US2947149A - Pile with self-spreading anchors - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 2, 1960 l.. J. BARKLEY, JR

PILE: WITH sELFsPREADING ANcHoRs 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 1l, 1958 Fig? Lowe/l J- Bar/r/eg? Jr.

INV

TOR.

Aug. 2g 1960 L. J. BARKLEY, JR 2,947,149

PILE WITH SELF-SPREADING ANCHORS Filed Feb.911, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig/0 J6 \\\\\6% 2,947,149 Patented Aug. 2, 196i) PILE- sELF-SPREADnsG ANonons Lowell J. Barkley, Jr., Box 127, Matador, Tex.

i FiledFeb. 11, 1958, Ser. No. 714,528

3 Claims. (Cl. I61u53) The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in structural devices which may be broadly referred to as a pile. However, and in the instant disclosure, twoV embodiments of the over-all concept are revealed and for convenience in distinction o'ne embodiment has to do with a so-called footing of a selfspreading type, while the other embodimentv is differentiated as a self-locking anchor.

Statedv otherwise the invention in one of its aspectshas to do with a novel `footing characterized by self-spreading arms functioning as stabilizers and anchors. The construction is such that the' cooperatingV components work on a forced principle affording the userl maximum load bearing properties in any and all types of earth and' equivalent formations and foundations. The improvements are such that the construction is possessed of advantages over conventional types of footings in that (1) no preliminary drilling is' necessary to determine pairv of broad-surfaced stabilizing and anchoringarms arranged ondiametr'ically. opposite sides of said member and having upper ends hingedly joined to saidmem'ber, and'lower ends no'rmally depending and projecting below the lower end of the tubular member but terminating in a plane' just short of the apex of said point so that pressurized earth crowding and wedging itself between the tapering surfaces of the point and said depending lower ends will force and spread the arms radially, outwardly, and'upwardly to assume an expanded stabilizing and anchoring position relative to' said member, rretainingv means carried by the tubular member and arms, 'respec tively', and serving to maintain the arms in Ycontracted position alongside the intervening tubular` member, whereby when said means is released at a predetermined time the arms are allowed to spread and assume their desired expanded stabilizing and anchoring positiol'r.lr 'i Novelty is predicated on the utilization of arms which are provided with lengthwise rigidifying ribs. When the arms are collapsed or folded alongsidel the hublike tubular member the upper ends of the ribs are normally at rightV angles to thev member. These upper ends serve as abutments which', when they come to rest against the tubular member provides stop and limit the upward swing of the expanding arms.

More specically, novelty `in addition ispredicated on a construction revealed wherein the retaining means embodies a keeper pin. This pin is remote controlled by a pull cablefwhich is connected at itslower end to the upper end "ofthepin: 'I'h'e penetrating point which as beforestated is removable -is'employed toi p'eritac` 2 cess to behad tothe pin' and to make sure that the pin is locked before the device is driven into the ground.

Inlthe aforementioned embodiment identiiied as the self-locking anchor a weighted cup-like slide 'or inner tubular member is mounted in the bore of the outer'tublar member. 'Ihis cooperates with special detents on the hinged ends of the exp'ansible and contractible anchor'- arms andrwhen it' drops down to its intended locking position the armsA are held substantially immoVably" in their outstanding anchoring positions.

Other objects, features and advantages' will become more readily apparent from the following' description and the accompanying' illustrative drawings. y n

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are' employed toA designate' like parts throughout the views:

Fig.l 1 is a perspective view showing the aforementioned self-spreading footing with the stabilizing and anchoring elements or arms in their folded ready-for-use'position.

Fig. 2 is a' view in section and elevation taken on the plane of the line 2--2 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows. v

Fig. 3 is a cross-section' on a smaller scale taken on the horizo'ntal line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view on the approximate scale of Fig. 2 Y

showing the cooperation and relationship of parts' when the device has been embedded forV anchorage in a founda# tion, the ground, for example.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the construction seen-in Fig. 4 out of they ground and on a smaller scale.

