US3861097A

US3861097A - Earth anchor

Info

Publication number: US3861097A
Application number: US400015A
Authority: US
Inventors: Merle W Patterson; Jr Lawrence C Caves
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-09-24
Filing date: 1973-09-24
Publication date: 1975-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 1992-01-21

Abstract

Apparatus for forming an earth anchor includes a rod having a pointed tip with a tapered shoulder connected at an end of the rod, the tip facilitating the driving of the rod into the earth. Overfitting the rod to bear against the tapered shoulder is a sleeve having pre-defined division lines longitudinally from an end thereof. A driving tube is fitted over the rod within the earth to drive the sleeve into engagement with the shoulder, thereby flaring the ends of the sleeve along the division lines into the earth. Means are provided for securing the shaft during the driving operations to prevent the shaft from being further driven into the earth. Also presented are means for flaring a top portion of the cylinder to further enhance the nonremoval properties of the anchor. Additionally presented are apparatus for forming plural anchor members upon the rod, having either single or top flared portions for effecting its nonremoval properties. Additionally presented is an earth anchor which is capable of resisting tension or compressional forces by virtue of an upwardly extending elongated cylinder attached to the outwardly flared members of the flared sleeve.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Patterson et al.

[ Jan. 21, 1975 EARTH ANCHOR [76] Inventors: Merle W. Patterson, 2635 E. 28th St., Tulsa, Okla. 74114; Lawrence C. Caves, Jr., 5309 S. 30th Ave., Tulsa, Okla. 74107 [22] Filed: Sept. 24, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 400,015

Primary ExaminerPrice C. Faw, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmWilliam S. Dorman [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for forming an earth anchor includes a rod having a pointed tip with a tapered shoulder connected at an end of the rod, the tip facilitating the driving of the rod into the earth. Overfitting the rod to bear against the tapered shoulder is a sleeve having pre-defined division lines longitudinally from an end thereof. A driving tube is fitted over the rod within the earth to drive the sleeve into engagement with the shoulder, thereby flaring the ends of the sleeve along the division lines into the earth. Means are provided for securing the shaft during the driving operations to prevent the shaft from being further driven into the earth.

Also presented are means for flaring a top portion of the cylinder to further enhance the nonremoval properties of the anchor. Additionally presented are apparatus for forming plural anchor members upon the rod, having either single or top flared portions for effecting its nonremoval properties.

Additionally presented is an earth anchor which is capable of resisting tension or compressional forces by virtue of an upwardly extending elongated cylinder attached to the outwardly flared members of the flared sleeve.

11 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 21 ms SHEET 30F 4 EARTH ANCHOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention related to improvements in apparatus for fabricating anchors to the earth or ground and to improvements in earth or ground anchors.

2. Description of the Prior Art Various types and kinds of earth anchors or ground anchors have been purposed, for use, for example, in anchoring mobile homes, or other objects to the earth to withstand, for instance, winds, storms, or other external influences. One of the problems encountered in earth anchors heretofore purposed is that the anchors ordinarily useable in one type of earth formation, for instance, sand, rock, shale, or the like, may not be useable in different earth formations or structures.

One factor which most earth anchors have in com mon is that the anchor is generally fabricated upon or about a single rod member which is driven or inserted in the ground. Commonly, an enlargement or protruding section is formed in situ beneath the surface to prevent the rod from being removed from the ground. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,119,943, shows an anchor post in which in a rod having an expanded tip portion is inserted into the ground. A sleeve having slotted sides over a portion of its length is then driven over the rod and tip and the sleeve portions expand upon contacting the expanded tip portionto present an enlarged structure to increase the resistance to the removal of the enlarged tipped rod.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,224,925 has advanced an anchor in which a post having a flared or expanded tip is driven into the ground, followed by a cylinder having an end which is slotted to be flared upon being driven against the expanded tip of the rod. Thus, the combination of the cylinder and the flared and the expanded tipped rod produces a flared assembly which cannot be removed.

