US2863535A

US2863535A - Anchor stake

Info

Publication number: US2863535A
Application number: US620442A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clyde E Clapper
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-11-05
Filing date: 1956-11-05
Publication date: 1958-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 1975-12-09

Description

Patented Dec. 9, 1958 ice ANCHOR STAKE Clyde E. Clapper, Blue Springs, M0.

Application November 5, 1956, Serial No. 620,442

11 Claims. (Cl. 189-92) This invention relates to anchor stakes and refers more particularly to improvements in anchor stakes having normally retracted ground engaging means which are extendable laterally from the stake after it is inserted in the earth.

An object of the invention is to provide an anchor stake having retractable ground engaging means wherein the level of extrusion of the ground engaging means from the stake is nearer the bottom of the stake than the level in previous anchor stakes of this type. v

Another object of the invention is to provide such an anchor stake wherein the operating means for extending and retracting the ground engaging means from the stake is of extreme simplicity, relatively cheap to manufacture, has a minimum number of operating parts, is very strong and has an extremely long operating life despite high frequency of and rough use.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchor stake wherein the interconnection between the ground engaging means and the means for extending and retracting the ground engaging means is both structurally extremely simple and very strong whereby to permit the extension of the engaging means against strong earth resistance and retraction of the engaging means against strong earth drag without danger to the interconnection between the ground engaging means and the extending and retracting means.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchor stake wherein the ground engaging means is readily detachable from, as well as attachable to the means for retracting and extending the ground engaging means from the anchor stake proper whereby to permit swift and easy replacement of the ground engaging means or access to the extending and retracting means as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple yet novel means for limiting the vertical movement of the extending and retracting means whereby to prevent overextension or overretracting of the ground engaging means relative the anchor stake.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an anchor stake wherein the ground engaging means and the means to retract and extend the ground engaging means from the anchor stake proper are readily inserted and removed as a unit from the anchor stake housing.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchor stake having retractable ground engaging means with means for extending and retracting the ground engaging means which permit extension thereof to distance relative the casing not heretofore achieved as well as complete retraction thereof within the casing.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchor stake having combined means for securing lines to the stake and grasping means for actuating the extending and retracting means,-the said means fixed to the stake so as to substantially increase the rigidity of parts thereofrelative stresses out of line'with the stake longitudinal axis.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchor stake for airplanes and the like having retractable ground engaging means, the stake inserted manually in holes drilled by an auger without driving, a kit comprising the auger and several of the inventive stakes having substantially less weight than a conventional kit including several hammer driven stakes and the hammer.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchor stake having retractable ground engaging means wherein the ground engaging means are extended and retractedby rotation of a shaft, the extending and retracting means coupled with the shaft operative to drive the ground engaging means in or out of the stake at twice the speed of ordinary such means with no greater required application of power.

Other and further objects of the invention will appear in the course of the following description thereof.

In the drawings, which form a part of the instant specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith, an embodiment of the invention is shown and, in the various views, like numerals are employed to indicate like parts.

Fig. l is a cross-sectional view through a ground formation extending downwardly from the ground surface showing the inventive anchor stake positioned within the ground formation withthe ground engaging means fully extended to a lateral position from the anchor stake housing whereby to rigidly and firmly grip the anchor stake into the earth.

Pig. 2 is a side view with parts in section and parts cut away to illustrate the relationship of the means for extruding and retracting the ground engaging means to the anchorstake housing, the view showing the ground engaging means retracted within the anchor stake housing.

Fig. 3 is a side-sectional view through the anchor stake of Figs. 1 and 2, the view taken displaced from the view of Fig. 2 and showing the relationship of the ground engaging means, the extending and retracting means and the end fitting when the ground engaging means are extended from the housing.

. Fig. 4 is a view taken along the lines 4 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows. v v

Fig. 5 is a view taken along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the anchor stake assembly showing the ground engaging means .positioned opposite the engaging arms of the extrudingand retracting means with the anchor stake housing positioned above the operating mechanism in preparation for being inserted thereover.

