TECHNICAL FIELD : The present invention relates to a embankment device for delimiting liquid accumulations during for example flooding and other similar incidents of unpredictable type.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION : Flooding of liquid over areas can occur for different reasons, such as heavy and steady downpour, rapid melting away of snow or bursting of dams. In that case, it is a question of water, but flooding accidents can also occur where the liquid consists of oil or chemical solutions, for example in connection with bursting of larger tanks. A flooding often involves damages,. on ground, buildings and constructions, on crops etc., and in order to limit these damaging effects one tries to limit the spreading of the liquid by means of embankments: barriers which are built up to a certain height on the bed over which the liquid spreads. In this manner, the liquid can be accumulated to a certain depth on the inside of the embankment, while the area outside the embankment at least to some extent is protected against the liquid flowing out.

In general, it is difficult to predict flooding, and therefore the embankment work usually takes on a nature of improvisation, one uses materials such as sandbags, loading pallets, which are propped up to an inclined position and covered with a plastic cloth or sometimes embankments which are shoveled- up. To arrange a embankment in this manner is very irrational. In general, it is important that the embankment is put in place quickly, so that there is no time for the liquid to spread too much, but to arrange embankments of the above-mentioned type takes a considerable amount of time: the material must be assembled and transported to the place for the embankment and then follows the work regarding the preparation of the material and the setting up in order to form the barrier. Furthermore, it is difficult to make the enclosing effective by means of said material, so that it becomes impermeable and will not burst or be washed away by the liquid. The removal of the embankment also presents a great deal of work. After the removal, the

used material seldom becomes usable again. Transports in connection with the erection and the removal of the embankment can result in damages per se such as damages on ground which is already damaged by liquid or demolition of enclosures or even buildings in order to make way for the transports.

From the above, it is apparent that there is a great demand for embankment devices, which can be manufactured and kept in readiness and in this regard have a suitable form for storage, and which can be transported to the place of effort in a rational manner and rapidly be set up in order to adopt utilization condition and later on be easily removed and transported away and folded up for storage until next effort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: The invention relates to a embankment device, which fulfils all said demands.

To its main part, it consists of cloth material, preferably some type of textile- reinforced plastic cloth, by means of which lengths of the material can be rolled up or folded up for space-saving storage. When it has been transported forward in this condition, lengths of the embankment material can subsequently be easily laid out by means of being unrolled or unfolded in order to be joined together to the necessary length. In that case, the laying out on the bed can take place from vehicles or even from aeroplanes, so that the transportation forward and the laying out can take place in direct connection with each other. The setting up of the cloth material after the laying out, with the purpose of forming the embankment, can also take place in a simple manner with a small work effort.

The removal is also easy and when the material has been folded up, it can be transported away for storage and utilization at the next work effort.

According to what is apparent from the introduction, previously known cloth materials have also been used in connection with embankments, though only with a sealing purpose. In order to provide a certain height of the embankment device, it has been necessary to arrange some sort of bearing construction; here, it has for example been mentioned that one uses raised loading pallets or other constructions of woodwork, which are sealed by

means of a plastic cloth being put on. In order to reduce the risk of erosion, such a plastic cloth is sometimes used for embankments too.

For the invention, the cloth material has been arranged to constitute the main part of a bearing construction as well. This is accomplished by means of the fact that the cloth has been joined together in order to form upright pockets in which the liquid can flow when it rises at the inside of the embankment. By means of such an embodiment, it has been shown that only small forces are required in order to keep the pockets of the cloth material upright and even when they are filled. When the cloth material is to be installed and is laid out on the bed, a certain propping up is required in such manner that the pockets are at least partly opened in the direction of the liquid which flows towards said pockets. Such a supporting structure can be composed of bar-formed elements, which can be joined together with the cloth material during setting- up and be laid into the same during disassembly when said cloth material is rolled up or folded up in order to adopt its storage and transportation condition. As is apparent from the following description of embodiments, other types of bearing structures can also be utilized.

