Ground drainage systems, and method and apparatus therefor

• US 3,898,940 A
• Filed: 04/19/1973
• Issued: 08/12/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Geoffrey Wilfred Davidson
• Original Assignee: Ainsley Neville Ede
• Inventors: Ede, Ainsley Neville
• Primary Examiner(s): Pellegrino, Stephen C.
• Application Number:
  US05/352,704
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• Field of Search: 111/1,7,6,86,76 61/63,11,53.64,10 172/40
• US Class Current: 111/200
• CPC Class Codes: E02B 11/00 Drainage of soil, e.g. for agricultural purposes draining sports grounds E01C13/083; for consolidating foundation soil, e.g. sand drain piles E02D3/10
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 5/103 with oscillating or vibrating digging tools
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 5/12 with equipment for back-filling trenches or ditches

Abstract

A ground drainage system consists of a series of sand-filled water-permeable slit-like channels formed in the surface layer of the soil and extending downwardly widthwise from the ground surface, preferably into a water-permeable stratum beneath the top soil. The system is constructed by a movable machine carrying at least one downwardly-projecting vertical or inclined slitter blade having a hollow blade-like sand chute secured to its rear edge. The machine is advanced to draw the slitter blade or blades edgewise through the surface layer of the soil to form a soil channel or channels whilst sand is dispensed from an elongate slot in the trailing edge of the or each chute to fill the newlyformed soil slit or slits with sand. Vibration is applied to each slitter blade and simultaneously to its associated chute during the forward movement of the machine, to facilitate the soil slitting operation and the free passage of sand down the chute and through the dispensing slot into the soil slit.

Claims

1. Apparatus for making water-permeable channels in the ground, which comprises a slitter blade mounted on a carriage and extending downwardly from the carriage to below ground level for drawing edgewise through the ground by the forward movement of the carriage so as to form a slit-like channel in the soil, a hollow blade-like sand-dispensing chute whose width and depth below ground level are approximately the same as those of the slitter blade, the chute being secured to the slitter blade with its leading edge abutted against the trailing edge of the slitter blade so that the chute follows the blade in the newly-formed soil channel, and there being an elongated rearwardly-facing dispensing aperture formed in and extending substantially over the full below-ground depth of the chute, means secured to the carriage for movement therewith for introducing sand into the interior of the chute from above ground level so as to fill the chute for dispensing sand through the whole length of the elongated dispensing slot into the soil channel, and means mechanically coupled to the slitter blade for imposing vibration simultaneously both on the slitter blade and on the chute throughout the forward movement of the carriage.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the leading edge of the slitter blade is forwardly and downwardly inclined and terminates in a pointed leading edge.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the trailing edge of the chute, in which the dispensing aperture is formed, is rearwardly and upwardly inclined.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the carriage is supported on ground-engaging wheels, each said wheel being journalled on one end of a radius arm whose other end is pivotally secured to the carriage, and power-operated ram means being connected between the carriage and a point of each said radius arm spaced from its said other end, said ram means being operable to move said radius arm pivotally about its said other end and thereby to adjust the height of the associated wheel relatively to the carriage, thereby enabling the depth at which the slitter blade will run to be adjusted, the adjustment of the ground wheels to their lowest position relative to the carriage withdrawing the slitter blade clear of the ground.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1 including a plurality of combinations of slitter blade and chute are mounted side by side on the carriage, for the simultaneous formation of a corresponding number of parallel sand-filled ground channels.

6. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said sand introducing means includes a hopper mounted on the upper end of said chute.

7. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said slitter blade is rigidly secured to the lower end of a support member whose upper end is movably supported in the carriage, and in which the means for imposing vibration acts on the support member at a point spaced from its upper end.

8. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said vibration imposing means produces a cyclic vibratory movement of the blade and chute having a major horizontal component in the general plane of the blade.

9. Apparatus as in claim 1 including, a trailed roller secured to the carriage in a position behind the carriage in which it rolls the slitted ground surface behind the trailing edge of the chute.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the slitter blade is parallel-sided.

11. Apparatus as in claim 10 in which the slitter blade is inclined to the vertical as viewed from front or rear.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 in which the slitter blade extends vertically downwardly, as viewed from front or rear.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 in which the slitter blade is inclined to the vertical as viewed from front or rear.

14. Apparatus as claimEd in claim 13 in which the cross-section of the leading edge of the slitter blade is of bevel form having a cutting edge lying in the plane of the downwardly-facing side face of the blade.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13 in which the leading edge of the slitter blade is forwardly and downwardly inclined and terminates in a pointed leading end.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 15 in which the leading edge of the slitter blade is rearwardly and downwardly inclined.

17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 in which the lower part of the leading edge of the blade is more steeply inclined than the upper part which breaks through the soil surface.

18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 in which the trailing edge of the chute, in which the dispensing aperture is formed, is rearwardly and upwardly inclined.

19. Apparatus as claimed in claim 18 in which the carriage is supported on ground-engaging wheels, each said wheel being journalled on one end of a radius arm whose other end is pivotally secured to the carriage, and power-operated ram means being connected between the carriage and a point of each said radius arm spaced from its said other end, said ram being operable to move said radius arm pivotally about its said other end and thereby to adjust the height of the associated wheel relatively to the carriage, thereby enabling the depth at which the slitter blade will run to be adjusted, the adjustment of the ground wheels to their lowest position relative to the carriage withdrawing the slitter blade clear of the ground.

20. Apparatus as claimed in claim 19 in which the carriage is a trailer vehicle for towing behind a tractor, the carriage having rigidly secured to it a forwardly-extending towbar and having a single pair of coaxial ground wheels.

21. Apparatus as claimed in claim 20 in which two or more combinations of slitter blade and chute are mounted side by side on the carriage, for the simultaneous formation of a corresponding number of parallel sand-filled ground channels.

22. Apparatus as claimed in claim 21 in which each of the chutes has a hopper mounted on its upper end above ground level for feeding sand into the interior of the chute.

23. Apparatus as claimed in claim 22 in which a sand-containing bin is mounted on the carriage above the or each hopper, the capacity of the bin being much larger than that of the or each hopper, and in which the bin is provided with means for discharging sand at a controlled rate into each hopper.

24. Apparatus as claimed in claim 23 in which the bin is of downwardly-tapering cross-section in planes parallel to the direction of forward movement of the carriage, and in which the means for discharging sand from the bin comprises an auger screw mounted in bearings in the lowest part of the bin and extending transversely therein above a discharge aperture connected to the or each chute hopper, and means for rotating the auger screw.

25. Apparatus as claimed in claim 24 in which each slitter blade is rigidly secured to the lower end of a support member whose upper end is movably supported in the carriage, and in which the means for imposing vibration acts on the support member at a point spaced from its upper end.

26. Apparatus as claimed in claim 25 in which the means for imposing vibration comprises a power-driven rotary eccentric acting on the support member for the blade.

27. Apparatus as claimed in claim 25 in which the means for imposing vibration produces a cyclic vibratory movement of the blade and chute having a major horizontal component in the general plane of the blade.

28. Apparatus as claimed in claim 27 in which the vibratory movement also has a vertically-downward component of movement.

29. Apparatus as claimed in claim 28 including, for each blade/chute combination, a trailed roller secured the carriage in a position behind the carriage in which it rolls the slitted ground surface behind the trailing edge of the chute.

30. Apparatus as claimed in claim 29 including, for each blade/chute combination, a tow bar pivotally secured at one end to the carriage, the trailed roller being journalled in the other end of the tow bar for towing thereby, and including spring means acting between the carriage and tow bar to spring-press the or each trailed roller downwardly.