US2753743A - Screw anchor driving device - Google Patents

Description

July 10, 1956 R. MIDDLETON 2,753,743

SCREW ANCHOR DRIVING DEVICE Filed Jan. 27, 1955 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent SCREW ANCHOR DRIVING DEVICE Arthur R. Middleton, Sebastian, Fla.

Application January 27, 1955, Serial No. 484,360

2 Claims. (Cl. 8153) The present invention relates in general to implements for driving screw-type ground anchors for stays and the like, and more particularly to an assembly rendering screw anchors of the type having an eye at one end thereof capable of being driven by ratchet head wrenches.

Screw anchors have been employed for years for securing stay rods and cables for bracing telephone poles and the like. Such anchors have had various shapes, but all have a rigid eyelet at the upper end through which the cable or end of the stay rod is threaded. The lower end generally comprises an auger bit or screw flight of one or two turns secured near the end central rod of the anchor. Such anchors are screwed into the earth on a slant directed toward the pole or object to be braced. Heretofore it has been the conventional practice to drive such anchors manually with the aid of various implements to multiply the torque applied to the screw anchor. This practice involves a diificulty when the anchor is nearing its final position, in that the turning of the driving implement, which usually extends transversely to the axis of the anchor, is interfered with by the surface of the earth.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a novel wrench assembly for driving standard screw anchors having an eye at one end thereof of the type for anchoring stays, guy wires and the like.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel fitting to be applied to the ends of standard screw anchors of the type having eyes at one end thereof whereby the screw anchors can be readily driven by means of a standard ratchet head wrench.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel attachment for screw anchors for permitting the anchors to be driven by ratchet head wrenches, which is characterized'by simplicity of construction and applica tion to the screw anchor, ease and speed of manipulation, and eifectiveness in maintaining the screw anchor in alignment with the desired axis of penetration into the ground.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing illustrating one preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a screw anchor and driving implement assembled thereon embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a horizontal transverse section view taken through the anchor driving fitting along the lines 22 of Figure 1 to illustrate the construction of the anchor rod clamping mechanism; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section view taken along the lines 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, the anchor driving implement, which is generally indicated by the reference character 10, is illustrated in Figure 1 in operative position assembled with a standard screw anchor 11 of the type which is commer- 2,753,743 Patented July 10, 1956 cially available to anchor stays, guy wires and the like, having a rod 12 with an anger bit formation 13 at the lower end thereof and a closed loop eye formation 14 at the upper end thereof.

The anchor driving unit 10 includes a tubular sleeve member 15 which is formed of a section of three-inch diameter pipe designed to be fitted over the end of the anchor 11 having the eye formation 14 thereon. The tubular sleeve 15 is provided adjacent its upper end with a transverse bolt 16 loosely received in complementary apertures provided in the wall of the tubular sleeve 15 in diametric alignment with the medial longitudinal axis of the sleeve so that the shank of the bolt 16 may be selectively withdrawn from or projected through the bore of the sleeve. A nut 17 is removably threaded onto the end of the bolt 16 to lock the bolt in place. The bolt 16 is designed to be projected through the eye 14 of the anchor when the eye is aligned with the bolt-receiving apertures in the tubular sleeve 15 so that the anchor may be rotated in accordance with rotational torque applied to the tubular sleeve 15.

The opposite end of the tubular sleeve 15 is provided with an aligning clamp mechanism 18 which is of U shape and is provided with a transverse member 19 spot welded to the surface of the tubular sleeve 15 and a pair of arms 29 pivotally coupled by pivot pins 21 to the opposite ends of the transverse member 19. The arms 20 are arranged on opposite sides of the tubular sleeve 15' and are arranged to be seated into slots 22 cut into opposite wall portions of the tubular sleeve 15. The arms 20 carry clamping jaws 23 projecting toward the medial axis of the tubular sleeve 15 and having serrated concave faces 24 at their inner ends to engage the shank portion 12 of the anchor 11. The clamping jaws 23 project through the slots 22 formed in the side walls of the tubular sleeve 15.

The arms 20 are interconnected at their ends remote from the pivot pins 21 by means of a link 25 pivotally connected at 26 to the end of one of the arms 20 and having a threaded end extending through a complementary aperture in the end of the other arm 20. A wing nut 27 is threaded onto the free end of the link 25 to permit the arms 26) and clamping jaws 23 to be secured in clamping relation with the shank of the screw anchor 11.

