GB2539510A

GB2539510A - Road gully layer

Info

Publication number: GB2539510A
Application number: GB1510867.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Taylor Christopher
Original assignee: Stanton Bonna Concrete Ltd
Current assignee: Stanton Bonna Concrete Ltd
Priority date: 2015-06-19
Filing date: 2015-06-19
Publication date: 2016-12-21
Also published as: GB201510867D0

Abstract

A tool 24 to assist with the handling of road gullies 2 of various diameters comprises a main body 30 with first and second lifting holes 48, 50 spaced from a front edge 36 and a hook prong 32 extending at and angle from the front edge 36. The hook prong 32 may engage with a siphon hole 18 on the inner wall of a road gully 2, in particular a concrete road gully 2, and the front edge 36 may engage with the inner wall of the road gully 2. The first and second lifting holes 48, 50 are provided on the tool 24 to ensure that a road gullies 2 of different diameters and hence different centres of mass can be lifted and manoeuvred using the tool 24 while remaining balanced and substantially vertical. A recess 56 may be provided in the front edge 36 to accommodate a stopper or insert 20 for an upper port or rodding hole 16 on the inner wall of the road gully 2. A top plate 28 may be welded to the top surface of the hook prong 32. A through hole 60 may be provided in hook prong 32 for attaching a safety chain 62. A void 38 in the main body 30 may reduce weight and provide a handle.

Description

Title -Road Gully Layer The present invention relates to the field of civil engineering or construction, and in particular to the laying of road gullies.

Road gullies are provided at the edges of the roadways and are connected to drainage pipes to collect and disperse surface water runoff from roadway. The accumulation of silt and other debris in drainage pipes can cause blockages, so to avoid this the road gullies are provided with larger diameter pot or sump which traps the material washed into them. The connection to the drainage pipe is located towards an upper end of the road gully so that the water flowing in the pipes is largely free of silt and other materials, which are collected below.

Road gullies are typically provided in 375 or 450mm diameters, and depths of between 750 and 1200mm. The road gully sumps have to be cleared periodically to remove the collected silt etc, and providing a greater size and/or depth can minimise the frequency of the cleaning operation.

Historically, road gullies were formed of inherently fragile clayware. More robust pre-cast concrete units are now preferred, but the additional weight of these concrete gullies compared to clayware or plastic gullies can cause handling problems during installation. The larger 450mm diameter gullies, in particular, weigh far more than a single operative can reasonably be expected to handle, and so they need to be craned into position by an excavator or similar machinery on site.

Plastic gullies address the problems associated with the weight of concrete gullies, but there remains some uncertainty about the strength and robustness of plastic components. As such, while the use of plastic gullies may be suitable in certain applications, concrete gullies remain the preferred option in many situations, particularly for highway use.

The installation operation of road gullies is further complicated by the fact that they are often delivered to an installation site upside down and laid on their sides for storage. They thus need to be turned the correct way up prior to being moved into position.

The weight and irregular shape of road gullies can cause handling problems and result gullies being positioned and seated incorrectly. Adjustments required to correct any errors in the initial positioning of the gully can require significant additional work and cause significant delays during the installation or 'laying' of road gullies.

There is a need, therefore, for a tool or device to assist in the operation of laying concrete road gullies to simplify the operation and help to ensure that the gullies are positioned correctly.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a road gully laying tool as defined in the appended claim 1. Further advantageous features of the gully layer are recited in the associated dependent claims.

By providing first and second through holes positioned to correspond to the centres of mass of different diameter road gullies, the invention allows different diameters of road gullies to be lifted and manoeuvred while remaining balanced and substantially vertical.

The first through hole may be located between 100 and 120mm from the front edge of the main body, more specifically between 110 and 115mm, for example 112mm from the front edge of the main body. These spacings should locate the first through hole at or close to the centre of mass of a 375mm diameter road gully during use.

The second through hole is located between 150 and 170mm from the front edge of the main body, more specifically between 155 and 160mm, for example 158mm from the front edge of the main body. These spacings should locate the second through hole at or close to the centre of mass of a 450mm diameter road gully during use.

A recess is may be provided in the front edge of the main body to accommodate a stopper or insert located in a rodding hole above the siphon hole in the gully.

For ease of manufacture, the main body and the hook prong may be formed from a single sheet of material.

To help spread the load on the gully laying tool, a top plate may be secured to the hook prong at right angles to the sheet of material and extending from either side of the sheet of material.

