US2842892A - Termite control - Google Patents

Description

Y July 15, 1958 G. L ALDRiDGE :a1-m.v

'PERMITE CONTROL Fileauay 19,1955

` INVENToRs @eo/"ge .A/dr/'dge d' Lee E. Chambers Attorney TERMITE CoNTRoL George L. Aldridge and Lee E. Chambers, Virginia Beach, Va.

The present invention relates generally to structures and methods for permanently maintaining structures free of termites.

There exists a frequently employed type of dwelling construction in which a slab of concrete is laid on the ground, as a foundation for the dwelling, the slab being usually provided with footings at and about its edges. Termites may become established under the slab, and when cracks or openings develop in the slab these find their way into the dwelling. There is then no practical way of exterminating the termite colonies because there is no access under the slab.

In accordance with the present invention a plurality of liquid conduits is laid in a suitable pattern immediately under the slab, prior to laying the latter. The conduits have access exteriorly of the dwelling, so that lluid or gas suitable for the extermination of termites may be forced into the conduits. The conduits are also provided with a large number of openings, at spaced points along the conduits under the slab, so that the fluid or gas may saturate the ground under the slab.

Periodical utilization of the conduit structure to force suitable chemicals into the ground under the slab assures that no termite colonies may become established, or if they do, that they may be readily exterminated.

The structure and method is relatively inexpensive and easy to apply and utilize, and provides excellent protection against termite infestation, at low initial cost, and for little maintenance cost.

It is, accordingly, a broad object of the present invention to provide a novel system for preventing termite infestation in dwellings, and to terminate such infestation should it occur.

lt is a more specific object of the invention to provide a conduit system under a slab on which is constructed a dwelling, for conducting iiuid fatal to termites to a large number of points under the slab, from which the fluid may seep throughout the slab area, and saturate the ground thereunder.

The above and still further features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of a specific embodiment of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a View in plan of a layout of conduit under a dwelling, taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a view in section taken on the line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a view, partly in section, of a length duit such as employed in the system of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a View in section taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged view in section showing a detail of the system.

In Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, the reference numerals 1, 2, 3, 4 denote, respectively, crosssections, viewed in plan, taken through footings of a of con- United States Patnf ICC concrete slab construction building. A concrete slab 5 rests on the footings 1, 2, 3, 4, adjacent its edges, andv overlies elsewhere the ground 6.

Immediately under the slab 5 may be provided one or more layers 7 of moisture sealing material, of any desired type, and under the latter are laid one or more pipe assemblies, as 8, 9, 10, which are embedded in crushed rock, gravel, or coarse sand. The piping should be placed not more than l below the concrete and should lie horizontal.

Each pipe assembly includes manifolds 11, 12., which communicate exteriorly of the footings, as Z, via galvanzed or other non-corrosive female connections, 13, of the same size as the manifold, installed at charging points flush with the outside of the wall 2. These connections are plugged with a non-corrosive screw plug after the system has been charged, and all piping units are preferably charged simultaneously at the time of installation, and each three to five years thereafter. The latter timedepends on conditions individual to the specific situation, i. e. soil condition, chemical employed, evidence of infestation, and the like.

The units, as 8, taken for example only, generally include a pair of headers or manifolds 15, 16, which lie adjacent the footings, and are joined by laterals, as 17, 18, 19 In practice the separate units may each provide coverage for 280 to 40G square feet of area, which requires charging with a pump pumping 18 G. P. M. at 40 p. s. i. A pump of this character will provide adequate iluid to a 280 ft. unit, at full pressure, in l0 seconds, and to a 400 ft. unit in l5 seconds, approximately.

In order to insure adequate protection at the footings, the piping may extend vertically down, about and adjacent to all the footings, as at 20, for a depth almost equal to that of the footings, and all inside walls which extend down into the soil may be similarly treated, if the extension is greater than one foot.

The tubing employed is -1/2" copper tubing, but if desired the manifolds may be larger. The use of copper assures that the termite control system of the present invention will last as long as the building it is designed to protect.

To provide egress from the tubing for the protective liquid the tubing is drilled with 5%),2 holes 21 on 24 centers, so that one hole exists for each 8" of tubing. Of each set of three holes, one opens downwardly and the remaining two in opposite directions laterally (see Figure 3), and this arrangement is generally followed in respect to vertical tubes 20, the manifolds 66, however, being undrilled, so that pressure may be applied to the laterals or branches 17, 18, 19,

While we have described and illustrated one specic embodiment of the present invention it will be clear that variations of the specific details of construction may be resorted to Without departing from the true spirit of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

l. In the combination including a concrete slab adapted to support a building structure and a layer of relatively coarse material disposed on the ground surface portion beneath said slab and supporting said slab above said ground surface portion, said coarse material and ground surface portion being permeable to liquid insecticides, the improvement comprising a plurality of tubes provided with a header, said tubes having downward extensions depending therefrom, said header, tubes and extensions of said tubes being arranged and adapted to distribute liquid insecticide material through said coarse material and through the ground surface portion immediately under and supporting said coarse material.

2. The combination according to claim 1, further com- 3 prising foundation walls supporting said slab, said extensions being arranged adjacent and in spaced relation to the inner periphery of said foundation walls.

3. The combination in accordance with claim l, wherein said tubes are provided with apertures and are disposed a maximum of two inches below said slab, wherein some of said apertures are directed downwardly and other of said apertures are directed laterally in both directions, wherein adjacent ones of said Yapertures are separated by not more than two feet, wherein said tubes are parallel and wherein the spacing between said tubes, the diameters of said pipes and the size of said apertures when taken in conjunction with the pressure under which the liquid is applied are such that the entire area encompassed by said tubes and immediately under said slab is saturated with liquid.

4. The combination according to claim 3, wherein the spacing between said tubes is two feet, and the diameter of said tubes is one-half inch.

References Cited in the Ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 299,425 Schillinger May 27, 1884 728,088 Dillon May l2, 1903 1,422,831 Camp July 18, 1922 1,603,110 Horten Oct. 12, 1926 1,646,113 Lanza Oct. 18, 1927 5 1,795,488 Hill Mar. 10, 1931 2,059,095 Fellman Oct. 27, 1936 2,246,731 Hill June 24, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 10 255,019 Switzerland Jan. 3, 1949 OTHER REFERENCES C. A. Kofoid, A. C. Horner, M. Randall, W. B. Herms, and E. E. Bower Termites and Termite Control, page 421, published 1946 by University of California Press, Berkeley, Calif.

Termites and Termite Control, by S. F. Light, A. C. Horner, Merle Randall, W. B. Herms, and E. E. Bowe, page 505, published 1946 by University of Calif. Press, Berkeley, Calif.

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