Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD FOR LAND STABILIZATION
This invention relates to a method for land stabilization.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
All of the following patents show mats which are laid onto the ground to
prevent soil erosion. This concept is well known for example from US Patents
4,621,942 (Hill) issued November 11, 1986 - 5,226,255 (Robertson) issued July
13,
1993 - 5,467,554 (Prestele) issued November 21, 1995 and 7,384,217 (Barrett)
issued June 10, 2008.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a method of stabilizing
land comprising:
providing a mat formed from strips of material arranged side by side
and connected at spaced positions longitudinally of the strips so that each
strip is
connected to a next adjacent strip on one side at first spaced positions and
to a next
adjacent strip on an opposed side at second spaced positions which are
arranged
alternately to the first spaced positions so as to form a honeycomb structure
with top
and bottom surfaces of the mat defined by edges of the strips;
the mat therefore having tubular cells extending between the top and
bottom surfaces of the mat defined between the strips;
placing the mat on ground to be stabilized with the bottom surface flat
on the ground and the top surface exposed;
the mat having seeds attached thereto.
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The mat can be attached to the ground by fastening pins or it can be
held in place simply by filling the cells at least partly with top soil after
placement on
the ground.
Preferably strips of mat are laid side by side with side edges butting.
Preferably the seeds are bonded to the cell walls.
Preferably the seeds are impregnated into the cell walls.
Preferably the cells are substantially empty.
Preferably the mat is formed wholly by the strips.
Preferably the cells are open at the top and bottom.
Preferably the mat is elongate and unrolled from a supply roll.
Preferably the strips are formed of a non-woven fibrous material.
Preferably the strips are formed of a spun bond fibrous plastics
material.
Preferably the strips are porous.
Preferably the strips are connected together by heat bonding.
The seeds can be many forms of grass such as Fescue, or other
harvestable products such as Alfalfa or Clover. The system can be used for
small
areas which merely require later cutting of the crop when it grows or in large
areas
where it is intended to harvest the crop.
The mat can be formed from many fibers such as flax, hemp which are
biodegradable or from plastic materials with the intention that the product
remain in
place for an extended period
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While the term "honeycomb" is used generally and in this document it
will be appreciated that the tubular cells formed are generally not accurately
hexagonal in cross section, particularly where, as described herein, the cells
are
formed from a porous fibrous material without any reinforcing resin which
would act
to maintain a regular shape of the cells.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a mat
for use in stabilizing land comprising:
a mat formed from strips of material arranged side by side and
connected at spaced positions longitudinally of the strips so that each strip
is
connected to a next adjacent strip on one side at first spaced positions and
to a next
adjacent strip on an opposed side at second spaced positions which are
arranged
alternately to the first spaced positions so as to form a honeycomb structure
with top
and bottom surfaces of the mat defined by edges of the strips;
the mat therefore having tubular cells extending between the top and
bottom surfaces of the mat defined between the strips;
the mat being arranged to be placed on ground to be stabilized with
the bottom surface flat on the ground and the top surface exposed;
the mat having seeds attached thereto.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an isometric view of a mat to be used in the present
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invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of the mat of Figure 1 being unrolled
from a supply and laid over ground to be covered.
Figure 3 is a cross sectional view showing the mat laid over the
ground.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The mat described in general above is shown in Figure 1 and 2 and is
formed by a honeycomb core panel 10 having a first face 11 and a second
opposite
face 12 with an array of generally hexagonal tubular cells 18 defined by walls
I OA of
the core panel extending between the first and second faces. The cells are
formed
from a row of strips 15, 16 arranged side by side formed of a porous fibrous
material
which is heat sealed at a sealing line 14 to define the generally hexagonal
cells.
More particularly the strips of material 15, 16 etc arranged side by side
are connected at spaced positions 14, 14A longitudinally of the strips so that
each
strip 16 is connected to a next adjacent strip 15 on one side at first spaced
positions
14A and to a next adjacent strip 17 on an opposed side at second spaced
positions
14 which are arranged alternately to the first spaced positions 14A so as to
form a
honeycomb structure with top and bottom surfaces 11 and 12 of the mat defined
by
edges of the strips.
The cells are substantially empty and the mat is formed wholly by the
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strips, that is, there is no top or bottom sheet closing the cells so that
they are open
to allow entry of material from top and bottom.
The strips are formed of a non-woven fibrous material such as a spun
bond fibrous plastics material so that the strips are porous.
5 The strips are connected together at connections 14 and 14A
preferably by heat bonding since this does not affect the properties of the
product at
the connection line and particularly leaves the product flexible and
compressible.
The mat so formed can be in the order of 4 feet to 8 feet wide with a
length which can be 30 feet or longer. The cells typically can have a diameter
(or
transverse dimension of the order of 2/8 inch to 6 inches and a depth, that
is, the
width of the strips which is typically 1/2 inch to 6 inches.
In use, the mat so formed is rolled into a roll 20 by compressing the
cells so that the strips 15, 16, 17 lie flat and compressed together. The mat
is
placed on ground 21 to be covered. Thus the mat is unrolled from the supply
roll 20
as shown in Figure 2 and laid around onto the ground. The mat is attached to
the
ground and laid out in the required rectangular shape by fastening pins 24 so
that
the rectangular strips of mat are laid side by side with side edges butting.
After laying, the cells are at least partly filled with top soil. The seeds
23 to generate growth over the covered ground are bonded to the cell walls or
are
impregnated into the cell walls.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein
above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made
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within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit
and
scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying
specification shall
be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
