US795659A - Expanding point for bearing piles. - Google Patents

Description

, PATENTED JULY 25, 1905.

H. R. STANFORD. EXPANDING POINT FOR BEARING FILES.

APPLIOATION FILED MABHS, 1905.

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HOMER REED STANFORD, OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

EXPANDING POINT FOR BEARING PILES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1905.

Application filed March 3, 1905- Serial No. 248,339-

To all whom, it 712,614 concern: 1

Be it known that I, HOMER REED STAN- FORD, of the United States Navy, a citizen of the United States, temporarily residing at Pensacola, in the county of Escambia and State of Florida, have invented new and useful Improvements in Expanding Points-for Bearing Piles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to piles; and it consists more particularly in a pile-point provided with pivoted levers or wings which remain in a substantially vertical position while the pile is being driven and which can be swung out into a horizontal position when the pile has reached the desired depth, whereby a broad and solid base-plate is provided for the pile to rest upon.

It is well known that in many kinds of soil it is impossible with a pile of any reasonable length to reach a stratum of rock or hard soil, and in forming foundations in soils of such character it is consequently necessary to use piles of-eXtraordinary length, and even then {the bearing power of each pile is relatively It is the object of my invention to enable relatively short piles to be used to form foundations inloose and soft soils which will at the same time have a very high bearing power.

. In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one form of my invention as applied to a wooden pile but it will be readily understood that the pile-point which constitutes my invention is equally applicable to piles of other material, such as metal or concrete.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention applied to a wooden pile, the wings being shown closed in full lines and open in dottedlines. Fig. 2 is a plan view of my improved pile-point. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the wings detached. Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 3.

In the views, 1 represents the lower end of a wooden pile, and 2 represents the pointcasting, which is provided with a socket 3, in which the reduced end 4 of the .pile fits and in which it may be secured in any suitable way. The point-casting 2, which is circular at its upper portion where it surrounds the reduced portion 3 of the pile, is formed square at its lower end, and from this lower end a pair of lugs 6 7 project downwardly, the same being provided with apertures 8 for the pivotpin 9 of the wings 10, to be hereinafter described. Also projecting downwardly from the bottom 5 of the point-casting 2, midway between the lugs 6 7, is a lug 12, which extends downwardly for a considerably greater distance than the lugs 6 and 7 and the sides of which are beveled to correspond to conjugate bevels formed on the Wings, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The wings 10, each of which consists, preferably, of a casting reinforced by ribs, are both pivoted upon the pin 9, and are consequently adapted to swing in the same vertical plane from the perpendicular position which they occupy while the pile is being driven to the horizontal osition, in which they constitute a bearinglate for the pile to rest upon. Of course the dimensions of these wings will depend upon the kind of soil in which the pile is to be driven and also upon the amount of weight which the pile is to carry. Since these wings are exact duplicates of each other, it will only be necessary to describe one of them in detail.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the wing has two rearwardly-projecting lugs or arms 13, in

which areformed the bearings 14 for the pivotpin 9, and that thefront portion of the wing, rom which the saidarms project, is or may be of a width equal to the diameter of the pile, the upper surface being cored out at 15, if desired, in order to reduce the weight of the wing. The wing is also provided on its under side with a central recess 16, which is adapted to fit over the central lug 12, hereinbefore mentioned, and the lower front end of the wing is beveled, as shown at 17, so that when the wings are in their closed position they present a prism-shaped recess which be.

comes filled with a plug of the material in which the pile is driven, the said plug acting as a wedge to open the wings when they are released from the holding means, which I will now describe. 7

