Patent Publication Number: US-2023160197-A1

Title: Anchor bolt apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is related to and claims priority from prior provisional application Ser. No. 63/281,688, filed Nov. 21, 2021 which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d). 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to anchor bolt apparatuses for anchoring wood frames of homes to their foundation. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Prior art anchor bolt apparatuses are usually formed as J-bolts and formed from steel. However, over time these steel J-bolts do corrode and expand up to five times their original diameter resulting in the breaking out of the exterior side of their respective cement foundations. When J-bolts are corroded or scaled down 20% or more of their original diameter the J-bolt is removed and replaced. To replace a J-bolt, 8″×8″ holes in drywall, called windows, are cut open or the exterior siding of a home is cut out and removed to allow the nut and washer of the J-bolt to be installed. The International Building Code (IBC) requires that an engineer view the J-bolt being tightened to certify the repair work. Thus, a need exists for an improved anchor bolt apparatus to avoid the above-mentioned problems. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of anchor bolt apparatuses or the like in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved anchor bolt apparatus. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide an improved anchor bolt apparatus that includes a rotating blade at one end and a removable viewing box on the opposite end resulting and having all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and method(s) of use for the present invention, An Improved Anchor Bolt Apparatus, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present invention. 
         FIG.  1    shows a cut-away side view illustrating the improved anchor bolt apparatus in use according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    shows a cut-away side view illustrating the improved anchor bolt apparatus in placed according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    shows a view of a hole (window) cut in drywall and used to access a prior art anchor bolt apparatus. 
         FIG.  4    shows a view of prior art shoring supports being used while a housing foundation is being repaired. 
         FIG.  5    shows another view of prior art shoring supports being used while a housing foundation is being repaired. 
         FIG.  6 A  shows a side view of an alternate embodiment of the improved anchor bolt apparatus incorporating a center plate. 
         FIG.  6 B  shows a top view of the center plate of the alternate embodiment of  FIG.  6 A . 
         FIG.  7 A  shows a side view of an alternate embodiment of the improved anchor bolt apparatus incorporating an off-set plate. 
         FIG.  7 B  shows a top view of the off-set plate of the alternate embodiment of  FIG.  7 A . 
     
    
    