The top plate may have a maximum width, perpendicular to the sheet of material, of 100mm to closely conform to the size of a siphon hole in a gully. The width of the top plate, perpendicular to the sheet of material, may tapers towards the free end of the hook prong to aid insertion into the siphon hole. The free end of the hook prong may extend beyond the top plate.

An additional through hole may be provided, for example in the hook prong, to allow the attachment of a safety chain. Alternatively, a similar hole or slot may be provided in the top plate, which may be extended to provide additional space, or a loop may be welded to the hook prong. The safety chain may be permanently fixed at one end to the additional through hole or loop, and/or may be selectively attachable to a lifting chain or to another part of the gully laying tool.

A void may be provided within the main body of the gully laying tool to reduce weight and simplify handling of the tool. The void may be generally triangular, as may the main body.

The hook prong may extend from the front edge of the main body at an angle of between 30 and 50 degrees to the front edge, more specifically between 40 and degrees, for example at 42 degrees to the front edge. This helps to ensure that the angle of the hook prong corresponds to the angle of the siphon hole in a gully.

Any of the optional features described in relation to any single aspect of the invention may be applied to any other aspect of the invention.

Practicable embodiments of the invention are described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a typical example road gully; Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a road gully similar to that shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of a gully laying tool in accordance with the present invention; Figure 4 is a plan view of the gully layer from Figure 3; and Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the gully layer of the present invention in place within a road gully.

A typical pre-cast concrete road gully 2 is shown in Figure 1. The gully 2 is illustrated in the orientation in which it will be installed in the ground, with an upper inlet 4 and a pot or sump 6 below to collect debris and silt carried into the inlet 4 of the gully. A circular outlet 8 for connecting the gully 2 to a drainage pipe is shown in a laterally extending spout portion 10 towards the upper end of the gully 2, above the area of the sump where the debris and silt collect. A recess 12 is provided around the outlet 8, as will be illustrated more clearly in Figure 2.

Figure 2 shows a schematic cross-section of a road gully 2, similar to that shown in Figure 1, taken through the inlet 4 and the outlet 8. The outlet 8 can be adapted to accommodate drainage pipes of various diameters through the inclusion of variously sized sealing rings in the recess 12.

Separate upper and lower ports 16,18 are provided in a sidewall of the hollow interior 14 of the sump 6 adjacent the spout 10. Both the upper port 16 and the lower port 18 connect to channels which meet within the spout 10 before reaching the outlet 8.

The lower port 18 sits below the typical water level, indicated at 22, and acts as a siphon hole, through which any floating debris or oil will typically not flow. It should be appreciated, however, that some debris may pass into a drainage pipe through the siphon hole 18 as the sump 6 fills with water to the level indicated at 22 and/or if there is a significant build-up of silt or debris within the sump, so it is important that access for cleaning the pipe is provided.

The upper port 16 provides a rodding hole for use in clearing blockages in a connected drainage pipe, and is typically blocked off by a stopper or insert 20, or similar, during normal use to prevent oil or floating debris from passing into the drainage pipe through the rodding hole 16.

The arrangement also helps to prevent odours from a drainage pipe passing back into the gully, and out through the inlet 14 of the gully 2.

The rodding hole 16 is typically circular in cross-section, for consistency with the circular outlet port 8. This cross-section also helps to simplify the closing of the rodding hole 16. In contrast, the siphon hole 18 will often be square or rectangular in cross-section for ease of manufacture of the gully 2.

Within the UK and Ireland, concrete road gullies are essentially standardised 30 components conforming to the general arrangement as described above.

The road gully laying tool, or gully layer 24, of the present invention is illustrated in Figure 3. The gully layer 24 takes the general form of a hook and has been specifically designed to lift and lay a UK gully in the upright position using the siphon hole 18.

The gully layer 24 comprises a lifting plate 26, formed from 20mm thick mild steel sheet, and an 8mm thick mild steel top plate 28.

The lifting plate 26 makes up the majority of the gully layer 24. It essentially comprises a generally triangular main body 30 and hook prong 32 extending at an angle 34 of 42° to an adjacent front edge 36 of the body 30. A triangular cut-out or void 38 is provided within the body 30 to reduce the overall weight of the gully layer 24 and to provide a handle by which a user can easily grip the gully layer 24. The lifting plate has a height of 375mm and a width, including the hook prong 32, of 383mm.

The top plate 28 is welded onto the hook prong 32 at right angles thereto, and has a slot (see Figure 4) to receive the thickness of the lifting plate 26 and allow the top plate 28 to extend part way across a lower part of the body 30. Triangular gusset plates 40 are provided between the prong 32 and the top plate 28 to provide additional strength and security to the assembly. The top plate 28 spreads the load applied by a gully 2 to the gulley layer 24, and helps to avoid damage to the concrete around the siphon hole 18.

