Patent Application
20090097921
This disclosure relates generally to the field of trench drains and, more particularly to a trench drain assembly including a flow channel, a frame for supporting the channel, and a grate for covering the channel, wherein the channel is easily attached to the frame and the frame creates a gradual slope for the channel to properly drain.
The general concept of trench drains is well known in the prior art. Trench drains are used where extensive amounts of liquid must be moved from one place to another. For example, trench drains are used for collecting rainwater from parking lots and transporting the rainwater to a drainage sewer. Typically, trench drains are U-shaped or V-shaped channels and are installed in the ground and secured in concrete. In many cases, the trench drains include a grate to prevent large debris and people from falling into them.
Some prior art trench drains include plastic channels, which can be left in place after concrete has been poured into the trench containing the drain. The plastic channels act as a form and a liner for the concrete. The manufacture and transportation costs associated with plastic channels are significantly less than prior art metal or cast concrete channels. Often, the plastic channels are supported by metal frames, which are bolted to the channels. The plastic channels include sidewalls that have gradually increasing heights along the length of the channel, which creates a gradual slope for the channel to properly drain fluid, such as rainwater. The frame is leveled in the trench and the sloping channel is bolted to the frame. Many successively taller channels are connected end-to-end to provide a long length of trench drain. For example, to create a one hundred foot length of continuous trench drain might require 10 ten-foot lengths of channel connected end-to-end wherein each successive channel is deeper than the previous channel. Thus in this example at least ten different channel pieces are required to be molded.
What is still desired is a new and improved trench drain assembly including a flow channel, a frame for supporting the channel, and a grate for covering the channel. Preferably, the new and improved trench drain assembly will allow the frame and the channel to be easily secured together without tools and without separate fasteners. In addition, the new and improved trench drain assembly will preferably require fewer different-sized channel pieces to create long spans of trench drain.
The present disclosure provides a trench drain assembly including a flow channel and a frame for supporting the channel in a trench, wherein sidewalls of the frame have a gradually increasing height between ends of the frame and sidewalls of the channel have a fixed height between ends of the channel so that only the frame creates a gradual slope for the assembly to properly drain.
The present disclosure also provides a trench drain assembly including a flow channel and a frame for supporting the channel in a trench, wherein sidewalls of the frame include spaced lugs that extend outwardly and sidewalls of the channel include spaced lugs that extend inwardly to create an interference fit with the lugs of the frame so that the channel can be easily attached to the frame. During assembly, the frame is lowered onto the channel so that the lugs of the frame are received between the lugs of the channels and the frame is then slid with respect to the channel until the lugs of the frame are positioned below the lugs of the channel to secure the frame to the channel.
Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description, wherein only exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present disclosure. As will be realized, the present disclosure is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
Reference is made to the attached drawings, wherein elements having the same reference character designations represent like elements throughout, and wherein:
Referring now to the drawings, an exemplary embodiment of a trench drain assembly 10 constructed in accordance with the present disclosure is shown. As shown in
Referring to
Each of the sidewalls 20 of the frame 14 includes a top surface 30 that receives the grate 18 and a bottom surface 32 that is received on the channel 12, as shown best in FIGS. 4 and 6-9. The sidewalls 20 also include an upwardly extending rim 34 on the top surface 30 for receipt around the grate 18 and a downwardly extending rim 36 on the bottom surface 32 for receipt in the channel 12.
The sidewalls 20 of the frame 14 have a height that increases consistently and gradually between ends 60, 62 of the frame 14 (right to left as shown in the drawings) so that the frame 14 creates a gradual slope (e.g., 0.65% or a 5/16″ drop for every 4′ of length) for the channel 12 to properly drain. In the exemplary embodiment show, the top surface 30 of the frame 14 is horizontal while the bottom surface 32 is sloped, and the ends 60, 62 of the frame 14 extend normal to the top surface 30. According to one exemplary embodiment, a set of five successively taller frames 14a-14e are provide wherein each frame has a length between ends 60, 62 of about 4′ and the five frames have the following dimensions:
As shown in 1-7 and 10-13, the channel 12 has a constant height along its entire length, extends between a female end 42 and a male end 44, and includes sidewalls 46 that each extends upward to a top surface 48. The ends 42, 44 of the channel 12 extend at a slight angle with respect to the top surfaces 48 such that the ends 42, 44 will extend normal with respect to the top surfaces 30 of the frame 14 when the channel is joined to the frame. As illustrated in
Thus, in this example five different frames 14a-14e can be combined with five different channels 12a-12e to construct a 100′ span having five 20′ segments 100a-100e, wherein each segment 100 comprises five 4′ assemblies 10a-10e and each assembly 10a-10e includes five channels 12 of the same height, e.g., 4.5″. For example,
As shown best in
Referring to
Thus, the present disclosure provides a new and improved trench drain assembly 10. It should be understood, however, that the exemplary embodiments described in this specification have been presented by way of illustration rather than limitation, and various modifications, combinations and substitutions may be effected by those skilled in the art without departure either in spirit or scope from this disclosure in its broader aspects and as set forth in the appended claims. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In addition, the improved trench drain assembly disclosed herein, and all elements thereof, are contained within the scope of at least one of the following claims. No elements of the presently disclosed trench drain assembly are meant to be disclaimed.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/977,696, filed Oct. 5, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60977696 | Oct 2007 | US |
