IE56410B1

IE56410B1 - Drain constructions

Info

Publication number: IE56410B1
Application number: IE1644/85A
Authority: IE
Original assignee: Selflevel Covers Ag
Priority date: 1984-07-03
Filing date: 1985-07-01
Publication date: 1991-07-17
Also published as: ATE50304T1; GB2161190B; GB2161190A; DE3575962D1; FR2567172B1; EP0167384B1; EP0167384A3; FR2567172A1; CH664991A5; GB8416858D0; EP0167384A2; IE851644L

Abstract

A drain construction comprises a preformed assembly which is located in a trench which is then filled, around tne preformed assembly, with concrete or similar material. The preformed assembly comprises two angle-section wall members (10,11) which are held apart by spring spacers (21) to define a drainage slot, and a plastics pipe (12) which is slit along its length and the edges of the pipe along each side of the slit engaged in grooves (15) extending along the wall member (10, 11). The upper flanges of the wall members are flush with the ground surface so that water can drain from the surface by flowing down through the slot between the members and into the pipe (12). The spring spacers (21) separating the wall members permit the wall members to move relatively to one another as a result of thermal expansion or contraction, or other movement, of the surrounding material.

Description

This invention relates to drain constructions of the kind generally used for collecting surface water from roadways, paths or other hard paved surfaces on which water or other liquids tend to collect.

Many drainage systems have been used, Fl including open gutters formed by an open trough in the surface to be drained. The trough is often formed in a series of precast or in situ cast blocks. In many 1° circumstances, however, it may be desirable to cover such a trough with some form of grating in order to stop entry of debris into the main drainage channel and also to provide minimum interference to continuity of the surface.

This is often desirable on a roadway or other surface over which foot traffic or vehicles run. Installation of conventional drains is expensive. Moreover, the use of gratings is also expensive, both in the actual grating itself and also in seatings or other fixtures in which the grating is located. A covered drain must have spaced 20 holes or slots for entry of water.

It is the object of this invention to provide a drain construction which is effective in use and construction and also inexpensive to produce and simple to « install.

According to the primary aspect of the I* invention there is provided an assembly for use in drain construction comprising an elongate, generally tubular conduit having, extending along the complete length -2thereof, an elongate opening which is narrower than the conduit and faces upwardly in use of the assembly, and two spaced elongate wall members disposed along opposite sides of the opening and extending away from the opening so as to define between them a slot communicating, through the opening, with the interior of the conduit, the conduit being formed of resiliently flexible material and being attached to the wall members by virtue of the two edges of the conduit, which define the opening therebetween, being engaged with parts of the respective wall members by the resilience of the conduit.

With this arrangement any water standing on the top surface of the surrounding material, or any surrounding or adjacent surface with which it is substantially level, can flow into the slot and thence down into the drainage channel.

Preferably, the members forming the sides of the slot are spaced apart by sprung or temperature responsive expandable spacers tending to urge the members apart.

With this arrangement compensation for changes in temperature can be accommodated by allowing the members to move apart or towards each other as the surrounding material moves. in one construction, two rigid members are fixed in spaced apart relation and a resilient tube is slit and the opposite edges engaged on the opposite exterior surfaces of the said members. -3In accordance with a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of installing a drain construction for draining water from the surface of the ground including the steps of forming a trench in the ground, locating within the trench at least one assembly according to the aforesaid primary aspect of the invention, with the slot defined by said wall members facing upwardly and the upper edges of the wall members level with the surface of the ground, and then filling the trench up to ground level around the assembly with a material which is such as to embed and support the assembly.

A number of the assemblies may be placed end to end so that the slots and the internal drainage channels are in communication.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a drain construction arranged in accordance with the present invention. t. -j Figure 2 is fi cross-sectional view of a sprung spacer used in the drain construction.

