Shaft anchoring apparatus

Apparatus for reliably anchoring a vertical shaft to various types of earth. The apparatus includes an anchor pin having a helically coiled portion at the lower end thereof designed to be screwed into the ground, and a shaft holder releasably attached to the anchor pin and having a shaft-receiving opening through which a shaft carrying a load to be anchored is adapted to be extended. The shaft-receiving opening is laterally offset from its attachments to the anchor pin such that the shaft may be extended fully through the opening and firmly inserted into the ground. The anchoring apparatus of the invention is designed for general use in anchoring vertical shafts carrying various types of loads including umbrellas, birdhouses, signs, flags and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for anchoring a 
shaft to the ground, and more particularly, to an apparatus for reliably 
anchoring a vertical shaft to various types of earth. 
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,897 discloses a beach and lawn table 
which is affixed to the ground on which it rests by means of an auger 
attached to and extending downwardly from the base of the table. The table 
has a single axially located leg. A table top is mounted on the upper end 
of the leg and the base from which the auger extends is attached to the 
lower end of the leg. The table is anchored to the ground by turning the 
table top until the auger is fully screwed into the ground and the base 
rests firmly on the ground. The single leg is preferably hollow to 
additionally function as a holder for the shaft of an umbrella for the 
table. 
The auger attached to and extending downwardly from the base of the beach 
and lawn table disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,897 provides a secure and 
reliable anchor for the table. It is desirable, however, to provide an 
anchoring apparatus for general use which can support and reliably anchor 
vertical shafts which carry various types of loads such as signs, flags, 
birdhouses, umbrellas and the like. Beach umbrellas, in particular, 
present a significant problem in this regard because they must be anchored 
into relatively soft sand and, at the same time, be able to withstand the 
high winds frequently encountered at the beach which make it especially 
difficult to retain the umbrellas in position. A wind-blown beach umbrella 
is not only a frustrating nuisance to the user, but is also dangerous as 
it can become a moving projectile weighing four pounds or more and 
endanger both persons and property in its path. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides an anchoring apparatus which can be used to 
reliably anchor beach umbrellas and numerous other articles carried on a 
vertical shaft to various types of earth. The anchoring apparatus 
according to the invention comprises an anchor pin having a helical 
portion at its lower end designed to be screwed into the ground, and an 
extended portion designed to extend upwardly from the ground to form a 
handle used to screw the helical portion into the ground; and a shaft 
holder attached to the upper portion of the anchor pin which extends 
somewhat laterally therefrom, the shaft holder including a body portion 
for defining a substantially vertical shaft-receiving opening laterally 
offset from the anchor pin through which a shaft to be supported is 
adapted to extend, and locking means for releasably locking the shaft in 
position in the shaft-receiving opening. 
In accordance with the invention, the anchor pin is anchored to the ground 
by screwing the helical portion thereof into the ground. A shaft to be 
supported by the apparatus is then extended through the shaft-receiving 
opening in the body portion of the shaft holder and then locked in 
position therein by the locking means. Because the shaft-receiving opening 
is closely adjacent to the anchor pin, the shaft can be extended through 
the shaft-receiving opening into the ground until the tip of the shaft 
passes through at least the uppermost coil of the buried helical portion 
of the anchor pin before being locked in position by the locking means to 
provide a strong, reliable anchor of the vertical shaft to the ground. 
Preferably the anchor pin is made from a single steel rod having a 
helically coiled auger portion at its lower end designed to be screwed 
into the ground, a vertically extending middle portion and its upper end 
formed into a handle for screwing the helically coiled lower end into the 
ground. The shaft holder includes a pair of spaced flanges extending 
outwardly from a side of the body portion to receive the upstanding 
vertical portion of the anchor pin therebetween. A clench screw extends 
through aligned holes in the flanges and is adapted to be tightened by a 
wing nut to firmly attach the shaft holder to the anchor pin and to 
stabilize the shaft holder both vertically and orbitally with respect to 
the anchor pin. 
The locking means preferably comprises a threaded boss on the outside and 
extending through the body of the shaft holder and a mating wing bolt 
which adjusts to the diameter of the shaft and by exerting pressure 
against the shaft locks the shaft in position in the opening. 
The anchoring apparatus of the present invention is effective in anchoring 
vertical shafts supporting loads of diverse types in various types of 
earth including sand and other soft earths in a reliable manner. The 
apparatus is compact in size for easy handling and storage, and easy to 
use. The apparatus may be produced in a range of sizes to support vertical 
shafts of diverse type carrying varied loads. 
