Patent Application
20200080272
This invention generally relates to an erosion control system, and more particularly to an erosion control system of interconnected individual bags of geotextile material filled with a water permeable fill material.
Downspouts from the gutters of a building create the potential for erosion at the site where the downspout discharges water onto the landscape around the building. Also, roofs without gutters at the eaves produce a drip line on the ground below that is subject to continuous erosion. Further, landscape runoff may produce erosion to the extent that gullies may be created in the landscape. In all three cases, the need to provide soil erosion control may extend over a long or short distance. Therefore, a need exists for an erosion control system that addresses the problems of soil erosion from downspout discharge, eaves runoff, and landscape runoff. Particularly, the need exists for erosion control system that is configurable to conform to the length required for control of the erosion.
The present invention addresses the need for an erosion control system that solves the problems of soil erosion from downspout discharge, eaves runoff, and landscape runoff. The present invention also is configurable to conform to the length required for erosion control.
Particularly, the erosion control system of the present invention includes a series of connected bags filled with a water permeable fill material including rock, gravel, sand, or other inorganic particle material. Each of the bags comprises a trough-shaped body formed by a mesh top panel and a bottom panel. The mesh top panel is joined to the bottom panel by means of upturn sides of the bottom panel folded over and sealed to the edges of the top panel. The bottom panel extends in the downstream direction beyond the top panel to create a dispersion flap for directing water from an upstream bag into a downstream bag or spread the water onto a landscape.
The top panel of each bag is a geotextile mesh material that is non-degradable and water permeable so that water can pass into the bag and into the water permeable fill material. The bottom panel of each bag is a geotextile material that is non-degradable and slightly water permeable so that the water passing into each bag of the erosion control system is directed to the downstream end of each bag in the series of bags and onto a dispersion flap with only a small amount of water soaking through the geotextile material of the bottom panel and into the surface of the landscape. Alternatively, the bottom panel could be a waterproof fabric, such as a plastic web.
The series of bags for the erosion control system includes an upstream lead bag and one or more downstream intermediate bags. The upstream lead bag has a permanently sealed upstream end and a releasably sealed downstream end. The upstream lead bag is filled with permeable fill material, and the downstream end is releasably sealed to prevent the fill material from spilling from the lead bag during shipping and handling. The upstream end of the lead bag is permanently sealed by any suitable method including sewing, gluing, or other means well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The downstream end of the lead bag comprises an open end with the dispersion flap extending from the bottom panel in the downstream direction. The dispersion flap has a flat bottom panel and upturned sides. In addition, the downstream end of the lead bag has a foldable top connector strip attached to the inside of the top panel and a fixed bottom connector strip attached to the inside of the bottom panel and aligned with the foldable top connector strip. With the foldable top connector strip folded back into the interior of the lead bag, the foldable top connector strip aligns with and attaches to the fixed bottom connector strip to releasably seal the downstream end of the lead bag four shipping and handling.
The intermediate bag has a releasably sealed upstream end and a releasably sealed downstream end so that the fill material will not spill from the intermediate bag during shipping and handling. The upstream end of the intermediate bag has an interior top connector strip and an interior bottom strip for releasably closing the upstream end of the intermediate bag for shipping and handling. The downstream end of the intermediate bag is identical to the downstream end of the lead bag with an extending dispersion flap, a foldable top connector strip, and a fixed bottom connector strip as previously described.
In order to create the series of bags of the erosion control system, the lead bag is positioned at the source of the runoff, such as under a downspout. The lead bag is oriented with its sealed end upstream and its extending flap downstream. A first intermediate bag is then positioned downstream of the lead bag. The foldable connector strip of the lead bag is unfolded into its extended position. The flap of the lead bag is inserted into the upstream opening of the upstream end of the intermediate bag and telescoped into the intermediate bag until the unfolded connector strip of the lead bag aligns with and engages the interior top connector strip of the upstream end of the first intermediate bag. With the extending flap of the lead bag positioned within the first intermediate bag, the overlapping connection created between extending flap of the lead bag and the interior of the first intermediate bag assures that water passes from the lead bag to the first intermediate bag without the necessity of sealing the connection.
A second intermediate bag can be connected to the downstream end of the first intermediate bag in the same fashion as previously described with respect to the connection between the lead bag and the first intermediate bag. Once the final intermediate bag has been attached, the extending flap of the final intermediate bag serves as a dispersion flap to assure that the water ultimately spreads out onto the landscape as the water exits the erosion control system.
Further objects, features and advantages will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings and the appended claims.
Referring to the drawings,
The lead bag 14 has an upstream end 20 that is permanently sealed by means known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The lead bag 14 also has a downstream end 22 that is releasably sealed. Fill material 68 (
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In order to create the series of bags of the erosion control 10 system, the lead bag 14 is positioned at the source of the runoff, such as under a downspout. The lead bag 14 is oriented with its sealed end 20 upstream and the flap 24 extending downstream. A first intermediate bag 40A (
With continuing reference to
Because the upstream end 46 of the intermediate bag 40 can be releasably sealed by means of the connector 40 and the connector 34 (
For the erosion control system 10, the top panels 16 and 42 of the bags 14 and 40 are a geotextile material that is non-degradable and water permeable so that water can easily pass into the bag and into the fill material 68 contained in the bags 14 and 40. The geotextile material for the top panels 16 and 42 may include an ultraviolet (UV) light stabilized high density polyethylene (HDPE) sold by Pak Unlimited, Inc., 185 Builders Parkway, Cornelia Ga. 30531 under the designation 70% Black Knit. The UV stabilized HDPE is an open woven mesh. The openings in the UV stabilized HDPE mesh are sufficiently large to allow the passage of water virtually uninhibited, but small enough so that the fill material 68 cannot pass through the mesh. The specifications for UV stabilized HDPE mesh is set forth in Table 1 below.
The bottom panels 18 and 44 and the extending flaps 24 and 52 of the bags 14 and 40 are a geotextile material that is non-degradable and slightly water permeable so that the water passing into the bags 14 and 40 is directed to the downstream end 50 of the bag 40C and onto the extending flap 52 with only a small amount of water soaking through the geotextile material onto the ground. The geotextile material for the bottom panels 18 and 44 and flaps 24 and 52 may include a woven clear HDPE scrim with a 1.75 mil vinyl coating on each side. Such geotextile material is sold by Pak Unlimited, Inc., 185 Builders Parkway, Cornelia Ga. 30531 under the designation 1212c (clear/clear). The vinyl coated scrim is essentially water impermeable, but in connection with the present invention has been perforated with less than 1% of the material open as a result of the perforations. The perforations are for the purpose of assuring that water does not stand for extended periods of time after a rainfall. Alternatively, the bottom panels 18 and 44 and the extending flaps 24 and 52 of the bags 14 and 40 could be waterproof without the perforations. The vinyl coated scrim has the specifications set forth in Table 2 below.
The fill material 68 for the bags 14 and 40 comprises rock, gravel, sand, or other inorganic particle material. Any suitable fill material can be used as long as the fill material is stable, is water permeable, and is unaffected by the presence of water. Further, the fill material 68 can be a decorative stone or other inorganic particle material to enhance the appearance of the landscape.
While this invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that variations and modifications can be affected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described herein and as described in the appended claims.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/730,237, filed on Sep. 12, 2018, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62730237 | Sep 2018 | US |
