The invention relates to building products that contain graphene and/or graphene oxide in the bulk component thereof. The addition of graphene and/or graphene oxide improves the mechanical properties of said building products, particularly in terms of strength.

A lift device includes a chassis, a platform disposed above the chassis, a lift assembly coupling the platform to the chassis and configured to move the platform between a lowered position and a raised position, and a stair assembly coupled to at least one of the platform and the chassis, the stair assembly including a first step and a second step. The platform includes a deck defining a top surface configured to support an operator. The stair assembly is selectively repositionable relative to the chassis between a stored position and a deployed position. The stair assembly facilitates access to the deck from the ground when in the deployed position.

Composite walls have the structural components connected to form a substantially unitary structure. A composite wall is described that includes a block and/or brick wythe adhered to a poured concrete wall. The composite wall may also have a panel sheet material adhered to the poured concrete opposite surface of the poured concrete wall. Further, the composite wall may include a first wythe comprising concrete blocks, bricks, or a combination thereof, a poured concrete core, and a rigid insulation panel, wherein at least a portion of the blocks and/or bricks of the first wythe are adhered to a first surface of the concrete core and the rigid insulation panel is adhered to a second surface of the poured concrete core. Wire ties may extend from the mortar joints in the first wythe through the rigid insulation panel.

Flexural digital materials are discrete parts that can be assembled into a lattice structure to produce an actuatable structure capable of coordinated reversible spatially-distributed deformation. The structure comprises a set of discrete flexural digital material units assembled according to a lattice geometry, with a majority of the discrete units being connected, or adapted to be connected, to at least two other units according to the geometry. In response to certain types of loading of the structure, a coordinated reversible spatially-distributed deformation of at least part of the structure occurs. The deformation of the structure is due to the shape or material composition of the discrete units, the configuration of connections between the units, and/or the configuration of the lattice geometry. Exemplary types of such actuatable structures include airplane wing sections and robotic leg structures. An automated process may be employed for constructing an actuatable structure from flexural digital materials.

Flexural digital materials are discrete parts that can be assembled into a lattice structure to produce an actuatable structure capable of coordinated reversible spatially-distributed deformation. The structure comprises a set of discrete flexural digital material units assembled according to a lattice geometry, with a majority of the discrete units being connected, or adapted to be connected, to at least two other units according to the geometry. In response to certain types of loading of the structure, a coordinated reversible spatially-distributed deformation of at least part of the structure occurs. The deformation of the structure is due to the shape or material composition of the discrete units, the configuration of connections between the units, and/or the configuration of the lattice geometry. Exemplary types of such actuatable structures include airplane wing sections and robotic leg structures. An automated process may be employed for constructing an actuatable structure from flexural digital materials.

A wall block, wall block system, method of constructing a wall or other structure and a method of manufacturing a block wherein the wall block has a front, a rear, and two side surfaces, as least one of the surfaces consisting of multiple vertically planar surfaces of differing shapes and sizes and multiple faceted surfaces of differing shapes, sizes and contours.

A confinement structure comprises one or more open cells (70) for confinement, in use, of particulate fill materials such as soil, sand or aggregate. The cells (70) comprise walls (72) formed of a composite material comprising a polymeric grid layer laminated to a fabric layer. The walls (72) may be formed from a strip of the composite material comprising one or more living hinges. The cells (70) may be provided with skirt portions (74) that extend from at least some of the walls (72).

A confinement structure comprises one or more open cells (70) for confinement, in use, of particulate fill materials such as soil, sand or aggregate. The cells (70) comprise walls (72) formed of a composite material comprising a polymeric grid layer laminated to a fabric layer. The walls (72) may be formed from a strip of the composite material comprising one or more living hinges. The cells (70) may be provided with skirt portions (74) that extend from at least some of the walls (72).

This invention relates to the building art, and more particularly to blocks for the construction of buildings, structures, and hardscaping items, and to a method for assembling building blocks without using mortar. A building block, configured as a parallelepiped, comprises three pairs of opposing faces, including four lateral faces and two faces constituting an upper and a lower bases, each of the faces including a plurality of elements constituting projections and recesses, wherein each of the elements is shaped as a regular pyramid with rounded edges, and the pyramid vertex angle between two opposing faces is within the range from 90 to 179.9 degrees. The projections and recesses are arranged in rows and columns, wherein the pyramid bases at each of the parallelepiped faces are arranged in a single plane which is a face of the parallelepiped, and the respective sides of the pyramid bases are parallel to the parallelepiped faces, wherein the sides of the base of a pyramid that constitutes a projection are adjacent to the respective sides of the bases of adjoining pyramids that constitute the recesses. Projections and recesses at the block faces enable coupling of four blocks, three of which having paired adjacent faces that are perpendicular to each other and in contact at the edges. Also described are various embodiments of the block and of a method for assembling building blocks.

This invention relates to the building art, and more particularly to blocks for the construction of buildings, structures, and hardscaping items, and to a method for assembling building blocks without using mortar. A building block, configured as a parallelepiped, comprises three pairs of opposing faces, including four lateral faces and two faces constituting an upper and a lower bases, each of the faces including a plurality of elements constituting projections and recesses, wherein each of the elements is shaped as a regular pyramid with rounded edges, and the pyramid vertex angle between two opposing faces is within the range from 90 to 179.9 degrees. The projections and recesses are arranged in rows and columns, wherein the pyramid bases at each of the parallelepiped faces are arranged in a single plane which is a face of the parallelepiped, and the respective sides of the pyramid bases are parallel to the parallelepiped faces, wherein the sides of the base of a pyramid that constitutes a projection are adjacent to the respective sides of the bases of adjoining pyramids that constitute the recesses. Projections and recesses at the block faces enable coupling of four blocks, three of which having paired adjacent faces that are perpendicular to each other and in contact at the edges. Also described are various embodiments of the block and of a method for assembling building blocks.