AU2015101217A4

AU2015101217A4 - Safety grate

Info

Publication number: AU2015101217A4
Application number: AU2015101217A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Russell Millott
Original assignee: All Purpose Pumps Holdings Pty Ltd
Current assignee: All Purpose Pumps Holdings Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2015-09-03
Filing date: 2015-09-03
Publication date: 2015-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 2023-09-03

Abstract

A safety grate 11 and surround 21, for mounting as an opening to a chamber 71 beneath, comprising: a rectangular surround 21 having four internal walls, internal corner supports, and a hinge mount 51 on two of the internal corner supports; a continuous grid 15 having peripheral walls sized to fit and spaced within the four internal walls and inner corner supports to form elongated open peripheral channels; a grid mount having two opposing legs connected along and extending beyond one of the peripheral walls of the continuous grid 15 and mountable in a hingeable manner on the hinge mount 15; a closing mount having two opposing ears 19 mountable on two opposing of the internal corner supports 68 wherein the safety grate in a closed position includes free flowing around periphery of the grid. 51 51 22 17 I It | / 17

Description

1 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 Complete Specification for Innovation Patent The Invention Entitled: Safety grate. The invention is described in the following statement: 2 Field of the Invention [001] The present invention relates to safety grate and in particular to safety grate for use in sewage and stormwater pump stations but it also can be used for high flow 5 surface runoff water. [002]The invention has been developed primarily for use as safety grate in/with collection or storage containers with pump stations and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use. 0 Background of the Invention [003] When gravity drainage is not feasible, engineers, builders, plumbers, contractors and authorities must use collection or storage containers in their sewage and stormwater pump stations for collection and later pumping out. The collection vessels 5 of the pump stations can be fiberglass tanks from 0.6m - 5m diameter and up to 10m deep and having internal pipework and accessories fitted. [004] In high flow runoff areas the water flows to a lowest point at which location is a glavanised grate on top of a safety grate over an opening in a collection sump below. [005]Typical applications of collection or storage containers in their sewage and 0 stormwater pump stations or of high flow runoff areas are in basement carparks, piers and marinas, shopping centres, docks and shipyards, schools and universities, mining camps, industry processing, golf clubs, hospitals, service stations, nursing homes, abattoirs, prisons and defence accommodation. [006]A safety grate when used in high flow runoff areas must allow flow in and a 25 gaseous release, if not of concern, such as for applications accepting surface runoff water. A primary consideration is a closure that does not prevent ready flow but is safe for people to walk across. Often the locations will not be monitored and are public spaces. Further there is a need is to have a control access system so that the required personnel are able to access for maintenance, regular upkeep or repair of pumping 30 equipment.

