Abstract:
The receptacle for a gate drop rod includes a buried plastic canister having an open bottom for drainage. The open top of the canister is covered, and at least one gate rod opening is formed through the plastic cover. Preferably two such openings are formed to provide for different drop rod diameters. A plastic receptacle pipe of appropriate diameter is installed in the appropriate opening, and the unused passage is plugged. The canister is placed on a bed of drainage stone in the bottom of the hole, the top of the canister preferably about two inches below grade. The hole is filled with gravel and stone around the canister, and the top is covered with concrete to grade. A high visibility disc is preferably installed about the top of the protruding pipe to facilitate locating the drop rod receptacle in poor light or at night.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/282,347, filed Jan. 27, 2010. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to doors, gates, and other closures, and particularly to a receptacle for a gate drop rod that provides an in-ground receptacle for a gate drop rod that is used to secure the center of a double gate when closed. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Double-hinged gates, i.e., two gate panels having opposite hinge posts and meeting at a common centerline when closed, are commonly installed across driveways and the like at many businesses, government installations, public parks and recreational areas, manufacturing plants, farms and ranches, and even some residences. Such gates will still swing through a significant arc even when closed and secured together at their common center, unless some means is provided to prevent this movement. This is generally accomplished by means of a “drop rod,” i.e., a vertical rod that passes through two or more retaining hasps attached to one of the gate panels to engage a receptacle in the ground. The second gate secures to the first gate, to prevent movement of both gate panels. 
     Oftentimes the receptacle provided for the drop rod is no more than an afterthought, and may be formed merely by driving the end of the drop rod into the ground to a depth of an inch or so. While this may be acceptable for a short term, such a makeshift anchor point is rapidly worn away and/or filled with debris, and must be reformed. In other instances, a length of metal pipe may be driven into the ground to serve as a receptacle for the drop rod. Again, such a receptacle may work acceptably for a relatively short period of time, but a short length of pipe of relatively narrow diameter is quick to fill with debris, thereby plugging the hole. Moreover, the installation of such a blind hole, i.e., having no drainage means, tends to trap water in the receptacle. This causes the lower end of the drop rod to rust away over a period of time. If sufficient water is present to fill the hole and that water freezes, it can be a major task to chip the frozen ice away in order to install the drop rod or remove an installed drop rod. 
     Japanese Patent No. 2007/198,063, published Aug. 9, 2007 shows a receptacle for a drop bar formed by an inner cylinder having a male threaded portion at its lower end that threads into the internally threaded lower portion of an outer cylinder so that the inner cylinder can be removed. 
     None of the above inventions or patents, taken singly or in combination, shows the present invention as claimed. Thus, a receptacle for a gate drop rod solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The receptacle for a gate drop rod is formed of a relatively large plastic canister that is buried in the ground at the site of the drop rod installation. The canister has an open center and bottom for drainage. One or more screened openings may be provided in the lower sides of the canister, if so desired. A plastic cover is secured over the top of the canister, and at least threaded opening is formed through the cover. Preferably, two such openings are formed to provide for drop rods of different diameters. A threaded plastic fitting is installed in the passage to be used, and an end of a length of plastic pipe is threaded into the fitting. Alternatively, the pipe may be threaded directly into the opening in the cover. The unused passage is plugged. In either case, the pipe extends above the cover and the canister. 
     The hole in the ground into which the canister is placed is lined with relatively large gravel or stones for good drainage. The larger stones are placed about halfway up the side of the canister, with smaller gravel preferably being used for the remainder of the fill. The top of the canister is preferably positioned about two inches below grade. The pipe defining the passage for the drop rod is aligned with the desired location of the rod when the gates are closed. Concrete is poured over the top of the canister to a depth sufficient to provide a level grade with the surrounding surface, with only the plastic pipe of the drop rod receptacle extending to grade at the upper surface of the concrete. Some means of preventing the concrete from adhering to the pipe is preferable (e.g., wax paper or plastic wrap, etc., surrounding the pipe) in order to allow the pipe to be removed and a replacement installed should it become necessary in the future. Preferably, a larger diameter disc of contrasting visibility to the surrounding surface is installed over the upper end of the pipe, to facilitate finding the drop rod receptacle in the dark or in conditions of poor light. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an environmental elevation view in section of a receptacle for a gate drop rod according to the present invention, illustrating its completed installation in the ground. 
