U.S. patent application number 10/994809 was filed with the patent office on 2005-05-12 for drainage support apparatus.
Invention is credited to Houck, Randall J..
Application Number | 20050100412 10/994809 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34551750 |
Filed Date | 2005-05-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050100412 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Houck, Randall J. |
May 12, 2005 |
Drainage support apparatus
Abstract
A drainage support apparatus and culvert drain inlet adapter. In
accordance with one embodiment, the drainage support apparatus
includes a substantially rigid conduit support member having bottom
and lateral containment surfaces and an open channel slot running
the length of the conduit support member. The apparatus further
includes water-permeable barriers transversely disposed in relative
abutment at each of the open-faced longitudinal ends of the conduit
support member such that the water-permeable barriers substantially
prevent aggregate material contained within the apparatus from
passing through the open longitudinal ends of the conduit support
member. In an alternate embodiment, a culvert pipe inlet adapter of
the present invention includes a frame member having a raised drain
orifice, and further includes sheet members extending in a
saddle-like manner from each of the two lateral sides of the frame
member. The inlet adapter can be fitted lengthwise onto a suitably
apertured culvert pipe section in a manner such that the culvert
pipe is backfill buried while the drain inlet orifice remains above
ground.
Inventors: |
Houck, Randall J.; (St.
Augustine, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROGERS TOWERS, P.A.
1301 RIVERPLACE BOULEVARD, SUITE 1500
JACKSONVILLE
FL
32207
US
|
Family ID: |
34551750 |
Appl. No.: |
10/994809 |
Filed: |
November 22, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10994809 |
Nov 22, 2004 |
|
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|
10702857 |
Nov 6, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
405/124 ;
405/125; 405/127 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E03F 3/046 20130101;
E03F 5/0404 20130101; E02B 11/005 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
405/124 ;
405/127; 405/125 |
International
Class: |
E02D 001/00; E03F
003/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A culvert inlet adapter for a longitudinally extensive culvert
pipe having a longitudinally extensive slot orifice disposed
therein, said adapter comprising: a longitudinally extensive frame
member having a raised drain inlet orifice; and sheet members
extending in a saddle-like manner from each of two lateral sides of
said frame member to position said frame member on top of a
longitudinally extensive culvert pipe, whereby fluid passes down
through said culvert inlet adaptor and into said culvert pipe.
2. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 1, further comprising
coupling straps for securely coupling said frame member and sheet
members to the surface of a culvert pipe.
3. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 1, wherein each of said sheet
members extends downwardly in a flexible manner on opposing lateral
sides of said frame member in a curved wing-like manner.
4. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 3, wherein said sheet members
extend from the base of or below the opposing lateral sides of said
frame member.
5. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 1, wherein said sheet members
comprise corrugated sheet metal.
6. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 1, wherein said frame member
includes a drain cavity defined by said raised drain inlet orifice
supported by lateral side support surfaces.
7. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 1, wherein said raised drain
inlet orifice is capped by a liquid permeable member.
8. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 7, wherein said liquid
permeable member comprises a perforated cap member.
9. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 7, wherein said liquid
permeable member comprises a drain grate.
10. The culvert inlet adaptor of claim 1, further comprising
aggregate material disposed within said frame member.
11. The culvert inlet adaptor of claim 10, wherein said aggregate
material comprises a loosely clustered mass of individual
mineral-based particles.
12. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 11, wherein said aggregate
material comprises inert polystyrene particles.
13. A culvert drain apparatus comprising: a culvert pipe section
having a longitudinally extensive slot orifice; and a culvert inlet
adapter longitudinally fitted onto said culvert pipe section over
said slot orifice, said culvert drain inlet adapter comprising: a
frame member having a raised drain inlet orifice; and a liquid
permeable member disposed across said drain inlet orifice.
14. The culvert drain apparatus of claim 13, wherein said culvert
inlet adapter further comprises two lateral sides and sheet members
extending in a saddle-like manner from each of said two lateral
sides of said frame member.
15. The culvert drain apparatus of claim 13, wherein said liquid
permeable member comprises a perforated cap member.
16. The culvert inlet adapter of claim 13, wherein said liquid
permeable member comprises a drain grate.
17. The culvert drain apparatus of claim 13, wherein said frame
member comprises a filtration drain box having liquid permeable
upper and lower surfaces and liquid impermeable side support
surfaces.
18. The culvert drain apparatus of claim 17, further comprising
aggregate material contained within said filtration drain box.
