U.S. patent application number 14/882644 was filed with the patent office on 2016-10-13 for concrete anchor.
The applicant listed for this patent is MEYER OSTROBROD. Invention is credited to MEYER OSTROBROD.
Application Number | 20160296774 14/882644 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51523333 |
Filed Date | 2016-10-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160296774 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
OSTROBROD; MEYER |
October 13, 2016 |
CONCRETE ANCHOR
Abstract
A concrete anchor for securing the lanyard of a workman's
harness to a fixed position on a concrete surface includes a
cylindrical housing having an outer wall with openings therein and
a rod that extends above the housing to which a harness can be
attached. Hard metal balls within the housing are associated with
each opening and are dimensioned so that a portion of each ball can
pass through each opening but the entire ball can not pass
therethrough. A pair of cones within the housing move the balls
radially outwardly as the cones are moved upwardly by the rod which
is spring biased upwardly. A visual marker carried by the rod
normally lies within the housing but is visible from outside of the
housing if said rod has moved up by a predetermined amount. This
gives an indication that the anchor has been used.
Inventors: |
OSTROBROD; MEYER;
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
OSTROBROD; MEYER |
PHILADELPHIA |
PA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
51523333 |
Appl. No.: |
14/882644 |
Filed: |
November 25, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13804997 |
Mar 14, 2013 |
9163651 |
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14882644 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16B 7/1463 20130101;
F16B 13/0816 20130101; F16B 13/0891 20130101; F16B 13/08 20130101;
E04G 21/3204 20130101; A62B 35/0068 20130101; F16B 2013/10
20130101; F16B 13/045 20130101; E04G 21/3276 20130101; F16B 7/025
20130101; F16B 13/0833 20130101; E04G 21/329 20130101; F16B 13/0858
20130101; F16B 13/0883 20130101; F16B 7/1409 20130101; A62B 35/0006
20130101; F16B 21/165 20130101; F16B 13/0825 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A62B 35/00 20060101
A62B035/00; E04G 21/32 20060101 E04G021/32; F16B 7/14 20060101
F16B007/14; F16B 21/16 20060101 F16B021/16; F16B 13/08 20060101
F16B013/08; F16B 7/02 20060101 F16B007/02 |
Claims
1. A concrete anchor for securing the lanyard of a workman's
harness to a fixed position on a concrete surface wherein said
concrete surface has a cylindrically shaped bore formed therein,
said anchor comprising: a substantially cylindrically shaped
housing having a substantially cylindrically shaped outer wall and
a substantially hollow interior, said housing having a length
defined by a lower end and an upper end, the outer dimensions of
said housing being such as to fit within said bore in said concrete
surface; a first set of openings in said outer wall, said first set
of openings being angularly spaced from each other but being
located the same axial distance from said lower end of said
housing; a first set of hard metal balls within said hollow
interior of said housing, the number of balls being equal to the
number of said first set of openings with one ball associated with
each opening, the diameter of each ball being slightly greater than
the size of said openings whereby a portion of each ball can pass
through each opening but the entire ball can not pass therethrough;
a first cone within said housing, said first cone being in contact
with said first set of balls so as to be capable of moving them
radially outwardly, said first cone being vertically moveable
between a lower position whereby said first balls lie substantially
within said housing and a plurality of vertical positions wherein
said balls are forced radially outwardly so as to extend into said
first set of openings; biasing means within said housing biasing
said cone upwardly to bias said balls outwardly; a rod connected to
the top of said first cone and extending upwardly through and out
of said upper end of said cylinder, and a loop at the upper end of
said rod to which said lanyard can be attached, whereby if a
sufficient upward force is applied to said loop, said first cone is
moved upwardly to force said first set of balls into said first
openings.
2. The concrete anchor as claimed in claim 1 including a visual
marker carried by said rod, said visual marker normally lying
within said housing but being visible from outside of said housing
if said rod has moved up by a predetermined amount.
3. The concrete anchor as claimed in claim 1 including a second set
of openings formed in said outer wall of said housing, said second
openings being in axial alignment with each other but being
angularly spaced from each other, said second openings being
axially spaced from said first set of openings and a second set of
hard metal balls associated with said second set of openings with
one ball being positioned within each of said second openings.
4. The concrete anchor as claimed in claim 3 including a second
cone within said housing, said second cone being connected to said
rod and being arranged to move said second set of balls outwardly
as said rod is moved upwardly.
5. The concrete anchor as claimed in claim 4 wherein said second
cone is axially spaced from said first cone.
6. The concrete anchor as claimed in claim 5 including a including
a visual marker carried by said rod, said visual marker normally
lying within said housing but being visible from outside of said
housing if said rod has moved up by a predetermined amount.
