Patent ID: 7059807

Claim:
A driven wall structure for retaining soil, comprising: a plurality of elongated structural panels, each said structural panel having an inner surface, an outer surface, and being driven vertically into the soil adjacent a previously driven structural panel; at least one elongated wale, said wale including: a base wall, an outer wall, a first side wall, and a second side wall, said base wall and said outer wall being parallel, each said first side wall and said second side wall extending between both said base wall and said outer wall such that said wale is of a trapezoidal cross-section; a first interior wall and a second interior wall, each said first interior wall and said second interior wall extending between said base wall and said outer wall, thereby forming a first interior compartment of a first cross-section; a core structural member including a first pair of opposed walls and a second pair of opposed walls, each wall of said second pair of opposed walls extending between said walls of said first pair of opposed walls, at least a first portion of said core structural member being slidably received within said first interior compartment; said base wall of said wale being adjacent said outer surfaces of said plurality of structural panels; an anchor system for maintaining said wall structure in a fixed position, said anchor system including an anchor member having a proximal end and a distal end, and a force abutter disposed at said inner surfaces of panels; and wherein said anchor member extends through said wale and said structural panel, said distal end being secured to said wale and said proximal end being secured to said force abutter.