In both aforementioned patents, however, the initially driven shaft or rod is not maintained in its initially drive'n location upon driving the subsequently installed cylinder thereover or thereagainst. Thus, for example, in the anchor of the U.S. Pat. No. 1,224,925 upon driving the cylinder to be flared upon the expanded tip of the anchor rod, the anchor rod and tip will be further driven into the ground, thus ineffectively flaring the ends of the overfitting cylinder to produce an anchor which is not as effective as possibly achieveable.

Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,069, presents an apparatus in which a cylinder having a tapered bit mounted within a cylinder is driven into the ground. A rod having a plurality of prongs is then driven inside of the cylinder and into and against the bit, thereby outwardly flaring the rods through holes in the cylinder to anchor the device into the ground. Again, no provision is made for securing the outer cylinder from being further driven into the ground with the subsequent impact upon the interior rod and flaring members thereof.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION In light of the above, it is, therefore, an object of the invention to present an anchor for attachment to the earth, ground, or the like.

It is another object of the invention to present an anchor which can be attached to different earth materials, including sand, dirt, clay, and rock.

It is another object of the invention to present an anchor in which a plurality of earth engaging members can be employed on a single anchor rod.

It is still another object of the invention to present an earth anchor in which outwardly extending llared members carried by an anchor rod engage the earth.

It is yet another object of the invention to present an earth anchor in which both downwardly and upwardly extending earth engaging flared members can be achieved.

It is yet another object of the invention to present an earth anchor which can be installed manually with a sledge hammer or with pneumatic or power driven hammer or force applying means.

It is yet another object of the invention to present an anchor which can resist both tension and compression forces applied thereto.

It is a further object of the invention to present an anchor which can be fabricated in situ.

It is still a further object of the invention to present an anchor which includes an anchor post carrying flared cylindrical members which can be installed without driving the anchor rod an undesireable distance into the earth.

These and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.

In its broad aspect, the invention presents a ground anchor which includes a rod with an attached pointed tip at one end to facilitate driving the rod into the ground. The tip has a tapered shoulder above the pointed end to receive a flareable, sleeve, locateable on the rod, and of length substantially less than the rod. The sleeve is longitudinally scored along at least two paths from the shoulder engaging end to enable the which can be flared to'achieve an anchor presentingboth upper and downward extending flared portions.

In an alternative embodiment of the anchor, in accordance. with a broad aspect of the invention, the sleeve is of length longer than the rod such that after flaring the sleeve an upward portion of the sleeve extends to the surface adjacent to the location at which connection is made to the anchor, to thereby receive and resist any compression forces, any tension forces being received and resisted by the rod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING f The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rod for use in conjunction with the anchor in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partially cut away, of a driving tube used in the fabrication of the anchor, in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a driving tube plug for use with the driving tube of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partially cutaway, of the rod of FIG. 1 including the cylinder of FIG. 4 flared inanchor position, showing the operational location of the driver tube of FIG. 2, and including a member for constraining downward movement of the rod.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a wedge collar for use in the fabrication of an anchor in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention, including plural flared sleeves. h

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an anchor incorporating plural flared sleeves.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a shortened flareable sleeve, for use in the fabrication of an anchor, in accordance with the invention, in stone, rock, or the like.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a flareable sleeve, in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention, which can be flared at either or both top and bottom.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a conical wedge for use in flaring the top portion of the sleeve of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view, partially cut away, of apparatus used in the fabrication of an anchor having a sleeve flared at bottom and top.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view, partially in crosssection, of an installed anchor, in accordance with the invention, with its sleeve portion flared at bottom and top.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a double conical wedge, for use in the fabrication of an alternative embodiment, in accordance with the invention, in which plural sleeves, flared at bottom and top are employed.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view, partially in. crosssection, of an installed anchor including plural sleeves flared at bottom and top.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view, partially in crosssection, of an alternative embodiment, in accordance with the invention, illustrating the use of the sleeve of FIG. 9 installed in stone or rock.

