CA1323744C - Clamp for attachment of a bracket to a vertical pole - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A clamp for attaching a hydro pole or a telephone pole to brackets. The brackets maintain the pole vertically on rocky ground or on ground beneath which sewer pipes or electrical conduits are located. The clamp has a link having a hook at one end. The other end of the link is threaded. A band extends circumferentially of the pole and passes through a slot formed in the bracket. The band has a pair of apertures formed in it. The hook is received in one of the apertures and the threaded end portion of the link is received in the other aperture. A nut is turned on the threaded end and prevents the threaded end from being removed from the aperture.

Description

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CROSS REFERENCES TO PRIOR ART
U.S. patent No. 927,064 - xpansion ~olt. H.~'.
~ower issued July 6, 1909.
U.S. patent No. 1,869,8~7 - Pole Fitting. A.O.
Austin issued Aug~st 2, 1932.
U.S. patent No. 2,183,551 - Hose Clamp, A.L. Dold issued December 19, 1939.
U.S. patent No. 2,241,343 - Expansion Shell ~or Machine Bolts, J, Fleaca issued May 6, 1941.
U.S. patent No. 2,626,023 - Drill Post. E.B. Lear issued January 20, 1953.
U.S. patent No. 2,642,768 - Rock Anchor. H.R.
Ogburn issued June 23, 1953.
U.S. patent No. 2,900,698 - Quick Acting Hose Clamp. H.P. Zartler issued August 25, 1959.
U.S, patent No, 3,187,858 - Anchoring Device. N.H.
des Champs issued June 8, 1965.
U.S. patent No. 3,413,693 - Clamping Collar. C.F.
!~ Tonnelline issued December 3, 1968.
U.S. patent No. 3,514,911 - Line Pole Rock Anchor Brackets, R.N. Preradovich issued June 2, 1970.
U.S. patent No. 3,747,468 - Anchor Bolt. J.W.
Jansen et al. issued July 24, 1973.
; U.S. patent No. 3,993,341 - Deck Struc~ure and i,~

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Connectoe ~or Building Construction- C.A- Bentley issued November 23, 1976.
U.S. patent No. 4,160,614 - Expansion Shell Assem-bly and Method for Combining Resin Bonding and Mechanical Anchoring of a Bolt in a Rock Formation. S.F. Koval issued July 1~, 1979.
V.S. patent No, 4,218,858 - Tri-Anchor Bracket for Poles. S. Legler issued August 26, 1980.
U.S, patent No. 4,362,440 - ~ubular Lost Borehold Closure. O.-E. Gllaesmann et al. issued December 7, 1982.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to brackets for anchoring poles such as hydro or telephone poles upright on the ground and more particularly to brackets suitable for anchoring poles in rocky, rugged terrain where the surfaces on which the poles rest need not be horizontal or on ground beneath which sewage or electrical conduits are located where the location of the anchoring means for the brackets is extreme-ly restricted.

This application is a division of application serial number 516,006 5 filed in the Canadian Patent Office on August 14, 1986.

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Various brackets are known for maintanining pol es vertical on rocky ground. The brackets are connected to anchor bolts which are secured in holes drilled in the ground adjacent to where the pole is to stand. U.S. patent No. 3,514,911 to Preradovich and U.S. patent No. 4,218,858 to Legler both referred to above, describe brackets suitable for this purpose.
A shortcoming of known brackets such as those described in the patents referred to above is that they are generally unsuitable where the holes in which the anchor bolts are secured are inaccurately located. Should for exama ple those holes not extend exactly vertically downward it is not possible to tighten the anchor bolts in the holes except with the greatest of difficulty. Similarly if the holes are not spaced apart from the poles an exact predetermined distance, the brackets cannot be secured in such a way as to minimize lateral movement of the pole after the pole is attached to it .. .
The reason why the holes must be accurately lo~
cated is because the brackets are held in position by elong~
ated bolts which extend downwardly through sleeves in the brackets and into the holes. The bolts must be rotated in `;
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order to fasten them in the holes. Should the holes not be accurately located the bolts must be bent to fit into those ; holes. The greater the amount of bend the more difficult it is to rotate the bolts. In fact it is altogether impossible to rotate the bolts should the amount of bend be too great.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a clamp which is suitable for attaching a bracket to a pole.
Another object of this invention is to provide a clamp which is suitable for attaching poles of a wide , variation in outside diameters to a bracket.
These and other objects are accomplished by a clamp for attaching a bracket or a pole-mount to a pole ~ comprising a link having a hook for removable intercon ; nection to said pole~mount and a threaded portion for threadable connection to said pole~mount.
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., DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWIN~;S
The invention is described in detail with refer-ence to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bracket of the invention in conj~nction with a hydro or telephone pole;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the ~racket and pole;
Figure 3 is an elevation, partly in section, on lines 3-3 of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the CGmponents of the bracket of the invention;
Figure S is a fragmentary elevation, partly in sectionO of the components of the bracket in an assembled ~ 3 state;
Figuee 6 is an othec elevation, partly in section, of the asse~bled components;
Figure 7 is an elevation, partly in section, of the lower end of the bracket;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the bracket, pole and a ratchet and socket extension used in the instal-lation of the bracket;
Figure 9 is a perspective view of the components 10 of the bracket used for connection to the pole;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of a template used in the attachmént of the bracket; and Figures 11 and 12 are two plan views of the tem-plate in conjunction with a pole.
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description of the drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to Fiqure 1, the bracket of the invention, generally 20, is shown in conjunction with a hydro or telephone pole 22. The bracket includes a pole-mount 24 and a pair of spaced clamps 26.
The pole-mount is made up of a base 30 and an upright 32. The base is vertically extendinq and has an under surface 34 which rests on the ground or other rupport . .

