Patent DE845937C successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent US3645101A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3645101A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for constructing impervious underground walls
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1970-11-04
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Granted: 1972-02-29
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Expires: 1990-11-04
Abstract
Abstract A method for constructing an impervious underground wall by continuously enlarging an excavation by dislodging and fragmenting earth material to form a trench of long length and narrow width in the ground, adding a slurry to the excavation and mixing the fragmented earth material with the slurry in situ. The method comprises the steps of providing a movable but rigid barrier member within an initial slurry filled starter hole or trench so that fluid columns of the slurry are formed on the front and rear sides of the barrier; placing an earth-cutting tool in the front fluid column in contact with the face of the starter hole opposite the front side of the barrier member; manipulating the earth-cutting tool so as to remove progressively thin layers of material from the advancing face of the trench mixing the excavated material with the slurry of the front fluid column; adding additional fresh slurry; and causing the fluid mixture of slurry and cuttings to circulate to the rear column as the barrier-cutting tool continuously advances through the ground. The apparatus includes the barrier member which is operable to remain in a substantially vertical position, or at a constant inclination, as it moves along the trench being formed. Means are provided for preventing any substantial flow of fluid from the rear to the front column except below the bottom of the barrier. The cutting tool which may be directly connected to the movable barrier member is adapted to continuously remove relatively thin layers of earth material from the end face, which material is thoroughly mixed with slurry before it is circulated to the rear column where it gradually solidifies to form the impermeable wall. Other components of the apparatus include means to raise and lower and guide the upper end of the movable barrier member and manipulate the cutting tool, means to push the combined barrier-cutter tool forward against the advancing face of the excavation and means to add additional slurry. A wall constructed according to the method comprises a continuous narrow impermeable underground structure comprised of the solidified mixture of slurry and natural soil material having no joints, breaks, connections or overlaps. Depending on the character of the slurry used in the process the final product may be either a flexible and plastic wall of mixed soil and bentonite or a rigid and strong wall of soil-cement concrete.
Inventors
- 👤 James L Sherard
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 21:30
CPC Classifications
E; E02; E02D; E02D5/00; E02D5/18; E02D5/187
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
137 words
A method for constructing an underground wall free from joints, connectors, or overlaps by progressively enlarging an initial excavation by dislodging and fragmenting the natural earth material to form a trench in the ground, adding a slurry to the excavation, mixing the fragmented earth material with the slurry in situ while keeping the trench excavation filled at all times with The slurry and excavated fragments and particles of natural soil in the form of a heavy viscous fluid, causing said viscous fluid to flow vertically within the trench so that the fragments of natural soil excavated at various levels in the ground become mixed together and said heavy viscous fluid has essentially the same properties at all depths within the trench, and subsequently allowing the viscous fluid to stabilize and form the body of the underground wall.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
137 words
A method for constructing an underground wall free from joints, connectors, or overlaps by progressively enlarging an initial excavation by dislodging and fragmenting the natural earth material to form a trench in the ground, adding a slurry to the excavation, mixing the fragmented earth material with the slurry in situ while keeping the trench excavation filled at all times with The slurry and excavated fragments and particles of natural soil in the form of a heavy viscous fluid, causing said viscous fluid to flow vertically within the trench so that the fragments of natural soil excavated at various levels in the ground become mixed together and said heavy viscous fluid has essentially the same properties at all depths within the trench, and subsequently allowing the viscous fluid to stabilize and form the body of the underground wall.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
159 words
A method for constructing a flexible, impervious underground wall comprising the steps of filling an initial excavation with a slurry primarily comprised of colloidal mud and water, progressively enlarging said initial excavation to form a narrow trench by dislodging particles of natural soil material from at least one face or boundary wall of the enlarging trench excavation, continuously adding fresh slurry, mixing the dislodged fragments of said natural soil material and the slurry within the trench to form a heavy viscous fluid, causing said viscous fluid to circulate and flow vertically within the trench across the boundary wall of the trench being excavated so that the fragments of natural soil encountered at various levels within the ground become mixed together with the slurry and so that the heavy viscous fluid has essentially the same properties at all elevations, and allowing the total mixture of viscous fluid to stabilize in the trench to form the body of the underground wall.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
159 words
