Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FRENCH DRAIN STYLE DRAINAGE SYSTEM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[1]
The present invention relates generally to drainage systems but more
particularly to a French
drain style drainage system.
2. Description of Related Art
[2]
French drains have been in use for well over a century and they collect water
that accumulates
around a building at the level of the foundation. However, they do not solve
all the problems related to
water around a building as there is still water infiltration happening at the
foundation level of buildings.
Consequently, there is a need for a French drain style drainage system that
offers an improvement over
existing French drains.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
131 In
one embodiment of the present invention a French drain style drainage system
is provided,
comprising a foundation footing; a foundation extending vertically from the
foundation footing; a first
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French drain pipe having first perforations positioned at a top half
circumference of the first French
drain pipe; a second French drain pipe having second perforations positioned
at a bottom half
circumference of the second French drain pipe; a first pair of flaps having a
first proximal flap and a
first distal flap, wherein the first proximal flap extends horizontally from
the first French drain pipe to
the foundation, and the first distal flap extends horizontally from the first
French drain pipe opposite
the first proximal flap; and, a second pair of flaps having a second proximal
flap and a second distal
flap, wherein the second proximal flap extends horizontally from the second
French drain pipe to the
foundation footing, and the second distal flap extends horizontally from the
second French drain pipe
opposite the second proximal flap.
141
In another aspect of the invention, a French drain style drainage system is
provided, comprising
a foundation footing; a foundation extending vertically from the foundation
footing; a first French drain
pipe having first perforations positioned at a top half circumference of the
first French drain pipe; a
second French drain pipe having second perforations positioned at a bottom
half circumference of the
second French drain pipe; a first pair of flaps having a first proximal flap
and a first distal flap, wherein
the first proximal flap extends horizontally from the first French drain pipe
to the foundation, and the
first distal flap extends horizontally from the first French drain pipe
opposite the first proximal flap;
and, a second pair of flaps having a second proximal flap and a second distal
flap, wherein the second
proximal flap extends horizontally from the second French drain pipe to the
foundation footing, and the
second distal flap extends horizontally from the second French drain pipe
opposite the second proximal
flap; wherein the first French drain pipe is positioned above the second
French drain pipe in a vertical
plane; wherein the first pair of flaps is parallel to the second pair of
flaps, and the first and second pair of
flaps are configured to create a seal to prevent water from creeping downwards
and upwards
respectively between the first and second pair of flaps.
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[51 In one embodiment, at least one vertical pipe in fluid connectivity
with the first and second
French drain pipe is provided. In one embodiment, a membrane configured to
provide a dry area
between the first and second French drain pipe is provided. In another
embodiment, the membrane is
positioned perpendicular to the first and second pair of flaps. In one
embodiment, the membrane is
constructed from waterproof materials. In one embodiment, loose aggregates
lining an exterior surface
of the membrane are provided. In another embodiment, a plurality of handles
along the first and second
French drain pipe is provided to facilitate the initial installation of the
system. In yet another
embodiment, the first pair of flaps is positioned just under the ground
surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[6] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent when the
following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[7] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a French drain style drainage system
according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
181 FIG. 2 is a cutaway front view of the French drain style drainage
system;
[91 FIG. 3A is a top view of the French drain style drainage system
according to an embodiment of
the present invention;
[10] FIG. 3B is a front view of the French drain style drainage system
showing the upper French
drain pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention; and,
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[11] FIG. 4 is a cutaway isometric view of the French drain style drainage
system according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[12]
The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art
to make and use the
invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor of
carrying out their invention.
Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled
in the art, since the
general principles of the present invention have been defined herein to
specifically provide a French
drain style drainage system 10.
