CA1066524A

CA1066524A - Ground anchoring device

Info

Publication number: CA1066524A
Application number: CA293,999A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Stephane J. Thevenin; Patrick D. Thevenin; Bernard C. Gissinger
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1977-01-11
Filing date: 1977-12-28
Publication date: 1979-11-20
Also published as: DE2758662A1; FR2376915A1; CH620009A5; BE862129A; FR2376915B1

Abstract

Ground Anchoring Method and Device Abstract of Disclosure :
For sinking into the ground an anchoring wire of small diameter with a small resistance to bending, having retaining means at its lower end, a tubular sleeve is engaged onto said wire in order closely to surround the same, and both the sleeve and the wire with its retaining means in a rest position are sunk into the ground by hammering or pushing, while avoiding any relative displacement between said sleeve and said wire.
When the desired depth has been reached, the sleeve and wire are moved relatively to each other in order to spread out the retaining means, and then the tubular sleeve is extracted from the ground to be used for another anchoring operation. The anchoring device thus only comprises the wire and the expanded retaining means. Said means can comprise a strip extending normally along the wire and which is distorted by the relative motion between the sleeve and the wire to be brought into an expanded condition. For the penetration of the assembly into the ground, a cap or the like is adapted onto the sleeve and wire. A cheap anchor is thus obtained, because more expensive members like the sleeve and the elements used for sinking the anchoring device into the ground are removable and usable for other anchoring operations.

Description

General disclo.su-~ :
The present invention relates to means ~or achieving anchorings in t~.e ground or in varied materials.
. It relates more particu~arly to anchorir.gs achieved.by 3~ driving into the ground or .into sald materials, wf thou~ a~y .,.", . .

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previous drilling, an anchor means to be left permanently on site once it has been driven in, said anchor means being used for securing different assemblies, devices or objects of any kind, any time that a~ anchor will have to withstand an ! _ , important pulling force.

Such anchors are normally sunk into the ground or into .,~ .
` materials of small density or ligh~ compactness, said materials being natural or artificial.
In such case, it is necessary to ensure a sufficiently - 1~ deep penetration of the anchoring member into the ground, so - that the pulling force applied to said member may be ~-- counterbalanced by the resistance to deformation of the ground - or material. As a rule, attempts are made to increase this ` resistance to pulling-out forces by providing, inside said ground or material, some retaining device which proceeds most ; of the times from the shape of the anchor means sunk into the ground9 said shape being the initial shape of said anchor means ~ -or proceeding from its deformation once it has- been driven in~
Depth of penetration necessary to secure the anchoring -~
will be still more important when the density of the ground or ,: ~- . .
- the corresponding material will be lesser~

- According to known devices, anchoring means may consist of assemblies comprising a shaft, a tubular sleeve surrounding - said shaft and some retaining elements connected both to the . ~ .
` 25 lower end of said shaft and to said tubular sleeve (French - patent N 804.185 and British patent N 888.225). Some means i:':' ~ are provided in order to achievé, after driving-in said ... . .
assembly, a relative motion between the sha*t and its tubular sleeve so as to expand said retaining elements.
However~ with the aforesaid devices, all the elements - - 2 -- .
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thus described remain permanently in the ground in order to achieve anchor~
ing. It would be desirable~ for quite a number of applications, to dispose ;
of simpl~ and cheap anchoring means, especially just a ~ire associated with an anchor gear.
But in that case, it is difficult to drive sueh wires into ~he ground or into the material wherein anchoring has to be carried out, as the resistance to buckling or bending of said wires is inadequate.
~-- One object of the invention is to pro~ide a device for solving said problem without making use of the more complex anchoring devices of the pre-~ 10 vious art.
f According to the present invention there is provided a device com-~-- prising an anchoring member made of an anchoring wire having a small cross-section and a substantial length and expandable retaining means provided near ` one end of the anchoring wire and initially extending substantially along the ;~ `
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anchoring wire, first abutment means provided at said one end of the anchor-ing means and second abutment means provided at a distance from said one end of the anchoring wire, the retaining means being located between the first and second abutment means~ a removable driving-in device comprising a tub~lar ~ sleeve having such an inner diameter as to closely surround the wire and a - 20 length such as to extend around the ~ire from the second abutment means up -~
to a point near the other end of the anchoring wire, the tubular sleeve pro-viding a driving-in assembly when engaged around the anchoring wire, means : . . .
removably adaptable on the assembly for driving it into the ground, the means being arranged for receiving an impelling or driving force~ and means for relatively moving the anchoring wire and tubular sleeve with respect to each other in order to reduce the distance between the abutment means and thus to expand the retaining means~ the driving-in means and the tubular sleeve being i;
then extracted and separated from the anchoring member. ~ ` ~

