ANCHORAGE

Abstract: An anchorage such as a tent peg comprises a hook (2) for attaching a guy rope (6), a tapered end (1), two or more spikes (4) remote from the tapered end (1) for inserting into the ground and a generally flat body (5) between the spikes (4) and the tapered end (1). The flat body (5) is designed to be easily stamped into the ground by foot and to lie flush with the ground during use. A finger hole (3) may be provided for easy removal of the anchorage from the ground after use.

Description: Anchorage This invention relates to a form of anchorage mainly for use with tents. Tent pegs are generally metal, plastic or wood, and require to be hammered into the ground. Very often campers will find that they do not have a mallet to drive their pegs into the ground and end up resorting to stones, branches or shoes instead. There is also a problem when a peg has not been fully inserted into the ground in that it protrudes and gets tripped over by fellow campers. If the ground is firm and it has taken a lot of effort to hammer in a peg, you can have a great deal of difficulty retrieving the peg with very little of it left protruding to get a grip of. Once a metal peg has been bent it is useless. The present invention provides an anchorage comprising a hook for attaching a guy rope, a tapered end, two or more spikes remote from the tapered end for inserting into the ground and a generally flat body between the spikes and the tapered end. The flat body can be stamped into the ground without the need for a mallet and does not protrude during use. The hook may be located between the tapered end and the spikes and may be formed by a suitably shaped hole in the body. A further hole formed in the body may aid removal of the anchorage from the ground. Preferably, the anchorages can be stacked for easy carrying and storage. A preferred form of anchorage according to the invention is formed from a metal plate by stamping or cutting and then by bending. Each spike may then be generally planar and generally transverse to a line connecting the spike to the hook. Alternatively, the anchorage may be formed from plastic by moulding or other known processes. A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 shows a top view of a tent peg according to a first embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 shows a side view of the tent peg of Figure 1. Figure 3 shows a front view of the tent peg of Figure 1. Figure 4 shows the tent peg of Figure 1 being anchored. Figure 5 shows the tent peg of Figure 1 in the ground. Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a tent peg according to a second embodiment of the invention. Figure 7 shows a perspective view of a tent peg according to a third embodiment of the invention. Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the tent peg according to a first embodiment of the invention comprises a generally flat (though slightly arced) body [5] having one tapered end [1] and, at the other end of the body [5], spikes [4] to hold the tent peg in the ground. A first hole in the body [5] forms a hook [2] for attaching a guy rope and a second hole in the body [5] is a finger hole [3] to aid the removal of the tent peg from the ground after use. To use the tent peg, as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, you first attach it to a guy rope [6] by means of the hook [2] and stretch the rope out until it is at the tension you require. You then drive the tapered end [1] of the tent peg a couple of centimetres into the ground with your foot as shown in Figure 4, and stamp on the other end of the body [5] of the tent peg to secure the spikes [4] into the ground, as demonstrated in Figure 5. To remove the tent peg after use, you release the tension of the guy rope and then lift the peg by inserting a finger through the finger hole [3]. Figure 6 shows a second embodiment of tent peg according to the invention which, like the first embodiment, can be stamped or cut from a single sheet of metal. The tent peg has a tapered end [11] that is more rounded than that of the first embodiment and also curves upwards slightly out of the plane of the body [15] tent peg. There are just two spikes [14], which are coplanar. A single hole [13] is formed in the body [15] of the tent peg. The hole [13] accommodates a hook [12] for the guy rope and also space for a finger to be inserted when removing the tent peg from the ground. The tent peg of Figure 6 is used in a similar manner to that of Figures 1 to 5, expect that the more rounded and upwardly curved tapered end [11] is not inserted into the ground but rests on the surface of the ground. An occasional problem with the first embodiment of tent peg has been that the sharp tapered end [1] can act as a pivot, about which the tension in the guy rope [6] can act to lift the spikes [4] out of the ground. The tent peg of Figure 6 should avoid this problem. Because of the way the tent pegs so far described are formed from flat plates, they can readily be stacked together. The holes [3,13] on respective tent pegs will be aligned so that a string can be passed through all the pegs for ease of carrying. Alternatively a suitably shaped clip (not illustrated) could hold a stack of tent pegs together and guard the spikes [4,14] when the pegs are not in use. Figure 7 shows a third embodiment of the tent peg according to the invention. This tent peg is formed from a stiff metal wire, the ends of which provide spikes [24] and the mid portion of which is bent to form the tapered end [21] of the tent peg and also the hook [22]. A plate [25] bridges the two arms of the wire to provide a flat surface that can be stamped on to drive the spikes [24] into the ground. The plate [25] is preferably a metal plate welded to and/or bent around the wires but may be formed in other ways, for example as a plastic moulding.

Claims: Claims 1. An anchorage comprising a hook [2,12,22] for attaching a guy rope, a tapered end [1,11,21], two or more spikes [4, 14,24] remote from the tapered end [ 1 , 11 ,21 ] for inserting into the ground and a generally flat body [5,15,25] between the spikes [4,14,24] and the tapered end [1,11,21]. 2. An anchorage as claimed in Claiml, wherein the hook [2,12] is located between the tapered end [1,11] and the spikes [4, 14] . 3. An anchorage as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the hook [2,12] is formed by a suitably shaped hole in the body [5,15]. 4. An anchorage as claimed in Claim 3, which has a further hole [3,13] formed in the body [5,15] to aid removal of the anchorage from the ground. 5. An anchorage as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4 that can be stacked for easy carrying and storage. 6. An anchorage as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 5 that is formed from a metal plate by stamping or cutting and then by bending. 7. An anchorage as claimed in Claim 6, wherein each spike [4,14] is generally planar and generally transverse to a line connecting the spike [4,14] to the hook [2,12]. 8. An anchorage as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the spikes [24], the tapered end [21] and the hook [22] are formed from a bent wire and wherein the generally flat body [25] is formed from a plate attached to the wire. 9. An anchorage substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 5 or Figure 6 or Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: BIRSS DAVID, BIRSS, DAVID
Applicants: BIRSS DAVID, BIRSS, DAVID
Application year: 2001
Main classification: E04H15
IPC codes: E04H15