ADJUSTABLE COVER FOR ROADWAY OPENING

Abstract

A manhole cover system for a roadway includes a rotationally fixed outer support securable to an interior of a roadway opening, and an inner sleeve positioned inside of the outer support. The outer support and the inner sleeve share a common central axis. A manhole cover is located at an upper vertical end of the inner sleeve, and a threaded arrangement including a support thread of the outer support is engaged with a complimentary sleeve thread of the inner sleeve, such that rotation of the inner sleeve about the central axis moves the inner sleeve and the manhole cover along the central axis.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/431,164 filed Dec. 8, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of roadways and more particularly to openings and covers to access passageways or utility installations beneath a roadway surface.

The volumes beneath roadway surfaces is often used by utility companies for installation of piping, valves, wiring or the like. Access is typically provided to these subsurface installations via openings in the roadway, also referred to as “manholes”. A manhole cover is installed over the manhole to close the access, and is removable from the manhole when it is desired to access the volume beneath the roadway surface for, for example, maintenance, repair or replacement of the subsurface installations.

At the present time when resurfacing roadways the supporting structure for the manholes are left projecting above the roadway causing problems for drivers and requiring hours of manual labor to work around these projections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, a manhole cover system for a roadway includes a rotationally fixed outer support securable to an interior of a roadway opening, and an inner sleeve positioned inside of the outer support. The outer support and the inner sleeve share a common central axis. A manhole cover is located at an upper vertical end of the inner sleeve, and a threaded arrangement including a support thread of the outer support is engaged with a complimentary sleeve thread of the inner sleeve, such that rotation of the inner sleeve about the central axis moves the inner sleeve and the manhole cover along the central axis.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a shroud is located at the outer support to seal a cavity radially between the inner sleeve and the outer support.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the outer support seal has an L-shaped cross-section.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a sleeve support is located at the upper vertical end of the inner sleeve to support the manhole cover.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the sleeve support is ring-shaped.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments one or more engagement features in the sleeve are configured for engagement of an assist tool for rotation of the inner sleeve.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a thread pitch of the support thread and the sleeve thread is one inch.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the outer support has an internal diameter in the range of six inches to thirty-six inches.

In another embodiment, a roadway arrangement includes a roadway defining a roadway surface, a roadway opening defined in the roadway surface, and a manhole cover system disposed at the roadway opening. The manhole cover system includes a rotationally fixed outer support securable to an interior of the roadway opening, and an inner sleeve located inside of the outer support. The outer support and the inner sleeve share a common central axis. A manhole cover is located at an upper vertical end of the inner sleeve, and a threaded arrangement including a support thread of the outer support is engaged with a complimentary sleeve thread of the inner sleeve, such that rotation of the inner sleeve about the central axis moves the inner sleeve and the manhole cover along the central axis.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a shroud is located at the outer support to seal a cavity radially between the inner sleeve and the outer support.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the outer support seal has an L-shaped cross-section.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a sleeve support is located at the upper vertical end of the inner sleeve to support the manhole cover.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the sleeve support is ring-shaped.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments one or more engagement features in the sleeve support are configured for engagement of an assist tool for rotation of the inner sleeve.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a thread pitch of the support thread and the sleeve thread is one inch.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the outer support has an internal diameter in the range of six inches to thirty-six inches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a roadway;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a roadway; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a manhole and manhole cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.

Referring now to FIG. 1, illustrated is a partial cross-sectional view of a roadway 10. The roadway 10 includes a roadway surface 12 including one or more pavement layers 14 defining a travel surface of the roadway 10. One or more subsurface volumes 16 are located beneath the one or more pavement layers 14. The subsurface volumes 16 may be utilized for one or more subsurface installations 18 including, for example, utility piping, valving and/or wiring.

To provide access to the subsurface installations 18, the roadway 10 includes one or more roadway openings, or manholes 20. The manhole 20 includes a road surface opening 22 and a shaft 24 that extends to the subsurface installation 18. In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 1, a shaft width 26 is the same as an installation width 28, while in other embodiments such as shown in FIG. 2, the installation width 28 is greater than the shaft width 26. A manhole cover 30 is installed to the roadway 10 to cover the manhole 20 when not in use.

It is desired in some instances, such as during or after resurfacing of the roadway 10, that an installed height of the manhole cover 30 is adjustable to a selected height to conform to a road surface height of the roadway 10. Referring now to FIG. 3, illustrated is an embodiment of a manhole 20 and an adjustable height manhole cover system 32. The system 32 includes an outer support 34 installed into the road surface opening 22. The outer support 34 is a tubular structure having a support wall 36 and an inner diameter in some embodiments of between 6 inches and 36 inches. The outer support 34 is stationary once installed and in some embodiments is anchored to the roadway 10 via one or more anchors 38, such as bolts, other fasteners or the like, installed through the outer support 34 and into the roadway 10 material. A vertically top support end 40 of the outer support 34 is located below the roadway surface 12. In some embodiments, the top support end 40 is 6 inches or more below the roadway surface 12.

