WO2004029376A1

WO2004029376A1 - A gully trap filter

Info

Publication number: WO2004029376A1
Application number: PCT/AU2003/001290
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert John May; William Neil Mcintosh
Original assignee: Robert John May; William Neil Mcintosh
Priority date: 2002-09-30
Filing date: 2003-09-30
Publication date: 2004-04-08
Also published as: AU2002951840A0; NZ539719A

Abstract

A gully trap filter for a roadside gully trap, said gully trap filter comprising a filter base to capture debris from stormwater; and at least one lid covering an opening leading to the filter base, the lid being pivotally movable between a open position and a closed position; wherein the lid is biased toward the closed position.

Description

TITLE "A GULLY TRAP FILTER" FIELD OF THE INVENTION THIS INVENTION relates to a gully trap filter for a roadside gully trap.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Roadside gully traps are used in conjunction with roadside guttering to transport stormwater through stormwater drains into waterways. A problem with the transportation of stormwater is that often the stormwater contains debris that is harmful to the environment if it is allowed to pass into associated waterways. Often, more than fifty stormwater gully traps flow into a single stormwater drain greatly concentrating the debris that passes into the waterway at a single location.

Accordingly, most government bodies around the world ensure that before the stormwater passes into an ocean or river, the debris is removed from the stormwater. The debris is normally removed by covering the end of the stormwater drain with a large mesh filter. The debris is captured by the filter and is removed periodically.

One problem with this filter is that it cannot be easily removed from the stormwater drain and cannot be easily emptied without physically removing the debris by hand from the filter. As the debris often includes hazardous waste, the process of removing the debris is time consuming and dangerous. A further disadvantage with the large mesh filter is that the filter is expensive to manufacture. Also, as the filter contains debris from a large number of gully traps, if the filter breaks then all of the debris from all of the gully traps is expelled into the waterway.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to overcome or alleviate one or more of the above disadvantages or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form, yet it need not be the broadest or only form, the invention resides in a gully trap filter for a roadside gully trap, said gully trap filter comprising: a filter base to capture debris from stormwater; and at least one lid covering an opening leading to the filter base, the lid being pivotally movable between a open position and a closed position; wherein the lid is biased toward the closed position.

At least one door may form part of the filter base. The door may be movable from an open to a closed position. The door may be pivotally mounted. Normally there are two doors.

A lever may lock the door in a closed position. A single lever may be used to lock two doors in a closed position.

The lid may be positioned within a cover. The cover may be removably mounted to the filter base. There may be several lids located within the cover.

Each lid may include at least one flap. A weight may be located adjacent one end of the flap to bias the flap in the closed position. The flap may be pivotally mounted so that the length of flap from a pivot to an end of the flap that has the weight is shorter than the length of flap from the pivot to an end of the flap that does not have the weight. The gully trap filter may include locating members to remove and replace the gully trap filter from a gully trap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gully trap filter according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the gully trap filter according to FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a gully trap filter according to FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is side view of a gully trap filter according to FIG. 1 ; FIG. 5 is a front view of a gully trap filter with a closed base according to FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a gully trap filter with an open base according to FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 7 is a top view of an alternative embodiment of a lid of a gully trap filter in a closed position;

FIG. 8 is a front view of an alternative embodiment of a lid of a gully trap filter in an open position;

FIG. 9 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of a lid of a gully trap filter in an open position; and FIG. 10 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of a lid of a gully trap filter in a closed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFFERED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1 to 6 show a perspective view of a gully trap filter 10 comprising a filter base 20 having a removable cover 30.

The filter base 20 comprises a frame 21 formed by side frame members 22, top frame members 23 and bottom frame members 24. A mesh 25 extends between the side frame members 22, top frame members 23 and the bottom frame members 24. A bottom of the filter base 20 is formed from a pair of pivotally mounted doors 26 and 27. The doors 26 and 27 are pivotally movable between an open position, in which debris falls from the filter base 20, and a closed position where debris is captured by the filter base 20.

The doors 26 and 27 are pivotally mounted to the bottom frame members 24 adjacent ends of the gully trap filter 10. The doors 26 and 27 meet adjacent the middle of the bottom of the filter base 20 and are held in this closed position by a lock 40.

The lock 40 is formed from a rectangular, elongate tube 41 that extends the width of the gully trap filter 10. The tube 41 is rotatably mounted to the bottom frame members 24 such that the doors 26 and 27 contact the tube 41 when the tube 41 is diagonally orientated.

A lever 42 is attached to one end of the tube 41 to rotate the tube 41. The rotation of the tube 41 allows the doors 26 and 27 to be moved from a closed position to an open position and visa-versa. A ring 43 is pivotally mounted to a side frame member 22 and allows the lever 42 to be secured in a locked position.

