Abstract:
A multi-use reusable tubular barrier to be placed along the edges of construction sites to contain debris formed of a woven mesh material body carrying particulated fill within a medial chamber defined by the body. Tabs carrying grommets at opposing end portions of the body and spacedly arrayed about an outer surface of the body allow secure releasable interconnection with adjacent bodies in a variety of alignments.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This Utility patent application claims the benefit of earlier filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/080,284 filed on Nov. 15, 2014 and U.S. Provisional Patent No. 61/906,034 filed on Nov. 19, 2013. The entire contents of both U.S. 62/080,284 and U.S. 61/906,034 are expressly incorporated herein by the reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to barriers, and more particularly to reusable water-permeable barriers positioned around perimeters of raised work areas to prevent injuries to persons below the raised work areas caused by falling debris and erosion filtration. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
       [0003]    Containment of construction debris around construction sites—whether solid or liquid—is required to protect both the physical environment and the health and safety of those in and near the construction site. 
         [0004]    “Toe boards” are known in the construction industry and are required to contain debris and to prevent debris from falling from raised work areas, such as floor decks of multi-story buildings during construction. “Toe boards” generally consist of 1″×4″×10′ pieces of wood interconnected end-to-end and positioned around a perimeter of the raised work area spacedly adjacent the edges of the floor deck. Toe boards are also used around openings defined in raised work areas such as elevator shafts, stairwells, and similar locations where there are unprotected edges adjacent a vertical drop. 
         [0005]    One recognized drawback to known wood toe boards is the difficulty of reusing the toe boards after the construction is complete and the toe boards are removed. Nails, screws and similar types of fasteners are typically used to interconnect the wood toe boards together and also to interconnect angulated braces to one side portion of the toe boards to cause the toe boards to “stand” on edge so they provide the vertical height necessary to prevent items and debris from passing thereover to fall from the raised work area. Such fasteners permanently damage end portions of the wood toe boards, the fasteners need to be removed after use, and the fastener damage may prevent secure end-to-end attachment after a first use. Further, the angulated braces prevent wood toe boards from being efficiently stored when not in use, because the angulated braces prevent the toe boards from stacking adjacent one another. Further still, wood has the tendency to absorb moisture, which makes it soft and heavy and subject to carrying molds, spores, and other contaminants that may stain concrete and other valuable construction surfaces and may cause illnesses or allergies or the like to workers. As a result, wood toe boards have significant drawbacks for the construction field. 
         [0006]    Our reusable water-permeable toe tube for construction perimeters overcomes and resolves various of the aforementioned drawbacks to known wood toe boards. Our toe tube is comprised of an elongated tube formed of plasticized woven mesh product carrying a particulated fill to provide mass and dimension. 
         [0007]    Our toe tube is an improvement over wood toe boards because it is flexible, reusable, and may also be used to filter and strain fluids such as, but not limited to, drainage water and runoff. 
         [0008]    It is known to use ground-up particulated rubber to form building materials, sometimes in combination with other materials. For example, Kubicky, US 2002/0147255 discloses a mixture of scrap tire rubber in combination with a filler and binder used to build environmentally friendly structures, and Roth, U.S. Pat. No. 6,972,144 discloses a composite structural material that can be made to replace wooden boards. Also disclosed are fence posts (Silva, US 2005/0208264); structural members (Ingram, US 2005/0123701); railroad ties (Hansen, U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,963); building panels (Ciao, U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,178); and post and/or pole segments (Nevin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,956). However, these known devices are rigid and/or form central reinforcing members. None of these known devices is flexible, moldable, or water-permeable. 
         [0009]    Floating tubular barriers to prevent the spread of oil (Schiwek, U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,452) are known, however, these barriers are typically filled with air and have neither the mass nor weight for use as a construction barrier 
         [0010]    What is needed is a multi-use reusable barrier that can be placed around a perimeter of a construction site to contain solid materials from escaping but that will allow fluids to pass therethrough such that flooding is avoided so as to be used for run-off control and erosion control. 
         [0011]    Some or all of the drawbacks and problems explained above, and other drawbacks and problems known and not yet recognized, may be helped or solved by our invention shown and described herein. Our invention may also be used to address other problems not set out herein or which become apparent later. The future may also bring to light unknown benefits that may, in the future, be appreciated from the novel invention shown and described herein. 
