This invention relates cage structures which are for use in creating in the main defence walls but are also usable for other purposes.

The structure to which the invention relates is elongated in nature and is made up of sides and partition panels which connect the sides at intervals along the length of the structure, so that the structure defines a row of cavities into which filling material can be loaded, to create for example a defence wall. To increase the defence wall, the structures may be used side by side and/or on top of one another.

The defence wall may be used for shielding expensive equipment, such as aircraft or weapons which may be liable to attack, as occurs in warfare conditions.

For example, in such warfare conditions, expensive aircraft when not in use or weapons often will be a target for enemy missiles, and if the airfield or compound which is being used by the aircraft or weapons is temporary, as was the case in The Gulf War, it is of benefit for temporary walls to be erected around the aircraft or weapons rather than to build permanent protective structures.

Cages which can perform the protective function are well known and are disclosed in European Patent Application No. 0446726. The cage structures disclosed in the said Application have the advantage that they can be made in the factory, folded to flattened condition, and then expanded rapidly on site, to be ready for filling. The cages are made up of open mesh work and if the filling material, for example sand as in the Gulf War, is of a nature which would pass through the mesh, then a textile lining is used to line the cavities to retain the filling. Especially in the military applications for the known cages, mentioned above, it is often a requirement that the defence walls made up of the cages and filling have to be dismantled when the hostilities are over, and this heretofore has resulted in the cage structures being destroyed during the dismantling. In some cases this may be acceptable, but in other instances, for example where the use of the cage structures is for demonstration only, it would be advantageous for the cage structures to be recoverable and reusable.

The present invention addresses this requirement and in accordance with the invention in a first aspect, there is provided an elongated cage structure comprising sides which are connected by partition panels to form cavities arranged in a row and which can be filled (a lining being provide if needed) with sand, soil, rubble, stones, and the like to form a temporary defence wall or the like, characterised in that the partition panels are made up in sections which are connected so as to be capable of being released one section from another, to enable the respective sides, with respective partition panel sections, to be moved apart clear of the filling material, when the defence wall or the like is no longer needed.

In a second aspect, the partition panels are releasably connected to at least one side, and in this aspect the panels may or may not be in sections, but the releaseable connections still allow the sides to be moved apart when the defence wall or the like is not needed. Thus, in one case the partition panels are not in sections, and the ends are releasably connected to the sides, whilst in another embodiment, the partition panels are in two or more sections, but at least one end of the partition panels has a releaseable connection with the adjacent side. The preferred embodiments are the cases where the panels are in sections and the sections are connected by releaseable connections.

It is preferred that the cages will be of a nature such that they can be folded to flattened form when first made and before filling, so that the cages can be erected on site rapidly, but this is not an essential of the overall concept of the invention.

Preferably, the partition panels are made up in two sections, preferably of equal width, although in an alternative arrangement, each partition may be in three sections comprising a wide centre section and two narrow side sections which form the respective side sections connected to the respective sides.

The sections may be connected by means of link rods which pass through wire coils of or connected to the sections, the rods being removable by raising them upwards to release the connection between the sections. The tops of the link rods may have hooks which can be grasped to facilitate removal of same, when the cavities are to be emptied.

The sides may be made up of panels which are pivotally interconnected, and the entire structure may be capable of being folded to a flattened forms, the folding being concertina fashion.

The panels of the cage may be of wire work or made up of rods arranged in vertical and horizontal array, welded at the cross over points, and the cavities if needed, may be lined with a lining material such as a geotextile to retain the filling if it is of such size as may pass through the wire or other mesh structure of the panels.

The lining preferably extends from the insides of the sides up to the connection points between the sections of the partition panels, so that portions of the lining material come away with the sides and the sections of the partition panels.

The advantage of the invention is that when the filled cage structure has fulfilled its function, it can be easily dismantled by disconnecting the sections of the partition panels, in turn, and by separating the sides by pulling them apart, somewhat in the nature of a zip fastener, and the filling is left on the ground, and can be removed by a bucket loader or excavator or the like. It can simply be levelled or even left as it is. The cage structure, if not too badly damaged, can be reused.

