Patent ID: 7066685

Claim:
A reinforced drainage grate assembly comprising: (a) an elongate drainage grate having a substantially planar drainage surface including a plurality of apertures there through and a pair of longitudinally extending side portions, each side portion extending orthogonally below said drainage surface and including a bottom flange extending toward the opposing one of said side portions, wherein an inner dimension is defined between said pair of side portions; (b) a reinforcing member disposed between said bottom flanges and an underside of said drainage surface so that an upper surface of said reinforcing member abuts said underside of said drainage surface, said reinforcing member including a plurality of apertures there through, wherein at least a portion of said apertures in said reinforcing member are co-registered with at least a portion of said apertures in said drainage surface so as to permit the passage of fluids from said drainage surface through said reinforcing member, and wherein said upper surface includes at least one substantially continuous longitudinal upper surface portion disposed inwardly of said portions of said grate disposed between said bottom flanges and said underside of said grate and extending longitudinally from a first end of said reinforcing member to a second end of said reinforcing member, wherein said reinforcing member further comprises a plurality of slots disposed therein that are each adapted to receive a metal strip therein such that the metal strip extends along the inner dimension of the drainage grate and is retained with respect to the reinforcing member by the bottom flanges.