U.S. patent number 3,830,315 [Application Number 05/329,360] was granted by the patent office on 1974-08-20 for apparatus for implacement of subterranean screw anchors.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Nellie Kirk, Sandra Lee Wiley. Invention is credited to Charles E. Love.
United States Patent |
3,830,315 |
Love |
August 20, 1974 |
APPARATUS FOR IMPLACEMENT OF SUBTERRANEAN SCREW ANCHORS
Abstract
Apparatus for locating a helical screw anchor in the earth
comprising, a pointed helical screw anchor having an interrupted
helical blade thereon terminating at a heel on the upper end of the
blade, and further having an elongated shank extending upwardly
from the blade; a sleeve extending over the shank and having a key
at the lower end thereof laterally engageable with the heel of the
blade to rotate the screw anchor when such sleeve is rotated; a
polygonally cross sectioned rod secured coaxially to the upper end
of the sleeve; a rotary kelly driving element engaging said
polygonally cross sectioned rod for driving the rod in rotation; a
derrick supporting the kelly deiving element and the sleeve; pulley
and winch means on the derrick for applying downward force on the
sleeve and anchor during rotation of the kelly; and means mounted
on the derrick for driving the kelly in rotation.
Inventors: |
Love; Charles E. (Del City,
OK) |
Assignee: |
Wiley; Sandra Lee (Del City,
OK)
Kirk; Nellie (Del City, OK)
|
Family
ID: |
23285028 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/329,360 |
Filed: |
February 5, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
173/26; 52/157;
173/151; 405/259.1; 173/147; 405/244 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E02D
5/801 (20130101); E02D 7/22 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E02D
7/00 (20060101); E02D 5/80 (20060101); E02D
7/22 (20060101); E02d 007/22 () |
Field of
Search: |
;173/26,147,148,151
;175/162,195 ;61/53,68 ;52/157 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Purser; Ernest R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dunlap, Laney, Hessin, Dougherty
& Codding
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Apparatus for implacing a subterranean screw anchor in the earth
comprising:
an elongated sleeve having a key at one end thereof adapted to
drivingly engage a part of a screw anchor to drive the anchor in
rotation, said sleeve key being configured for free sliding
movement upwardly in an axial direction relative to the screw
anchor for disengagement therefrom and thus projecting in an axial
direction from said one end of said sleeve;
a rod projecting coaxially from the sleeve and connected
thereto;
driving means engaging the rod for rotating the rod and sleeve
about their axes; and
means for selectively exerting a force upon said rod and sleeve in
opposite axial directions.
2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve and rod are
a single, integrally formed tubular structural element having a
polygonally shaped external peripheral cross-section.
3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said driving means is a
rotary kelly driving element passing around and drivingly engaging
said rod.
4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for exerting
a force upon said rod and sleeve comprises:
a derrick supporting said driving means;
a winch mounted on said derrick; and
a cable extending from said winch to said rod.
5. In combination:
a pointed screw anchor which includes an elongated shank
terminating in a point, and a blade helically turned about a
portion of the shank adjacent the point, said blade having a
radially extending heel at the end thereof most remote from said
point, and a cutting edge at the other end thereof;
an elongated tubular member slidingly telescoped over said shank on
the opposite side of said blade from said point, said tubular
member having a key formed on an end thereof adjacent said blade
and laterally engaging the heel of said blade for transferring
rotational movement from said tubular member to said screw anchor,
said tubular member being freely slidable upwardly on said shank in
a direction away from said point and blade whereby said tubular
member can be freely withdrawn from said screw anchor when the
blade portion of said screw anchor is buried in the earth;
a derrick adapted to be supported on the ground; and
a rotary driving element mounted on the derrick and engaging an
intermediate portion of said elongated tubular member for driving
said tubular member in rotation.
6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein the end of said tubular
member adjacent said key is cut transversely on a bias inclined to
the longitudinal axis thereof for resting flatly on said blade;
and
wherein said apparatus is further characterized as including means
on said derrick for exerting a force on said tubular member acting
along the axis thereof toward the end thereof at which said key is
located.
7. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said rotary driving
element comprises:
a rotary kelly driving element passing around and engaging said
elongated tubular member;
a mobile vehicle having a power take-off associated therewith;
and
a drive shaft drivingly connected between said rotary kelly driving
element and said power take-off.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to screw type anchor devices used to anchor
travel trailers and house trailers by the use of guy wires and tie
downs, and more particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus
or assembly for placement of screw anchors in the earth. 2. Brief
Description of the Prior Art
With the current widespread acquisition and use of house trailers
and mobile homes, and the employment of such structures, in many
cases, as permanent residences, an experience which has been
encountered in many parts of the country is the susceptibility of
these structures to displacement and occasional overturning by high
winds, which may in some cases approach tornadic velocity. For the
purpose of rendering the structures safe for occupancy in
environments where such high winds may occasionally occur, it has
been a practice to employ guy wires or tie down cables for the
purpose of anchoring such structures to the earth. The anchor
devices which have been used vary in structure, but one of the more
popular and widely used anchor devices is a screw or auger type
anchor which is screwed deeply into the earth and which has a shank
or shaft projecting from the screw portion thereof upwardly to the
surface. The upper end of the shank carries an eye or other
attachment structure to facilitate the attachment to the anchor of
a guy wire, cable or the like.
The screw type anchor devices, as well as other anchor devices
which have been used, have often been difficult to position in the
earth at a depth sufficient to give the desired holding power. In
some instances, these devices have been screwed into the earth by
means of a wrench applied to the top of the shaft or shank
projecting upwardly from the screw portion of the anchor, and the
manual force which is required in such instances has made the
location of the anchor an exhausting and time consuming job. With
other types of buried anchor devices, pounding into the earth with
sledge hammers or similar heavy objects has sometimes been used.
Rotary screwing into the earth and driving has also sometimes been
accomplished with complicated machinery.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved screw anchor device, and
an apparatus which is used for implacement of such screw anchor
device in a deep subterranean location. The apparatus used for
implacing the screw anchor device is relatively inexpensive to
manufacture, is mechanically sturdy and is very easily utilized.
Moreover, the apparatus for implacing the screw anchor device is
capable of quickly screwing the screw anchor device deeply into the
earth in a true vertical direction.
Broadly described, the apparatus of the invention comprises a
pointed helical screw anchor having an interrupted helical blade
thereon which terminates at a heel at the upper end of the blade.
The screw anchor further has an elongated shank which extends
upwardly from the blade. The driving assembly used for implacing
the pointed helical screw anchor at a desired depth in the ground
includes an elongated sleeve which extends over the shank, and has
a key disposed at the lower end thereof and laterally engageable
with the heel of the blade to rotate the screw anchor when the
sleeve is rotated. A polygonally cross sectioned rod is secured
coaxially to the upper end of the elongated sleeve, and in a
preferred embodiment of the invention, is formed integrally with,
or made a part of, the elongated sleeve. A rotary kelly driving
element is provided for engagement with the polygonally cross
sectioned rod for driving the rod in rotation, which rotation, of
course, also results in the rotation of the sleeve. A derrick is
preferably provided for supporting the kelly driving element and
the rod extended through the kelly driving element. Pulley and
winch means are mounted on the derrick for applying a downward
force on the sleeve and anchor during rotation of the kelly driving
element. Means is mounted on the derrick for driving the kelly
driving element in rotation.
An object of the present invention is to provide a simple,
relatively inexpensive apparatus which can be used for implacement
of subterranean screw anchors deeply in the earth in an expeditious
and trouble free manner.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which
can be utilized for more expeditiously screwing screw anchors into
the earth to a desired depth, and then disconnecting the driving or
screwing apparatus from the screw anchor so that the screw anchor
may be immediately connected to a guy wire or cable used for
anchoring a structure positioned at the surface.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description of preferred
embodiments of the invention, when considered in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of the present
invention, showing the manner in which a power source is connected
to the rotary kelly driving element forming a portion of the
invention, and the way in which the rotary kelly driving element is
supported on a derrick structure and drivingly engages the
polygonally cross sectioned rod which slidingly engages the shank
portion of the pointed helical screw anchor.
FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the structure depicted in FIG.
1.
FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the pointed helical screw anchor
forming a portion of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a vertial sectional view of the rotary kelly driving
element housing, showing in elevation the polygonally cross
sectioned rod driven by the rotary kelly driving element, the key
carrying sleeve, and the pointed helical screw anchor, all forming
a portion of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a horizontal, transverse sectional view taken through the
housing which contains the rotary kelly driving element.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lower end portion of a sleeve
forming a portion of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
Referring initially to FIG. 1 of the drawings, shown therein is a
tractor 10 or other suitable source of power used for driving the
apparatus of the present invention. The tractor is provided with a
conventional power take off 12 by which the driving power for the
apparatus of the invention is conveyed through a standard or
conventional power train forming a part of the power take off. A
power shaft 14 extends from a gear box 16 forming a portion of the
apparatus of the present invention, which gear box is mounted upon
cross beams 18 constituting a portion of a vertically extending
derrick 20. The cross beams 18, along with certain laterally
extending frame members 22, form a horizontal platform which is
supported in vertically spaced relation to the ground by a pair of
support or skid elements 24. The derrick 20 further includes a
plurality of upwardly extending stanchions 26 which have mounted at
their convergent upper ends, a winch drum 28 upon which a power
cable 30 is wound by means of a suitable handle 32.