7. The concrete anchor as claimed in claim 5 wherein said first and
second cones are connected together by a screw thread.
8. The concrete anchor as claimed in claim 5 wherein said rod is
connected to one of said first and second cones by a screw
thread.
9. The concrete anchor as claimed in claim 3 wherein said openings
in said second set of openings are radially offset from said
opinings in said first set of openings.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is directed toward a concrete anchor
and, more particularly, toward a concrete anchor that is adapted to
be connected the lanyard of a harness of a construction worker to
help prevent injury to the worker in the event of a fall.
[0002] During the construction or repair of buildings, bridges,
road overpasses and other structures, workmen of various
specialties frequently have to work at high elevations. To prevent
injuries from falls, these workmen are provided with a harness and
lanyard. Frequently, the lanyard is connected to a fall safety
device such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,123 which issued to
the present Applicant and which controls the decent and stops a
worker from falling. In any event, the lanyard or the fall safety
device must be secured to a fixed part of the structure. This can
be directly to part of the iron work or to a horizontal life line
such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,727 which also issued to the
present Applicant.
[0003] There are, however, times when iron work or the like is not
available and the lanyard or lifeline must be secured directly to a
concrete slab. The concrete may be a floor or wall or even a
concrete ceiling. To accomplish this, concrete anchors have been
proposed and marketed in the past. To Applicant's knowledge,
however, none has been satisfactory.
[0004] U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,729,821; 7,011,281 and 7,357,363 to Guthrie
et al, for example, describe an expansion bolt that can be used in
the construction industry and which is intended to be inserted into
a bore formed in a concrete slab. The anchor shown therein includes
a pair of semi-cylindrical outer chucks that are forced apart by an
inner cone when a pulling force is applied to the cone. It has been
found, however, that the patented anchor is not always reliable and
can slip out of the bore if sufficient force is applied.
[0005] A similar arrangement is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 7,258,316
to Reeves. This patent also shows a pair of semi-cylindrical outer
chucks forced apart by an inner conical or tapered member. As with
the Guthrie et al. device, the Reeves' anchor can slip if
sufficient pulling force is applied.
[0006] Steel balls that are forced outwardly by an internal cone or
cam when the cam is axially moved have also been known. However,
these function primarily as quick release locking pins rather than
anchors. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,789 to Chausse et
al. and U.S. Pat. No. 7,736,109 to Schiemer, II. To Applicant's
knowledge, devices such as these have never been designed to
function as concrete anchors.
[0007] Because the prior art has not proven to be satisfactory, a
need exists for a concrete anchor that can be quickly installed but
which will safely and effectively hold in place so as to protect a
worker from injury in the event of a fall.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention is designed to overcome the
deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. Accordingly, it is
an object of the invention to provide a concrete anchor that is
easy to install.
[0009] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
concrete anchor that will securely hold a worker and prevent injury
in the event of a fall.
[0010] It is a still further object of the present invention to
provide a concrete anchor that includes an indicator thereon which
will advise the user if the anchor had previously been used to
actually prevent a workman from falling.
[0011] In accordance with the illustrative embodiments
demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention,
there is provided a concrete anchor for securing the lanyard of a
workman's harness to a fixed position on a concrete surface which
includes a cylindrical housing having an outer wall with openings
therein and a rod that extends above the housing to which a harness
can be attached. Hard metal balls within the housing are associated
with each opening and are dimensioned so that a portion of each
ball can pass through each opening but the entire ball can not pass
therethrough. A pair of cones within the housing move the balls
radially outwardly as the cones are moved upwardly by the rod which
is spring biased upwardly. A visual marker carried by the rod
normally lies within the housing but is visible from outside of the
housing if said rod has moved up by a predetermined amount. This
gives an indication that the anchor has been used to prevent a fall
so that it can be refurbished or replaced.
[0012] Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention
will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of
a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is
shown in the accompanying drawing one form which is presently
preferred; it being understood that the invention is not intended
to be limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities
shown.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a concrete anchor of
the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the anchor shown in
FIG. 1 in a first position;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2
but showing the anchor in a second position;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken through the lines 4-4
of FIG. 2, and
[0018] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken through the lines 5-5
of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0019] Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like
reference numerals have been used throughout the various figures to
designate like elements, there is shown in FIG. 1 a concrete anchor
constructed in accordance with the principles of the present
invention and designated generally as 10. The anchor 10 is
comprised of a substantially cylindrically shaped housing 12 having
a substantially cylindrically shaped outer wall 14 and a
substantially hollow interior 16. The housing 12 has a length
defined by a lower end 18 and an upper end 20. As should be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art, the outer dimensions of the
housing 12 are such as to fit within a similarly shaped bore in the
surface of a concrete slab.
