Patent Application
20180283864
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The inventive concept is relevant to trenching and excavation projects. Excavating is recognized as one of the most hazardous construction operations engaged in by workers, both in the United States and in other countries around the world. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published regulatory information for this field of industrial work, which reads, in part: “revised Subpart P, Excavations, of 29 CFR 1926.650. 29 CFR 1926.651, and 29 CFR 1926.652 to make the standard easier to understand, permit the use of performance criteria where possible, and provide construction employers with options when classifying soil and selecting employee protection methods.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines an excavation as “any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the Earth's surface formed by earth removal. A trench is defined as a narrow excavation (in relation to its length) made below the surface of the ground. In general, the depth of a trench is greater than its width, but the width of a trench (measured at the bottom) is not greater than 15 feet (4.6 m).” Trenching and Excavation Safety; U.S. Department of Labor; OSHA 2226-10R-2015.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,077 (Jan. 1, 2002). An automatic monitoring and display system for use with a digging machine in order to excavate holes having a predetermined depth and an excavation slope pitch from ground level to hole depth. The machine has a boom, a dipper stick connected to the boom and a bucket at the end of the dipper stick, all interconnected by three pivots. Only two sensors are used to detect the position of the bucket relative to a zero reference signal which is stored in a processor. The operator of the machine has a console whereby to select an excavation depth as well as a slope pitch angle and the console will display to him the hole depth and the percentage pitch on the slope as the excavation proceeds. The operator can reset his zero reference signal at any time from anywhere.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,346 (Aug. 3, 1999). A method is disclosed for controlling the cutting depth and angle of an excavator bucket to excavate a surface to a desired contour. The method includes the steps of: (1) inputting data to a machine control system to define a desired contour of the excavated surface; (2) positioning the excavator bucket close to the desired contour; (3) enabling automatic control; and (4) automatically controlling movement of the excavator bucket only when the position of the excavator bucket is within a predetermined distance or angle of the desired contour. The method is used to automatically control the excavation to a desired depth if the bucket is within a predetermined distance of a desired depth. The method is also used to automatically control the angular orientation of bucket if the slope of the bucket is within a predetermined angle of a desired slope.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,532,9676. (May 12 ,2009) The invention is intended to provide an excavation teaching device for a construction machine which can realize easy confirmation of a proper target excavation surface and increase the working efficiency during excavation even in work of forming the face of slope in complicated three-dimensional landforms. A display unit (46) displays, as an image in a first screen area (46a), a plurality of small plane surfaces G constituting a three-dimensional target land-form and illustrations of a body S of the construction machine and a bucket B as an excavating tool at a fore end of an operating mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,029 (Jun. 13, 2000). A slope excavation control system for a hydraulic excavator and a slope excavation method using a hydraulic excavator include an external reference 80 which extends horizontally in the direction of advance of a target slope face. A vertical distance hry and a horizontal distance hrx from the external reference to a reference point on a target slope face, and an angle of the target slope face are set by using a setting device. When a front reference provided at a bucket end is aligned with the external reference and an external reference setting switch is depressed, a control unit calculates a vertical distance hfy and a horizontal distance hfx from a body center of the excavator to the external reference, then calculates a vertical distance hsy and a horizontal distance hsx from the body center to the reference point of the target slope face by using the distances hsy and hsx as modification values. The control unit then sets the target slope face on the basis of a body of the excavator from the distances hsy and hsx and the angle input by the setting device, thereby carrying out area limiting excavation control.
The device and method disclosed in the inventive concept presented is a trench slope angle tool 1 which is intended to be used to ensure the safety of persons who perform the physical work of construction trenching and excavation.
The device disclosed in the inventive concept presented is a sighting device that functions as a trench slope angle tool 1. There is further disclosed a method for using the slope angle tool 1 during the excavation of a trench in a particular type of soil. In essence, the slope angle tool 1 is a handle integrally connected to a Y-shaped component, which constitutes a hand-held sighting device that may be utilized by a construction worker or project supervisor at a trenching worksite.
The user visually superimposes the slope and banks of the trench against the contours of the slope angle tool 1. In this manner, the correct trench slope, “spoil” pile locations, and other construction requirements can be readily observed to ascertain whether these elements are in compliance with OSHA standards, or excavation standards in other nations. When considering international projects, a similarly-modified slope angle tool 1 may be designed and constructed having instructions, slope angles, and precautionary procedures applicable to specific governmental standards in any country worldwide.