surface for the pole~ The upright has a generally U shaped cross section and i~ made ~p of a central web 36 which contacts the pole and two spaced flanges 38 which extend at generally right anqles from the two side edges of the web.
A number of vertically spaced reinforcing ribs 40 extend between the flanges.
With reference to Figure 1, each clamp 26 is made up of a pair of bands 42a, b which are attached to the exterior flange walls and which extend circumferentially around the pole. An aperture is formed in each band and a link 44 extends between the bands and its ends pass through the apertures.
The bands may be attached to the pole-mounts by welding or they ~ay be bolted to them. Alternatively as illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 9, the bands 43 pass through slots 48, 49 in the two flanges of the mount and extend outwardly from opposite sides of the same mount.
Where the bands are so formed, they are free to slide horizontally in the slots in the pole-mounts.
With further reference to Figures 2 and 9, link 44 is in the form of a bent rod having a ~hreaded end portion 44a. The opposite end 44b has a forged offset head or hook 44b which is removably accommodated in a key-hole 45 formed in band i3a. The threaded end of the link is inserted in ,.,~

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the aperture for~ed in band 43b. A nut SOa prevents the threaded end from being removed from the band. The key-hole shape ensures that the rod will not become disconnected from the band when assembled as ill~strated in Figure 2.
When the links are so assembled, the links, the bands and the pole-mounts together extend around the entire circumference of the pole. The assembly restrains the pole from movement and the pole is thus anchored in position.
There is no need to ~se lag bolts to prevent the pole-mounts from turning with respect to the pole.
With reference to ~igures 4 and 5, the pole-mount is shown in conjunction with the components which together form a leg for anchoring the pole-mount to the ground. The leg, generally 50, is made up of a sleeve 52, a camming plug 54 and an inner member or bolt, generally 56. A pair of horizontally spaced parallel slots 58 are formed on the under surface 34 of the pole-mount. The slots commence at ; the wall 32a of the upright 32 which faces the pole and extend at generally right angles to that wall. The slots terminate at a stop 60. The slots removably accommodate opposite edges of a plate 62 which is attached to theupper wall of sleeve 52.
Connected to the lower end of the sleeve by, for example, welding are circumferentially arranged segments ,, .
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66, the outer diameter of which being the same as that of the sleeve to which the segments are attache~. ~ space or slot 67 is between adjacent segments. As illustra~ed in Figures 6 and 7, each segment is shaped in the form of an wedge which opens upwardly and inwardly i.e. the wedge is thinnest at its lower edge 66a and thickens upwardly. Those segments constitute expandible means for engaging the wall of the hole in which the sleeve is inserted. The way in which they do so is described below.
Camming plug S4 serves to urge the segments 66 between the slo~s outwardly or to expand. The plug has a frusto-conical outer wall of the same slope as that of the inner wall of the segments. A number of ribs 68 are formed on its outer wall. The number of ribs is the same as the number of slots 67. The width of the ribs is slightly less than the width of the slots and the ribs are so arranged that each will fit into a separate slot. As a result the plug can be ; positioned concentrically within the sleeve.
The outer diameter of the conical wall of the plug at its upper wall 70 is slightly greater than the inside , diameter of the segments. The conical wall of the plug enlarges downwardly and, at its lower wall, its outer diameter exceeds the inside diameter of the segments. The ` outer diameter of the ribs is the same from the upper to :