And FIG. 16 is a perspective view, partially in crosssection, of an installed anchor, in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention, which can resist tension and compression forces applied at its attachment points above the earth surface.

In the various figures of the drawing, like reference numerals are used to denote like parts. It should also be pointed out that in the drawing various sizes and shapes of the parts have been exaggerated or distorted for clar ity of illustration and ease of description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to FIGS. 1-5, apparatus for forming an earth anchor is illustrated. The anchor is formed upon a shaft or rod assembly generally indicated by the reference numeral 10, shown in FIG. 1; the shaft assembly 10 includes rod 11 threaded at its top 12 and bottom 13. A pointed tip member 14 is connected to the bottom of the rod 11 by the threads 13, and includes a shoulder 20 tapered downwardly from the connection of the tip member 14 with the rod 11, to facilitate the flaring of the anchor sleeve, as will become apparent below. The tip member 14 also includes a pointed end 21 opposite the connection to the rod 11 to facilitate driving the rod or shaft assembly 10 into the ground. Thus, the shaft 11, by virtue of its threaded ends, can be exchanged for longer or shorter shaft lengths after insertion into the ground, as necessary.

The shaft assembly 10 can be driven directly into the ground, or can be inserted into the ground by a driving tube, generally indicated by the reference numeral 30, shown in FIG. 2. The driving tube 30 has an internal hole 31 toenable the tube 30 to be fitted over the length of the shaft assembly 10 (FIG. 1). The tube 30 is therefore positioned such that its end 32 engages the tip member 14. To better receive the end 32 of the driving tube 30, a shoulder 34 can be provided, as shown, on the taper of the tip member 14. The length of the driving tube 30, therefore, is slightly longer than the length of the rod 11, plus the heighth of the tip member 14 above the horizontal shoulder 34 to the connection with the threads 13.

The end of the driving tube 32 has additionally formed therein a hole 38 of diameter larger than the diameter of the longitudinally extending rod receiving hole 31, to receive the driving ring of the anchor sleeve, below described. Additionally, longitudinally disposed at an upward portion of the driving tube 30 are slots 40, on opposite sides of the tube 30, to receive means for constraining downward movement of the rod assembly 10 upon application of this driving force to the anchor sleeve, below described, or in other subsequent force application steps, also below described.

Thus in forming the anchor, in accordance with the invention, the driving tube 30 is first placed or fitted over the rod 11 of the rod assembly 10, the end 32 bearing upon the horizontal shoulder 34 of the tip ployed, if desired, to receive such impact. The impact 1.

receiving member 50 is a shaft 52, fittable within the hole 31 of the cylinder 30, a collar 53 to engage the top 42 of the cylinder 30 to transmit the impact force thereto, and a top member 54 to which the impact may be applied. Thus, the top member 54 may be connected to a pneumatic or hydraulic hammer, or may be struck directly by a sledge hammer or the like.

After the rod assembly 10 has been driven to the desired location within the earth or ground, the driving tube 30 is removed therefrom, and a flareable anchor sleeve, generally indicated by the reference numeral 60, shown in FIG. 4, is inserted over the rod 11. Since the tip 34 had been driven into the ground, a channel along the length of the rod assembly 10 will remain, enabling the sleeve 60 to be slideably located adjacent the tip member 14. The sleeve 60 is a cylinder 61, which preferably includes a collar or drive ring 62 attached by welding on the like to the cylinder 61. The collar 62 functions to receive the driving force for flaring the lower portion of the cylinder 61 against the tip member 14, as below described, and to limit the extent of the splits along the cylinder 61. The cylinder has an internal channel or hole 63 of size such as to enable the sleeve to be slideably disposed over the rod 11, but not over the tip member 14. Thus, after the sleeve 61 is flared, as below described, the tip member 14 is not free to slide through the channel 63, and upward movement of the rod assembly will be constrained.