This unit is designed to be manually rotated to drive the screw anchor 11 into the ground by means of a conventional ratchet head pipe wrench 28 when the ratchet head 29 thereof is fitted about the tubular sleeve 15 between the bolt 15 and aligning clamp 18.

In the use of the device, the tubular sleeve 15 is inserted over the eye end of a screw anchor 11 with the wing nut 27 removed from the link 25 and the clamping arms 20 and jaws 23 pivoted outwardly to dispose them externally of the tubular sleeve 15, and the nut 17 and bolt 16 removed from the sleeve. When the eye 14 of the anchor 11 is disposed in alignment with the bolt-receiving apertures in the tubular sleeve 15, the bolt 16 is projected through the apertures and the eye 14 of the screw anchor 11, and the nut 17 is threaded onto the bolt 16 to interconnect the anchor 11 and the tubular sleeve 15. The arms 20 of the aligning clamp 13 carrying the clamping jaws 23 are then rotated toward the center of the tubular sleeve 15 about their pivots 21 until the serrated concave faces 24 are brought into contact with the shank of the anchor 11. The free end of the pivoted link 25 is positioned during this convergent movement of the arms 2a to be received in the aperture provided therefor in the arm 26 opposite that to which the link 25 is pivotally connected. The wing nut 27 is then threaded onto the link 25 until the clamping jaws 23 securely clamp the shank of the screw anchor 11 in alignment with the medial axis of the tubular sleeve 15. The ratchet head wrench 28 may then be manually rotated with the auger 3 bit E3 of the anchor 11 in contact with the ground and the axis of the anchor 11 held in alignment with the desired axis of insertion of the same into the ground, and the torque applied to the tubular sleeve 15 by the ratchet head wrench 28 will be transmitted to the screw anchor 1:1 to drive the same tothe desired depth.

While only one preferred embodiment of the invention has been particularly shown and described, it is apparent that various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art and are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An adapter for driving with a ratchet head wrench or the like a screw anchor of the type having a substantially straight rod provided with an eyelet at the upper end thereof, comprising a tubular sleeve of suflicient internal diameter to receive the eyelet therein adapted to be disposed over the eyelet end of the anchor, a transverse bolt removably supported on the sleeve adjacent one end thereof adapted to be projected through the eyelet of the screw anchor to intercouple the anchor with the sleeve, and aligning clamp means disposed adjacent the end of said tubular sleeve remote from said transverse bolt, said clamp means including a pair of clamping arms pivotally movable toward and away from the axis of said sleeve, and from each other and having contact members thereon for engaging the rod portion of a screw anchor within said sleeve, said sleeve having apertures for receiving said contact members permitting ingress and egress of said contact members relative to the bore of said sleeve and means for securing said clamping arms in clamping relation with the rod portion of said screw anchor to maintain the same in axial alignment with said tubular sleeve, said sleeve being adapted to be received in a ratchet head wrench or the like to facilitate manual application of torque to said sleeve.

2. An accessory for driving a screw anchor of the type having a substantially straight rod provided with an auger bit on the lower end thereof and an eyelet on the upper end thereof, comprising a tubular sleeve of sufficient internal diameter to receive the eyelet therein adapted to be disposed over the eyelet end of the anchor with the upper end of the anchor in substantial alignment with the upper end of the sleeve, a transverse bolt removably supported in the sleeve across the bore thereof and adjacent the upper end of the sleeve adapted to be project d through the eyelet of the screw anchor to intercouple the anchor with the sleeve, aligning clamp means disposed adjacent the opposite end of said tubular sleeve comprising a transverse member supported on said sleeve, a pair of arms pivotally coupled to said transverse memher and having inwardly projecting clamping jaws adapted to engage the rod portion of a screw anchor within said sleeve, said sleeve having diametrically opposed apertures in the wall thereof permitting ingress and egress of said jaws relative to the bore of said sleeve, means intercoupling the ends of said pivoted arms remote from said transverse member for securing said clamping jaws in holding engagement with the rod portion of said screw anchor to maintain the same in axial alignment with said tubular sleeve, and ratchet head wrench means surrounding and in gripping engagement with the external surface of said sleeve between said transverse bolt and said aligning clamp means for transmitting unidirectional torque to said sleeve to effect driving rotation of a screw anchor held in said sleeve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 816,631 Widmer Apr. 3, 1906 1,265,630 Donohue May 7, 1918 1,400,905 Nordstrom Dec. 20, 1921 1,416,461 Hance May 16, 1922 1,803,089 Bash Apr. 28, 1931 2,267,012 Bowne Dec, 23, 1941

Images