Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
178 words
A septic tank, comprising: a hollow housing for holding a volume of liquid, said hollow housing having a top, a bottom, and a plurality of side walls connecting said top and said bottom, said hollow housing having a first perimeter that is the greatest distance around an outside surface of said plurality of side walls; means for admitting liquid into and withdrawing liquid from said hollow housing; and an antifloatation collar integral with said hollow housing which projects from said outside surface of said plurality of side walls in a plane that is parallel to said top and said bottom of said hollow housing to a second perimeter which is greater than said first perimeter that is the greatest distance around said outside surface of said plurality of side walls, said antifloatation collar being of sufficient rigidity to resist bending under the influence of buoyancy forces exerted on said bottom of said hollow housing, said second perimeter of said antifloatation collar being of a size sufficient to prevent floatation of said hollow housing in dry and saturated soils.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
178 words
A septic tank, comprising: a hollow housing for holding a volume of liquid, said hollow housing having a top, a bottom, and a plurality of side walls connecting said top and said bottom, said hollow housing having a first perimeter that is the greatest distance around an outside surface of said plurality of side walls; means for admitting liquid into and withdrawing liquid from said hollow housing; and an antifloatation collar integral with said hollow housing which projects from said outside surface of said plurality of side walls in a plane that is parallel to said top and said bottom of said hollow housing to a second perimeter which is greater than said first perimeter that is the greatest distance around said outside surface of said plurality of side walls, said antifloatation collar being of sufficient rigidity to resist bending under the influence of buoyancy forces exerted on said bottom of said hollow housing, said second perimeter of said antifloatation collar being of a size sufficient to prevent floatation of said hollow housing in dry and saturated soils.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
67 words
The septic tank of claim 1 wherein said hollow housing defines a first cross-sectional area within said first perimeter that is the greatest distance around said outside surface of said plurality of side walls, and wherein said hollow housing and said antifloatation collar define a second cross-sectional area within said second perimeter, said second cross-sectional area being at least two percent greater than said first cross-sectional area.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
42 words
The septic tank of claim 2 wherein said anti-floatation collar projects from said outside surface of said plurality of side walls at a point on said plurality of side walls that is between said top and said bottom of said hollow housing.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
The septic tank of claim 2 wherein said anti-floatation collar projects from said outside surface of said plurality of side walls at a point on said plurality of side walls that is adjacent said bottom of said hollow housing.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
34 words
The septic tank of claim 2 wherein said hollow housing is assembled from two separate components comprising top and bottom shells, said top and bottom shells being nestable with like top and bottom shells.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
86 words
The septic tank of claim 5 wherein said top and bottom shells each include peripheral flanges, said peripheral flange of said top shell interlocking with said peripheral flange of said bottom shell to form said antifloatation collar, and further comprising a gasket which fits between said peripheral flanges of said top and bottom shells, and a plurality of metal clips, each of said metal clips being sized to fit over both said top and bottom peripheral flanges to hold said top and bottom peripheral flanges together.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
The septic tank of claim 1 wherein said hollow housing has a length dimension of approximately eleven to twelve feet, and width dimension of approximately six to eight feet, and wherein said antifloatation collar is three to six inches.