| Apparatus and method for flood defence -> Monitor Keywords |
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Apparatus and method for flood defenceRelated Patent Categories: Hydraulic And Earth Engineering, Fluid Control, Treatment, Or Containment, Flow Control, Artificial Water Barrier (e.g., Dam, Levee, Etc.)Apparatus and method for flood defence description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070189854, Apparatus and method for flood defence. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for water retention for use mainly, but not exclusively, for flood defence. [0002] Domestic and commercial properties built in low lying areas may be susceptible to flooding, particularly if they are built on a flood plain. Existing flood defences to protect such properties may comprise permanent bunds or walls of fixed height but these can prevent access across the line of defence and can be unsightly. Temporary defences immediately adjacent to domestic properties are usually provided in the form of sandbags and the sealing up of doors and windows. However, these defences confine the inhabitants to their homes during the period of the flood and are severely limited by the height of the sand bags and the strength of doorways and windows to resist water pressure. Other temporary defences, on a larger (non-domestic) scale, comprise a variety of systems such as flexible tubes filled with water, stone filled gabions, strutted and sheet materials covered with an impermeable membrane, and are sited alongside river banks to protect larger areas of flood sensitive land. All such temporary devices have the dual disadvantages of only protecting a small height of flood and being labour intensive to install and dismantle. [0003] WO 01/71099 discloses a system for flood defence having a channel shaped foundation in which is stored a barrier hinged to the foundation and folded along two internal longitudinal hinges. A shore plate covers the folded barrier and is also hinged to the foundation. To erect the barrier, the shore plate is folded out and the barrier is then folded out to form a vertical structure with the shore plate locked to the lower of the two internal hinges of the barrier to support the barrier. This system requires the weight of the shore plate and the barrier to be supported as they are rotated and folded out and the barrier needs to be temporarily held whilst the shore plate is locked to it to support the barrier. The erection of such a barrier would be time consuming. [0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for flood defence which alleviates at least one of the above mentioned problems. [0005] According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus suitable for flood defence comprising at least one slab unit rotatable about an axis between lowered and raised positions, the at least one slab unit comprising at least part of a barrier for water retention when in its raised position, characterized in that the at least one slab unit is substantially balanced about the axis. [0006] By making the at least one slab unit substantially balanced about the axis, the slab unit can be rotated manually into its raised position without having to rely on a powered driving means which may, for example, require either electrical or hydraulic power supplies or a combination of both. The slab unit may be finely balanced for movement by fingertip action. The slab unit may weigh several tonnes and can be balanced in such a manner that it can be adjusted to be lifted with one hand from the lowered (e.g. horizontal) position to the raised (e.g. vertical) position. Thus, only a single average strength adult is required to raise or lower the slab unit although two people should be used to conform to safety requirements. The use of gravity in the manner of counterbalancing the slab employs a force of nature to assist manual erection. Hence countermeasures to resist gravity, such as props, are not necessarily required. [0007] A flood barrier of a substantial height can thus be quickly erected/taken down by use of the apparatus. The apparatus forms at least part of an active defence when the or each slab unit is in its raised position. In addition, the view from any property being protected by a flood barrier comprising the apparatus is only temporarily obstructed whilst the or each slab unit is in its raised position. [0008] The apparatus can be used for a range of applications for the protection of domestic, commercial, and public buildings, industrial sites and flood sensitive land whether from threat by river or sea and in both rural and built-up areas and provides a lack of unnecessary inconvenience to the owner of the property/land to be protected. [0009] The apparatus provides a permanent demountable defence. [0010] The apparatus may include a base wherein the at least one slab unit is rotatable relative to the base. [0011] The apparatus preferably includes sealing means for forming a seal when the at least one slab unit is in its raised position. The sealing means may form a seal between the at least one slab unit and the base when the at least one slab unit is in its raised position. [0012] There may be at least one abutment adjacent the slab unit. The sealing means may be arranged to form a seal between the slab unit and the adjacent abutment when the slab unit is in its raised position. [0013] The apparatus preferably includes a plurality of said slab units rotatable about said axis. The sealing means may be arranged to form a seal between adjacent slab units when the slab units are in their raised position. [0014] When a slab unit is deployed in its raised position, a significant portion of the height of the slab unit may be positioned downwardly of the axis whereby hydrostatic pressure deployed from water being retained by the slab unit compresses