Referring to the drawings and, initially, particularly to Fig. 3, base plate It) has a threaded central opening 11 therein, an upper circumferential recessed edge por tion 12 and a lower circumferential recessed edge portion 13. The top surface of the base plate 10 is beveled as shown at 10a to permit smooth access of the earth engaging means, to be described, through the slots 15b. The lower recessed edge portion 13 receives the open upper engaging edge of hollow, rounded end fitting 14.

The fitting 14 may be fixedly attached to the lower recessed portion 13 of plate ltl'by any conventional means such as screws, punch pressing, etc. The upper recessed portion 12 is engageable by portions 15a of the lower edge of housing '15 of the anchor stake which has open upper and lower ends. The nonengaging portions of the lower end of housing 15 form slots 15b to permit the egress of the earth engaging means from the housing 15. The slots 15b in the housing 15 are preferably positioned opposite one another. The housing 15 may be fitted to the base plate 10 in any conventional manner as desired as set forth relative the lower end fitting 14. The upper open end of the housing 15 is closed by cap 16 which has depending housing engaging flange 17 thereon and central opening 18 therein. The cap'16 may be removably fixed to the housing 15 by any conventional means as desired.

U-shaped channel piece is fixed to the top surface of plate and has upwardly extending

arms

19 and 20 and bottom plate 21, the latter fixed to the top of the base plate 10, preferably by welding as shown at 22, and having central opening 23 therein immediately above and of at least as great a diameter as the threaded opening 11 in base plate 10. The distance between' the upwardly extending

flanges

19 and 20 is slightly greater than the width ofthe slots 15b in the housing 15. The opening between the upwardly extending

flanges

19 and 20 is in line with the slots 15b. The width of the upwardly extendingfianges'19 and 20 is such that the edges thereof substantially abut the inner surface of the housing 15.

Operating rod 24 preferably has threaded portion 24a at the'upperend'thereof. Portion 24a of rod 24 extends through the opening 18 in cap 16 and is engaged bythe threaded open lower end of grasping and'securing ring 25. The upper end of'the threaded portion of'ring 25 is'closed to abut the top of the'rod 24. The threaded engaging lower end of ring 25 aids in rigidifying rod 24 against stresses not axially in line thereto. The opening 18 is preferably of a diameter only slightly greater than the outer diameter of the lower portion of the ring 25. The lower portion 26 of the rod 24 is of lesser diameter than the diameter of the remainder of the rod and is'threaded to the upper limit of the lesser diameter portion. The greater diameter portion 27 of the rod immediately above the lesser diameter portion'is threaded to a predetermined height above the top of the lesser diameter portion and the threads run in a direction opposite to the threads of the lower portion 26 of the rod. The depth of the hollow'space in the hollow end fitting 14'n1ust be at least equal to the extension of the lesser diameter portion 26 of the rod 24 below the base plate 10 whenthe rod 24 extends as far into the base plate 10 as possible.

Engaged with the upper threaded portion 27 of the rod 24 is thread engaging means 28. Carrying arm flange piece 29 is fixedly attached to the lower surface of thread engaging means 28 and is C-shaped in cross section. Piece 29 has a central opening 30 in the upper surface thereof immediately adjacent the engaging means 28 whereby to permit passage of the rod 24 therethrough. The engaging means 28 is attached to the upper closed surface of piece 29 by conventional means such as welding, as shown at 31. The width of the top closed surface of the piece 29 is only slightly less than the distance between the inner faces of the upwardly extending arms 19 and '20 whereby the outer surfaces of the downwardly extending portions 29a of the flange piece 29 substantially abut the 'innerfaces of the upwardly

extetnding flanges

19 and 20. The lower inwardly extending arms 32 of the carrying arm flange piece 29 are open centrally and the peripheral edges of Ithe arms 32 are curved outwardly and depended downwardly as at 32a to both match the curvature of the inside surface of the housing 15 and serve as a locking engagement for the flukes. The side edges of the upwardly extending

flanges

19 and 20 maybe beveledas shown at 1911' and 20a to permit placing the

flanges

19 and 20 as close as possible adjacent the inner surface of housing 15. The width of the top flange and downwardly'extending arms 29a of the carrying arm pieces 29 are preferably substantially that of the flanges 19. and 20 and thus the widths of the edges of the carrying arms 32 are greater than the widths of the other parts of the carrying piece 29 and the

flanges

19 and 20.

