DE20120618U1 - Device for introducing a torque into a floor anchor - Google Patents

Description

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21 December 2001 Krinner GmbH K36757GBM LE/My/beh

Device for introducing a torque into a ground anchor

The invention relates to a device for introducing a torque into a ground anchor, which is provided with a screw thread on its area facing the ground and is designed at its opposite end, which is the upper end when inserted, as a sleeve-shaped receiving area for receiving a rod-shaped object, such as a pile or post, with a counterpart adapted to the receiving area for exerting the torque, wherein the receiving area and counterpart form the associated halves of a positively locking, separable coupling.

Such a device is known from DE 200 00 184 Ul.

Floor anchors are known in numerous designs. An example of this is described in the applicant's German utility model G 93 13 258.1 Ul. A floor anchor of this type has a conical fastening section that is provided with a thread, to which a point is connected at the bottom.

Above the fastening section, there is another conical section, to which the cylindrical receiving area for the rod-shaped object is connected at the top. To screw the ground anchor into the ground, a tool is placed on the receiving area. The receiving area usually has two holes facing each other, through which a handle can be inserted to turn the ground anchor. When screwing in the ground anchor, the fastening section inevitably loosens the surrounding soil somewhat, but only to a very small extent because the cone of the fastening section is very slim. The conical section that follows then immediately compacts the loosened soil again.

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so that the ground anchor is well and permanently seated in the ground. If the ground anchor needs to be removed, it can be unscrewed from the ground by turning it in the opposite direction.

The disadvantage of the known ground anchors of this type is that the anchor cannot be screwed into the ground in the manner described so far that its upper face is flush with the surface of the ground. The handle bar cannot be screwed into the ground that far. In many cases, however, it is disadvantageous if a screwed-in ground anchor protrudes above the surface of the ground. This is the case, for example, if the rod-shaped objects to be inserted are only to be set up temporarily, as is the case with posts for drying laundry. If the post is removed from the ground anchor and the protruding ground anchor is not noticed, people can trip over it or injure themselves in some other way; it is also possible that lawnmowers or other objects could be damaged.

In order to counteract this disadvantage, the generic device mentioned at the beginning has already been proposed according to DE 200 00 184 Ul. A counterpart to the ground anchor is provided in the form of a metal sleeve, which is placed on the metal anchor from above and overlaps it from the outside. In order for the metal sleeve to be able to take the ground anchor with it in the manner of a positively locking, separable coupling, in the receiving area of the ground anchor, protrusions are pressed out from the inside to the outside, which can engage in T-shaped recesses provided on the metal sleeve. The insertion takes place in an axial direction, in that the protrusions slide into the middle bar of the T and are locked by means of the cross bar of the T. In this way, the known ground anchor can be screwed deeper into the ground until its upper face is flush with the surface of the soil. The

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Metal sleeve is uncoupled from the ground anchor and the rod-shaped object can be inserted into the ground anchor.

The known device has the disadvantage that the metal sleeve attached from the outside further increases the diameter of the ground anchor. This means that the soil is unnecessarily loosened. Firstly, the enlarged diameter of the metal sleeve displaces the surrounding soil. However, when the metal sleeve is removed, an annular gap remains into which the compacted soil gradually migrates back. This leads to the soil becoming loose. It must be pointed out that screwing a ground anchor into the soil can only be compared to a normal screw connection between two parts made of solid materials to a very limited extent. The soil has the unpleasant property of loosening after the ground anchor has been screwed in, and it should also be noted that the closer the soil is to the surface, the lower it is in general.

The positive coupling provided for in the known device by means of protrusions and depressions is inexpensive to produce, but cannot be particularly smooth. It must also be handled very precisely, and this is made more difficult by the fact that the flat, trough-shaped contact between the protrusion and the depression can easily become blocked by sand, small stones and other foreign bodies.

The invention is therefore based on the object of creating a device of the type mentioned at the outset which is easy to handle, forms a robust and insensitive mechanism, can also be manufactured inexpensively and, above all, prevents loosening of the soil with great reliability.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that the counterpart is designed to engage in the receiving area and in the receiving area at least one center point directed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the floor anchor

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driver and a driving opening adapted to the driver and open towards the upper front side of the receiving area, whereby either the counterpart has the driver and the wall of the receiving area has the driving opening or the counterpart has the driving opening and the wall of the receiving area has the driver.

Above all, the engagement inside the receiving area ensures that the outer diameter of the ground anchor is not increased by the counterpart. This reliably prevents the surrounding soil from becoming loose. Since the driver is directed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ground anchor and engages in a driver opening, clear engagement conditions result. If its components are correctly dimensioned, the coupling formed in this way can transmit large torques and yet is easy to couple and uncouple. Its sensitivity to blocking by surrounding soil and foreign bodies is very low.

