Patent ID: 7144186

Claim:
A method for providing protection from a terrorist threat, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing multiple barrier elements each comprising a mass of solid material that comprises two opposite sides, wherein each of said barrier elements includes at least one tie-bar that has two opposite ends and that extends through its mass of solid material from one side of its barrier element to its opposite side, wherein a mid-portion of the tie-bar is cast within the solid material, wherein each end of the tie-bar extends through a cavity in a respective one of the sides, wherein each barrier element is alignable side-against-side in a continuous row with another of the barrier elements, and wherein each pair of barrier elements that are to be aligned adjacent to one-another then forms an adjacent pair; b) providing at least one respective coupling means, for each of said adjacent pairs, for rotatably attaching at least the one tie-bar of one of the barrier elements of the adjacent pair to a respective at least one tie-bar of the other barrier element of the adjacent pair end-to-end to form a coupled pair of tie-bars; and c) aligning said adjacent pairs and installing each of said respective coupling means to form said continuous row between an expected safe side and a threat side; wherein the coupling means and the coupled ends of tie-bars are generally hidden within the cavities from being exposed to blast products from a terrorist's explosion; and wherein each of said coupled pairs of tie-bars has sufficient strength that two adjacent barrier elements rotate relative to one-another as they slide and remain coupled when there is sufficient external force from terrorist acts to break the solid material of the two adjacent barrier elements where the solid material interferes with rotation.