19. The culvert drain apparatus of claim 18, wherein said aggregate
material comprises a loosely clustered mass of individual
mineral-based particles.
20. The culvert drain apparatus of claim 18, wherein said aggregate
material comprises inert polystyrene particles.
21. The culvert drain apparatus of claim 13, wherein said frame
member comprises a plurality of vertically stacked drain boxes
having liquid permeable upper and lower surfaces and liquid
impermeable side support surfaces.
22. A method of installing a culvert drain apparatus comprising the
steps of: providing a longitudinally extensive slot orifice in a
culvert pipe, said culvert pipe being partially buried such that
the upper portion of the culvert pipe remains exposed; positioning
a culvert inlet adapter onto said culvert pipe section to cover
said slot orifice, said culvert drain inlet adapter comprising a
frame member having a raised drain inlet orifice and a liquid
permeable member disposed across said drain inlet orifice; and
depositing backfill material about said culvert inlet adaptor such
that the surface of said backfill material is equal to or above
said liquid permeable member such that fluid will drain into said
drain inlet orifice.
23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of
disposing an aggregate material within said frame member.
24. The method of claim 22, further comprising securing said
culvert inlet adaptor to said culvert pipe.
25. The method of claim 22, wherein said step of providing a
longitudinally extensive slot orifice in a culvert pipe is
performed prior to burial of the culvert pipe.
26. The method of claim 22, wherein said step of providing a
longitudinally extensive slot orifice in a culvert pipe is
performed after burial of the culvert pipe.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of removing
a portion of the backfill material covering said culvert pipe prior
to said step of providing a longitudinally extensive slot orifice
in said culvert pipe.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present invention relates generally to drainage systems
and in particular to an apparatus and method for collecting and
draining surface water. More particularly, the present invention
relates to an underground support apparatus for controlling fluid
flow in a covered or partially covered drainage channel or
culvert.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Water drainage systems comprising ditches, canals arroyos,
etc., are commonly utilized in and around communities and farms as
a means of draining and redirecting excess rainfall to prevent
flooding or undesirable water collection and retention. Ditches are
commonly dug lengthwise in parallel with the sides of major traffic
thoroughfares to control flooding thereon, particularly in areas in
which road, building, and home construction have dramatically
reduced the exposed earth surface area on which the rain or runoff
may be absorbed into the ground. In addition to reducing roadway
flood hazards, the disposition of drainage ditches adjacent to
streets and highways is logistically convenient in terms of
minimizing the obstruction posed by ditches to the community
layout.
[0005] There are a variety of known types of drainage conduit
trenches including open ditches, culverts, closed aqueducts, etc.
Having low construction and maintenance costs and relatively high
water drainage capacity, open ditches are the most commonly
utilized type of community drainage system. While effective for
addressing flooding and long term water drainage issues,
conventional drainage systems often present major logistical
problems in terms of consuming valuable space along the edges of
roadways that might otherwise be utilized as sidewalks, bicycle
paths, etc. This problem is particularly acute in areas
neighborhoods or other developed areas not originally designed to
accommodate pedestrian and cyclist traffic and in which the
roadside area occupied by open ditches leaves little if any room
for a pedestrian and cyclist parallel to the roadway. In addition
to rendering significant tracts of surface space unusable, open
surface ditches provide additional habitation and breeding grounds
for insects, particularly mosquitoes, which pose a nuisance and
significant health hazard to resident humans and livestock.
[0006] It can therefore be appreciated that a need exists for an
improved apparatus, system and method for directing and draining
collecting surface water. The present invention addresses such a
need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A drainage support apparatus and culvert drain inlet adapter
are disclosed herein. In accordance with one embodiment, the
drainage support apparatus includes a substantially rigid conduit
support member having bottom and lateral containment surfaces and
an open channel slot running the length of the conduit support
member. The apparatus further includes water-permeable barriers
transversely disposed in relative abutment at each of the
open-faced longitudinal ends of the conduit support member such
that the water-permeable barriers substantially prevent aggregate
material contained within the apparatus from passing through the
open longitudinal ends of the conduit support member. In an
alternate embodiment, a culvert pipe inlet adapter of the present
invention includes a frame member having a raised drain orifice,
and further includes sheet members extending in a saddle-like
manner from each of the two lateral sides of the frame member. The
inlet adapter can be fitted lengthwise onto a suitably apertured
culvert pipe section in a manner such that the culvert pipe is
backfill buried while the is drain inlet orifice remains above
ground.
