The invention relates to a gabion comprising a number of metal wire panels which are hingeably connected to one another along hinge lines so that they can be folded open in a concertina-like manner from a closed position of the gabion to an open position of the gabion in which they form compartments, provided to be filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material.

The term "gabions" refers to baskets made of interconnected metal wire panels which in the open position define a block form which is filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material. When filled, these gabions form sturdy blocks which can be used as building material. Gabions of this type are used in a broad range of constructional applications in roads, railways, rivers and canals, buildings, etc. as an embankment, dam, bank protection, bedding and the like. They were designed to shore up soil or other materials, in the event of opposing elemental forces such as flood waters, erosion, avalanches, etc., and are also used as freestanding walls, sound barriers, etc.

GB 845,863 describes a gabion which is constructed from woven metal wire panels comprising a bottom panel and side panels, the side panels being hingeably connected to the bottom panel. On site, these gabions are brought from a closed position to an open position in which they can be filled. For this purpose, the side panels are rotated relative to the bottom panel until they stand perpendicularly to the bottom panel and these side panels are joined together. The method of erecting these gabions is however time-consuming and laborious.

The gabions as described in EP 0 466 726 and WO 2007/060476 were developed to simplify the erecting of gabions. These gabions comprise a number of welded metal wire panels which are hingeably connected to one another, so that they can be folded open in a concertina-like manner from a closed position to an open position in which they form side and end panels of a series of successive compartments. These compartments are provided to be filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material.

US 2005/0284080 discloses gabions made as a foldable multi-cell structure, conformed by hinged welded wire panels lined with knitted wire or expanded metal mesh, which together form cells which are pivotally connected at their corners. These corner links form week spots in the gabion, unless other corners are further connected to each other after erection of the gabion, requiring extra mounting time after erection of the gabion.

The metal wire panels and the man-hours for positioning these gabions form the major cost price for providing these gabions. The object of this invention is to reduce the costs for providing these gabions by providing an alternative embodiment of gabions which can be erected simply and rapidly, requiring fewer welded panels than in the known gabions from, for example, EP 0 466 726 and WO 2007/060476 to cover the same area without forgoing sturdiness and the erecting and assembly being carried out even more easily than in the known gabions, such as for example from EP 0 466 726.

This object of the invention is achieved by providing a gabion comprising a number of metal wire panels which are hingeably connected to one another along hinge lines so that they can be folded open in a concertina-like manner from a closed position of the gabion to an open position of the gabion in which they form successive first compartments, provided to be filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material, metal wire panels of first compartments positioned next to one another having in common at most one hinge line, wherein said gabion comprises a geotextile, provided to make the gabion permeable to water, seeping of solid particles through the geotextile being prevented, and/or comprises a metal gauze, wherein the geotextile and/or the metal gauze are fastened to the metal wire panels in such a way as to form second compartments which are delimited by on the one hand the geotextile and/or the metal gauze and on the other hand wire panels, these second compartments being provided to be filled with stones an/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material, wherein the geotextiel and/or the metal gauze extends at least party on the outer circumference of the gabion, and wherein the second compartments which are formed are delimited by on the one hand the geotextile and/or the metal gauze and on the other hand wire panels of two first compartments positioned next to each other.

In this way, a gabion according to this invention can be folded open in a scissor-like manner from a closed position to an open position and, conversely, be folded back up.

In a specific embodiment of a gabion of this type according to this invention, the first compartments are each delimited by four metal wire panels forming the side panels of these compartments, at least one side panel of a first compartment lying in the extension of a side panel of a first compartment positioned next to it. Even more specifically, the at least one side panel of a first compartment and the side panel of the first compartment which is positioned next to it and lies in the extension can in this case pertain to the same metal wire panel.

Preferably, a gabion according to this invention also comprises a geotextile, provided to make the gabion permeable to water, seeping of solid particles through the geotextile being prevented, the geotextile being fastened to the metal wire panels in such a way as to form second compartments which are delimited by on the one hand the geotextile and on the other hand wire panels, these second compartments being provided to be filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material.

