GB1587077A

GB1587077A - Apparatus for filling land drainage channels

Info

Publication number: GB1587077A
Application number: GB3519977A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Birtill F C
Current assignee: Birtill F C
Priority date: 1978-05-30
Filing date: 1978-05-30
Publication date: 1981-03-25

Description

(54) APPARATUS FOR FILLING LAND DRAINAGE CHANNELS (71) I, FREDRICK CHARLES BIRTILL, a British Subject, of Little Bytham, Grantham, Lincolnshire, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to an apparatus for filling land drainage channels.

It is common practice to drain land by the provision of a series of drainage channels which contain a water conducting pipe located at the channel bottom for conducting away water. The channels are normally completely filled with a drainage material such as gravel which enables water entering the channel to drain downwards to the pipe to be subsequently conducted away.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of filling a land drainage channel comprising filling the channel in part with a water drainage material to define a band of said material having a width less than the width of the channel and extending upwards from the base of the channel and filling the remainder of the channel with a suitable filler. Preferably the filler used is the earth excavated to form said channel.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for filling land drainage channels, the apparatus being arranged to fill the channel in part with water drainage material to define a band of said material having a width less than the width of the channel and extending upwards from the base of the channel and including means for filling the remainder of the channel with a suitable filler.

A presently preferred embodiment of the invention includes a hopper for receiving the water drainage material, the hopper having an elongate outlet for positioning within the channel and having a width less than the width of the channel, the outlet having an open bottom for permitting the water drainage material to fall to the bottom of the channel and having an open end wall for defining the height and width of the band of water drainage material to be formed.

The hopper is preferably arranged so that one side wall of the outlet is maintained in sliding contact with one side wall of the channel.

The apparatus is preferably adapted for attachment to a suitable carriage for moving it along the channel.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a carriage, such as a land drainage excavator or a tractor, having a filling apparatus as defined above.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of figure 1 shown in situ; Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view shown in situ, of the embodiment of figure 1.

Referring initially to Figure 1 there is shown a filling apparatus 10 which includes a hopper 11 hingedly connected to a support 12. The support 12 is of box-like construction having opposed side walls 13, 14 and opposed end walls 16, 17.

The width of the support (i.e. the distance between the outer surfaces of walls 13, 14) is chosen to be substantially equal to the width of the drainage channel to filled.

End wall 16 is provided with apertures 18 so that it may be bolted to a suitable carriage such as the tile box 20 (Figure 2) of a conventional land drainage trenching machine.

The hopper 11 includes a storage bin 30 communicating with an elongate outlet 31 having opposed side walls 32, 33 and opposed end walls 34, 35. End wall 34 extends the entire length of the side edges of walls 32, 33 whereas end wall 35 only extends for part of the length of the side edges of walls 32, 33.

Thus outlet 31 -has an open bottom 38 and a partially open side 39.

A gate 40 is provided for adjusting the length of open side 39. Gate 40 in the illustrated embodiment is freely slidable, in an up and down direction, between side wall extensions 32a, 33a.

It is envisaged that the gate 40 may be releasably locked in a desired position for instance by means of a bolt passing through gate 40 and end wall 35.

The hopper 11 is hingedly connected to the support 12 so as to enable relative angular displacement therebetween. This is particularly advantageous if the drainage channel to be filled extends along a curved path. However if desired, the hopper 11 may be rigidly secured to the support 12 so that pivotal displacement therebetween is restrained. In either case, the positioning of the hopper 11 relative to the support 12 is such that one side wall of the hopper 11 is substantially contiguous with one side wall of the support 12 thus ensuring that during use said one wall of the hopper 11 is positioned closely adjacent to one wall of the drainage channel to be filled (see Figure 3).

In the illustrated embodiment the hinge connection between the hopper 11 and support 12 is achieved by the provision of hinge pins 50 projecting from the hopper 11, the hinge plates 51 being rotatably received on the hinge pins 50.

The hinge pins 50 are located nearer to one of the side walls of the support; -in the illustrated embodiment, the pins 50 are located nearer to side wall 14 and are releasably held in position by bolts (not shown). Complementary apertures (not shown) are provided in end wall 17 for the fixing of the hinge pins nearer to wall 13. These apertures are covered by a removable baffle plate 55.

As is seen in Figure 1, the side walls 13, 14 extend beyond end wall 17 to define a recess thus ensuring that the adjacent edges of side walls 14 and 33 are closely spaced.

In use, the apparatus 10 is located in a drainage channel 70 (Figures 2 and 3) so that the open bottom 38 of the hopper 11 is located above the pipe 71 positioned in the bottom of the channel 70. Sidewall 33 is located closely adjacent side wall 72 of the channel and side wall 32 is spaced from side wall 73 of the channel to define a gap 74 which is to be filled with material excavated to form channel 70.

