SIDEWALK TRENCH SYSTEM

Abstract

A system may include a first portion of a cabling facility provided in a first trench formed beneath a first expansion joint between a first sidewalk flag and a curb; a second portion of the cabling facility provided in a second trench formed beneath a second expansion joint between the first sidewalk flag and a second sidewalk flag; and a third portion of the cabling facility provided from a cable source and connecting to the first portion of the cabling facility or the second portion of the cabling facility.

Description

BACKGROUND

Underground trenches are sometimes provided in order to install cabling from a service provider premises to a customer premises. Trenches are sometimes installed beneath public streets and/or sidewalks. Trenches can be time consuming, labor intensive, intrusive, and costly to install and can be disruptive to motorists, pedestrians, property owners, and/or other individuals that use the streets and/or sidewalks where trenches are to be installed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate an example overview of an implementation described herein;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross sectional view of a street having an example access trench;

FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of a street having an example access trench;

FIGS. 4A-4H illustrate top views of example implementations as described herein; and

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate an example implementation as described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

Systems and/or methods, as described herein, may provide a sidewalk trench along the length of a street to provide cabling to one or more premises along the street. In some implementations, the installation of the sidewalk trench may be less intrusive, disruptive, costly, and/or labor intensive than a street trench that is provided underneath the street along the length of the street.

While systems and/or methods describe the installation of a cable in an access trench and/or a sidewalk trench, in practice, the systems and/or methods may apply to the installation of a conduit in an access trench and/or a sidewalk trench. Further, references to a cable may refer to a conduit and/or a pathway for a cable or a conduit. In some implementations, the conduit may receive one or more cables to provide a secure and protected transport for the one or more cables. In some implementations, the conduit may include a casing formed from a plastic, plastic composite, and/or some other material that may provide protection of the cable. In some implementations, the systems and/or methods may apply to the installation of any type of cable, such as a fiber optic cable, a coaxial cable, a power cable, an audio cable, a video cable, a telecommunications cable, or the like.

As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1A, a cable may be provided in a street trench that extends along a street (e.g., parallel to the street or along a curvature of the street). As further shown in FIG. 1A, the street trench may be approximately 0.5 meters to 7.5 meters in depth below ground depending on the location of utilities, wires, pipes, and/or other items that may interfere with the cable. As further shown in FIG. 1A, the length of the street trench may extend from underneath the street along a length of the street such that a cable may extend from a cable source along the length of the street within the street trench to provide connecting cables to one or more premises along the street.

In order to install the street trench, substantial resources and costs may be required to deconstruct the street, dig the street trench at the depth and at a length that extends the length of the street, install the cable, and reconstruct the street. Referring to FIG. 1B, installation of the street trench may cause road closures, and/or other disruptions. Further, installation of the street trench may negatively impact street aesthetics, traffic, etc.

Referring to FIG. 1C, rather than using a street trench to provide a cable extending along the street, an access trench may be used in combination with a sidewalk trench to provide a cable extending along the street. In some implementations, the sidewalk trench may be formed via existing sidewalk topology. For example, the sidewalk trench may be formed underneath an expansion joint between a curb and a sidewalk. In some implementations, the cable may extend the length of the street from within the sidewalk trench and may include connecting cables provided to one or more premises along the street and sidewalk. As described in later detail below, the connecting cables may be provided in a sidewalk trench that may be formed underneath intersecting expansion joints in between sidewalk flags. As a result, the cable may extend the length of the street within the sidewalk trench instead of within a street trench that may be costly, labor intensive, and time consuming to install. For example, the sidewalk trench may extend the length of the street and may be parallel to the street or may extend along a curvature of the street.

Referring to FIG. 1D, the sidewalk trench may be formed underneath an expansion joint between a sidewalk flag and a curb. In some implementations, the sidewalk trench may have a substantially smaller depth and width than a street trench (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1B).

In some implementations, the access trench, which provides the cable to the sidewalk trench, may have a substantially smaller length and depth (corresponding to less traffic/pedestrian interference) than a street trench that extends the length of the street for providing the connecting cables. For example, the access trench may have a depth in a range of approximately 15 centimeters to 30 centimeters and may have a length that does not extend the length of the street. In some implementations, the access trench may have a depth of approximately 23 centimeters.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross sectional view of a street having an example access trench. As shown in FIG. 2, a street may include an existing asphalt track and an existing concrete base. The access trench may be formed at a location having a cable source (e.g., a hub, a box, or the like that communicatively connects cable to a service provider network). The length of the access trench may be based on a distance between the cable source and a manhole, a handhole, or other underground access point to route a cabling facility (which may include cable, conduit for receiving cable or a combination thereof) from the cable source (e.g., a curb having a sidewalk trench or a curb where a sidewalk trench is to be installed).