Further advantages and specific details of the invention will become 
apparent hereinafter in conjunction with the following detailed 
description of a preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a shaft anchoring apparatus according to a preferred 
embodiment of the invention. The apparatus is generally designated by 
reference number 10 and is illustrated in conjunction with an umbrella 11 
having an umbrella shaft 11a to be anchored thereby. It should be 
understood, however, that the umbrella is intended to be exemplary only of 
the numerous types of articles which can be anchored by the apparatus of 
the present invention, and it is not intended to limit the apparatus to 
use with any particular article. For example, the apparatus of the 
invention can also be effectively used to anchor vertical shafts carrying 
loads such as flags, signs, birdhouses and the like. 
The anchoring apparatus generally comprises an anchor pin 12 and a shaft 
holder 13 which are connected together to form an integrated product. 
Anchor pin 12 includes a helical auger portion 12c at the lower end 
thereof, a handle portion 12a at the upper end thereof, and a 
substantially straight stem portion 12b extending between the helical 
portion and the handle portion. Helical portion 12c is designed to be 
screwed into the ground and includes a taper-rounded tip 12d to provide 
easy insertion thereinto. Handle portion 12a is provided to facilitate 
screwing of the helical portion into the ground by the user and can be of 
any suitable configuration. Stem portion 12b is provided with a washer 12e 
welded to the stem for attachment of the anchor pin to the shaft holder 13 
as will be explained hereafter. 
As shown in FIG. 1, when helical portion 12c is screwed into the ground, 
the handle portion 12a and the stem portion 12b of the anchor pin define 
an extended portion extending upwardly from the ground. 
Shaft holder 13 includes a cylindrical main body portion 13a for defining a 
substantially vertical opening 13h for receiving a vertical shaft to be 
anchored by the apparatus such as the umbrella shaft 11a shown in FIG. 1. 
Shaft holder 13 includes internally threaded boss 13e and wing bolt 20 for 
releasably locking a shaft in a fixed position in the shaft-receiving 
opening 13h and also means for attaching the shaft holder to the anchor 
pin now to be described. 
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, shaft holder 13 includes a pair of parallel 
flanges 13b and 13c extending outwardly from a side wall thereof 
containing axially aligned cylindrical holes 13d in the flanges. The pair 
of spaced flanges 13b and 13c extend from the side wall of main body 
portion 13a opposite boss 13e. 
As best shown in FIG. 3, the stem portion 12b and welded washer 12e of 
anchor pin 12 are designed to be received between flanges 13b and 13c, and 
the anchor pin is attached to the shaft holder by a gripping screw 17 
which extends through the hole in washer 12e and aligned holes 13d in the 
flanges. More particularly, flanges 13b and 13c are spaced to normally 
receive stem portion 12b and washer 12e therebetween with a slight 
clearance to permit the hole in washer 12e to be aligned with the holes 
13d in the flanges. After alignment, the gripping screw 17 is inserted and 
tightened by turning wing nut 18 to squeeze the flanges together until the 
anchor pin is tightly secured to the shaft holder. 
As best shown in FIG. 1, washer 12e is welded onto anchor pin stem 12b so 
that the axis of the coils of the helical portion 12c of the anchor pin 
will be axially aligned with the axis of the cylindrical main body 13a of 
the shaft holder. This permits the tip of the load carrying shaft such as 
umbrella shaft 11a shown in FIG. 1 to be inserted into the ground and 
preferably pass through at least the uppermost coil of helical portion 12c 
of the anchor pin in order to further secure a strong anchor of the 
vertical shaft into the ground. 
To use the shaft anchoring apparatus of our invention, anchor pin 12 is 
first anchored to the ground at a selected location by grasping the handle 
portion 12a and turning the anchor pin until the helical portion 12c 
thereof is fully screwed into the ground. With the wing bolt 20 withdrawn 
from the interior of shaft holder 13, a shaft such as umbrella shaft 11a 
carrying a load to be supported is then inserted into and through the 
shaft-receiving opening 13h in the shaft holder 13. Preferably the tip of 
the shaft is inserted into the ground for a sufficient distance so that 
the tip of the shaft lies below the uppermost coil of the helical portion 
of the anchor pin so that the lowermost portion of the shaft lies within 
the coils of the anchor pin for maximum support of the shaft in its 
vertical position. When the shaft is in its lowermost position, wing bolt 
20 is then screwed into boss 13e and into firm engagement with the shaft 
to securely lock the shaft into position within shaft holder 13 and anchor 
pin 12. 
Following use of the apparatus, the shaft can be easily removed from the 
apparatus by simply unscrewing wing bolt 20 and pulling the shaft out of 
the ground. The apparatus itself can be easily withdrawn from the ground 
by rotating the anchor pin in the direction opposite to that used in 
screwing the pin into the ground. 
The anchoring apparatus of the present invention is highly effective in 
anchoring the supporting vertical shafts in various kinds of earth, 
including soft sand and the like. The apparatus can be readily operated by 
one person and is compact in size for easy handling and storage. 
While what has been described constitutes a presently preferred embodiment, 
it should be recognized that the invention could take numerous other 
forms. Accordingly, it should be understood that the invention is to be 
limited only by the scope of the following claims.