Method and apparatus for forming a trench with grates or solid covers

Claim 1

An improved trench form for shaping a trench of the type wherein the form is disposed within a ditch between two frame assemblies, concrete is poured within the ditch to encase the outer surface of the trench form and, after the concrete or other encasing material hardens, the form is removed, the improvement comprising: (a) an elongated, rigid outer shell having upright opposed side walls, a forward end wall and an opposite rear end wall, a top wall and a bottom and having a channel longitudinally extending therethrough which is open through the end walls and the tope walls; and (b) a core that is positioned within and is removable from the channel and having opposed ends, a top and a bottom surface and a shape which is complimentary to the shape of the channel, whereby, after the concrete hardens, the core is removed from the shell and then the shell is removed from the concrete.

Claim 6

A method of making a trench, comprising the steps of: (a) forming a ditch in the ground; (b) fixing at a preselected depth within the ditch a first trench form comprising a first outer shell having first and second end walls and a top wall and a first core received within a channel longitudinally extending through the end walls and top wall of the shell; (c) extending a portion of one end of the first core beyond the first end wall of the first shell; (d) positioning a second core within a second shell of a second form so that one end of the core extends beyond the first end wall of the second shell, thereby forming in the channel at the end of the second shell adjacent the second end wall a space sufficient to receive therein the portion of the first core which projects outwardly from the first end wall of the first shell; (e) placing the second form in the ditch with the second end wall of the second shell in abutting relation to the first end wall of the first shell, the end of the first core that projects beyond the first end wall of the first shell being received within the space in the channel of the second shell; and (f) repeating steps (d) and (e) for subsequent shells and respective cores along the length of the trench.

Claim 7

A method of making a trench, comprising the steps of: (a) forming a ditch in the ground; (b) fixing at a preselected depth within the ditch a first trench form comprising a first outer shell having first and second end walls and a top wall and a first core received within a channel longitudinally extending through the end walls and top wall of the shell; (c) extending a portion of one end of the first core beyond the first end wall of the first shell; (d) positioning a second core within a second shell of a second form so that one end of the core extends beyond the first end wall of the second shell, thereby forming in the channel at the end of the second shell adjacent the second end wall a space sufficient to receive therein the portion of the first core which projects outwardly from the first end wall of the first shell; (e) placing the second form in the ditch with the second end wall of the second shell in abutting relation to the first end wall of the first shell, the end of the first core that projects beyond the first end wall of the first shell being received within the space in the channel of the second shell; and (f) repeating steps (d) and (e) for subsequent shells and respective cores along the length of the trench.