US2160315A

US2160315A - Double-decked grating-paved street

Info

Publication number: US2160315A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1939-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 1956-05-30

Description

May 30, 1939- B. A; PRINCE I 2,160,315

DOUBLE-DECKED GRATING-PVED STREET Filed sept. 1'2, 193e 2 sheets-sheet 1 IIIllIlIIllllIllIllllIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllll llflllllllIIlIlllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!! l' I I ,l

May 30, 1939. l B., A. PRINCE 2,160,315

I DOUBLE-DECKED GRATING-PAVED STREET Filed Sept. 12, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f ATTORNEY Patented May 30, 1939 UNITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE DoUBLE-DECKED GRATING-PAVED STREET Burton A. Prince, Westfield, Mass., assigner to Walter E. Irving, Glenbrook, Conn.

Application September 12, 1936, Serial No. 100,436

11 Claims.

' ing the pavement Vof such main arteries of trac in smooth condition, and the cost and trouble of cleaning them, especially after a sudden accumulation of snow and ice, are well known. The inconvenience and expense of digging up underground pipes and removing and replacing ordinary forms of pavement are equally notorious as well as is the frequent occurrence of serious traic accidents caused bymotor cars skidding on the slippery and crowded roadways. Furthermore the delayscaused by congestion of the trafc have long been a serious `matter and an important object of my invention is to double the capacity of existingrights of way, Without the erection of unsightly elevated structures which would render heavy damages collectible from the city by abutting property owners.

vAll these di'iculties can be avoided by the use of the present invention which consists essentially in lowering the surface of the earth under the existing street level a sufficient distance, installing at the street grade an open mesh grating of special type adapted to form a non-skid road surface for the traflic and another grating roadway in the trench so formed at a depth sutcient to leave headroom for a second stream of motorized traino thereover, preferably Vleaving enough room under such lower grating to ensure automatic drainage and clearance during and after any ordinary snowfall and to permitfmen to workon the exposed or .buried pipes and sewage conduits, while providing proper drainage for the surface of the .ground beneath so that all Adirt and snow falling through said grating can be flushed into the storm sewers byv streams of water from the hydrants.

The type and weight of grating best vsuited for use with my present invention are illustrated and described in Patent No. 1,991,154., granted Feb. 12, 1935, to Walter E. Irving., said vpatent showing the broad idea of using an open mesh grating for .supporting the burden of motorized tra'lc as applied lto the special case of bridges.

The best type of construction at present known to me embodying my invention is illustrated in the accompanying two sheets of drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is `a cross section of a street construction showing my invention employed therein,

Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof with parts broken away. Y, Fig. 3*, is an Ienlarged detail plan showing the preferred form or type of grating mesh.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1, showing the lower roadway in plan lwith parts broken away, and a modified construction of trench walls.

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical rsection on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, parts being broken away, and

Fig. 6 is a detail section on a Vertical plane showing a modifiedform of protecting covering for certain electric cables.

Throughout the drawings like reference characters indicate like parts.

Referring to Figs. l and 2 Vlf have indicated at 0 I, I, the sidewalks and at 2, 2, the curbs therefor, as in an ordinary street construction, but with said curbs carried to any necessary depth, as indicated at 24, 24. A trench dug between said curbs is generally indicated at 3 as extending to a depth more than suicient to provide headway for a submerged line of traffic, and I'I indicates an open mesh grating supported over said trench by transversashallow, relatively light channel irons I6, I6, turned up on edge and resting on beams I5, I5 carried by widely spaced apart girders I4. Y

. 'I'hese girders, as shown, rest on ledges I9, I9, extending alongthe faces. of the trench side walls crete. In Fig. 1 these girders are shown as deep YI-beams and would be spaced apart a considerable distance which would be spanned by the plurality of lighter I-beams I5, the ends of the latter being supported by said girders I4, as by

angle plates

25, 25 which may be. riveted or bolted 4to the webfportions of both, as indicated at 2B, 2,6. These girders I4 may also besupported at points intermediate of their ends as by vertical members I0 which, as shown in Fig. 4,

may be VI-beams set on top of a wall r9, runningk n lengthwise of the trench bottom 4 and approxi-f mately along` the central line thereof. Preferably such wall is pierced by a plurality nof wide arches 21, as shown in Fig. 5, so as to afford free passage from oneV side of the trench bottom to the other for workmen and inspectors and free surface drainage from one edge to the other of said trench iioor.

