U.S. patent application number 15/008837 was filed with the patent office on 2016-08-11 for concrete anchor.
The applicant listed for this patent is Black & Decker Inc.. Invention is credited to Alexander Ameiser, Philipp Mahrenholtz, Jacob Olsen, Thilo Pregartner, Kirk Reimer.
Application Number | 20160230380 15/008837 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55353087 |
Filed Date | 2016-08-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160230380 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mahrenholtz; Philipp ; et
al. |
August 11, 2016 |
CONCRETE ANCHOR
Abstract
The invention covers an anchor system for securing an object to
a work-piece such as a concrete surface. The system includes an
anchor portion with a tubular member extending from an anchor head.
The tubular member includes a wall and the wall including a first
interior surface. The tubular member also includes a second
interior surface having an enlarged diameter with respect to the
first interior surface. The system further includes a support
portion including a base portion and a shaft portion extending from
the base portion. The shaft portion includes a first exterior
surface and a second exterior surface of a greater diameter than
the first exterior surface and the base portion further includes a
central portion. The support portion includes a through passage. A
distal end of the shaft portion is received in the interior surface
of the wall and a fastener is disposed in the through passage.
Inventors: |
Mahrenholtz; Philipp;
(Frankfurt, DE) ; Pregartner; Thilo; (Wiesbaden,
DE) ; Reimer; Kirk; (Brewster, NY) ; Olsen;
Jacob; (Roselle, IL) ; Ameiser; Alexander;
(Taunusstein, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Black & Decker Inc. |
New Britain |
CT |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55353087 |
Appl. No.: |
15/008837 |
Filed: |
January 28, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62114725 |
Feb 11, 2015 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B 1/4121 20130101;
E04G 15/04 20130101 |
International
Class: |
E04B 1/41 20060101
E04B001/41 |
Claims
1. An anchor system securable to a work-piece comprising: An anchor
portion including a tubular member extending from an anchor head,
the tubular member including a wall and the wall including a first
interior surface, the tubular member including a second interior
surface having an enlarged diameter with respect to the first
interior surface; A support portion including a base portion and a
shaft portion extending from the base portion, the shaft portion
including a first exterior surface and a second exterior surface of
a greater diameter than the first exterior surface, the base
portion further including a central portion and the support portion
including a through passage; a distal end of the shaft portion
received in the interior surface of the wall, a fastener disposed
in the through passage and including a drive end and a fastening
end, the drive end extending from the distal end a predetermined
distance, wherein at least a portion of one of the first and the
second interior surfaces including threads, and wherein the system
includes a first pre-set configuration and a second set
configuration and the anchor portion travels telescopically
relative to the support potion to transition from the first
configuration to the second configuration, and a lower portion of
the anchor head able to contact the drive end to drive the fastener
during the travel to extend the fastening end into the work-piece,
and wherein the telescopic travel includes sufficient interaction
between the second interior and second exterior surfaces to prevent
passage of concrete to the second interior surface in the set
configuration.
2. The Anchor system of claim 1, wherein the first interior surface
is closer to the head portion than the second interior surface.
3. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein the one of the first and
the second interior surfaces is the first interior surface.
4. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein the central portion
includes a skirt extending therefrom.
5. The anchor system of claim 3, wherein the first exterior surface
contacts the threads to guide the telescopic travel.
6. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein the one of the first and
the second interior surfaces is the second interior surface.
7. The anchor system of claim 6, wherein the second exterior
surface contacts the threads to guide the telescopic travel.
8. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein the one of the first and
second interior surfaces is at least a portion of the first and a
portion of the second.
9. The anchor system of claim 8, wherein the first and second
exterior surfaces contact respective threads to guide the
telescopic travel.
10. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein the base portion further
includes an upwardly extending ridge and wherein the ridge contacts
an outer surface of the tubular member when the anchor system is in
the set configuration.
11. The anchor system of claim 10, wherein the ridge is an arcuate
ridge.
12. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein a distal end of tubular
portion 120 is received in seat.
13. The anchor system of claim 12, wherein the seat has a u-shaped
cross section.
14. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein the anchor portion is
made of a metal material.
15. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein the support portion is
made of a flexible material.
16. The anchor system of claim 1, wherein the support portion
includes a skirt.
17. The anchor system of claim 16, wherein the skirt extends
radially outward and downward from the central portion.
18. The anchor system of claim 16, wherein the central portion and
the skirt contact the work-piece in the set configuration.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The following application hereby incorporates by reference
and derives priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.