3 [007]A safety grate when used in sewage and stormwater pump stations includes a cover plate for normal use. Ingress of fluids are through other ways but the safety grate and cover plate are the access point for removal or maintenance. Due to most time not being accessed and as often it is important to limit a gaseous release, the cover plate 5 closes the opening. A primary consideration in this case is that when accessing the chamber below the cover plate is opened or removed, and it is not safe practice to have a vast opening. [008]Therefore a safety grate is required to provide fall protection if someone accidentally walks / falls near the opening to the chamber once the cover has been 0 removed. Further if people are in the chamber the locations will not be monitored and are public spaces. Further there is a need is to have a control access system so that the required personnel are able to access for maintenance, regular upkeep or repair of pumping equipment. The safety grate also provides industry advancement, helping reduce WorkSafe confined space access applications due to its ability to allow almost 5 all maintenance to happen from above the chamber. [009] Therefore a problem the grate is addressing is the problem of service technicians / maintenance staff opening a stormwater or sewage pit, and not having fall protection in place after they have removed the initial cover. They could trip when removing the cover or turn around after removing the cover and they or someone else could fall 0 in. The safety grate eliminates this issue. Once the safety grate is raise it then offers a visual reference that the pit is open due to the raised grate, and is different to others due to its locked in place mechanism that will not fall on people. [0010] Presently it is known to have a hinged lockable grate. However such a grate is usually of regular cross-hatch configuration that fits just within the surround. 25 [0011] Another problem is that such a system does not aid access for personnel or aid access for equipment in vacuum removal of the collected run-off. In essence it is opened to provide access and therefore no longer a safety grate. During maintenance or access there will need to be a person at the grate taking over the safety aspect by being a guard against public access. This means either an increase in manpower to 4 provide a guard or the full closing of the location while maintenance and access is required. Both situations are not acceptable. [0012] Further the possible variation of including an opening in the grate is not acceptable for a number of reasons. Firstly the addition of a round hole in the centre of 5 a cross-hatch grate so as to accept the pump piping can result in a dangerous opening when not in use. Also when in use, the shape bend into the opening can cause damage to the pump piping. Still further, the manufacture of a round hole in the centre of a grate requires complex engineering in manufacture with multiple specialized welds of the hole to the remainder of the cross-hatch grate to ensure strength. In particular the normal 0 strength of bars extending the whole width has been eliminated and substantially caused manufacturing concerns and costs. [0013] A still further problem with known safety grates are the safety issues when an authorised person is to access. Grates are heavy articles in order to take a traffic flow, whether that is foot traffic or vehicle traffic. Therefore to have a hinged grate fall on the 5 person entering or exiting the opening is a very dangerous event resulting in possible critical injuries. [0014] The present invention seeks to provide a safety grate, which will overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one or more of the deficiencies of the prior art, or to at least provide an alternative. 0 [0015] It is to be understood that, if any prior art information is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the information forms part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country. Summary of the Invention [0016] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a safety 25 grate and surround, for mounting as an opening to a chamber beneath, comprising: a rectangular surround having four internal walls, internal corner supports, and an hinge mount on two of the internal corner supports at opposing positions near a first of the internal walls; a continuous grid having peripheral walls sized to fit and spaced within the four internal walls of the rectangular surround and inner corner supports to form 5 elongated open peripheral channels; a grid mount having two opposing legs connected along and extending beyond one of the peripheral walls of the continuous grid and mountable in a hingeable manner on the hinge mount; a closing mount having two opposing ears connected along and extending beyond an opposing one of the 5 peripheral walls of the continuous grid and mountable on two opposing of the internal corner supports, wherein the safety grate in a closed position includes free flowing around periphery of the grid and is readily openable in a hinged manner. [0017] The grid mount can be a linear U-shaped structure with a central portion of the U shape corresponding with and integral with one of the peripheral walls of the o continuous grids and the legs of the U shape formed by connecting L-shape legs and extending beyond the peripheral walls of the continuous grids wherein the linear U shaped grid mount remains an elongated open peripheral channels and can be sized to form an elongated pump piping access. [0018] The safety grate can include a locking mechanism for locking the hinged 5 safety grate in an upright access position and allowing ready manipulation to an unlocked and closeable position wherein the legs of the grid mount include an elongated slot for receiving a pivot pin of the hinge mount and the safety grate can be manipulated from a pivoting position wherein the pivot pin is at one end of the slot away from the grid or can be rested in a vertical locked position in a non-pivoting position 0 nearer the grid. [0019] The closing mount can include a linear open geometric shape, such as a triangle, such that the open peripheral channel is substantially maintained. [0020] The safety grate and surround can be substantially assembled with improved effectiveness, usability, security and including any one or more of the following: 6 i. Improvements in structure and assembly including construction in order to include strength while improving flow through; ii. Improvements in flow through and in particular peripheral flow through and thereby avoid material buildup around periphery and avoid 5 mounding and avoid any resultant pooling; iii. Improvements in flow through to avoid flow overs; iv. Improvements