A method for constructing a flexible, impervious underground wall comprising the steps of filling an initial excavation with a slurry primarily comprised of colloidal mud and water, progressively enlarging said initial excavation to form a narrow trench by dislodging particles of natural soil material from at least one face or boundary wall of the enlarging trench excavation, continuously adding fresh slurry, mixing the dislodged fragments of said natural soil material and the slurry within the trench to form a heavy viscous fluid, causing said viscous fluid to circulate and flow vertically within the trench across the boundary wall of the trench being excavated so that the fragments of natural soil encountered at various levels within the ground become mixed together with the slurry and so that the heavy viscous fluid has essentially the same properties at all elevations, and allowing the total mixture of viscous fluid to stabilize in the trench to form the body of the underground wall.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method as described in claim 2 including the step of adding aggregate materials from an outside source to the circulating viscous fluid mixture as it emerges at the ground surface, for the purpose of improving the final properties of the trench filling, such aggregate being finally distributed uniformly throughout the body of the wall.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
157 words
A method of constructing a rigid and strong impervious underground wall of soil-cement concrete comprising the steps of filling an initial excavation with a slurry consisting primarily of cement and water, progressively enlarging said initial excavation to form a narrow trench by dislodging particles of natural soil material from at least one face or boundary wall of the enlarging trench excavation, continuously adding fresh cement and water slurry, mixing the dislodged fragments of said natural soil material and the slurry within the trench to form a heavy viscous fluid causing said viscous fluid to circulate and flow generally vertically within the trench for substantially its full depth in such a way that the fragments of natural soil excavated at various levels in the ground are mixed together and then moved rearwardly in the trench, and allowing the total mixture of viscous fluid to stabilize and solidify in the trench to form the body of the underground wall.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
157 words
A method of constructing a rigid and strong impervious underground wall of soil-cement concrete comprising the steps of filling an initial excavation with a slurry consisting primarily of cement and water, progressively enlarging said initial excavation to form a narrow trench by dislodging particles of natural soil material from at least one face or boundary wall of the enlarging trench excavation, continuously adding fresh cement and water slurry, mixing the dislodged fragments of said natural soil material and the slurry within the trench to form a heavy viscous fluid causing said viscous fluid to circulate and flow generally vertically within the trench for substantially its full depth in such a way that the fragments of natural soil excavated at various levels in the ground are mixed together and then moved rearwardly in the trench, and allowing the total mixture of viscous fluid to stabilize and solidify in the trench to form the body of the underground wall.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method as described in claim 4 including the step of adding aggregate materials from an outside source by dropping them into said circulating viscous fluid at the ground surface for the purpose of improving the final properties of the trench filling, such aggregates being distributed uniformly throughout the body of the wall.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
246 words
A method for constructing an underground wall comprising the steps of: forming an initial excavation having an end face; filling the initial excavation with a fluid slurry; inserting into the excavation an elongated barrier member having attached thereto on its front side an earth cutter means; locating said barrier member within the initial excavation so that fluid columns of slurry are formed on both its front and rear sides; continuously enlarging said excavation to form a trench by progressively dislodging particles or thin layers of soil material from said end face, which is thereby advanced through the ground, and letting the soil cuttings drop into and be mixed with the fluid of said front column; continuously moving said barrier member forward as the excavation is being enlarged in such a way that the size of the column of fluid in front of the Barrier member and the distance between it and the advancing end face of the excavation remain essentially constant; continuously adding fresh slurry to the excavation to mix with the soil cuttings so that the mixture of cuttings and slurry in the front column is maintained in the form of a heavy viscous fluid; causing the fluid mixture of slurry and soil cuttings to be moved continuously by a flowing action from the column of fluid on the front side of the barrier member to the trench on its other side, and allowing the mixture to stabilize and form the body of the wall.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
246 words