In some implementations, the length of the access trench may be minimized to reduce interference with traffic and/or pedestrian activities, associated with the access trench, and/or costs associated with constructing the access trench. As shown in FIG. 2, the depth of the access trench may be in a range of approximately 15 centimeters to approximately 30 centimeters and the width of the access trench may be approximately in a range of 2 centimeters to approximately 3 centimeters (e.g., in comparison to a depth in a range of approximately 0.5 meters to approximately 7.5 meters and a width in a range of approximately 1 meter to approximately 2 meters for a street trench whose length extends the length of the street). In some implementations, the depth of the access trench may be approximately 23 centimeters and the width may be approximately 2.5 centimeters.

As shown in FIG. 2, a substantially smaller portion of the concrete base and the asphalt track may be reconstructed in relation to a street trench that extends the length of the street. Once the access trench is formed, the cabling facility may be provided from the cable source to the access trench and then provided to the sidewalk trench (e.g., via a manhole, a handhole, a junction box, an access closure, or the like).

While FIG. 2 illustrates particular arrangements and dimensions of components, the above description is merely an example. In practice, other examples are possible from what is shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of a street having an example access trench. As shown in FIG. 3 and as described above with respect to FIG. 2, the access trench may be formed extending from a cable source to an underground access point (such as a manhole) associated with a street. In some implementations, the cabling facility may be routed from the underground access point to a curb abutting the street and provided to a sidewalk trench installed underneath an expansion joint between the curb and a sidewalk flag.

While FIG. 3 illustrates particular arrangements and dimensions of components, the above description is merely an example. In practice, other examples are possible from what is shown in FIG. 3. For example, the access trench may be formed extending from the cable source directly to the abutting curb, without including an underground access point.

FIGS. 4A-4H illustrate top views of example implementations as described herein. As shown in FIG. 4A, existing expansion joints may be provided between an existing curb and existing sidewalk flags. In some implementations, the expansion joints may be provided along the curb and may extend along the curb and/or along a street abutting the curb. As shown in FIG. 4A, an expansion joint may be provided in between adjacent sidewalk flags and may extend towards the front of a premises.

Referring to FIG. 4B, an expansion joint may be completely or partially removed to allow for the installation of a sidewalk trench beneath the expansion joint. In some implementations, the expansion joint may be removed via an excavating tool, such as a saw (e.g., a handsaw, a concrete saw, a marais saw, a circular saw, a straight saw, etc.) and/or some other type of excavating tool (e.g., a commercially available excavating tool and/or a modified commercially available excavating tool). In some implementations, the expansion joint may be removed via a wet cut or a dry cut technique. Further, the sidewalk trench may be formed using the excavating tool (or another excavating tool) to a depth corresponding to a depth of the sidewalk trench. In some implementations, the depth may be selected based on cable protection requirements, installation costs, and/or other design factors. For example, a level of protection of the cabling facility (e.g., protection from damage against environmental factors and/or construction impact) and the installation costs may be proportional to the depth. In some implementations, the depth may be selected such that the expansion joint may be serviced and/or replaced at a later time without disrupting or damaging the sidewalk trench and/or the cabling facility installed in the sidewalk trench. In some implementations, the depth may be in a range of approximately 6 centimeters to approximately 20 centimeters or some other depth. In some implementations, the depth may be approximately 13 centimeters.

Referring to FIG. 4C, once the expansion joint has been removed and the sidewalk trench has been created to the specified depth, a cabling facility may be installed in the sidewalk trench. Referring to FIG. 4D a filling and/or sealing material may be provided around and on top of the cabling facility and within the trench. In some implementations, the filling material may include concrete, sand, expansion joint board, grout, and/or some other type of filling material. In some implementations, the sealing material may include a polyurethane sealant/filler, and/or some other type of sealant.

Referring to FIG. 4E, a new expansion joint may be installed and sealed over the cable and filler (e.g., using a sealing material). In some implementations, approximately a 2.5 centimeter thickness of sealing material may be used to seal the expansion joint. Alternatively, some other thickness of sealing material may be used. In some implementations, the thickness of the sealing material may be selected based on costs, protection requirements, and aesthetics. For example, protection of the cabling facility may be proportional to the thickness of the sealing material and to the costs. As a result, the cabling facility may extend along the curb and/or along a street abutting the curb within the sidewalk trench formed via exiting sidewalk topology, instead of extending along the street within a street trench.

Referring to FIG. 4F, a first sidewalk trench including a first portion of a cabling facility may be provided underneath expansion joints between a curb and a series of sidewalk flags. A second sidewalk trench including a second portion of the cabling facility may further be provided under an expansion joint that that extends towards a premises front (e.g., a front of an office building, a front of a store, a front of a residence, etc.). As further shown in FIG. 4F, a third portion of the cabling facility may be provided from a cable source connecting to the first portion and/or the second portion of the cabling facility. For example, the third portion of the cabling facility may be provided from a manhole to the first sidewalk trench and/or the second sidewalk trench to connect the first portion of the cabling facility and/or the second portion of the cabling facility.

