MULTI-SIDED CULVERT
There is provided a multi-sided culvert having a base section, a first side body, and a second side body. The first and second side bodies are engaged at the top of the culvert by a top engagement and supported by the base section. The base section engages the first side body by a first bottom engagement and the second side body by a second bottom engagement. The first part of the first bottom engagement has a first guide section and a first interlocking section, and the second part of the first bottom engagement has a second guide section and a second interlocking section. During installation the first and second guide sections guide the first and second interlocking sections into engagement, the first and second interlocking sections having tapered surfaces that, when engaged, permit upward and outward movement of the second part relative to the base.
This relates to a three-sided culvert having a unique corner engagement.
BACKGROUNDCulverts are often used in order to either control or allow for water flow, such as under roadways and bridges. While the most common type of culvert is a round culvert, other types of culverts are also possible. Examples of other types of culverts can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,334,484 (Charliss) entitled “Culvert”, U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,726 (Cooper, Jr. entitled “Delta Culvert” and U.S. Pat. No. 9,228,312 (Smith) entitled “Method of Building a Structure in the Presence of Water”.
SUMMARYAccording to an aspect, there is provided a multi-sided culvert comprising a culvert body comprising a base section, a first side body, and a second side body, the first and second side bodies being engaged at a top of the culvert body by a top engagement and being supported by the base section, the base section engaging the first side body by a first bottom engagement and the second side body by a second bottom engagement, wherein the first bottom engagement comprises a first part at a first side edge of the base, the first part having a first guide section and a first interlocking section and a second part at a first side edge of the first side, the second part having a second guide section and a second interlocking section, wherein, during installation, the first and second guide sections interact to guide the first and second interlocking sections into interlocking engagement, the first and second interlocking sections comprising tapered surfaces that, when engaged, permit upward and outward movement of the second part relative to the base.
According to another aspect, the first and second bottom engagements may be symmetric.
According to another aspect, the second bottom engagement may comprises a first part at a second side edge of the base that is shaped the same as the second part of the first bottom engagement, and a second part at a first side edge of the second side body that is shaped the same as the first part of the first bottom engagement.
According to another aspect, the top engagement may comprise a first part at a second side edge of the first side body that is shaped the same as the first part of the first bottom engagement and a second part at a second side edge of the second side body that is shaped the same as the second part of the first bottom engagement.
According to another aspect, each of the base, the first side body, and the second side body may have a common size and shape.
According to another aspect, the first guide section of the first part may comprise a flat surface adjacent to a tapered surface that descends from the flat surface toward the first side edge of the base, the first interlocking section of the first part may comprise a protrusion that extends upward from the flat surface of the first guide section, the second guide section of the second part may be complementary to the first guide section, and the second interlocking section may comprise a recess that receives the protrusion of the first interlocking section.
According to another aspect, the first guide section of the first part may comprise a flat surface adjacent to the first side edge of the base and a tapered surface that extends upward and away from the flat surface relative to the first side edge of the base, the first interlocking section of the first part may comprise a recess that is recessed from a top of the tapered surface, the second guide section of the second part may be complementary to the first guide section, and the second interlocking section may comprise a protrusion that is received by the recess of the first interlocking section.
According to another aspect, the second bottom engagement may comprise a first part at a second side edge of the base that is shaped the same as the first part of the first bottom engagement, and a second part at a first side edge of the second side body that is shaped the same as the second part of the first bottom engagement.
According to another aspect, the top engagement may comprise a first part at a second side edge of the second side body that is shaped the same as the first part of the first bottom engagement and a second part at a second side edge of the first side body that is shaped the same as the second part of the first bottom engagement.
According to another aspect, the first part and the second part of the first bottom engagement, when engaged, may define a labyrinth seal.
According to another aspect, the first part and the second part of the bottom engagement each may comprise an engagement profile that extends along a length of the first side edges of the base and the first side body.
According to an aspect, there is provided a multi-sided culvert, comprising first, second and third side bodies, each side body comprising a first end having a first part of a two-part engagement, the first part comprising a first guide section and a first interlocking section, and a second end having a second part of the two-part engagement, the second part comprising a second guide section and a second interlocking section, wherein, during installation, the first, second and third side bodies are engaged to form a three-sided culvert such that respective first and second guide sections of adjacent side bodies interact to guide the respective first and second interlocking sections into interlocking engagement, the first and second interlocking sections comprising tapered surfaces that, when engaged, permit upward and outward movement of the second part relative to the base.
According to another aspect, for each of the first, second and third side bodies the first guide section of the first part may comprise a flat surface adjacent to the first side edge of the base and a tapered surface that extends upward and away from the flat surface relative to the first side edge of the base, the first interlocking section of the first part may comprise a recess that is recessed from a top of the tapered surface, the second guide section of the second part may be complementary to the first guide section, and the second interlocking section comprises a protrusion that is received by the recess of the first interlocking section.
According to another aspect, the first end and the second end of each of the first, second and third side bodies may comprise an engagement profile that extends along a length of the first side edges of the base and the first side body.
In other aspects, the features described above may be combined together in any reasonable combination as will be recognized by those skilled in the art.