the lower walls of the plug. A threaded bore 72 exeends along the longitudinal axis of the plug.
Bolt 56 has a shank 73 which removably passes through an enlarged aperture 74 in base 30 and downwardly through the sleeve. As illustrated in Figure 5, head 76 of the bolt has an outer diameter which is larger than the width of the aperture so that it cannot pass through the aperture.
With reference to Figure 6 and 7, the lower por-tion of the shank is threaded at 78 and those threads matethreadably with the threads in the bore of plug 54. The ribs 68 of the plug are in the slots between segments 66 and will prevent the plug from rotating as the bolt is rotated. Rotation of the bolt will accordingly cause the plug to rise on the shank of the bolt from the position shown in Fig~re 6 to the position shown in Figure 7, In the latter figure, the conical wall of the pluq which contacts the inside wall of the segments causes them to move radial-ly outwardly of the longitudinal axis 80-80 of the sleeve and into contact with the wall 82 of the hole in which the sleeve is located.
Further upward movement of the plug causes the segments to more firmly contact the inside wall of the hole and to cause the sleeve to become more and more solidly .:

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anchored in the hole.
With reference to Figure 8, bolt 56 is rotated by oscillation of handle or ratchet 82 which is removably connected to the upper end of a socket extension 84. A
socket 86 at the lower end engages the head of the bolt and causes it to rotate when the handle is oscillated.
The socket extension is prevented from rocking or swaying when it is being rotated by means of pair of arms 88 which apply an inward pressure against dia~eterically opposite sides of an enlarged portion of the socket exten-sion. The ends of the arms remote from the socket extension are attached to tabs 90 which fit snugly into the space between the bands 42 and the pole. The tabs can be with-drawn from the space and the socket and socket extension are removed after the bolt has been tiqhtened sufficiently to anchor the sleeve in the hole.
~ With reference to Figure 10, a template, generally ; 52, facilitates the location of the holes to be drilled Y where the pole i~ to be anchored by means of three brack-ets. The template consists of three sleeves 94, 96 and 98, Sleeve 94 consiste of a lower segment 94a of outside dia-~; meter slightly less than the diameter of the hole which is to be drilled and an upper segment 94b of greater diameter.
The other two sleeves 96, 98 have uniform cross-sections .,.
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~ n ex~andihle arn 100 extends between sleeves 94 and 96 and a like arm 102 extends between sleeves 94 and 98. As illustr~ted the longitu~inal axes o~ both arms are oriented at right angles to the longitudinal axes of the sleeves and the angle between the axes of the arms is approxi,nately 60 degrees.
A stud 104 extends inward from each sleeve. The length of the stud determines the distance of the hole ~rom the pole in the manner described below.
Arm 100 consists of a hollow rectang~lar first section lOOa which is attached to sleeve 94. A second rectangular section lOOb is connected to sleeve 96 and is slidingly received in the hollow interior of section lOOa.
By means of set screw 106 the two sections can be locked together in any desired position. The position of sleeve 94 relative to sleeve 96 can accordingly be increased or decreased.
The construction of arm 102 is the same and lts length can likewise be adjusted by means of set screw 108.
Fig~res 11 and 12 illustrate the manner in which the template can be used to locate the position of the holes which must be drilled in the ground. First a hole is drilled beside the place where the pole is to stand. Sec-~'3 ~l~

ondly while the pole is resting horizontally on the ground the te~plate is placed beside the lower end of the pole such that the pole is between its arms as illustrated in those Figures. Thirdly the two set screws are loosened to allow the length of the arms to be adjusted until the studs 104b and 104c contact the outside wall of the pole portion.
The te~plate is then sepaeated from the pole by moving it to the end of the pole.
The lower segment of sleeve 94 is then inserted into the hole that was drilled in the ground. The upper segment which has an outside diameter greater than the cross-section of the hole will remain on top of the hole.
Two more holes are then drilled using the other two sleeves as guides. The three holes will be correctly located ac-cording to the size of the pole.
In Figure 12 the pole has a smaller outside dia-meter than the pole illustrated in Figure 11 and the length of arms 100 and 102 are correspondingly shorter to reflect the smaller diameter.
The holes which are drilled must have a cross-sectional area slightly greater than that of the outside wali of the sleeves so that the sleeves can be easily inserted into the holes. After the holes have been drilled and before the pole is moved into position for anchoring, .: . .

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one sleeve is attached to a pole-mount by inserting its Dlate 62 into slots 58 so that the sleeve an~ mount are connected as illustrated in Figure 5.
Bolt 56 is then inserted downwardly through the aperture 74 of the pole-mo~nt and through the central bore of the sleeve and while the sleeve and the mount are out-side the hole the plug is turned onto the lower end of the bolt and the bolt is rotated until the upper ends of its ribs are just within slots 64 of the sleeve. The asse~bly is then inserted into the hole.
The pole is then raised by some suitable means such as by a mobile crane and is positioned upright beside the pole-mount. The other two pole-mounts are then con-nected to the legs in the manner described above and are placed in position adjacent to the other two holes. The three mounts must be at the same level and shims may be used for this purpose. The three pole-mounts are then interconnected by means of clamp 26.