In some implementations, an access junction may be provided in a path of the cabling facility. Additionally, or alternatively, an access junction may be provided at an intersection point of the first portion of the cable and the second portion of the cable (e.g., at intersection point of the first sidewalk trench and the second sidewalk trench). In some implementations, the access junction may include a grade-level box that may be accessible from above ground. In some implementations, a top portion of the access junction may be flush with an abutting sidewalk flag. In some implementations, the access junction may have a depth that corresponds to the depth between the surface of the sidewalk flag and the depth of the trench. In some implementations, a portion of a sidewalk flag may be removed to compensate for installation of the access junction.

In some implementations, the access junction may include a door or closure to provide access to the sidewalk trench and/or cabling facility installed in the sidewalk trench (e.g., to install a cable, to perform service on the cable, to connect the cable, etc.). For example, a first cabling facility having a first end connected to a cable source may include a termination plug at the second end located at the access junction. The second end of the first cabling facility may connect to a first end of a second cabling facility, provided at the access junction, via a coupler. A second end of the second cabling facility may be provided to a premises, as described in greater detail below. That is, the access junction may provide access for an installer to connect the first cabling facility to the second cabling facility such that the second cabling facility may communicatively connect to the cable source via the first cabling facility. In some implementations, the access junction may include an electrical and/or a mechanical lock to prevent unauthorized access to the access junction. In some implementations, the coupler may be physically integrated into the access junction to connect the first cabling facility to the second cabling facility.

In some implementations, multiple access junctions may be placed within a particular distance from each other in order to provide continuous access to a cabling facility within a sidewalk trench (e.g., to install a cable, to service the cable, replace the cable, repair the cable, test the performance of the cable, etc.). For example, multiple access junctions may be placed within approximately 1-2 meters (or within some other distance of each other).

In some implementations, a second sidewalk trench may be formed in an expansion joint that extends towards a front of a premises. In some implementations, a second portion of the cabling facility may be provided in the second sidewalk trench towards the premises front. In some implementations, the second portion of the cabling facility may correspond to connecting cables shown in FIG. 1C. In some implementations, a sidewalk flag abutting the premises front may be deconstructed such that the cabling facility may be buried under the sidewalk flag, and provided to an underground portion of the premises (e.g., a basement, a cellar, a utility room, or the like). In some implementations, the cabling facility may be buried at a particular depth based on the depth of an entry point for the cabling facility in the premises.

As shown in FIG. 4F, a single sidewalk flag may be deconstructed and reconstructed to bury the cabling facility as opposed to multiple sidewalk flags being deconstructed and reconstructed (e.g., when the sidewalk trench is not used to provide the cabling facility to the premises). As a result, costs and/or disruptions, associated with deconstructing and reconstruction multiple sidewalk flags, may be reduced (e.g., pedestrian traffic disruptions, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 4G, a cabling facility may be buried without the need to deconstruct and reconstruct a sidewall flag. For example, a sidewalk trench may be provided beneath an expansion joint towards a premises front. In some implementations, the width of the expansion joint may compensate to allow for the burial of a cabling facility underneath the expansion joint. For example, an installer may create a trench at a depth (e.g., a depth that may be greater than the depth of the sidewalk trench) to bury the cabling facility for installation in the premises when the width of the expansion allows the installer to create the trench at the depth.

Referring to FIG. 4H, the sidewalk trench may be provided towards a lawn or other soft ground between a sidewalk and a premises front. In some implementations, the cabling facility may be provided within the sidewalk trench and may be buried under the lawn or soft ground and provided to the premises front. As a result, the cabling facility may be provided to the premises without deconstructing and reconstructing a sidewalk flag.

While FIGS. 4A-4H illustrate particular arrangements of components, the above description is merely an example. In practice, other examples are possible from what is shown in FIGS. 4A-4H. Also, while portions of a single cabling facility are described, in practice, each portion of the cable may include a single or multiple separate cabling facilities.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate an example implementation as described herein. As shown in FIG. 5A, a cabling facility may extend along the length of a street from within a street trench that may be 0.5 meters to 7.5 meters deep and 1 meter to 2 meters wide, and may extend the length of the street. Further, the street trench may extend perpendicular to the street to provide connecting cabling facilities to individual one or more premises along the street.

Referring to FIG. 5B, a cabling facility may extend along the length of the street (e.g., to provide connecting cabling facilities to one or more premises along the street) from within a sidewalk trench that is provided within existing sidewalk topology. As a result, costs, interference, aesthetic degradations, etc. associated with installing a street trench that extends the length of the street may be avoided using the sidewalk trench.

As described above, a cabling facility may extend the length of a street from within a sidewalk trench and may include connecting cabling facilities provided to one or more premises along the street and sidewalk (e.g., through sidewalk trenches formed underneath perpendicular expansion joints in between sidewalk flags). As a result, the cabling facility may extend the length of the street within the sidewalk trench instead of within a street trench that may be costly, labor intensive, and time consuming to install.

The foregoing description provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the possible implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.

It will be apparent that different examples of the description provided above may be implemented in many different forms of hardware, layouts, and/or materials in the implementations illustrated in the figures.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of the possible implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one other claim, the disclosure of the possible implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

No element, act, or instruction used in the present application should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first portion of a cabling facility provided in a first trench formed beneath a first expansion joint between a first portion of a sidewalk and a curb, the cabling facility including at least one of a conduit or a cable;

a second portion of the cabling facility provided in a second trench formed beneath a second expansion joint between the first portion of the sidewalk and a second portion of the sidewalk; and

a third portion of the cabling facility provided from a cable source and connecting to the first portion of the cabling facility or the second portion of the cabling facility.

2. The system of claim 1, where the first portion of the cabling facility extends along a curvature of the curb or a curvature of a street abutting the curb.

3. The system of claim 1, where the second portion of the cabling facility extends towards a premises.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an access junction provided in a path of the first trench or the second trench to provide access to the first trench, the second trench, the first portion of the cabling facility, or the second portion of the cabling facility.

5. The system of claim 1, where the first portion of the cabling facility or the second portion of the cabling facility is located beneath a filler or sealant,

where the first trench or the second trench includes the filler or sealant within the first trench or the second trench.

6. The system of claim 1, where the second trench includes a first depth,

where the second portion of the cabling facility is provided through the first depth and through a second depth extending towards a premises.

7. The system of claim 1, a width of the first expansion joint allowing the first trench to be created a particular depth, and

where the first portion of the cabling facility or the second portion of the cabling facility comprises the conduit and the cable.

8. The system of claim 1, where the first trench or the second trench includes a depth from approximately 6 centimeters to approximately 20 centimeters below the first expansion joint or the second expansion joint.

9. A system comprising:

a first portion of a cabling facility provided in a first trench formed beneath a first expansion joint between a first portion of a sidewalk and a curb, the cabling facility corresponding to at least one of a conduit or a cable;

a second portion of the cabling facility provided in a second trench formed beneath a second expansion joint between the first portion of the sidewalk and a second portion of the sidewalk, the first trench or the second trench including a depth from approximately 6 centimeters to approximately 20 centimeters below the first expansion joint or the second expansion joint; and

a third portion of the cabling facility provided from a cable source and connecting to the first portion of the cabling facility or the second portion of the cabling facility.

10. The system of claim 9, where the first portion of the cabling facility extends along a curvature of the curb or a curvature of a street abutting the curb.

11. The system of claim 9, where the second portion of the cabling facility extends towards a premises.

12. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

an access junction provided in a path of the first trench or the second trench to provide access to the first trench, the second trench, the first portion of the cabling facility, or the second portion of the cabling facility.

13. The system of claim 9, where the first portion of the cabling facility or the second portion of the cabling facility is located beneath a filler or sealant,

where the first trench or the second trench includes the filler or sealant within the first trench or the second trench.

14. The system of claim 9, where the depth is a first depth,

where the second portion of the cabling facility is provided through the first depth and through a second depth extending towards a premises.

15. The system of claim 9, where the first portion of the cabling facility or the second portion of the cabling facility comprises the conduit and the cable.

16. A system comprising:

a cabling facility provided in a trench formed beneath an expansion joint between a sidewalk and a curb of a street that abuts the curb, a width of the expansion joint allowing the trench to be created a particular depth, the cabling facility, provided in the trench, comprising a conduit and a cable.

17. The system of claim 16, where the trench is a first trench, the expansion joint is a first expansion joint, the sidewalk is a first portion of the sidewalk, and the cabling facility provided in the first trench is a first portion of the cabling facility,

the system further comprising: a second portion of the cabling facility provided in a second trench formed beneath a second expansion joint between the first portion of the sidewalk and a second portion of the sidewalk; and a third portion of the cabling facility provided from a cable source and connecting to the first portion of the cabling facility or the second portion of the cabling facility.

18. The system of claim 16, where the cabling facility extends along a curvature of the curb or a curvature of the street abutting the curb.

19. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

an access junction provided in a path of the cabling facility to provide access to the trench or the cabling facility.

20. The system of claim 16, where a width of the cabling facility is less than the width of the trench, and

where the particular depth of the trench ranges from approximately 6 centimeters to approximately 20 centimeters below the expansion joint.