The present invention relates generally to the field of road resurfacing and more specifically to a device for replacing and automatically leveling manholes.
Most people are familiar with manhole covers, which dot the roadways and sidewalks of urban areas. However, they may be unaware that below each manhole cover is a preformed manhole structure that provides a connection to the sewer or other conduit below. When a road is re-paved, the height of the road is raised due to the addition of new asphalt or concrete. This increased height leaves manhole covers sunk below the level of the new road. In the past, the manhole would be removed and ring structures would be added under the manhole, until the top of the manhole reached the level of the new road. This method works well with roads that are flat and level. However, when the road was banked or had an inclining grade, using the ring structures made it extremely difficult, if not impossible to level the manhole cover with the sloping road.
What is needed in the field is a device that can hold a manhole in place during replacement and allow the contour of the road to aid in leveling the manhole with the surface of a new road.
An apparatus that is adapted for attachment to a manhole, wherein the apparatus is used to remove the manhole from a road during resurfacing, and to replace the manhole back into the road after resurfacing. The present manhole leveler provides for automatic leveling of the manhole with the road upon placement of the manhole in the road. The apparatus comprises a support beam and two clamping units. The support beam has a top and a bottom, and the support beam is capable of supporting the weight of the manhole. The first clamping unit is slideably attached to the support beam. The first clamping unit includes an attachment unit that is adapted to contact a first portion of the manhole. The first clamping unit is able to clamp the first portion of the manhole between the attachment unit and the bottom of the support beam. The second clamping unit is also slide-ably attached to the support beam. The second clamping unit includes a second attachment unit that is adapted to contact a second portion of the manhole. The second clamping unit is able to clamp the second portion of the manhole between the second attachment unit and the bottom of the support beam.
The manhole leveler further comprises two carrying handles. The first carrying handle is attached to the top of the support beam at one end of the beam. The second carrying handle is attached to the top of the support beam at the opposite end of the beam. In the preferred embodiment, the attachment unit in each clamping unit comprises a curved prong that is complementary in shape and size to an outside of the manhole. Further, the attachment unit is release-ably attached the first clamping unit, and the second attachment unit is release-ably attached to the second clamping unit.
Each clamping unit in the manhole leveler includes a screw handle that operates a specialized vice that allows a lip or edge of the manhole to be clamped between the attachment unit and the bottom of the support beam. Each clamping unit further includes a tubular housing through which the support beam passes, and that allows the clamping units to slide along the length of the beam. The housing also allows the specialized vice to be operated from two different locations. The clamping units are preferably made of metal, and the support beam is preferably made of aluminum.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that makes the job of leveling a manhole with the surface of a new road easy.
If is another object of the present invention to provide a manhole leveler that is easy to produce and easy to use.
The invention of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing(s), given only by way of example, in which:
The clamping unit 100 includes a screw handle 105 that is used to raise and lower an attachment unit 130, which preferably is a curved prong that contours to the shape of the outside of the manhole. In the preferred mode of operation, the attachment unit 130 is placed underneath the outside lip of the manhole and the curved prong is raised until the lip is clamped between the prong and the bottom of a support beam (shown in
Turning the screw handle 105 in the clockwise direction causes the screw 110 to traverse through a nut that is held within the upper horizontal support arm 155, which causes the support arm 155 to travel upward toward the screw handle 105. The upper horizontal support arm 155 is mechanically attached to a lower horizontal support arm 125, which is attached to the curved prong, or attachment unit 130. When the screw handle 105 is turned clockwise, the attachment unit 130 is raised toward the bottom of the housing 145 of the clamping unit. Two vertical attachment arms 115 & 120 that are attach to the lower horizontal support arm 125 traverse through housing sleeves 135 & 140 while moving upward and downward. The support beam that is used to carry the clamping units and the manhole, extends through the middle 150 of the clamping unit housing 145. The vertical attachment arms 115 & 120 are release-ably attached to the upper horizontal support arm 155 by pins 160 & 165, in the preferred embodiment. This feature allows the attachment arms 115 & 120, and most importantly the attachment unit 130, to be removed from the clamping unit 100, rotated 180 degrees and reattached to the unit. When the attachment unit 130 is reversed, the clamping unit 100 can clamp onto the interior portion of a manhole, wherein the attachment unit extends into the interior of the manhole.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept. For example, the support beam could be made wider thereby providing greater contact and stability with the road. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology of terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
The subject matter disclosed herein was originally disclosed in U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/926,495 filed on Apr. 27, 2007 and priority is claimed to the provisional application.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60926495 | Apr 2007 | US |