Along the length of the cylinder 61, adjacent its bottom 64, are at least two preformed division lines. As shown, the division lines, can be areas 65 of the cylinder 61 from which material has been cut, or, can be areas 66 along which the lines have been scored to a desireable depth, or both, as shown. The division lines may be of any convenient number, four being shown in the embodiment illustrated.

Once the flareable sleeve 60 has been placed over the rod 11, the driving tube 30 (FIG. 2) can then be again located over the rod 11, and the top portion of the cylinder 61, the upper portion of the cylinder 61 extending to within the enlarged diameter hole 38 and the ring 62 engaging the bottom 32 of the driving tube 30. The driving force is again reapplied to the driving tube 30, or to an impact receiving member 50 (FIG. 3). As the driving force is received by the sleeve 60, the lower portion of the cylinder 61 is driven into the shoulder of the tip member 14. Because of the taper of the tip member toward the shoulder 20, the cylinder 61 splits and flares outwardly, as shown in FIG. 5. Thus the cylinder 61 is split into

outstanding members

75, 76, 77, and 78 which engage the surrounding earth. At this juncture it should be pointed out that although the outstanding members 75-78 are illustrated as extending substantially horizontally in a straight fashion outwardly from the rod assembly, that in actual practice, the members may in fact be curled upwardly or may assume other configurations, depending upon the size and characteristics of the metal of which the sleeve 60 is formed, and other factors.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5, to prevent the rod assembly, including the rod 11 and tip member 14, from being driven or forced further into the ground upon application of the driving force to the flareable cylinder 60, a piston 70 is provided which engages the threads 12 at the upward end of the rod 11. A horizontally disposed rod 71 is placed through a hole 72 through the piston 70, and through the slots 40 of the driving cylinder 30. The rod 71 bears upon the earth, or upon a plate or washer (not shown) to thereby limit the permitted downward travel of the rod 11 and the tip 14. After the sleeve 60 has been flared, the rod 71 and piston 70 are removed from the rod 11, and the driving tube 30 is removed. The anchor is then completed, and connection can be made above the surface of the earth, for example, to the threads 12 at the top of the rod 11.

It should also be pointed out that the amount or extent of the cylinder 61 of the sleeve 60 which is flared can be controlled by including a mark or a graduated scale, (not shown) upon the driving tube 30 which can be compared to the relative location of the rod 71 within the slot 40. The graduations can be located at any convenient location upon the driving tube 30, but are conveniently located adjacent the slots 40 for simple comparison.

If additional anchor characteristics are desired, additional flareable sleeves can be located on the rod 11. To facilitate the employment of such additional flareable sleeves, a conical wedge, generally indicated by the reference numeral 80 in FIG. 6, can be employed. The conical wedge 80 includes a cylinder or sleeve 81 fittable on the rod 11 through a longitudinal hole or channel 82. Outwardly extending from the cylinder 81 is a shoulder or skirt 83 downward sloping to receive the end of the subsequently installed flareable sleeve 60. The anchor is therefore constructed by completing the installation of the first flareable sleeve 60, as above described with reference to FIGS. 1-5, removing the driving tube 30, inserting the conical wedge upon the rod 11, placing a second flareable sleeve 60' upon the rod 11, refitting the driving tube 30 over the rod 11, and applying a driving force thereto to flare the second flareable sleeve 60 against the outstanding shoulder 83 of the wedge 80. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, an anchor including plural flared sleeves is achieved, presenting a first flared sleeve 60, the conical wedge 80, and the second flared sleeve 60' stacked upon the rod 11. If desired, additional flared sleeves can be stacked upon the rod 11 alternately with wedge assemblies (not shown).