A method for constructing an underground wall comprising the steps of: forming an initial excavation having an end face; filling the initial excavation with a fluid slurry; inserting into the excavation an elongated barrier member having attached thereto on its front side an earth cutter means; locating said barrier member within the initial excavation so that fluid columns of slurry are formed on both its front and rear sides; continuously enlarging said excavation to form a trench by progressively dislodging particles or thin layers of soil material from said end face, which is thereby advanced through the ground, and letting the soil cuttings drop into and be mixed with the fluid of said front column; continuously moving said barrier member forward as the excavation is being enlarged in such a way that the size of the column of fluid in front of the Barrier member and the distance between it and the advancing end face of the excavation remain essentially constant; continuously adding fresh slurry to the excavation to mix with the soil cuttings so that the mixture of cuttings and slurry in the front column is maintained in the form of a heavy viscous fluid; causing the fluid mixture of slurry and soil cuttings to be moved continuously by a flowing action from the column of fluid on the front side of the barrier member to the trench on its other side, and allowing the mixture to stabilize and form the body of the wall.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 6 in which the slurry added comprises primarily colloidal mud and water so that the stabilized mixture of slurry and soil cuttings forms an impervious and flexible wall in the form of a plastic, nonrigid, solid mixture of soil and colloidal mud.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 6 in which the slurry added comprises primarily cement and water so that the stabilized mixture of slurry and soil cuttings forms an impervious, rigid and strong wall of soil-cement concrete.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 6 including the step of adding aggregate materials from an outside source to the heavy viscous mixture of slurry and cuttings for improving the final properties of the trench filling.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 6 in which the steps of moving said barrier member forward and of causing the mixture of slurry and soil cuttings to flow from the front fluid column to the other side of the barrier are accomplished by aerating the front fluid column to reduce its weight relative to the weight of the fluid column on the rear side of the barrier.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 6 in which the fluid mixture of slurry and soil cuttings is moved continuously from the front fluid column to the rear side of the barrier by pumping.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 6 wherein thin layers of earth material are removed from the advancing end face of the trench excavation by abrading the wall surface with an up and down oscillatory action of the cutter means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the thin layers of earth material are removed from the advancing end face of the trench excavation by the rotary action of said cutter means.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the thin layers of earth material are removed from the advancing wall of the trench excavation by a combined up and down oscillatory and rotary action of said cutter means.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the thin layers of earth are removed from the advancing wall of the trench by the action of a fluid jet.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the thin layers of earth are removed from the advancing end face of the excavation by a lineal chopping action of said cutter means substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said barrier member.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
197 words
An apparatus for constructing an impermeable underground wall, comprising: an elongated and rigid guide and barrier means adapted for insertion into a fluid-filled trench excavation in a generally upright position thereby forming front and rear fluid columns on its opposite sides and being laterally movable within said trench; cutter means attached to a front side of said movable guide and barrier means; means for manipulating said cutter means while it is guided by said guide and barrier means to remove progressively relatively thin layers of earth material in the form of soil cuttings from and thereby to advance the end face of the trench excavation; means for continuously urging the combined guide and barrier means laterally forwardly towards the end face of said trench excavation; means for guiding the upper end of said guide and barrier means which protrude above the ground surface to help maintain it in a vertical position or at a constant desired inclination, as it moves through the ground; means for adding fresh slurry to the trench; and means for causing the mixture of slurry and soil cuttings to flow from the front side of the barrier means to its rear side. Pg,38
Claim 22
Independent Claim
197 words
An apparatus for constructing an impermeable underground wall, comprising: an elongated and rigid guide and barrier means adapted for insertion into a fluid-filled trench excavation in a generally upright position thereby forming front and rear fluid columns on its opposite sides and being laterally movable within said trench; cutter means attached to a front side of said movable guide and barrier means; means for manipulating said cutter means while it is guided by said guide and barrier means to remove progressively relatively thin layers of earth material in the form of soil cuttings from and thereby to advance the end face of the trench excavation; means for continuously urging the combined guide and barrier means laterally forwardly towards the end face of said trench excavation; means for guiding the upper end of said guide and barrier means which protrude above the ground surface to help maintain it in a vertical position or at a constant desired inclination, as it moves through the ground; means for adding fresh slurry to the trench; and means for causing the mixture of slurry and soil cuttings to flow from the front side of the barrier means to its rear side. Pg,38
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
62 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 wherein said cutter means comprises a plurality of scraper members fixed rigidly to one side of said guide and barrier means along its length and having edges for abrading said excavation face when moved up and down, and means for moving said barrier means up and down while said cutter means engages the excavation face.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
