Preformed Duct Assembly

Abstract

A duct bank assembly may include an elongate extending conduit with a length for receiving and passing through a cable or wire and an encasing body encasing the conduit along its longitudinal extent between a first mating end and an opposed second mating end of the body. Each mating end of the at least one elongate conduit has a male or female mating end for joining with a corresponding male or female mating end of an abutting duct bank assembly in a self-locking, self-sealing joint.

1 - 29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         30 . A preformed duct bank assembly module for placement in underground service, comprising:
 at least one elongate conduit with a length for receiving and passing through a service delivery media and forming a joint with a corresponding conduit of an abutting, adjacent duct bank assembly module; and   an encasing body formed before module placement and encasing the conduit along its longitudinal extent between a first mating end and an opposed, second mating end of the body;   wherein each end of the at least one elongate conduit is provided with a male or female mating end for joining with a corresponding male or female mating end of the corresponding conduit of the abutting duct bank assembly in a self-locking, self-sealing joint, the self-locking, self-sealing joint comprising:
 a sealing element; and 
 a restraining member, the restraining member having one or more protrusions for engaging and locking the corresponding mating end. 
   
     
     
         31 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein the at least one elongate conduit comprises at least one means for resisting relative motion between the conduit and the encasing body resulting from differential loading between the conduit and the encasing body. 
     
     
         32 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein the female end of the elongate conduit comprises a belled end. 
     
     
         33 . The assembly of  claim 32 , wherein the sealing element comprises a gasket for forming a watertight seal with the inserted male end. 
     
     
         34 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein the longitudinal extending conduit comprises a plurality of generally parallel, longitudinally extending conduits in a predefined array.  52903519   3   
     
     
         35 . The assembly of  claim 34 , wherein the encasing body is preformed around the array of conduits, which are arranged on and during pre-forming of the body supported in position within the encasing body by a spacer lattice. 
     
     
         36 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein the encasing body comprises a formable encasing material. 
     
     
         37 . The assembly of  claim 36 , wherein the encasing material comprises precast concrete. 
     
     
         38 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein the at least one conduit is an array of conduits that comprises predetermined, uniform separation distances and positions to provide a predefined geometry and placement of the array for abutting, mating ends of adjacent duet bank assembly modules. 
     
     
         39 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein the service delivery media is selected from the group consisting of electrical communication lines, optical communication lines, electrical power lines, and fluid delivery pipes. 
     
     
         40 . The assembly of  claim 30 , further comprising a grounding wire extending between the first mating end and the second mating end. 
     
     
         41 . The assembly of  claim 31 , wherein the at least one means for resisting relative motion between the conduit and the encasing body comprises a collar fixed to a portion of the outside circumference of the conduit and extending into the encasing body. 
     
     
         42 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein the self-locking, self-sealing joint further comprises a casing member, the casing member having an inner circumferential groove for receiving the restraining member. 
     
     
         43 . A method of making a duct bank assembly module preformed for placement in underground service, comprising:
 providing at least one elongate conduit with a length for receiving and passing through a service delivery media and forming a joint with a corresponding conduit of an abutting, adjacent duct bank assembly module;   supporting the conduit at a position suitable for its encasement in the assembly module;   forming an encasing body before module placement by encasing the conduit along its longitudinal extent between a first mating end and an opposed second mating end of the body; and   providing each end of the at least one elongate conduit with a male or female mating end for joining with a corresponding male or female mating end of the corresponding conduit of the abutting duct bank assembly in a self-locking, self-sealing joint;   wherein the self-locking, self-sealing joint comprises a sealing element and a restraining member, the restraining member having one or more protrusions for engaging and locking the corresponding mating end.   
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43 , including providing the conduit with at least one means for resisting relative motion between the conduit and the encasing body resulting from differential loading between the conduit and the encasing body. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein the at least one conduit comprises a plurality of conduits and the step of supporting comprises placing spacers that position and space the plurality of conduits in a predefined pattern. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein the step of providing at least one elongate conduit comprises providing at least one elongate conduit with a belled end for receiving a mating extension of a conduit of an abutting, adjacent duct back assembly. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the sealing element comprises a gasket for forming a watertight seal with the inserted male end. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 43 , including providing at each mating end a shear transfer mechanism associated therewith for engagement with a corresponding shear transfer mechanism of an adjacent duct bank assembly, said shear transfer mechanism comprising a shear structure at one mating end of the encasing body and a recess at an opposite mating end of the encasing body opposite the shear structure, further comprising causing the recess of one duct bank assembly to receive the shear structure of an abutting, adjacent duct bank assembly. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein the at least one elongate conduit is an array of conduits that comprises predetermined, uniform separation distances and positions for a predefined geometry of the array at module ends and further comprising placing abutting, mating ends of adjacent duct bank assembly modules by aligning for connection the predefined conduit array geometry of the mating ends. 
     
     
         50 . A method of building an extended path for service delivery media by providing with ends abutting a plurality of adjacent duct bank assembly modules preformed for placement in underground service, each comprising:
 at least one elongate conduit with a length for receiving and passing through a service delivery media; and   an encasing body formed before placement and encasing the conduit along its longitudinal extent between a first mating end and an opposed, second mating end of the body;   wherein each end of the at least one elongate conduit is provided with a male or female mating end for joining with a corresponding male or female mating end of the corresponding conduit of the abutting duct bank assembly in a self-locking, self-sealing joint, the self-locking, self-sealing joint comprising:
 a sealing element; and 
 a restraining member, the restraining member having one or more protrusions for engaging and locking the corresponding mating end. 
   
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 50 , including providing the conduit with at least one means for resisting relative motion between the conduit and the encasing body resulting from differential loading between the conduit and the encasing body. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein each mating end has a shear transfer mechanism associated therewith in engagement with a corresponding shear transfer mechanism of an adjacent duct bank assembly, said shear transfer mechanism for resisting relative motion between said encasing body and an encasing body of the abutting, adjacent duct bank assembly module resulting from differential shear loading between said encasing body and an encasing body of the abutting, adjacent duct bank assembly module. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the conduit extends with a bell end to be substantially flush with a face of the first mating end of the body and an opposite end of the conduit extends from the second mating end an extension distance, further comprising inserting the conduit extending an extension distance into a bell end of a conduit of an abutting mating end of an adjacent duct bank assembly.