The anchor fabricated in accordance with the principles of the invention can be employed in practically any type of earth formation. In harder formations which may be encountered, such as rock, shale, and the like, the flareable sleeve employed can be shortened, such shortened sleeve being illustrated in FIG. 8 and denoted by the reference numeral 90. The shortened sleeve is similar to the flareable sleeve above described with reference to FIG. 4, and includes a cylinder 92 surrounded by a ring or collar 93 attached thereto. At least two, and preferably four, out portions 94 are provided from the bottom 95 of the cylinder 92 thereby defining flareable members 91. In use, the shortened flareable sleeve 90 is installed in essentially the same manner as that above described with reference to the flareable sleeve member 60 in FIG. 4. It may be necessary in installing the anchor in rock formations to predrill the rock in which connection is to be made to receive the anchor rod. In such cases, the diameter of the pre-drilled hole should be slightly smaller in size than the diameter of the shoulder 20 of the tip member 14.

In another alternative embodiment the invention, for additional anchor properties, the flareable sleeve can be flared at its top, as well as at its bottom, as above described. Thus, as shown in FIG. 9, a flareable sleeve, denoted by the reference numeral 100, can include scores or cuts 103 in the upward extending cylinder portion 101 above the driving force receiving collar 102. In the installation and fabrication of an anchor including such upward extending flareable members, the flareable sleeve is flared at its bottom portion in the manner above described with reference to the flareable sleeve 60 shown in FIG. 4. The upwardly extending cylindrical members are thereafter flared by driving a wedge, such as that illustrated in FIG. 10, denoted by the reference numeral 110, in the top portion thereof. The wedge includes a cylinder 111 with an interior channel 113 for slideably engaging the rod 11, and a downwardly extending conical shoulder or wedge 112 for flaring the cylinder along the division lines 103. In the installation of the double flareable sleeve 100, the sleeve is first located upon the rod 11 and flared at its bottom portion, in a manner similar to that described with reference to the flareable cylinder 60 illustrated in FIG. 4. The wedge 110 is then located adjacent the top of the sleeve 100 as shown in FIG. 11, and is driven by the driving tube 30 thereinto to flare the upward portion of the cylinder 100 to the configuration shown in FIG. 12. The driving tube 30 can then be removed and anchor attachment made to the threads 12 of the anchor rod 11. It should also be noted that in the practice of the invention, the wedge 100 can be recovered and reused after the top portion of the cylinder 100 has been flared.

If plural upward and downward flared sleeves are desired on the rod 11, a double wedge 120, illustrated in FIG. 13, can be employed. The double wedge 120 includes upward and downward conical wedge shoulders 121 and 122 upon a cylinder 123 slideably receivable upon the rod 11. In use, the bottom conical wedge 122 is driven into the top portion of the sleeve to flare it outwardly, as shown in FIG. 14, for the first installed sleeve, previously flared at its bottom, as above described, with respect to the flareable sleeve 60 of FIG. 4. The second flareable sleeve 100 of similar construction to the sleeve 100 is then placed over the wedge 120 and driven into the top conical wedge 120 to flare the bottom portion of the second sleeve 100. Finally, the top portion of the flared sleeve 100 is flared with a single wedge member, such as wedge member 110 illustrated in FIG. 10, to form the completed anchor configuration, shown in FIG. 14.

The flareable sleeve configuration 100 shown in FIG. 9 can alternatively be employed either as a soft earth material anchor or rock anchor, depending upon the direction of disposition of the sleeve upon the rod 11. Thus, as shown in FIG. 15, by placing the sleeve 100 upside down from the direction illustrated in FIG. 9, on the rod 11, the smaller or shorter portion of the cylinder can be outwardly driven to engage the rock materials 140 surrounding the anchor in a manner similar to that described with reference to the shortened flareable sleeve of FIG. 8.

Another embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 16, includes a downward flareable portion which can be flared to

members

150, 151, 152, and 153, below a collar 155 upon an elongated cylinder 156. The elongated cylinder 156 above the collar 155 is of length approximately equal to the length of the rod 11, extending almost to the surface 160 of the earth into which anchor connection is made. After installation a washer or plate (not shown) can be placed over the anchor thereby formed to receive downward or compressional forces upon the anchor to be applied to and resisted by the sleeve 156 and the outward flared members 150-453. On the other hand, upward forces are applied to the top of the rod 11 at its threads 12, to be thereby resisted by the bearing of the tip member 14 upon the collar 155, and by the outward flared members 150-153.