60 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 including a power driven vibrator attached to the combined barrier and cutter means for vibrating the apparatus, primarily in the longitudinal direction to assist in the cutting action and to assist in keeping the dense mixture of soil cuttings and slurry on both sides of the combined barrier-cutter means in a fluid state.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
69 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 wherein said cutter means comprises a rotary drill, means fixed to said barrier means for supporting and guiding said drill while allowing it to move freely longitudinally along the said barrier means along an axis which is fixed at a constant distance from the longitudinal axis of said barrier means, and means for rotating said drill and moving it upwardly and downwardly.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
58 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 wherein said cutter means comprises a plurality of rotary cutters on a shaft, means for supporting said shaft on said barrier means, means for rotating said shaft and said cutters, and means for moving said combined barrier and cutter means up and down while said cutter means engages the excavation face.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
80 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 wherein said cutter means comprises a chisel head, means fixed to said barrier means for guiding said chisel head in such a way as to allow said chisel to move freely longitudinally along the barrier means while being forced to travel along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said barrier means, and means for raising and lowering said chisel head to remove a thin layer of material from said excavation face.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
42 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 wherein said soil cutter means comprises means producing a fluid jet and means attached to said barrier means for guiding said latter means along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the barrier means.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
42 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 in which said means for causing a flow in said front fluid column and the means for urging said guide and barrier means forwardly within the trench comprise means for aerating said front fluid column.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
46 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 in which said means for causing a flow in said front fluid column and the means for urging said guide and barrier means forwardly within the trench comprise means for pumping the fluid mixture from said front fluid column.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
46 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 wherein the means for urging said guide and barrier member forwardly within the trench and the means for guiding its upper end above the ground surface comprises a construction crane including guide lead means engaged with said barrier member.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 wherein said barrier means comprises a steel beam member having a transverse web and flanges on the side edges of said web.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
41 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 including flexible sealing means fixed to and extending beyond the edges of the barrier means on both sides for controlling or preventing the flow of fluid around the barrier means from rear to front.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
39 words
The apparatus as described in claim 17 including a pair of pipes fixed to said barrier means and extending longitudinally thereon, means supplying compressed air to one said pipe and means supplying slurry material to the other said pipe.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
133 words
A method for constructing an underground structure comprising the steps of: progressively enlarging an initial excavation by dislodging and fragmenting the natural earth material to form a larger excavation in the ground, adding a slurry to the enlarged excavation, mixing the fragmented earth material with the slurry in situ While keeping the excavation filled at all times with the slurry and excavated fragments and particles of natural soil in the form of a heavy viscous fluid, causing said viscous fluid to flow vertically within the excavation so that the fragments of natural soil excavated at various levels in the ground become mixed together and said heavy viscous fluid has essentially the same properties at all depths within the excavation, and subsequently allowing the viscous fluid to stabilize and form a solidified underground body.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
133 words
A method for constructing an underground structure comprising the steps of: progressively enlarging an initial excavation by dislodging and fragmenting the natural earth material to form a larger excavation in the ground, adding a slurry to the enlarged excavation, mixing the fragmented earth material with the slurry in situ While keeping the excavation filled at all times with the slurry and excavated fragments and particles of natural soil in the form of a heavy viscous fluid, causing said viscous fluid to flow vertically within the excavation so that the fragments of natural soil excavated at various levels in the ground become mixed together and said heavy viscous fluid has essentially the same properties at all depths within the excavation, and subsequently allowing the viscous fluid to stabilize and form a solidified underground body.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method as described in claim 30 wherein said slurry material is a Portland cement mixture.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method as described in claim 30 wherein said slurry material is bentonite mud.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-02-28 | 1975-08-30 | 1976-02-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-02-28 | 1979-08-30 | 1980-02-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-02-28 | 1983-08-30 | 1984-02-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |