Hydraulic and earth engineering – Earth treatment or control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-30
2001-04-10
Lillis, Eileen D. (Department: 3673)
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Earth treatment or control
C405S016000, C405S019000, C405S021000, C405S025000, C405S032000, C405S035000, C052SDIG009
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213687
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Several environmental disasters in existence today(1999) are the Aral Sea in the former Soviet Union and certain dry lakes in the United Stated of America.
The waters of the Aral Sea have been drained for irrigating cotton by the former owners of the land, the Soviet Communists. The exposed seabed dried up and a surface later of arsenic-rich material formed thereon. Winds blow this arsenic-laden dust into all areas of the villages, towns and cities surrounding this freshwater sea.
Large numbers of people in the area surrounding the historic Aral Sea shoreline suffer from all manner of airborne diseases.
Dry lakes in the United States formed when their water sources were lost due to natural of artificial causes, exhibit a similar phenomenon, with similar attendant effects on surrounding human populations.
The toxic dust described above comprises the first of three growing environmental problems that require immediate solutions, as they collectively constitute a real and present danger to the health of our citizenry.
The second growing environmental problem is a huge quantity of used rubber automobile tires. There is presently no known use, system, or process that can begin to keep up with the quantity of used tires currently being generated.
There are over 30,000,000 used rubber automobile tires generated every year in the State of California, and over 200,000,000 used rubber tires generated annually in the United States of America. These tires continue to accumulate as ugly mountains that are combustible, growing environmental hazards.
The third environmental problem is the mountains of coal clinker and blast furnace clinker surrounding past steelmaking operations, long-since abandoned after World War II. As in the case of automobile tires, there is no known use for these clinker materials that can begin to rid the environment of them. Thus they remain a blight on surrounding communities.
The instant invention is designed to alleviate the suffering of the peoples who live in these areas by permanently suppressing the toxic dust clouds. This innovate layment process requires the use of closely spaced, fixated aggregate filled, used rubber tires, anchoring a continuous, lyophobic, open weave, fabric underlayment, thus providing an economic need for limitless amounts of used rubber tires and clinker.
Other benefits of this invention will become apparent from the drawings, detailed description of the drawings and claims that comprise the application for the invention.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In operation the invention provides for effective coverage of the surface of a dry lake bed through the utilization of fixated aggregate-filled tires, each resting on one sidewall, providing complete surface-blocking from ingress of water or erosion by water or wind, and anchoring the entire open weave lyophobic fabric underlayment, while permitting any rain to pass through the interstitial open areas formed by the tangentially-touching juxtaposition of any three of the tires arrayed in this generally horizontally coplanar manner.
This array of tires and fabric, when continued throughout the area of dry lake bed, covers and protects it against water and wind erosion, while preventing efflux of the soil surface. Three economically-important environmental objectives are met by this process.
The first object of the present invention is to prevent soil erosion and the dangerous release of harmful chemicals from lake beds.
The second object of the present invention is to utilize used rubber automobile tires in sufficient quantities to not only keep up with those being discarded, but to deplete the existing stored surplus.
The third object of the present invention is to utilize existing mountains of coal and blast furnace clinker to return their current sites to productive use.
The present invention provides maximum surface area coverage with a minimum(but necessary) open space between tires; permitting rain water easy ingress into the dry lake bed surface through the open weave underlayment of fabric without flash flooding, thus keeping the arsenic dusts effectively secured beneath the construction.
When high velocity winds blow over this inventive construction, the dust layer is prevented from rising into the atmosphere. When rained on, the construction prevents surface efflux of the dusts through flash flooding.
The dispersion of the used rubber tires containing various fixated aggregates is accomplished in such a way as to eliminate the necessity of interconnections between tires.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4080793 (1978-03-01), Pulsifer
patent: 4142821 (1979-03-01), Doring
patent: 4801217 (1989-01-01), Goldberg
patent: 4946308 (1990-08-01), Chevalier
patent: 5024560 (1991-06-01), Reilly
patent: 5160215 (1992-11-01), Jensen
patent: 5178489 (1993-01-01), Suhayda
patent: 5364206 (1994-11-01), Marienfeld
patent: 5746545 (1998-05-01), Parker, Jr.
patent: 5795106 (1998-08-01), Herd
Broughton Amos Washington
Broughton Robert Steven
Lillis Eileen D.
Mayo Tara L.
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