An inner sleeve 42 is installed into the outer support 34. When installed, the outer support 34 and the inner sleeve 42 are coaxial. The inner sleeve 42 is a tubular structure positioned radially inboard of the outer support 34, and has an outer diameter less than the inner diameter of the outer support 34, in some embodiments in a range of 6 inches to 36 inches. The inner sleeve is rotatable about a central axis 44 relative to the outer support 34 and is engaged with the outer support 34 via a threaded arrangement between the outer support 34 and the inner sleeve 42. The outer support 34 includes a helical support thread 46 extending radially inwardly from the support wall 36. The support thread 46 extends axially along a length of the outer support 34. Similarly, the inner sleeve 42 includes a complimentary helical sleeve thread 48 engaged with the support thread 46. The sleeve thread 48 extends radially outwardly from an inner sleeve wall 50. In some embodiments, a thread pitch 52 between adjacent threads is 1″, equating to 1″ of vertical movement of the inner sleeve 42 along the central axis 44 for each 360-degree revolution of the inner sleeve 42 about the central axis 44. It is to be appreciated, however, that the 1″ thread pitch is merely exemplary and that other thread pitches may be utilized. In one embodiment, the inner sleeve 42 has a sleeve length 80 along the central axis 44 direction of 18 inches. It is to be appreciated, however, that the 18 inch sleeve length 80 is merely exemplary, and other lengths such as 12 inches, 24 inches or more may be utilized.

A shroud 54 is located at the top support end 40 of the outer support 34 to seal between the outer support 34 and the inner sleeve 42, preventing road material or other debris from entering a cavity 56 between the outer support 34 and the inner sleeve 42. The shroud 54 in some embodiments has an L-shaped cross-section with a first shroud leg 58 secured to the outer support 34 and a second shroud leg 60 extending from the first shroud leg 58 toward the inner sleeve 42.

The inner sleeve 42 includes an inner sleeve support 62 located at a vertically upper end of the inner sleeve 42 on which the manhole cover 30 is located. In some embodiments, the inner sleeve support 62 is a ring-shaped structure having support base 64 extending across the manhole 20 and a support flange 66 extending upwardly from the support base 64. The ring shape of the inner sleeve support 62 still allows for access into the manhole 20 when the manhole cover 30 is removed from the inner sleeve support 62. The support base 64 axially locates the manhole cover 30 in the axial direction, the support flange 66 locates the manhole cover in the radial direction.

This arrangement allows for the vertical position of the manhole cover 30 along the central axis 44 to be adjusted by rotating the inner sleeve 42 relative to the outer support 34. This allows for raising and lowering of the manhole cover 30 relative to the roadway surface 12. This is especially useful during roadway 10 resurfacing where the manhole cover 30 may be lowered during resurfacing operations to be out of the way of resurfacing equipment. After resurfacing is completed, the manhole cover 30 may then be raised to a desired position. In some embodiments, the inner sleeve support 62 includes one or more features, such as notches 68 or tabs for engagement of an assist tool (not shown) to aid in rotating the inner sleeve 42 relative to the outer support 34. In some embodiments, the tool is powered by, for example, hydraulic or pneumatic power.

The term “about” is intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, element components, and/or groups thereof.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this present disclosure, but that the present disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A manhole cover system for a roadway, comprising:

a rotationally fixed outer support securable to an interior of a roadway opening;

an inner sleeve disposed inside of the outer support, the outer support and the inner sleeve sharing a common central axis;

a manhole cover disposed at an upper vertical end of the inner sleeve; and

a threaded arrangement including a support thread of the outer support engaged with a complimentary sleeve thread of the inner sleeve, such that rotation of the inner sleeve about the central axis moves the inner sleeve and the manhole cover along the central axis.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a shroud disposed at the outer support to seal a cavity radially between the inner sleeve and the outer support.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the outer support seal has an L-shaped cross-section.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a sleeve support disposed at the upper vertical end of the inner sleeve to support the manhole cover.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the sleeve support is ring-shaped.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising one or more engagement features in the sleeve support for engagement of an assist tool for rotation of the inner sleeve.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein a thread pitch of the support thread and the sleeve thread is one inch.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the outer support has an internal diameter in the range of six inches to thirty-six inches.

9. A roadway arrangement, comprising:

a roadway defining a roadway surface;

a roadway opening defined in the roadway surface; and

a manhole cover system disposed at the roadway opening, including: a rotationally fixed outer support securable to an interior of the roadway opening; an inner sleeve disposed inside of the outer support, the outer support and the inner sleeve sharing a common central axis; a manhole cover disposed at an upper vertical end of the inner sleeve; and a threaded arrangement including a support thread of the outer support engaged with a complimentary sleeve thread of the inner sleeve, such that rotation of the inner sleeve about the central axis moves the inner sleeve and the manhole cover along the central axis.

10. The roadway arrangement of claim 9, further comprising a shroud disposed at the outer support to seal a cavity radially between the inner sleeve and the outer support.

11. The roadway arrangement of claim 10, wherein the outer support seal has an L-shaped cross-section.

12. The roadway arrangement of claim 9, further comprising a sleeve support disposed at the upper vertical end of the inner sleeve to support the manhole cover.

13. The roadway arrangement of claim 12, wherein the sleeve support is ring-shaped.

14. The roadway arrangement of claim 12, further comprising one or more engagement features in the sleeve support for engagement of an assist tool for rotation of the inner sleeve.

15. The roadway arrangement of claim 9, wherein a thread pitch of the support thread and the sleeve thread is one inch.

16. The roadway arrangement of claim 9, wherein the outer support has an internal diameter in the range of six inches to thirty-six inches.