Granted Patent B2

US 6,854,924 · App. 10/253,811 · Granted Feb 15, 2005

Abstract

Claims (17)

1. A preassembled drainage line unit comprising a longitudinally extending perforated sleeve member, a loose aggregation of lightweight plastic elements contained within said sleeve member, and barrier means extending longitudinally along said sleeve member and overlying at least a portion of said aggregation of elements to prevent the passage of solid materials into said aggregation of elements, said barrier means being located between said sleeve member and said aggregation of elements.

2. The preassembled drainage line unit of claim 1 , further comprising a perforated conduit extending through said aggregation, said sleeve member enveloping said aggregation and bounding the same relative to said conduit.

3. The preassembled drainage line unit of claim 2 , wherein said sleeve member is generally cylindrical and said barrier means overlies said aggregation of elements through an angular distance within the range of about 10 degrees to 360 degrees.

4. The preassembled drainage line unit of claim 1 , wherein said sleeve member is generally cylindrical and said barrier means overlies said aggregation of elements through an angular distance within the range of about 10 degrees to 360 degrees.

5. The preassembled drainage line unit of claim 1 , wherein said barrier means is water permeable.

6. The preassembled drainage line unit of claim 5 , wherein said barrier means is constructed from pliable sheet material.

7. The preassembled drainage line in unit of claim 6 , wherein said sheet material is selected from the group consisting of paper, cloth, and geo-textile.

8. A preassembled drainage line unit comprising a longitudinally extending perforated conduit, a loose aggregation of lightweight plastic elements surrounding said conduit, a generally cylindrical mesh tube of netting enveloping said aggregation and bounding the same relative to said conduit, the ends of said netting being respectively fastened about the ends of said conduit, and barrier means extending longitudinally along said tube of netting and overlying at least a portion of said aggregation of elements to prevent the passage of solid materials into said aggregation, said barrier means being located between said tube of netting and said aggregation of elements.

9. The preassembled drainage unit of claim 8 , wherein said barrier means overlies said aggregation of elements through an angular distance within the range of about 10 degrees to 360 degrees.

10. The preassembled drainage unit of claim 8 , wherein said barrier means is water permeable.

11. The preassembled drainage unit of claim 10 , wherein said barrier means is constructed from pliable sheet material.

12. The preassembled drainage unit of claim 11 , wherein said sheet material is selected from the group consisting of paper, cloth, and geo-textile.

13. A method of manufacturing a drainage line unit, the method including the steps of:

closing a forward end of a continuous sleeve of netting and of a barrier sheet material;

feeding the continuous sleeve of netting and the barrier sheet along a direction of manufacture with the barrier sheet located within the sleeve of netting;

feeding a plurality of loose aggregate into the sleeve of netting to substantially fill the space within the netting, the barrier sheet located between the sleeve of netting and the aggregate and angularly overlying at least a portion of the aggregate so as to prevent the passage of solids into the aggregate.

14. The method as defined in claim 13 , wherein the forward ends of the netting and of the barrier are closed about a length of perforated pipe and are fed therewith along a direction of manufacture, the loose aggregate being fed into the space between the sleeve of netting and the pipe to substantially fill the space so that the pipe is surrounded by a plurality of aggregate.

Assignments (8)