         [0012]    Our invention does not reside in any single one of the identified features individually, but rather in the synergistic combination of all of its structures, which give rise to the functions necessarily flowing therefrom as hereinafter specified and claimed. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    A multi-use reusable toe tube safety apparatus to prevent construction debris from falling from edges of raised work areas provides an elongate water-permeable tubular body defining a medial chamber and having opposing closed end portions, each end portion and the body carrying releasable attachment means. The tubular body is filled with a particulated fill material. 
         [0014]    In providing such a toe tube safety apparatus, it is: 
         [0015]    a principal object to provide a safety apparatus for placement around the perimeter of raised work areas to prevent debris from falling there-from. 
         [0016]    a further object to provide a toe tube that is reusable. 
         [0017]    a further object to provide a toe tube that is fluid permeable. 
         [0018]    a further object to provide a tube that satisfies OSHA standards. 
         [0019]    a further object to provide a toe tube having tabs at opposing end portions that taper and carry a grommet for releasable interconnection with adjacent toe tubes. 
         [0020]    a further object to provide a toe tube having “overlap tabs” to facilitate overlap of the toe tubes rather than end-to-end alignment. 
         [0021]    a further object to provide a toe tube filled with particulated material having a diameter of approximately 1 inch or less. 
         [0022]    a further object to provide a toe tube filled with particulated recycled tires. 
         [0023]    a further object to provide a toe tube that may be manufactured in any length and in any color. 
         [0024]    a further object to provide a safety device that may be adjustably positioned without a need to cut the safety device to size. 
         [0025]    a further object to provide a toe tube to eliminate soil contamination caused by construction debris and chemicals seeping or leeching into soils in and around construction sites, including lay-down areas around reinforced steel, rebar, and treated timbers; portable toilets; and saw yards. 
         [0026]    a still further object to provide a toe tube filled with crushed seashells and diatomaceous earth, or carbon filtering spheres for use as run-off barriers and erosion control, which will filter moisture and retain chemicals. 
         [0027]    Other and further objects of our invention will appear from the following specification and accompanying drawings which form a part hereof. In carrying out the objects of our invention, it is to be understood that its structures, features, and steps are susceptible to change in design and arrangement and order with only one preferred and practical embodiment of the best known mode being illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specified as is required. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0028]    Specific forms, configurations, embodiments and/or diagrams relating to and helping to describe preferred versions of our invention are explained and characterized herein, often with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings and all features shown therein also serve as part of the disclosure of our invention, whether described in text or merely by graphical disclosure alone. Such drawings are briefly described below. 
           [0029]      FIG. 1  is a sketch of an orthographic side view of the toe tube, showing the end tabs fully extended and two overlap tabs sewn on the exterior of the toe tube spacedly inward from each end portion. 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged sketch of a cross-section of the toe tube taken at line  13  of  FIG. 1 , showing the plasticized woven product forming the body and the particulated fill within the medial chamber. 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  is a sketch of an orthographic top view of three toe tubes interconnected in end-to-end alignment for use. 
           [0032]      FIG. 4  is a sketch of an orthographic top view of three toe tubes interconnected in an overlapping configuration connected using the overlap tabs. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0033]    The readers of this document should understand that the embodiments described herein might rely on terminology used in any section of this document and other terms readily apparent from the drawings and the language common therefore as may be known in a particular art and known or indicated or provided by dictionaries. Dictionaries were used in the preparation of this document. Widely known and used in the preparation hereof are  Webster&#39;s Third New International Dictionary  (©1993),  The Oxford English Dictionary  (Second Edition, ©1989),  The New Century Dictionary  (©2001-2005) and the  American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language  (4th Edition ©2000) all of which are hereby incorporated by this reference for interpretation of terms used herein to more adequately or aptly describe various features, aspects and concepts shown or otherwise described herein. 
         [0034]    This document is premised upon using one or more terms or features shown in one embodiment that may also apply to or be combined with other embodiments for similar structures, functions, features, and aspects of the invention. Wording used in the claims is also descriptive of the invention and the text of both claims and abstract are incorporated by reference into the description entirely. Terminology used with one, some or all embodiments may be used for describing and defining the technology and exclusive rights associated herewith. 
         [0035]    The readers of this document should further understand that the embodiments described herein rely on terminology and features used in any section or embodiment shown in this document and other terms readily apparent from the drawings and language common or proper therefore. 
         [0036]    Our toe tube  1  generally provides an elongate body  4  having a first end portion  11  and a spaced apart second end portion  12  and defines a medial chamber  32  extending between the first end portion  11  and the second end portion  12 . The body  4  is preferably formed of flat sheets of woven fabric material  31 , which are sewn into a tube  4  and sealed at the first and second end portions  11 ,  12  respectively. Particulated fill  36  is carried within the medial chamber  32 . 
