Portable Cofferdam System

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/756,895 filed on Jun. 27, 2024 (Docket No. STRO-036), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/297,749 filed on Apr. 10, 2023 now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 12,031,286 (Docket No. STRO-034), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/502,740 filed on Oct. 15, 2021 now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,624,167 (Docket No. STRO-027), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/062,854 filed on Oct. 5, 2020 now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,149,401 (Docket No. STRO-023), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/594,158 filed on Oct. 7, 2019 now issued as U.S. Patent No. 10,794,033 (Docket No. STRO-018), which is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 16/159,917 filed on Oct. 15, 2018 now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,435,860 (Docket No. STRO-016), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/953,629 filed on Apr. 16, 2018 now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,100,483 (Docket No. STRO-015), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/292,977 filed on Oct. 13, 2016 now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,945,091 (Docket No. STRO-008). Each of the aforementioned patent applications, and any applications related thereto, is herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Not applicable to this application.

Example embodiments in general relate to a portable cofferdam system for isolating and dewatering a working area in a water environment such as a culvert.

Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

A cofferdam (also called a coffer) is a temporary enclosure built within a body of water and constructed to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out, creating a dry work environment for the major work to proceed. Enclosed coffers are commonly used for construction and repair of oil platforms, bridge piers and other support structures built within or over water. These cofferdams are usually welded steel structures, with components consisting of sheet piles, wales, and cross braces. Such structures are typically dismantled after the ultimate work is completed.

One of the problems with conventional cofferdams is they are labor intensive to install for small applications such as providing a dry working area surrounding a culvert. Another problem with conventional cofferdams is they require a significant amount of time to install. Another problem with conventional cofferdams are they are not designed for use in smaller work environments such as the area surrounding the inlet opening of a culvert.

An example embodiment of the present invention is directed to a portable cofferdam system. The portable cofferdam system includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall each having an interior side, an exterior side, an upper edge, a lower edge and a rear edge. A middle wall is connected to the sidewalls opposite of the rear edges of the sidewalls forming a substantially U-shaped structure. An opening formed between the rear edges of the first sidewall and the second sidewall to allow for positioning about or near the inlet of an object or area to be kept dry such as the inlet of a culvert.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, some of the features of the portable cofferdam system in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.

There are additional features of the portable cofferdam system that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the portable cofferdam system in detail, it is to be understood that the portable cofferdam system is not limited in its application to the details of construction or to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The portable cofferdam system is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.

An example portable cofferdam system generally comprises a first sidewalland a second sidewalleach having an interior side, an exterior side, an upper edge, a lower edge and a rear edge. A middle wallis connected to the sidewalls opposite of the rear edges of the sidewalls forming a substantially U-shaped structure. An opening formed between the rear edges of the first sidewalland the second sidewallto allow for positioning about or near the inlet of an object or area to be kept dry such as the inlet of a culvert.

The first sidewallhas an interior side, an exterior side, an upper edge, a lower edgeand a rear edge. The second sidewallalso preferably has an interior side, an exterior side, an upper edge, a lower edgeand a rear edge. The first sidewalland the second sidewallare vertically orientated so they may be inserted into the ground surface in a vertical manner. The second sidewallis distally spaced from the first sidewalla distance sufficient to provide a sufficient working area around the area or object to be kept dry (e.g. wider than the width of a culvert).

An opening is formed between the rear edges of the first sidewalland the second sidewallas illustrated inof the drawings. The opening preferably does not have a top or bottom with only the sidewalls,defining the opening along with the surface of the ground the sidewalls,are inserted into. The first sidewallis preferably substantially parallel with respect to the second sidewall, but the first sidewallmay be positioned relative to the second sidewallthat is not substantially parallel.

The first sidewallpreferably has a shape and size substantially similar to the second sidewallbut different shapes and sizes may be used depending upon the application. Furthermore, the length from the rear edges,to the middle wallis preferably substantially the same for both sidewalls,but the lengths may differ based on the desired application and area to be kept dry.

The middle wallhas an interior side, an exterior side, an upper edgeand a lower edge. The middle wallis also substantially vertically orientated. The first sidewall, the second sidewalland the middle wallare preferably all substantially vertically orientated at approximately the same angle to provide for easy insertion into the ground surface. As shown inof the drawings, the first side wall and the second sidewallare preferably each substantially perpendicular with respect to the middle wallin an example embodiment thereby forming a U-shaped structure as shown inof the drawings. In various other embodiments, the middle wallmay not be substantially perpendicular to the sidewalls,. For example, the middle wallmay be comprised of a curved structure thereby forming a U-shaped structure with the sidewalls,as shown in. The curved middle wallallows for usage in larger applications without the need of additional bracing.

The walls,,preferably are all constructed of metal plates having a relatively similar thickness (though the material types and thicknesses may vary). The lower edges,,may be sharpened into a narrower state than the walls,,to provide for easy penetration into the ground surface.

The first sidewall, the second sidewalland the middle wallare preferably comprised of a unitary structure (e.g. a single sheet of metal folded and/or formed to the desired shape). Alternatively, the walls,,may be connected together via fasteners or welding. The walls,,form a relatively water tight structure when inserted into the ground surface wherein a sloped ditch wall or other structure closes the interior of the structure around the area to be worked upon (e.g. an inlet of a culvert).

Though not required, the upper edges of the first sidewall, the second sidewalland the middle wallare preferably on or close to the same plane in one embodiment of the present invention. In alternative embodiments the upper edges of the walls,,may be on different planes. The lower edges of the first sidewall, the second sidewalland the middle wallare preferably on or close to the same plane, but May have differing planes in some embodiments.

