Depicted in
Bag 10 advantageously comprises primary walls 14 and 18 and secondary walls 22 and 26. Each of walls 14, 18, 22, and 26 may be formed of one or more sheets or pieces of porous material. In use, water should be able to pass through walls 14, 18, 22, and 26, whereas most or all debris entrained in the water should not. As a result, bag 10 may serve to filter debris from flowing water and retain the filtered debris within the confines of walls 14, 18, 22, and 26.
Sheets forming primary walls 14 and 18 are generally complementary in shape. Walls 14 and 18 are connected to define front margin 30 extending from a generally open lower bag mouth 34 to approximately the top 38 of bag 10. Front margin 30 preferably is curved as shown in
Bag mouth 34 may be created by not interconnecting forward lower edges of walls 14 and 18.
Unlike conventional bags, bag 10 includes two top margins 50 and 54 and two bottom rear margins 55 and 56. Top margin 50 may be formed by connecting primary wall 14 with secondary wall 22 at top 38 of bag 10. Top margin 54, by contrast, may be formed by connecting primary wall 18 with secondary wall 26 at top 38. Bottom rear margin 55 is formed by connecting primary wall 14 with secondary wall 22 at bottom 57 of bag 10, and bottom rear margin 56 is created by connecting walls 18 and 26 at bottom 57.
Primary wall 14 and secondary wall 22 additionally may be interconnected to form one rear margin 58 at rear 62 of bag 10. A second rear margin 66, also at rear 62, may be created by connecting primary wall 18 and secondary wall 26. Portions of walls 14 and 22 forming rear margin 58 may be fitted with hook-and-loop fasteners, as may portions of walls 18 and 26 forming second rear margin 66. Accordingly, walls 14 and 22 form a first lobe 70 that may be opened at rear margin 58, whereas walls 18 and 26 form a second lobe 74 that may be opened at second rear margin 66.
Alternatively, the loop fastener of loop 78 may be connected instead to second rear margin 66 of second lobe 74, with the corresponding hook fastener being connected to rear margin 58 of first lobe 70 (or vice-versa), so that the hook-and-loop fasteners are in shear as lobes 70 and 74 pull apart during debris fill. This configuration allows lobes 70 and 74 to surround or capture a hose or other object and help to maintain the upright and symmetrical position of bag 10. As yet another alternative, the hook-and-loop fasteners may be configured to create a tensile joint as lobes 70 and 74 pull apart during fill. As the lobes 70 and 74 fill, the complementary hook portion and loop portion of the fasteners could detach to provide visual indication of the filled state of lobes 70 and 74.
Divider seam 102 extends upward from bottom 57 of bag 10 but terminates prior to top 38. Seam 102 interconnects all of walls 14, 18, 22, and 26, defining a primary fluid flow path 106 from mouth 34 upward through forward section 110 of bag 10. Seam 102, further, preferably is generally coincident with (although shorter than) seam 82. To the rear of seam 102 are thus two debris-containing pockets 114 and 118. As debris-laden water flows along path 106 through bag 10, debris too large to exit the bag 10 eventually will settle (under gravity) into either of pockets 114 or 118.
The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, and describing embodiments of the present invention. Modifications and adaptations to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
This application is based on and hereby refers to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/837,171, filed Aug. 11, 2006, and having the same title as appears above, the entire contents of which provisional patent application are incorporated herein by this reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60837171 | Aug 2006 | US |