         FIG. 2  is an environmental perspective view of a double gate, showing the drop rod secured by the drop rod receptacle according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the components comprising a kit for the receptacle for a gate drop rod according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The receptacle for a gate drop rod comprises various embodiments of an in-ground receptacle for a gate drop rod as conventionally used to secure double gates and the like in the closed position. The receptacle includes sufficient drainage and interior volume to assure that it will not become filled with water or debris and thus limit the insertion of the gate drop rod therein. 
       FIG. 1  of the drawings provides a side elevation view in section of an exemplary gate drop rod receptacle installation in the ground or earth E. The receptacle  10  includes a relatively large canister  12 , as commonly used to protect underground water shutoff valves and the like. The canister  12  has an open bottom  14  to allow complete drainage therefrom, the normally open top  16  being closed by a cover  18 . The canister  12  may be frustopyramidal or frustoconical in shape, providing a broad base for the diffusion and drainage of water that may enter through the drop rod passage. Only a single screw or other fastener is shown securing the cover  18  to the upper rim or top  16  of the canister  12 , as all of the components of the receptacle  10  assembly will be immovably secured relative to one another once they are installed in the ground and covered. 
     Additional drainage may be provided adjacent to the bottom  14  of the canister  12  by a drain cutout  20 , with the opening of the drain cutout  20  preferably being covered by a reasonably large mesh screen  22  to allow for drainage while preventing the entrance of gravel and/or stone S into the canister  12  during installation of the receptacle. The screen  22  may be loosely secured over the outside of the drain cutout  20 , e.g., tape, etc. prior to installing the receptacle  10  in the ground, as the pressure of the surrounding stone S will hold the screen  22  in place on the canister  12  after installation of the receptacle. 
     The cover  18  includes at least one, and preferably two, threaded openings formed therethrough. The two openings  24   a  and  24   b  are of different diameters from one another in order to allow the installation of different diameter drop rod pipes, e.g., pipe  26 , therein, depending upon the diameter of the gate drop rod with which the receptacle  10  is to be used. In the example of  FIG. 1 , the smaller diameter first opening  24   a  has the end of a pipe  26  of corresponding diameter installed therein, with the opposite unused larger diameter opening  24   b  being closed by a cooperating cap or plug  28 . The two openings  24   a  and  24   b  are preferably internally threaded. The cooperating pipe  26  and cap or plug  28  are each provided with cooperating external threads. For this purpose, the pipe  26  has a threaded stud extending from one end that either engages one of the openings  24   a ,  24   b  directly (as shown in  FIG. 1 ), or engages a threaded adapter (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) installed in the opening  24   a ,  24   b , so that the body of the pipe  26  extends above the cover  18  and the canister  12 , the canister  12  serving as a pier or base to support the pipe  26 . While it is envisioned that both the pipe  26  and cap  28  are permanently installed, it may be necessary to remove and replace the pipe  26  after some prolonged period of use. Accordingly, the pipe  26  may be protected from contact with the surrounding concrete C during installation to allow it to be unthreaded from its passage  24   a  and a new pipe installed as a replacement, if necessary. 
     The pipe  26  serves as a closely fitting sleeve for the gate drop rod, thus greatly reducing lateral play of the drop rod within the drop rod pipe  26 , The pipe  26  is completely open at both its upper and lower ends  30   a  and  30   b , to allow any moisture, debris, etc. to drop completely through the pipe  26  and into the large interior volume of the canister  12  below. Water and other moisture dissipate through the open bottom of the canister  12 , and into the underlying stone and gravel S, and thence into the ground or earth E below. The open upper end  30   a  of the pipe  26  is preferably positioned just above grade, with a high visibility guide  32 , e.g., a disc of contrasting color and/or high reflectivity and/or phosphorescence, etc., being secured (e.g., interference fit) about the upper end  30   a  of the pipe  26  and in contact with the underlying surface. 
     The drop rod receptacle  10  is installed by first digging a hole at the desired location, with the hole being somewhat larger than the dimensions of the receptacle  12 . Preferably, a relatively large or coarse grade of stone S is placed in the bottom of the hole to a depth on the order of a couple of inches, more or less, as desired. The canister  12  is then placed in the hole atop the layer of stone S therein, with the cover  18  and drop rod pipe  26  in place on the canister  12 . The canister  12  may be adjusted slightly, as desired, to align the pipe  26  with the drop rod of the gate by swinging the gate to the desired position and lowering the drop rod to indicate the exact position required for the receptacle  10 . 