The extreme front end of each wing is reduced, as shown at 18, and when the pile is in position for use a securing-band, such as shown in Fig. 1 as consisting of two wroughtiron straps 19, provided at their ends with eyes 20, through which eyebolts 21 are passed,

is provided. Wires 22 are attached to the eyes of said bolts and extend upward for the length of the pile,so that when the pile has been driven nearly to its final position the said bolts can be withdrawn from the eyes of the straps 19 by pulling on the said wires 22, and thereupon by driving the pile a short distance farther downward the wings are opened by the wedge action above referred to, only they occupy the horizontal position shown in Fig. 2 and in Fig. 1 in dotted lines. When in this position, the wings abut, as shown, against the bottom 5 of the point-casting and also interlock with each other by shoulders 23 of one engaging the shoulders 24 of the other. It will thus be seen that no strain is put upon the pivot-pin 9, but that the pile rests securely on what is practically a solid base-plate, which plate may be as large as may be found necessary to sustain the load desired. A hole, such as shown in dotted lines at 25 in Fig. 3, may be cored through the wings, so as to permit sand or other soil which might become pocketed in the wing and prevent the shoulder 23 from coming into contact with the shoulder 24, to escape. After the wings have been released by the withdrawal of the eyebolts 21 the further driving of the pile, as has been stated, causes the separation of the said wings, leaving the center lug 12 to serve as a guiding-point for the pile while the wings are forced by the resistance of the soil into the horizontal position.

The term casting as used in the foregoing specification and in the, annexed claims is not intended to be a limitation to the employment of a point constructed of cast-iron, since obviously other metals, either cast or forged, might be employed.

While the embodiment of my invention just described is the preferred form for use in connection with wooden piles, I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction shown, but believe my invention to be broadly new as expressed in the following claims.

What I claim is 1. A pile-point comprising pivoted wings and detachable means to normally hold said wings folded together.

2. A pile-point comprising a casting adapted to be attached to a pile, wings pivoted to said casting and means to hold said wings folded together so as to lie within the area of said casting while the pile is being driven.

8. A pile-point comprising a casting adapted to be attached to a pile, wings pivoted to said casting, detachable means to hold said wings folded together so as to lie within the area of said casting while the pile is being driven, and means operable from the surface of the ground to release said detachable means when the pile has nearly reached its final position whereby the final driving of the pile will cause said wings to open.

4. The combination with a pile, of a point therefor comprising a casting, wings pivoted to said casting, means to hold said wings pro jectin downwardly While the pile is driven to wit 'n a short distance of its final position, and connections running the length of the pile to detach said holding means, whereby the final driving of the pile causes said wings to swing open, whereby they form an expanded base for the support of the pile.

5. A ile-point comprising a casting adapted to t over the end of a pile and having downwardly-projecting lugs, a pair of wings pivoted between said lugs, means to maintain said wings normally folded together, and means to release said holding means, whereby the final driving of the pile causes said wings to swing into an open position.

6. A pile-point comprising a casting adapted to be attached to the end of a pile and provided with three parallel downwardly-projecting lugs, a pair of wings pivoted between the two exterior lugs and provided with recesses to inclose the central lug when said wings are folded downwardly, means to maintain said wings in said position while the pile is being driven, the further final driving of the pile causing said wings to open.

7 A pile-p oint carrying pivotally suspended therefrom a plurality of wings, means to maintain said wings in the said position during the driving of the pile and means operable from' the surface of the ground to release said wings so as to permit the further driving of the pile to its final position to spread the wings in an open position.

8. A pile-point comprising a casting, a pair of wings pivoted thereto so as to swing outwardly therefrom in opposite directions, de-

tachable means to hold said wings folded,

the adjacent lower ends of said wings being beveled so that when said holding means is detached further driving of the point will cause said wings to swing apart, and means on said wings to interlock when they reach a horizontal position.

9. The combination with a pile, of a pointcasting therefor, wings pivoted to said casting, detachable means to hold said wings folded together so as to project downwardly from the pile and to lie within the area of said casting while the pile is being driven, and a connection running from said detachable means to the surface of the ground, whereby when the pile has nearly reached its final position, sai means can be detached by force exerted on said connection and the wings be caused to open by the further driving'of the pile to its final position.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HOMER REED STANFORD. Witnesses:

HOWARD A. CooMBs, J. B. ROMAN.

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