Fluent material confinement system

Abstract

A fluent material confinement system configured to receive a granular fluent solid to form a temporary barrier structure is disclosed. The fluent material confinement system includes a plurality of strips including a plurality of lengthwise strips and a plurality of widthwise strips coupled with each other to define a plurality of open cells, wherein each strip of the plurality of strips has an end. At least one connecting structure is disposed adjacent the end of a selected strip. The connecting structure includes a tongue configured to fit within a slot on an adjacent fluent material confinement system to couple the fluent material confinement system to the adjacent fluent material confinement system.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A fluent material confinement system configured to receive a granular fluent solid to form a temporary barrier structure, the fluent material confinement system comprising: 
 a plurality of strips including a plurality of lengthwise strips and a plurality of widthwise strips coupled with each other to define a plurality of open cells, wherein each strip of the plurality of strips has an end; and    at least one connecting structure disposed adjacent the end of a selected strip, wherein the connecting structure includes a tongue configured to fit within a slot on an adjacent fluent material confinement system to couple the fluent material confinement system to the adjacent fluent material confinement system, and wherein the tongue extends at least partially along a long dimension of the selected strip.    
     
     
         2 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue extends generally parallel to the long dimension of the selected strip.  
     
     
         3 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue extends generally diagonally to the long dimension of the selected strip.  
     
     
         4 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue is located on the selected strip in such a position that the end of the selected strip on which the tongue is disposed is spaced a distance from a closest perpendicular strip on the adjacent fluent material confinement system when the tongue is in the slot such that the fluent material confinement system may articulate relative to the adjacent fluent material confinement system.  
     
     
         5 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes at least one projection configured to engage a complementary projection associated with the slot to secure the tongue in the slot.  
     
     
         6 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 5 , wherein the tongue has opposed sides, wherein the projection is disposed on one side of the tongue, and wherein a second projection is disposed on the other side of the tongue.  
     
     
         7 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue includes a connection indicator, and wherein the adjacent fluent material confinement system includes a complementary connection indicator associated with the slot such that the connection indicator and the complementary connection indicator combine to form a visual indication that the fluent material confinement system and adjacent fluent material confinement system are secured when the tongue is inserted sufficiently far in the slot.  
     
     
         8 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 7 , wherein the connection indicator has the appearance of a first portion of a word and the complementary connection indicator has the appearance of a second portion of the word such that the word is formed when the tongue is inserted sufficiently far in the slot.  
     
     
         9 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 7 , wherein the connection indicator and complementary connection indicator combine to form at least one of a word, a symbol, an acronym and a number.  
     
     
         10 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue is formed from a “U”-shaped cut in the selected strip.  
     
     
         11 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the fluent material confinement system is movable between a deployed configuration and at least one collapsed configuration, further comprising a deployment indicator disposed on a selected strip, wherein the deployment indicator is configured to be effective in low visibility conditions to indicate to a user how to move the fluent material confinement system from the collapsed configuration to the open configuration.  
     
     
         12 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the strips are made of at least one of a translucent material and a transparent material.  
     
     
         13 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the strips are made of a plastic material selected from the group consisting of selected from the group consisting of PET (poly(ethylene terephthalate)), PETG (a copolyester of 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol-modified poly(ethylene terephthalate)), PCTG (poly(1,4-cyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate)), polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonates, and bisphenol A polycarbonate.  
     
     
         14 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 1 , wherein the fluent material confinement system has opposed sides, and wherein two outermost strips of the plurality of strips on each opposed side of the fluent material confinement system have a greater width than the other strips of the plurality of strips.  
     
     
         15 . A fluent material confinement system configured to receive a granular fluent material to form a temporary barrier structure, the fluent material confinement system comprising: 
 a plurality of strips including a plurality of lengthwise strips and a plurality of widthwise strips coupled with each other to define a plurality of open cells, wherein each strip of the plurality of strips has an end; and    at least one connecting structure disposed adjacent the end of a selected strip, wherein the connecting structure is configured to be coupled to a complementary connecting structure on an adjacent fluent material confinement system to connect the fluent material confinement system to the adjacent fluent material confinement system, and wherein the connecting structure is located on the selected strip in such a position that the end of the selected strip is spaced a distance from a closest perpendicular strip on the adjacent fluent material confinement system when the connecting structure and complementary connecting structure are connected such that the fluent material confinement system can articulate relative to the adjacent fluent material confinement system.    
     
     
         16 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 15 , wherein the connecting structure is a tongue, and wherein the complementary connecting structure is a slot formed in a strip of the adjacent fluent material confinement system.  
     
     
         17 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 15 , wherein the connecting structure is disposed closer to the end of the strip than to a nearest perpendicular strip on the fluent material confinement system.  
     
     
         18 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 15 , wherein the connecting structure is formed on a lengthwise strip.  
     