the seal. In order that water pressure alone keeps the seal(s) closed naturally, substantially at least one third of the height of the slab unit is positioned downwardly of the axis. This determines the extent of the effective active height possible without other measures being introduced (for example propping) to resist imbalanced water forces. [0015] The pressure of water retained by a raised slab unit maintains a positive pressure against seals both between the slab unit and the base (e.g. horizontally) and between a slab unit and an adjacent slab unit or abutment (e.g. vertically) and employs the forces of nature in a positive and natural manner to ensure the safe closure and effectiveness of the water seals. Thus sealing countermeasures such as props which have to be tightened a set amount to ensure that a seal resists water and remains closed, is not necessarily required. [0016] In order that the slab units may be raised individually, the means of sealing between a said slab unit and an adjacent abutment or slab unit preferably comprises at least one removable portion. The removable portion may comprise a removable board. There may be wedging means for urging the removable board against at least-one seal. The wedging means may comprise a scissor action device which is able to provide a wedging action. The device may comprise any one of a variety of clamping methods such as crossed metal tapered flats in "scissor" form, or loose plates held on captive bolts and tightened with captive nuts. [0017] The sealing means between a said slab unit and an adjacent abutment or slab unit preferably forms a continuous seal with the sealing means between the at least one slab unit and base when the at least one slab unit is in its raised position. [0018] There may be at least one strut or prop for supporting at least one said slab unit in its raised position. The strut may be adjustable in length and may be used to tighten the slab unit against the seal between the slab unit and the base when the slab unit is in its raised position. The strut may be removable. [0019] The apparatus may include locking means for locking at least one said slab unit in its lowered and/or raised positions. [0020] The apparatus provides a raised flood barrier by unlocking the at least one slab unit and simply rotating the at least one slab unit to its raised position, locking the at least one slab unit in its raised position, inserting the sealing means between the at least one slab unit and abutments and, if necessary, inserting struts. This operation can be conducted in a matter of minutes by unskilled labour and unskilled labour just need to be shown once how to erect/lower the flood defence. [0021] The slab unit may comprise different-portions with different densities and this enables the slab unit to be balanced when the slab unit is not centrally distributed relative to the axis. This may be achieved by the slab unit having means such as a bracket, or rack, or racking holding or supporting at least one balancing weight. An appropriate number of unit balancing weights may be included in order to achieve fine balancing of the slab unit. To enable the slab unit to be lifted with one hand, a weight may be moved along a beam attached to the slab unit until the slab unit tilts. The position of the weight on the beam indicates the weight of the slab unit on the opposite side of the axis. A suitable slab unit may be approximately 3 to 5 metres long and 1.5 to 3 metres wide. In a preferred embodiment for a domestic property, the slab unit is approximately 3 metres long, 1.5 metres wide and 15 centimetres thick. This is a typical size for ease of transport to the site and erection. The slab unit may include an edge frame which may provide for the inclusion of a suitable decking and surfacing. In tests, erection of the apparatus to a secure state of flood defence using a slab unit approximately 3 metres long took unskilled labour only 3 minutes to complete. [0022] In order to vary the height of a flood barrier when the slab unit is in its raised position, the centre of gravity of a slab unit may be varied by, for example, rearranging the slab unit's balancing weight(s), their support brackets and/or the space occupied by the weight(s). [0023] The slab unit of the apparatus preferably forms at least part of a paved way when in its lowered position. The paved way may comprise a pavement or footpath for pedestrians and/or a road for vehicles. Thus, the apparatus provides a dual function of providing a paved way when the at least one slab unit is lowered and providing at least part of a barrier for water retention when the at least one slab unit is raised. [0024] The apparatus for flood defence may have a substantial portion of the base projecting above ground level so that the apparatus provides a first level of water retention for flood defence when the or each slab unit is in its lowered position and the apparatus is arranged to provide-a higher second level of water retention for flood defence when the or each slab unit is in its raised position. The first level for flood defence is a passive defence and may comprise at least part of a shallow raised bund around part or all of the building(s) or land to be protected. The apparatus can be landscaped into the land or the grounds of a building such as a garden of a home. There would be no obstruction to the view to the grounds of the building from a ground floor window when the apparatus is providing a first level for flood defence. Continue reading about Apparatus and method for flood defence... Full patent description for Apparatus and method for flood defence Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Apparatus and method for flood defence patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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