Anchoring device for vehicles and other structures

An anchor device adapted for securing mobile, modular and motor homes, trailers, campers and similar units, having an anchor for insertion into the ground on opposite sides of the unit, and a strap, cable or other flexible member extending over the unit from one anchor to the other. The device is mounted on the anchor and has U-shaped body and a reel shaft on which the end of the flexible member is wound. One end of the reel shaft has a transverse hole and the body has a lug with a hole adjacent the transverse hole in the reel shaft. After an adjustment has been made, a pin is inserted through the holes in the lug and reel shaft to hold the flexible member in a secured position. A slot means is provided on the other end of the reel shaft for receiving a tool for operating the shaft to tighten the flexible member. The device may have two reel shafts of similar construction and in parallel arrangement for attaching a first flexible member extending over the unit and a second flexible member secured to a structural element on the lower portion of the unit.

Mobile homes, motor homes, trailers, campers and similar vehicles are 
usually not placed on a substantial foundation but are left on their 
undercarriages, and sometimes placed on concrete blocks or stabilizing 
jacks. Further, modular and double wide homes, while often placed on 
permanent foundations, are constructed of relatively light and frail 
materials so that they can be produced in a manufacturing plant and 
transported in sections to the permanent location. Since these types of 
vehicles and structures are light in weight for their size, they are 
particularly vulnerable to high winds often accompanying violent storms 
such as tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and thunderstorms, and are 
relatively easily overturned and moved from their site and are crushed or 
otherwise seriously damaged or destroyed. In order to minimize this type 
of hazard, guy wires with turn buckles and various types of strap systems 
have been used in the past to anchor the units and prevent them from being 
blown from their locations. The prior systems have often been 
unsatisfactory in that they are difficult and time consuming to install 
and to tighten sufficiently to be dependable under most of the foregoing 
adverse conditions, and they occasionally become loose and unreliable. 
Attempts have been made to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional 
guy wires, cables, straps and the like anchored to the ground on opposite 
sides of the vehicle; however, the means used to overcome these have had 
certain drawbacks, including difficulty in installing and tightening the 
cables and straps to prevent them from becoming loosened by the force of 
the wind. Further, the tightening or adjustment devices for securing the 
wires or straps to an anchor placed in the ground are difficult to operate 
and tighten under various installation conditions, such that they may be 
ineffectively adjusted or soon become loose after an installation has been 
completed. It is therefore one of the principal objects of the present 
invention to provide an anchoring device for straps or cables for securing 
mobile, modular and motor homes, trailers, campers and similar vehicles 
and structures, which can be effectively installed in limited areas and 
which will firmly and reliably connect the ends of the straps to the 
anchor structure, and which may be readily, effectively installed in 
conjunction with various types of supports for the vehicles and structures 
without requiring any changes in the device. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a device for connecting a 
cable or metal strap to an anchor structure, which is simple in 
construction and operation, and which can be used to retain a single strap 
or cable placed over the vehicle or structure or to a frame member beneath 
the vehicle or structure or connect both types of straps or cables at the 
same time to the anchor structure. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide an anchoring device for 
the aforementioned types of vehicles and structures, which can be easily 
installed and readily adjusted to maximum effectiveness when the 
installation is made, and thereafter quickly adjusted in anticipation of 
or during a storm if the anchor structure should become loosened, and 
which can readily be installed to give the required protection for 
overnight use, while the vehicles or structures are in transit, and 
thereafter quickly released when the vehicle or structure is to be moved. 
A further object of the invention is to provide an anchor device for mobile 
and modular homes, trailers, motor homes and units, which is inconspicuous 
when installed and trouble free for long periods of time in permanent 
installations, and which can effectively be adapted to various types and 
makes of units and structures without changing the structure of the device 
.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, and to FIG. 1 in particular, 
numeral 10 indicates generally a mobile home having a roof 12, side walls 
14 and 16, and a frame 18, one side member of the frame being shown in the 
broken away portions of FIG. 1. When the mobile home is placed in a 
permanent or semipermanent location, it is usually placed on blocks or 
jacks which remove some or all of the pressure on the wheels of the 
undercarriage attached to frame 18. The blocks or jacks stabilize the home 
structure and support the home near the two ends, and either with or 
without the wheels, form the main support of the home structure. The 
mobile home shown is merely for the purpose of illustrating the present 
anchor device and system, which may be used with a variety of different 
types of vehicles and building structures. 