Thus, the object of the embodiment is to make the material for the embankment device easy to store and transport, easy to lay out and set up and once again be folded up. The construction is very material-saving and by means of the fact that the embankment device can be used several times and is so rational to handle, a large cost-saving is obtained compared with such methods which up till now have been used in order to provide embankment devices for protection during unexpected flow of liquid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS : The annexed drawings show a number of preferred embodiments of the invention, which are based on a basic embodiment. The embodiments are illustrated by means of Fig. 1, which shows a first embodiment in a cross-section; Fig. 2 shows the embodiment according to Fig. 1 in a top view;

Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a section of the device in a variant of the embodiment according to Figs. 1 and 2 and which forms a second embodiment; Fig. 4 shows an additional variant, which forms a third embodiment; Fig. 5 shows a third embodiment in a cross-section which is comparable with the cross-section in Fig. 1; Figs. 6 and 7 show a fourth embodiment in cross-section in two different positions; Fig. 8 shows an end view of a section of the embankment device; and Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of the embankment device according to its basic embodiment.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS: From the cross-section in Fig. 1 through the first embodiment of the basic embodiment, it is apparent that a cloth material, and preferably such a material which is non-permeable to liquid, such as resistant plastic sheeting or fabric-reinforced plastic cloth, forms a bottom layer 1, which is intended to rest on the bed 7 over which the liquid can be expected to wash. From the layer 1, a number of walls 2 of the cloth material raise so that a number of pockets 3 forms. The height of the walls increases from a side 5 of the embankment, which is intended to face the side from which the liquid is expected to flow, in the following called the inside 5. The outermost wall 6 at the opposing side 9 of the device, which in the following is called the outside, is the highest and the height of the intermediate walls 2 increases gradually, so that a line over the tops of the walls forms an angle to the bed 7. This implies that the pockets 3 become gradually deeper from the inside 5 to the outside 9. The drawing also shows an anchoring of the protruding part of the bottom layer 1 at the inside, by means of a ground mounting 14 which is driven down into the bed.

Fig. 2 shows a top view of the structure formed by the cloth material, where the upright walls 2 are apparent. Furthermore, it is shown that the walls 2 are joined with transverse walls 8, so that the pockets 3 can be said to form a cell structure. The transverse walls 8 are also intended to be of cloth material. As previously mentioned, a suitable material is plastic sheeting or fabric- reinforced plastics. In that respect, welding plastic pieces together suitably forms the described structure. In that respect, the material 1 in the bottom layer can be double-folded gradually and welded together in double layers in order to form the walls 2. In addition to this, the material stretches outwards in a single layer from the inside 5 to the outside 9. Alternatively, the walls 2 can obviously be formed by plastic strips, which are welded onto the bottom material.

The intention of the described structure is that liquid, which gradually washes in from the inside 5 concurrently with that the liquid rises, fills the pockets 3 to the height which the liquid surface reaches. In this connection, it pours into the pockets from above concurrently with that the liquid surface rises.

However, the walls 2, apart from the first at the inside and the last at the inside 9, can be provided with limited openings, so that pockets, the walls of which extend over the liquid surface, also are filled up to the same. By means of the fact that a cell system of liquid-filled pockets in this manner is formed, a comparatively stable structure is obtained by means of the fact that the separated parts of the liquid body, which is formed in the pockets, are kept essentially isolated from each other, possible openings in the walls shall be narrow, so that the entire liquid body is unable to move freely. This is the common basic principle for all embodiments: that the liquid, which tries to get past the embankment, fills a cell structure of soft material and provides it with a stability.

However, a certain propping up of the soft cloth structure is required. Firstly, it is a fact that if it is not propped up by means of the walls 2,6 and 8 in a reasonably upright position, it could be exposed to the risk of never being filled with any liquid, that the cloth structure would end up lying flat on the bed 7 and be washed over. Secondly, the cell structure becomes somewhat unstable even when it has been filled with liquid. It obtains a comparatively good stability in the direction of the inside 5 as each pocket forms a support

for the nearest pocket while the outermost wall 6 at the outside could lie down outwards if it was not propped up and in that case drag the entire soft structure down. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the embankment device with a second main part in the form of a structure for propping up the soft cloth structure. From the following description of additional embodiments, some examples will be apparent of how said structure could be arranged.

Figs. 1 and 2 show how rigid bars, in the following called the supporting elements 10, in the first embodiment are joined with the external edges of the walls 2 at the same time as the ends of the supporting elements which face the inside 5, which ends are provided with cushion plates 11, rest against the bed 7 via the bottom layer 1. At the upper end, the supporting elements 10 are supported by oblique struts 12, which also are supported by the bed 7, they are shown when they are stuck down into the same. The same applies for bar-formed posts 13, which meet the respective supporting elements and the struts in a common point. In this, a connection member 15 is arranged, which can be a body with holes in different directions into which the ends to the supporting elements, the struts and the posts can be stuck. The connection member can also be provided with joints, so that the struts and the post can be folded over to a position which is parallel to the supporting element. The object of such an arrangement is to make it possible to fold up the soft cloth structure so that it adopts a flat condition by means of being rolled up or folded up, and in that case it is desirable that the bar-formed elements can be placed above the cloth structure which has been laid down and that they can be integrated in the roll or the folded-up bundle so that they lie crossways to the longitudinal directional of the device.

