GB2272711A - Apertured discharge gutter - Google Patents

Abstract

A discharge gutter for liquids comprises an elongate gutter 2 and a cover 3 that covers the gutter and is provided with through holes 16, the cover being adapted to be supported by support elements which are arranged along the two longitudinal sides of the gutter. At the side facing the gutter, the cover includes web-like elevations 17 which surround the through holes and are made integral with the cover. <IMAGE>

Description

Discharge Gutter for Liquids This invention relates to a discharge gutter for liquids which comprises an elongate gutter and a cover that covers the gutter and is provided with through holes, in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.

Discharge gutters are used in many ways, in particular as drain gutters comprising a grating that covers the channel as a cover. Such drain gutters including a grating are, e.g., used in baking factories, canteens, saunas, bathhouses, etc. The drain gutter and the grating are normally made from a special steel.

The standard minimum width of drain gutters is about 150 rm as a rule, including the outer edge of the drain gutter.

The minimum grating width is normally at about 100 mm. Il smallest structural height is 40 mm as a rule, includinc t least 20 mm for the height of the grating.

The gratings are made of special steel strips and locate in the desired grating form within a frame. The special steel strips are welded to each other and to the frame ) the intersections of the strips and at the ends thereof jn the frame. After the welding process the special steel rlst be pickled. This may be accomplished by immersing the welded grating into an acid bath. The grating treated r this way must subsequently be neutralized. Neutralizat.rn may be performed by evaporation or by immersing the gr ing into another bath. A process which is more expensive t the procedure described above consists in polishing tt gratings electrolytically.

Tbe drainage gutters are also made from special steel sheet which is folded in longitudinal direction in such a way thst the gutter has the desired cross-section. The shape of tha cross-section is, among other things, chosen such that shoulders are provided at both sides of the gutter to act as a support for the grating. Furthermore, the upper edges of the gutter are generally bent into a U-shaped corfiguration in such a way that the end edges of the special steel sheet at the longitudinal sides face downwards. When the grating is inserted, the surface thereof is even with the longitudinal edges of the gutter.

The above-described manufacturing method for the gratings is Expensive and time-consuming because of the many welding operations and the subsequent treatment steps of the grating. Furthermore, small constructional shapes of the gutter cannot be made.

It i, the object of the present invention to develop a gutter of the above-mentioned type in such a way that these can Be made in an inexpensive way.

With a discharge gutter as outlined in the preamble of claim 1, this object is accomplished through the features specified in the characterizing part of claim 1.

In accordance with the invention, the edge portions of the through holes of the cover are surrounded at the side facing the gutter with a web-like or rib-like projection, whereby the carrying strength of the cover is considerably increaaed.

A special advantage can be achieved when the cover is made of a special steel sheet and the through holes are shaped in the form of nozzle holes. This results in a smooth surface on the accessible side of the cover, with the edge portions of the nozzle holes being rounded and the risk of any injuries being excluded. When the nozzle hole is made, the material is pushed from the through hole to the edge of the hole, resulting, on the one hand, in the rounded edge portion and, on the other hand, in a web-like elevation provided on the bottom side, which surrounds the edge of the through hole.

The through holes may be formed as nozzle holes in a simple and very efficient way in a cold-drawing process. A special steel strip with a thickness of 1.5 mm has proved useful.

The carrying capacity of a cover made therefrom is great enough to permit a passenger car to pass thereover.

When a cover is made in the above-described way, its costs may be reduced in the order of a factor of about 6 to 10 in comparison with the prior art.

The gutter is advantageously made from special steel strip in a folding process. The cross-section in the bottom portion of the gutter is preferably V-shaped. This permits even small liquid amounts to be drained off in a reliable and fast way.

The dimensions of the discharge gutter of the invention may be smaller than those of the prior art. Since the cover is not formed as a grating within the scope of the invention, the height thereof can be reduced considerably, so that the total structural height of the discharge gutter including the cover assigned thereto is substantially reduced. For instance, it is possible to accomplish a minimum structural height of 30 mm. The maximum structural height should not exceed 120 mm because, otherwise, this would have adverse effects on the flow velocity in the discharge gutter if great amounts of liquid are to flow off. The outer maximum width is preferably about 70 mm.