[0008] All objects, features, and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent in the following detailed written
description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The novel features believed characteristic of the invention
are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself however,
as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects and advantages
thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following
detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0010] FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views illustrating component
parts, respectively, of a drainage support system in accordance
with the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 1C is a perspective view depicting an assembled
drainage support apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2A is a perspective view illustrating a culvert drain
inlet adapter in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the
invention;
[0013] FIG. 2B is a perspective view depicting an assembled culvert
drain apparatus including the drain inlet adapter shown in FIG. 2A
in accordance with the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 3A is a cross-section view of an assembled culvert
drain apparatus as disposed in a backfilled manner in the ground in
accordance with the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 3B is an overhead view of the backfilled culvert drain
apparatus shown in FIG. 3A;
[0016] FIG. 4A is a cross-section view of an assembled culvert
drain apparatus in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the
present invention; and
[0017] FIG. 4B is a perspective view depicting a drain box
incorporated in the assembled culvert drain apparatus in accordance
with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] The present invention is described in a preferred embodiment
in the following description with reference to the figures. While
this invention is described in terms of the best mode for achieving
this invention's objectives, it will be appreciated by those
skilled in the art that variations may be accomplished in view of
these teachings without deviating from the spirit or scope of the
present invention.
[0019] The present invention is directed to a drainage support
apparatus for facilitating the collection and drainage of surface
water while eliminating problems associated with open ditches
relating to surface obstruction, insect-related epidemics, and the
need for frequent maintenance and repair of open ditches. As
explained in further detail with reference to the figures, the
drainage support apparatus includes structural features and
combinations of features enabling substantial portions of open
ditches to be replaced with the present subsurface backfilled
design. The drainage support apparatus is simple and inexpensive to
fabricate, transport and install. In a second embodiment, a culvert
drain inlet adapter apparatus is disclosed that enables traditional
underground culvert piping to be used to replace open ditches.
[0020] With reference now to the figures, wherein like reference
numerals refer to like and corresponding parts throughout, and in
particular with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, there are depicted
perspective views illustrating component parts of a drainage
support system in accordance with the present invention.
Specifically, a conduit support member 2 forms the base retention
structure for the drainage support apparatus of the present
invention. Conduit support member 2 is preferably a substantially
rigid open shell member having bottom and lateral containment
surfaces as shown in FIG. 1A. As depicted and explained with
reference to FIG. 1C, conduit support member 2 provides a bounded
flow support shell through which drainage fluid flows lengthwise
into and out from the open faces 11 at its longitudinal ends.
Conduit support member 2 may be constructed of any substantially
rigid material such as metals or plastics and is preferable
manufactured as a molded or extruded plastic unit.
[0021] In an important feature of the present invention, conduit
support member 2 is designed to collect and direct water flow
longitudinally and also to collect water draining vertically
downward from the ground surface (not depicted) under which the
assembly is installed. To this end, conduit support member 2
includes an open channel slot 3 running its longitudinal extent. As
shown in the depicted embodiment, conduit support member 2 is
preferably formed generally as a half-cylinder such that open
channel slot 3 has a width substantially equal to the inner
diameter of conduit support member 2. Conduit support member 2 is
preferably an injection molded unit for durability and ease of
manufacturing and handling. The materials selected to cast conduit
support member 2 preferably result in an open shell design capable
of supporting a mass of aggregate material (depicted in FIG. 1C)
prior to or following installation of conduit support member 2
within a trench or ditch such that the upper edges 1 of conduit
support member 2 are level with or below the adjacent ground
surface.
[0022] To facilitate efficient transport and delivery to drainage
installation sites, the drainage support apparatus of the present
invention is preferably designed to be installed as a transportably
assembled composite unit. In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1A
and FIG. 1B, the drainage support apparatus includes an aggregate
containment harness 5 having features cooperating with conduit
support member 2 to form a transportable drainage support apparatus
in accordance with the present invention such as that illustrated
in FIG. 1C. Specifically, aggregate containment harness 5 comprises
a pair of perforated or mesh-type end containment barriers 9 that
allow water to pass therethrough while substantially providing a
containment barrier for the aggregate material contents deposited
within conduit support member 2. As shown in the depicted
embodiment, end containment barriers 9 are mutually fixedly
attached by a pair of substantially lengthwise-incompressible
support rods 7 to form the composite unit.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 1C, there is illustrated a perspective
view depicting an assembled drainage support apparatus 4 in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown
in the depicted embodiment, drainage support apparatus 4 comprises
aggregate containment harness 5 coupled to conduit support member 2
such that the water-permeable aggregate barriers provided by end
containment barriers 9 conform to and are disposed in relative
abutment with each of the open-face ends 11 of conduit support
member 2. Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B in conjunction with FIG. 1C,
support rods 7 connect end containment barriers 9 in mutual
disposition corresponding to the transverse, relative abutted
position of the containment barriers 9 against the longitudinal
ends of conduit support member 2. In this embodiment, aggregate
containment harness 5 may be hand fitted, pressed or snap fitted as
a separate piece onto conduit support member 2. In this manner, the
installer may remove aggregate containment harness 5 after
transport and installation of drainage support apparatus 4 within a
trench to eliminate the additional drainage flow obstruction posed
by end containment barriers 9. In an alternate embodiment,
aggregate containment harness 5, with or without support rods 7,
may be attached to conduit support member 2 during the
manufacturing process to form a integral composite unit.