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;~ Such a device makes anchoring easy at a reduced cost, because onlythe anchoring element comprising the wire and the retaining means remain in the ground, while the tubular sleeve and the part whereupon forces can be applied to drive the device `~
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5~9i into the ground can be removed from said anchoring element.
According to a suitable feature, the tubular sleeve extends from the top part of the wire down to a point located at some distance from its bottom end, said distance , 5 corresponding roughly to the length of wire (or to the place ?
along said wire) taken up by the retaining means in retracted position, so that once both wire and sleeve have been sunk, a ~ relative displacement between them can bring said retaining3- ¦ means into their working position.
,` I 10 Said retaining means can be formed by different members~ -! They may, for instance, comprise one or several plates, strips, -I stays or slmilar parts extending, as a rule 9 along the wire , while the latter is driven in and capable of being brought into a spread or expanded position by the afore-mentioned ¦ 15 relative displacement of sleeve and wire. Abutting stops are ~ then arranged near the bottom end of the wire and the retaining -}-1 elements are inserted in their retracted position between both -1 stops whose mutual distance decreases, as a consequence ofaforementioned relative displacement between them, so as to ~ / induce a distortion of the retaining elements which will then ~1 move away from the wire over at least a portion of their length ~r', and come to their working position wherein they realize a ground ~- anchor. One of aforesaid stops may be a flange, a ring, a nut or any equivalent means located near the end of the wire, the other one being adYisably formed by the proper end of the sleeve surrounding said wire.
s Persons skilled in the art will easily imagine dierent designs of retainlng elements, for example in the shape o ton-gues~ small bars, blades, slit tubes or other organs, capable of 3~ extending along the wire while retracted and to expand radially~

