GB2162561A - Ground sockets for supporting upright members - Google Patents

Abstract

A ground socket for supporting a post is of two-piece construction and comprises a first member 2 including a first plate 4 for forming part of a receiving portion of the socket, at least one outwardly projecting fin 6,8 being secured to said plate 4 to extend substantially the length of the plate 4, and a second member 10 including a second plate 12 for forming the remainder of the receiving portion of the socket, at least two fins 16, 18 being secured to said plate 12 to extend substantially the length of the plate 12, the first and second plates 4, 12 together being bent to a shape, and co- operating, to define a receiving portion of the socket substantially of the transverse section of the upright member to be received therein. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Ground sockets for supporting upright members This invention relates to ground sockets for supporting upright members, and particularly though not exclusively to such sockets for receiving therein 'House for sale' signs.

Such signs conventionally comprise a wooden post hammered into the ground and supported by a series of wooden stays themselves driven into the ground at 45" to the main post and subsequently nailed to the lower regions of said post. The top of the post carries a sign board.

Being located outdoors, the signs are subject to the elements, in particular the wind, with the result that they are often blown over because these conventional post supports are not sufficiently strong to withstand other than relatively still conditions.

It has recently been proposed to provide a metal socket in the form of a hollow length of rectangular section tubing to which are welded a series of radially projecting fins each extending longitudinally of the tubing and tapering from the top of the tubing towards the bottom of the tubing.

Such sockets are hammered into the ground until the fins are below the level of the ground, in which position the top of the hollow tubing is flush with or just above ground level. The bottom end of the wooden post of a sign can then be located in the ground socket, said socket providing far superior support than said previously-known arrangements and being capable of withstanding much more severe elements than heretofore. Such sockets can also be used to support fence posts or other upright members.

However these known metal ground sockets suffer from two major disadvantages. Hollow, rectangular section metal tubing is only readily available in standard sizes which do not tie in with the standard sizes of wooden posts. Consequently the standard wooden posts are not a close fit in the hollow tubing of such sockets. Furthermore, the configuration of these known sockets is somewhat complex and bulky because of the provision of, usually, four radially projecting fins spaced from one another by 90" about the longitudinal central axis of the hollow tubing. Thus such sockets are difficult to stack one on the other and are consequently difficult to store and transport because of the volume required.

It would be desirable to be able to provide a ground socket capable of receiving therein a variety of different sections of post and being more readily stackable and storable than heretofore.

According to the present invention there is provided a ground socket for receiving therein an upright member of predetermined transverse section, the socket comprising a first member including a first elongate plate adapted to form part of a receiving portion of the socket, at least one fin secured to, to project outwardly from, said first plate and extending substantiallythe length of said first plate, a second member including a second elongate plate adapted to form the remainder of the receiving portion of the socket, and at least two laterally-spaced fins secured to, to project outwardly from, said second plate and each extending substantially the length of said second plate, the arrangement being such that said second plate, or said first and second plates, can be bent to such a shape that, together, the plates define the receiving portion of the socket substantially of said predetermined transverse section.

Clearly said plate or plates can be bent as necessary to suit the dimensions of a variety of different-sized sections of upright members or posts, while the provision of a two-piece socket the members of which can be dis-assembled one from the other greatly reduces the volume necessary for storing or transporting the sockets, the individual members being readily stackable one on the other in a relatively compact manner.

In a preferred ground socket, the receiving portion is of generally rectangular transverse section, the plate of the first member being adapted to form part at least of one side of said receiving portion and having a pair of fins secured thereto, each fin making an angle of substantially 45" with the plate and said fins being located in planes at right angles to one another, the plate of the second member being adapted to be bent to form the other three sides of the receiving portion of the socket with the edges of said second plate co-operating with the first plate to complete the one side of said receiving portion, a pair of fins being secured to said second plate, said fins, in the completed socket, each being disposed substantially diametrically opposite an associated one of the fins on the first plate.

Conveniently the fins each taper inwardly of the socket from the top to the bottom thereof, the tops of said fins being located just below the top edges of the plates.

The extents of the plates above the top of the fins may include means for enabling an upright member received within the socket to be secured to said socket.

Preferably the socket includes means extending across the lower end of the hollow receiving portion thereof for preventing the ingress of soil therein on hammering of the socket into the ground, said means conveniently comprising a pair of flanges integrally formed with the lower regions of the second plate and which, on formation of the receiving portion of the socket are located opposite one another and can be bent towards one another to provide a cover to the lower end of said receiving portion.

By way of example only, an embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 shows an assembled ground socket according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view from above of the socket of Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4 are side view and end view respectively of a dis-assembled socket according to the invention with the two members stacked one on the other.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated ground socket includes a first component indicated generally at 2 and comprising a flat metal plate 4 to which are welded a pair of tapered fins 6, 8 located in planes at right angles to one another and each making an angle of 45" with the plane of the plate 4 as best seen in Figs. 2 and 4. The fins extend longitudinally of the plate 4 from points just below the top end of the plate to the bottom of said plate.

The second component is indicated generally at 10 and comprises a flat metal plate 12 the width of which is greater than that of the plate 4 and such that said plate 12 can be bent along its length to define three sides of a rectangular section portion of the socket of which the palte 4 comprises the fourth side. More particularly, the plate 12 includes opposed longitudinal edge portions 14 which cooperate with the plate 4to complete said fourth side of the section. A further pair of fins 16, 18 are welded to two of the corners formed on the plate 12, again as best seen in Figs. 2 and 4, said fins 16, 18 also being of a tapering configuration and each being located substantially diametrically opposite an associated one of the fins 6, 8 with the two components 2,10 assembled together.Again, the fins 16, 18 extend from a region just below the top of the plate 12 to the bottom of said plate.