in access to allow pump piping access while the grate remains in a closed position by use of elongated open peripheral channels sized to form an elongated pump piping access; 0 v. Improvements in pump piping access that is elongated so as to allow ready extension of piping around corners from extending horizontal along the ground to vertical through the and allowing less severe cornering and play in access position; vi. Improvements in safety issues by use of locking mechanism which 5 minimises accidents of a hinged grate falling on the person entering or exiting the opening. [0021] It can be seen that the invention of safety grate provides the benefit of providing sufficient fall protection in line with National Worksafe requirements. Safety grates are designed for any below ground pump station or storage well. It provides fall 0 protection whilst allowing the operator to carry out maintenance such as cleaning by an attending vacuum truck, hose cleaning and general maintenance. [0022] In a further related aspect of the present invention there is described a safety grate for mounting in a surround, as an opening to a chamber beneath, wherein the rectangular surround has four internal walls, and an hinge mount near a first of the 25 internal walls, the safety grate comprising: a) a platform having peripheral walls sized to fit and spaced within the four internal walls of the rectangular surround and inner corner supports to form elongated open peripheral channels; 7 b) a platform mount having two opposing legs connected along and extending beyond one of the peripheral walls of the platform and mountable in a hingeable manner on the hinge mount; c) wherein the platform mount is a linear U-shaped structure with a central portion 5 of the U shape corresponding with and integral with one of the peripheral walls of the platform and the legs of the U shape formed by connecting L-shape legs and extending beyond the peripheral walls of the platform wherein the linear U shaped platform mount remains an elongated open peripheral channels and can be sized to form an elongated pump piping access. 0 [0023] Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed. Brief Description of the Drawings [0024] Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope of the present invention, a preferred embodiment / preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying 5 drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a safety grate in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention in an open configuration; and Fig. 2 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the safety grate of Fig. 1 in a closed configuration 0 Fig. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the safety grate of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail of the locking mechanism of the safety grate of Fig. 1 when in an open configuration; Fig. 5 is a detail of the locking mechanism of the safety grate of Fig. 1 when in the closed configuration of Fig. 2; 25 Fig. 6 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a safety grate in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a safety grate in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 8 Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are diagrammatic cross-sectional views of the implementation of a safety grate in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention. Description of Preferred Embodiments 5 [0025] It should be noted in the following description that like or the same reference numerals in different embodiments denote the same or similar features. [0026] Referring to the drawings there is shown safety grate 11 and a rectangular surround 21. This grate and surround can be used for mounting as an opening to a chamber 71 beneath as shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10 for receiving high flow surface 0 runoff water or used with a closure plate (not shown) as a safety grate for use in sewage and stormwater pump stations. This can occur in a range of locations including public thoroughfares in basement carparks, shopping centres, schools and universities or in industries or in environmental areas that need control such as golf clubs. [0027] The rectangular surround 21 has four internal walls, internal corner supports, 5 and a hinge mount 51 on two of the internal corner supports at opposing positions near a first of the internal walls. The safety grate 11 has a rectangular continuous grid 15 having peripheral walls sized to fit and spaced within the four internal walls of the rectangular surround 21 and inner corner supports to form elongated open peripheral channels. 0 [0028] A grid mount having two opposing legs connected along and extending beyond one of the peripheral walls of the continuous grid and mountable in a hingeable manner on the hinge mount; [0029] A closing mount 16 has an intermediate linear bar 18 that can be integral with the side of the grid 15 but extends linearly beyond both ends and has two opposing ears 25 19. The ears 19 connected along and extending beyond an opposing one of the peripheral walls of the continuous grid and mountable on two opposing of the internal corner supports. The ears of the closing mount include a linear open geometric shape of a triangle, such that the open peripheral channel is substantially maintained. In this way 9 the safety grate 11 in a closed position includes free flowing around periphery of the grid 15 and is readily openable in a hinged manner. [0030] The grid mount is a linear U-shaped structure with a central portion of the U shape corresponding with and integral with one of the peripheral walls of the continuous 5 grids and the legs of the U shape formed by connecting L-shape legs and extending beyond the peripheral walls of the continuous grids wherein the linear U-shaped grid mount remains an elongated open peripheral channels and can be sized to form an elongated pump piping access. [0031] A locking mechanism is provided for locking the hinged safety grate in an 0 upright access position and allowing ready manipulation to an unlocked and closeable position. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the L-shaped legs 28 of the grid mount 17 include an elongated slot 29 for receiving a pivot pin 65 of the hinge mount 51. The safety grate can be manipulated from a pivoting position A wherein the pivot pin 65 is at one end of the slot 29 away from the grid 15 or can be rested in a vertical locked position in a non 5 pivoting position B wherein the pivot pin 65 is at the other one end of the slot 29 nearer the grid. Interpretation Embodiments: 0 [0032] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all 25 referring to the same embodiment, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.

