Patent Application
20090013610
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective tarps for covering a mass, especially masses located outdoors. More specifically, it relates to protective tarps with anchors formed of tank compartments, which may be filled with fluent material. In preferred embodiments, the tank compartment anchors are integrally formed with the tarp sheet material. The present invention protective tarps have baffles within the tank compartments to reduce fluent material content over shifting. Thus, the baffles assist in maintaining fluid distribution to reduce having most of all of the fluent material shift to one corner or end of the tank compartment.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
The following patents are exemplary of the prior art relating to tarps:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,876 describes a protective cover cloth having continuous flexible weights secured along at least two opposed edges for securing the cover against wind blowing, etc. The cover cloth may be made from insulating materials and heated for curing concrete. Sand, shot or other particulate material, possibly in individual bags, is inserted in a wide hem or tubes attached along the edges of the cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,637 describes a perforate member that is laid over a windrow of cut plants to confine it against the action of the wind. The member is open over a major portion of its area to sunlight and the passage of air. The member is held against the ground preferably by the weight of water in flexible tubes extending along opposite sides of the windrow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,790 describes a tarpaulin anchoring system for retaining a tarpaulin on a pile of stored grain or other granular material that comprises of a plurality of anchors embedded in the pile. Each anchor has an attachment element protruding upwardly from the pile, with the attachment element being connected to a fastener affixed to the underside of the tarpaulin. The anchors are placed in the grain pile, throughout the area covered by the tarpaulin, as required to retain it in place. The anchors themselves may be of a screw or auger type which can be driven into an existing grain pile and attached to a tarpaulin as it is spread over the pile. In the case where a tarp is suspended above a grain storage area prior to formation of the grain pile, the anchors may be discs or plates attached to the underside of the tarpaulin by ropes; the anchors are buried in the pile when formed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,421 describes a cover system for an automobile which includes a flexible cover, preferably of nylon, having leading, tailing and side edge portions and of a suitable dimension to fit over the entire car body from rear bumper to the front bumper and sides thereof. The flexible cover includes an elastic leader segment attached at a first end to the cover and spaced from the trailing edge thereof. A second end of the leader segment is attached to a rotatable spool housed in a containment tube. The spool is rotated for storing in the cover by a motor, by a spring-biased shaft arrangement or by a manually turnable crank or combinations thereof. The containment tube may be pivotally swung outwardly from the trunk to an operable position at the rear of the trunk lid. After the cover is applied to the automobile, the containment tube is swung back to the trunk compartment for safe storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,794 describes a method for shielding, anchoring and containing an object such as a trailer or motor home in gale-force winds. A wind-permeable perforate sheet extends downwardly and outwardly from the top of the object or the roof of a home at an acute angle so as to surround a substantial portion of each of the sides with an inclined wind-permeable planar surface. The sheet is anchored to helical ground anchors via mechanical attachments which may also be used to tighten the sheet over the object or home. Apparatus for shielding, anchoring and containing an object such as a trailer of motor home in gale-force winds are also disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,661 B1 describes a cover for protecting a mound of particulate material in outside storage from the effects of weather elements that includes a flexible double-ply canvas having a top layer affixed to a bottom layer. The cover includes a plurality of individual bladders disposed between the top and bottom layers of the canvas, the bladders being spaced apart from and parallel to each other. Each bladder is connected to a next adjacent bladder with a flexible conduit. The cover further includes a plurality of inlet conduits coupled to respective bladders for filling selected bladders with water. Pressure-actuated check valves disposed in each flexible conduit between bladders allows water to flow from an upstream bladder into respective downstream bladders. Each bladder includes a discharge conduit for selectively draining each bladder. A plurality of straps and knobs are fixedly attached to the canvas such that the canvas may be folded and secured in a desired configuration when respective bladders do not contain water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,095 B2 is directed to an outdoor tent, which includes of a flat, flexible sheet material for its main body. Along the peripheral edge (i.e. near the bottom edge) or along each of at least two of the plurality of edges, there is at least one, and preferably, a plurality of tank compartment anchors, each having at least one fill orifice and closure means for the fill orifice. The plurality of tank compartment anchors are hollow, flexible tank compartment anchors, and, in preferred embodiments, the tank compartment anchors and sheet material are formed of the same material. In some preferred embodiments, the tank compartment anchors also have drain plugs.
U.K. Patent No. GB 2,206,024 A describes a sheet, e.g. a large plastics sheet covering a silage pit, which is anchored by means of water-filled tubes. Thus, lay-flat tubing from a reel is laid around and across the sheet. All one end of each length is sealed. Water is passed in through the other end, which is then sealed, thus converting each length of tube to a heavy weight serving to anchor the sheet.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.