[13] Referring now to any of the accompanying FIGS 1-4, the present invention
comprises a at least
one French drain pipe (12' and 12") having a pair of flaps 16' and 16",
wherein each flap extends
radially from opposing sides of the at least one French drain pipe. In one
embodiment, two French drain
pipes 12' and 12" are provided, wherein a first French drain pipe 12" is
positioned in an upper position
and a second French drain pipe 12' is positioned in a lower position relative
to foundation 14. In one
embodiment, the first and second French drain pipes extend around the
perimeter of the foundation. In
one embodiment, the second French drain pipe is positioned adjacent to
foundation footing 18 and the
first French drain pipe is positioned above the second French drain pipe in
the same vertical plane. In
one embodiment, the first and second French drain pipe may be comprised of
multiple connected pipes
forming single pipes as well known in the art.
[14] In one embodiment, the pair of flaps comprise a proximal flap 16'
extending to the foundation
and a distal flap 16" extending away from the foundation. It is a particular
advantage of the present
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invention, that the second French drain pipe includes second perforations 20'
positioned at the bottom
half of the pipe circumference, i.e. below the pair of flaps such that any
water present below the
foundation footing will be collected via the second perforations and the pair
of flaps create an effective
seal preventing water from creeping upwards. Similarly, the first French drain
pipe includes first
perforations 20" positioned at the top half of the pipe circumference, i.e.
above the pair of flaps such that
any water present above the pair of flaps (surface water) will be collected
via the first perforations and
the pair of flaps create an effective seal preventing water from creeping
downwards. In one
embodiment, the pair of flaps radially extend from the first French drain pipe
and are positioned just
under the ground surface (not illustrated).
[15] In one embodiment, a membrane 22 (best seen in FIG. 2) is configured
to provide a dry area
between the first and second French drain pipe. The membrane is positioned
perpendicularly to the pair
of flaps and is constructed from waterproof materials. Specifically, the
membrane is positioned
perpendicularly at the end of the upper and lower distal flap. In one
embodiment, the end of each distal
flap is angled and configured to match an opposite angled surface of the
membrane providing a seal. In
one embodiment, loose aggregates 28 are provided to accelerate the flow of
surface water down to the
second French drain pipe. In one embodiment, the loose aggregates line the
exterior surface of the
membrane (best seen in FIG. 2).
[16] In one embodiment, at least one vertical pipe 24 is provided, wherein
the at least one vertical
pipe is in fluid connectivity with the first and second French drain pipes. In
one embodiment, the at
least one vertical pipe is configured to transfer the collected water in the
first French drain pipe and
transfer the collected water to the second French drain pipe where it may exit
the drainage system below
the foundation footing.
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[17] In one embodiment, a plurality of handles 26 is provided. The handles are
provided along the
first and second French drain pipe to facilitate the initial installation of
the pipes. Depending upon the
desired orientation of the perforations a given pair of handles is used, such
that the first and second
French drain pipe is constructed identically for ease of manufacturing.
[18] Although the invention has been described in considerable detail in
language specific to
structural features, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the
appended claims is not
necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific
features are disclosed as
exemplary preferred forms of implementing the claimed invention. Stated
otherwise, it is to be
understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as
the abstract, are for the
purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Therefore,
while exemplary illustrative
embodiments of the invention have been described, numerous variations and
alternative embodiments
will occur to those skilled in the art. Such variations and alternate
embodiments are contemplated, and
can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
[19] It should further be noted that throughout the entire disclosure, the
labels such as left, right,
front, back, top, bottom, forward, reverse, clockwise, counter clockwise, up,
down, or other similar
terms such as upper, lower, aft, fore, vertical, horizontal, oblique,
proximal, distal, parallel,
perpendicular, transverse, longitudinal, etc. have been used for convenience
purposes only and are not
intended to imply any particular fixed direction or orientation. Instead, they
are used to reflect relative
locations and/or directions/orientations between various portions of an
object.
[20] In addition, reference to "first," "second," "third," and etc. members
throughout the disclosure
(and in particular, claims) are not used to show a serial or numerical
limitation but instead are used to
distinguish or identify the various members of the group.
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