Structure supported containment dike
AssigneeP.V. Flood Control Corp.
InventorPaul Vickers
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Flexible containment tubes form sections of a dike for fluid containment. Structural supports are inserted into the flexible contain tubes and the tube sealed to form structure supported dike sections. For example, a supporting structure may be configured with a given length and cross sectional diameter to provide structural support to a vinyl-coated polyester tube with a 12-36 inch diameter. The structure is sealed within the tube and, in turn, the tube may be filled with a fluid such as water to create structure supported containment dike. The length of the supporting structure may be selected based on the width of an entryway to create structure supported dike section of a give length that provide a seal across the entryways against floodwaters.
Claims19
An apparatus for mitigating flood damage, the apparatus comprising:
- a supporting structure disposed within an interior of the flexible containment tube and comprising:
- a cross sectional perimeter, and a length;
- a flexible containment tube comprising:
- a circumference greater than or equal to the cross sectional perimeter of the supporting structure, a length greater than or equal to the length of the supporting structure, an opening in the flexible body of the containment tube wherein the opening is large enough to receive the supporting structure, and a valve disposed in a flexible body of the flexible containment tube configured to receive a fluid;
- wherein the length of the flexible containment tube exceeds the length of the supporting structure by a minimum fold length, wherein the minimum fold length is a minimum length of flexible containment tube necessary to extend past the end of the supporting structure and fold back onto the flexible containment tube to seal the opening of the flexible containment tube.
A method for mitigating flood damage, the method comprising:
- adjusting a length of a supporting structure based on a width of an entryway;
- adjusting a cross sectional perimeter of a supporting structure based on a circumference of an opening in the flexible body of a flexible containment tube;
- inserting the supporting structure into the opening in the flexible containment tube;
- sealing the opening to form a structure supported dike section, wherein the supporting structure is inside the flexible containment tube;
- positioning the structure supported dike section within the entryway;
- and filling the structure support dike section with a filling fluid to laterally expand the flexible containment tube within the width of the entryway and form a seal with a first edge of the entryway;
- and wherein a length of the flexible containment tube exceeds the length of the supporting structure by a minimum fold length, wherein the minimum fold length is a minimum length of flexible containment tube necessary to extend past the end of the supporting structure and fold back onto the flexible containment tube to seal the opening of the flexible containment tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.