Patent Publication Number: US-2006008327-A1

Title: Device to secure lining sheet to pond border

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention pertains to a device to secure an outer margin of a lining sheet to a land border of a pond, which may be water-filled, as in a garden.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      In landscaping, it is common to line man-made or natural ponds with lining sheets (pond liners) of polymeric materials, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. It is known to secure a lining sheet at its outer margin to a land border of a pond by means of stakes driven through the outer margin, into the land border or into timbers underlying the outer margin, by means of heavy objects placed on the outer margin, such as bricks, blocks, timbers, rocks, or gravel, or by both such means.  
      Without such heavy objects placed on the outer margin, such stakes may not be entirely satisfactory, as the outer margin of the lining sheet may become torn from such stakes. It is a practical necessity to place many landscaping and hardscaping materials so as to be outwardly spaced from the pond and so as not to cover some of the outer margin of the lining sheet, as neither of such means provides anything to prevent any of those materials from slipping into the pond.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention provides a device to secure an outer margin of a lining sheet to a land border of a pond, which may be water-filled, as in a garden. The device comprises an elongate member, which is employed as a surround. Preferably, the elongate member is made preferably from a suitable, polymeric material, such as black poly(vinyl chloride) containing impact modifiers or such as polyethylene, as by extruding and punching. Alternatively, the elongate member is made from a sheet of a suitable metal, such as a steel or aluminum sheet, as by extruding and punching or as by roll-forming.  
      Broadly, the elongate member defines a wall and a flange projecting from the wall. Preferably, the flange meets the wall at a junction dividing the wall into an upper portion and a lower portion. Broadly, the device comprises a fastener having a pointed shank, such as a metal or polymeric stake. Preferably, the fastener may be one of a plurality of similar fasteners, which when utilized are spaced from one another along the flange.  
      The pointed shank of each fastener is arranged to be driven through the flange, which may have a preformed hole to receive the pointed shank, through the outer margin of the lining sheet, into the land border of the pond, whereby to secure the outer margin of the lining sheet to the land border of the pond so that the wall, at the upper portion if the wall is divided as mentioned above, projects upwardly and defines a landscaping or hardscaping border and, if the wall is divided as mentioned above, so that the lower portion of the wall projects downwardly into the pond to limit uplifting of the lining sheet.  
      Preferably, the flange is divided into a series of tabs enabling the wall to flex and the fastener is one of a plurality of fasteners, each of which is arranged to be driven through one of the tabs, through the outer lining of the tabs, into the land border of the pond. Each tab may have a fastener or some but not all tabs may have fasteners.  
      Advantageously, landscaping materials, such as soil with or without grass or other plants having shallow roots, hardscaping materials, such as bricks, blocks, boulders, timbers, or gravel, can be thus placed onto the flange, against the wall, at the upper portion if the wall is divided as mentioned above. Thus, as far as the wall extends above the flange, the wall confines those materials and helps to prevent any of those materials from slipping into the pond.  
      Advantageously, the elongate member protects the outer margin of the lining sheet against direct contact with sunlight, which could cause ultraviolet degradation of the lining sheet, at its outer margin, if its outer margin were unprotected.  
      These and other objects, features, and advantages of this invention are evident from the following description of a preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a device constituting a preferred embodiment of this invention, comprising an elongate member, and comprising stakes as fasteners, as employed to secure a lining sheet to a land border of a pond and as covered by landscaping materials including turf, vegetation, and like materials.  
       FIGS. 2 and 3  are similar views, in which the device is covered by hardscaping materials, namely bricks in  FIG. 2  and gravel in  FIG. 3 , rather than by landscaping materials including vegetation.  
       FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a pond, the elongate member, and fasteners, as shown without such landscaping or hardscaping materials.  FIG. 4  shows that that the elongate member is flexible into various convex and concave curvatures.  
       FIG. 5  is a partly broken away, perspective view of the elongate member, as seen from an upper, front, left vantage.  FIGS. 6, 7 ,  8 , and  9  respectively are a top plan view of the elongate member, an elevational view of one end of the elongate member, the other end being a mirror image of the end shown, a front, elevational view of the elongate member, and a rear, elevational view of the elongate member. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , in which a pond  10  being filled substantially with water and having a land border  20  and a lining sheet  30  having an outer margin  40  overlying the land border  20  are shown, a device  100  constituting the preferred embodiment of this invention, comprising an elongate member  120 , and comprising a plurality of stakes  140  can be advantageously employed to secure the outer margin  40  of the lining sheet  30  to the land border  20  of the pond  10 .  
      As shown in  FIGS. 5 through 9 , the elongate member  120  is made so as to define a wall  122  and a flange  124 , which projects from the wall  122  and which meets the wall  122  at a junction  126  dividing the wall  122  into an upper portion  128  and a lower portion  130 . The flange  124  projects perpendicularly from the wall  122  when the elongate member  120  is unstressed. The flange  124  is divided into a series of similar tabs  132 , as shown, which enable the wall  122  to flex convexly or concavely, as shown in  FIG. 2 . Each tab  132  has a preformed hole  134  to receive a stake  140 . For use along straight-edged ponds, the flange  124  would not have to be so divided but would have a series of such holes  134  to receive stakes  140 , the holes  134  being spaced from one another along the flange  124 .  
      The elongate member  120  has an indefinite length but can be conveniently made in standard lengths, e.g. six, eight, or ten feet. Presently, a standard length of seven and one-half feet is preferred. Preferably, the flange  104  projects from about six inches to about eight inches from the junction  106 , the upper portion  108  of the wall  102  projects upwardly about two inches from the junction  106 , and the lower portion  110  of the wall  102  projects downwardly about two inches from the junction  106 . These dimensions can be widely varied.  
      Being made of a suitable metal, such as steel, which is preferred, or from a suitable polymer, each stake  140  has a pointed shank  142  and an enlarged head  144 , which is larger in cross-section when compared to any of the preformed holes  134 . Similar stakes have been employed heretofore in known landscaping, hardscaping, and other applications. The pointed shank  142  of each stake  140  is driven downwardly through the preformed hole  134  of a respective one of the tabs  132  of the flange  124 , through the outer margin  40  of the lining sheet  30 , into the land border  20  of the pond  10 , so that the head of said stake  140  bears on the flange  124 , at the margin  136  of the preformed hole. Preferably, each tab  132  has a stake  140 . Alternatively, some but not all tabs  132  have stakes  140 .  
      As arranged to be thus driven into the land border  20  of the pond  10 , the pointed shank  142  of each stake  140  can be alternatively driven into a timber (not shown) underlying the outer margin  40  of the lining sheet  30  or into some other substrate (not shown) underlying the outer margin  40  of the lining sheet  30 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , the device  100  can be then covered with landscaping materials including vegetation  60  with shallow roots, as far inwardly as the upper portion  128  of the wall  122 , or, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , with hardscaping materials, namely brick pavers  70  in  FIG. 2  and gravel  80  in  FIG. 3 , as far inwardly as the upper portion  128  of the wall  122 . As far as it extends above the flange  124 , the upper portion  128  of the wall  122  confines those materials  60 ,  70 ,  80  and helps to prevent any of those materials  60 ,  70 ,  80  from slipping into the pond  10 . The lower portion  130  of the wall  122  projects downwardly into the pond  10  to limit uplifting of the lining sheet  30 .  
      Advantageously, the elongate member  120  protects the outer margin  40  of the lining sheet  30  against direct contact with sunlight, which could cause ultraviolet degradation of the lining sheet  30 , at its outer margin  40 , if its outer margin  40  were unprotected.