Drain preparation apparatus and method of using same
First Claim
1. An apparatus for preparing a drain from a trench in a single pass through the trench by lining the trench with an unrolling length of filter fabric, a first layer of bulk material, a drain pipe and a second layer of bulk material, the apparatus comprising:
- a fabric guide chute for guiding the unrolling filter fabric into the trench, the filter fabric being positioned in the trench adjacent the bottom and one side wall thereof;
a pipe chute, having an exit portion, for laying the drain pipe on the first layer of bulk material in the trench; and
a hopper, said hopper being provided with the bulk material therein and having a first opening in a forward section of the hopper through which the first layer of bulk material is poured into the trench onto the filter fabric, and having a second opening in a rearward section of the hopper through which the second layer of bulk material is poured into the trench onto the drain pipe.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for preparing a drain from a trench in a single pass by lining the trench with a filter fabric, a first layer of bulk material, a drain pipe and a second layer of bulk material. A guide chute guides the filter fabric into the trench, the filter fabric being positioned in the trench adjacent the bottom and one side wall thereof. A pipe chute, having an exit portion, lays the drain pipe on the first layer of bulk material in the trench. A hopper is provided with the bulk material therein and has a first opening through which the first layer of bulk material is poured into the trench onto the filter fabric, and has a second opening through which the second layer of bulk material is poured into the trench onto the drainage pipe. A slidable gate may be provided to control the flow of bulk material through the second opening to permit the installation of lateral drains.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. An apparatus for preparing a drain from a trench in a single pass through the trench by lining the trench with an unrolling length of filter fabric, a first layer of bulk material, a drain pipe and a second layer of bulk material, the apparatus comprising:
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a fabric guide chute for guiding the unrolling filter fabric into the trench, the filter fabric being positioned in the trench adjacent the bottom and one side wall thereof; a pipe chute, having an exit portion, for laying the drain pipe on the first layer of bulk material in the trench; and a hopper, said hopper being provided with the bulk material therein and having a first opening in a forward section of the hopper through which the first layer of bulk material is poured into the trench onto the filter fabric, and having a second opening in a rearward section of the hopper through which the second layer of bulk material is poured into the trench onto the drain pipe. - 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, 34, 35, 36, 38)
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31. A method of preparing a drain from a trench by lining the trench with a filter fabric, a first layer of bulk material, a drain pipe and a second layer of bulk material, the method comprising the steps of:
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guiding an unrolling length of the filter fabric into the trench, the filter fabric being positioned in the trench adjacent the bottom and one side wall thereof; pouring a first layer of the bulk material into the trench onto the filter fabric through a first opening provided in a hopper containing the bulk material; laying the drain pipe into the trench on top of the first layer of bulk material; and pouring a second layer of the bulk material into the trench onto the drain pipe through a second opening provided in said hopper. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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37. In a trenching machine having a diagonally oriented, circulating digging chain that emerges from the ground with soil removed from the ground, the improvement wherein the machine includes:
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a) an elongated soil collecting box positioned below the digging chain, substantially parallel thereto, and extending substantially the entire length of the chain that is above ground when the machine is in operation, said box being open at its upper end and its lower end and serving to collect soil that falls from the digging chain and hold said soil close enough to the circulating chain to permit the chain to advance said soil up the box to its upper end; b) means adjacent the upper end of said collecting box for removing soil advanced thereto by said circulating chain; and c) a pair of angled side slides mounted rearward of said soil collecting box, said slides being configured and positioned to skim the ground surface along both sides of the trench as the trenching machine advances and direct soil that splatters out of said collecting box back into the trench.
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Specification