Leaching chamber family with common end connectors
AssigneeInfiltrator Systems, Inc.
InventorsBryan J. Coppes, Roy E Moore, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a family of plastic leaching chambers, each having an arch shape cross section and corrugations, there are chambers of different top heights and possibly different widths. Each chamber has a common size of end connector, so chambers within the family, of any size, can be interconnected. Preferably, the height of an end connector is no more than the top height of the smallest chamber in the family. Preferred chambers have one or more hollow pillars extending downwardly within the interior of the chamber; and preferred chambers have peak corrugations which are substantially wider than the intervening valley corrugations.
Claims11
A group of arch shape cross section plastic leaching chambers, each chamber having a body portion comprising opposing side base flanges running along a length of the chamber in a base plane, opposing sidewalls running upwardly and inwardly from each base flange to a top of the chamber, and an interior concavity for receiving water during use;
- a first sub-group of chambers within the group having top heights which are different from the top heights of a second sub-group of chambers within the group;
- each chamber of said first and second sub-group further comprising:
- a first connector and a second connector, attached to opposing lengthwise ends of the body portion of the chamber, the first end connector shaped to overlap the second end connector of a like chamber to form a connector joint between two mated chambers;
- each connector having a base portion which is at the same elevation as said base flanges;
- and,
- each connector in fluid flow communication with said chamber interior concavity, so that when like chambers are connected, water can flow lengthwise between the interior concavities of any two interconnected chambers;
- wherein, all the first connectors of the first and second sub-groups have the same height and all the second connectors of the first and second sub-groups have the same height.
In a group of plastic leaching chambers, some chambers having top heights which are different from the top heights of other chambers, wherein each chamber comprises (a) an arch shape cross section and an interior concavity for receiving water during use, (b) opposing side base flanges running lengthwise along the chamber, (c) an arch curve wall running from one base flange, along the arch curve of said arch shape cross section to a second base flange, the arch curve wall comprised of opposing upward-running sidewalls and an interconnected top, (d) a first end connector and an opposing second end connector, each connector integrally attached to an end of the chamber, the first end connector is shaped to overlap a like second end connector on another chamber, each connector having a base portion which is at the same elevation as said base flanges, each connector in fluid flow communication with said chamber interior concavity, so that when two like chambers are connected by means of mating a first end connector on one chamber with the second end connector on the other chamber, water can flow between the interior concavities of any two interconnected chambers, the improvement which comprises:
- all first end connectors of each chamber in the group of chambers having the same height;
- and, all second end connectors of each chamber in the group having the same height;
- wherein a first top height chamber from the group may be interconnected with a choice of another first top height chamber selected from the group or with a second top height chamber selected from the group;
- and, wherein all said first end connectors comprise dome portions;
- and, wherein all the first end connectors are shaped to enable relative rotation in the horizontal plane of two interconnected chambers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.