Manhole cover for removing road manhole covers

Abstract

Manhole cover plug (1) for temporary unsealing / sealing of a manhole cover (10) (1) characterized in that the plug comprises a radially spaced toroidal buoy (32) for retaining the outer side wall against the inner wall of the manhole (1), which hooks on its lower face a rubble bag (33) that blocks the fall of rubble into the hole in the toroid of the buoy (32), and which comprises on its upper face a rubble guide cone (31) that guides the fall of the unsealing rubble into the hole in the toroid of the retaining toroidal buoy (32). Figure for the abbreviation: Fig. 3

Description

Title of the invention: Manhole cover for removing road manhole covers

[0001] The present invention relates to a manhole cover for unsealing road manhole covers.

[0002] Roads run over underground pipe networks. These networks allow the passage of various fluids, including wastewater, rainwater, cables, and gas. Access to these underground networks is essential, which explains why the roads are meticulously and regularly equipped with numerous access points called manholes. These manholes are vertical, hollow, concrete tunnels embedded in the ground to provide access to the networks. Each vertical access point, called a manhole, is capped by a cover. These covers are cast iron pieces designed to be sealed into the ground in connection with the concrete top of the manhole.

[0003] It is regularly necessary to replace manhole covers. There are many reasons for this: road maintenance, cover replacement, laying new asphalt, modifying the manhole diameter, and adding new utility lines. When manhole covers are replaced, they must be detached from the manhole. This means that an operator will have to break the concrete around the cover to remove it. This detachment will generate debris as the concrete is broken. Allowing this debris to fall into the bottom of the manhole is prohibited, as it can damage the utility lines and their maintenance for various easily understandable reasons.

[0004] To date, there is no solution that automatically prevents the Debris from the removal process falls into the bottom of the manhole. Operators are theoretically supposed to act with care, and if any debris falls, despite legal prohibitions, they must dive to the bottom of the manhole to retrieve what can be recovered. In practice, however, it turns out that unfortunately, human intervention is all too often inadequate, and debris falls into the bottom of the manhole, debris is not retrieved, and operators are injured in the manholes. In short, it is now necessary to propose a solution that guarantees the protection of the networks by ensuring that debris from the removal process does not fall into the manhole during the removal process.

[0005] No prior art solution provides effective and complete protection against the falling of rubble when unsealing at the bottom of the manhole.

[0006] A main objective of the invention is to ensure occultation of falling rubble into the bottom of the manhole during the operations of unsealing the old covers and / or the sealing concrete of the new covers.

[0007] An objective of the invention is to provide a solution that is simple to use, economical, and reusable at the end of the operation on a new pad.

[0008] In a main aspect, the invention proposes a manhole cover which includes a manhole plug, to guarantee the protection of manholes and means of activating and deactivating the manhole plug, to equip and unequip the manhole.

[0009] The invention will be better understood by reading the attached figures in which:

[0010] [Fig-1] represents a sealed manhole with its plug.

[0011] [Fig.2] represents a view with the occulter according to the invention during an unsealing / sealing operation.

[0012] [Fig.3] represents a first particular form of the invention seen in cross-section.

[0013] [Fig.4] represents a first particular form of the invention seen in section.

[0014] [Fig. 1] represents a manhole (1) sealed with its plug (10). The manhole (1° descends vertically in the deep ground (S2). The cover seals the top of the manhole at the surface (SI). The cover (10) includes an access door (11) allowing access to the manhole (1). A pipe network (8) runs at the bottom of the manhole. Typically, the network can be a stormwater or domestic wastewater network, but other networks are possible.

[0015] [Fig. 2] represents a manhole with the cover according to the invention during a sealing / unsealing operation. The operator removed the access door (11) from the cover and then installed the cover (20) according to the invention. The cover (20) seals the manhole (1) and prevents debris from falling into the bottom of the manhole (1) at the level of the network pipes (8).

[0016] [Fig. 3] represents a first particular embodiment of the invention seen in cross-section. It comprises an inflatable toroidal buoy (32) sized so that, upon inflation, its outer lateral surface contacts the cylindrical inner wall of the manhole. The buoy is inflated to exert sufficient radial force to remain within the friction cone and to withstand vertical forces with the weight of the rubble retained in a rubble bag (33). The rubble bag is attached by buoy fasteners to the toroidal buoy (32) on its lower toroidal surface so as to form a manhole plug. Thus, all the rubble that falls into the center of the torus formed by the buoy is collected in the bag. Typically, the fasteners are hooks that cooperate with straps around the perimeter of the bag opening.To properly direct the rubble falling into the inspection chamber (1) inside the hole in the buoy, the top of the toroidal buoy (32) is fitted with a guide cone (31). This guide cone. (31) does funnel work to protect the top of the toroidal buoy (32) and automatically guide the rubble into the hole in the torus to fall into the rubble bag (33).

[0017] [Fig. 4] represents a first particular embodiment of the invention seen in cross-section, in which the guide cone (31) is combined with the toroidal buoy (32), which here is reduced to a tubular collar that extends against the inner wall of the manhole (1). In this embodiment, rather than inflating a toroidal buoy, the operator enlarges a tubular collar that adheres to the wall. The choice between a toroidal buoy / guide cone (31) or a tubular collar depends on the dimensions of the manhole and the load of rubble to be supported. What is common to both solutions is that, through a radial spreading force, the buoy / collar blocks the passage of rubble against the wall, allowing it to pass through the center and fall into the bag.Therefore, although the solutions have mechanical variations, the result is that they allow, through radial pressure on the inner face of the manhole, to prevent rubble from passing against the surface and to guide this rubble into the inside of a bag which can then be easily retrieved by the operator.

[0018] To summarize and describe the intervention cycle of an operator, here are the successive phases which take place 1 - Opening of the door(l 1) of the buffer (10) 2 - placement of the bag under the buoy 3 - inflation of the buoy 4 - placement of the guide cone 5 - unsealing of the old buffer and sealing of the new buffer 6 - deflation of the buoy and raising by a strap attached to the upper face of the buoy of the assembly guide cone + deflated buoy + bag with rubble with the bag of rubble.

[0019] The present invention therefore relates to a manhole cover (1) for temporary operation of unsealing / sealing of manhole cover (10) (1) characterized in that the cover comprises a toroidal buoy (32) with radial spacing for retaining the outer side wall against the inner wall of the manhole (1) which hooks on its lower face a rubble bag (33) which stops the fall of the rubble into the hole of the toroid of the buoy (32), and which comprises on its upper face a rubble guide cone (31) which guides the fall of the unsealing rubble into the hole of the toroidal retaining buoy (32).

Claims

Demands

1. Manhole cover (1) for temporary operation of unsealing / sealing of manhole cover (10) (1) characterized in that the cover comprises a radially spaced toroidal buoy (32) for retaining the outer side wall against the inner wall of the manhole (1) which hooks on its lower face a rubble bag (33) which stops the fall of rubble into the hole of the toroid of the buoy (32), and which comprises on its upper face a rubble guide cone (31) which guides the fall of the unsealing rubble into the hole of the toroidal retaining buoy (32).

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