         [0037]    The body  4  is preferably formed of a fabric material  31  that is durable, flexible, non-staining, environmentally friendly, and water-permeable such as, but not limited to, a plasticized woven product. 
         [0038]    The fill  36  is particulated to allow the body  4  to be bendable, flexible and has a density and mass to provide the body a generally consistent diameter  40  of approximately 3 1/2 inches to 6 1/2 inches. Diameter  40  ensures that a vertically uppermost portion of the body  4  is sufficiently vertically above a supporting surface to comply with local, state, and federal standards for similar construction safety barriers and to prevent passage of debris there-over. The fill  36  is anticipated to be ground rubber, ground to a diameter of approximately one inch or less per piece. It is envisioned that recycled tires could be the source of the fill  36 , although other materials and processes may likewise provide the required characteristics of the fill  36 . 
         [0039]    In the preferred embodiment, the first and second end portions  11 ,  12  respectively are formed into tabs  3 ,  10  by compressing diametrically opposed portions of the fabric material of the body  4  radially inwardly so that opposing inner portions of the fabric material are in direct physical contact with one another. The contacting fabric portions are folded inwardly to a truncated taper and then permanently interconnected to one another such as with stitching, riveting and/or gluing. 
         [0040]    Tab  3  at the first end portion  11  and tab  10  at the second end portion  12  each carry at least one grommet  2  defining a medial through hole which allows a plurality of the toe tubes  1  to be interconnected end-to-end. ( FIG. 3 ). 
         [0041]    Overlap tabs  6 ,  7  are permanently affixed, such as by stitching, to an exterior surface  33  of the body  4  at spacedly arrayed positions thereon, preferably spacedly inward of the first end portion  11  and the second end portion  12 . Grommets  2  are carried by the overlap tabs  6 ,  7  to allow plural bodies  4  to be interconnected in an overlapping fashion. ( FIG. 4 ). 
         [0042]    Exterior surface  33  of the body  4  may be any color although it is envisioned that “Construction Orange”, which is commonly referred to as Phizatec #426 may be a standard color. 
         [0043]    In a further embodiment, the fill  36  may be specially designed and engineered to selectively absorb certain fluids but not others, such that hazardous fluids would be absorbed but non-hazardous fluids may pass through. Diatomaceous earth is particularly contemplated as a fill  36 . 
         [0044]    Having described the structure of our toe tube safety apparatus, its operation may be understood. 
         [0045]    Assuming use at a construction site wherein a multi-story building is being constructed, and above-grade floor decks are not enclosed with exterior walls, a user would place a plurality of toe tubes  1  on the raised work area spacedly inward from outer edges of the floor deck, and also around unprotected holes in the floor deck, such as elevator shafts and stairwells. 
         [0046]    A fastener (not shown) such as, but not limited to a cable tie, zip tie, or a wire may be used to interconnect plural toe tubes  1  in an end-to-end configuration ( FIG. 3 ) or an overlapping configuration ( FIG. 4 ). 
         [0047]    The plurality of toe tubes  1  may be aligned in an end-to-end orientation such that a tab  3 ,  10  of one toe tube  1  is proximate to a tab  3 ,  10  of an adjacent toe tube  1 . The toe tubes  1  and the tabs  3 ,  10  are manually manipulated so that the grommets  2  (shown atop each other) carried by the tabs  3 ,  10  are concentrically aligned so that a fastener (not shown) may be simultaneously inserted through the hole defined by both aligned grommets  2 . The fastener (not shown) is thereafter secured in its customary fashion to prevent inadvertent movement of the toe tubes  1  such that an “opening” or “break” in the otherwise continuous safety barrier is formed. The process is repeated interconnecting the tabs  3 ,  10  of adjacent toe tubes  1  extending continuously around the perimeter of the floor deck. 
         [0048]    In locations where it is impractical, difficult, or impossible to interconnect adjacent toe tubes  1  in an end-to-end orientation, ( FIG. 3 ), such as where the toe tubes  1  are too long for end-to-end attachment, the toe tubes  1  may be interconnected using the overlap tabs  6 ,  7  ( FIG. 4 ) using a similar fastener and a similar process. 
         [0049]    The foregoing description of our invention is necessarily of a detailed nature so that a specific embodiment of a best mode may be set forth as is required, but it is to be understood that various modifications of details, sizes, and rearrangement, substitution and multiplication of the parts may be resorted to without departing from its spirit, essence, or scope. 
         [0050]    Having thusly described our invention, we file this Utility patent application.