     The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to an improved anchor bolt apparatus  100  for anchoring wood frames of homes to their foundation. 
     The improved anchor bolt apparatus  100  will allow a J-Bolts to be replaced from the outside of a building at the location of repair without the need for cutting drywall  500  and forming a window box  510 , as shown in  FIG.  3   , or cutting any exterior siding as per the prior art apparatuses need. Because the improved anchor bolt apparatus is embedded within a structural concrete patch, a viewing box is installed within the structural patch and used to allow an engineer to view and certify the tightening of the anchor used to secure the vertical walls and framework of a building to its foundation. After tightening, the viewing box is removed and a cement patch is further applied. 
     Referring now to  FIGS.  1  and  2   , the improved anchor bolt apparatus  100  comprises a threaded bolt  110  having an aperture therethrough at a proximal end thereof; a pin  120  placed through the threaded bolt  110 ; a blade  130  pivotally connected to the pin  120 ; a primary nut  173  adapted to be placed over and engage a mid-section of the threaded bolt  110 ; a washer  140  and a secondary nut  150  adapted to be placed over and engage the threaded distal end of the threaded bolt  110 ; and an optional viewing box  200  having an aperture therethrough adapted to allow the threaded distal end of the threaded bolt  110  to pass therethrough, wherein the blade  130  is adapted to engage a top surface of a structural member, the primary nut  173  is adapted to engage a bottom surface of the structural member, and the washer  140  and a nut  150  are adapted to engage the threaded distal end of the threaded bolt  110  and be releasably retained within the concrete of the foundation of the structure to thereby securely hold the structural member, and thereby the structure, to the foundation. 
     The blade  130  is placed within the aperture of the threaded bolt  110  and rotatably held in place by inserting pin  120  through the diameter of the bolt  110  and through the blade  130 . Blade  130  is then allowed to freely rotate. The blade  130  allows the improved anchor bolt apparatus  100  to be inserted through an appropriately sized hole within a building structural element  300  when the blade  130  is aligned vertically. Once inserted and pulled downwardly, the blade  130  is forced to tilt/spin off its vertical position via angled edge  134  to form a T-shape, and is then secured to structural member  300  by rotating primary nut  173 . Secondary nut  150  is then surrounded by concrete that forms the foundation and thereby anchors the anchor bolt apparatus  100  to the foundation  400  and thereby structural member  300  as well. 
     Blade  130  may be formed having an elongated flat rectangular shape having a rectangular cross-section, however, other shapes and cross sections may be used. Blade  130  may be also formed having a curved end  132  to aid the insertion of the blade into and through the hole within the building structure. Furthermore, the length of the blade  130  is larger than the diameter of the threaded bolt  110  to ensure its ability to securely contact the top surface of structural member  300 . 
     As shown in  FIGS.  4  and  5   , shoring supports  700  are used in the prior art while a housing foundation of a house  700  is being repaired. 
     When using the optional viewing box  200 , the viewing box is adapted to be removably placed within the foundation of the house  700 ; then the threaded bolt  110  is adapted to be inserted into the aperture of the structural element  300  of the house and through the aperture of the viewing box, such that the distal end of the threaded bolt is located within the interior volume of the viewing box and the proximal end of the threaded bolt is adapted to be located above the structural element; then the blade  130  is rotated around the pin  120  and into a position adapted to engage a top surface of the structural element; then primary nut  173  is tightened, then the washer  140  and the secondary nut  150  are placed upon the distal end of the threaded bolt and tightened to create tension upon the threaded bolt, such that the house can be safely and securely attached to its foundation. After an inspector certifies the tension upon the threaded bolt, viewing box  200  may be removed and a patch of cement placed within that area to complete the process. 
     The viewing box  200  may be formed as one piece or multiple pieces releasably connected together. The aperture of the viewing box that is adapted to allow the threaded distal end of the threaded bolt  110  to pass therethrough may be formed as a hole of a slot. A slot makes it easier to remove the viewing box without disturbing the anchor bolt after tightening. Forming the viewing box as two or more pieces releasably connected together also allows the viewing box to be removed without disturbing the anchor bolt after tightening. 
     In an alternate embodiment, as shown in  FIGS.  6 A and  6 B , a center plate  400  may be incorporated having a main aperture  410  for threaded bolt  110  to pass through along with sub-apertures  420  for support fasteners to pass through. As such the improved anchor bolt apparatus  100  can be used to secure vertical support beams of a housing structure. Furthermore, a modification to this alternate embodiment would be to use an off-set plate  500  having a main aperture  510  for threaded bolt  110  to pass through along with sub-apertures  520  for support fasteners to pass through, as shown in  FIGS.  7 A and  7 B . As such the improved anchor bolt apparatus  100  can be used to secure vertical support beams of a housing structure that are off-set from where the improved anchor bolt apparatus  100  needs to be placed. Furthermore, as shown in  FIGS.  6 A,  6 B,  7 A, and  7 B , a second nut  150  can be incorporated along with nut  150  and washer  140  to thereby sandwich washer  140  therebetween and securely hold it at a chosen location upon threaded bolt  110  before cement is added and the anchor bolt set within the foundation of the structure. 
     The improved anchor bolt apparatus  100  may be made from Stainless steel 304, Medical Use 316, low carbon steel, standard steel, galvanized steel, bronze, and any other type of alloy or blended metals. Other materials for manufacture the improved anchor bolt apparatus may include Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP), and plastics. 
     The most widely used size of the threaded bolt  110  of the improved anchor bolt apparatus  100  for building construction foundation repairs would be stainless steel ⅝″ in diameter by 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, 16″, for foundation anchoring applications. All sizes should be considered in Standard American English (SAE), and Metric diameters and lengths. 
     The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. 
     Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement, which is calculated to achieve the same purpose, may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention.