Patent Application
20180087234
The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art nor material to the presently described or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
The present invention relates generally to the field of road apparatuses of existing art and more specifically relates to elevation and level adjustment devices.
Generally, a manhole (e.g., utility opening, cable vault, maintenance hole, inspection chamber, access chamber, sewer opening, confined space, etc.) is the upper-most opening to an underground vault or structure used to provide a worker and/or equipment access point for making various repairs, installations, inspections, or similar work. In most cases, manhole closings are protected by a manhole cover, generally a flat cast-iron lid designed to prevent accidental/unauthorized access to the manhole.
Most generally, manhole lids and surfaces are constructed and engineered to be level/parallel to a final road surface. In instances where the manhole lid is constructed prior to the final road surface, the manhole lid may protrude above the existing grade until final paving is complete. Also, during road rehabilitation, the manhole lid and top frame may protrude for a period of time between the initial and final rehabilitation of the road. In both such instances, the manhole lid and top frame may provide a safety hazard to vehicles traveling upon the road under construction and there may be a grade differential between the road surface and the manhole. Therefore a suitable solution is desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,188 to Timothy K. Shaftner relates to a ramp for temporarily elevated utility access hole. The described ramp for temporarily elevated utility access hole includes a protective ramp for placement around a temporarily elevated underground utility access hole support. The ramp includes a ramp member having a top surface and an obverse bottom surface, and an opening, usually centrally disposed, of a size to be placed in closely surrounding position around a predetermined size access hole support.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known road elevation and level adjustment apparatus art, the present disclosure provides a novel apparatus for covering a portion of a road. The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide an apparatus for efficiently and effectively covering a portion of a road.
An apparatus for covering a portion of a road is disclosed herein. The apparatus for covering a portion of a road includes an inflatable member, an inflation mechanism, and an aperture, with the inflatable member being preferably circular in shape.
The inflation mechanism is preferably located on a top surface of the inflatable member and is configured to inflate the inflatable member with a predetermined amount of water. The aperture is preferably located on the outermost edge of a circumference of the inflatable member and configured to drain the predetermined amount of water from the apparatus.
The apparatus is structured and arranged to cover a portion of the road and is configured to protect vehicles that drive over the portion of the road from damage due to elevation differential between the manhole lid and road surface. The preferred embodiment includes the inflatable member which is reusable and the inflatable member is an inflatable ramp configured to assist the vehicles in driving over manhole covers.
The inflatable member is configured to be foldable for storage, and the inflatable member is preferably made of a durable canvas material. Also, the durable canvas material is configured to house the predetermined amount of water, and the durable canvas material is configured to allow the vehicles to pass over the inflatable member without damaging the durable canvas material.
The inflatable member may be made of a fluorescent-colored-material configured to alert a driver that is approaching the inflatable member, includes highly reflective tape configured to alert a driver that is approaching the inflatable member, and inflatable member is tapered towards a center of the inflatable member.
In the preferred embodiment, the center of the inflatable member is substantially flat, and the inflation mechanism is a valve. The valve is configured to be removably attached to a water source, where the water source is a preferably a hose. The aperture includes a capping element and the capping element is removably coupled to the aperture and configured to seal the aperture.
According to another embodiment, a method of using an apparatus for covering a portion of a road is also disclosed herein. The method of using an apparatus for covering a portion of a road includes a first step, providing an apparatus for covering a portion of a road, the apparatus comprising an inflatable member, an inflation mechanism, and an aperture; a second step, placing the apparatus upon a road surface above an opening in a road surface; a third step, filling the apparatus with a predetermined volume of liquid via the inflation mechanism; a fourth step, draining the liquid from the apparatus via the aperture; and a fifth step, removing the apparatus from the road surface.
For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.
The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, an apparatus for covering a portion of a road, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present disclosure.
The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.
As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to road elevation and level adjustment devices and more particularly to an apparatus for covering a portion of a road as used to improve the safety related to manholes by providing a modular cover system that improves transition from a road surface to the top of a manhole for vehicular traffic.
Generally, the present invention allows vehicles to pass over elevated manhole covers without causing damage (e.g., scraping the underside of the vehicle, etc.) to the vehicle. The present invention provides a temporary, inflatable ramp that allows the vehicle to pass over the top of the manhole without incident. This apparatus reduces the time and effort required to traditionally decrease the gradient between the road surface and the manhole cover during construction and/or road modifications.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in
According to one embodiment, the apparatus for covering a portion of a road 100 may be arranged as a kit 105. In particular, the apparatus for covering a portion of a road 100 may further include a set of instructions 107. The instructions 107 may detail functional relationships in relation to the structure of the apparatus for covering a portion of a road 100 such that the apparatus for covering a portion of a road 100 can be installed, used, maintained, or the like, in a preferred manner.
In embodiments, inflatable member 110 may be circular in shape and/or reusable. Other shapes may be used (e.g., square, rectangular, hexagonal, etc.) depending upon specific applications of apparatus. Inflation mechanism 120 may be located on a top surface of inflatable member and configured to inflate inflatable member 110 with a predetermined amount of water or other suitable liquid or fluid. Embodiments may also include inflation mechanism 120 location in various positions upon apparatus. Similarly, aperture 130 may be located on an outermost edge of a circumference of inflatable member 110 and configured to drain the predetermined amount of water, or in other locations upon apparatus. Inflatable member 110 may be tapered towards a center of inflatable member 110 and center of inflatable member 110 may be substantially flat, in some embodiments. Upon reading this specification, it should be appreciated that, under appropriate circumstances, considering such issues as user preferences, design preference, structural requirements, marketing preferences, cost, available materials, technological advances, etc., other arrangements such as, for example, specifications according to municipal codes and laws, etc., may be sufficient.
Inflatable member 110 may be configured to be foldable for storage and constructed from a durable canvas material. Durable canvas material may be configured to house the predetermined amount of water. Further, durable canvas material may be configured to allow vehicles 10 to pass over inflatable member 110 without damaging durable canvas material. Embodiments of inflatable member 110 may be constructed from a fluorescent-colored-material configured to alert a driver that is approaching inflatable member 110, and/or inflatable member 110 may include highly reflective tape 140 configured to alert a driver that is approaching inflatable member 110.
In some embodiments, inflation mechanism 120 may be, or include valve 136; and valve 136 may be configured to be removably attached to a water source. Water source may include a hose or other suitable water/fluid communication means. Also, aperture 130 may further include capping element 138, and capping element 138 may be removably coupled to aperture 130 and configured to seal aperture 130.
It should be noted that step four 504 and step five 505 are optional steps and may not be implemented in all cases. Optional steps of method of use 500 are illustrated using dotted lines in
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.
The present application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/400,595 filed Sep. 27, 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62400595 | Sep 2016 | US |