Fixed to the upper threaded portion 27 of rod 24 above operating nut '28 are thread limiting means such as adjustable paired

stop nuts

33 and 34.

Nuts

33 and 34 limit the motion of the operating nut 28 upwardly on rod 24 while the lower limit of the enlarged portion 27 serves 4 to limit the downward motion of thread engaging means 28 in a manner to be described. While the threads 27 could be stopped at the desired level, the employment of

stop nuts

33 and 34 permit precise fixable adjustment of the desired upper thread limit.

Anchoring flukes 35 (best seen in Fig. 6) preferably have beveled outer edge 36 to best penetrate the ground, are suitably curved in cross section, and have inwardly formed portions 37 adjacent the top edge thereof whereby to form a top shoulder portion 38 operable to slide into the gap between 'the'topflange of the carrying piece 29 and the lower carrying arms 32 thereof. The lower surface of the shoulder portion 38 engages the upper surface of the carryin'g'arrns 32 'whilethe portions 32a overlie and retain the main body of the fluke. Shoulder portion 38 is preferably curved in top section to a curvature substantially that of the inner surface of the housing 15 whereby when thefiukes 35'are fully retracted as in Fig. 2, or'fully extended as in Fig. 1, the end edges of the shoulder portion 38 will'not'frictionally abut the inside surface of the housing '15. The side cross-sectional curvature of the flukes 35 must be regulated relative the length ofthe fiukesso that'the flukes themselves may be substantially enclosed within the housing 15 as shown in Fig. 2 without bearing against the rod portion 27. The thickness of the flukes '35 is slightly less than the width of the slots 15b in the housing 15.

The assembly of the device is as follows: with U- shaped piece 19 fixed to'the top of the base plate 10, the hollow -fittin'g'l4 may befixed to the lower recess 13 on base 'plate'10. Rod 24 having operating nut 28 with carrying piece 29 fixed thereto engaged thereon as well

aslimiting nuts

33 and 34, may be threaded into opening 11 in base plate 10. The flukes 35 may be engaged with the carrying arms 32. The housing 15 is then fitted over the rod and engaged with its lower engaging portion 15a the upper base plate recess 12. Cap 16 may then be fitted on housing 15 and the ring 25 threaded on the rod 24. The thread engaging means 28v is preferably positioned midway between the lower end of the enlarged portion 27and the limiting '

nuts

33 and 34 when the lower portion 26 of rod 24 is intermediately engaged with the opening 11 in the base plate 10. This position permits equal movement of the operating nut 28 upwardly and downwardly.

ln'o'p'erationywith the extruding and retracting means positioned as in Fig. '2 with the flukes 35 completely retracted, the thread engaging means 28 is abutting the under surface of lower limiting nut 33 and the lower lesser diameter portion 26 of the rod 24 extends into the base plate the least possible distance. The flukes 35 are essentially completely retracted within the housing 15 with the lower ends of the flukes blocking the slots '15!) to prevent any earth or other material entering the housing 15. The anchor stake is inserted by employing an auger or other digging means to furnish the proper sized hole to insert the anchor stake therewithin. When the stake is inserted into a hole 39 in the ground 40, as shown in Fig. 1, with the top portion of the stake extending above the ground level 41, the rod 24 may be rotated by means of the grasping ring 25. With the

rod portions

26 and 27 threaded in the directions shown in the figures, clockwise rotation of the rod (looking down on the top of the cap 16) will cause the lower lesser diameter portion 26 to move further into opening 11 in base plate 10 and pass into the hollow cavity of the lower end fitting 14. Thus, the rod 24 itself moves downwardly within the housing 15 relative the base plate 10. Since the upper portion 27 of the rod 24 above the lesser diameter portion 26 is oppositely threaded, the thread engaging means 28 and the attached carrying piece 29 will move downwardly additionally on the rod 24 due to the fact that the upwardly extending

flanges

19 and 20 prevent rotation of I the plate and carrying piece 29.