Accordingly filling means are provided for filling gap 74 with excavated material. In the present embodiment the filling means is in the form of a horizontal rotor 80 having opposed blades 81. The blades 81 are rotated by means of a hydraulic motor 82 powered by a hydraulic pump (not shown) associated with the carriage (in the illustrated embodiment the carriage would be the channel excavator).

The rotor 80 is carried by an arm 83 pivotally connected to the carriage and is maintained at a desired lateral spacing therefrom by means of a foot 85 which abuts against support 12.

The foot 85 is preferably extendible to enable the lateral spacing to be adjusted.

The lateral spacing of the rotor 80 is chosen so that the blades 81 dig into one of the two rows of earth 86 excavated by the channel excavator to throw the earth against side wall 32 to fill gap 74. The rotor 80 also has the effect of breaking up the excavated material which ensures that the gap 74 is completely filled. The amount of earth thrown by the rotor 80 may be adjusted by adjusting the height of the rotor relative to the row of earth 86. This may be achieved by adjusting the position of leg 88 which leg is used to support the arm 83 above the ground. The leg 88 is provided with a skid 89 to enable the leg to be dragged across the ground.

In use, the hopper 11 is filled with a particulate drainage material, such as gravel Accordingly gravel flows out of the open bottom 38 to extend across the full width of the channel at its bottom region as shown in Figure 1 to surround the pipe 71. As the apparatus 10 is dragged along the channel 70 in the direction of arrow A, gravel flows out of open side 39 to thereby define a band 90 of gravel which extends upward from pipe 71 to a desired depth below the level of the ground determined by gate 40. Simultaneously, the filling means fills gap 74 with excavated earth so that the remainder of the channel is filled with excavated earth. Thus the drainage channel 70 may be considered as being filled with a band of gravel and a band of excavated earth.The width of the band of gravel is determined by the distance between walls 32 and 33 and is arbitrary providing the top of pipe 71 is completely covered by gravel.

In the illustrated embodiment gate 40 is connected to arm 83 so that the gate 40 is raised and lowered therewith as the leg 88 is dragged across the ground thus ensuring that the depth of the band of gravel below ground level is maintained substantially constant.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3 side wall 32 is provided with a removable deflection plate 32b which prevents excavated earth falling onto pipe 71 during filling of gap 74 thereby ensuring that the top of the pipe is covered by gravel.

It is envisaged that under certain operating conditions e.g. when the earth to be excavated has the tendency to clog, the deflection plate 32b may be dispensed with.

WRAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A method of filling a land drainage channel comprising filling the channel in part with a water drainage material to define a band of said material having a width less than the width of the channel and extending upwards from the base of the channel and filling the remainder of the channel with a suitable filler.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. illustrated embodiment is freely slidable, in an up and down direction, between side wall extensions 32a, 33a. It is envisaged that the gate 40 may be releasably locked in a desired position for instance by means of a bolt passing through gate 40 and end wall 35. The hopper 11 is hingedly connected to the support 12 so as to enable relative angular displacement therebetween. This is particularly advantageous if the drainage channel to be filled extends along a curved path. However if desired, the hopper 11 may be rigidly secured to the support 12 so that pivotal displacement therebetween is restrained. In either case, the positioning of the hopper 11 relative to the support 12 is such that one side wall of the hopper 11 is substantially contiguous with one side wall of the support 12 thus ensuring that during use said one wall of the hopper 11 is positioned closely adjacent to one wall of the drainage channel to be filled (see Figure 3). In the illustrated embodiment the hinge connection between the hopper 11 and support 12 is achieved by the provision of hinge pins 50 projecting from the hopper 11, the hinge plates 51 being rotatably received on the hinge pins 50. The hinge pins 50 are located nearer to one of the side walls of the support; -in the illustrated embodiment, the pins 50 are located nearer to side wall 14 and are releasably held in position by bolts (not shown). Complementary apertures (not shown) are provided in end wall 17 for the fixing of the hinge pins nearer to wall 13. These apertures are covered by a removable baffle plate 55. As is seen in Figure 1, the side walls 13, 14 extend beyond end wall 17 to define a recess thus ensuring that the adjacent edges of side walls 14 and 33 are closely spaced. In use, the apparatus 10 is located in a drainage channel 70 (Figures 2 and 3) so that the open bottom 38 of the hopper 11 is located above the pipe 71 positioned in the bottom of the channel 70. Sidewall 33 is located closely adjacent side wall 72 of the channel and side wall 32 is spaced from side wall 73 of the channel to define a gap 74 which is to be filled with material excavated to form channel 70. Accordingly filling means are provided for filling gap 74 with excavated material. In the present embodiment the filling means is in the form of a horizontal rotor 80 having opposed blades 81. The blades 81 are rotated by means of a hydraulic motor 82 powered by a hydraulic pump (not shown) associated with the carriage (in the illustrated embodiment the carriage would be the channel excavator). The rotor 80 is carried by an arm 83 pivotally connected to the carriage and is maintained at a desired lateral spacing therefrom by means of a foot 85 which abuts against support 12. The foot 85 is preferably extendible to enable the lateral spacing to be adjusted. The lateral spacing of the rotor 80 is chosen so that the blades 81 dig into one of the two rows of earth 86 excavated by the channel excavator to throw the earth against side wall 32 to fill gap 74. The rotor 80 also has the effect of breaking up the excavated material which ensures that the gap 74 is completely filled. The amount of earth thrown by the rotor 80 may be adjusted by adjusting the height of the rotor relative to the row of earth 86. This may be achieved by adjusting the position of leg 88 which leg is used to support the arm 83 above the ground. The leg 88 is provided with a skid 89 to enable the leg to be dragged across the ground. In use, the hopper 11 is filled with a particulate drainage material, such as gravel Accordingly gravel flows out of the open bottom 38 to extend across the full width of the channel at its bottom region as shown in Figure 1 to surround the pipe 71. As the apparatus 10 is dragged along the channel 70 in the direction of arrow A, gravel flows out of open side 39 to thereby define a band 90 of gravel which extends upward from pipe 71 to a desired depth below the level of the ground determined by gate 40. Simultaneously, the filling means fills gap 74 with excavated earth so that the remainder of the channel is filled with excavated earth. Thus the drainage channel 70 may be considered as being filled with a band of gravel and a band of excavated earth.The width of the band of gravel is determined by the distance between walls 32 and 33 and is arbitrary providing the top of pipe 71 is completely covered by gravel. In the illustrated embodiment gate 40 is connected to arm 83 so that the gate 40 is raised and lowered therewith as the leg 88 is dragged across the ground thus ensuring that the depth of the band of gravel below ground level is maintained substantially constant. As shown in Figures 1 and 3 side wall 32 is provided with a removable deflection plate 32b which prevents excavated earth falling onto pipe 71 during filling of gap 74 thereby ensuring that the top of the pipe is covered by gravel. It is envisaged that under certain operating conditions e.g. when the earth to be excavated has the tendency to clog, the deflection plate 32b may be dispensed with. WRAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A method of filling a land drainage channel comprising filling the channel in part with a water drainage material to define a band of said material having a width less than the width of the channel and extending upwards from the base of the channel and filling the remainder of the channel with a suitable filler.

2. A method according to Claim 1 wherein

the filler used is the earth excavated to form said channel.

3. A method according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the water drainage material is fed into the channel and supported in place by a dividing means, whilst the filler is introduced into the channel, the dividing means being moved longitudinally along the channel after filling to leave said band of water drainage material.

4. A method according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the water drainage material is deposited in the channel in such a way as to extend across the full width of the channel at its bottom region.

5. A method according to Claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the channel is filled with said water drainage material so that the upper edge of said band is located below the upper edge of the channel, the space between the upper edges of the band and channel being filled with said filler.

6. A method of filling land drainage channels substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A method of providing land drainage including the steps of digging a channel and filling it in accordance with a method according to any of Claims 1 to 6.

8. A method according to Claim 7, wherein digging of the channel is achieved by a mechanical digger.

9. Apparatus for filling land drainage channels, the apparatus including means for filling the channel in part with water drainage material to define a band of said material having a width less than the width of the channel and extending upwards from the base of the channel and including means for filling the remainder of the channel with a suitable filler.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 9 including a hopper for receiving the water drainage material, the hopper having an elongate outlet for positioning within the channel and having a width less than the width of the channel, the outlet having an open bottom for permitting the water drainage material to fall to the bottom of the channel and having an open end wall for defining the height and width of the band of water drainage material to be formed.

11. Apparatus according to Claim 10 wherein the hopper is arranged so that in use one side wall of the outlet is maintained in sliding contact with one side wall of the channel.

12. Apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein the side wall opposite said one side is provided with a deflector located near to the open bottom for restraining filler from falling to the bottom of the channel so that, in use, water drainage material is permitted to fill the bottom of the channel.

13. Apparatus according to Claim 9, 10, 11 or 12 wherein adjustment means are provided for varying the height of the opening in said open end wall for adjusting in use the space between the upper edges of said band and of the channel.

14. Apparatus according to any of Claims 9 to 13, wherein the outlet is supported on a support member having a width substantially the same as the width of the channel.

15. Apparatus according to Claim 14, wherein the outlet is hingedly supported on the support member.

16. Apparatus according to Claim 15, wherein the support member is adapted for attachment to a carriage for moving the support and hopper along the channel.

17. Apparatus for filling land drainage channels substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

18. A carriage having an apparatus according to any of Claims 9 to 17.