The present invention is directed primarily to the anchor devices 
illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7 for connecting a strip metal band or strap 22 
and/or 24 to an anchor 26, shown on the drawings as consisting of a shaft 
28 and an auger 30 for screwing the anchor into the ground. Normally a 
pair of anchors 26 are placed in the ground near the forward end of the 
mobile home and another pair near the rear end of the home, and straps 22 
and 24, or cables or other elongated flexible members, are used to secure 
the mobile home or other structure to the anchor. 
The anchor device 26 consists of a U-shaped body 31 having upwardly 
extending arms 32 and 34 connected by a horizontal member 36 to form a 
U-shaped structure, member 36 being rigidly attached to the upper end of 
shaft 28 of the anchor. A reel shaft 40 is disposed in oppositely 
positioned holes 42 and 44 in arms 32 and 34, respectively, and includes a 
slot 46 for receiving the end of either strap 22 or 24. Since the device 
can be used effectively with a cable, a slot 48 and an opposed hole 50 are 
adapted to receive the end of the cable, thus permitting either a strap or 
cable to be wound on the reel shaft. 
The reel shaft 40 is rotated to wind strap 22 or 24 or other elongated 
flexible member on the shaft by the insertion of a tool head in slots 52 
and 54 in one end of the shaft. A ratchet type wrench is preferable, since 
it permits the operation of the wrench in a limited space in small strokes 
without fully rotating the wrench. After an adjustment has been made by 
rotating the reel shaft, the shaft is held in its adjusted position by a 
screw 60 or other type of pin extending downwardly through holes in lugs 
62 and 64 attached to the side of U-shaped member 31, and through opposed 
holes 66 and 68 or 70 and 72 in the shaft. The lugs are preferably formed 
integrally with the side by stamping them from the side and turning them 
laterally to a horizontal position. This stamping and turning operation 
simultaneously forms hole 44. After the screw has been inserted through 
the respective holes in the lug and reel shaft, a nut 74 is preferably 
threaded onto the end thereof to hold the screw firmly in place and the 
reel shaft in its adjusted position. 
In the operation of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 
through 6, using auger 30, anchor 26 is inserted in the ground on opposite 
sides of the mobile home or other structure, and either strap 22 or 24 or 
cable or other elongated flexible member, which has been placed over the 
mobile home or attached to the frame, is connected to the reel shaft 40 by 
placing the end in slot 46, or if there is a cable, through slot 48 and 
hole 50. A tool head is then placed in slots 52 and 54 and reel shaft 40 
is rotated to wind the flexible member. The strap, for example, is wound 
on the reel until the mobile home or other structure is firmly secured, 
and screw 60 is then inserted into the holes in the lugs and the 
corresponding end of the shaft reel, and nut 74 is threaded onto the 
screw, thus locking the reel shaft firmly in its adjusted position. In the 
event an adjustment is required at any time after the installation, the 
operation can easily be performed by removing the screw from the holes in 
the shaft and lugs and again rotating the reel shaft with a wrench and 
then reinserting the screw through the holes to lock the reel shaft in its 
readjusted position. This operation can be performed quickly in 
anticipation of a wind storm or other adverse weather conditions. 
The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 is essentially 
the same as that previously described herein, except that the anchor 
device 78 is enlarged to include two reel shafts 80 and 82 journaled in a 
U-shaped body 83 in holes 84 and 85 and 84' and 85', respectively. The two 
reel shafts are identical in construction and operation to reel shaft 40 
and to each other, and hence like numerals will be used to refer to like 
parts. In this modified form, lugs 86 and 88 retain a screw 90 and lugs 92 
and 94 retain a screw 95 and these two screws are held in place by nuts in 
the same manner as screw 60. The double reel shaft structure of FIGS. 7 
and 8 permits the anchor to secure the mobile home or other structure with 
both straps 22 and 24, with strap 22 being attached to the frame and strap 
24 extending over the structure. Thus, one anchor device provides double 
protection to the structure. The U-shaped body 83, which is constructed of 
metal, is secured to shaft 28 by welding or other suitable securing means, 
and forms a firm adjustable reel structure for the straps. The anchor 
device of FIGS. 7 and 8 is installed and operated in essentially the same 
manner as the one illustrated in FIG. 2, with the exception that two 
straps, cables or other flexible members can be used simultaneously in the 
modified form. 
It is seen that the present anchor device can be easily installed, and the 
straps, cables, or other elongated flexible member can be readily attached 
and adjusted to a firm, securing position to retain the structure in an 
effective anchored condition. The device is simple in construction and 
reliable in operation, and can be used in a variety of different 
applications including, but not limited to, those mentioned herein. 
Various changes and modifications may be made in the anchor device of 
either embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention.