Drainage and footing form device

Abstract

A water-impervious, non-biodegradable, unitary drainage device for conveying subsoil seepage to suitable disposal areas. The invention features a “sandwich” construction consisting of a planar top and base sheets, set apart by a matrix of supports, disposed between and integrally joined to the sheets. The matrix is a row-column array of frusto-geometrically shaped elements; in an alternate embodiment, this sheet-separating array is a series of parallel row, or columnar, partitions. Partitions, in emulation of discrete posts, contain structural separations, at selected locations, in order to relinquish the inherent rigidity of the unitary construction. The parallel top and bottom sheets are fixed permanently to, or formed integrally with, posts or partitions, rendering the nominal construction quite rigid. Making selective through-cuts in the top sheet imparts, to the invention, a one- or two-dimensional flexibility that facilitates its use under concrete floors, installation on vertical surfaces and as a footing form-drain.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A seepage drain device for conveying water, passing thereinto, from a first locale to another locale and comprising: 
 a first sheet of a planar, water-impervious and flexible material;    a row-column matrix of set-apart, support elements, the support elements projecting essentially orthogonally from the first sheet; and,    wherein the support elements of at least one row are top-wise overlaid by and fixedly conjoined to a continuous planar member made of said material, the member being substantially parallel to the base, thereby effecting a rigidity of the device collinearly along said at least one row.    
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the member exhibits a discontinuity between at least two columns of the matrix, thereby disestablishing said rigidity at a point along said at least one row.  
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the member further comprises a sheet that extends over and conjoins substantially all rows and columns of the matrix and exhibits a discontinuity coextensive and between at least two columns of the matrix and coextensive and between at least two rows of the matrix, thereby disestablishing said rigidity in one or more directions in the member.  
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the support elements are of frusto-geometrical shape.  
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the support elements comprise a plurality of discrete members and are substantially of rectilinear shape.  
     
     
         6 . A monolithic drainage device for use in sub-floor and subterranean situations and comprising a non-biodegradable, layered device featuring a continuous, planar bottom layer of a flexible material and a planar top layer that is rendered non-continuous by at least one linear slot cut therethrough, the top layer and the bottom layer disposed in a set apart, parallel registry by, and integrally joined with, a row-column matrix of discrete support elements.  
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6  wherein the at least one linear slot is coextensive and between the support elements of a row of the matrix.  
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 7 , further comprising at least one linear slot coextensive and between the support elements of a column of the matrix.  
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 7 , wherein the top layer features a multiplicity of perforations.  
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 8 , wherein the top layer features a multiplicity of perforations.  
     
     
         11 . A unitary drainage means for conveying fluids passing thereinto from a first locale to another locale and comprising: 
 a base member defined by a planar, water-impervious and flexible material; and    a row-column matrix of set-apart support elements that project essentially orthogonal from the base, wherein the support elements of at least one row are top-wise overlaid and joined integrally to a continuous, planar top member that is substantially parallel to the base, thereby effecting a rigidity of the device collinearly along said at least one row.    
     
     
         12 . The drainage means of  claim 11  formed into a plank, wherein the matrix is further defined by a column totality of said supports that is substantially greater than a row totality thereof, thereby effecting rigidity along a length of the plank.  
     
     
         13 . The drainage means of  claim 12  further comprising at least one non-biodegradable and rigid footing-form stake.