IE65474B1 - Connecting means for road components and corresponding road component - Google Patents

Abstract

These connecting means comprise an elastically deformable strip (7A, 7B) integral with one of the parts to be joined and housed in a window (16A, 16B) of the latter, and a finger (8A, 8B) integral with the other part and projecting in the longitudinal direction from the latter, which finger has a flange suitable for being clip-fastened by interacting with the elastic strip. Application to cast-iron gulley gratings. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to connection means for joining two adjacent gulley members intended to be placed on a support structure, such as for example anchored gutter grids or multi-vent pit doors.

In environments such as airports, the overflow of swimming pools, the grounds of buildings in which water is used for * various operations, or even urban roads or motorways, it is common practice to use gutters to drain away the water. These gutters generally have a border which is cast in concrete and on which two metal girders intended to support the gulley members are fixed.

In the case of a building ground or an overflow of a swimming pool, the gulley members, for example grids, are simply placed side by side on the girders.

In the case of airports, motorway edges or urban roads, when the gulley members are simply placed on the girders, they might be lifted and ejected on the passage of a vehicle, which is really dangerous.

One solution to this problem is to connect the gulley members to the girders which support them. However, given that the said girders are themselves lightly secured on a concrete structure they are not able to take up an elevated load. This solution is therefore unreliable.

It is known, in order to connect the gulley members to one another, to use mechanical means such as anchoring screws which enable the contiguous members to be joined together as one.

The disadvantage with this type of connection means resides in the necessity of using separate elements. Moreover, since the gulley members are generally laid in an environment in which dust and grime accumulate, the anchoring screws become jammed and it becomes very difficult to manoeuvre them when it is necessary to remove the members in order to gain access to the system.

Another solution consists in using gulley members whereof *» the end faces in contact with the adjacent members are equipped with complementary attachment means coming into mutual * engagement.

In known examples, the attachment means are rigid, and the disadvantage with this type of connection means resides in the fact that in order to instal or remove a gulley member equipped with such means, it is necessary to hold two lifted members by hand. An average member often weighs about 40 kg.

The object of the present invention is to provide connection means for joining two gulley members which enable these disadvantages to be eliminated.

To this end, the present invention relates to connection means for joining two gulley members placed side by side in a longitudinal direction and intended to be laid on a support structure, for example a drainage gutter or a multi-vent trap door frame, these means comprising a resiliently deformable bar which is integral with one of the members to be joined and is housed in a window of the latter, and a finger which is integral with the other member and projects in the longitudinal direction over the latter, this finger having a flange which is adapted to snap in by cooperation with the resilient bar.

According to other features: - the resiliently deformable bar is located near one end of the first member; - the said bar is connected to the rest of the first member by one of its ends, the finger cooperating with the other end of this bar; - the said bar is oriented transversely with respect to the said longitudinal direction; - the finger has the shape of a U and freely receives one end rail of the first member in its snapped-in position; - the finger has the shape of an inverted U and overlaps an end rail of the first member, by freely penetrating into a notch of this rail, in its snapped-in position; - the flange of the finger and/or the bar have a double cam ramp.

The present invention also relates to a gulley member having connection means as defined above, having at one of its ends at least one resiliently deformable bar and, at the opposite end, at least one snap-in projecting finger.

Preferably, the member has a window at each end, the two resilient bars being oriented top-to-tail, one of the two fingers having the shape of a U and the other having the shape of an inverted U.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, in which: - Figure 1 illustrates, in plan view, the assembly end-toend of two gutter grids according to the invention; and - Figures 2 to 5 are sectional views respectively along the lines II-II to V-V in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows the adjacent end parts of two identical gutter grids 1A, IB of a rectangular general shape, each of which is formed by a cast iron member. These grids are intended to be laid on two support girders (not illustrated) located on either side of a gutter.

Each grid comprises on either side a lateral girder 2, and the two girders are connected at regular intervals, over the whole upper part of the grid, by transverse rails 3 which are also connected by a median girder 4. The elements 2 to 4 thus delimit a certain number of half windows 5 of rectangular general shape.

The right-hand end part (looking at Figure 1) of the lefthand grid 1A comprises a transverse end rail 6A connecting the two girders 2, and between this rail and the nearest rail 3, a resilient bar 7A which is connected to the single upper girder 2 (looking at Figure 1) and which extends transversely as far as a small distance from the other girder 2.

Looking at Figure 1, the rail 6A has, approximately a quarter of the way along its length from the upper girder 2, a finger 8A in the form of a U (Figure 2) projecting in the longitudinal direction. The outer or right-hand prong of this finger bears on its side which is the most remote from the rail 6A a flange forming a double cam and having, looking at Figure 2, an upper ramp 9A inclined downwards and outwards and a lower ramp 10A inclined downwards and inwards, that is to say towards the grid 1A.

Halfway along its length (Figures 4 and 5), the rail 6A has in its upper face a notch 11 whereof the outer face 12 is inclined downwards and outwards. Moreover, approximately three quarters of the way along its length, the rail 6A has another notch 13 made in its upper face.

As can be seen in Figures 1 and 3, the bar 7A has on its outer vertical face, that is to say facing the rail 6A, a double cam similar to that of the finger 8A, that is to say comprising an upper ramp 14A inclined downwards and outwards and a lower ramp 15A inclined downwards and inwards. This double cam, whereof the inclinations correspond to those of the double cam 9A, 10A, is located, in plan view (Figure 1), facing the notch 13.

As can be seen, the bar 7A can be deformed resiliently in the plane of Figure 1 within the window 16A of a rectangular general shape and delimited by the two girders 2, the rail 6A and the bar 7A. The amplitude of this deformation is limited by stops 17, 18 projecting respectively over the elements 6A and 7A. The elements bordering the window 16A protect the bar 7A on all sides against possible shocks.