62/114,725, filed on Feb. 11, 2015, now pending.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Concrete structures are formed by providing a work-piece or
form structure that defines the outer boundaries of the concrete
structure to be formed. Concrete is then poured into the form and
stays in the form for the prescribed setting period of time. The
form can outline a vertical structure such as a wall or a
horizontal structure such as a floor or slab. The form is sometimes
removed after concrete setting or can be left in the case of
structures where it is intended to be a part of the finished
structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is sometimes desirable after concrete setting and after
the form or work-piece is removed to be able to securely connect
certain other structures (e.g., a railing, a post, a threaded
hanger, etc.) to the concrete structure. One well known method of
achieving such a connection is to imbed an anchor having a
connector in the concrete before it sets so that after setting the
embedded connector can be used for easy secure connection and
anchoring.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The anchor system of the present invention provides an
innovative solution to the need for making secure connections to
poured concrete structures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of an
anchor system of the present invention.
[0006] FIG. 2 shows an elevation view of the anchor system of FIG.
1.
[0007] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor system of
FIG. 1.
[0008] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor system of
FIG. 1 positioned to be set to a form.
[0009] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor system of
FIG. 1 set in a form.
[0010] FIG. 6A shows a cross-section of the anchor portion of the
anchor system of FIG. 1 set in concrete and aligned to receive a
first diameter male threaded anchor fastener.
[0011] FIG. 6B shows a cross-section of the anchor portion of the
anchor system of FIG. 1 set in concrete and aligned to receive a
second diameter male threaded anchor fastener.
[0012] FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of second embodiment of an
anchor system of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 8 shows an elevation view of the anchor system of FIG.
7.
[0014] FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor system of
FIG. 7.
[0015] FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor system of
FIG. 7 positioned to be set to a form.
[0016] FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor system of
FIG. 7 set in a form.
[0017] FIG. 12A shows a cross-section of the anchor portion of the
anchor system of FIG. 7 set in concrete and aligned to receive a
first diameter male threaded anchor fastener.
[0018] FIG. 12B shows a cross-section of the anchor portion of the
anchor system of FIG. 7 set in concrete and aligned to receive a
second diameter male threaded anchor fastener.
[0019] FIG. 13 shows a top view of the support portion of FIG.
7.
[0020] FIG. 14 shows an elevation view of the support portion of
FIG. 7.
[0021] FIG. 15 shows an elevation view of the support portion of
FIG. 7 highlighting certain aspects of the base.
[0022] FIG. 16 shows an enlarged view of the highlighted portions
of FIG. 15.
[0023] FIG. 17 shows an elevation view of an embodiment of the
support portion of FIG. 1 including a threaded sealing portion.
[0024] FIG. 18 shows a perspective view of the support portion of
FIG. 17.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] The present invention includes an anchor system securable to
a work-piece comprising an anchor portion and a support portion.
The anchor portion may include a tubular member extending from an
anchor head. The tubular member may include a wall and the wall may
include a first interior surface. The tubular member may include a
second interior surface having an enlarged diameter with respect to
the first interior surface.
[0026] The support portion may include a base portion and a shaft
portion extending from the base portion. The shaft portion may
include a first exterior surface and a second exterior surface of a
greater diameter than the first exterior surface. The base portion
may further include a central portion and the support portion may
include a through passage.
[0027] A distal end of the shaft portion is received in the
interior surface of the wall. Furthermore, a fastener is disposed
in the through passage and includes a drive end and a fastening
end. The drive end extending from the distal end a predetermined
distance. At least a portion of one of the first and second
interior surfaces includes threads. In addition, the system
includes a first pre-set configuration and a second set
configuration and the anchor portion travels telescopically
relative to the support potion along a central axis to transition
from the first configuration to the second configuration.
[0028] A lower portion of the anchor head is able to contact the
drive end to drive the fastener during the travel to extend the
fastening end into the work-piece. Further, the telescopic travel
includes sufficient interaction between the second interior and
second exterior surfaces to prevent ingress of concrete to the
second interior surface in the set configuration.
[0029] The anchor system of the present invention will now be
described in detail in conjunction with FIGS. 1-7. FIG. 1 shows a
perspective view of an anchor system 10 of the present invention.
Anchor System 10 includes an anchor portion 100 and a support
portion 200.
[0030] Anchor portion 100 includes a head portion 110 and a
cylindrical or tubular portion 120 which is elongated and extends
from head portion 110. In other words, head portion 110 is
connected to an upper portion of tubular portion 120 and can have a
flanged arrangement relative to tubular portion 120. In any case,
head portion 110 is sized and shaped to receive an impact from a
tool such as a hammer and is sized and shaped to transfer load on
anchor portion 100 to the concrete. Its flanged arrangement is such
that head portion 110 can extend radially past an outermost radial
extremity of tubular portion 120. Tubular portion 120 includes a
cylindrical or tubular wall 124 having an internal or interior
cylindrical surface 128 that defines a generally elongated internal
volumetric space.