Fig. 6 is a View in elevation similar to Fig.' 1 and' showing the modification to be known as the selflocking anchor.

Fig. 7 is a View on a slightly larger scale and similar to Fig. 2 and taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6. l

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section on a smaller scaleon the line 8 8' of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 4 and showing theV selflocking anchor in use.

Fig. 10 is a top plan view on a smaller scale with'tle anchor removed from the ground.

Reference is made first to' the form of the' pile called the self-spreading footing in Figs. l to 5 inclusive. Witli refernce in particular to Fig. 4 the outer tubular member, a length of tubing of prerequisite dimensions, is denoted by the numeral 12 and is open at the upper end 14 open at the lower end but internally screw-threadedhere as at 16 to accommodate the screw-threaded end of the plug portion'lS' of the penetrating point 20. This` is. a solid conical member which plugs removably into and closes the lower end of the tubular' member. Just above the plug portion and the lower screw-threaded end the tubular member is providedV with circumferentially.spaced equidistant openings or holes 22 for accommodation and clearance of cooperating lugs 24 having keeper holes 26. Each lug is fixed to a median portion of its-companion anchoringY arm 28. There are four of these arms and they are circumferentially spaced and each is a atrec tangular plate-like form and the upper end is hingedly connected at 30'to the intended spot on the tubular member. The hinge point in comparison to the len'gtl of the arm isv such'that the lower end portion 32 dei pends or projectsk below the plug portion 18 but" terminates short of the penetrating apex 34 as best shown iiiT the collapsed or folded arrangement seen inFigL 2. On the other exterior or upper side of each arm th'erefisaA lengthwiserig'idifying rib 36. The upper, end of the ribv` 38 is normally atright angles to the plate and consequently the tubular member when the arm is collapsed or-fol'ded.` This upper end provides an abutment Whiclf in turn functions as a stop as seen in Fig'. vvhen'it' comes to rest against the tubular member; This is" the posi?v and in this manner locks the four arms 28 in their folded ready-to-descend position.

In the placement of the footing described one uses the standard pile driver and the standard pile driving procedure with the exception that it is not necessary to drill a hole in order to drive the footing into the ground. To

' place the footing, all that is necessary to set the penetrating point on the desired place and start the driving operation. Obviously, when the footing is driven to a predetermined .point of penetration the operator attaches a tag line to the cable and to rig. YThe lift or pull on the cable 42 withdraws the locking or retaining pin 40 and the lugs 24 are thenfree to release the arms 28 for action. By continuing the driving operation the arms are spread radially out and move outwardly and upwardly. As the driving operation is continued the arms spread until the shoulders or abutments 38 come into contact with the tubular member 12 thus retaining the arms in an open or spread position and thus giving a desired refusal load bearmg.

As before mentioned the penetrating point 20 functions also as a closing plug on the lower end of the tubular member permitting access to be had to the lugs 24 and keeper pin 40 to assist in setting the pin and insuring that the arms are properly locked before the driving operation takes place.