The present invention is directed to a protective tarp for covering a mass, which includes of a flat, flexible sheet material having a top and a bottom and having a peripheral edge. The plurality of edges have baffles that extend outwardly from the bottom edge towards the top edge and disparate from the top edge so as to create sub-compartments. Along the peripheral edge or along each of at least two of the plurality of edges, there is a plurality of unconnected tank compartment anchors, arranged in a predetermined pattern, that have at least one fill orifice and closure means for the fill orifice. The plurality of tank compartment anchors are hollow, flexible tank compartment anchors, and, in preferred embodiments, the tank compartment anchors and sheet material are formed of the same material. In some embodiments, the sheet material is rectangular from a top view and has four edges, the four edges being two sets of two opposite edges. There are at least two edges opposite one another which contain a plurality of tank compartment anchors.
In other embodiments, the present invention protective tarp is a continuous tarp of substantial predetermined length having a central area away from the edges, and having a plurality of central tank compartment anchors located at the central area. The central tank compartment anchors are preferably aligned in a row at a right angle to an edge.
On yet other embodiments, there is a plurality of groups of central tank compartment anchors, each group being located at the central area at disparate sections. Each group of the plurality of groups of central tank compartment anchors may be located equidistant from one another. At least a portion of the central tank compartment anchors may be arranged in pairs so that the tarp may be cut between the pairs to create multiple tarps with tank compartment anchors along all edges of each of the cut tarps.
The present invention should be more fully understood when the specification herein is taken in conjunction with the drawings appended hereto wherein:
a, 2b, 2c and 2d illustrate different baffle configurations as examples of present invention baffle configurations;
In some embodiments of the present invention protective tarp, the tank compartment anchors are formed of the same flexible sheet material as its central portion. Thus, both may be formed of plastic coated woven material and the anchors and baffles may be heat welded. The fill orifices are located on sides of the anchors a little distance from the top to assure that when they are filled, there is adequate airspace to accommodate thermal expansion and contraction during freeze and thaw cycles. The anchoring fill material may be any fluent material in liquid or solid form, such as water, sand, propylene glycol or a sand/propylene glycol mixture.
The present invention protective tarp may be used as a cover for any item or material e.g. to cover a log pile or for covering any other mass, such as a motorcycle, lawn furniture, sand piles, swing sets, or outdoor construction projects in progress. The tank compartment anchors may run the entire length of the edges, but this is not required; in many embodiments, there will be a plurality of tank compartment anchors along a single edge or none at all.
While present invention protective tarp of
a, 2b, 2c and 2d show top views of different individual tank compartment anchors that form part of the present invention protective tarps (entire tarps are not shown in this figures.)
a shows anchor 22 with a peripheral having a top edge 24 and a bottom edge 26. Fillcap 28 is near the top edge. Baffles 120, 122 and 124 are straight line baffles at right angles to bottom edge 26.
b shows anchor 32 with a peripheral having a top edge 34 and a bottom edge 36. Fillcap 38 is near the top edge. Baffles 130, 132 and 134 are curved baffles at right angles to bottom edge 36, with top curves directed away form the fillcap 38.
c shows anchor 42 with a peripheral having a top edge 44 and a bottom edge 46. Fillcap 48 is near the top edge. Baffles 140 and 142 are straight line baffles at right angles to bottom edge 46 with “T” tops, as shown.
d shows anchor 52 with a peripheral having a top edge 54 and a bottom edge 56. Fillcap 58 is near the top edge. Baffles 150, 152 and 154 are straight line baffles at 75 degree angles to bottom edge 56 leaning toward the fillcap. As has now been demonstrated, many different baffle arrangements may be utilized within the scope of the present invention.
In
In
Tarp 150 of
The present invention protective tarp may have its flat, sheet material aspects formed of any known sheet material, including synthetic and natural material, as well as combinations thereof. It may be in the form of mesh or woven material, film material or combinations thereof. It may be very wide meshed, or net-like, or very tightly woven, and it may be water permeable or water proof, but is preferably water proof. The tank compartment anchors may be formed separately from the flat sheet material and may be made of the same or different materials. Typically, however, the unconnected tank compartment anchors are made of the same materials as the flat sheet materials (with perhaps, the exception of the caps or closures), and may be integrally formed therewith. This could be accomplished in a continuous process of layered materials positioned in predetermined locations and heat-sealed to a main sheet material. The layered materials would be precut and/or preformed with a threaded or fixed cap-receiving orifice, and heat-sealed to the flat sheet material to create a tank compartment anchor.
Obviously, numerous modification and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