The drain construction shown in the drawings includes an assembly comprising two generally angle section members 10 and 11 and a resilient tube 12. The members 10 and 11 are preferably made from cast iron or plastics material and are of similar section. Each is provided w’ith a tapering, shorter flange which is formed with spaced tapering grooves 13 to give a castellated effect at the tapper edge of a slot defined between the members. This arrangement tends to dissipate energy in the flow of water® The grooves taper outwardly so as to provide, in the base of each groove„ a downward sloping surface leading into the slot® The longer flanges of the members 10 and 11 are directed generally downwardly but slope away from one another towards the lower ends® On the external surface of each such member and near the lower ends are a series of spaced ridges and grooves 14^ 15 which run lengthwise of the members 10 and 11 respectively® / The tube 12 which is made from a resilient material such as9 for example^ plastics material? is of generally circular configuration but with an upwardly presented gap® The edges of the tube which define such gap are engaged In the grooves 15 in the respective members 10 and 11® In this construction there are three such grooves 15 on each of the members and it is possible ‘to engage the tube edges into any chosen pair® By this means the capacity of the drain is adjustable by regulating its depth and crosssectional area in relation to the slot between the two members 10 and 11* The,tube 12 is conveniently made as a complete tube which is split and the two sides separated in order to engage in the grooves 15 in the members 10 and 11 as shown, To support the two members 10 and 11 and to space them apart there are a number of spacers which are positioned at intervals along the lengths of the members 10 and 11» Figure 2 shows one of these spacers® It comprises a pair of telescropically engaged tubes 16, 17» The outer ends of each tube is closed by a plate 18, 19 end in use these lie flat against the internal surfaces of the members 10 and 11, respectively® A spring 21 occupies the space between 'the telescopically engaged tubes 16, 17 and abuts against the plates 18 and 19» Screws 22, 23 engage in the ends of the spring 21 through the plates 18 and 19 and serve to secure the spacer in correct position relatively to the top and bottom of the members 10 and 11» It Is possible for the members 10 and 11 to move towards one another upon compression of the spring and the spring tends to separate them when this is again possible» In an alternative arrangement the spacers may be temperature responsive piston and cylinder units, containing fluid which is responsive. to temperature change to tend to expand the unit but to allow the members to move® As shown in Figure 1 , the drain construction in use is embedded in a body of materials indicated at 24, such as concrete or tarmac or construction material including polymer structures« The material is settable and - 6 defines a flat top surface» Any expansion or contraction of thia material results in movement of the members 10 and towards or away from one another and this is accommodated by the spring spacers» Keying elements 25 are provided on the sides of the members 10 and 11 to lock into the settable • material θ 24» The method of making the drain construction com'** prises assembling the members 10 and 11 and the tube 12 in correct relationship» as shown» The spring spacers are inserted at intervals along the length of the assembly» Further similar assemblies are placed eno-to-end to provide a continuous drain» Typically* each assembly may have a length of one metre or longerθ Connecting members (not shown) in the form of sleeves surrounding the tube may be fitted to provide a water-tight or substantially water-tight seal between adjacent lengths of the drain« In this way a complete drain e with a continuous open slot and a continuous tube may be simply formed In minimum timee The assemblies are placed in a prepaved trench and are suspended by the battens 26 which are long enough to reach known levels in the surrounding surface. From the battens hooks 27 depend» These are adjustable^ j 2h having adjustment nuts 28 engaging threads on the hooks» The hooked lower ends engage the spring spacers already described» The trench is back filled with settable material to the required level corresponding with the top surfaces of the flanges of the members 10 and 11 e However,, the placing of the settable material may be such as to lift the assembly into the correct position so that its top surface lies level with thiit of the settable material itself,, In order to prevent settable material dropping into the slot, this may be filled with boards or other components which are afterwards removede If it is desired that the slot should be discontinuous, bridge pieces are inserted at spaced pos& itions along the length of the slot* This assembly provides a continuous drain which mey have a fall from one end to another in a surface w Longitudinal and transverse levels are taken into accounts, Any expansion or contraction of the settable material or its surrounding materials as a result of changes in temperature is readily accommodated by movement of the members 10 and 11 under the influence of the spring spacers0 The spring or equivalent spacers may foe used in other circumstances in bridge oe- road engineering where expansion is to be accommodated„

Claims

1. An assembly for use in drain construction comprising an elongate, generally tubular conduit having, extending along the complete length thereof, an elongate 5 opening which is narrower than the conduit and faces upwardly in use of the assembly, and two spaced elongate wall members disposed along opposite sides of the opening and extending away from the opening so as to define between them a slot communicating, through the opening, 10 with the interior of the conduit, the conduit being formed of resiliently flexible material and being attached to the wall members by virtue of the two edges of the conduit, which define the opening therebetween, being engaged with parts of the respective wall members by the resilience of 15 the conduit.

2. An assembly according to Claim 1, wherein adjustable spacing means are provided between said elongate wall members.

3. An assembly according to Claim 2, wherein said 20 adjustable spacing means include spring means interconnecting the wall members in a manner tending to urge the wall members apart.

4. An assembly according to Claim 3, wherein said spring means comprise a helical compression spring. 25

5. An assembly according to Claim 2, wherein said adjustable spacing means comprise a temperature responsive device connected between the wall members in a manner to adjust the spacing between the wall members ln accordance -9with the ambient temperature.

6. An assembly according to any of Claims 3 to 5, wherein said adjustable spacing means are enclosed in a protective sleeve extending between the wall members.

7. An assembly according to Claim 6, wherein the protective sleeve comprises two telescoping parts which may slide relatively to one another to accommodate relative movement between said wall members. a. An assembly according to any of the preceding * claims, wherein there are provided on each wall member a plurality of alternative locations for attachment of the conduit thereto, whereby the depth of the slot provided between the wall members, relative to the conduit, may be adjusted*

8. 9. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a location for attachment of the conduit to each wall member is provided by at least one longitudinally extending groove along the outer surface of the wall member, into which grooves are engageable the two edges of the conduit which define the aforesaid opening therein.

9. 10. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the conduit is formed from resiliently flexible plastics material*

10. 11. An assembly according to any of the preceding ( claims, wherein the conduit is generally circular in cross-section.

11. 12. An assembly according to any of the preceding -1010 J 25 claims, wherein the width of the slot defined by said wall members increases as it extends towards the conduit.

12. 13. An assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the edge of each wall member remote from the conduit is provided with an outwardly extending flange.

13. 14. An assembly according to claim 13, wherein each outwardly extending flange is formed, on the surface thereof facing away from the conduit, with spaced grooves extending transversely to, and opening into, the slot defined by the wall members.

14. 15. An assembly according to Claim 14, wherein the bottom walls of said grooves are inclined towards the conduit as they extend towards the slot defined between the wall members.

15. 16. An assembly for use in drain construction, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

16. 17. A method of installing a drain construction for draining water from the surface of the ground including the steps of forming a trench in the ground, locating within the trench at least one assembly according to any of Claims 1 to 16, with the slot defined by said wall members facing upwardly and the upper edges of the wall members level with the surface of the ground, and then filling the trench up to ground level around the assembly with a material which is such as to embed and support the assembly. -1118. A method according to Claim 17, wherein the material in which the assembly is embedded is concrete.

17. 19. A drain construction when formed by the method of Claim 17 or Claim 18.