Mounted on the horizontal supporting platform which is formed by
the cross beams 18 and the frame members 22 is a rotary kelly
driving element housing 34. The housing 34 encloses certain gear
elements, hereinafter described, which gear elements drive in
rotation, a rotary kelly driving element, also hereinafter
described. For the purpose of transmitting driving power through
the gear elements located in the housing 34 to the rotary kelly
driving element, a drive chain 36 extends from the power shaft 14
to a sprocket 40 mounted upon a drive shaft 42 which projects
through a suitable bearing and seal into the rotary kelly driving
element housing 34.
The gears and driving elements located within the housing 34 for
the purpose of driving the rotary kelly driving element in rotation
are illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. As there shown, the drive shaft
42 which carries the sprocket 40 externally of the housing 34 has
keyed thereto a pair of thrust bearings 44 and 46, which thrust
bearings are positioned in suitable journals provided within the
housing for supporting the drive shaft therein for rotation with
respect to the housing. The drive shaft 42 further carries over a
central portion thereof, a worm 48 which meshingly engages a worm
gear 50 which is secured around the periphery of a cylindrical
driving sleeve 52 forming a portion of the rotary kelly driving
element, designated generally by reference numeral 54. The
cylindrical driving sleeve 52 further has keyed to the opposite
ends thereof, a pair of thrust bearings 56 and 58 which function to
support and journal the rotary kelly driving element within the
housing 34. The upper and lower ends of the cylindrical driving
sleeve 52 project through openings formed in the bottom and top
closure plates 60 and 62 forming a portion of the housing 34 and
closing the top and bottom sides thereof, respectively. The
cylindrical driving sleeve 52 of the rotary kelly driving element
54 has a bore 63 formed therethrough which is of polygonal
sectional configuration to facilitate keying with a polygonally
cross sectioned rod as hereinafter described, and this bore is
aligned with openings formed in the bottom and top closure
plates.
An elongated, polygonally cross sectioned drive rod 66 projects
through the bore formed through the cylindrical driving sleeve 52
of the kelly driving element 54. The drive rod 66 may be of hollow
or solid bar stock construction and is preferably of a length
approximately equivalent to the depth in the earth at which it is
desired to locate the subterranean screw anchor. At its lower end
below the rotary kelly driving element 54, the polygonally cross
sectioned drive rod 66 is secured to, or formed integrally with, a
sleeve 68 which projects slidingly downwardly over an elongated
shank 70 forming a portion of the pointed helical screw anchor of
the invention, designated generally by reference numeral 72. In a
preferred embodiment of the invention, the sleeve 68 and drive rod
66 are integrally formed, and constitute one single, elongated
tubular element having a polygonal external peripheral cross
sectional configuration which is complementary in configuration to
the bore through the cylindrical driving sleeve 52 of the rotary
kelly driving element 54. The bore through the elongated tubular
element thus constituting both the sleeve 68 and the drive rod 66
is of sufficiently large diameter to slidingly receive the shank 70
of the screw anchor 72. At its upper end, the polygonally cross
sectioned drive rod 66 has secured thereto by any suitable means, a
driving block 73 which carries a ring or eye 75 to which one end of
the power cable 30 is secured.
The screw anchor 72 further includes, in addition to the shank, a
point 74 formed at the lower end thereof, and a helically turned,
interrupted blade 76 secured around the periphery of the shank 70
adjacent its lower end which carries the point 74. At its lower
end, the blade 76 carries an edge which extends radially with
respect to the shank 70 and is sharpened to provide a cutting edge
80. At its upper end, the blade 78 also terminates in a radially
extending heel or edge 82 which is sharpened to facilitate cutting
into the earth. It will be noted in referring to FIG. 4 that the
lower end of the sleeve 68 is cut along a plane which permits the
lower end of the sleeve to bear flatly against the upper surface of
the helically turned interrupted blade 76. The sleeve 68 further
carries a downwardly projecting key 86 which projects from one end
of the sleeve and is positioned for laterally engaging the upper
edge or heel 82 of the blade 76. It will thus be perceived that
when the sleeve 68 is rotated relative to the shank 70, the pointed
helical screw anchor 72 is driven in rotation as a result of the
engagement of the key 86 with the heel or upper edge 82 of the
blade 76.