The main element in the support structure is formed by the supporting elements 10. They keep all the walls 2,6 and 8 upright. Before the pockets are filled, the supporting elements only have to carry the weight of the material in the walls under the respective element. It has been shown that even when the pockets are filled with liquid, a comparatively small force is required to keep the walls upright. However, as has been mentioned, the stability is smallest at the wall 6 which is farthest out towards the outside 9 and for its outer side additional supporting measures may be required. For the embodiment according to Figs. 1 and 2, the posts 13 constitute support

for the external wall at certain distances from each other. If additional support should be required, the support structure of the bars can be supplemented with bars, which extend between the posts crosswise or in parallel with each other.

In Fig. 3, which shows the second embodiment, the cloth structure with the walls 2,6 and 8 is approximately the same as the one which has been described previously. At the outside, however, an inflatable supporting element 20 of an airtight material has been added. It has a cross-section with a triangular form with a wider base and a narrower top against which the supporting elements 10 rest. It has an elongated form and by means of this, it constitutes support for the external wall 6 to the outermost of the pockets 3, and the one side of it which faces the pocket may constitute this particular external wall. The supporting element 20 in divided up into several cells by means of partition walls 21, which provides the element with stability, so that it can not fold up when it is filled with air. When the embankment device according to this embodiment is set up, equipment for inflating the supporting element 20 is required. If such equipment is present, the embankment device can be raised much quicker than if bar-formed supporting elements are used which shall be raised when the strip of the folded cloth material has been rolled out.

How efficient the walls 2 are kept upright by means of the bar-formed elements 10 depends on how closely these are arranged, which also applies to the support for the wall 6 of the outside 9 by means of the posts 13.

Obviously, it is desirable that the supporting elements 10 are not too closely separated, the manual work during the setting up of the embankment device depends to a great extent on how many supporting elements with their supporting posts and struts, which have to be handled.

One manner of supporting the walls 2 between the supporting elements 10 as well is illustrated in Fig. 4. Here, the reference numeral 22 indicate lines, which each extends along the entire longitudinal direction of the respective wall and which can be provided with a certain tension between the supporting elements in order to form a support along the upper edges of the walls. The drawing also shows how the walls can be provided with floating elements 23,

which are constituted by double-wall sections with floating material such as cork or cellular plastic or which are filled with air in connection with the laying- out. If an inflexible material is used as floating body, this must be divided up into smaller sections, which allows the embankment device to be rolled up or folded up to adopt the storage and transportation condition.

As previously mentioned, the supporting elements 10 are provided in order to keep the walls 2,6 upright by means of being joined with the upper edge of the respective wall. In order to accomplish this, some form of connection element is required, which in Figs. 1,2 and 5 is indicated by the reference numeral 24. It can consist of an eyelet which is inserted at the upper edge of the wall or a mounting, which lies over the supporting element and by means of a lower part is attached to the upper edge of the wall. Suitably, there is no possibility for the connection elements to glide along the supporting elements but they are instead fixed to the spot where the wall in question should be situated. In the case which is illustrated in Fig. 5, where a line, the line 22, is arranged in order to support the upper edge of the wall, it is suitable that the connection elements are fixed to the line.

For the described first and second embodiments, it has been assumed that the rigid supporting elements 10 are provided, which supporting elements keep the cloth walls of the pockets upright by means of being joined with the upper edges of these. However, a certain stiffening can be obtained by means of the cloth material being stretched while points of attachment at the bed are utilized. This manner of propping up is utilized for the third and fourth embodiments according to Figs. 5-7. In these drawings, the same reference numerals which have been used in Figs. 1-4 are to some extent used.

For the third embodiment according to the cross-section in Fig. 5, the transverse walls 8 (see Fig. 2) are arranged in such manner that they can form a straight line by means of their upper edges, which line in Fig. 5 is indicated by the reference numeral 31, which represents an stretchable material band. One alternative for letting the upper edges of the transverse walls follow after one another, for forming this stretchable material band by means of an edge section, may instead be the provision of specific material lengths along the line 31, such as lines or separate bands. Such stretchable

material bands shall be provided crossways to the device with some intervals.

In connection with the description of Fig. 1, the provision of ground mountings 14 has been indicated for holding down the front edge of the bottom layer 14 at the inside 5 of the device. According to Fig. 5, such a mounting 14 is also provided where the lower end of the material band meets the bed 7 on which the bottom layer 1 rests. In contrast to the mounting at the front edge of the protruding bottom layer, said internal mounting must have a large resistibility against being pulled up from the bed, since it is going to constitute the point of attachment for the lower end of the material band.

