AU2006236056B2 - Ground anchor for an upright - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an anchor assembly for an upright including a first portion, and a second portion that is adapted to both engage the ground and receive the first portion when the first portion is in a first alignment with respect 5 to it, and releasably capture the first portion when the first portion is moved into a second, capture alignment with respect to it. The second portion further includes capture means adapted to ensure that the first portion does not unintentionally escape said capture alignment. 22c 22a Fig1I

Description

56801 PAB:FKD P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant: NIKOLAOS FILARETOS BAKOPOULOS Actual Inventor: NIKOLAOS FILARETOS BAKOPOULOS Address for Service: COLLISON & CO., 117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 Invention Title: GROUND ANCHOR FOR AN UPRIGHT Details of Associated Provisional Application: Australian Patent Application No. 2005906370 Dated 17 November 2005 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing It known to us: 1 TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a ground anchor for an upright, For the purposes of explanation, reference will be made to use of the present invention as a ground anchor for the stem of a large umbrella. It would be 5 understood by those of ordinary skill in the art however that the invention is not necessarily limited to use with umbrella's, it could also be used to anchor any of flagpoles, clotheslines, football goal posts, basket ball hoop uprights and street signs into the ground. BACKGROUND ART 10 Large umbrellas are commonly used in alfresco dining situations outside restaurants, cafes and pubs, serving primarily as a source of shade from the sun. In order to prevent theft of these umbrellas, they must be taken down at closing, and put out again when opening. 15 While known umbrella stands provide support for these umbrellas, most are generally inadequate in terms of preventing the umbrellas from being blown over or away by high wind gusts. Those stands that can withstand wind gusts are usually cumbersome, and make the aforementioned tasks of putting the umbrella's up and taking them 20 down, laborious. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an umbrella anchoring arrangement, which will substantially ameliorate the aforementioned difficulties, or which will at least provide the public with a useful alternative to known umbrella stands, 2 Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. 5 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In one form of this invention, there is proposed an anchor assembly for an upright including a first portion, and a second portion that is adapted to both engage the ground and receive the first portion when the first portion is in a first alignment with respect to it, and releasably capture the first portion when 10 the first portion is moved into a second, capture alignment with respect to it, the second portion further including capture means adapted to ensure that the first portion does not unintentionally escape said capture alignment. Preferably, the capture means includes a slot defining a capture position, and a means for biasing the first portion into said capture position. 15 Preferably, the first portion is a lug protruding outwardly from the upright. Preferably, the first portion is a collar adapted to be attached to the upright, the collar having an outwardly protruding lug. Preferably, the second portion is tubular. Preferably, the slot has a first portion extending downwardly, substantially 20 parallel to the direction of elongation of the upright, and a second portion that then extends approximately laterally to this, and a third portion that again extends substantially parallel to the direction of elongation of the upright in a downwards direction. Preferably, the first and second portions of the slot together are substantially 'j 25 shaped'.

3 Preferably, the biasing means is a spring. Preferably, the second portion is adapted to be anchored into hard ground. Preferably, the anchor is adapted to create an electrical connection between the upright and a ground power supply once the anchor releasably captures 5 the upright. In a further form, the invention may be said to reside in a method of assembling the above mentioned first and second portions including the steps of securing the second portion in the ground, inserting the first portion in the second portion whilst it is in the first alignment with respect to the second portion, and io then moving the first portion toward the second alignment with respect to the second portion until the bias means ensures capture of the first portion by the second portion. Preferably, the method includes the further step of attaching the first portion to the upright, 16 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of this invention it will now be described with respect to the preferred embodiment, which shall be described herein with the assistance of drawings, wherein; Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a ground anchor for an upright; 20 Figure 2 is an assembled perspective view of the ground anchor in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of a ground anchor for an upright according to a further embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is an assembled perspective view of the ground anchor in Figure 3; 4 Figure 5 is a cross sectional view through the ground anchor in Figure 3 taken at A-A, with the collar in the first position; Figure 6 is a cross sectional view taken through the ground anchor in Figure 3 taken at B-B, with the collar in the second, captured position; 5 Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the second portion of the ground anchor in Figure 3 and a cover for this; and Figure 8 is a perspective view of the ground anchor in Figure 3 supporting an umbrella above a table. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 10 Referring now to the illustrations, and in particular to Figure 1, where there is illustrated a ground anchor 1 for an upright 2, the upright in this instance being the stem of an umbrella 4 (see Figure 8). The ground anchor includes a first portion 6, this being a collar, that is adapted to be attached to the upright 2, and a second portion 8, this being a tubular 15 assembly, that is adapted to receive the collar 6, and which in use, will be concreted into the ground. The collar 6 has a pair of holes 10 passing through it, these holes are threaded so that each can accept a lug 12 with an external thread; the lugs 12 are screwed into the holes 10, and their inner ends bear against the upright 6, 20 fixing the collar 6 to the upright 2. The lugs 12 are long enough that once inserted, their outer ends project outwardly from the collar. These outer ends have a groove formed into them, so that a screwdriver can be used to drive them in and out, thereby holding and releasing the upright 2. The second portion 8 of the ground anchor 1 includes a first inner tube 20, and 25 a second outer tube 22. The inner tube 20 has an inner diameter sized to 5 accept the collar 6 with a sliding fit. The second tube 22 has an inner diameter sized to accept the outer diameter of the inner tube 20 with a sliding fit, and an outwardly extending circular flange 23. The second tube 22 is blanked off at a first end 22a, and open at the other end 5 22b. The first tube 20 is open at both ends, so that it defines a bore that passes right through it. A pair of j-shaped slots 30 are cut into the wall of the first tube; each slot 30 includes a straight portion 30a that opens out at the end of the tube, and which extends downwardly in the direction of elongation of the umbrella stem, a second portion 30b that curves around so as to turn 10 upwardly, and a third portion 30c which again extends downwardly from the end of upturned portion 30b. The straight portion 30a of each of the slots are diametrically opposed. A coil spring 40 sits in the bottom of the outer tube 22, the inner tube 20 is then fixed into the opening 22c of the outer tube, so that their respective ends 15 are flush. In use, this tubular assembly is dropped into a suitably sized hole, which is then filled in around tube 22 with concrete. This concrete will sit atop of flange 23 providing additional stability to the arrangement. The collar 6 is fixed to the upright 2 of the umbrella using the lugs 12, as 20 described above, and the collar 6 is aligned over the bore in the inner tube such that the lugs are aligned with the slots in the inner tube. The umbrella stem 2 and collar 6 are then lowered into the second portion 8 until the end of the umbrella stem 2 rests upon the spring 40. Some force is then applied downwardly so as to overcome the spring 40, the lugs 12 follow the slot 30 25 down and around until it curves upwardly. The spring 40 then urges the lugs 12 up into the end of the slot, thereby capturing the umbrella. In strong winds, the umbrella may be buffeted to such an extent that it is forced down against the resistance of the spring. The provision of the 6 downwardly extending portion 30c of the slot then allows the umbrella to oscillate without it inadvertently being allowed to escape its captured status within the slot. This portion of the slot 30c would also prove useful in applications where the 5 weight of the upright retained therein varies, such as in the case of a clothesline, whose weight varies considerably between the loaded to unloaded conditions. If not for this portion 30c, the weight of the upright might, in such a loaded state, be sufficient to drive the spring down far enough that the upright escapes its captured status. 10 To remove the umbrella, some downward force is again applied to the stem 2 of the umbrella, so that the lugs 12 follow the slot down 30 and around until the slot curves upwardly. The spring 40 then urges the lugs 12 up into the straight portion 30a of the slot 30, allowing the umbrella to be removed. Referring now to Figures 3 through 6 where a further form of the invention is 15 illustrated. In this embodiment, the second portion 8 (the ground engaging tubular assembly) is the same as that in the first embodiment, it is the first portion 6 (the collar) that is different. The stem of the umbrella 2 has a hole passing through it near its end. There is a single lug 12, long enough that it passes through the holes in the collar 6 and 20 the upright 2. One of the holes in the collar 6 is threaded. One end of the lug 12 then is externally threaded, so that the lug passes through the upright 2 and screws into the thread in the hole 10 on the other side. A significant advantage of this arrangement is that very little of the umbrella's height is lost by virtue of its upright 2 being below ground. In order to give the 25 umbrella additional stability below ground then, the length of the collar 6 is extended so that when it is retaining the umbrella stem, the collar extends well past the end of the end of the upright 2. This portion of the collar 6 extending 7 below ground level gives the umbrella added stability when it is captured by the second portion 8. Referring now to Figure 7, where there is illustrated a cap 50 that is adapted to close the hole 52 left by the second portion 8 when the umbrella has been 5 removed. The cap has its own lug 51, so that it can be captured in the same fashion as the collars 6. The upper surface 54 of this cap 50 could be made to blend in with the surrounding ground surface. It is envisaged that the umbrella stem and the anchor can both incorporate a portion of an electrical connector, such that an electrical connection is created io when the umbrella is releasably retained by the second portion. This electrical connection can be used to power an electrical device supported by the umbrella, such as light, fan or heater for instance. As mentioned previously, it is considered that the anchor device according to the present invention would be useful for other applications, such as 15 supporting road signs, particularly temporary ones, basketball goals and even clotheslines. Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures can be made within the scope of the invention, which is not to 20 be limited to the details described herein but it is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

