Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L1/00—Laying or reclaiming pipes; Repairing or joining pipes on or under water
  • F16L1/024—Laying or reclaiming pipes on land, e.g. above the ground
  • F16L1/06—Accessories therefor, e.g. anchors
  • F16L1/11—Accessories therefor, e.g. anchors for the detection or protection of pipes in the ground
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L9/00—Rigid pipes
  • F16L9/12—Rigid pipes of plastics with or without reinforcement
  • F16L9/125—Rigid pipes of plastics with or without reinforcement electrically conducting
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02G—INSTALLATION OF ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES, OR OF COMBINED OPTICAL AND ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES
  • H02G9/00—Installations of electric cables or lines in or on the ground or water
  • H02G9/02—Installations of electric cables or lines in or on the ground or water laid directly in or on the ground, river-bed or sea-bottom; Coverings therefor, e.g. tile
  • H02G9/025—Coverings therefor, e.g. tile
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10S116/00—Signals and indicators
  • Y10S116/14—Tapes as carriers

Definitions

• This invention relates to facilitating determining the presence and location of lines or elements of construction disposed beneath the surface of earth soils in order to avoid damaging said lines or elements of construction when subsequently excavating or digging into the earth.
• My invention results in a practical, effective and economical solution to the problem discussed above.
• a frangible, flexible metal foil in the form of a sheet or tape, carrying a color to contrast with the color of the earth soil adjacent the lines or elements of construction so that said colors are readily visually distinguishable from each other, and wherein said metal foil is protected against moisture and oxidation or other deterioration when buried in the earth soil, can effectively be utilized and its presence and general location can readily be determined by means of conventional types of electronic or like metal detection devices operating from the surface of the earth.
• the presence and general location of the metal foil sheet or tape and, hence, the presence and location of the nonmetallic line or element of construction can be ascertained, and the operator of the digging or excavation equipment forewarned.
• Various detectors which can be used are, for instance, the detector sold under the trade designation P-4'40 Metrotech Pipe and Cable Locator and the 220-A Metrotech Valve Box Locator, or a standard Dipping Needle.
• Equipment of such and other types operate, above the surface of the earth, on inductive and conductive principles to provide strong signals indicating the presence and general location of metallic lines beneath the surface of the earth.
• the present invention finds its greatest utility, as has been indicated above, in those environments where the lines or elements of construction which may be sought to be located are made of nonmetallic materials.
• metal foils can be utilized the presence and location of which can be determined by electronic or like detecting devices, as, for instance, copper foil, aluminum foil, nickel foil and so-called tin foil
• the thickness of the metal foil is somewhat variable but, in general, it is desirable to use a foil having a thickness in the range of about 0.0005 to about 0.004 inch, excellent an approximately 0.001 to 0.002 inch thick foil made by further cold rolling a conventional tin-coated mill gauge cold rolled steel.
• the steel foil should not be annealed since annealing tends to adversely affect the fully designed flexibility of the steel foil.
• the metal foil and particularly the steel foil, be protected against moisture and oxidation or other attack and also that it be provided with a coloring which contrasts with the color of the earth soil surrounding or adjacent to the buried lines or elements of construction.
• the steel foil for instance, can be painted on at least one side and, better still, on both sides with a long-lasting moistureand oxidation-resistant polyester paint.
• the resulting painted foil can be imprinted with any desired indicia such as, for instance, are now commercially used on polyethylene tapes employed in the manner disclosed pursuant to the teachings of the aforementioned patents.
• the oil coating does not interfere with the proper adherence of paint or other coatings to the steel foil.
• the oil level should not exceed about 1 gram per base box.
• the oil coating interferes with the application and adherence of the paint or synthetic plastic coating, it should be removed by washing and then drying.
• the painted metal foil, imprinted or not is then advantageously coated or covered on at least one side and, better still, on both sides, by extrusion, laminating or other coating techniques, with a thin film, for instance, of a thickness of about 0.0005 to 0.003 inch, especially about 0.001 inch, of a substantially transparent plastic which is resistant to deterioration in contact with moisture and other material present in the earth soil, polyethylene being particularly desirable.
• the polyethylene or like plastic film serves as a further protectant of the steel foil and it also serves as a protectant for the paint, when applied over the paint, against any possible deterioration or breakdown thereof when disposed in contact with the earth soil.
• No novelty is claimed in the compositions of the paints, numerous formulations being available for this purpose.
• paints as used herein and in the claims, is intended to cover coating compositions broadly which are colored with pigments or dyes, as the case may be, and encompasses not only paints proper but, also, lacquers, varnishes and similar coating compositions.
• An illustrative coating which has been found to be very satisfactory is a thermosetting vinyl coating sold under the designation S-2770 (Mobil Chemical Company) which can be obtained in various colors.
• the metal foil inherently has a coloration which would contrast with the color of surrounding or adjacent earth soil in which it would be embedded, then the application of a separate coloration thereto is not necessary. However, in the usual case, it Will be found to be desirable actually to provide a coloration to the metal foil through the medium of a paint or a colored plastic film, as described herein. In any event, the term coloring is used generically, except as may otherwise specifically be stated, to encompass the color of the metal foil where it contrasts with earth soil so as to be readily visually distinguishable therefrom.