It should be pointed out that the flareable sleeves of FIGS. 4, 9, and 16, have been illustrated as being of circular cross-section. They can, however, be of any convenient shape such as a square, triangular, oval, parallelogram, and so forth. Likewise, although the rod 11 and tip member 14 have been shown as having circular cross-sections, any suitable cross-sectional shape can be employed to achieve the anchor in accordance with the principles of the invention.

In the fabrication of the anchor, in accordance with the invention, the various parts should be of strength as dictated by the particular use to which the anchor is to be put. Thus, although the anchor and its parts are preferably of steel or other metal, other materials can be employed for uses in which particular large strengths are not required. Likewise, the thickness, for example, of the flared sleeve, the diameter of the rod upon which the flared sleeve is mounted, and like parts may be appropriately chosen depending upon the use of the anchor device and the intended strength to be presented thereby.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with this certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure is made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the arrangement and combination of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

We claim:

1. A ground anchor comprising:

a rod;

a pointed tip at an end of said rod to facilitate driving said rod into the ground;

a tapered shoulder on said rod; a sleeve of length substantially less than said rod, locateable on said rod whereby an end of said sleeve engages said shoulder,

said sleeve being longitudinally scored along at least two paths from said shoulder engaging end to enable said sleeve to be flared along a portion of its length upon being driven into said shoulder whereby said shoulder is constrained by said flared sleeve from upward movement; and

a separate and removable driving tube fitable over said rod for driving said rod into the ground prior to the location of said sleeve on said rod, said driving tube being fitable over said rod again subsequent to the location of said sleeve on said rod to engage said sleeve and transmit a driving force to flare said sleeve.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for connection to said rod to restrain movement of said rod into the ground upon application of said driving force to said sleeve.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a conical wedge receivable upon said rod above said sleeve, a second sleeve of similar construction to said first mentioned sleeve whereby after said first sleeve has been flared, and said driving tube is removed from said rod, said wedge can be located on said rod, and said driving tube refitted over said tube to engage said second sleeve to transmit a driving force to flare said second sleeve upon said conical wedge.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sleeve is longitudinally scored along at least two paths at an end opposite said shoulder engaging end, and further comprising a second conical wedge locateable on said rod and driveable by said driving tube into said opposite end to thereby split and flare said opposite end.

5. The anchor of claim 4 wherein said sleeve comprises a collar therearound to limit the splitting of both ends of said sleeve, and to receive the driving force from said driving tube.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sleeve is longitudinally scored along at least two paths at an end opposite said shoulder engaging end, and further comprising a first wedge presenting upward and downward conical shoulders, receivable upon said rod above said firstmentioned sleeve, a second sleeve of construction similar to said first sleeve and a second conical wedge locateable upon said rod, whereby after said first sleeve has been flared at its shoulder engaging end and said driving tube removed from said rod, said first wedge can be located on said rod above said flared sleeve, said driving tube refitted on said rod, and said first wedge means driven into said opposite end of said first sleeve to split said opposite end; said driving tube can be again removed, said second sleeve located on said rod, and said driving tube refitted on said rod and driven into said second sleeve to split and flare a lower portion of second sleeve on said first wedge; and said driving tube can be again removed, said second wedge located upon said rod, and said driving tube refitted upon said rod driven against said second wedge to flare a top portion of said second sleeve.

7. The anchor of claim 1 wherein said sleeve comprises a collar therearound to limit the splitting of said shoulder engaging end of said sleeve, and to receive the driving force from said driving tube.