Thus, the engaging means 28 and carrying piece 29 move downwardly, first, because the rod 24 is moving downwardly by virtue of the engagement of the lower portion 26 thereof with the threaded hole 11 in the base plate and, second, because of the interaction of the nut 28 with the oppositely threaded portion 27. The motion of the engaging means 28 and the carrying portion 29 is relative base plate 10 and thus the flukes 35 are extruded through the openings 15b. The clockwise rotation of the rod 24 is limited eventually by the upper limit of the lower lesser diameter portion 26 engaging the top surface of the bottom plate 21. The length of the lesser diameter portion 26 of rod 24 should be such that the flukes are completely extruded by the complete clockwise rotation of the rod. The anchor stake with the flukes extruded is shown in Fig. 1. The engagement of the fiukes with the earth give greatly increased stability and pull resistance to the anchor stake.

To remove the stake from the earth, the rod 24 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction. Such rotation of rod 24 causes the lower lesser diameter portion 26 of the rod 24 to move upwardly out of the cavity of the hollow fitting 14 and through the opening 11 in the base plate 10. Additionally, the rotation of the rod causes the thread engaging means 28 and attached carrying piece 29 to rise due to the flanges preventing any rotation of the nut and attached piece 29 with the rod itself. Thus, the engaging means 28 and attached piece 29 rise upwardly due both to the upward movement of the rod and the interaction of the thread engaging means 28 with the threaded portion 27. As the engaging means 28 and carrying piece 29 rise, the flukes 35 recess within the housing 15 which, when the engaging means 28 abuts the undersurface of limiting nut 33, indicating complete retraction of the flukes, may be removed from the earth with little effort.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter hereinabove set forth is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in .a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An anchor stake comprising a housing, a base plate fixed relative the lower end of said housing, an end fitting fixed relative the lower end of said housing and base plate, a cap closing the upper end of said housing, an operating rod disposed axially in said housing having a lower portion thereof threaded in one direction and an upper portion thereof threaded in another direction, the upper end of the rod extending through an opening in said cap, the lower threaded portion of the rod engaging the base plate, thread engaging means mounted on the upper threaded portion of said rod, at least one pair of carrying arms attached to the thread engaging means and movable therewith, means preventing rotation of the thread engaging means within the casing relative said base plate and casing whereby rotation of the operating rod moves the thread engaging means vertically relative the base plate, at least one curved fluke engaged at one end with one pair of said carrying arms, and at least one opening in said casing opposite said fluke to permit extrusion of the fluke laterally relative said casing.

2. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein said end fitting is hollow at least in part to permit extension of the operating rod thereinto.

3. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein the lowermost portion of the operating rod is threaded to engage the base plate.

4. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein the lowermost portion of the rod is threaded to engage the base plate and the upper oppositely threaded portion thereof begins immediately above the lower threaded portion.

5. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein the operating rod above the lower threaded portion is of greater diameter than the lower threaded portion to provide a limit to the rotation of the rod and the vertical movement of the thread engaging means in one direction.

6. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein the upper limiting means comprises a thread block in the rod threads above the thread engaging means.

7. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein the means for preventing rotation of the thread engaging means comprises at least one plate fixed relative the casing and abutting at least a portion of the thread engaging means and engaging arm assembly.

8. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein the means for preventing rotation of the thread engaging means comprises a pair of substantially parallel plates fixed relative the casing and abutting two sides of the thread engaging means engaging arm assembly.

9. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein the engaging arms comprise a construction C-shaped in cross section, the opening of the 0 receiving and engaging a portion of the fluke.

10. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein the engaging arms comprise a construction C-shaped in cross section, the opening of the C operable to engage at least a portion of the fluke, the fluke having a pair of recesses in the sides thereof adjacent one end thereof to engage the engaging arms.

11. An anchor stake as in claim 1 wherein the periphery of the carrying arms extends adjacent the casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,474,458 Wilkison Nov. 20, 1923 1,658,043 Eaglesfield Feb. 7, 1928 1,796,147 Green et al Mar. 10, 1947 2,431,608 Clapper Nov. 25, 1947 2,431,609 Clapper Nov. 25, 1947 2,490,465 Ogburn Dec. 6, 1949