The side faces of wall 9 and the lower side faces of

walls

24, 24, preferably should have ledges I3, I3, formed therein and on which channel beams I I, I I, may have their ends supported. The foregoing described structure, or some other equiv- 30 24, which usually would be constructed of con- Y alent therefor, supports the lower grating roadway l2. These channel beams may be heavier than those I6 supporting the upper grating i1 and may have wider flanges, as shown, to carry 5v` the weight of heavy trucks, in case the lower roadway is reserved for truck traffic, While only lighter vehicles are permitted on the upper road- Way I1.

The gratings I2 and I1, particularly the latter,

10 should have from 50% to 80% of their surplus Y areas left open, the remaining percentages of such surface areas consisting of the upper edges of the bars and strips forming said grating.

If desired a lling of cement 28 or other mastic strip immediately adjacent each curb 2 to catch small objects which pedestrians may drop while o1 We pna vvq aruba omini nq infini' LLUG @19111132 l5 911@ H' 9911109191121 @11G 191961. 91191.69 0l 9119111921199 ll 1111110116911 11G 1911190611 cmnm me isnm nella sim 2mb? 20 s2 m mum/m Van Hoffen Patent No. 1,629,134, and when repairs to the water pipes, gas pipes and sewers are needed sections or panels of the lower deck 12 may be taken out by loosening and removing bolts connecting adjacent original panels or sections, 5 or in the case of smaller openings they can be made by burning or chiseling out the rivets and cutting the grating bars and strips so as to remove an area of any desired size which can be replaced and re-riveted in position after repairs to pipes 10 or sewers have been completed.

Also, either or both gratings I2 and I1 may have a hinged trap door formed therein, as indicated at 30 in Fig. 4, perhaps one for each city block. 15

The depth of the trench below the lower grating should be suicient to accommodate nearly all of the average winter snowfall in the neighborhood. The figures on such snowfall can always.

voor we time mi niet anni @sin 9111912 0i, ipe smet@ minier anemie nl we neitppoiins aponiq pe minoren; ro sccommoqes neemt su ps qebpp o; pps piencp pelom ipe 1011161. tmpplOGK' IQ cssq er 3g in mit' s bsipsbz one roi. @scp @nl a J i \a p vpgvlieq p91) gooi 11111111011111116111 s? 111111 some of the fresh air in front'of-A them down throughthe upper grating into the trench while sucking in behind them, upwards through such upper grating, volumes of air from the trench in- ,terion This last described action Aof rapidly moving cars Von bridges built in accord-ance wit-h the invention of the before mentioned Irving Pat-ent 1,991,154A has been found most effective in Adrying the gratings after any wetting thereof, and in keeping them dry and clean between rains, thus preserving them from rusting and rendering repainting .largely unnecessary. My invention would perform those useful functions also by virtue of its automatic Ventilating action above pointed Aout quite as effectively as have the other bridge deckings now and for some time in daily use.

Various modiiications in details of construction, other than those hereinbefore suggested, could be made in special cases without departing from the underlying principles of my invention as hereinbefore explained, and hereinafter pointed out in the appended claims, so long as a selfdraining storage space is provided for average snow accumulations below an open mesh grating serving as a street pavement.