A plan view of the gully layer 24 from Figure 3 is shown in Figure 4. The shape of the top plate 28, with tapers towards each end, can be clearly seen in Figure 4, as can the slot 42 allowing the top plate 28 to receive the lifting plate 26. The maximum width 44 of the top plate 28 is 100mm, tapering down to 20mm adjacent the free end 46 of the hook prong 32. The free end 46 of the hook prong 32 is also visible extending beyond the top plate 28.

Returning to Figure 3, two discrete through holes 48,50 are provided at the upper edge of the body 30 of the gully layer 24. The centre of the first hole 48 is located at a distance 52 of 112mm from the front edge 36 of the body, while the centre of the second hole 50 is located at a distance 54 of 158mm from the front edge 36 of the body 30. The total with of the triangular body 30 at its widest point is 225mm.

Finally, a 10mm deep cut-out or recess 56 is provided in the front edge 36 of the 5 body 30. The recess 56 is 150mm long and its upper end is spaced 45 mm from the upper end of the body.

Although relatively simple in form, a number of aspects needed to be carefully considered and developed in order for the gully layer 24 to provide the desired advantages over the current state of the art. Among other things, the angle of the hook prong 32, the placing of the through holes 48,50, the cut-out 56 in the front edge 36, the width of the top plate 28 and the overall height of the gully layer are all relevant to ensuring the correct and safe lifting and handling of a gully 2. This will be explained further with reference to Figure 5.

Figure 5 shows the gully layer 24 located within a road gully 2 such as that shown in Figures 1 and 2. The hook prong 32 and top plate 28 of the gully layer 24 are received in the siphon hole 18 of the gully 2, and can be seen to correspond to the angle of the siphon hole 18. The front edge 36 of the gully layer 24 is aligned with the inner wall of the gully 2, with the cut-out 56 in the front edge 36 providing a space for the stopper/insert 20 which is closing off the rodding hole 16.

As well as allowing the front edge 36 of the gully layer 24 to sit parallel with the inner wall of the gully 2, so that the gully layer 24 can remain substantially vertical, the cut-out 56 also allows for movement of the gully layer 24 within the gully 2 without risking damage to the rodding hole insert 20. The largely standardised design of road gullies ensures that the cut-out/recess 56 will reliably align with the rodding hole insert 20 once the hook prong 32 is engaged with the siphon hole 18.

A lifting chain 58 is shown connected to the first through hole 48 to lift the gully layer 24 and the gully 2. In this example the gully 2 is 375mm in diameter, and the first through hole 48 is positioned to sit at the balance point of a gully of this size. Lifting the gully layer 24 via the first through hole 48 therefore keeps the gully 2 plumb/vertical during the lifting operation. The second through hole 50 is positioned to sit at the at the balance point of a larger 450mm diameter gully, so can be used to lift such larger diameter gullies while keeping them plumb. The gully lifter 24 therefore allows for two commonly used diameters of road gully 2 to be lifted and laid vertically.

The external shape of the gully layer 24 simplifies the operation of fitting the gully layer 24 into a gully 2. In particular, the triangular shape of the body 30 provides a smaller width of the gully layer 24 when it is held at an angle, simplifying the insertion of the gully layer 24 into the inlet 4 of a gully 2 without the need to reduce the overall size of the gully layer. Inserting the gully layer 24 at an angle also assists in locating the end 46 of the hook prong 32 in the siphon hole.

Providing an additional third through hole, closer to the front edge 36 of the body 30, would in theory allow for smaller 300mm diameter road gullies to be lifted in a similar way. However, even taking into account the benefit of the triangular shape of the body 30, the external dimensions of the gully layer 24 described above may cause complications when locating the gully layer 24 in a smaller gully 2. As such, it is more likely that a smaller version of the gully layer 24 would be provided.

Regardless of the height of a gully, the spout 10 will be at the upper end, meaning that the siphon hole 18 will be located a set distance from the upper end of any gully. Any additional mass of longer/taller gullies will be located below the lifting point providing further stability during handling.

A further benefit of the hook prong 32 engaging with the siphon hole 18 is that it maximises the amount of concrete above the engagement point, which minimises the chances of a failure within the gully 2 during use. Such a failure could, however, occur, and may result in a gulley 2 falling from a height if the gully layer 24 becomes disengaged.