A first practical embodiment consists in the driver being a pin that protrudes laterally from the counterpart and the driver opening being a slot with parallel longitudinal edges that extends in the longitudinal direction of the floor anchor, is located in the wall of the receiving area and extends from its upper front side. In the simplest case, there is a single pin that engages in a single longitudinal slot in the receiving area of the floor anchor. The torque that can be transmitted in this way is sufficient for many applications. The counterpart is only held in the axial direction at one point by the pin that protrudes laterally, and only in one direction. However, the skill of the operators will be sufficient for this in many cases.

A further embodiment consists in providing two pins protruding laterally from the counterpart as drivers and two driving openings adapted to these in the wall of the receiving area, of which

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one is designed as a through hole and the other as a slot with parallel longitudinal edges extending from the upper end face of the receiving area. In this design, the counterpart is inserted into the receiving area of the floor anchor with a tilting movement. First, one pin is inserted into the through hole and then the entire counterpart is guided by a swiveling movement, with the other pin being inserted into the slot extending from the upper end face of the receiving area. This allows larger torques to be transmitted and the counterpart is securely supported in the axial direction, at least downwards, by means of the two pins.

The last design can be further improved by the through hole extending in the circumferential direction of the floor anchor over several tenon widths and by the slot at its operational lower end having a widening in the manner of an undercut extending in the circumferential direction of the floor anchor to both sides, such that the engaging tenon can be locked in the longitudinal direction of the floor anchor. In this design too, the counterpart is inserted into the receiving area of the floor anchor with a tilting movement. By slightly twisting the already inserted counterpart, the counterpart is then locked in the axial direction, so that it is reliably connected axially to the floor anchor in the tensile and compressive directions. This design is particularly advantageous when the floor anchors are unscrewed again. In this case, the operator tends to pull upwards when turning the floor anchor.

In the case of particularly large torques to be transmitted, the design can be such that two or more pins protruding laterally from the counterpart are provided as drivers and that the driving openings in the wall of the receiving area, adapted to the pins, are all designed as slots which extend from the upper front side of the receiving area.

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measuring area, have parallel longitudinal edges and are provided at their operational lower end with a widening in the form of an undercut extending in the circumferential direction of the floor anchor to both sides, such that the engaging pins can be locked in the longitudinal direction of the floor anchor. This design therefore provides a multiple coupling with various pins and slots, whereby the advantage of secure locking in both longitudinal directions of the floor anchor is retained.

In all of the above cases, the cones may have a cross-section in the shape of a circle or a rectangle.

In many cases it will be possible for the lower end of the rod-shaped object to be set up to be designed as a counterpart. For example, parasols that often have to be set up or folded up in gardens or garden restaurants depending on the weather can have the corresponding pins on their lower ends to work together with a ground anchor. The ground anchor is screwed into the ground by turning the rod-shaped object, but of course remains in the ground when the rod-shaped object is temporarily not in use.

However, if special fastening devices are required, it is more convenient for the counterpart to be designed as a key for applying the torque by hand.

The counterpart can have the shape of a cylindrical tube in which there are two opposite cross holes to accommodate a handle bar.

The invention also enables motorized actuation in a particularly simple manner. For this purpose, the counterpart is designed as an intermediate sleeve, one end of which serves as a coupling half for a rotationally fixed connection with the receiving area.

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area of the ground anchor and the other end is designed as a coupling half for a rotationally fixed connection to a motor drive device. Couplings for connecting a rotating sleeve to the usual home and trade machines are common practice and therefore do not need to be described in more detail.

Overall, the invention enables the screwing of ground anchors into the ground in a particularly advantageous manner until they are flush with the ground surface. This largely ensures that the ground anchors do not become loose even after prolonged use in the ground.' ¹ *

Example

The invention will now be explained in more detail using exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. The following is shown in the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a device according to the invention in side view.

Fig. 2 is another side view rotated by 90°, with the upper

Area of the ground anchor is shown partially in section.

Fig. 3 shows a first embodiment of the coupling between the receiving area of the ground anchor and the adapted counterpart.

Fig. 4 shows the longitudinal section AB according to Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a modified embodiment in which the Fig. 4 corresponds

the representation.

In Fig. 6, a modified embodiment is shown in a representation corresponding to the section CD of Fig. 3.

Fig. 1 shows a typical floor anchor 1. It consists of a receiving area 2 into which a rod-shaped part, for example

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for example a mast or post. No details are shown here as to how the rod-shaped part is to be fastened in the receiving area 2 and how it can be adjusted if necessary. Such designs are state of the art. A conical section 3 and a fastening section 4 with a screw thread 5 adjoin the receiving area 2 at the bottom. The ground anchor ends at a point 6. Two holes 7 are provided in the holding area 2, which are normally used to insert a handle bar or the like so that the ground anchor can be rotated.

