OFFSET TRENCHING METHODS AND APPARATUS, AND VOID RESTORATION METHODS, APPARATUS AND MATERIALS IN CONNECTION WITH SAME
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- A) forming a trench along an inner face of a street curb, wherein;
the street curb has an exposed top face, a buried bottom face, and a partially exposed outer face adjacent to and abutting a road surface;
at least a portion of the inner face of the street curb, prior to A), is adjacent to and abutting a sidewalk material;
the exposed top face of the street curb defines an x-y plane of a reference coordinate system, wherein a y-axis of a coordinate system is essentially normal to the outer face and the inner face of the street curb, an x-axis is essentially parallel to the outer face and the inner face of the street curb, and a z-axis is normal to the x-y plane; and
the trench is formed in A) such that the trench includes a first vertical sidewall substantially constituted by the inner face of the street curb and a second vertical sidewall constituted at least in part by the sidewalk material.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for forming a trench alongside a vehicle (for burying fiber optic cables, electrical conductors, and conduits). A cutting blade is coupled to the vehicle via an offset arm. As the vehicle is advanced along a road, the cutting blade is laterally offset from the vehicle and positioned so as to cut a narrow (e.g., 0.5-1.5 inches) and deep (e.g., 10-12 inches) trench alongside the vehicle (e.g., at the inner face of the street curb between the curb and a sidewalk abutting the curb). The offset arm includes one or more mechanical joints to facilitate adjustment of one or more of a lateral offset distance between the vehicle and the blade, a vertical offset distance between a blade housing and a road surface, and rotation of the blade housing around at least two axes to facilitate appropriate positioning of the cutting blade with respect to the vehicle.
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Citations
84 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
A) forming a trench along an inner face of a street curb, wherein; the street curb has an exposed top face, a buried bottom face, and a partially exposed outer face adjacent to and abutting a road surface; at least a portion of the inner face of the street curb, prior to A), is adjacent to and abutting a sidewalk material; the exposed top face of the street curb defines an x-y plane of a reference coordinate system, wherein a y-axis of a coordinate system is essentially normal to the outer face and the inner face of the street curb, an x-axis is essentially parallel to the outer face and the inner face of the street curb, and a z-axis is normal to the x-y plane; and the trench is formed in A) such that the trench includes a first vertical sidewall substantially constituted by the inner face of the street curb and a second vertical sidewall constituted at least in part by the sidewalk material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. An apparatus comprising:
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a vehicle for driving on a road, the vehicle having a footprint on a road surface of the road when the vehicle is driven on the road; and a blade mechanically coupled to the vehicle such that a blade plane of the blade is laterally offset from and is outside of the footprint of the vehicle when the vehicle is driven on the road. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. An offset arm for mechanically coupling a cutting blade to a vehicle, the offset arm comprising:
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a coupling mechanism to couple the offset arm to one of a front side, a rear side, and a lateral side of the vehicle; and at least one mechanical joint to facilitate adjustment of at least one of a lateral offset distance between the vehicle and the cutting blade, a vertical offset distance between the cutting blade and a road surface, and rotation of the cutting blade around at least two axes, wherein the offset arm is configured such that the cutting blade is laterally offset from and is outside of a footprint of the vehicle when the vehicle is driven on a road. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78)
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79. A method for forming a trench using a cutting blade mechanically coupled to a vehicle, the method comprising:
A) advancing the vehicle such that the cutting blade traverses a surface to form a trench in the surface, wherein the cutting blade is laterally offset from and is outside of a footprint of the vehicle as the vehicle is advanced in A). - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
Specification