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especially under compressio~7 in order to become embedded in the ground.
Obviously, a similar result may be reached with ' retaining means consisting of resilient elements, held back '' 5 in retracted position for instance by the sleeve so as to'~¦ penetrate into the ground and to grip it backwards as a ! consequence of a relative motion between said sleeve and the ~-¦ wire, for instance before extraction of the tube or while ~ removing it~ -¦ 10 According to'one possible embodiment, the top of the ¦ wire is threaded and extends out of the sleeve when both are ,¦ driven into the groun,d, while a round cap or any other similar `',l member is adapted onto the top end of the wire so as to allow driving the latter into the ground by striking said cap with a ; 15 hammer. Aforesaid cap may present a threaded part which co- -, ,~' ~perates with the threaded wire, or it may be removable so as to adapt a nut to the thread of said wire. In both cases, : rotation of the nut or the threaded cap~ operated by convenient ' means, will induce the aforementioned relative motion between ~ 20 the wire and its sleève, so as to brincJ the retainin~ means ;~
;~, into their working positic)n.
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¦ According to another embodiment, a removable cap can be adapted to the end of the gear consisting of the wire and its ,,¦ sleeve, while some means are provided at the top end of said '"i - wire in order to adap,t thereupon, after remo~ing the cap, a tool, such as a lever, capable of ensurr~ ng the said relative motionO
~, It would also be possible to provide a cap adapted to aforesaid gear and to apply the,necessary effort to said cap ; . ' ,~ 30 in order~to induce the required motion.
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, The device suitably comprises, near the top end of : I
', the sleeve, a plate or a similar part which limits penetration I of the wire-and-sleeve gear into the ground and, at the same '~,t ¦ time, supports eventually hclndles or similar means to extract ~¦ 5 the sleeve once the anchor is sunk.
, 1 As previously mentioned, the combined tubular sleeve and plate may be used to drive another anchoring means ~- consistin~ of a wire with retaining elements into the ground.
Once the anchor is fixed and the sleeve has been removed, the top end of the wLre is just slightly above the ground and 5 I can be used to fasten a wire, a cable or any other similar i¦ element, ln a usual manner.
.~'t` ~ The following description, illustrated by the appended';
drawings, will allow a better understanding of the invention~
~¦ 15 Fig. 1 is a partly sectional side-view of one possible ,. - 1 embodiment of the anchoring device accordinsg to the inventionO
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of its retaining ~-i elements.
5~ I Yig. 3 is a partly sectional side-view showing how spreading of the retaining elements is ensured in the ground.
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Fig. 4 is a schematlc view on a small scale showing a r-~ final anchoring.
The anchoring device shown by the drawings comprises a ~- wire 1 of elongated shape and small diameter, having but a poor ,~ 25 resistance to bending ? SO that it would not be possible to drive ~- it into the ground or into any other similar material for anchoring purposes by applying forces to its top end.
~- - According to ~he embodiment as illustrated; ~he wire 1 is provided with a thread 2 at its bottom end and with a thread 3 at its top endO
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- In the present case, a retaining element consisting of - a strip 4 is adapted to the bottom part o~ wire 1~ Said strip has a general Z- shape, as shown in Fig. 1. It is mounted upon ~- and held by the wire ~y means of upper and lower lugs 5 and 6- 5 perforated at 7 in order to give passage to the w~re (Fig. 2~, .
and it comprises two elongatled parts 8 of approximately the same length, both being normally s~tretched along either side of , the wire when at rest, said elongated parts being connected -` together by one slanted part 9 having a hole ~0 for the wire~
'~- 10 Fig. 1 shows how the strip 4 is positioned at restO
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Each main part 8 of said strip is provided, approximately at their mid-height, ~ith holes 11 as in ~ig. 2, which form . . , ` areas of less resistance, so that parts 8 will be deformed at ; the level of said holes in order to get embedded in the ground as will be explained hereinafter.
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- In the present embodiment, the strip 4 engages the bottom part of wire ~ and the lower lug 6 is fastened between two nuts 12 screwed on the threaded bottom part 2 of said ,i~;
; wire 1~
- 20 The anchoring device also comprises a tubular sleeve ~3. . .
~ passlng through an upper plate ~4, said plate being abutted ;` against said sleeve, for instance, by a flange 15~ while in the I present case the plate is equipped with handholds 16.
,- Sleeve 13 has an inner diameter which is approximately ~ 25 equal to the outer diameter of wire ~, though it is capable x - of sliding upon said wire.
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~- ~urthermore, the device according to the shown embodiment comprises an element ~7 provided with ha~dles 18 ~ which may be removable, said element~17 having a thread 19 ;~ 30 which has a noticeable length.
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-~ In order to anchor the de~ice, sleeve 13, engaged in J'~ the plate 14, is adapted around the real anchoring member which ;3 consists o~ wire 1 and strip 4, said sleeve being fitted on the ; wire until it abuts against the upper lug 5 of strip 4. The respective dimensions of aforementioned elements are selected ;~ in order that, when placed in the position described above, the threaded top end of the wire is just slightly above the upper end of sleeve 13. Element 17 is then screwed on said portion of the wire until it abuts flange 15 of sleeve 13.
t 10 The device being so prepared, it can be dr~ven into the ground either by striking it with a sledge-hammer or by ~ applying a force to the closed end of element 17. The repetitive ~-*~ - shocks or the applied, forces are then transmitted to the gear , consisting of wire 1 and sleeve 13. The presence of the latter substantially increases the resistance to bending of said wire, which is the real anchoring member, and the whole assembly can penetrate the ground without any bending and without having to loosen up said ground, compact as it may be. As the strip 4 is in a retracted position, its cross-section is equally reduced~
20 ~ When the plate 14 rests on the ground1 the device sinks in until its flange 15 abuts against said plate. The length of i wire 1 and sleeve 13 depends on the pulling force that the ~-ground anchor is supposed to withstand, and eventually on the ,'~,t~ nature of the ground or o~ the material, but the selected length ~ 25 will always be rather important in order to obtain a reliable .. . . .
fastening.
After said driving-in operation, element 17 is screwed up on the threaded wire 1~ As said element is resting upon sleeve 13, wire 1 wiil move upwards, as can be seen in ~ig. 3.
During ~hat motion~ the strip 4, caught between nuts 12 and the tg- ~ .
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bottom end 20 of the sleeve, is submitted to a distortion by compression with radial spreading, as shown in Fig. 3, so that it penetrates sidewise into the ground to realize an anchoring therein.
s When said operation is çompleted, the operator is able ` to unscrew element 17, using the handles 18 to that purpose, so as to disengage it from thread 3 of wire 1, and to free sleeve 13 ~rom the wire by pulling handholds 16. This extraction takes ;, :
- place without any difficulty. Furthermore~ the wire is not drawn -: 10 along in that motion,~as it is held in the ground by the strip 4.
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The remaining parts~ i. e. sleeve 13 with i~s plate 14 and element 17 with its handles 18, can be used again for a new ;- anchoring operation.
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The final anchoring resulting from the invention is -- schematically shown i~ Fig. 40 It is thus seen that the present invention allows driving into the ground, by lmpact or by thrust, an anchoring ~ . .
member consisting of an elongated wire with small diameter without any risk of bending. The anchor is placed without loosening up the soil around the anchoring member and said .~, . .
anchor can be used immediately. It is sufficient to adapt to the top end of th~ wire, which can be perforated or provided with any adequate means, an organ or device to fasten a wire, 25 a cable or any other similar element to make immediately use ~- of the anchor.
Obviously, some changes may be made to the aforedescribed embodiments.
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compression ta~ing place between the bottom abutment carried by the wire and the bottom end of tubular sleeve 13~ so as to embed itself in the ground~ One can use for instance a splitted tube having the shape of a cage and presenting an incipient S outward deformation, one or several metal strips having the . shape of elongated propeller-blades whose increase of intervals induces at the same time a radial spreading, or any other system. The bottom abutment of the wire could also consist of other means than nuts, for instance a flange made in one piece with the wire, elimin~ating the need of threading said wire at this place.