The surface of the soil 9 is designated with 8. If the ground anchor 1 is turned, e.g. by means of a handle that is inserted through the holes 7, and pressure is immediately applied from top to bottom, the ground anchor can be turned into the soil. It can also be removed from the soil again by turning in the opposite direction.

In many cases it is desirable for the ground anchor to be as flush as possible with the surface 8 of the soil 9. This is the case, for example, when rod-shaped objects, e.g. posts for attaching clotheslines or parasols, are only to be set up temporarily. If the ground anchor, which is not always needed, protrudes above the surface 8 of the soil 9, it creates a tripping hazard that could injure people. It is also possible that lawnmowers or garden tools could be damaged by the receiving area 2 of the ground anchor 1 that protrudes above the surface 8. As can be seen from Fig. 1 and 2, the ground anchor 1 cannot be screwed all the way into the soil using a handle that is pushed through the holes 7.

The device according to the invention provides a remedy here. The screwing is carried out by means of the special key 10, which in the case shown forms the counterpart. The counterpart or the key 10 is dimensioned such that it

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can be inserted into the receiving area 2 of the ground anchor 1. The key 10 is designed, for example, in the form of a cylindrical tube 11, from which a pin 14a projects radially transversely and laterally, which in this case forms the driver. When the key 10 is inserted into the receiving area 2, the driver engages in the driving opening located in the wall 15 of the receiving area 2. The receiving area 2 is tubular and thus has a wall 15 in which the slot 16 serving as the driving opening is formed. The slot 16 is open towards the front of the receiving area and has parallel longitudinal edges that are rounded towards the bottom. The pin 14a and the slot 16 in the wall 15 of the receiving area 2 together form a separable, positive-locking coupling.

The cylindrical tube 11 of the key 10 has opposing transverse bores 12 through which a handle bar 13 is inserted (Fig. 2).

To screw in the ground anchor, the key is placed on the holding area 2 in such a way that the pin 14a slides into the slot 16. As can easily be seen, the ground anchor can be screwed into the ground 9 until the upper face of the receiving area 2 is flush with the surface 8 of the ground 9. Then the key 10 only needs to be pulled upwards and the rod-shaped object can be inserted from above into the receiving area 2 of the ground anchor 1. Special fastening devices can be used for this purpose, but these are state of the art and are therefore not shown in more detail. The ground anchor screwed in in this way is flush with the surface 8 of the ground 9 and thus cannot pose a tripping hazard or any other danger to people and tools. If necessary, the ground anchor can also be easily unscrewed from the ground 9 in the same way using the key 10.

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Even in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the device according to the invention is very usable in practice, even if only a single pin 14a interacts with a single slot 16.

Nevertheless, screwing in requires some skill, and excessively high torques cannot be transmitted with the single pin 14a.

The design according to Fig. 3 is therefore intended for higher demands. Here, the key 10 has two pins 14b and 14c which are arranged opposite one another. In the receiving area 2 of the floor anchor 1, a through hole 17a is provided and opposite this a slot 18a. The slot 18a again extends with parallel longitudinal edges from the upper end face of the receiving area 2 downwards. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the key 10 can easily be brought into its engagement position by first hooking the pin 14b into the through hole 17a by means of a slight tilting movement and then inserting the pin 14c into the slot 18a. When the key 10 is inserted into the receiving area 2, the pins 14b and 14c rest on the bottom of the through hole 17a and the slot 18a, so that even persons without great technical skill can easily operate it without there being a risk that the key could tilt or jam in the receiving area.

In a first embodiment, the extent of the through hole 17a and the slot 18a in the circumferential direction is approximately the same as that of the pins 14b and 14c. This is evident for the through hole 17a from Fig. 4, which is a representation of the section along the line AB in Fig. 3. The pin 14b must be imagined extending outwards behind the representation plane according to Fig. 4.
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The operational reliability of the device according to the invention and its operability can be further improved by implementing the designs shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. 5 is a representation corresponding to Fig. 4, with the pin 14b - seen from the inside - already located in the through hole 17b. As can be seen from Fig. 5, the extension of the through hole 17b in the circumferential direction of the floor anchor is greater than the extension of the pin 14b in the circumferential direction. The through hole 17b can already be referred to as a transverse slot in this case.

The representation of Fig. 6 corresponding to the section line CD in Fig. 3 shows that here the slot 18b has a widening 19 in the form of an undercut at its lower end, whereby in the selected representation the pin 14c is already located behind a shoulder formed by the undercut. It is immediately apparent that although the pin 14c can be inserted through the upper part of the slot 18b, it is then possible to rotate the slots 14b and 14c in the through hole 17b or the widening 19, so that locking in the axial direction is present. This design is particularly advantageous when the floor anchors are unscrewed again, because the operator will then strive to pull upwards on the floor anchor. At the same time, the operability of the device is significantly improved because it is no longer possible to jam or tilt the key in the receiving area while turning.

