage is internally formed in the projection orthogonal to the vertical axis of the projection. 
     
     
         19 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the hinge pin comprises at least one section made of bendable material. 
     
     
         20 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the first and second concrete units are spaced from each other by an interstice defined by the alignment of the projection of the first concrete unit with the projection of the second concrete unit. 
     
     
         21 . The concrete assembly according to  13 , wherein one of the concrete units is thinner than the other concrete unit. 
     
     
         22 . The concrete assembly according to  21 , wherein the projection extending from the thinner concrete unit has a shorter length than the projection of the thicker concrete unit. 
     
     
         23 . The concrete assembly according to  22  wherein the elongate passages in the projections of the thicker and thinner units are located substantially the same distance from the top surface of each concrete unit. 
     
     
         24 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein each concrete unit has a shape selected from the group consisting of triangles, rectangles and hexagons. 
     
     
         25 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 24 , wherein the first and second concrete units have a combination of shapes and sizes, said combination being one of triangle/triangle of the same size, triangle/triangle of different sizes, rectangle/rectangle of the same size, rectangle/rectangle of different sizes, hexagon/hexagon of the same size, hexagon/hexagon of different sizes, triangle/rectangle, triangle/hexagon, and rectangle/hexagon. 
     
     
         26 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 25 , wherein the triangles are one of equilateral triangles, right triangles and isosceles triangle, and the rectangles are one of squares and non-squares. 
     
     
         27 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the at least two concrete units are a plurality of concrete units and wherein at least three of said plurality of units are comprised of two right triangles and one equilateral triangle, said three units being connected to each other to define a rectangular shape. 
     
     
         28 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the at least two concrete units are a plurality of concrete units, and wherein at least four of said plurality of units are equilateral triangles of the same size, said four units being connected to each other to define a bigger equilateral triangle shape. 
     
     
         29 . The concrete assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the at least two concrete units are a plurality of concrete units, and wherein at least six of the plurality of concrete units are equilateral triangles of the same size, said six units being connected to each other to define a hexagonal shape.