GB2321910A

GB2321910A - Ground anchor

Info

Publication number: GB2321910A
Application number: GB9702308A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael John Dinsdale
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-02-05
Filing date: 1997-02-05
Publication date: 1998-08-12
Also published as: GB9702308D0

Abstract

An anchor device for insertion in the ground (20) comprising a small plurality of elongate members (12, 13, 14) and a holding member (17), the holding member being formed with bores, one for each elongate member, with the bores being at angles to one another so as to hold the elongate members when inserted therein at such relative angles. The upper ends of the elongate members are provided with rings (21) pivotally secured thereto, which can be secured together by a padlock or by a wire inserted therethrough and then locked. The holding member may be formed with a ring or other connecting means (25) to which another object, such as a lockable container, may be secured.

Description

ANCHOR DEVICE This invention relates to an anchor device.

There are many circumstances in which it would be useful to provide a secure anchor into the ground, using a device which is readily portable, easily insertable and easily removable after use and which can then be reused. An object of the present invention is to provide such a device.

Accordingly the present invention provides an anchor device comprising a small plurality of elongate members, preferably having lower spiked or pointed ends, and a holding member, the holding member being formed with bores, one for each elongate member, with the bores being at angles to one another so as to hold the elongate members when inserted therein at such relative angles.

In use, with the holding member near the ground, the spiked ends of the elongate members are inserted through the respective bores and the elongate elements then pushed or driven, in turn, into the ground at said respective angles to one another until their free upper ends just extend above the holding member. The free ends are then secured together so that the elongate elements cannot be individually withdrawn until the anchor device is disassembled.

Because the elongate elements are driven into the ground at angles, their lower ends are spread out from one another over a considerable area of ground and are held at this relative relationship to one another. The device is therefore securely anchored into the ground and will resist considerable pull force.

Preferably the free upper ends of the elongate elements are formed integrally with rings, loops or other connecting means for easily connecting these ends together in the anchored position. The device may include locking means such as a padlock or the holding member could incorporate a wire, chain or the like adapted to lock to the holding device after insertion through the connecting means of the free ends of the elongate members and any other device which it is desired to secure to the anchor device.

The holding member may itself be formed with a ring or other connecting means for use in securing objects thereto.

Such an anchor device provides a secure anchor even in material such as snow or sand. It can be used for securing objects such as sail boards, bicycles, plant, equipment or tools to it or may be used by climbers or explorers for securing equipment to the earth's surface. It may be necessary to drill holes in the ground or equivalent, e.g. a cliff face.

While the device will preferably have three elongate elements adapted to be equiangularly spaced relative to one another and to make an angle between 20 and 700 with the ground surface in use, the device could incorporate two or four elongate members.

Preferably the holding member is a disc but could be a solid cube or regular tetrahedron or a tube or other regular shape formed with equiangularly spaced bores. It could consist of two rigidly spaced plates with pairs of holes aligned with one another at said angles, such an anchor device using three elongate elements of 380 millimetre length and 11 millimetre diameter with a holding element in the form of a disc of 45 millimetre outer diameter and of 13 mm thickness and three bores extending between its opposite faces, of a size to just receive the elongate elements, when inserted in ground of reasonable holding capacity will resist the force that the average man can exert to pull it out of the ground. The size can obviously be increased where greater strength is required.

In one preferred form the anchor device, incorporating locking means, is packed in a lockable case so that the owner can set up the anchor device and leave the locked case, including his valuables, secured to the anchor device. This may be particularly useful for example to a swimmer or windsurfer who can leave his valuables secure on the beach.

One embodiment of anchor device, in accordance with the invention, will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, of which: Figure t is a plan view of a holding device, Figure 2 is a side view of the anchor device during the process of being anchored in the ground, Figure 3 is a side view of the anchor device inserted and secured in the ground just prior to locking, Figure 4 is a partial plan view of the inserted anchor device, and Figure 5 is a plan view on a smaller scale, similar to Figure 4 but showing some accessories.

The device comprises three elongate elements 12, 13, 14 in this example of circular section each having a spiked or pointed end 15 and an upper free end 16. A holding member 17 is in the form of a solid aluminium or other metal material disc, formed with three bores 18 extending between opposite faces and each arranged to just receive an elongate element as a sliding fit therein. Because the device is solid each bore opens through a hole 19A in the top face and a hole 19B in the bottom face, the pair of holes defining each end of the bore being aligned at an angle to the vertical, preferably in the range 30 to 40" to the vertical, and the bores being spaced 1200 from one another in the horizontal plane. The upper holes 19A are a similar distance apart as the lower holes 19B, but are aligned so as not to be one above the other.

As seen in Figure 2 in order to set up the device, the holding member is placed on or near the ground 20 with the three elongate elements inserted in respective bores and having their spike ends contacting the ground. The elements are then pushed or driven into the ground in turn until their upper ends are adjacent to the holding member but just protruding from the bores, and in close proximity to one another.

The upper ends of the elements are provided with rings 21 pivotally secured thereto, which can be secured together by a padlock 22 or as seen in Figure 5 by a wire 23 inserted therethrough and then locked. The wire may be builtinto the holding member so that it is spring loaded to withdraw into the holding member and has one end firmly fixed therein while the other end is provided with means for locking it to the holding member after it has been pulled therefrom and inserted through the rings and in or around another object to be secured to the anchor device. As seen in Figure 4 the holding member may also be formed with a ring or other connecting means 25 by which an object, such as a lockable container 26, may be secured to the anchor device.

Because the lower ends are located far apart from one another in the anchored position of Figure 3, the device will resist considerable pulling force. Once the upper ends are disconnected from one another the elongate elements can be individually withdrawn so that the device can be used again.

Although the elements have been shown as of circular section they may of course be of other sections, particularly so that they will not be rotatable in the bores.

Claims

1. An anchor device comprising a small plurality of elongate members and a holding member, the holding member being formed with bores, one for each elongate member, with the bores being at angles to one another so as to hold the elongate members when inserted therein at such relative angles.

2. An anchor device according to claim 1 including lockable securing means for preventing the elongate members from being withdrawn from the bores.

3. An anchor device according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which there are from two to four elongate elements.

4. An anchor device according to any of claims 1 to 3 in which the elongate elements have pointed lower ends.

5. An anchor device according to any of claims 1 to 4 in which each of the elongate members has a ring or aperture adjacent its upper end through which a securing means can be inserted.

6. An anchor device according to claim 5 including a flexible elongate securing means insertable through said rings or apertures to hold the upper ends of the elongate members together when fully inserted through the bores.

7. An anchor device according to any of claims 1 to 6 in which the holding member is a solid member with the bores opening to its top and bottom surfaces.

8. An anchor device according to any of claims 1 to 7 including three elongate members and in which the bores of the holding member are equangularly spaced from one another.

9. A locking device according to any of claims 1 to 8 in which the bores are angled so that the elongate members extend outwardly from the holding member at angles in the range 200 to 700 to the ground surface in use.

10. An anchor device according to claim 9 in which the bores are angled so that the elongate members extend outwardly from the holding member at angles in the range 300 to 400 to the ground surface in use.

11. An anchor device according to any of claims 1 to 10 including a lockable case in which valuables can be stored.

1 2. An anchor device substantially as described herein with reference to or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.