The device and method disclosed in the inventive concept presented is a trench slope angle tool 1 and the method for using the slope angle tool 1. The device and method are intended to be used in combination, so as to comply with excavation safety regulations which are mandated by various governmental regulatory agencies in different countries.
By way of example only, and for illustrative purposes, the device and methods featured in this disclosure will focus primarily on the safety requirements mandated by the United States of America Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In particular, the device and method set forth are intended to enhance the safety of workers who perform the physical work of construction of trenches at worksites.
On projects involving trenching work, the employer must have a competent person classify soil and rock deposits as:
(a) stable rock,
(b) Type A soil—“cohesive soils with an unconfined compressive strength of 1.5 tons per square foot (tsf);
(c) Type B soil—cohesive soil with an unconfined compressive strength greater than 0.5 tsf, but less than 1.5 tsf;
(d) Type C soil—principally, cohesive soil with an unconfined compressive strength of 0.5 tsf or less, which includes granular soils, and submerged soil or rock from which water is freely seeping.
Trenching jobs must be pre-planned and approached with care so as to prevent mistakes in shoring or sloping the project. An employer must take care to prevent injury to workers by sloping and, if necessary, benching the sides of the excavation. OSHA standards recommend sloping the sides of a trench to an angle not steeper than 1.5:1. Slope of this gradation is safe for any type of soil.
The objects, features, and advantages of the inventive concept presented in this application are more readily understood when referring to the accompanying drawings. The drawings, totaling three figures, show the basic components and functions of embodiments and/or methods of use. In the several figures, like reference numbers are used in each figure to correspond to the same component as may be depicted in other figures.
The discussion of the present inventive concept will be initiated with
For purposes of illustration only, the following description of the inventive concept will hypothesize that the Tool 1 is to be utilized under conditions of Type C soil at a worksite. The theoretical worksite involves excavation of a trench 31. In practical application of the Tool 1 at the worksite, a worker or constructor supervisor (the “user”) grasps the handle 2 and positions him/herself standing in the trench bottom 34. This situation is illustrated in
The left upper edge 10 and the right upper edge 11 are utilized to help locate the spoil distance along the left and right shoulders of the trench 31. As the user holds the Tool 1 level, the desired slope of the trench 31 is verified as a comparison is made with the slope of the left wing 5 and the slope of the right wing 6 of the Tool 1. It is imperative that the correct embodiment of the Tool 1 be used to correspond with the type of soil being excavated. As stated before,
The Tool 1 can be manufactured in different embodiments, depending on the type of soil 29 to be excavated. In each embodiment of the Tool 1, the angle of the slope of the left wing 5 and right wing 6 must be measured and fabricated to conform with the type of soil for which use of the Tool 1 will be applied for confirmation of the excavation standards. The relationship of the dimensions of the wing height 21, the handle length 22, and the Tool 1 width 20 may be varied as necessary. In referring to
A. the actual minimum clearing distance, or spoil distance 30, from the left and right shoulders 36 (ref.
B. the height above the shoulders 36 of the trench 31 of which a minimum ladder length 24 must be exposed;
C. the ingress/egress depth 25 of a trench at which insertion of a ladder into a trench 31 is mandatory;
D. the depth 26 of a trench at which “sloping or shoring” of the trench is required;
E. the maximum allowable slope angle 27, in degrees of both sidewalls of the trench;
F. the ratio 28 of the height of a trench 31 to its width, as applicable to the type of soil being excavated;
G. the limitation 29 as to the soil type for which the Tool 1 may be used to gauge and verify the proper trench construction elements; and
H. the guideline as to the distance 30 from the edge of the shoulders of a trench at which spoils, or excavation materials, may be piled.
While preferred embodiments of the present inventive concept have been shown and disclosed herein, it will be obvious to those persons skilled in the art that such embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not as a limitation to the scope of the inventive concept. Variations and/or changes, may be suggested to those skilled in the art without departing from the intent, scope, and totality of this inventive concept. Accordingly, it is intended that this inventive concept be inclusive of such variations, changes, and substitutions, and only limited by the scope of the claims presented herein.
This patent application claims the benefit of priority from previously-filed U.S. provisional patent application, Ser. No. 62/430,971, filed on Dec. 7, 2016, and further, claims the benefit of content of said provisional application as though fully appearing herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62430978 | Dec 2016 | US |