[0031] The cylindrical interior surface 128 can include multiple
interior stepped surfaces 130, 132 of different diameter.
Therefore, the thickness of cylindrical wall 124 may be reduced as
the diameter of the stepped surfaces increases. The stepped
surfaces 130, 132 can be directly adjacent one another or
non-threaded space may exist between steps. Female threads 134, 136
respectively may be formed on at least a portion of at least one of
stepped interior surfaces 130, 132 and may be formed on two or more
interior surfaces. The threads may extend up to the entire length
of one or all of the stepped surfaces or may extend just a small
radial length thereof. The cylindrical surface 130, 132 and
threaded portions can increase in diameter the farther away they
are from head portion 110 or decrease the closer they are to head
portion 110.
[0032] Furthermore, the cylindrical stepped interior surfaces 130,
132 include at least an upper reduced diameter surface 130 that is
reduced relative to a lower enlarged diameter surface 132.
[0033] As mentioned above Anchor system 10 also includes a support
portion 200. Support portion 200 includes a shaft portion 240
connected to a base portion 220. Shaft portion 240 extends upward
from base portion 220 as shown in FIG. 3 and terminates in a distal
end 252. Shaft portion 240 includes a cylindrical or tubular wall
242. Tubular wall 242 includes an exterior surface 243 that can
have multiple stepped diameter surfaces in the longitudinal
direction. The exterior surface 243 includes at least a lower
increased diameter exterior surface portion 248 relative to an
upper decreased diameter exterior surface portion 244. Outer
surface steps 244, 248 may decrease in diameter longitudinally as
shaft portion 240 extends away from base portion 220. Shaft wall
242 also includes an inner wall surface defining a longitudinal
through passage 260.
[0034] Base portion 220 can include a central portion 256 to which
the shaft portion 240 is connected. Central portion 256 also
includes a through passage. Through passage 260 extend entirely
through a longitudinal centerline of support portion 200. Base
portion 220 can be molded to the shaft portion 240 as one
continuous piece or can be attached as two pieces.
[0035] Central portion 256 includes a lowermost surface 257. A
skirt 262 may extend radially outward and downward from central
portion 256. Skirt 262 can be made of a flexible material and can
extend downward longitudinally past lowermost surface 257.
Therefore, when lower surface 257 of base portion 220 is urged into
contact with a work-piece 400 such as a wooden form (see FIG. 4),
it may first contact skirt 262 which flexibly relaxes and deforms
until lowermost surface 257 also contacts work-piece 400. Skirt 262
may therefore be biased against work-piece 400 when both are in
contact with work-piece 400 to create an active seal against
concrete getting between skirt 262 and work-piece 400. Flexible
skirt 262 may also deform to comply with minor inconsistencies in
the surface of work-piece 400 to which anchor system 10 is fastened
via nail or screw 300. Longitudinal through passage 260 may receive
a fastener 300 such as a nail or a screw.
[0036] To assemble anchor system 10, distal end 252 is inserted
into tubular portion 120 of anchor member 100. First exterior
surface 244 of shaft portion 240 is received by first interior
surface 130. Furthermore, second exterior surface 248 is received
by second interior surface 132 of tubular member 120. Specifically,
a diameter of first exterior surface 244 is slightly smaller than
the thread tip diameter of first threads 134 of first interior
surface 130 of tubular portion 120. In addition, second exterior
surface 248 is slightly smaller than the thread tip diameter of
second thread 136 of second interior surface 132. Three or more
corresponding step portions on tubular portion 120 and
correspondingly on shaft portion 240 may also be employed in a
similar manner.
[0037] Each step 130, 132 of tubular portion 120 of anchor portion
100 therefore slides telescopically in contact with its
corresponding stepped shaft portion 244, 248 so that a longitudinal
center line of shaft portion 240 is aligned or collinear with a
longitudinal centerline of tubular member 120.
[0038] The lowermost increased diameter exterior surface 248 of
shaft portion 240 contacts a corresponding lowermost interior
surface 132 of tubular portion 120 in a sufficiently snug manner to
prevent concrete from entering the tubular portion before the
concrete sets. Specifically, each different shaft diameter 244, 248
slides telescopically into a corresponding tubular space of tubular
member 120.
[0039] There are two configurations of anchor system 10. In the
first pre-set configuration, (shown in FIG. 3) a fastener 300
(e.g., a nail or screw) is received in the central or through
passage 260 of shaft 240. An extension portion of the nail
proximate a drive end 310 of fastener 300 extends above a distal
end 252 of shaft portion 240. The extension portion is disposed
within the tubular space in first interior surface 130 and with the
head of fastener 300 in contact with a lower portion 112 of head
portion 110.
