GB2516533A

GB2516533A - Ground stabilising arrangement

Info

Publication number: GB2516533A
Application number: GB1408430.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lee Mark Giemza
Original assignee: Gripple Ltd
Current assignee: Gripple Ltd
Priority date: 2013-05-23
Filing date: 2014-05-13
Publication date: 2015-01-28
Also published as: GB201408430D0; WO2014188148A1; GB201309312D0

Abstract

A ground stabilising arrangement 10 comprises a load spreading member 12 defining an aperture 16, and a securing device 14 comprising a body 18 for insertion into the ground, and an engaging portion 20 extending outwardly from the body. The body is receivable through the aperture in the load spreading member so that the engaging portion can engage the load spreading member. The body 18 defines a through passage 22 for an elongate article 24. The securing device further includes a clamping member 30 and urging means 32 for urging the clamping member towards the through passage into clamping engagement with the elongate article.

Description

Ground Stabilising Arrangement This invention relates to ground stabilising arrangements. Embodiments of this invention relate to ground stabilising arrangements operable by clamping an elongate article.

Ground stabilising arrangements are known, and different types are provided for different ground conditions. This requires maintaining stock of all the different type to ensure that any ground condition can be accommodated. Known ground stabilising arrangements can also cause the problem that any misalignment can result in the ground not being fully stabilised.

According to one aspect of this invention, there is provided a ground stabilising arrangement comprising: a load spreading member defining an aperture; a securing device comprising a body for insertion into the ground, and an engaging portion extending outwardly from the body, the body being receivable through the aperture in the load spreading member so that the engaging portion can engage the load o spreading member, and the body defining a through passage for an elongate article; wherein the securing device further includes a clamping member and urging means (\J for urging the clamping member towards the through passage into clamping engagement with the elongate article.

The aperture defined by the load spreading member may be circular or any other suitable shape, such as rectangular. The aperture may be defined centrally in the load spreading member. The load spreading member may be substantially flat. The load spreading member may comprise a dome. The load spreading member may define a recess.

The body may have a guide formation to guide the clamping member towards the through passage. The guide formation may comprise a guide wall. The guide formation may comprise an internal guide wall.

The body may have a clamping formation, which may define the through passage.

The clamping formation may extend along the through passage. The clamping member may be arranged to clamp the elongate article against the clamping formation.

The clamping formation may comprise a clamping wall. The clamping formation may comprise an internal clamping wall. The guide formation and the clamping formation may taper towards each other.

The engaging portion may extend transverse to the body. The engaging portion may comprise a flange, which may be substantially rectangular or substantially circular.

The engaging portion may surround the body.

The engaging portion may have a chamfered peripheral face. The chamfered peripheral face may be an upper face. The engaging portion may have lower gripping teeth for gripping the load spreading member. The engaging portion may include a lower face. The gripping teeth may be provided on the lower face.

LCD The body may have proximal and distal end regions. The engaging portion may be (\,j provided at the proximal end region of the body. When the body is inserted into the ground, the distal end region may be inserted first.

The urging means may urge the clamping member away from the proximal end region towards the distal end region. The clamping member may be disposed between the proximal and distal end regions of the body. The urging means may be disposed between the clamping member and the proximal end region of the body.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a ground stabilising arrangement; Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view of the ground stabilising arrangement shown in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a sectional side view of the ground stabilising arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a ground stabilising arrangement 10, which comprises a substantially circular load spreading member 12 and a securing device 14. The load spreading member 12 is substantially flat and defines a central substantially circular aperture 16 (see Figures 2 and 3).

The securing device comprises a body 18 which is disposed through the central aperture 16, and a rectangular engaging portion 20 which surrounds the body 18 and extends outwardly from the body 18. The engaging portion 20 engages the load spreading member 12 when the body 18 is disposed through the aperture 16.

The engaging portion 20 has a chamfered peripheral upper face 20A and a lower o face 20B. A plurality of lower gripping teeth 21 extend from the lower face 20B.

LO

(\,j A sectional side view of the securing device 14 is shown in Figure 3, in which only a central region of the load spreading member 12 is shown. The body 18 defines a through passage 22 for an elongate article 24 (also shown in broken lines.) The elongate article extends through the passage 22. The elongate article 24 is in the form of a wire, wire strand or other suitable elongate article.

The body 18 has a proximal end region 18A adjacent the engaging portion 20 and a distal end region 183 at the opposite end of the body 18. The body 18 defines a clamping formation in the form of an internal clamping wall 26 and a guide formation in the form of an internal guide wall 28.

The securing device 14 further includes a clamping member 30 and urging means in the form of a coiled compression spring 32. In the embodiment shown, the clamping member 30 is in the form of a sphere, but it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the clamping member 30 could be any other suitable shape, such as cylindrical or wedge shaped.

A reaction member 34 extends part way across the passage 22 at the proximal end region 18A, and provides a reaction to the spring 32, thereby urging the clamping member 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow X along the guide wall 28. This urges the clamping member 30 into engagement with the elongate article 24 and, as a result, the elongate article 24 is clamped against the clamping wall 26 by the clamping member 30.

As can be seen from Figure 3, the clamping member 30 is disposed between the proximal end region iSA and the distal end region 1SB of the body 18, and the spring 32 is disposed between the clamping member 30 and the proximal end region 18& In use, a ground anchor (not shown) of the type that would be known to those skilled in the art is first driven into the ground. The ground anchor has attached thereto the o elongate article 24, which is of sufficient length to extend from the ground anchor to the surface of the ground. In Figure 3, the surface of the ground is generally (\J designated 100, and is represented by a broken line.