Claims (11)

1. An anchor assembly for use with an upright including: a first portion being a collar configured to receive a portion of the upright, the collar having at least one threaded recess configured to receive an externally threaded lug, an inner end of the externally threaded lug bears against the upright fixing the collar to a portion of the upright and an outer end of the externally threaded lug protrudes outwardly from the collar; a second portion adapted to both engage the ground and receive the first portion, the second portion including an inner tube and an outer tube, the inner tube having an inner diameter configured to receive the collar and the second outer tube having an inner diameter configured to receive the inner tube, the inner tube further including at least one slot configured to receive and capture the outer end of the externally threaded lug of the collar; wherein the first portion is movable between a first alignment and a second capture alignment with respect to the second portion, in the first alignment the first portion is received by the second portion such that the outer end of the externally threaded lug of the collar is received by the slot of the inner tube of the second portion, and rotation of the first portion within the second portion into the second capture alignment ensures the outer end of the externally threaded lug of is captured and secured within the slot of the inner tube such that the first portion does not unintentionally escape from the second capture alignment.

2. The anchor assembly as in claim 1, further characterized in that the slot of the inner tube is configured to include a first portion extending downwardly from an end of the inner tube substantially parallel to a direction of elongation of the upright, a second portion extending laterally and upwardly from the first portion, such that respective ends of the first and second 9 portions converge to form a substantially 'j-shaped' slot, the second portion terminating in a third portion extending downwardly substantially parallel to the direction of elongation of the upright.

3. The anchor assembly as in claims 1 or 2, further characterized in that the second portion includes a coil spring located within the outer tube, wherein the upright and attached collar are received by the second portion, the upright contacts the coil spring biasing the first portion into the second capture position with respect to the second portion.

4. The anchor assembly as in any one of claims 1 to 3, further characterized in that the outer tube includes a flange extending outwardly from an outer diameter of the outer tube.

5. The anchor assembly as in any one of claims 1 to 4, further characterized in that the second portion is adapted to engage and be anchored into hard ground.

6. The anchor assembly as in any one of claims 1 to 5, further characterized in that an electrical connection can be created between the upright and a ground power supply when the first portion is releasably retained in the second capture alignment with respect to the second portion.

7. The anchor assembly as in any one of claims 1 to 6, further characterized in that there is a cap portion with an outwardly protruding lug, configured to be received and captured by the second portion when the upright is released and removed from the first portion.

8. A method of assembling the anchor assembly disclosed in any one of claims 1 to 7 including the steps of: securing the second portion in the ground; 10 inserting the first portion, being the collar into the second portion in the first alignment such that the outer end of the externally threaded lug of the collar aligns with the slot of the inner tube; applying downward force to the first portion and rotating the first portion into the second alignment such that the outer end of the externally threaded lug is received by the slot and follows the first and second portions that converge to form a substantially 'j-shaped' slot and is biased toward and captured by the third portion of the slot; inserting a portion of the upright into the collar and attaching the collar to the upright through rotation of the externally threaded lug until the inner end of the externally threaded lug bears against the upright.

9. A kit of parts for an anchor assembly as disclosed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. An anchor assembly for an upright as described in the specification with reference to, and as illustrated in the accompanying representations.

11. A method of assembling an anchor assembly for an upright as described in the specification with reference to, and as illustrated in the accompanying representations.