[0040] Also in the first pre-set configuration, as discussed above
the first interior surface 130 telescopically receives first
exterior surface 244. In addition, second interior surface 132 may
also receive a portion of second exterior surface 248 for increased
alignment guidance. Furthermore, in a certain configuration just a
portion of second exterior portion 248 of shaft portion 240 may be
in telescopic contact with second interior surface 132 without
initial telescopic contact between First exterior surface 244 and
first interior surface 130. In other words in a certain
configuration, second interior surface 132 may overlap second
exterior surface 248 before distal end 252 enters first interior
surface 130.
[0041] Anchor system 10 is reconfigurable from the pre-set
condition of FIGS. 3 and 4 to the set configuration shown in FIG. 5
by applying an impact force (e.g., by a hammer) to the top of head
portion 110 of anchor portion 100. The various interior threaded
stepped portions of the anchor portion 130, 132 then telescopically
slide longitudinally along the corresponding exterior surfaces of
shaft portion 240. Ultimately, distal end 252 of shaft potion 240
containing a drive end 310 of fastener 300 contacts a lower portion
of head portion 110. In any case, a sufficient length of second
interior surface 132 must have telescopically slid over a
sufficient portion of second exterior surface 248 that a seal
against ingress of setting concrete is established. In one
configuration, during impact relative telescopic movement between
anchor portion 100 and support portion 200 stops when lower portion
112 of head portion 110 contacts distal end 252 (possibly via drive
end 310). In other configurations, such relative movement may be
stopped when stop step 138 of tubular portion 120 engages another
stop step 246 of shaft portion 240.
[0042] Furthermore, during impact fastener 300 is driven through
support portion 200 extending from central portion 256 and into the
form or work-piece 400 to set the anchor system 10. Fastener 300
may either be smooth or profiled (e.g., ringed nail). Ring nails
provide a strong grip to the work-piece and improves robustness
prior to and during concrete placing. The telescopic repositioning
during impact is such that second interior surface 132 relates to
second exterior surface 248 sufficiently snuggly that concrete
material cannot enter between second threads 136 and second
exterior surface 248 of tubular portion 120 after concrete pouring
and before concrete setting when set concrete surrounds anchor
system 10. In other words skirt 262 is capable of absorbing energy
due to an inadvertent or accidental blow by a worker while
maintaining the intended set configuration of the anchor 10.
[0043] After setting, support portion 220 is removed to expose
first and second threads 134, 136 on the interior of tubular
portion 120 as shown in FIG. 6A and 6B. To do so, an installer may
grasp support portion 200 (e.g., by fastener 300), central portion
256, skirt 262, or by any other structure of support portion 200
exposed in the set concrete. FIG. 6 also shows how multiple
diameter threaded rods or bolts 600 and 610 may be aligned with
first or second threads 134, 136 according to guide lines 602 and
612 respectively to be securely anchored to anchor portion 100.
After setting, flexible skirt 262 has at least one additional
benefit. In the case where an anchor is hit from the side after
installation, support member 200 via flexible skirt 262 is able to
urge anchor member 100 back to an originally intended orthogonal,
angled or otherwise aligned configuration with respect work-piece
400.
[0044] FIGS. 7-16 show another embodiment of the anchor system of
the present invention. Corresponding reference numbers from the
embodiment of FIGS. 1-6 apply to the embodiment of FIGS. 7-16. In
addition, base portion 220 includes a rim or ridge 259 thereon
which defines a seat 258 into which a distal end 122 of tubular
portion 120 rests and engages in the set configuration shown in
FIG. 11. Ridge 259 projects upward from base portion 220 to engage
an outer surface of tubular portion 120. As with the embodiment of
FIGS. 1-6, the engagement between distal end 122 and seat 258
functions to prevent ingress of concrete to interior surface 128.
In addition, various materials (e.g., rubber or foam) may be
provided at second threads 136, at, inside, or within a lower end
of tubular portion 120 and for interaction with second exterior
surface 248 in order to prevent concrete from entering second
thread 136. The material can be in the form of a ring.
Alternatively, a ring or threads of such material can be placed on
second exterior surface 248 for frictional interaction with threads
136. FIGS. 17 and 18 show such a ring structure in a threaded form
around an exterior surface 248 for frictional interaction with a
female structure supported from a distal end of tubular portion
120. Frictional interaction with the threaded and female portions
deter ingress of concrete as discussed above.
[0045] The present system discusses a two step threaded member.
However, three or more steps may be utilized. The disclosure above
also applies to three or more steps where the upper and lower steps
are described as above, but one or more steps are added between the
above described upper and lower steps. Furthermore, for each
threaded step there is a corresponding shaft step that is
telescopically received in each threaded step. Moreover, horizontal
cross sections of the present invention as shown are generally
circular, but may be polygonal or of another shape.
* * * * *