The first sidewalland the second sidewallboth preferably taper outwardly from the rear edge to the middle wallas shown in. The first sidewalland the second sidewallboth preferably taper outwardly from the rear edge to the middle wallto allow for insertion of the middle wallin deeper waterthan the portion of the sidewalls,near the rear edge thereby providing a relatively consistent height above the upper surface of the water. The middle wallmay taper upwardly towards the middle portion of the middle wallto ensure that the middle wallis above the level of waterapproximately the same level as the sidewalls,.

As shown in, a first braceis connected between the first sidewalland the middle sidewall, and a second braceis connected between the second sidewalland the middle sidewall. The first braceand the second braceare preferably connected to the interior corners of the upper portion of the middle walland the sidewalls,. The braces,are not required and are particularly not required for embodiments of the present invention that use a middle wallthat is outwardly curved as shown inof the drawings.

At least one connectoris preferably attached to the interior side and/or the exterior side of the middle wall. At least one connectoris preferably attached to the interior side and/or the exterior side of the first sidewall. At least one connectoris preferably attached to the interior side and/or the exterior side of the second sidewall. The connectorsmay be comprised of any connectorthat may be attached to devices such as, but not limited to, cables, ropes hooks, clamps, fasteners and the like. The connectorsare preferably comprised of a D-ring and in particular a D-ring that is pivotally attached to the walls,,. The connectorsmay be comprised of other types of connectors(e.g. hooks) and various combinations of connectors. The connectorsare used for various purposes such as, but not limited to, lifting and moving the walls,,and/or attaching devices such as pulleysor winches for performing various types of operations.

It can be appreciated that no connectorsmay be attached to one or more of the sides of the walls,,. Furthermore, various numbers of connectorsmay be used on any of the walls. In one preferred embodiment illustrated inof the drawings, one connectoris attached to an upper central portion of the interior side of the middle wall, two connectorsare attached to the upper central portion of the exterior side of the middle wall, one connectoris attached to the upper rear portion of the exterior side of the first sidewalland one connectoris attached to the upper rear portion of the exterior side of the second sidewall. Various other combinations of connectorsmay be used.

A support memberpreferably extends between the interior sides of the first sidewalland the second sidewallnear the rear edges of the sidewalls to provide additional support to the sidewalls,during usage. The various embodiments of the present invention may be constructed with or without the support member. The support membermay be permanently attached or may be removably attached to the sidewalls,.

In one example embodiment, a first bracketis attached to the interior side of the first sidewall, a second bracketattached to the interior side of the second sidewall, and the first and second ends of the support memberare removably connected to the first bracketand second bracketrespectively as shown inof the drawings.also show the first connectorhaving a ring structure with an aperture that receives a locking pinthat extends through the aperture in the first connectorand a corresponding aperture within the first end of the support member.

also show the second connectorhaving a U-shaped structure with a tapered lower lip that allows the second end of the support memberto slide into the second bracketwherein another locking pinis inserted through corresponding apertures within the second bracketand the support member. The user is able to easily remove the support memberto provide easy access to the dry work areaafter the walls,,have been inserted into the ground surface. The support membermay have a circular cross sectional shape or other cross sectional shape.

To use the various embodiments of the present invention, the user transports the portable cofferdam to a desired location that requires a dry work areasuch as the intake of a culvert. The portable cofferdam is positioned in a manner that will result in the open end between the rear edges,of the sidewalls closed off and water tight after the portable cofferdam is inserted into the ground surface to define the interior dry work area to be pumped out of any liquids (e.g. water). To position the portable cofferdam, a cableor other device is attached to one or more of the connectorsand to a backhoe (or similar machinery) to lift and move the portable cofferdam. For example, the user may position the rear portion of the portable cofferdam upon sloped ground(e.g. the side of a ditch surrounding the culvert) with the opening between the rear edges,facing towards the objection to be worked upon or with as shown inof the drawings.

After the portable coffer dam is properly positioned, the user then presses downwardly upon the portable cofferdam to drive the portable cofferdam into a groundsurface that is below the water. The walls,,of the portable cofferdam penetrate the ground surface a desired depth sufficient to ensure waterdoes not enter into the dry work area(e.g. 6 inches depth or more). To force the portable cofferdam into the ground surface, the user may use the bucket of a backhoe or other type of vehicle (e.g. loader bucket on a tractor) to apply a downward force upon the walls,,of the portable cofferdam. After the portable cofferdam is fully inserted, the user then pumps out the waterwithin the dry work areawith a water pumpthat dispenses the wateroutside of the dry work areasurrounded by the portable cofferdam using a hoseconnected to the pumpand the sloped groundthereby providing a dry work areasurrounding the inlet of the culvertor other object/area to be worked upon in a dry environment. If work is being done on a culvert, it may be needed to use a second portable cofferdam on the opposite side of the culvertusing the above procedure.

After the dry work areais free of water, various operations may be performed in the dry work area. For example, a pulleymay be attached to the connectorattached to the interior side of the middle walland a cablefrom a winch is wrapped around the pulleyto enter the interior of the culvertto be connected to an object such as a cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) liner to pull the CIPP liner from the opposite end of the culvertthrough the interior of the culvertto near the pulley. Conventional processes may be used to inflate the CIPP liner and cure the CIPP liner within the culvert to repair and rehabilitate the culvert.

Once the user is finished using the portable cofferdam to maintain the dry work area, the user connects the backhoe (or other machinery) to one or more of the connectorsto lift the portable coffer dam from the ground surface. The user is then able to transport the portable coffer dam to a new work area using the same process indicated above.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar to or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the portable cofferdam system, suitable methods and materials are described above. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the extent allowed by applicable law and regulations. The portable cofferdam system may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Any headings utilized within the description are for convenience only and have no legal or limiting effect.