Finally, it is also possible to equip the device only with slots such as those shown in Fig. 6.

All the described embodiments can be realized with tenons of circular or rectangular cross-section.

The counterpart of the device according to the invention does not always have to be designed as a key for exerting the torque by hand.

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The counterpart can, for example, be formed by the lower end of the rod-shaped object to be set up. This is particularly advantageous if the rod-shaped objects to be set up are to be attached or removed frequently without having to remove the associated ground anchors. This can be the case, for example, with parasols in gardens or garden restaurants.

Finally, it is also possible to design the counterpart as an intermediate coupling for a motor-driven drive device. It then forms an intermediate sleeve, one end of which serves as a coupling half for a rotationally fixed connection to the receiving area of the ground anchor, as described above. The opposite end of the intermediate sleeve can be designed as a coupling half for a rotationally fixed connection to a motor-driven drive device. Such couplings are well known from the usual tradesmen and do-it-yourself machines. In this case, the ground anchor can be screwed into the ground and removed again using motor power without much effort.

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Reference symbols used:

1 Floor anchors 2 Recording area 3 conical section 4 Mounting section 5 Screw thread 6 Great 7 drilling 8th surface 9 soil 10 Key 11 cylindrical tube 12 Cross hole 13 Handlebar 14a, b, c tenon 15 Wall of the recording area 2 16 slot 17a,b Through hole 18a,b slot 19 Widening

EN 20120

EN 20120

Claims (10)

1. Device for introducing a torque into a ground anchor ( 1 ) which is provided with a screw thread ( 5 ) on its area facing the ground and is designed at its opposite end, which is the upper end when inserted, as a sleeve-shaped receiving area ( 2 ) for receiving a rod-shaped object such as a pile or post, with a counterpart adapted to the receiving area ( 2 ) for exerting the torque, wherein the receiving area ( 2 ) and counterpart form the associated halves of a positively locking, separable coupling, characterized in that the counterpart is designed to engage in the receiving area ( 2 ) and in the receiving area ( 2 ) there is at least one driver directed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ground anchor ( 1 ) and a driver opening adapted to the driver and open towards the upper end face of the receiving area, wherein either the counterpart supports the driver and the wall ( 15 ) of the receiving area ( 2 ) supports the Driving opening or the counterpart has the driving opening and the wall ( 15 ) of the receiving area ( 2 ) has the driver. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the driver is a pin ( 14 a, b, c) projecting laterally from the counterpart and the driver opening is a slot ( 16 ) with parallel longitudinal edges extending in the longitudinal direction of the floor dowel ( 1 ), located in the wall ( 15 ) of the receiving area ( 2 ) and extending from its upper end face. 3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that two pins ( 14 b, c) projecting laterally from the counterpart and that two driving openings adapted to these are provided in the wall ( 15 ) of the receiving area ( 2 ), of which one is designed as a through hole ( 17 a) and the other as a slot ( 18 a) extending from the upper end face of the receiving area ( 2 ) with parallel longitudinal edges. 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the through hole ( 17b ) extends in the circumferential direction of the floor dowel ( 1 ) over several pin widths and that the slot ( 18b ) has at its operationally lower end a widening ( 19 ) extending in the circumferential direction of the floor dowel ( 1 ) to both sides in the manner of an undercut, such that the engaging pin ( 14c ) can be locked in the longitudinal direction of the floor dowel ( 1 ). 5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that two or more pins ( 14c ) projecting laterally from the counterpart are provided as drivers and that the driving openings located in the wall ( 15 ) of the receiving area ( 2 ) and adapted to the pins ( 14c ) are all designed as slots ( 18b ) which extend from the upper end face of the receiving area ( 2 ), have parallel longitudinal edges and are each provided at their operationally lower end with a widening ( 19 ) in the manner of an undercut extending to both sides in the circumferential direction of the floor dowel ( 1 ), such that the engaging pins ( 14c ) can be locked in the longitudinal direction of the floor dowel ( 1 ). 6. Device according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the pins ( 14 a, b, c) have a cross-section in the shape of a circle or a rectangle. 7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the lower end of the rod-shaped object to be erected is itself designed as a counterpart. 8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the counterpart is designed as a key ( 10 ) for exerting the torque by hand. 9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the counterpart has the shape of a cylindrical tube ( 11 ) in which there are two mutually opposite transverse bores ( 12 ) for receiving a handle bar. 10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the counterpart is designed as an intermediate sleeve, one end of which is designed as a coupling half for the rotationally fixed connection to the receiving area ( 2 ) of the ground anchor ( 1 ) and the other end of which is designed as a coupling half for the rotationally fixed connection to a motor drive device.