Drainage member with expansion zones

Claim 2

A drainage member for use in promoting the drainage of water away from a substrate positioned adjacent to said drainage member, said drainage member including an elongated, longitudinally extending base formed of a flexible material and having a plurality of longitudinally extending drainage zones consisting of a plurality of outwardly extending projections, said projections being spaced from one another to form drainage channels between said projections, and said elongated base having a plurality of expansion zones formed of said flexible material and extending generally transversely of the longitudinal extent thereof, said expansion zones comprising a deformation of said flexible material that absorbs longitudinal expansion of such material when it is exposed to heat without any significant increase in the longitudinal length of the drainage member and being spaced a predetermined distance from one another in the longitudinal direction, said distance being substantially greater than the longitudinal extent of said drainage zones.

Claim 3

A drainage member as defined in claim 1 , wherein said expansion zones are deformed into one or more grooves extending generally transversely to said longitudinal extent of said base portion.

Claim 4

A drainage member as defined in claim 2 , wherein said grooves have an inverted u-shaped configuration.

Claim 5

A drainage member as defined in claim 1 , wherein said expansion zones are deformed by a plurality of holes penetrating said base portion and extending along a line that is generally transverse to said longitudinal of said base portion.

Claim 6

A drainage member as defined in claim 4 , wherein a sealing strip is secured to said drainage member to cover said plurality of holes and prevent water from passing therethrough.

Claim 7

A drainage member as defined in claim 1 , wherein said expansion zones are deformed by a plurality of slots penetrating said base portion and extending along a line that is generally transverse to said longitudinal extent of said base portion.

Claim 8

A drainage member as defined in claim 6 , wherein a sealing strip is secured to said drainage member to cover said plurality of slots and prevent water from passing therethrough.

Claim 9

A drainage member as defined in claim 1 , wherein said expansion zones are deformed by reducing the thickness of the flexible material forming said base portion along a width that is generally transverse to said longitudinal extent of said base portion.

Claim 10

A drainage member as defined in claim 1 , wherein said projections are generally cone shaped and extend perpendicularly away from said base portion.

Claim 11

A drainage member as defined in claim 9 , wherein the extending ends of said projections are flat for supporting a substrate thereon.

Claim 12

A drainage member as defined in claim 1 , wherein said deformation of said flexible material in said expansion zone weakens the structural integrity of said flexible material to permit said absorption of the expansion of said base.

Claim 13

A drainage member for use in conjunction with synthetic turf and the like, said drainage member including an elongated, longitudinally extending base formed of a thin, flexible plastic material, said base having drainage zones each comprising a plurality of cone-shaped projections protruding away from said elongated base and spaced from one another to form drainage channels between said projections, said cone-shaped projections have flat end portions for supporting said synthetic turf, and said elongated base having a plurality of expansion zones formed of the same flexible material as the rest of said base and extending generally transversely to the longitudinal extent of said base, said expansion zones comprising deformations of said flexible material that weaken the structural integrity of said flexible material in said expansion zones to accommodate and absorb longitudinal expansion and retraction of said drainage zones between said expansion zones and being spaced a predetermined distance from one another in the longitudinal direction, said distance being substantially greater than the longitudinal extent of said drainage zones.

Claim 14

A drainage member for use in conjunction with synthetic turf and the like, said drainage member including an elongated, longitudinally extending base formed of a thin, flexible plastic material, said base having drainage zones each comprising a plurality of cone-shaped projections protruding away from said elongated base and spaced from one another to form drainage channels between said projections, said cone-shaped projections have flat end portions for supporting said synthetic turf, and said elongated base having a plurality of expansion zones formed of the same flexible material as the rest of said base and extending generally transversely to the longitudinal extent of said base, said expansion zones comprising deformations of said flexible material that weaken the structural integrity of said flexible material in said expansion zones to accommodate and absorb longitudinal expansion and retraction of said drainage zones between said expansion zones and being spaced a predetermined distance from one another in the longitudinal direction, said distance being substantially greater than the longitudinal extent of said drainage zones.

Claim 15

A drainage member as defined in claim 12 , wherein said expansion zones are deformed into one or more grooves extending generally transversely to said longitudinal extent of said base portion.

Claim 16

A drainage member as defined in claim 13 , wherein said grooves have an inverted u-shaped configuration.

Claim 17

A drainage member as defined in claim 12 , wherein said expansion zones are deformed by a plurality of holes penetrating said base portion and extending along a line that is generally transverse to said longitudinal of said base portion.

Claim 18

A drainage member as defined in claim 15 , wherein a sealing strip is secured to said drainage member to cover said plurality of holes and prevent water from passing therethrough.

Claim 19

A drainage member as defined in claim 12 , wherein said expansion zones are deformed by a plurality of slots penetrating said base portion and extending along a line that is generally transverse to said longitudinal extent of said base portion.

Claim 20

A drainage member as defined in claim 17 , wherein a sealing strip is secured to said drainage member to cover said plurality of slots and prevent water from passing therethrough.

Claim 21

A drainage member as defined in claim 12 , wherein said expansion zones are deformed by reducing the thickness of the flexible material forming said base portion along a width that is generally transverse to said longitudinal extent of said base portion.

Claim 24

A method of forming a drainage member as defined in claim 20 wherein said step of deforming said base portion to form expansion zones includes deforming said base portion into one or more grooves extending transversely to said longitudinal extent of said base portion.

Claim 25

A method of forming a drainage member as defined in claim 21 , wherein said grooves are formed with an inverted unshaped configuration.

Claim 26

A method of forming a drainage member as defined in claim 20 , wherein said step of deforming said base portion to form expansion zones includes creating a plurality of holes penetrating said base portion and extending along a line that is generally transverse to said longitudinal of said base portion.

Claim 27

A method of forming a drainage member as defined in claim 23 , wherein said method includes the step of securing a sealing strip to said drainage member to cover said plurality of holes and prevent water from flowing therethrough.

Claim 28

A method of forming a drainage member as defined in claim 20 , wherein said step of deforming said base portion to form expansion zones includes creating a plurality of slots penetrating said base portion and extending along a line that is generally transverse to said longitudinal extent of said base portion.

Claim 29

A method of forming a drainage member as defined in claim 25 , wherein said method includes the step of securing a sealing strip to said drainage member to cover said plurality of slots and prevent water from flowing therethrough.

Claim 30

A method of forming a drainage member as defined in claim 20 , wherein said step of deforming said base portion to form expansion zones includes reducing the thickness of said base portion along a width that is generally transverse to said longitudinal extent of said base portion.