• the metal foil can be coated on both sides or encased in a colored or pigmented synthetic plastic of any desired color, for instance, yellow, red, orange or green, for instance, a film, of the thickness set forth above, of polyethylene or polypropylene, and then said plastic film may be imprinted if desired.
• a film of colored polyethylene or polypropylene, having a thickness of the order of about 0.001 to 0.002 inch can initially be imprinted and then laminated onto opposite sides of a steel foil of a thickness of the order of 0.001 to 0.002 inch. Where laminating procedures are used, such should be done employing a laminating adhesive, of which many are available commercially.
• a particularly satisfactory polyethylene for use in the adhesive laminating procedure is that sold commercially under the trade designation DA-3208 (Union Carbide Corporation).
• Particularly satisfactory polyethylenes for use in the extrusion or hot plastic procedure are those sold under the trade designations Copolymer DQDA 2300 (Union Carbide Corporation) and ZETAFIN Copolymer QX-3623-17 (Dow Chemical Company).
• Other synthetic plastics and protective cOatings which are resistant to moisture and deterioration in earth soils can, of course, be used, among which may be mentioned polyvinylidene chloride (Saran), polyvinyl chloride, cellulose acetatebutyrate, polystyrene; and acrylonitrile, for instance, that sold under the trade designation 508331 Film No. 203- 33436-14 (Vistron Corporation); and glassy or ceramic type coatings.
• the metal foil product described above in the form of sheets or tapes, is applied in the same manner and utilizing the principles disclosed in the aforementioned patents.
• variable widths of the metal foil product can be used, these generally ranging from about 3 inches in width to a foot or more in width.
• the metal foil product may be buried from 4 to 12 or more inches to several feet beneath the surface of the earth and at an appropriate height above the lines or elements of construction, as described, for instance, in the aforementioned U.S. patents.
• the metal foil product After the metal foil product is installed in position overlying the lines or elements of construction and the trench or excavation backfilled, if, for any reason, it is necessary thereafter to dig into the earth, say to reach the line or elements of construction, their presence and general location can first be ascertained very simply by means of known types of electronic or like metal detection devices. Then, the digging or excavation can be begun and the colored metal foil product will function in accordance with the same broad principles disclosed in the aforementioned patents. It may also be noted that, although the presence and general location of the colored metal foil products can and advantageously is first ascertained by electronic or like detection devices, it is not necessary that this be done because the installation affords the dual purposes of detectability and also the protective function following the principles of said aforementioned patents Where electronic detectability is not utilized.
• frangible, tearable and rupturable are used interchangeably herein and in the claims to mean that the strength of the metal foil is such that, in conventional digging into the soil, in conection, for instance, with excavating, laying lines or elements of constructions or curing into the earth for any other reasons, by means of mechanical or similar digging or excavating equipment, such as backhoes and trenchers, if the metal foil is struck and pulled up by such equipment, the teeth or the like on such equipment will shear, sever or break the metal foil and said foil will be ripped from the earth and be pulled loose for several feet along its length.
• lines and elements of construction are used herein in the same sense in which they have been as set forth in the aforementioned US. Patents Nos. 3,282,057 and 3,115,- 861, respectively.
• a method of facilitating the determination of the presence and the location of an element of construction disposed beneath the surface of the earth which includes the steps of digging a trench in the earth, providing an element of construction therein, placing a frangible colored body in said trench and overlying said element of construction and in which said frangible body has a coloring thereon which contrasts with the color of the surrounding earth soil, the improvement in which said frangible colored body comprises a sheet or tape of a flexible metal foil having a thickness in the range of about 0.0005 to about 0.004 inch and carrying an adherent moistureand soilresistant coating on at least one surface thereof.
• a method according to claim 2 wherein an elongated trench is first excavated, the line is placed longitudinally along and within said trench, the trench is partially backfilled, the tearable or rupturable sheet or tape is placed in said trench and overlying said line, and then completing the backfilling operation.
• metal foil is a non-annealed steel foil having a thickness of about 0.001 to 0.002 inch.
• the said coating comprises a pigmented paint which, in turn, is coated with a substantially transparent polyethylene.
• said frangible body having a coloring thereon which contrasts with the color of the surrounding earth soil
• said readily frangible colored body comprises a sheet or tape of flexible metal foil having a thickness in the range of about 0.0005 to about 0.004 inch and carrying an adherent moistureand soil-resistant coating on at least one surface thereof.
• a tearable or rupturable indicating sheet or tape bearing a coloring thereon which contrasts with the color of the surrounding earth soil, the improvement in which the said sheet or tape is made of a flexible metal foil having a thickness in the range of about 0.0005 to about 0.004 inch and carrying an adherent moistureand soil-resistant coating on both surfaces thereof.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Geophysics And Detection Of Objects (AREA)
• Laminated Bodies (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=24669197

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (16)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (8)

• 1967
  • 1967-09-05 US US665214A patent/US3504503A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1968
  • 1968-08-23 IL IL30615A patent/IL30615A/en unknown
  • 1968-08-28 DE DE19681775603 patent/DE1775603A1/de active Pending
  • 1968-08-29 FR FR1578604D patent/FR1578604A/fr not_active Expired
  • 1968-08-30 GB GB41547/68A patent/GB1220166A/en not_active Expired
  • 1968-08-30 BE BE720179D patent/BE720179A/xx unknown
  • 1968-09-04 NL NL6812573A patent/NL6812573A/xx unknown
  • 1968-09-04 SE SE11882/68A patent/SE347782B/xx unknown
  • 1968-09-05 DK DK425168AA patent/DK128589B/da unknown

Patent Citations (8)

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