The elongate article 24 is threaded through the passage 22 in the body 18 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in Figure 3, which pushes the clamping member against the action of the spring 32 away from the clamping wall 26. Prior to the elongate article 24 being threaded through the passage 22, the securing device 14 is first arranged so that the body 18 is disposed through the aperture 16 in the load spreading member 12, and the engaging portion 20 engages the load spreading member 12.

Alternatively, the ground stabilising arrangement 10 may be supplied with the elongate article 24 previously threaded through the passage 22 in the securing device 14. In this alternative, the ground stabilising arrangement 10 may be supplied with a pre-selected load spreading member 12 arranged on the securing device 14.

The securing device 14 is then threaded along the elongate article 24 until the load spreading member 12 is in engagement with the surface 100 of the ground, as shown in Figure 3. The elongate article 24 can then be pulled through the body 18 in the direction indicated by the arrow A until the elongate article is tight.

The clamping of the elongate article 24 occurs as a result of the spring 32 urging the clamping member 30 along the guide wall 28 into engagement with the elongate article 24 and with the guide wall 28. Any movement of the securing device 14 relative to the elongate article 24 in the direction indicated by the arrow B tightens the clamping member 30 between the guide wall 28 and the elongate article 24, thereby clamping the elongate article 24 tighter against the clamping wall 26.

It is desirable for the ground stabilising arrangement 10 to press downwardly on the ground under the force applied by the elongate article 24. This can be accomplished by the user pushing downwardly on the securing device 14 while pulling up tightly on the elongate article 24. This slightly compresses the ground and, when the o downward force on the securing device 14 is removed, the compressed ground LCD relaxes. The relaxation of the ground pushes upwardly on the ground stabilising (\,j arrangement 10, thereby causing the clamping member 30 to be engaged tightly between the guide wall 28 and the elongate article 24, and clamping the elongate article 24 tightly against the clamping wall 26.

The provision of the separate load spreading member 12 and securing device 10 provides the advantage in the embodiment described herein that the load spreading member 12 can be made from a material suitable for its purpose, and the body 18 and engaging portion 20 of the securing device can be made from a different material, suitable for the purpose of the securing device.

The above described embodiment of the ground stabilising arrangement provides the advantage that it allows the use of different materials for the respective components. As a result, the properties of each component can be configured for its purpose, e.g. the material for the load spreading member 12 can be a low reflectivity material with a high bending strength. The material for the securing device 14 can be selected so that it has a high tensile strength and manufacturing accuracy.

A further advantage of the above described embodiment is that it allows the user to select the appropriate size of the load spreading member 12 on site. This reduces costs, in that the securing device 14 need only be made of a single size, whereas the less expensive load spreading member 12 can be made in different sizes.

Another advantage of the above described embodiment is that transportation as separate load spreading members 12 and securing devices 14 saves space, thereby reducing the cost and environmental impact of transportation.

Yet another advantage of the above described embodiment is that a separate load spreading member 12 and securing device 14 corrects any misalignment between the elongate article 24 and the ground surface, thereby ensuring that the load spreading member 14 lies flat. (0

o Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the LCD invention. For example, the engaging portion 20 could be circular, or any other (\,j suitable shape, instead of rectangular. Also the load spreading member could be a suitable shape other than circular.

In a further modification, the load spreading member 12 may be domed or recessed.

Claims

Claims 1. A ground stabilising arrangement comprising: a load spreading member defining an aperture; a securing device comprising a body for insertion into the ground, and an engaging portion extending outwardly from the body, the body being receivable through the aperture in the load spreading member so that the engaging portion can engage the load spreading member, and the body defining a through passage for an elongate article; wherein the securing device further includes a clamping member and urging means for urging the clamping member towards the through passage into clamping engagement with the elongate article.
2. A ground stabilising arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the aperture defined by the load spreading member is circular.
3. A ground stabilising arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the aperture defined by the load spreading member is rectangular.
4. A ground stabilising arrangement according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the aperture is defined centrally in the load spreading member.
5. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the load spreading member is substantially flat.
6. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the load spreading member comprises a dome.
7. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the load spreading member defines a recess.
8. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the engaging portion extends transverse to the body.
9. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the engaging portion comprises a flange, which is substantially rectangular or substantially circular.
10. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the engaging portion surrounds the body.
11. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the engaging portion has a chamfered peripheral upper face.
12. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the engaging portion has lower gripping teeth for gripping the load spreading member.
13. A ground stabilising arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the engaging portion includes a lower face, the gripping teeth being provided on the lower face.
14. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the body has a guide formation to guide the clamping member towards the through passage.
15. A ground stabilising arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the guide formation comprises an internal guide wall.
16. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the body has a clamping formation.
17. A ground stabilising arrangement according to claim 16, wherein the clamping formation defines the through passage.
18. A ground stabilising arrangement according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the clamping formation extends along the through passage, and the clamping member is arranged to clamp the elongate article against the clamping formation.
19. A ground stabilising arrangement according to claim 16, 17 or 18, wherein the clamping formation comprises an internal clamping wall, and wherein the guide formation and the clamping formation taper towards each other.
20. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the body has proximal and distal end regions, the engaging portion being provided at the proximal end region of the body, whereby when the body is inserted into the ground, the distal end region is so inserted first.
21. A ground stabilising arrangement according to claim 20, wherein the clamping member is disposed between the proximal and distal end regions of the body, and the urging means is disposed between the clamping member and the proximal end region of the body, whereby the urging means urges the clamping member away from the proximal end region towards the distal end region.
22. A ground stabilising arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the clamping member comprises a wedge, a sphere or a cylinder
23. A ground stabilising arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.