Preferably, these gabions will be filled with locally available filling material, such as for example locally available rocks or sand or soil, etc. The first and the second compartments can in this case be filled with the same material. Equally, they can be filled with different materials. Thus, the first compartments can for example be filled with inexpensive filling material serving as ballast, whereas the second compartments are filled with more expensive decorative material or with soundproofing material, etc.

As an alternative to this geotextile, where the filling material of the gabions is larger than the mesh size of a metal gauze, or in addition to the geotextile, where additional sturdiness of the second compartments of the gabions is required, or where it is desirable to integrate protection in order to prevent the geotextile from becoming torn or cut to pieces, a gabion according to this invention comprises a metal gauze, this metal gauze being fastened to the metal wire panels in such a way as to form second compartments which are delimited by on the one hand the metal gauze and on the other hand wire panels, these second compartments being provided to be filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material.

A metal gauze of this type is preferably a gauze which is woven from metal wires and offers the necessary flexibility to be folded up or rolled up, and even more preferably from a double-twisted woven gauze. This metal gauze can also be configured as a gauze knotted from metal wires.

As an alternative to the metal gauze, it is equally possible to provide, for example, a geotextile in which metal wires have been woven, or a geotextile which is strengthened differently while remaining sufficiently flexible to be able to be folded up or to be able to be folded open together with the gabion.

Furthermore, gabions of this type according to this invention comprise more specifically as hinge lines inner hinge lines which hingeably join together side panels of first compartments positioned next to one another, and outer hinge lines which hingeably connect to one another only side panels of the same first compartment, the geotextile and/or the metal gauze being at least partly fastened to the outer hinge lines of the gabion.

Gabions as described hereinbefore, which take up the same volume as the known comparable gabions, require over the same length up to 30 % less metal to ensure the same strength and stability. These gabions are even sturdier still than the known gabions, thus allowing them to be stacked up higher.

In addition, the above-described gabions can be folded open more easily in a concertina-like manner from the closed position to the open position.

Furthermore, these gabions form a better buffer to stem water than the known comparable gabions, since when the known gabions become damaged, a breach in a compartment also means a breach in the gabion. In the gabions according to the invention, second compartments are provided, so that in the event of a breach in one compartment, a following compartment is still provided as a buffer, so that a breach in a compartment does not necessarily mean a breach through the gabion as a whole.

These additional compartments also have the advantage that in the successive compartments various materials can be attached in such a way that adapted properties are obtained in the successive compartments. This is possible, for example, by imparting decorative properties to the outermost compartments and using less expensive filling materials, using soundproofing materials, etc. in the innermost compartments.

A more specific embodiment of a gabion according to this invention comprises at at least one end at least one end compartment which is delimited by on the one hand the geotextile and on the other hand at least one side panel of a first compartment positioned on the end of the gabion and at least one wire panel which is positioned in the extension of this aforementioned at least one side panel, this at least one end compartment being provided to be filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material.

Furthermore, the metal wire panels of a gabion according to this invention are preferably welded metal wire panels, since sturdier gabions can be obtained with welded metal wire panels of this type than with wire panels consisting of a metal frame filled in with woven or knotted metal gauzes.

The metal wire panels are furthermore, in one particular embodiment of a gabion according to this invention, detachably connected to one another in order hingeably to join said metal wire panels to one another.

Preferably, the metal wire panels are connected to one another with the aid of helical rods in order hingeably to join said metal wire panels to one another. The geotextile and/or the metal gauze is preferably fastened to the metal wire panels with the aid of clamps.

In a still more preferable embodiment of a gabion according to this invention, the geotextile and/or the metal gauze can be folded open along with the metal wire panels from the open position of the gabion to the closed position and, conversely, be folded out from the closed position of the gabion to the open position.

This invention will now be commented on in greater depth based on the subsequent detailed description of preferred embodiments of a gabion according to this invention. The purpose of this description is exclusively to give illustrative examples and to indicate further advantages and special features of these embodiments of a gabion according to this invention, and may thus in no way be interpreted as a limitation of the scope of the claims.