A small overall height of the structure is of importance if the discharge gutter is to be embedded in a floor together with the cover, as is the case in bathhouses or pithead baths of mines. As for the latter, it is customary to provide a separate outlet for each pithead bath. Instead of this, it is of advantage from an economic point of view to use a discharge gutter of the invention which extends through a plurality of pithead baths.

When a discharge gutter is arranged -on a bare concrete pavement, the final surface of the floor must slightly rise from the upper edge of the discharge gutter. As a consequence, the volume between the desired surface of the bottom and the surface of the bare concrete floor with a floor structure, such as a floor pavement, has to be filled. The smaller the overall height of the gutter including the cover, i.e., the smaller the distance between the upper side of the bare concrete floor and the upper edge of the gutter and the cover, the smaller the volume for the floor structure. The costs for the construction decrease with a smaller volume. Furthermore, the load on the bare concrete floor is reduced, which has an advantageous effect on the construction of the bare concrete floor from the viewpoint of costs.

Other advantageous embodiments are mentioned in the dependent claims.

The invention shall now be explained in more detail with reference to embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a gutter and a cover which are designed in accordance with a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a through hole in the central part of the cover in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 is a top view on an elongate discharge gutter which is followed by a square discharge gutter element with a cover.

FIG. 1 shows a discharge gutter for liquids which is generally designated by 1. The discharge gutter 1 comprises a gutter 2 and a cover 3.

The gutter 2 has a cross-sectional profile which is symmetrical relative to a plane which extends through the center line 4 of the gutter bottom and is perpendicular to the surface of the cover 3. The sides of the gutter 2 are divided into a plurality of side surface elements which extend in the longitudinal direction of the gutter. This shall be described in more detail in the following: Starting from the center line 4, the bottom of the gutter 2 is formed by two surface elements 5a, 5b which extend in Vshaped configuration relative to each other at an acute angle. Each surface element is followed by a first lateral surface element 6a, 6b extending in vertical direction.The respectively first lateral surface element is followed by a respectively second lateral surface element 7a, 7b at an angle of 90". These two lateral surface elements are opposite each other for reasons of symmetry. The two second lateral surface elements 7a, 7b extend such that they face away from each other. The respectively second lateral surface element is followed by a respectively third lateral surface element 8a, 8b which extends at an angle 90' relative to the correspondingly second lateral surface element 7a, 7b. Hence, the first lateral surface element 6a, 6b and the third lateral surface element 8a, 8b respectively extend in parallel with each other.The respectively third lateral surface element 8a, 8b is followed by a respectively fourth lateral surface element 9a, 9b at an angle of 90 , the two opposite fourth lateral surface elements facing away from each other. The two fourth lateral surface elements 9a, 9b extend substantially in parallel with the two second lateral surface elements 7a, 7b. A fifth lateral surface element 10a, 10b is respectively followed as the last lateral surface element by the correspondingly fourth lateral surface element 9a, 9b and extends in parallel with the respectively third lateral surface element 8a, 8b. The free end edges of the respectively fifth lateral surface element 10a, 10b is oriented towards a plane extending through the two second lateral surface elements 7a, 7b.

The respectively fourth and fifth lateral surface elements 9a, 10a and 9b, 10b form a folded longitudinal edge of the gutter 2.

As becomes apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover 3 which is preferably made of special steel sheet has a substantially flat central part 14 whose two longitudinal sides are followed by two lateral elements 15a, 15b. The central part 14 has through holes 16 which are elongated in the embodiment shown. The through holes 16 are preferably made in a cold-drawing process, at least part of the material being pushed out of the resultant through hole 16 in the edge area of the created through hole 16 in such a way that a web-like or rib-like projection 17 is created around the edge portion of the through hole 16 on the bottom side, i.e. at the side of the central part 14 from which the two lateral elements 15a, 15b extend. The edge portion 18 of the through holes 16 is rounded on the upper side of the central part 14, resulting in an edge-free surface of the central part 14 of the cover 3.The risk of a possibly injury is excluded.

