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The present invention pertains relates to the field of improved water drainage systems in basements, crawlspaces, and other applications where water removal is required. More specifically, the present invention relates to a protective shield sleeve for sump pumps that are housed in a basin whereby the protective shield sleeve prevents debris from entering the basin and fouling and damaging the sump pump located therein.
Sump pumps are well known in the art are used in variety of applications. For purposes of this patent application, sump pumps are widely used in a variety of configurations in basement and crawl spaces of various structures to remove water that is introduced into those spaces from locations outside of the structure. Sump pumps are also used in various applications outside of a structure. A problem encountered with sump pumps is that sediment of various sizes can enter into the sump pump and foul up and break the pump. Generally speaking, sump pumps are submersible pumping devices installed in the lowest part of a structure which are used to remove excess water (such as groundwater) from the ground near the structure to prevent flooding. Further, when water pools up in soil that is directly adjacent to a structure wall and/or basement wall, hydrostatic water pressure and extra weight builds up against the structure wall. Normally, the structure wall is adequate and built to withstand that pressure. However, with the extra weight of the water in the soil against the structure wall, hydrostatic pressure is created such that the water via gravity must travel in the direction of least resistance. The water will then often find a way under a structure wall and/or footer of the wall and enter a basement or crawlspace to which it must be then evacuated. In order to allow the excess water to reach the pumping device and then to be removed, typically sump pumps are located in a housing basin that is located in a pre-dug hole in the ground wherein said housing basin has drainage apertures that allow for pipes to be installed into said apertures and/or to allow ingress of water into the basis without the need for pipe.
One configuration, for example, is to run a configuration of drain lines in the ground around the interior perimeter of the basement whereby the drain lines terminate into the apertures of the housing basin. Traditionally, gravel is then inserted into the space between the basin and the pre-dug hole such that the gravel acts as a filter for sediment or other matter. However, over time the gravel does not prove to be effective at preventing sediment from entering the housing basin and clogging apertures located in the housing basin and further fouling the sump pump located in the basin. Further, the cost of gravel is high, its effectiveness for its intended purpose is low, and the labor it takes to lift the gravel into a tight space is time consuming and hard on a worker's body. What is need in the art is a protective sleeve that fits around a housing basin that removes the need for the use of gravel, filters sediment and other soil fines with high efficiency, and can be changed at ease should the protective shield sleeve become fouled or blocked with sediment.
The invention of this disclosure is a protective shield sleeve that is easily installable around a sump pump basin. The protective sleeve is generally cylindrical in shape although it can accommodate a rectangular basin. The sleeve has an outer layer and an inner layer and both said outer and inner layer are made of polyester micro-fiber material although other fabrics could be used. The outer layer is a rectangular strip of polyester micro-fiber that is joined to a mirror image rectangular strip which is the inner layer. The sleeve is formed by the sewing or stitching of the inner layer to the outer layer on their outside edges. Before sealing off the connection of the outer layer and inner layer, a geosynthetic aggregate is inserted into the cavity that is formed by the joining of the inner layer to the outer layer. Once the aggregate is located inside the sleeve, the opening of one end of the sleeve that the aggregate was inserted through is closed by sewing or stitching it to the opposite end of the sleeve. The aggregate is evenly distributed within the sleeve and a matrix of cell pockets are stitched into the sleeve. The cell pockets can be of a variety of shapes such as circular, square or hexagonal among others. The sleeve is insertable onto the outer surface of a sump pump basin.
Referring now to
The protective sleeve 10 is made of fabric and in one embodiment is made out of microfiber polyester that allows for the filtration of sediment out of the ground water. Particularly, a preferred fabric to be used is a geotextile mesh which is 30-sieve with apparent opening size of 0.6 mm, a unit weight between 2.5 and 3.5 ounces per square yard, and a strength of 100 pounds per square inch. The flow rate through the mesh is 300 gallons per minute per minute per foot at 3 inches of head. Other fabric materials could be used. The protective sleeve 10 can be made in a variety of sizes to accommodate various basin 18 sizes. Traditionally, basins 18 are generally circular in shape but the protective sleeve 18 could made to fit a variety of basin 18 shapes. Additionally, a simple 5 gallon bucket found in almost all hardware stores and other stores can be used by modifying the bucket by creating basin apertures 24 in the bucket and basin drain line apertures 25. The protective sleeve 10 has a bottom panel 15 and the protective sleeve is installed onto the bottom of the basin 18 and pulled upward such that it encapsulates the entire basin 18.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The principles, embodiments, and modes of operation of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing specification. The embodiments disclosed herein should be interpreted as illustrating the present invention and not as restricting it. The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the range of equivalent structure available to a person of ordinary skill in the art in any way, but rather to expand the range of equivalent structures in ways not previously contemplated. Numerous variations and changes can be made to the foregoing illustrative embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
This application claims the benefit of priority to Provisional Application No. 63/316,440 filed on Mar. 4, 2022.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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63316440 | Mar 2022 | US |