A pavement composed of perforated plates would not serve the more important purposes and objects of my invention since free spaces for expansion and contraction would have to be left between the loosely fastened abutting ends of such relatively short plates, and such plate ends would soon be rendered still looser under the impact of traffic and begin jumping up and down under the rapidly moving cars. Also the percentage of area of open spaces through such plates could not be made large enough to render their surfaces self-cleaning and non-skid in character as are grating roadways formed of narrow strips set on edge as herein described. The absence of non-skid action in any road surface formed of discontinuous plate-like surfaces has been proven by the experience with a bridge decking formed of spaced-apart, horizontally extending, tongues of plate metal. After a short period of use it was found necessary to give such decking at least a little non-skid character by welding little knobs of metal on the upper surface of every such horizontally extending tongue, and subsequent designs of that type and included a similar hump or projection formed integral with the upper surface of each such tongue.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1, A highway structure particularly adapted for motorized traffic and adapted to effect automatic removal of falling snow from the path thereof comprising the combination of a foundation therefor including a trench of relatively large cross section extending lengthwise below the surface of such highway and provided with a waterproof bottom surface, together with means for draining the same, and an open mesh grating, the open spaces in which have an aggregate area exceeding fifty percent. of its total area, supported over said trench at the proper level for accommodating said traffic and serving as a selfcleaning screen forming the surface of a major portion of such highway affording open passage through the same for light and air to the lower level and for rain and snow to the drain below, together with a second grating supported in said trench at a distance from the bottom thereof sufficient to allow room for men working beneath it and at a distance below said first mentioned grating sufficient. to afford room for motorized 'trailic thereon.. Y 1

2. A struct-ure such as defined in claim l combined with paved sidewalks properly Curbed and extending along either side of such highway, and in which :sa-id trenchv and upper grating extend from one :of suchcurbs .to the other.

3. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said :gratingsare formed of a plurality of metal strips all vset on edge with their upper surfaces .all .lying in `substantially 'one and the same plane, and `many of their lower edges supported .along spaced-apart lines, said strips being held together at all points of contact one with another withzsufhcient rigidity to. form a unitary structure presenting a reticulated upper surface serving as a roadway for the traffic.

4. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said gratings are formed of a plurality of metal strips all set on edge with their upper surfaces all lying in substantially one and the same plane, and many of their lower edges supported along spao-ed-apart lines, said strips being held together at all points of contact one with another with sufficient rigidity to form a unitary structure presenting a reticulated upper surface serving as a roadway for the traflic; said metal strips being of two classes, the members of one of which classes are straight bars of uniform depth extending parallel to the line of such traiiic, while the members of the second class are bent into wave-like form and are interspersed between said straight bars.

5. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said gratings are formed of a plurality of metal strips all set on edge with their upper surfaces all lying substantially in one and the same plane and many of their lower edges supported along spaced-apart lines said strips being held together at all points of contact one with another with sufficient rigidity to form a unitary structure presenting a reticulated upper surface serving as a roadway for the traffic, said grating being in the form of continuous, structurally integral sections extending from curb to curb and from one expansion joint to another substantially remote expansion joint.

6. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which the entire exposed bottom surface of said trench is slightly inclined downward toward one side, whereby storm sewer openings need only be provided along that side.

'7. A combination such as defined in claim l in which said trench has concrete side walls and the supports for said lower grating comprise a third wall extending along substantially the medial line of said trench and ledges formed on the inner surfaces of all said walls, together with a plurality of spaced-apart beams extending transversely of said trench and having their ends resting on said ledges.

8. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said trench has concrete side walls Aand the supports for said lower grating comprise a wall extending substantially along the medial line of said trench and ledges formed on the inner surfaces of all said walls, while the supports for said upper grating comprise vertically extending metal uprights set on said center wall.

9. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said upper grating has a greater percentage of open mesh space than said lower grating and the supporting structure for said upper grating comprises a plurality of transversely extending, parallel, narrow sills set about fteen inches apart on which said grating may rest directly with the straight bars thereof extending lengthwise of the roadway; whereby a grating of sufficient lightness and openness to permit oommercial fabrication and ensure free air circulation may be used, but still support the heavy wheel loadings of modern motor trucks.

l0. A structure designed for use in a city str-eet and adapted to eiect automatic removal of falling snow from the surface thereof comprising in combination an open mesh grating forming a major portion of a self-cleaning street surface reserved for vehicular traffic and giving light and ventilation to a relatively deep and wide trench located beneath said grating, a secy trench and having a plurality of relatively large openings therein to afford passage therethrough for such Workmen.

BURTON A. PRINCE.