     
         19 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 15 , wherein an outermost two lengthwise strips on each side of the fluent material confinement system have a greater width than a remainder of the lengthwise strips.  
     
     
         20 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 15 , wherein the connecting structure includes a connection indicator, and wherein the complementary connecting structure includes a complementary connection indicator such that the connection indicator and the complementary connection indicator combine to form a visual indication that the fluent material confinement system and adjacent fluent material confinement system are secured when the tongue is inserted sufficiently far in the slot.  
     
     
         21 . A fluent material confinement system configured to receive a granular fluent solid to form a temporary barrier structure, the fluent material confinement system comprising: 
 a plurality of strips including a plurality of lengthwise strips and a plurality of widthwise strips coupled with each other to define a plurality of open cells, wherein the plurality of lengthwise strips includes an outermost lengthwise strip, a second outermost lengthwise strip, and a plurality of inner lengthwise strips, and wherein the outermost lengthwise strip and the second outermost lengthwise strip have a greater width than a remainder of the lengthwise strips and widthwise strips.    
     
     
         22 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 21 , further comprising a connecting structure formed on at least one lengthwise strip configured to be coupled to a complementary connecting structure on an adjacent fluent material confinement system.  
     
     
         23 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 22 , wherein the connecting structure is a tongue, and wherein the complementary connecting structure is a slot.  
     
     
         24 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 23 , wherein each lengthwise strip includes a tongue.  
     
     
         25 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 23 , wherein the tongue on a first selected strip has a different orientation than a tongue on a second selected strip.  
     
     
         26 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 25 , wherein the tongue has opposed sides, and wherein each opposed side includes a projection.  
     
     
         27 . The fluent material confinement system of  claim 22 , wherein the tongue is located on the selected strip in such a position that the end of the selected strip on which the tongue is disposed is spaced a distance from a closest perpendicular strip on the adjacent fluent material confinement system when the connecting structure is coupled to the complementary connecting structure such that the fluent material confinement system can articulate relative to the adjacent fluent material confinement system.  
     
     
         28 . A system for constructing a temporary barrier structure, comprising: 
 a plurality of fluent material confinement systems configured to hold a volume of a granular fluent material, wherein each fluent material confinement system includes a plurality of lengthwise strips and a plurality of widthwise strips coupled with each other to define a plurality of open cells, and wherein each fluent material confinement system of the plurality of fluent material confinement systems is connectable vertically to other fluent material confinement systems to form an extended structure having cell columns; and    at least one blocking strip configured to extend vertically through a selected cell column to prevent granular fluent material from flowing out of the selected cell column at the boundary between vertically adjacent fluent material confinement systems.    
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the blocking strip includes a connector configured to connect to a strip on an uppermost fluent material confinement system in the barrier structure.  
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the connector is formed from a hooked end portion of the blocking strip.  
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the connector is formed from a tongue formed in an end portion of the blocking strip.  
     
     
         32 . A method of using a plurality of collapsible fluent material confinement systems to form a temporary barrier structure, the plurality of fluent material confinement systems including a first fluent material confinement system and a second fluent material confinement system, wherein each fluent material confinement system includes a plurality of strips, the plurality of strips including a plurality of lengthwise strips and a plurality of widthwise strips coupled with each other to define a plurality of open cells, wherein the first fluent material confinement system includes a selected strip having tongue configured to fit within a slot on a complementary strip on the second fluent material confinement system to couple the first fluent material confinement system to the second fluent material confinement system, the method comprising: 
 deploying the first fluent material confinement system;    deploying the second fluent material confinement system;    positioning the first fluent material confinement system adjacent the second fluent material confinement system;    coupling the first fluent material confinement system to the second fluent material confinement system by inserting the tongue through the slot; and    filling the first and second fluent material confinement systems with a granular fluent material.    
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the tongue is inserted in the slot such that a connection indicator associated with the tongue combines with a complementary connection indicator associated with the slot such that the connection indicator and the complementary connection indicator form a visual indication that the first and second fluent material confinement system and adjacent fluent material confinement system are properly connected.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the tongue extends generally parallel to a long dimension of the selected strip.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the tongue extends diagonally to a long dimension of the selected strip.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the tongue extends in a direction perpendicular to a long dimension of the selected strip.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the tongue is inserted into the slot in such a manner that the end of the selected strip on which the tongue is disposed is spaced a distance from a closest perpendicular strip on the adjacent fluent material confinement system when the tongue is in the slot such that the fluent material confinement system can articulate relative to the adjacent fluent material confinement system.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the tongue is inserted into the slot until a projection disposed on the tongue engages a complementary projection associated with the slot to secure the tongue in the slot.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising deploying a third fluent material confinement system and stacking the third fluent material confinement system on at least one of the first fluent material confinement system and second fluent material confinement system before filling with the granular fluent material.