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The present disclosure relates generally to a method and apparatus for the efficient and accurate placement of underground pipe. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for placing and aligning environmental septic pipe when installing a septic leach field.
Septic systems are a type of on-site small scale sewage treatment system used when connection to a municipal or private corporation sewage pipe is not available. Currently over 25% of the North American population relies on septic systems to process waste. As shown in
The system takes human and household fluid and/or solid waste and essentially performs a rudimentary phase separation whereby solids in the waste are captured by the septic tank by settling on the bottom of the tank. Anaerobic bacteria placed in the tank digest and break down the solids. Any remaining undigested solids form sludge that is periodically removed from the tank to keep the tank functional and prevent the migration of undecomposed waste into the leach field.
Grease contained in the waste forms as scum and floats to the top of the waste fluid deposited into the tank. Baffles are used to prevent the egress of grease out of the tank. The liquid component of the waste flows either to other chambers in the septic tank or flows through the outlet pipe in a substantially clarified form. The fluid travels through the distribution box into the distribution pipes that have perforations 19 to allow the fluid to disperse into the surrounding leach field, which is often constructed with a gravel bed and an overlying sand bed that engulfs the pipe.
The size of the leach field is inversely proportional to the porosity of the drainage field and proportional to the volume of wastewater deposited over a given time. Any impurities remaining in the fluid decompose in the surrounding soil or are taken up by local plant root systems. The further clarified water percolates through the soil and is added either to the water table as groundwater or is taken up by plants. To maximize the sanitizing effect of the leach field, the fluid has to be dispersed uniformly throughout the leach field.
To accomplish this, the septic pipes have to be placed in an even, uniform pattern illustrated as “d” in
Although septic pipe is constructed to withstand crushing forces, due to built-in properties of flexibility along the length of the pipe, when placed in a leach field, the pipe can easily be displaced in a serpentine-like pattern that causes adjacent pipes to be in a disparate non-uniform arrangement. Thus, there is a need to establish uniform distances with multiple pipe systems in an efficient, non-labor-intensive manner.
No system to the knowledge of the inventors provides an apparatus and system for efficiently aligning septic system pipes in a leach field. What is needed and desired is an apparatus and system to accurately and efficiently place septic pipe in leach fields with minimum manpower.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a septic pipe placement apparatus is provided that includes a series of curvilinear members each dimensioned to register against the outer perimeter of a septic pipe so as to temporarily lock the pipe in a specific position relative to adjacent pipes of similar or dissimilar dimensions. The apparatus is used in multiple sets so as to ensure adjacent pipes traverse a leach field in predetermined straight parallel configurations.
In another aspect of the disclosure, the apparatus is segmented to allow for alignment of different numbers of adjacent pipes. In one embodiment, the segmented apparatus can be configured to engage multiples of a base unit number of pipes, e.g., 6, 9 and 12. The configurations used to connect adjacent segments include illustratively interference fit, friction fit and snap fit.
In a further aspect of the disclosure, the curvilinear teeth can be displaced laterally to either infinitely variable or pre-selected locations to change the distance between adjacent pipes to correlate with distances required by engineering plans. With respect to the segmented versions, the joints between segments are accounted for when creating any pre-set teeth locations to ensure equal spacing throughout a set.
In another aspect of the disclosure, a method for applying the apparatus is disclosed in which a plurality of apparatus sets is used in unison to establish pipe alignment along the entire length of pipes. Once the pipes are aligned, backfill, e.g., sand, is poured into the leach field to partially engulf the pipes and apparatus sets to lock the pipes' relative positions in place. Once the pipes are adequately secured with the backfill material, the apparatus sets may be removed if the number of pipes to be laid is complete or may be removed and repositioned in shifted locations to accommodate a larger number of pipes that exceeds the limits of the apparatus. These and other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent from a review of the appended drawings and the detailed description.
Referring to the drawings and, in particular,
Beam 112 can be segmented as shown whereby individual segments are connected with hinges 118. Segmented beams allow the apparatus to be used with different size septic systems that require varying numbers of septic pipes in the leach field. For example, in a commercial building application that may require 10-20 rows of septic pipe, beam 112 can be extended to accommodate a large number of septic pipes. In the embodiment shown in
To secure adjacent beam segments in a linear arrangement, barrel bolts 120 or other similar locking means are used to secure adjacent beam segments. When multiple segmented beams 112 are used, the joints between segments are accounted for in the spacing of curvilinear elements 114 to ensure substantially equidistant spacing between adjacent elements 114 from one segment to the next. If more than three segments are used, one main segment 113 and two lateral segments 115, every segment after the main segment should have altering hinge, barrel bolt arrangements whereby each successive hinge/barrel bolt assembly alternates on which side of the segment the hinge is placed and which side the barrel bolt is placed. The first lateral segment will have a hinge on a first side and a barrel bolt on a second side. The next segment will have a barrel bolt on a first side and a hinge on a second side. The pattern is repeated for as many segments as are used.
Other segment connection options within the contemplation of this disclosure include lock and key arrangements such as a sliding dovetail that allows adjacent segments to be connected and disconnected as needed. The primary criteria for selecting a segment joint connection system includes a means to ensure joined segments are locked in position relative to one another when in use and a means to allow unneeded segments to be folded or removed altogether so as not to interfere with adjoining segments being used in a pipe alignment application.
More specifically referring to
To engage segment 115 with segment 113, the modified end of segment 113 is urged into main cavity 153 until a shoulder 156 registers against the modified end of segment 113 and the corresponding semi-cylindrical segments and cavities match up and interlock. The dimensional tolerances of the semi-cylindrical segments and cavities are set so as to allow for secure attachment of the segments during a pipe setting operation and to allow the disengagement of the segments by introducing a separation force that overcomes the interference fit of the semi-cylindrical segments and cavities. It should be understood that the location of the semi-cylindrical segments and cavities can be reversed such that the segments are formed on main segment 113 and the cavities are formed in lateral segment 115.
Referring to
Referring to
The walls of spherical cavity 172 are preferably made of a resilient material having sufficient flexibility to allow for the retention of projection 170 absent the application of a lateral force and for the release of projection 170 with the application of a force sufficient to overcome the materials resiliency by urging lateral segment 115 away from main segment 113. The degree of resiliency need only be enough to maintain the connection between the apparatus segments during use.
In a further aspect of the invention, main cavity 178 may be eliminated and spherical cavity 172 may be formed directly in the end of main segment 113. This embodiment, however, lacks the added structural strength provided by configuring lateral segment 115 to fit within main cavity 178.
Referring again to the hinge embodiment, when fewer than all the lateral segments 115 are needed to align septic pipe, e.g., a residential application requiring 4-6 rows of septic pipes, one or more lateral segments 115 may be folded against main segment 113 as shown in
Referring now to
In the alternative embodiment, beam 112′ has portions defining a dovetail cavity 130 that extends along the length of beam 112′. A plurality of member alignment or beam bores 132 formed in beam 112′ provides a means for securing curvilinear elements 114′ to beam 112′. Bores 132 are spaced to accommodate pins 134 placed in bores in elements 114′ (
To secure elements 114′ to beam 112′, elements 114′ have a dovetail pin 136 dimensioned to slide freely within dovetail cavity 130. Once a dovetail pin 136 is engaged with a dovetail cavity 130, element 114′ is slid along beam 112′ until it reaches a selected position. Once in position, pins 134 are pushed into bores 132 to temporarily lock element 114′ to beam 112′. The same procedure is used to secure additional elements 114′ to beam 112′.
If variable spacing is required and the pins do not align with bores 132, elements 114′ can be positioned on beam 112′ as required and secured to beam 112′ with clamps or other movement arresting devices. The use of a sliding dovetail to connect elements 114′ to beam 112′ allow for infinite variability in the arrangement of elements 114′ on beam 112′.
Referring now to
With the embodiment shown in
To lock element 114′ into a specific location along beam 112′, pins 134 are inserted into element bore 133 and beam bores 132 as shown in
It should be understood that apparatus 100, beam 112, curvilinear elements 114, their individual variants, and all connection elements may be made from a wide variety of materials, including, but not limited to metal, wood, polymers, engineering-grade plastic and like materials. It is within the contemplation and scope of this disclosure that the apparatus may be made from any material that provides sufficient rigidity to maintain elements 114 in pre-selected spacing arrangements.
Having thus described the apparatus, a method of applying the apparatus to a septic system installation will be described. Referring to
After a leach field bed has been prepared, the process begins by laying the pipe in the designated rows. Next, apparatus 100 is placed onto pipes 18 to temporarily secure the distance between the pipes. As many apparatuses 100 as are needed are placed on the pipes to ensure proper alignment and even spacing along the entire length of the pipe rows. Once apparatus 100 has been placed, optional stakes (wooden, plastic or metal) may be used to temporarily secure the apparatus 100 into place.
With the apparatus(es) in place, the entire assembly may be backfilled from about ½ to about ¾ of the pipe height. With the tops of the pipes exposed, a grade elevation measurement can be taken for each pipe via level, transit or other grade determination device before finalization of the backfill procedure. If any adjustments are required, the pipe is repositioned accordingly (relative to its height at any given point) to achieve proper grade and the backfill process is continued until approaching the top of apparatus 100. Prior to completely covering the apparatus, the stakes securing the apparatus are urged out of the leach bed so as to allow removal of apparatus 100.
If further rows are to be installed, apparatus 100 may be repositioned with at least one curvilinear member 114 (preferably, but not necessarily positioned at an end of beam 112) resting on the last pipe row to begin placement of additional adjacent pipe rows. Once all rows have been installed, aligned, partially backfilled, and checked, apparatus 100 sets can be removed and the backfill process completed. With use of apparatus 100 and the disclosed method, reduced manpower can be used to accomplish septic pipe alignment.
While the present disclosure has been described in connection with several embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the disclosure.
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