Normally, the cage structure will also have end panels which extend between the side panels, and they can be constructed similarly to the partition panels, except that they lie at the ends of the end cavities.

In a third aspect, the invention comprises an elongated cage structure comprising sides which are connected by partition panels to form cavities arranged in a row and which can be filled with soil, rubble, stones, and the like to form a temporary defence wall or the like, characterised in that the partition panels have releasable connections which when released, enable the respective sides to be moved apart clear of the filling material, when the defence wall or the like is no longer needed.

Said releaseable connections may be with the sides and/or between respective sections of the partition panels.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein;- Fig. 1 shows in plan view a cage structure according to one embodiment of the invention; Figs. 2a and 2b show respectively how the cage structure according to Fig. 1 can be folded to flattened form for transportation, in two different ways; Fig. 3 shows the cage structure according to Fig. 1 in perspective view, when filled with material to from a defence wall; Fig. 4 shows part of the cage structure according to Fig. 1 to an enlarged scale; Fig. 5 shows how the cage structure according to Fig. 1 can be opened out to remove the cage structure from the filling; Fig. 6 shows in plan view another embodiment of a cage structure according to the invention; Fig. 7 shows in plan view another cage structure according to the invention; and Fig. 8 shows how the cage structure according to Fig. 7 can be folded to flattened form for transportation.

Referring to the drawings, and firstly to Fig. 1, this figure shows in plan view a cage structure 10 which has sides 12 and 14 which are spaced but are connected by partition panels 16 to 30, and at the ends by end panels 32 and 34 so as to define, in this example, nine rectilinear cavities 36 to 52 which in use are filled with the filling material in order to form the defence wall. In Fig. 1, the circular locations A indicate pivot points between the partition panels 16 to 30 and the end panels 32 and 34, and the sides 12 and 14. The circular locations B indicate connection points between respective sections of each partition panel 16 to 30 and the end panels 32 and 34 in that each of the partition panels 16 to 30 and the end panels 32 and 34 is divided into two equal sections 16A, 16B; 18A, 18B; and so on and 32A, 32B; and 34A, 34B, for a purpose to be described.

Finally, the circular locations C indicate additional pivot points in the sides 12 and 14 for a purpose to be explained.

The sides 10 and 14 are in fact made up of side panels extending between the end panels 32 and 34 and the partition panels 16 to 30 as shown, and each side wall panel is provided with a central pivot C so that it can be folded in two as will be described.

In Fig. 1 the cage structure is shown in plan, and the pivot points A, B and C are vertical axes. The cage structure shown in Fig. 1 is open at the bottom and also open at the top.

The panels of the cage structure are essentially of open mesh construction, illustrated more clearly in Fig. 4, the mesh comprising vertical and horizontal rods which are overlapped and are welded together at the intersections. Other mesh structures, for example the so called chicken wire, can be used. At the edges where the pivots A, B and C are provided, there are coiled wires providing the hinge connections, but the pivots B are designed so as to be released whereby the partition panel sections and end panel sections can be separated for a purpose to be described.

Additionally, the interior of the cavities 36 to 52 is lined with a suitable textile material, such as a geo-textile material, and this is shown by the letter T and it will be seen to be indicated in dotted lines.

In each cavity, the textile material T extends along the side and then has edge portions which extend along the respective partition and end panel portions which extend to the release points B, the lining material being attached by any suitable means to the inner surface of the adjacent panels and panel sections.

The lining material need only be used when the filling material is of such size as would normally pass through the meshes of the panels, and is to retain the filling material which is loaded into the cavities 36 to 52 to complete the defence wall.

