Flexible pipe laying and covering apparatus
First Claim
1. Apparatus for laying flexible pipe within a trench and for embedding the flexible pipe within a bed of gravel, the trench including a trench bottom and a pair of upstanding trench side walls, said apparatus comprising:
- a. a gravel hopper adapted to be received within an excavated trench, the hopper having a pair of spaced, opposed side walls, and a pair of spaced, opposed front and rear walls, the side walls and the front and rear walls disposed to define a substantially rectangular hopper having a rectangular top opening and a rectangular bottom opening;
b. a pipe guide sleeve carried by the hopper for receiving and guiding a pipe to be deposited in the trench, the guide sleeve extending longitudinally of the hopper from a guide sleeve inlet opening adjacent the hopper front wall to a guide sleeve outlet opening spaced rearwardly from the hopper front wall and terminating at an opening positioned forwardly of the hopper rear wall;
c. a pipe feed guide member carried adjacent to and above the front wall for supporting and guiding a length of pipe as it moves from a point adjacent the trench to the pipe guide sleeve inlet;
d. the hopper having a front section and a rear section, the rear section having a width greater than the width of the front section and which extends inwardly toward the front section and adapted to slidably engage the side walls the trench for guiding the hopper within the trench with minimal frictional resistance with the trench side walls as the hopper is drawn along the trench.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for laying flexible pipe within a trench and for embedding the flexible pipe within a bed of gravel in a single operation. The apparatus includes a gravel hopper and a guide sleeve for guiding a pipe to be laid within the trench. The hopper includes a skid or sled arrangement to permit it to be pulled along the trench bottom, and has a width to permit it to be completely positioned within the trench and thereby accommodate a wide variety of trench depths. A feed guide support stanchion extends from the front portion of the hopper for facilitating the feeding of a flexible pipe into a pipe guide inlet positioned adjacent the bottom portion of the front wall of the hopper. The hopper interior is divided into a main, narrow portion, and a rear, enlarged portion, the side walls of which are adapted to engage the side walls of the trench. The hopper rear portion side walls have a small surface area to minimize sliding friction with the trench walls. The apparatus permits a pipe to be laid without requiring personnel to be located within the trench, thereby avoiding the increased costs required by OSHA regulations that require either tapered trench walls or braced trench walls in order to avoid a cave-in when personnel are in the trench.
42 Citations
12 Claims
-
1. Apparatus for laying flexible pipe within a trench and for embedding the flexible pipe within a bed of gravel, the trench including a trench bottom and a pair of upstanding trench side walls, said apparatus comprising:
-
a. a gravel hopper adapted to be received within an excavated trench, the hopper having a pair of spaced, opposed side walls, and a pair of spaced, opposed front and rear walls, the side walls and the front and rear walls disposed to define a substantially rectangular hopper having a rectangular top opening and a rectangular bottom opening; b. a pipe guide sleeve carried by the hopper for receiving and guiding a pipe to be deposited in the trench, the guide sleeve extending longitudinally of the hopper from a guide sleeve inlet opening adjacent the hopper front wall to a guide sleeve outlet opening spaced rearwardly from the hopper front wall and terminating at an opening positioned forwardly of the hopper rear wall; c. a pipe feed guide member carried adjacent to and above the front wall for supporting and guiding a length of pipe as it moves from a point adjacent the trench to the pipe guide sleeve inlet; d. the hopper having a front section and a rear section, the rear section having a width greater than the width of the front section and which extends inwardly toward the front section and adapted to slidably engage the side walls the trench for guiding the hopper within the trench with minimal frictional resistance with the trench side walls as the hopper is drawn along the trench. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
Specification