This detailed description will use reference numerals to refer to the appended drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of an embodiment of a gabion according to the prior art, shown in the open position;
• Figure 2 is a perspective view from above of an embodiment of a gabion according to this invention which is provided with a geotextile, shown in the open position;
• Figure 3 is a perspective view from above of an embodiment of a gabion according to this invention which is provided with a geotextile and metal gauze, shown in the open position; and
• Figures 4 to 6 inclusive are views from above of a gabion showing schematically how a gabion according to this invention can be folded open in a concertina-like manner from a closed position to an open position.

The gabion (1) as illustrated in Figure 1 comprises first compartments (4) which are each delimited by four metal wire panels (2a, 2b). These metal wire panels (2a, 2b) are hingeably connected to one another with the aid of helical rods along hinge lines (6), so that the gabion (1) can be folded open in a scissor-like manner from a closed position to the illustrated open position in which said gabion forms the first compartments (4). These first compartments (4) are provided to be filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material. First compartments (4) positioned next to one another have in this case one hinge line (6) in common. The aforementioned hinge lines (6) could equally well be produced in a different manner other than with the aid of helical rods. They could for example be produced by fastening the wire panels (2a, 2b) to one another with the aid of clamps which allow hinging of the wire panels (2a, 2b) relative to one another, or with the aid of resilient elements which are attached between the respective wire panels (2a, 2b), etc.

The gabion (1) as illustrated in Figure 2 is the same gabion as from Figure 1, which is now provided with a geotextile (3) to make the gabion (1) permeable to water, seeping of solid particles through the geotextile being prevented. The aforementioned hinge lines (6), which have in common first compartments (4) positioned next to one another, are the inner hinge lines (6) of the gabion (1). Furthermore, the gabion also comprises outer hinge lines (7) which hingeably connect to one another only side panels (2a) of the same first compartment (4). The geotextile (3) is fastened to these outer hinge lines (7) with the aid of clamps. This geotextile (3) could equally be fastened to these wire panels with the aid of other fastening methods. Owing to the geotextile (3), the gabion (1) comprises in its illustrated open position second compartments (5) which are delimited by on the one hand the geotextile (3) and on the other hand wire panels (2a) of two first compartments (4) positioned next to each other. These second compartments (5) are provided, just like the first compartments (4), to be filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material.

Furthermore, this illustrated gabion (1) also comprises end compartments (8) which are delimited by on the one hand the geotextile (3) and on the other hand side panels (2a) of first compartments (4) which are positioned on the end of the gabion (1) and wire panels (2b) which are positioned in the extension of these aforementioned side panels (2a). These end compartments (8) are also provided to be filled with stones and/or sand and/or soil and/or any other filling material. End compartments (8) of this type are however not necessary to obtain a gabion (1) according to this invention.

The geotextile (3) is provided in such a way that it can be folded open or can be folded back up in a concertina-like manner together with the gabion (1) as a whole.

Figure 3 shows a gabion (1), like that from Figure 2, but now additionally provided with a metal gauze (9) on the outside of this gabion (1). This metal gauze (9) offers on the one hand additional sturdiness to the second compartments (5). On the other hand, as a result of the fact that the metal gauze (9) has been attached to the outside of the geotextile (3), it is less easy for the geotextile (3) to become damaged, since the metal gauze (9) prevents the geotextile (3) from becoming easily torn or cut to pieces. The metal gauze (9) is in this case a gauze (9) which is woven or knotted from metal wires and offers the necessary flexibility to be able to fold open or to be able to fold back up in a concertina-like manner this metal gauze (9) together with the gabion (1) as a whole.

As an alternative to the metal gauze (9), it is equally possible to provide for example a geotextile (3) in which metal wires have been woven, or to provide a geotextile (3) which is strengthened differently while remaining sufficiently flexible to be able to be folded up or to be able to be folded open together with the gabion (1).

Figures 4 to 6 inclusive are views from above showing schematically how a gabion (I), such as that from Figures 2 and 3, can be folded open in a concertina-like manner from a closed position which has not been shown to the open position which has been shown in Figure 6. The metal wire panels (2a, 2b) of this gabion (1) fold in this case in a scissor-like manner relative to one another.