Fig. 3 shows the wall in completed and filled form. The filling material is indicated by the letter M, and the various pivot locations A, B and C are illustrated. In particular, the end panel 34 and its release location B are indicated, and also indicated is a release rod 54 which engages in the coils along the pivot B, to retain the sections 34B and 34A firmly connected. A similar rod 54 is provided at each of the pivot points B of each partition panel and the other end panel.

The cage structure shown in Fig. 1 is adapted to be folded to a flattened condition, and Figs. 2a and 2b show two possible methods of folding the cage structure shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 2a, the side wall panels are folded outwardly about the axes C so that the partition panels 16 to 30 and the end panels 32 and 34 can move together and the whole cage structure can take up a flattened condition.

In the arrangement of Fig. 2b, a similar collapsing of the structure is achieved but instead of the side panels being folded outwardly they are folded inwardly as shown.

In practise, the cage structure would be manufactured to the condition shown in Fig. 1 under factory conditions, and then would be collapsed to the position shown in Fig. 2a or Fig. 2b so that it would take up relatively little volume and could be transferred in this condition to site.

On site, the cage structure is simply opened out and expanded until it takes up the Fig. 3 condition, at which point the cavities 36 to 52 are filled with the filling material M and very quickly a defence wall structure has been created. Similar cages may be arranged and then filled in alignment with the previously erected and filled cage, or they may be mounted one on top and/or to the side of another to increase the height and/or width of the defence wall.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, these show how the cage structure can be disassembled when it is desired to dismantle the defence wall. This is done simply by removing the connecting rod 54 at one end of the structure for example at end 34 as shown in Fig. 3. The rod 54 is removed by pulling it upwards as indicated by arrow 56, and that has the effect of disconnecting section 34A from section 34B, and these sections start to move apart. The lining material is arranged inside the cavity so that different parts of the lining material remain with the respective parts of the end 34, the associated side panels and the partition panel sections, which side panels and partition panel sections also move apart. This allows the filling material in the cavity 52 to slump and move clear of the adjacent partition panel. The rod 54 in that partition panel can now be pulled upwards to release the panel sections in similar fashion so that they move apart, and in consequence the entire structure moves apart progressively as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 (the filling material is not shown in Figs. 4 and 5). Fig. 5 shows the whole structure whilst Fig. 4 shows in enlarged view of only the left hand end of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

When all the pins 54 are removed, the two sides of the structure are completely separate and can be moved away from the slumped filling material, and under appropriate conditions these two parts can be again reconnected by reverse operation and either reused immediately, or folded back to the flattened condition and removed to the next site where the structure is to be reused.

The invention provides an effective means for dismantling the cage structure in a manner permitting it to be reused. It provides for speedy disassembling of the defence wall created by erecting and filling the structure, which provides considerable advantage especially in the field of defence of military equipment and weapons.

Fig. 6 shows a modification of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, and the only difference between Fig. 6 and Fig. 1 is that in each of the end panels and in each partition the panel is provided with two release points B, and each of the said partition panels and end panels is in three sections such as 34A, 34B and 34C as shown. There will be two lock rods 54 in each of these panels and both have to be removed to disassemble the structure. The centre section of each of these panels therefore becomes detached and is sacrficed, but the arrangement of Fig. 6 does have the advantage that it is possible to use slightly less lining material T as the lining material need extend only to the pivots B (but only in the partition panels) which are closer to the respective sides than in the Fig. 1 embodiment.

Fig. 7 shows yet a further modification in which the centre pivots C of the side panel sections are omitted.

In order to fold this structure to flattened condition the folding operation is slightly modified in that pairs of the side panels are folded alternately in opposite directions as shown in Fig. 8 in order that the structure can be collapsed into flattened form. The arrangement shown in Fig. 1 can in fact be folded in the same manner as shown in Fig. 8 if required.

Also, the cage structures shown can be folded by pivoting all of the partition panels and end panels in the same direction until the side 12 lies flat and parallel to side 14, and then the flattened structure can be folded concertina fashion into flattened condition for transportation, although with this arrangement the sizes of the panels are more critical.