The cover 30 is formed from a top plate 31 in which two lids 32 are formed within two associated openings 33. The openings 33 allow stormwater and associated debris to pass into the filter base 20. The cover is removably mounted to the top frame members 23.

Each lid 32 is formed from a flap 34 that has a weight 35 mounted to one end of flap 34. The flaps 34 are pivotally mounted to the top plate 31 such that the length of flap 34 from a pivot 36 to an end of the flap 34 that has the weight 35 is shorter than the length of flap 34 from the pivot 36 to an end of the flap that does not have the weight 35. The flaps 34 are movable between a closed position and an open position. The flaps 34 are arranged so that there is a small gap 33A formed in the opening 33 when the flap is in the closed position. Lugs 50 extend from the top frame members 23 to allow the gully trap filter 10 to be installed and removed from the gully trap using a mechanical device such as a crane.

In use, the gully trap filter 10 is installed within a gully trap. Any water and/or debris that flows through the gully trap flows onto the flaps 34 and continues to flow down into the filter base 20. The water flows through the mesh 25 and any debris located within the water is trapped by the mesh

25 and is contained within the filter base 20.

When the flow of water into the gully trap is low, the gap that is formed in the opening 33 by the flap 34 allows the water and any debris to pass into the filter basket 20. When the flow of water increases, the flap 34 pivots increasing the size of the gap 33A to allow more water to pass into the filter basket 20. If the flow of water is so substantial that the filter basket fills with water, then the flap 34 moves to a closed position due to the combination of the water pressure on the underside of the flap 24 and the weight 35 biasing the flap toward the closed position. Any subsequent water that flows through the gully trap then contacts the closed flap 34 and passes over the flap 34 directly into a bottom of the gully trap. In this manner, there is a built-in overflow control. Periodically, the gully trap filter 10 is taken from the gully trap to remove collected debris from the filter base 20. Once the gully trap filter 10 has been removed from the gully trap using the lugs 50, the doors 26 and 27 are then opened. The doors are opened rotating the ring 43 covering the lever 42 toward the cover 30. This allows the lever 42 to be able to be moved. The lever 42 is moved rotationally in a clockwise direction to cause subsequent rotation of the tube 41. This causes one door 26 to move from the closed position to the open position. The lever is then moved rotationally in an anti-clockwise direction to cause the other door 27 to be released. The debris is thus able to fall from the filter base 20 with a user needing to physically remove the debris by hand.

FIGS. 7 to 10 show an alternative embodiment of a lid for the cover. It should be appreciated that there may be one or more lids in any of the embodiments and two lids have been used for illustrative purposes only.

The lid 32A in this embodiment includes two flaps 34A and 34B that have two corresponding weights associated with each of the flaps 34A and 34B. Each flap is pivotally mounted on the same pivot 36. However, the flaps 34A and 34B pivot in opposing directions as shown clearly in FIGS. 9 and 10. This type of lid 32A is used when water is to flow into a gully trap from two different directions. The two flaps 34A and 34B allow for the controlled flow of water into the filter base from opposing directions.

It should be appreciated that by having individual gully trap filters located within individual gully traps, specific areas that generate substantial debris can be targeted.

Further, if one of the gully trap filters fail, then only the debris passing into that gully trap will pass into the waterway not all of the debris from all gully traps.

It will be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A gully trap filter for a roadside gully trap, said gully trap filter comprising: a filter base to capture debris from stormwater; and at least one lid covering an opening leading to the filter base, the lid being pivotally movable between a open position and a closed position; wherein the lid is biased toward the closed position.

2. The gully trap filter of claim 1 wherein at least one door forms part of the filter base.

3. The gully trap filter of claim 2 wherein the door is pivotally movable from an open to a closed position.

4. The gully trap filter of claim 2 wherein there are two doors.

5. The gully trap filter of claim 2 wherein a lever locks the door in a closed position.

6. The gully trap filter of claim 2 wherein a single lever is used to lock two doors in a closed position.

7. The gully trap filter of claim 1 wherein the lid is positioned within a cover.

8. The gully trap filter of claim 7 wherein the cover is removably mounted to the filter base.

9. The gully reap filter of claim 7 wherein there are a plurality of lids located within the cover.

10. The gully trap filter of claim 1 wherein each lid includes at least one flap.

11. The gully trap filter of claim 10 wherein a weight is located adjacent one end of the flap to bias the flap toward the closed position.

12. The gully trap filter of claim 11 wherein the flap is pivotally mounted so that the length of flap from a pivot to an end of the flap that has the weight is shorter than the length of flap from the pivot to an end of the flap that does not have the weight.

13. The gully trap filter of claim 1 wherein further including locating members.