At the outside 9 of the device, a bar-formed supporting element 32 is provided. This is joined with the bottom layer at its external edge, suitably by means of the element 32 being stuck down into the bed 7 through an eyelet 33 in an extruding lip of the bottom layer. Furthermore, at the lower edge, the element 32 is provided with a supporting plate 34, which shall rest against the bed and prevent that the element 32 sinks down into the same.

Furthermore, at its upper edge, the element 32 is provided with a hook 35, which on the one hand is joined with the rear wall 6 of the outside at its upper edge in order to keep it upright and on the other hand constitutes point of attachment for the upper end to the material band along the line 31.

An additional ground mounting 14 is driven down into the bed 7 outside the device and constitutes the point of attachment for a line 36 which is connected with the upper end of the element 32. Suitably, the line is stretchable by means of a mounting 37.

When the length for said material band along the line 31 is adjusted in relation to the distance between its point of attachment in relation to the bed 7 at the internal mounting 14 and its point of attachment at the upper end of the bar-formed element 32, the material band can be provided with a more or less hard stretching. However, the stretching forces must not result in that the upper point of attachment moves inwards, thus that the element 32 inclines inwards from the intended position. This is however prevented by means of

the force from the stretched material band being neutralized by the stretching of the line 36.

It is important that the bar-formed element 32 too obtains a certain propping up in the longitudinal direction of the device. To some extent, such is obtained by means of the connection with the rear cloth wall at the eyelet 33 and the hook 35. In that case, the cloth wall can be provided with certain reinforcements, which decrease its flexibility, though not to such extent that the possibility of rolling up is impaired. Moreover, propping up in the longitudinal direction can also be obtained by means of two stretching lines 36 being arranged at an angle with each other.

The fourth embodiment has great similarities with the third embodiment, see Fig. 7. Here too, an upper straight line is provided, which here too is indicated by the reference numeral 31, where a material band can be formed by means of upper edges to transverse walls or a particular material band in the form of, for example, a line. Furthermore, at the inside 5, there is an internal ground mounting 14 with a strong mounting in the bed 7. The external edge of the device is also anchored to the bed by means of an external ground mounting 14. The rear wall is provided with some sort of vertical stiffening, such as a number of bar-formed elements 40. However, the elements 40 are not, like the supporting element 32 in the third embodiment, provided with any stretching device for keeping them upright. Instead, it is presumed that the described supporting action by means of the separation of the liquid volume in sections which are separated from each other by means of the pockets 3, is sufficient for keeping the device in the upright position which is shown in Fig. 7, on the condition that the bottom layer 1 is anchored to the bed in order to enable a certain tension at the line 31. In that connection, the upper end 42 of the element 40 constitutes the upper attachment of the material band.

Consequently, the object of the rigid elements 40 is principally to make sure that the rear cloth wall 6 does not curve outwards and collapse. By means of the fact that the rear wall 6 leans slightly inwards, the propping up is improved during liquid-filled condition ; if the wall 6 should tend to fall backwards, this will stretch the material band along the line 31 between the

upper edges of the rigid elements and the internal ground mounting 14 and keep the device in balance in the position which is shown in Fig. 7, where the liquid surface inside the embankment device is indicated by the reference numeral 41.

In order for the device according to the fourth embodiment to be able to raise to the upright position according to Fig. 7 concurrently with that the liquid rises inside the embankment device, it is required that inflowing liquid flows into the pockets before the device has raised completely after it has been completely filled with liquid. If the cloth material lies completely flat against the bed, there is a risk of inflowing liquid simply washing over the device and rather pressing the cloth together than raising the device.

As is indicated in Fig. 6, this can be obtained by means of the fact that the cloth material is slightly raised and the pockets are slightly opened towards inflowing liquid after the cloth material has been laid out and has been attached by means of the ground mountings.

There are different ways of keeping the mouths of the pockets opened to some extent as is shown in Fig. 6. If the cloth material has a certain rigidity, which can be presumed, it can be made-up so that it strives to position itself in the position which is shown in Fig. 6, if it is not pressed together by means of some external force, like the one which arises during rolling-up. One alternative is to insert compressible material volumes, for example by foam plastic, between double cloth layers, so that the foaming material strives to open the pockets by means of its elasticity, such as is shown in Fig. 6.