10 [0033] Similarly it should be appreciated that in the above description of example embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the 5 various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments are hereby 0 expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention. [0034] Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different 5 embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination. Different Instances of Objects 0 [0035] As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first", "second", "third", etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. 25 Specific Details [0036] In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and 30 techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

11 Terminology [0037] In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the 5 invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose. Terms such as "forward", "rearward", "radially", "peripherally", "upwardly", "downwardly", and the like are used as words of convenience to provide reference points and are not to be construed as 0 limiting terms. Comprising and Including [0038] In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary 5 implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" are used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. 0 [0039] Any one of the terms: including or which includes or that includes as used herein is also an open term that also means including at least the elements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others. Thus, including is synonymous with and means comprising. 25 Scope of Invention [0040] Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within 30 the scope of the invention. For example, any formulas given above are merely representative of procedures that may be used. Functionality may be added or deleted 12 from the block diagrams and operations may be interchanged among functional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted to methods described within the scope of the present invention. 5 [0041] Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms. Industrial Applicability 0 [0042] It is apparent from the above, that the arrangements described are applicable to the safety grate industries and in particular to safety grate for use in sewage and stormwater pump stations.

Claims

1. A safety grate and surround, for mounting as an opening to a chamber beneath, comprising: 5 a. a rectangular surround having four internal walls, internal corner supports, and an hinge mount on two of the internal corner supports at opposing positions near a first of the internal walls; b. a continuous grid having peripheral walls sized to fit and spaced within the four internal walls of the rectangular surround and inner corner supports to 0 form elongated open peripheral channels; c. a grid mount having two opposing legs connected along and extending beyond one of the peripheral walls of the continuous grid and mountable in a hingeable manner on the hinge mount; d. a closing mount having two opposing ears connected along and extending 5 beyond an opposing one of the peripheral walls of the continuous grid and mountable on two opposing of the internal corner supports e. wherein the safety grate in a closed position includes free flowing around periphery of the grid and is readily openable in a hinged manner.

2. A safety grate according to claim 1 wherein the grid mount is a linear U-shaped z0 structure with a central portion of the U shape corresponding with and integral with one of the peripheral walls of the continuous grids and the legs of the U shape formed by connecting L-shape legs and extending beyond the peripheral walls of the continuous grids wherein the linear U-shaped grid mount remains an elongated open peripheral channels and can be sized to form an elongated pump 25 piping access.

3. A safety grate according to claim 1 or 2 further comprising a locking mechanism for locking the hinged safety grate in an upright access position and allowing ready manipulation to an unlocked and closeable position 14 a. wherein the legs of the grid mount include an elongated slot for receiving a pivot pin of the hinge mount and the safety grate can be manipulated from a pivoting position wherein the pivot pin is at one end of the slot away from the grid or can be rested in a vertical locked position in a non-pivoting 5 position nearer the grid.

4. A safety grate according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the closing mount includes a linear open geometric shape, such as a triangle, such that the open peripheral channel is substantially maintained.

5. A safety grate for mounting in a surround, as an opening to a chamber beneath, 0 wherein the rectangular surround has four internal walls, and an hinge mount near a first of the internal walls, the safety grate comprising: a. a platform having peripheral walls sized to fit and spaced within the four internal walls of the rectangular surround and inner corner supports to form elongated open peripheral channels; 5 b. a platform mount having two opposing legs connected along and extending beyond one of the peripheral walls of the platform and mountable in a hingeable manner on the hinge mount; c. wherein the platform mount is a linear U-shaped structure with a central portion of the U shape corresponding with and integral with one of the '0 peripheral walls of the platform and the legs of the U shape formed by connecting L-shape legs and extending beyond the peripheral walls of the platform wherein the linear U-shaped platform mount remains an elongated open peripheral channels and can be sized to form an elongated pump piping access. 25