     Once the exact position of the receptacle  10  has been set, more stone S is placed in the hole to surround the lower portion of the canister  12 . A finer grade of gravel or stone S 2  is then placed about the upper portion of the canister  12 , generally about up to the cover  18 . Normally, the cover  18  of the canister  12  is about two inches (more or less, as desired) below grade at this point. The area atop the canister cover  18  and surrounding gravel or stone S 2  is then filled with concrete C, to bring the upper surface up to grade. The upper end  30   a  of the pipe  26  may be trimmed as needed at this point, leaving only a slight amount (e.g., ¼ A inch or so) extending above the surface of the concrete C. The high visibility disc  32  is then forced over the upper end  30   a  of the drop rod pipe  26 , to complete the installation. 
       FIG. 2  provides an illustration of an exemplary completed installation. In this above-ground view, the only portions of the receptacle that are visible, are the upper end  30   a  of the drop rod pipe and the surrounding high visibility disc  32 . The two gates G 1  and G 2  are shown closed in this view, with the drop rod D lowered into the drop rod pipe to secure the two gates in their closed positions. 
       FIG. 3  of the drawings is an illustration of all of the components of a kit for assembling and installing the receptacle  10 . It will be understood that not all of the components will be installed in any given installation, but various components of different diameters are provided in the kit to allow the installer to choose the desired components according to the diameter of the gate drop rod for which the receptacle  10  is to be installed. 
     The kit for the gate drop rod receptacle  10  includes the canister  12  with its precut lower drain cutout  20  (one or more) and installed screen  22 . The cover  18  is also included, with its two previously formed and threaded drop rod passages  24   a  and  24   b . One or more fasteners  34  may be provided for securing the cover  18  to the upper rim or top  16  of the canister  12 , although the cover  18  need only be secured to the canister  12  sufficiently to prevent its being dislodged during installation of the receptacle, i.e., the pour of concrete over the cover  18 . Accordingly, two drop rod pipes  26   a  and  26   b  are provided with the kit. Each of the pipes has a threaded lower end cooperating with the corresponding opening  24   a  and  24   b  of the cover  18 . It should be noted that the two pipes  26   a ,  26   b  shown in  FIG. 2  may be provided in somewhat longer lengths to allow the receptacle to be buried more deeply, if so desired, with the unused portion of the installed pipe  26   a  or  26   b  being cut off after installation. 
     Alternatively, a pair of intermediate adapters or fittings, respectively  36   a  and  36   b , may be provided in the kit if so desired. These adapters or fittings  36   a  and  36   b  are installed in the corresponding threaded openings  24   a  and  24   b  of the cover  18 , and the pipe to be used, either the smaller diameter pipe  26   a  or the larger diameter pipe  26   b , is installed in the corresponding adapter or fitting  36   a  or  36   b , as desired. It will be noted that when an adapter  36   a ,  36   b  is used, the openings  24   a ,  24   b  need not be threaded, but may be smooth bore openings, and the adapters  36   a ,  36   b  may be secured to the cover  18  by PVC cement or the like, the adapters being internally threaded to receive the corresponding pipe  26   a ,  26   b . The opposite unused opening  24   a  or  24   b , or the adapter or fitting  24   a  or  34   b  installed therein, is closed by means of a corresponding cap or plug  28   a  or  28   b . Finally, a pair of high visibility discs  32   a  and  32   b  are provided with the kit. The only difference between the two discs  32   a ,  32   b  is the size of the central passage therein, the disc  32   a  having a smaller passage for fitting tightly about the smaller diameter drop rod pipe  26   a  and the disc  32   b  having a larger diameter passage to fit tightly about the larger diameter pipe  26   b.    
     Accordingly, the receptacle  10  for a gate drop rod greatly improves the operation of a gate drop rod in securing a gate so equipped. The drainage provided by the open bottomed canister  12 , and its relatively large interior volume, likely assure proper drainage of water or other liquid that may pass through the drop rod pipe  26  for years after installation. Any minor debris, e.g., leaves, pine needles, dirt, etc., that falls through the pipe  26  will be collected within the large interior volume of the canister  12 , with it again being likely that this will not pose a problem for many years after installation. Preferably the various components, i.e., the canister  12 , top  18 , pipes  26   a  and  26   b , caps or plugs  28   a  and  28   b , fittings  36   a  and  36   b  (if provided with the kit), and the discs  32   a  and  32   b , are all formed of a durable plastic material in order to prevent corrosion from the moisture accompanying the in-ground installation of the receptacle. Accordingly, the receptacle  10  for a gate drop rod in its various embodiments will likely serve well for many years, and may outlast the gates and gate installation. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.