Additionally, a line which runs along the device can be provided, which line is attached to the cloth material in the upper corner of the device, thus the meeting point between the straight line 31 and the rear wall 6. If this line is slightly stretched between raised points of attachment, a certain opening of the pockets is obtained.

The fourth embodiment is the simplest as its support structure mainly is reduced to the elements 40. Nevertheless, it should be able to provide the required embankment effect, particularly if the liquid flows slowly.

The utilization of an inflatable structure which is preferred in the second embodiment according to Fig. 3, can also be utilized for the third and fourth embodiment as replacement for rigid elements.

Suitably, the embankment device is constructed in the form of module elements, for example of some ten or hundred metres in length, so that the device of the embankment arrangement can be adjusted to the present circumstances. In that respect, it is necessary that the different modules can be joined to each other. One example of how a joining device can be arranged is apparent from Fig. 8. Here, it is shown how the cloth material covers the entire cross-section as a gable 25 and how it has been unfolded and joined together in order to form a flange 26 around the cross-section of the structure, which is formed by the bottom 1 and the walls 2. In this flange, a large number of holes 27 are provided. These are intended to be used during the joining of the flanges into two modules which meet each other.

This can for example take place by means of a line being passed in through the holes along the entire extension of the flanges. Another possibility is joining by means of pins, which are stuck into the holes and attached by means of a fixed head being arranged at one end of the pin and a head which can be snapped on being arranged at the other end. In order to facilitate the handling, the pins, as well as the heads which can be snapped on, can be provided on long bands with a separation, which is adjusted to the separation of the holes 27.

However, it is not only necessary to enable different length of the embankment arrangement, it is also in general necessary that it can be provided with different extension with sections which deflect from the straight or slightly curved line which can be formed by means of said modules. In order to enable such a deflection, embankment elements with obliquely cut- off ends are also provided. This is illustrated in Fig. 9, which shows a module 28 whose gabled ends terminate in an angle of 45°, thus with an angle of 90° in relation to each other. The module 28 is shown inserted between two straight lengths 29 and 30, wherein the embankment arrangement here forms an angle of 90°.

When a embankment arrangement which has been constructed with devices in accordance with the embodiments of the invention shall be disassembled in order to be transported away, the supports at the outside 9 of the device is first removed, wherein the cloth structure collapses and can be flattened out against the bed 7. In that case, the bar-formed supporting elements which form part of the support structure will lie above the cloth structure crossways to the longitudinal direction of the device. As regards the first embodiment with the struts 12 and the posts 13, these are removed from the connection elements 15 or lowered down from the same in a position which is parallel to any existing supporting elements, depending on how the connection element is formed. Now, the entire strip of the collected cloth structure can be rolled up or folded together with all the bar-formed elements which have been inserted. For the embodiments according to Figs. 5-7, rigid elements are provided only for supporting the outside 9 of the cloth wall.

If the support at the outside 9 for the supporting element is accomplished in accordance with Fig. 3 as an inflatable unit 20, the first step of the folding-up will be to empty the element of air and to lay it flattened out together with the cloth structure which has been laid out against the bed. Next, rolling-up or folding-up can take place. If the embankment arrangement consists of several embankment devices which have been joined together, it is suitable that these are taken apart and particularly if elements 28 (see Fig. 9) are installed, which are intended to form angles.

When the embankment devices shall be utilized once again, a suitable number of straight lengths and angular devices are transported to the site of the placing, and are unrolled or unfolded on the bed. Next, the devices are raised after any existing supporting elements and required ground mountings 14 have been provided, alternatively by means of inflation of the supporting elements 20. As the liquid rises gradually at the inside 5 of the embankment devices, the pockets 3 will be filled and provide such stability to the devices that they are capable of resisting the pressure from the liquid inside the embankment.

The essential thing about the invention is that the part of the embankment device which requires volume consists of cloth material which by means of its

design, with pockets or cells, which can be filled with liquid, provides a stability to the device. However, in order to accomplish this, as has been described, an initial propping up is required. As has been described, for one embodiment of the invention, this can be accomplished by means of bar- formed elements, which can be inserted into the roll or folded-up bundle which the cloth structure is folded up into when the cloth structure is folded up for transportation and storage until next effort. Here, an alternative device for propping up also has been described, more precisely utilization of inflatable elements together with bar-formed elements. Furthermore, it has been described how a stretching force on the cloth material can provide the same with a certain rigidity.

Thus, it is not crucial for the invention how the propping up arrangement is provided, only that it fulfils the function of keeping the cloth structure upright with its pockets or cells opened upwards and at the same time providing a certain support to the structure when it has been filled with liquid as complement to the rigidity which the cell division of the liquid body provides.