[0024] As further illustrated in FIG. 1C, drainage support
apparatus 4 further includes a mass of aggregate material 6
contained within the bottom and side containment support provided
by conduit support member 2. In accordance with the present
invention, aggregate material 6 generally comprises a loosely
clustered mass of individual particle units such as inert mineral
or polystyrene particles commonly utilized in underground septic
systems or french drains.
[0025] In accordance with the method of the present invention,
drainage support apparatus 4 is conformably installed within an
earthen trench or ditch such that conduit support member 2 and end
containment barriers 9 are below the adjacent ground surface. If
the desired conduit length exceeds the length of a single unit,
more than one such drainage support unit may be installed in an
end-to-end manner. After installation within an open trench (not
depicted), the open surface above aggregate material 6 (i.e. the
area above and adjacent open channel slot 3) is backfilled with
water-permeable ground support material such as dirt, sand, sod, or
the like, such that drainage support apparatus 4 is encased by the
surrounding earthen trench walls on the sides of conduit support
member 2 and by a layer of cover soil from above. In this manner,
conduit support member 2 provides a bottom-sealed and generally
horizontal conduit (excepting the slight vertical incline required
for non-pumped natural drainage) such as is providing by
conventional culvert piping, while furthermore facilitating
substantial vertical collection of drainage from the ground surface
above the apparatus without presenting the surface obstruction and
health and safety hazards posed by open ditch drainage. Although
not explicitly depicted in the figures herein, a water-permeable
membrane made of geotextile or similar material, is preferably
installed across open channel slot 3 to provide an at least
temporary barrier to backfill soil from being directly compressed
and interspersed within aggregate material 16. To further enhance
the effect of drainage support apparatus 4 as a lengthwise vertical
drainage collection conduit, the backfill layer deposited over
aggregate material 6 is preferably less than 10 cm deep.
[0026] As a constituent feature of the buried apparatus, aggregate
material 6 serves several roles. As deposited along the drainage
conduit path bounded by conduit support member 2, aggregate
material 6 forms a low resistance flowpath through which the
collected water flows. In a related characteristic, the relative
lower fluid resistance density of the mass of aggregate material 6
relative to the surrounding soil combined with the siphoning effect
of the drainage flowing through the aggregate generates a negative
pressure which draws surface draining water into drainage support
apparatus 4 along its entire open channel slot 3. Furthermore,
aggregate material 6 facilitates the near-surface installation of
drainage support apparatus 4 by providing sufficient,
non-collapsible upward vertical support such that the ground
surface above the apparatus may be utilized such as for support
pedestrian or vehicular traffic. The upwardly directed weight
bearing load provided by the disposition of aggregate material 6
substantially reduces or eliminates the downward forces that a
conventional culvert pipe would otherwise bear, resulting in
lighter weight and less expensive materials required for conduit
support member 2. In the foregoing manner, drainage support
apparatus 4 provides a more space efficient drainage system
combining the lengthwise drainage inlet capabilities of open
ditches with the non-obstructiveness characteristics of underground
drainage pipes and culverts.