The left-hand end part (looking at Figure 1) of the righthand grid IB comprises a transverse end rail 6B connecting the two girders 2, and, between this rail and the nearest rail 3, a resiliently deformable bar 7B which is connected to the single lower girder 2 (looking at Figure 1) and which extends transversely as far as a small distance from the other girder 2.

Looking at Figure 1, the rail 6B bears, approximately a quarter of the way along its length from the lower girder 2, a finger 8B in the form of an inverted U (Figure 3) projecting in the longitudinal direction. The outer or left-hand prong of this finger bears on its side furthest away from the rail 6B a flange forming a double cam and having, looking at Figure 3, an upper ramp 9B inclined downwards and outwards and a lower ramp 10B inclined downwards and inwards, that is to say towards the grid IB.

Halfway along its length (Figures 1 and 5), the rail 6B has, in its upper plane, a projection 19 oriented outwards and, above the latter, a surface 20 inclined in overhanging manner.

As can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, the bar 7B has on its outer vertical face, that is to say facing the rail 6B, a double cam similar to that of the finger 8B, that is to say comprising an upper ramp 14B inclined downwards and outwards and a lower ramp 15B inclined downwards and inwards.

Like the bar 7A, the bar 7B can be deformed resiliently in the plane of Figure 1, within a rectangular window 16B, and the rail 6B as well as the rail 3 adjacent to the bar 7B have projections limiting this displacement.

In order to describe the assembly of the two grids with one another, we shall suppose that the grid 1A is in position on its support girders. The grid IB is laid in its extension, so that the rail 6B is perpendicular to the hollow of the finger 8A and the hollow of the finger 8B is perpendicular to the rail 6A. The lower ramp 10B of the finger 8B thus comes into contact with the upper ramp 14A of the bar 7A, and simultaneously the lower ramp 15B of the bar 7B comes into contact with the upper ramp 9 A of the finger 8A.

By exerting a thrust or a shock downwards onto the rail 6B, the ramps 10B and 9A resiliently push back, by the cam effect, the free ends of the bars 7A and 7B, then the ends of the two fingers snap into one another, with contact on the one hand of the ramps 9B and 15A (Figure 3), and on the other hand of the ramps 10A and 14B (Figure 2). The two grids are then attached to one another.

In this position, the free end of the finger 8A is located in the common upper horizontal plane of the two grids (Figure 2), and the same applies to the intermediate part of the finger 8B owing to the presence of the notch 13 of the rail 6A, which receives it freely (Figure 3).

In order to remove the grid IB, introducing a bar downwards into the notch 12 and under the rail 6B and exerting a lever force is all that is required. The ramps 9B and 10A then push back, by the cam effect, the free ends of the bars 7 A and 7B, the latter subsequently returning to their rest position. It will be understood that this method of removal cannot happen accidentally.

It should be noted that when the grids are in position, small extensions 20 of the girders 2 projecting beyond the rails 6A and 6B are located almost in contact with one another, and the spacing between the two rails 6A and 6B is the same as that which separates the rail 6A or 6B from the respective bar 7A, 7B or the latter from the nearest rail 3. An effect of continuity of the grids anchored to one another is thus achieved.

It will also be noted that, owing to the inverted orientations of the Us of the two fingers 8A and 8B and to the presence of a single notch 13, it is impossible to instal a grid the wrong way round.

As a variant, in order to make the assembly of the grids more difficult to separate, the attachment ramps 10A, 14B (Figure 2) and 9B, 15A (Figure 3) can be replaced by horizontal surfaces.

Claims (11)

1. Connection means for joining two gulley members (1A, IB) placed side by side in a longitudinal direction and intended to be laid on a support structure, these connection means comprising a resiliently deformable bar (7A, 7B) which is integral with a first one of the members to be joined, and a finger (8A, 8B) which is integral with the other member and projects in the longitudinal direction over the latter, this finger having a flange (9A, 10A, 9B, 10B) which is adapted to snap in by cooperation with the resilient bar, characterized in that the resiliently deformable bar (7A, 7B) is housed in a window (16A, 16B) of the said first member.

2. Connection means according to Claim 1, characterized in that the resiliently deformable bar (7A, 7B) is located near one end of the first member.

3. Connection means according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the said bar (7A, 7B) is connected to the rest of the first member by one of its ends, the finger (8A, 8B) cooperating with the other end of this bar.

4. Connection means according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the said bar (7A, 7B) is oriented transversely with respect to the said longitudinal direction.

5. Connection means according to Claim 4, characterized in that the finger (8A) has the shape of a U and freely receives one end rail (6B) of the first piece in its snapped-in position.

6. Connection means according to Claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the finger (8B) has the shape of an inverted U and overlaps an end rail (6A) of the first member, by freely penetrating into a notch (13) of this rail, in its snapped-in position.

7. Connection means according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the flange (9A, 10A, 9B, 10B) of the finger (8A, 8B) and/or the bar (7A, 7B) have a double cam ramp.

8. Gulley member, characterized in that it has connection means 5 according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, having at one of its ends at least one resiliently deformable bar (7A, 7B) and, at the opposite end, at least one snap-in projecting finger (8A, 8B).

9. Gulley member according to Claim 8, characterized in that it has a window (16) at each end, the two resilient bars (7a, 7b) 10. Being oriented top-to-tail, one (8A) of the two fingers having the shape of a U and the other (8B) having the shape of an inverted U.

10. A connection means according to claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated 15 in the accompanying drawings.

11. A gulley member according to claim 8, substantially as hereinbefore described.