RETAINING WALL BLOCK
A concrete block comprising a front face having a height H 1 and a width L 1. A lip disposed underneath the front have having a height H 2. A rear face having a height H 3 and a width L 2, wherein the rear face is shorter than the sum of H 1 plus H 2 by an amount H 4, and wherein the sum of H 1 plus H 2 equals the sum of H 3 plus H 4. An upper surface forming a channel.
1 . A concrete block comprising:
a front face having a height H 1 and a width L 1 ;
a lip disposed underneath the front face having a height H 3 ;
a rear face having a height H 2 and a width L 2 , wherein the rear face is shorter than the sum of H 1 plus H 3 by an amount H 4 , and L 1 is greater than L 2 ; and
an upper surface forming a channel extending through at least one sidewall.
2 . The concrete block of claim 1 wherein the concrete block has a cross section that is approximately constant.
3 . The concrete block of claim 1 wherein H 1 is equal to H 2 , and further comprising a flat bottom surface.
4 . The concrete block of claim 1 wherein the lip extends the width L 1 .
5 . The concrete block of claim 1 wherein the upper surface forms a U-shaped channel.
6 . The concrete block of claim 1 further comprising a shelf extending approximately perpendicular from the front face towards the rear face and intersecting with the lip.
7 . The concrete block of claim 5 wherein the U-shaped channel surface is substantially prismatic.
8 . The concrete block of claim 1 wherein the the rear face does not have a lip.
9 . The concrete block of claim 1 wherein the block is substantially prismatic along an axis.
10 . The concrete block of claim 1 wherein the block is substantially prismatic along an axis extending approximately parallel to the channel.
11 . The concrete block of claim 1 wherein the upper surface forms the channel extending through at least two sidewalls.
12 . The concrete block of claim 1 further comprising a sidewall that is substantially perpendicular to the front face.
13 . The concrete block of claim 1 wherein the lip comprises a depth of D 1 , and where D 1 is less than or equal to a thickness of a front wall.
14 . A retaining wall comprising:
a first non-linear course of a plurality of blocks, each block having a front face and a rear face, wherein the front faces form a continuous surface, and a plurality of gaps are formed between the rear faces of each of the blocks;
a second non-linear course of a plurality of blocks on top of the first course of blocks;
a channel extending through the first course; and
wherein a lip extends below the front face of each of the blocks in the second course of blocks, and the lip abuts a front top surface of two or more of the blocks in the first course of blocks.
15 . The retaining wall of claim 14 further comprising an anchor support disposed in the channel of the first course of the plurality of blocks.
16 . The retaining wall of claim 14 further comprising an anchor disposed in the channel of the first course of the plurality of blocks.
17 . The retaining wall block of claim 14 further comprising an anchor disposed in one of the plurality of gaps.
18 . A mold comprising:
one or more cavities, each comprising:
a front face having a height H 1 and a width L 1 ;
a lip disposed underneath the front face having a height H 2 ;
a rear face having a height H 3 and a width L 2 , wherein the rear face is shorter than the sum of H 1 plus H 2 by an amount H 4 , and wherein the sum of H 1 plus H 2 equals the sum of H 3 plus H 4 ;
an upper surface forming a channel through at least one sidewall in a concrete block formed by the mold; and
wherein a stripper shoe compression head is configured to be placed in each of the cavities to provide the width L 1 for the front face and the width L 2 for the rear face, and L 1 is not equal to L 2 .
19 . The mold of claim 18 wherein L 1 is greater than L 2 and wherein the mold provides a bottom surface that is flat between a bottom of the lip and a bottom of the rear face.
20 . The mold of claim 18 wherein H 1 is equal to H 2 .
21 . The mold of claim 18 wherein the lip comprises a plurality of angled portions and extends the width L 1 .
22 . The mold of claim 18 wherein the upper surface forms a U-shaped channel.
23 . The mold of claim 18 further comprising a shelf extending approximately perpendicular from the front face towards to the rear face and intersecting with the lip.