These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein:
A multi-sided culvert generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to
Referring to
First side body 16 and second side body 18 are supported by base section 14, which engages first side body 16 with a first bottom engagement 24, and second side body 18 with a second bottom engagement 26. First side body 16 and second side body 18 are engaged at a top 20 of culvert body 12 by a top engagement 22. As shown in
Referring to
The engagement described above is preferably used as the basis for the other engagements used in culvert body 12, although it may be used in different ways. For example, as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
The angles of the various surfaces of the first and second parts of the engagements are selected such that the joints remain engaged and are biased toward engagement, but also permit some expansion when pressure is applied from within. For example, in the winter, water may freeze within culvert 12. The depicted engagements permit some movement to allow the freezing water to expand without damaging the culvert. As can be seen, there are surfaces at either end of the various bodies that are generally perpendicular to the respective body, or in other words, which are generally tangential to an arc that would be followed if the body were to pivot about its other end. These surfaces allow each body to slide outward in response to a force applied to the inner surface of culvert 12, while still being urged by gravity and the slope of that and other surfaces toward engagement.
The assembly of multi-sided culvert 10 will now be described. Referring to
Referring to
Base 14, side body 16, and side body 18 may be formed from any suitable material, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, the three panels may be cast from cement, concrete, or any other material suitable for use as a culvert. In the configuration shown in
In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the elements is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
The scope of the following claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples above and in the drawings, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
Claims
1. A multi-sided culvert comprising:
- a culvert body comprising a base section, a first side body, and a second side body, the first and second side bodies being engaged at a top of the culvert body by a top engagement and being supported by the base section, the base section engaging the first side body by a first bottom engagement and the second side body by a second bottom engagement, wherein the first bottom engagement comprises: a first part at a first side edge of the base, the first part having a first guide section and a first interlocking section; and a second part at a first side edge of the first side, the second part having a second guide section and a second interlocking section, wherein, during installation, the first and second guide sections interact to guide the first and second interlocking sections into interlocking engagement, the first and second interlocking sections comprising tapered surfaces that, when engaged, permit upward and outward movement of the second part relative to the base.
2. The multi-sided culvert of claim 1, wherein the first and second bottom engagements are symmetric.
3. The multi-sided culvert of claim 1, wherein the second bottom engagement comprises:
- a first part at a second side edge of the base that is shaped the same as the second part of the first bottom engagement; and
- a second part at a first side edge of the second side body that is shaped the same as the first part of the first bottom engagement.
4. The multi-sided culvert of claim 3, wherein the top engagement comprises:
- a first part at a second side edge of the first side body that is shaped the same as the first part of the first bottom engagement; and
- a second part at a second side edge of the second side body that is shaped the same as the second part of the first bottom engagement.
5. The multi-sided culvert of claim 1, wherein each of the base, the first side body, and the second side body have a common size and shape.
6. The multi-sided culvert of claim 1, wherein:
- the first guide section of the first part comprises a flat surface adjacent to a tapered surface that descends from the flat surface toward the first side edge of the base;
- the first interlocking section of the first part comprises a protrusion that extends upward from the flat surface of the first guide section;
- the second guide section of the second part is complementary to the first guide section; and
- the second interlocking section comprises a recess that receives the protrusion of the first interlocking section.
7. The multi-sided culvert of claim 1, wherein:
- the first guide section of the first part comprises a flat surface adjacent to the first side edge of the base and a tapered surface that extends upward and away from the flat surface relative to the first side edge of the base;
- the first interlocking section of the first part comprises a recess that is recessed from a top of the tapered surface;
- the second guide section of the second part is complementary to the first guide section; and
- the second interlocking section comprises a protrusion that is received by the recess of the first interlocking section.
8. The multi-sided culvert of claim 7, wherein the second bottom engagement comprises:
- a first part at a second side edge of the base that is shaped the same as the first part of the first bottom engagement; and
- a second part at a first side edge of the second side body that is shaped the same as the second part of the first bottom engagement.
9. The multi-sided culvert of claim 8, wherein the top engagement comprises:
- a first part at a second side edge of the second side body that is shaped the same as the first part of the first bottom engagement; and
- a second part at a second side edge of the first side body that is shaped the same as the second part of the first bottom engagement.
10. The multi-sided culvert of claim 1, wherein the first part and the second part of the first bottom engagement, when engaged, define a labyrinth seal.
11. The multi-sided culvert of claim 1, wherein the first part and the second part of the bottom engagement each comprise an engagement profile that extends along a length of the first side edges of the base and the first side body.
12. A multi-sided culvert, comprising:
- first, second and third side bodies, each side body comprising: a first end having a first part of a two-part engagement, the first part comprising a first guide section and a first interlocking section; and a second end having a second part of the two-part engagement, the second part comprising a second guide section and a second interlocking section;
- wherein, during installation, the first, second and third side bodies are engaged to form a three-sided culvert such that respective first and second guide sections of adjacent side bodies interact to guide the respective first and second interlocking sections into interlocking engagement, the first and second interlocking sections comprising tapered surfaces that, when engaged, permit upward and outward movement of the second part relative to the base.
13. The multi-sided culvert of claim 12, wherein, for each of the first, second and third side bodies:
- the first guide section of the first part comprises a flat surface adjacent to the first side edge of the base and a tapered surface that extends upward and away from the flat surface relative to the first side edge of the base;
- the first interlocking section of the first part comprises a recess that is recessed from a top of the tapered surface;
- the second guide section of the second part is complementary to the first guide section; and
- the second interlocking section comprises a protrusion that is received by the recess of the first interlocking section.
14. The multi-sided culvert of claim 12, wherein the first end and the second end of each of the first, second and third side bodies comprise an engagement profile that extends along a length of the first side edges of the base and the first side body.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 14, 2017
Publication Date: Feb 13, 2020
Inventor: Murray SMITH (Beaverlodge)
Application Number: 15/779,814