It will be appreciated that the width of the plate 12, the width of the plate 4 and the location of the longitudinal bends in the plate 12 are chosen to suit particular requirements and such as to provide a hollow receiving portion to the socket of dimensions to suit a post to be located therein.

Integrally formed at the bottom edge of the plate 12 are a pair of flanges 20,22, which, when the plate is folded into the desired configuration, are located opposite one another as continuations of two opposed sides of the receiving portion. Said flanges 20,22 are bent towards one another to provide a protective cover at the lower end of the hollow receiving portion for reasons which will become apparent and as best seen in Fig. 1.

Axially aligned holes 24 are formed in the upper regions of the plates 4, 12 at a level above the tops of the fins 6,8, 16, 18, said holes 24 comprising two opposed pairs in the opposed sides of the receiving portion of the socket as best seen in Fig. 1 and for reasons which will be detailed below.

The described socket, once bent into the desired shape, is installed as follows. A hollow, heavy section core former of dimensions substantially the same as those of the receiving portion of the socket is first of all hammered into the ground at the desired location of the socket to the desired depth of the socket, said former and the soil therein then being removed from the ground to leave a hole for the socket.

The lower end of the socket is located in the hole so formed, and the socket is then driven into the ground, the only resistance being that of the fins which in fact cut through the earth relatively easily.

The flanges 20,22 at the bottom end of the socket prevent any soil or other material entering the receiving portion of the socket as said socket is being driven into the ground.

Preferably a long driving tool extending down into the hollow section of the receiving portion and having an increased-width head seating on the top of the socket is used to insert the socket into the ground. Alternatively the core former may be shaped to enable it to be used also to drive the socket into the ground.

The preparation of a hole in the ground to receive the socket, which hole may be formed other than by the former as described above, means that relatively little axial force is required to be applied to the socket to force it into its operative position in the ground. Consequently little if any damage is caused to the upper end of the socket, enabling said socket to be re-used on a number of occasions.

Alternatively the socket may be driven directly into the ground without first of all preparing a receiving hole, but it will be appreciated that more force is required with the consequential possibility of deformation of the upper end of the socket.

In all cases, the socket is hammered until the fins 6,8, 16, 18 are below ground level with the top of the receiving portion just above said level. In this position, a post can be located in the socket and can then be bolted thereto by passing a bolt through two opposed holes 24 in the socket and through a suitable drilled bore in the post. Alternatively, screws or nails could be used to secure the post to the socket.

Removal of a socket from the ground is readily achieved by passing a bar through two opposed holes 24 and pulling the socket upwards by means of said bar.

It will be appreciated that the described socket provides two major advantages over the currently known arrangements. Firstly, the plate 12 (and the plate 4 if necessary) can be bent such as to provide a receiving portion to the socket of a shape to receive therein, as a close fit, posts of any section. Secondly, being of a two-piece construction, the components of the dis-assembled socket can be stacked in a much more compact manner than the known one piece sockets. Referring in particular to Figs. 3 and 4, it can be seen that the components 2 and 10 can be stacked one on the other with the fins 6 and 18 and the fins 8 and 16 close to and parallel with one another thus virtually halving the volume of the socket compared with the assembled condition.

Clearly this facilitates storage and transport of the sockets.

Although described as supporting 'House for sale' signs, sockets according to the invention can be used to support any upright members such as fence posts and the like. Further, the numbers and dispositions of the fins can be chosen to suit particular requirements, and there may be only a single fin secured to, to extend perpendicularly from, the plate 4, while the fins 6,8,16,18 may extend to the top edge of the plates 4, 12. Other modifications and variations from the described socket will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims (7)

1. A ground socket for receiving therein an upright member of predetermined transverse section, the socket comprising a first member including a first elongate plate adapted to form part of a receiving portion of the socket, at least one fin secured to, to project outwardly from, said first plate and extending substantially the length of said first plate, a second member including a second elongate, plate adapted to form the remainder of the receiving portion of the socket, and at least two laterallyspaced fins secured to, to project outwardly from, said second plate and each extending substantially the length of said second plate, the arrangement being such that said second plate, or said first and second plates, can be bent to such a shape that, together, the plates define the receiving portion of the socket substantially of said predetermined transverse section.

2. A ground socket as claimed in claim 1 in which the receiving portion of the socket is of generally rectangular transverse section, the plate of the first member being adapted to form part at least of one side of said receiving portion and having a pair of fins secured thereto, each fin making an angle of substantially 45" with the plate and said fins being located in planes substantially at right angles to one another, the plate of the second member being adapted to be bent to form the other three sides of the receiving portion of the socket with the edges of said second plate co-operating with the first plate to complete the one side of said receiving portion, a pair of fins being secured to said second plate, said fins, in the completed socket, each being disposed substantially diametrically opposite an associated one of the fins on the first plate.

3. A ground socket as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the fins each taper inwardly of the socket from the top to the bottom thereof, the tops of said fins being located just below the top edges of the plates.

4. A ground socket as claimed in claim 3 in which the extents of the plates above the top of the fins include means for enabling an upright member received within the receiving portion of the socket to be secured to said socket.

5. A ground socket as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 and including means extending across the lower end of the hollow receiving portion thereof for preventing the ingress of soil therein on hammering of the socket into the ground.

6. A ground socket as claimed in claim 5 in which said means extending across the lower end of the receiving portion of the socket comprise a pair of flanges integrally formed with the lower regions of the second plate and which, on formation of the receiving portion of the socket, are located opposite one another and can be bent towards one another to provide a covertothe lower end of said receiving portion.

7. A ground socket substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.