8. Apparatus for earth attachment for resisting tension and compressional forces comprising,

a shaft having a pointed tip to facilitate driving said shaft into the earth,

an outstanding tapered shoulder on said shaft adjacent said pointed end,

a tube of length longer than said shaft, having preformed division lines along at least a portion of its length from an end thereof, whereby when said end of said tube is driven into said shoulder, said tube is split along at least a portion of said division lines and can be flared into the earth to a distance to enable said shaft to protrude above said tube and above ground level, the upper end of said tube being substantially at ground level,

and means on said shaft and means on said tube for receiving anchoring attachment, said means on said shaft resisting tension forces and said means on said tube resisting compression forces.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising a collar surrounding said tube to limit the splitting of said tube along said division lines.

10. An earth anchor, comprising:

a rod, including means for receiving anchor connectron,

a tip connected to an end of said rod having a shoulder extending outwardly from said connection, and a pointed end away from said connection to facilitate driving said rod into the earth,

a sleeve of length substantially less than said rod located adjacent said tip, having a plurality of portions split and outwardly flared by said shoulder to engage the earth, said sleeve engaging said shoulder upon movement of said rod to limit upward movement of said rod,

said sleeve further comprising an upwardly extending split portion, said upwardly extending split portion being outwardly flared to engage the earth to also resist upward motion of said rod.

11. The earth anchor of claim 10 further comprising a collar slideably mounted upon said rod adjacent said sleeve having an outwardly extending shoulder, and further comprising a second sleeve of construction similar to said firstmentioned sleeve, the split portions of said second sleeve being outwardly flared by said shoulder of said collar, said second sleeve also having upwardly extending and outwardly flared split portions, to

resist upward motion of said rod.

Claims

1. A ground anchor comprising: a rod; a pointed tip at an end of said rod to facilitate driving said rod into the ground; a tapered shoulder on said rod; a sleeve of length substantially less than said rod, locateable on said rod whereby an end of said sleeve engages said shoulder, said sleeve being longitudinally scored along at least two paths from said shoulder engaging end to enable said sleeve to be flared along a portion of its length upon being driven into said shoulder whereby said shoulder is constrained by said flared sleeve from upward movement; and a separate and removable driving tube fitable over said rod for driving said rod into the ground prior to the location of said sleeve on said rod, said driving tube being fitable over said rod again subsequent to the location of said sleeve on said rod to engage said sleeve and transmit a driving force to flare said sleeve.

8. Apparatus for earth attachment for resisting tension and compressional forces comprising, a shaft having a pointed tip to facilitate driving said shaft into the earth, an outstanding tapered shoulder on said shaft adjacent said pointed end, a tube of length longer than said shaft, having preformed division lines along at least a portion of its length from an end thereof, whereby when said end of said tube is driven into said shoulder, said tube is split along at least a portion of said division lines and can be flared into the earth to a distance to enable said shaft to protrude above said tube and above ground level, the upper end of said tube being substantially at ground level, and means on said shaft and means on said tube for receiving anchoring attachment, said means on said shaft resisting tension forces and said means on said tube resisting compression forces.

10. An earth anchor, comprising: a rod, including means for receiving anchor connection, a tip connected to an end of said rod having a shoulder extending outwardly from said connection, and a pointed end away from said connection to facilitate driving said rod into the earth, a sleeve of length substantially less than said rod located adjacent said tip, having a plurality of portions split and outwardly flared by said shoulder to engage the earth, said sleeve engaging said shoulder upon movement of said rod to limit upward movement of said rod, said sleeve further comprising an upwardly extending split portion, said upwardly extending split portion being outwardly flared to engage the earth to also resist upward motion of said rod.

11. The earth anchor of claim 10 further comprising a collar slideably mounted upon said rod adjacent said sleeve having an outwardly extending shoulder, and further comprising a second sleeve of construction similar to said firstmentioned sleeve, the split portions of said second sleeve being outwardly flared by said shoulder of said collar, said second sleeve also hAving upwardly extending and outwardly flared split portions, to resist upward motion of said rod.