To address this risk further, an additional through hole 60 may be provided for attachment to an optional safety chain 62, shown in broken lines in Figure 5. The safety chain 62 would also be connected to the lifting chain 58, or to another part of the gully layer 24, to form a complete loop around the gully spout 10. A total failure of the concrete above the siphon hole would then be required in order for the gully layer 24 to disengage from the gully. The additional through hole 60 is illustrated in the end portion 46 of the hook prong 32, but its precise location is not important and it could instead be located elsewhere on the hook prong 32 or top plate 28, or formed as a loop attached to either.

Another unique feature of the invention is that the gulley layer 24 allows a gully 2 to be picked up from a laid down position. For stability, this is the most common position for gullies to be stored on site.

The width of the top plate 28 not only spreads the load to the prong, but also centres the prong in the siphon hole 18. The 100mm width is only around 10mm less than the internal width of the siphon hole 18, which greatly restricts the possible rotation of the gully lifter 24 once the hook prong 32 and top plate 28 are engaged with the siphon hole 18. As such, even when a gully 2 is laid on its side, an inserted the gully layer 24 will remain almost parallel with a central axis of the sump 6 during the lifting operation to firstly right the gully 2 and then support it at its centre of mass.

Some rotation of the gully layer 24 will occur due to the necessary clearance between the top plate 28 and the siphon hole 18, and the narrower free end region 46 of hook prong 32 beyond top plate 28 remains clear of the inside of the siphon hole 18 during this rotation to avoids a stress concentration point when a gully 2 is lifted from a laid down position.

As explained above, the gully layer 24 according to the invention addresses a number of problems that exist in the prior art. In addition, it has no moving parts and can be formed solely of sheet steel or similar material. It is therefore simple and inexpensive to produce, and robust and largely maintenance free in use. This is especially beneficial considering the conditions in which the gully layer 24 will typically be used.

The embodiment described above is provided by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the protection sought. Various modifications could be possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, the gauge of steel used for the various parts of the gully layer could be adapted to suit requirements and minimise weight. The overall dimensions could also be modified and/or further through holes could be provided if desired to account for different diameter gullies. However, there are only a limited number of sizes typically produced, and the embodiment described above is sufficient to accommodate the most commonly used sizes.

Claims

Claims: 1. A road gully laying tool comprising: a main body with first and second through holes spaced from a front edge, and a hook prong extending at an angle from the front edge for engagement with the siphon hole provided in an inner wall surface of a road gully such that the front edge of the main body is located adjacent said inner wall surface, wherein the first through hole is spaced from the front edge by a first distance corresponding to the distance from said inner wall surface of the centre of mass of a first diameter of road gully and the second through hole is spaced from the front edge by a second distance corresponding to the distance from said inner wall surface of the centre of mass of a second, different, diameter of road gully.
2. A road gully laying tool according to claim 1, wherein the first through hole is located between 100 and 120mm from the front edge of the main body.
3. A road gully laying tool according to claim 2, wherein the first through hole is located 112mm from the front edge of the main body.
4. A road gully laying tool according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second through hole is located between 150 and 170mm from the front edge of the main body.
5. A road gully laying tool according to claim 4, wherein the first through hole is located 158mm from the front edge of the main body.
6. A road gully laying tool according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a recess is provided in the front edge of the main body.
7. A road gully laying tool according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the main body and the hook prong are formed from a single sheet of material.
8. A road gully laying tool according to claim 7, further comprising a top plate secured to the hook prong at right angles to the sheet of material and extending from either side of the sheet of material.
9. A road gully laying tool according to claim 8, wherein the top plate has a maximum width, perpendicular to the sheet of material, of 100mm.
10. A road gully laying tool according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the width of the top plate, perpendicular to the sheet of material, tapers towards the free end of the hook prong.
11. A road gully laying tool according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the free end of the hook prong extends beyond the top plate.
12. A road gully laying tool according to any preceding claim, wherein an additional through hole is provided in the hook prong.
13. A road gully laying tool according to any preceding claim, wherein a void is provided within the main body.
14. A road gully laying tool according to claim 13, wherein the void is generally triangular.15. A road gully laying tool according to any preceding claim, wherein the main body is generally triangular.
15. A road gully laying tool according to any preceding claim, wherein the hook prong extends from the front edge of the main body at an angle of between 30 and 50 degrees to the front edge.
16. A road gully laying tool according to claim 15, wherein the hook prong extends from the front edge of the main body at an angle of 42 degrees to the front edge.
17. A road gully laying tool substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.