With reference to Figs. l to l inclusive and the selflocking anchor it will be seen that the principal parts of the same are already shown and described. Briefly, the tubular member 44 has anchoring and stabilizing arms (fou-r) as before described. These arms are here denoted by the numeral 46 and the upper end is hinged in place at 48. The lugs 50 with their keeper holes 52 operate through the clearance holes 54 just above the screwed-in closing plug and penetrating point 56. It will be noticed that at the hinge points vertical slots 58 are provided to accommodate the projectible and retractable segmental flanges 60. These llanges constitute detents that operate back and forth through the slots as will be evident by comparing Figs. 7 and 9 with each other. The aforementioned weighted cup-like slide or inner tubular member is denoted at 64 and it is normally held in an elevated position by the retracted detents in the manner seen in Fig. 7. When the arms swing out andup to anchoring positions and the detents 60 are withdrawn from the slots 58 this cup-like member drops down on the stop pins 66 and covers the slots 58 thus locking the anchoring arms in the spread position shown. The arched or U-shaped bar 68 (Fig. 9) `has its end portions riveted in place at 70 and has a central opening upwardly and through which the pull cable 72 operates. The cable also operates through an opening 74 in the bottom of the cup or member 64 where it has the keeper pin 76 attached thereto so that the pin may be operated in the manner already described and again shown in Fig. 7.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly al1 suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A pile comprising anA elongated tubular member adapted to be driven into the ground, a conical ground penetrating point removably plugged into the leading end of said member and adapted to be forcibly driven into the ground with the aid of a conventional pile driver, at least one pair of broad-surfaced stabilizing and anchoring arms arranged on diametrically opposite sides of said member and having upper ends hingedly joined to said member, and lower ends normally depending and projecting below the lower end of the tubular member but terminating in a plane just short of the apex of said point so Y that pressurized earth crowding and wedging itself between the tapering surfaces of the point and said depending lower ends will force and spread the arms radially, outwardly, and upwardly to assume an expanded stabilizing and anchoring position relative to said member, said member being provided just above the lower end thereof with a plurality of openings, each arm having a lug xed thereon at right angles thereto and projecting into the bore of the tubular member by way of one of said openings, the inner projecting end of each lug having a vertical keeper hole, the adjacent endsof said lugs overlapping one another and the keeper holes being vertically alined with each other, a keeper pin passing downwardly and releasably through said keeper holes, and a remote controlled pull cable connected at a lower end thereof to said pin so that the pin may be withdrawn from the keeper holes at the proper time, said penetrating point being removable to allow access to be had to said lugs and pin.

2. The structure dened in claim l, and wherein said arms are provided with lengthwise rigidifying ribs having upper end portions normally at right angles to said member, said upper ends serving as abutments which, when they come to rest against the tubular member, provide stops and limit the upward swing of the arms.

3. A footing with self-spreading anchoring means comprising a vertically elongated tubular member adapted to be driven by a pile driver into a foundation, the ground for example, said tubular member being open at its upper and lower ends, the lower end being internally screw-threaded, a closure for the lower end comprising a screw plug screwed into said screw-threaded lower end and depending therefrom, the portion of the plug depending below the lower end of said tubular member being conical and pointed and constituting a ground penetrating point, said tubular member above said screw-threaded lower end being provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced equidistant openings, a pluralityof circumferentially spaced, vertical stabilizing and anchoring arms hingedly secured at their upper ends to the tubular member above' the openings and folded alongside of said tubular member in their normal descending relationship, said arms extending beyond the lower end of said tubular member to be opened by the earth displaced by said plug, the lower end portion of each arm being provided with a lateral lug and said lug projecting through one of said openings into the bore of the tubular member, each lug having a keeper hole therein, the several lugs being overlapped and the keeper holes being in vertical alignment with each other, a keeper pin passing downwardly and releasably through the aligned keeper holes, a remote control cable connected at its lower end to said pin and extending upwardly through the tubular member for ready and controlled operation, said tubular member being provided adjacent the arm hinges with vertical slots, the hinged end of each arm having an integrally laterally disposed segmental shaped flange constituting a detent operable through one of the slots, said detents Awhen projecting into the bore of the tubular member providing shoulders, a weighted inner tubular member slidable in said bore and normally resting atop said detents and adapted to pass downwardly through the bore to a position wherein it covers the slots and locks the detents in arm-retaining position, said inner tubular member including a centrally apertu'ed closed end slidably accommodat- References Cited in the le of this patent AUNITED STATES PATENTS 1,497,629

Baker June 10, 1924V Mechlin Nov. 21, 1933 Cappel June 18, 1940 Ferris Mar, 11, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 23, 1933 Germany A Nov. 12, 1953

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