At its upper end, the elongated shank 70 is threaded around its
outer periphery to facilitate the attachment to this end of the
shank of a threaded hub or socket 88 forming a portion of an eye or
hook 90 to which one end of a guy wire, cable or hauser may be
secured for use in a manner well understood in the art to anchor or
secure a mobile home or other large structure located on the
surface of the ground.
OPERATION
In the operation and use of the present invention, the derrick 20
is positioned at the location where the first screw anchor is to be
implanted in the ground. This will, in most instances, be
relatively near to the structure which is to be anchored or secured
by the use of guy wires or cables. Where the derrick is, as in the
illustrated embodiment, mounted on a mobile vehicle, such as a
tractor 10, which also constitutes the source of power for driving
the apparatus of the invention, the tractor is driven to the
location where the anchor is to be placed at a desired depth in the
earth.
With the derrick 20 positioned in the illustrated upright position,
the polygonally cross sectioned drive rod 66 is passed through the
polygonally cross sectioned bore through the cylindrical driving
sleeve 52 mounted in the housing 34. This procures driving
engagement between the rotary kelly driving element 54 and the
drive rod 66. After passing through the bore in the sleeve 52 of
the rotary kelly driving element 54, the sleeve 68 on the lower end
of the drive rod 66 is passed over the shank 70 of the helical
screw anchor 72. The sleeve 68 is then rotated relative to the
screw anchor 72 until the key 86 bears flatly against the sharp
upper edge or heel 82. The point 74 of the screw anchor 72 is then
rested upon the ground at the precise location where it is desired
to implant the screw anchor in the ground. The power cable 30 is
then reeved around the sheave or pulley 33 and connected through a
clip or buckle to the eye 75 secured to the upper end of the drive
rod 66. It will be perceived from this mounting arrangement shown
in FIG. 1 that rotation of the winch drum 28 can now be effected to
tension the power cable 30 and thus exert a downward force on the
drive rod 66.
As such force is applied through the power cable 30, the power
takeoff 12 from the tractor 10 is energized so that the power shaft
14 is driven in rotation. The chain 36 then drives the sprocket 40
and drive shaft 42 in rotation. This causes the cylindrical driving
sleeve 52 to be driven in rotation, and the rotary movement and
driving force is imparted through the rotary kelly driving element
54 to the polygonally cross sectioned drive rod 66. The drive from
the drive rod 66 is transmitted through the sleeve 68 to the
pointed helical screw anchor 72 by reason of the force transmitted
to the heel 82 from the key 86. The lower or leading edge 80 of the
helical blade 78 then commences to bite into the ground, and once
the blade is substantially covered with earth, the screw anchor 72,
upon continued rotation, will pull itself downwardly in the earth
in the same manner as any screw moves into the material into which
it is being screwed.
At this time, the downward force applied through the power cable 30
can be relieved. Rotation of the helical screw anchor 72 is then
continued by driving the rotary kelly driving element 54 in
rotation until the screw anchor has reached the depth that it
should occupy in the earth to provide the desired anchorage. In
most cases, this will be a depth such that the threaded upper end
portion of the elongated shank 70 is exposed sufficiently to permit
the socket 88 and hook 90 to be threadedly engaged with the
shank.
In some instances, after the helical screw anchor 72 has been
implanted at the desired depth in the earth, the earth will have
caved or filled in around the sleeve 68 to an extent such that it
is difficult to manually lift the sleeve and the drive rod 66
connected thereto out of the ground. In this case, the power cable
may be connected directly from the winch drum 28 to the eye 75 at
the top of the drive rod 66 without passing this cable around the
sheave 35. Then, when the winch drum is rotated to wind up the
power cable 30, an upward force is applied to the drive rod 66 and
sleeve 68 to extricate this structure from the ground.
After securement of the socket 88 and hook 90 to the upper end of
the elongated shank 70, a guy wire or cable can be connected by one
of its ends thereto in a manner well understood in the art and
utilized for anchoring a mobile home or other surface located
structure against displacement by high winds.
Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein
described in order to clearly demonstrate by way of example, the
principles upon which the invention is based, it will be understood
that various changes and innovations in the desired structure can
be effected without departure from the basic principles of the
invention. Changes of this type are therefore deemed to be
circumscribed by the spirit and scope of the invention except as
the same may be necessarily limited by the appended claims or
reasonable equivalents thereof.
* * * * *