Water-filled flood bags for emergency flood control

Abstract

An emergency flood control apparatus is described that includes a row of a plurality of vertically separated cells horizontally arranged formed between at least two continuous sheets of impermeable flexible material, a continuous horizontal tube formed between the sheets and disposed at an end of the cells, and a plurality of necks disposed perpendicularly between the tube and the cells, the necks connecting each of the cells to the horizontal tube in a manner such that the cells may be filled with fluid from the tube at substantially the same time.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present Utility patent application claims priority benefit of the [U.S. provisional application for patent Ser. No. 60 / 791,761 filed on Apr. 12, 2006 under 35 U.S.C. 119(e). The contents of this related provisional application are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not applicable.REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER LISTING APPENDIX[0003]Not applicable.COPYRIGHT NOTICE[0004]A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office, patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0005]The present invention relates to various devices and structures using water or air filled tubes, blad...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0049]In yet another embodiment of the invention an emergency flood control apparatus is presented having means for forming a plurality of vertical cells horizontally arranged, means for forming a horizontal tube adjacent to the cells, and means for connecting the cells to the tube such that the cells may be filled from fluid in the tube at substantially the same time. Further embodiments include means for clamping ends of the tube, means for attachment to structures, means for forming a plurality of layers of vertical cells, and means for minimizing punctures to the cells and seepage between layers.

[0050]In yet another embodiment of the invention, an emergency flood control apparatus includes two rows of a plurality of vertically separated cells horizontally arranged formed between at least two continuous sheets of impermeable flexible material, the rows forming a tandem layer of cells, a continuous horizontal tube formed between the sheets and disposed between the rows, means for clamping ends of the tube, attachment flaps formed on the tube and on a top and bottom of the sheet for attachment to other structures, and a plurality of necks disposed perpendicularly between the tube and the cells, the necks connecting each of the cells to the horizontal tube in a manner such that the cells may be filled with fluid from the tube at substantially the same time. Further embodiments include holes in the attachment flaps for providing means for attaching additional tandem layers of cells and holes in the attachment flaps for attachment to a supporting structure. Other embodiments include a plurality of tandem layers of cells stacked atop one another and attached to the supporting structure and a ground cloth beneath the first layer and wrapped up the water-side of the layers to minimize punctures to the cells and seepage between layers.

Problems solved by technology

However, the filling and transporting of sand-filled bags to a flooded area is time-consuming, labor intensive and often impractical for rapid response in emergency situations.

Often there simply is not enough time to fill sandbags in an emergency.

Also, the soil in flooded areas may be too soft and muddy for filling sandbags and sand may have to be trucked to the site from other locations.

In some cases the soil in the flooding area is too soft to support heavy equipment and it simply becomes impossible to get suitable sand to the necessary location.

Further, after sandbags have been used they are soggy, muddy and saturated with floodwater that has often been contaminated with sewage and toxic waste.

While this approach reduces the need for sand at the flood site, bags of this type pose considerable expense and are still time-consuming and labor intensive to deploy because each bag must be individually filled and stacked.

However, after these devices become soaked, they cannot later be moved or removed feasibly for days or even weeks.

In addition, since these devices necessarily become soaked with floodwaters that may be contaminated with sewage and toxic waste, this results in a large quantity of contaminated material that may pose a serious waste disposal problem.

Since these fabric dams must be stretched perpendicularly across flowing water to work, they appear to only be applicable to large-scale straight-line situations and cannot be used to surround structures or form curved flood control structures around obstacles.

But these approaches depend on water pressure to inflate them to pre-determined lengths and circumferences, and this necessarily produces stiff linear, horizontal cells of predetermined length that are not well-adapted to small scale applications, to curve around obstacles, or to turn sharp corners.

Further, known methods utilizing horizontal water-filled ‘tubes’ or cells are configured such that any puncture or rupture of the external membrane of the tube at any location necessarily causes the entire linear segment to lose pressure and fail.

In many cases this causes failure of the entire flood control structure.

But these designs necessarily require a substantial investment in framing materials and associated storage expense.

And, as with the “inflated tube” designs, these designs depend on a plastic membrane creating a single horizontal cell of water so that any rupture or puncture of the external membrane or any failure of an external support at any place along the length of the dam will necessarily cause failure of the entire flood control structure.

These proposals using rigid or semi-rigid containers filled with water are much more labor intensive since each container must be stacked, connected and filled separately.

And as with the designs using an external A-shaped framework, all of these proposals using rigid or semi-rigid containers necessarily require a substantial investment in framing materials and associated storage expense.

A common feature of all “water-filled dams” and other flood-control structures described above is that once put in place and filled with water these structures are so heavy that they cannot be moved or repositioned even a few inches.

Further, these structures are all large-scale proposals involving expense and engineering far beyond the capabilities of the average individual, for example, without limitation, homeowner, shopkeeper or farmer.

Consequently the average individual faced with a relatively small-scale need, such as, but not limited to, quickly sealing off a single doorway or stairwell from surface water intrusion or protecting a hay barn from a few inches of rising floodwater, is usually forced to rely on sandbags or other ad hoc measures despite the inherent limitations these methods pose.

Further, known methods generally cannot easily be used on a small scale, cannot be used to easily negotiate turns, and often pose the danger that a puncture in any cell at any place causes a loss of the entire cell and possibly loss of structural integrity of the entire flood-control structure.

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