The dimensions of the two lateral elements 15a, 15b of the cover 3 and the respective dimensions of the lateral surface elements 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b of the gutter 2 and their mutual spacings are of such a kind that, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the free edges of the two side elements 15a, 15b of the cover 3 rest on the corresponding shoulder-like second lateral surface elements 7a, 7b of the gutter 2. Furthermore, the dimensions of the two side elements 15a, 15b of the cover 3 and of the two third lateral surface elements 8a, 8b of the gutter 2 are chosen such that the exposed surface of the central part 14 of the cover 3 and the free surfaces of the fourth lateral surface elements 9a, 9b of the gutter 2 are substantially in one plane.

As becomes apparent from FIG. 1, the edges which are formed by the respectively first and second lateral surface elements 6a, 7a and 6b, 7b are interconnected through a rectangular plate 19 which is formed in its center with a threaded hole. A hole is in alignment with said threaded hole in the central part 14 of the cover 3. A screw 20 is passed through this hole and screwed into the threaded hole of said plate 19. This screw 20 serves to fasten the cover 3 to the gutter 2. The area around the hole in the central part 14 of the cover 3 is designed such that the screw head 21 of the screw 20 is countersunk and thus even with the surface of the central part 14.

A bracket 22 is mounted on the outside in the bottom area of the gutter 2 and comprises an opening 23 at its free end. The gutter 2 may, e.g., be fastened through this opening 23 with the aid of a fastening means, such as a screw, to a bare concrete floor.

The illustration which is shown in FIG. 3 is composed of an elongate discharge gutter 30 and a square discharge gutter element 31. The elongate discharge gutter 30 may be designed in the way as is described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2. In the illustration of FIG. 3 the fastening screw is not shown.

Like the cover 33 of the elongate discharge gutter 30, the cover 34 in the case of the square discharge gutter element 31 is only shown in top view. As becomes apparent, the square cover 34 has a total of 15 elongate openings. The square cover 34 is advantageously bent downwards at its four sides, resulting in a total of four side elements whose free lateral edges can rest on correspondingly provided supports or shoulders.

Although the exemplary embodiment has been described above as being made of a special steel sheet, other materials may also be used. For instance, it is possible to use a plastic material as long as the desired properties, such as strength, are ensured.

Claims (11)

Claims

1. Discharge gutter for liquids comprising an elongate gutter and a cover which covers said gutter and is provided with through holes, said cover being adapted to be supported by support elements which are arranged along the two longitudinal sides of said gutter, characterized in that at the side facing said gutter (2), said cover (3) includes web-like elevations (17) which surround said through holes (16) and are made integral with said cover (3).

2. A discharge gutter according to claim 1, characterized in that said edge portion (18) which surrounds said through holes (16) in said cover (3) is rounded at the side facing away from said gutter (2).

3. A discharge gutter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said cover (3) is made of special steel and said through holes (16) are shaped in the form of nozzle holes.

4. A discharge gutter according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said through holes (16) are elongated.

5. A discharge gutter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said cover (3) has a central part (14) and two side elements (15a, 15b) that follow said central part and respectively extend at a sustantially right angle from said central part (14) of said cover (3) towards said gutter (2) and are adapted to be supported by support elements (7a, 7b) of said gutter (2).

6. A discharge gutter according to claim 5, characterized in that said cover (3) comprises at least one additional side element which extends at a substantially right angle relative to said cover (3) towards said gutter (2) and at a right angle relative to said first and second side elements (15a, 15b).

7. A discharge gutter according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that said support elements (7a, 7b) are made integral with said gutter (2).

8. A discharge gutter according to claim 1, 4 or 7, characterized in that said support elements are formed by a respective lateral surface element (7a, 7b) of the two longitudinal sides of said gutter (2), said two lateral surface elements (7a, 7b) being opposite each other and extending substantially in parallel with each other and in a common plane.

9. A discharge gutter according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said bottom portion (5a, 5b) of said gutter (2) has a V-shaped cross-section.

10. A discharge gutter according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said gutter (2) is made of a folded special steel sheet.

11. A discharge gutter substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, or Figure 3, of the accompanying drawing.