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The three mounts may then be anchored by tighten-ing the bolts connected to each by means of the socket ~, assembly 82, 84 and 86 with resulting stabilization and , anchoring of the pole in an upright position. Should the r wall of the holes crumble, the mounts will not be satis-~ factorily anchored. In such case, the mounts must be moved .

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to a new loeation where they can be properly anchored.
Once the pole-mounts are properly anchored, grout-ing of the holes is not necessary since the strength o~ the installation depends only on the jamming action of the segments in the holes.
With reference to Figure 3, it will be observed that the ground on which the pole is mounted is not horiz-ontal and the hole in which one leg is located is not vertical. ~11 that is required is that the pole-mounts be anchored in the ground by means of legs 50. When the pole is to be mounted on uneven ground the pole-mounts should be shimmed up with rocks so that the bands of the clamps are horizontal. After the pole is clamped to the assembly, the shims may be removed since the pole is supported by the pole-mounts and legs and not by the weight of the pole on the ground. Backfilling or grouting of the holes in which the legs are located are not necessary.
; Sinoe the bracket of the invention does not re-quire any grout or cement to maintain it in position, the bracket may bè removed after use. To do so, the pole must be held upright by means of, for example, a crane and the three bolts must be loosened~ As the bolts are loosened, the bolt head will move upward from the base of the brack-et. A sharp blow to the bolt head will move the bolt down-:.

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ward and release the camming plug from the segments 66 of the sleeve. The entire assembly can then be lifted easily ~rom ~he hole.
The bracket of the invention is designed to allow for variations in the size o~ the outer diameter of the pole. As illustrated in Figure 4, aperture 74 in the base of the pole-mount is elongated and allows ~he pole-mount to be moved backward and forward to accommodate poles of ; larger or smaller diameter. In addition by reason of the ; 10 elongated apertures, the leg to which the pole is attached need not be vertical. The aperture allows the bolt which passes through it to be oriented in different directions.
Figure 3 illustrates this.
The clamp can likewise accommodate poles of diff-erent diameters. As illustrated in Figure 2, the effective length of each link can be changed by means of the nut which is turned on its threaded end portion. By advancing the nut toward the hook, for example, the effective length of the link is shortened. When the link is in the assembly illustrated in Figure 2, the area bounded by the links and bands is reduced as the effective length of the links is reduced. Conversely the area is increased so that a pole of larger diameter can be accommodated simply by increasing the effective length of each link in the assembly.

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In the event that the links cannot be lengthened sufficiently to accommodate a large pole all that is neces-sary is to substitute longer links for the existing links in the assembly of links and bands.
It will be understood from the foregoing that the pole-mount of the invention will accommodate all sizes of - poles normally encountered in practice as will the bands of the clamp. The only component that may not accommodate poles of all sizes is the link. For that reason it is advisable on a job site to stock lin~s of different sizes.
However because of the adjustability of the links very few different sizes of links are necessary.
In general it is preferable for the pole-mounts which support a pole to be about 120 degrees apart. However this is not essential. Where the terrain makes this impos-sible the design of the clamps is such that the spacing between adjacent pole-mounts can be ad~usted according to the spacing between pole-mounts. It is not necessary that the effective length of the links in an assembly of links , 20 and bands be the same.
,. Preferably the pole-mount and the camming plug are ....
cast in malleable iron and the clamps and the remaining components of the legs are formed of galvanized steel.
It will be understood of course that modifications , ,., ~ 1~

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can be made in the preferred embodiment described herein without departing from the scope and purview of the invent-ion as defined in the appended claims.

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Claims (3)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A clamp for attaching a pole-mount to a pole comprising a link having a hook and a threaded portion; a band adapted to extend circumferentially of said pole and to pass through a slot formed in said pole-mount, said band having a pair of apertures formed therein, said hook being received in one said aperture and said threaded portion being received in the other said aperture; and means for removably maintaining said threaded portion in said aperture.

2. A clamp for attaching a pole-mount to a pole comprising a plurality of links each having a hook and a threaded portion; a band adapted to extend circumferentially of said pole and to pass through a slot formed in said pole-mount, said band having a pair of apertures formed therein, said hook of one said link being received in one said aperture and said threaded portion of another said link being re-ceived in the other said aperture; and means for removably maintaining said threaded portions in said apertures.

3. A clamp for attaching a pole-mount to a pole comprising a plurality of links each having a hook and a threaded portion; a plurality of bands each adapted to be spaced apart, to extend circumferentially of said pole and to pass through a slot formed in said pole-mount, each said band having a pair of apertures formed therein, said hook of one said link being received in one said aperture and said threaded portion of another said link being received in the other said aperture; and means for removably maintaining said threaded portions in said apertures.