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Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A device comprising an anchoring member made of an anchoring wire having a small cross-section and a substantial length and expandable retain-ing means provided near one end of said anchoring wire and initially extend-ing substantially along said anchoring wire, first abutment means provided at said one end of said anchoring means and second abutment means provided at a distance from said one end of said anchoring wire, said retaining means being located between said first and second abutment means, a removable driv-ing-in device comprising a tubular sleeve having such an inner diameter as to closely surround said wire and a length such as to extend around said wire from said second abutment means up to a point near the other end of said an-choring wire, said tubular sleeve providing a driving-in assembly when engaged around said anchoring wire, means removably adaptable on said assembly for driving it into the ground, said means being arranged for receiving an im-pelling or driving force, and means for relatively moving said anchoring wire and tubular sleeve with respect to each other in order to reduce the distance between said abutment means and thus to expand said retaining means, said driving-in means and said tubular sleeve being then extracted and separated from said anchoring member.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein means are provided for securing said anchoring wire and said tubular sleeve together during the driving-in operation against any relative movement.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said driving-in means adapt-able on said assembly are connected both to said anchoring wire and said tubu-lar sleeve, in order to impart an impelling or driving-in force simultaneously to said anchoring wire and said tubular sleeve.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein said second abutment means is constituted by the end of said tubular sleeve.

5. A device according to claim 1, wherein said means for relatively moving said anchoring wire and tubular sleeve with respect to each other com-prises a memberresting on said tubular sleeve and exerting, when actuated, an upwardly directed force on said anchoring wire, in order to move said wire with respect to said sleeve and thus to move said abutment means towards each other and to expand said expandable retaining means.

6. A device according to claim 1, comprising a threaded portion pro-vided at the upper end of said anchoring wire, said upper end projecting from said tubular sleeve, and threaded cap means adaptable on said threaded upper end of said wire and abutting against the upper end of said tubular sleeve, said cap means being thus arranged as an impelling means for receiving a driving-in force for driving-in said wire and tubular sleeve into the ground without relative movement taking place between them.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein said cap means are movable with respect to said wire to produce a relative displacement between said wire and said tubular sleeve when the driving-in operation has been completed, to expand said expandable retaining means.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein plate means is arranged near the upper end of said tubular sleeve to limit the depth of penetration of said tubular sleeve and wire assembly into the ground, and means are provided on said plate means for extracting said tubular sleeve from the ground when said expandable retaining means have been brought into an expanded condition.

9._ A device according to claim 3, comprising resilient retaining means, means provided on said tubular sleeve for maintaining said resilient means in a rest position when said tubular sleeve and wire assembly is driven into the ground, and means for releasing said resilient means when said driving in operation is completed, for their expansion to an anchoring condition.