[0027] With reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, there are depicted
perspective views illustrating a culvert drain inlet adapter and an
assembled culvert drain apparatus in accordance with alternate
embodiments of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2A, a culvert inlet
adapter 15 in accordance with the present invention generally
comprises a water inlet frame member 26 having a pair of attachment
sheet members 22 extending in a curved saddle-like or wing-like
manner downwardly therefrom. In accordance with the depicted
embodiment, and referring to FIG. 3A in conjunction with FIGS. 2A
and 2B, frame member 26 is formed as a rectangular box-like member
defining a drain cavity 25 bounded by liquid impermeable lateral
sides 28 defining a raised drain inlet orifice over which a drain
grate 16 is mounted. The bottom of drain cavity 25 is also
substantially a drain orifice and, in the depicted embodiment, is
formed by an opposing drain grate 16 member such that a debris
filtration box is formed thereby through which water can flow
downwardly into the interior of a culvert pipe 24. The double grate
feature enables frame member 26 to contain a suitable filtration
aggregate material, such as polystyrene beads, to provide enhanced
biological and debris filtration of the incoming drainage water
prior to entering culvert pipe 24.
[0028] The design features of culvert inlet adapter 15 as fitted
onto culvert pipe 24 are particularly well-suited for an
application in which a culvert drain apparatus 20 is utilized in
place of open ditch type drainage systems. As depicted and
explained in further detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4,
culvert drain apparatus 20 is preferably disposed within a suitable
earthen trench and backfilled such that most of the apparatus,
except for the surface of the drain inlet orifice covered by drain
grate 16, is buried underground. FIGS. 3A and 3B depict
cross-section and overhead views, respectively, of culvert drain
apparatus 20 as disposed in a backfilled manner in accordance with
the present invention. As shown in the cross-section view of FIG.
3A, the lateral sides 28 of frame member serve a spacer function
for raising the water intake level of the drain inlet orifice to
the extent required to accommodate a desired depth of backfill. To
this end, the height of lateral sides 28 is preferably greater than
10 cm.
[0029] As further depicted in FIG. 3A, culvert inlet adapter 15 is
mounted in substantially centered alignment with a slot orifice 14
which is longitudinally disposed as an open channel through the
upper wall surface of culvert pipe 24. With the drain inlet orifice
raised and exposed at the surface of a perforated cap member such
as drain 16 above ground level 19, such that water can freely drain
through frame member 26 and into culvert pipe 24 through slot
orifice 14, culvert drain apparatus 20 can be utilized to
simultaneously serve the traditional culvert function (i.e.
underground transverse drain or conduit for transporting water
between open input/output mouth ends 29 such as used under roads or
between water collection bodies) while also providing the
lengthwise water collection function of open ditches.
[0030] As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the culvert inlet adapter of the
present invention may preferably include coupling straps 21
extending laterally to securely couple frame member 26 and saddle
sheet members 22 to the surface of culvert pipe 24. This feature is
useful when, given the simplicity and consequent efficiency of
manufacturing standard culvert piping, culvert pipe 24 and culvert
inlet adapter 15 are produced in separate manufacturing processes
after which culvert drain apparatus 20 is assembled by mounting
culvert inlet adapter 15 longitudinally onto a section of culvert
pipe 24. As further illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, sheet members
22 preferably comprise corrugated sheet metal that provide
additional lengthwise stability particularly when the culvert pipe
is corrugated. In a further post-manufacturing assembly feature,
and as depicted in FIGS. 2B and 3A, saddle sheet members 22 provide
structural support and stability for maintaining frame member 26
mounted in its intended longitudinal alignment as well as replacing
the breached upper wall of culvert pipe 24 as the primary weight
bearing member opposing the backfill.
[0031] With reference to FIG. 4A, there is depicted a cross-section
view of an assembled culvert drain apparatus 35 in accordance with
an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Specifically,
culvert drain apparatus 35 includes multiple, stacked drain boxes,
including an intermediate drain box 38 and a top filtration drain
box 30, which are substantially similar in structure and function
as frame member 26. As shown in the depicted embodiment, the drain
boxes 30 and 38 are stacked vertically over frame member 26 to
increase the spacer depth required for deeper backfill
applications. FIG. 4B illustrates top filtration drain box 30 which
preferably includes liquid impermeable lateral sides 32 supporting
a dual sided drain grate 34. Together, lateral sides 32 and drain
grates 34 contain an aggregate material 36 which preferably
comprises polystyrene beads that provides a suitably biological
filter forum for reducing nitrate levels such as may be introduced
by excessive entry of vegetative debris such as cut grass.
[0032] While this invention has been described in terms of several
embodiments, it is contemplated that alterations, permutations, and
equivalents thereof will become apparent to one of ordinary skill
in the art upon reading this specification in view of the drawings
supplied herewith. It is therefore intended that the invention and
any claims related thereto include all such alterations,
permutations, and equivalents that are encompassed by the spirit
and scope of this invention.
* * * * *