[0020] The wall 14 has a plurality of openings therein such as
shown at 22a and 22b and at 24a and 24b. In the preferred
embodiment of the invention, there are six openings 22a-22f and six
openings 24a-24f. The first set of six openings 22a-22f are
arranged around the housing 12 so as to be substantially equally
angularly spaced around the same but all at the same axial distance
from the lower end 18 of the housing. Similarly, the second set of
six openings 24a-24f are arranged around the housing but axially
offset from the first set of openings. Again, the second set of
openings are all located at the same axial distance from the lower
end 18 of the housing but are closer to the end 18 than the first
set of openings.
[0021] A first set of balls 26a-26f are arranged within the
interior 16 of the housing 12 and are positioned within the
openings 22a-22f and a second set of balls 28a-28f are arranged
within the housing 12 and are positioned with the second set of
openings 24a-24f. The balls are made of a hard metal, preferably
stainless steel. The diameter of each of the balls is slightly
greater than the size of the openings. As a result, a substantial
portion of each ball can pass through its respective opening but
the entire ball can not pass therethrough.
[0022] First and second cones 30 and 32 are located within the
housing 12. The first cone 30 is in contact with the first set of
balls 26a-26f so as to be capable of camming or moving them
radially outwardly as the cone 30 moves vertically upwardly. The
second cone 30 is in contact with the second set of balls 28a-28f
so as to be capable of camming or moving them radially outwardly as
the cone 32 moves vertically upwardly. The cones 30 and 32 are
preferably connected together by having the upper end 34 of the
cone 32 threaded into the lower end 36 of the cone 30 so that the
two cones always move in unison.
[0023] As shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cones are moveable
between a lower position (FIG. 3) whereby the balls lie
substantially within the housing and a plurality of vertical
positions wherein said balls are forced radially outwardly so as to
extend into the openings and out of the housing (FIG. 2). A spring
38 located within the housing 12 biases the cones 30 and 32
upwardly so as to bias the balls outwardly.
[0024] An elongated rod 40 is connected to the top of the first
cone 30 and extends upwardly through and out of the upper end 20 of
the cylinder 12. Preferably, the upper end 42 of the rod 40 is
threaded into a piston 44 that has an outer dimension that is just
less than the inner dimension of the cylinder 12. The piston 44
slides easily in the cylinder and acts essentially as an extension
of the rod 40.
[0025] Attached to the upper end of the piston-rod combination, is
a loop 46 to which a lanyard from a safety harness can be attached.
The upper end 20 of the housing 12 includes a finger grip 48, the
purpose of which will become apparent. Furthermore, the outer
surface of the piston 44 is provided with a visual marker such as
shown at 50. The visual marker may be a contrasting color applied
to the surface or markings or the like etched into or otherwise
formed thereon. The visual marker 50 is normally not visible as it
is normally located within the interior of the housing 12 in either
of the two normal positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 but may become
visible as explained below.
[0026] In use, the concrete anchor 10 is inserted into a bore
drilled in a concrete slab. This is done by holding the finger grip
48 while pushing down on the top of the piston 44 against the force
of the spring 38. This removes the outward bias on the balls
26a-26f and 28a-28f allowing them to move inwardly. The anchor 10
can then easily be inserted into the bore. Once inserted, the
piston and finger grip are released and the balls are forced
outwardly by the cones and spring to retain the anchor in the bore.
Once the anchor is in place in the concrete slab, a workman's
lanyard is attached to the loop 46.
[0027] In the event of a fall, the lanyard from the worker's safety
harness will pull with significant force upwardly on the piston 44
and rod 40. This upward force will move the cones 30 and 32
upwardly to force the balls outwardly where they will engage the
walls of the concrete ball and prevent the anchor from being
dislodged from the bore. The upward movement of the rod and piston,
however, will cause them to be higher than their normal position
shown in FIG. 2. This will expose the visual marker 50 which
obviously signals anyone seeing the anchor that a fall had occurred
and that the anchor should be repaired or refurbished before it is
used again.
[0028] To remove the anchor 10 from the concrete bore, all that is
necessary is to again grasp the finger grip 48 while pushing down
on the piston 44. As pointed out above, this removes the outward
bias on the balls, allowing them to move away from the walls of the
bore and releasing the anchor. If the visual indicator is visible
when the anchor is removed, it must be repaired or refurbished or
replaced. If, however, the visual indicator is not visible, the
anchor can be use again.
[0029] The present invention may be embodied in other specific
forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes
thereof and accordingly, reference should be made to the appended
claims rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the
scope of the invention.
* * * * *