US1149736A - Culvert. - Google Patents

Description

A. W. CROTSLY & W. M. SAWYER.

CULVERT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21. m4.

1,149,736. Patented Aug. 10,1915.

COLUMBIA PLANoukAPl-l 20., WAsHlNG'r'oN. D. c.

UNITED STATES r rnur OFFICE. I

ASHEL W. CROTSLY AND WILL M. SAWYER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CULVERT.-

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

Application filed February 21, 1914;-- Serial No. 820,339.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, AsHEL IV. CRo'rsLY and WILL M. SAWYER, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Culverts, of which the following is a specifica tion.

This invention relates in general to culvertsor pipes adaptedfor use as drains, well curbing and flume work and has more particular reference to corrugated metal culverts formed in sections adapted to be nested together for shipment and to be assembled before or after beinglaid on the ground.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide a culvert of this general construction which can be quickly and easily assembled by unskilled labor Without the use of tools or implements of any kind and which, when assembled, will be securely locked together to provide a strong, rigid construction which will be durable and service-able.

Another object of the invention. is to provide improved means, for connecting the opposed edges of the complementary sections so that they will be retained against relative lateral displacement and which will be of such construction and character that the sections can be readily engaged therewith and moved longitudinally thereof, if desired, so that the fastening means may be brought into registration.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the invention will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, throughout the various views'of which like reference characters indicate similar parts. 7 7

Referring to the drawings, Figure is a side elevation partially in section of a culvert embodying our invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view of one of the connecting elements.

It will be observed that each section 4 of the culvert is formed ofcorrugated metal having the corrugations extending transversely thereof. These sections are preferably semi-circular in shape and may be of any convenient or desired length, the varioussections being alike in construction and adapted to nest one within the other for storage and shipmentpurposes. When the parts are assembled one section is inverted over theiother to form a substantially cylindricalf'construction, as disclosed in Fig. 2. Forthe' purpose of holding the opposed edges of the complementary section's against relative lateral displacement we prefer to employ substantially H-shaped members 5 which provide oppositely disposed channels 6 and 7 having substantially straight and parallel Walls, While these members may be constructed in any suitable manner we prefer to utilize for convenience in manufacture a pair of channel members which are placed back to back and spot-welded or riveted together to produce a member similar to those shown in Fig. 3. The side walls of these members are spaced apart to receivethe opposed edges of the sections 4 between them, the distance between the walls being substantially equal to the depth of the corrugations in the sections so that the walls embrace the convex portions of the corrugations only both on the inside and outside of the assembled culvert. This construction of the connecting members permits the sev-' eral parts of the culvert to be readily assembled. It will be apparent that these connecting members serve to hold the opposed edges of the culvert sections against relative lateral displacement but that either or both sections may be moved longitudinally with respect to the other or with re- 7 spect to the connecting member without being disengaged therefrom, In other words, the H-shaped members are not designed to hold the sections against longitudinal movement but are adapted to receive the edges of the opposed sections irrespective of the alinement of the corrugations on "said sections, thereby producing a construction which can be assembled with considerable rapidity and ease.

For the purpose of locking the sections and the connecting members together so that the culvert may be assembled and then subsequentlyrolled into the ditch or other position where it is to be laid, we have provided locking means which automatically lock the parts togethenas' they are assembled, thereby obviating theuse of special tools of any form and in fact obviatingthe use of any tools whatsoever in the assembling of the culvert. The locldng means, as

shown in Figs. 1 and 2, comprise hook tongues 8 riveted at intervals to each section adjacent one edge thereof and corresponding eye members 9 riveted to each section adjacent the opposite edges thereof; Each section is therefore provided on one edge with a plurality of hooks and along its other edge with a corresponding number of eyes, and these hooks and eyes are so located that a hook will register with each eye when the sections are assembled in culvert form. The hook tongues and the eye members are so fastened to the sections that the free ends thereof having the hooks 12 and eyes 11 will stand out from the sections slightly to enable them to be readily engaged in the operation of assembling the sections. When two of the culvert sections are positioned in assembled relation the hooks 12 on each section enter the eyes 11 on the opposite section, and the resiliency of the metal causes each hook to spring outwardly into engagement with the end of its corresponding eye to thereby automatically lock the sections together. It will be obvious therefore that the operation of assembling our improved culvert consists merely in placing the connecting members 5 upon the upwardly projecting edges of one of the sections lying on the ground and then placing another section upon the first section so that its edges enter between the walls of the connecting .members and the hooks and eyes are alined with the corresponding eyes and hooks of the other section whereupon downward pressure exerted upon the upper section will cause the hook and eye fasteners to snap into mutual engagement and be automatically interlocked.

In practice one end of each section is slightly smaller than the opposite end so that the successive sections can be fitted together end to end as shown in Fig. 1. In this figure reference character 13 indicates the smaller end of one section and reference character 141 the larger end of the succeeding section, which overlaps the smaller end, as shown. The connecting elements 5 are preferably disposed to break joints with the culvert sections, one joint 15 being shown in Fig. 1 as disposed midway between successive joints of the culvert sections.

It will be manifest that the culvert sections and the connecting elements may be made of any desired length and size, that the number of fastening devices employed may vary as occasion requires and that the structure of the fastening devices and of the details disclosed may be considerably varied within the scope of our invention as set forth in the following claims.

7 We claim:

1. A sheet metal culvert comprising duplicate sheet metal semi-tubular body members having their edges free from flanges, a sheet metal edge-retainer for each pair of opposed edges of the body members, said edge-retainer including a pair of sheet metal channels disposed back to back, one of said channels being adapted to embrace an edge of one of the body members and the other channel being adapted to embrace the opposed edge of the other body member, and a plurality of sheet metal snap fasteners secured on the exteriors of the body members, each pair of engaged fasteners bridging the joint between the edges of the body when a pair of body members are assembled.

2. A sheet metal culvert comprising duplicate sheet metal semi-tubular body members having their edges free from flanges, an edge-retainer for each pair of opposed edges of the body members, said edge-retainer comprising a pair of channel-shaped members, each channel-shaped member consisting of a single strip of sheet metal bent to substantially U-shape of a width approximating that of an edge of a body member to embrace one of said edges, the channelshaped members v being disposed back to back in abutting relation and fastened together against relative movement, the combined base portions of the channel members constituting a filler between opposed edges of the body members, and a plurality of sheet metal snap fasteners secured on the exteriors of the body members, each pair of engaged fasteners bridging the joint between the edges of the body when a pair of body members are assembled. I

3. A sheet metal culvert comprising duplicate sheet metal semi-tubular body members having their edges free from flanges, an ed ge-retainer for each pair of opposed edges of the body members, said edge-retainer comprising a pair of channel-shaped members, each channel-shaped member consisting of a single strip of sheet metal bent to substantially U-shape of a width approximating that of an edge of a body member to embrace one of said edges, the channelshaped members being disposed back to back in abutting relation and fastened together against relative movement, the combined base portions of the channel members constituting a filler between opposed edges of the body members.

. ASHEL W. CROTSLY. WILL SAWYER.

Witnesses:

WM. 0. BELT, FRANKLIN M. WARDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addres'si ng the Commissionerof Patents,

I Washington, D. 0.? I

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