Patent Publication Number: US-8534005-B2

Title: Adjustable and reversible pillar

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a Continuation-in-Part from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/656,811 filed Feb. 17, 2010 entitled Adjustable Pillar. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the field of pillars including pillars which are adapted for supporting the weight of a fence, gate or the like, and in particular to an adjustable and reversible pillar which, while being well adapted for bearing the weight of a fence panel, gate, or the like, is adjustable to accommodate alignment irregularities upon the forming of the pillar foundation or otherwise upon mounting of the pillar onto an uneven surface so that the pillar&#39;s pillar box may be aligned vertically, and is also reversible to position hinges on the pillar where they are required. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is conventional that weight hearing pillars for supporting fence panels, gates or the like must not only be weight bearing structures but also well affixed to the ground by a foundation or like sub-structure or by mounting onto a base which is affixed to the ground so as to resist, especially in the case of gates, the bending moment imparted to the pillar by the cantilevered weight of the gate acting on the pillar so as to pull the pillar out of vertical alignment. 
     The sub-structure supporting such pillars in order to resist the bending moment is often a foundation which is formed so as to be buried in the ground under the pillar, for example a foundation of poured concrete. In applicant&#39;s experience often the pillar itself is bolted down onto the concrete of the foundation so that, if the foundation is mis-aligned, that is for example if the top of the foundation footing is not horizontal, the pillar when mounted onto the foundation will not be vertical. Even relatively slight mis-alignment from the horizontal of the foundation footing will often cause visually perceptible mis-alignment from the vertical of the pillar due to the fact that the pillars are often quite tall and narrow and thus a small degree of off-set of the foundation footing from horizontal results in a visually perceptible mis-alignment of the pillars from the vertical. 
     In the past, correcting the alignment of the pillar which is to be mounted onto a somewhat non-horizontal foundation provides difficulties and is laborious for the installer of the pillar, who has to employ shims or the like, keeping in mind that the weight being born by the pillar is often substantial and thus the shims employed to bring the pillar to vertical must be capable of withstanding a great load over the lifetime of the pillar without shifting or breaking down. Further, in the past placement of the hinges in the most advantageous orientation was often difficult and time consuming. 
     In the prior art applicant is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,248 which issued to Kruse are Mar. 30, 1993 for a Pre-Fabricated Column Assembly. Kruse teaches installing a gate column by boring a hole in the ground and filling the hole with concrete to form the footing. Pipes are inserted into the concrete footing before it sets. Apertures are then cut through the wall of the tube forming the column on diametrically opposite sides of the tube to correspond to locations of bores which extend through a support pillar formed from the pipes. The tube is placed over the support pillar to rest on the footing and a threaded rod passed laterally through the bore in the support pillar. Threaded nuts are mounted onto the ends of the rod to fasten the tube onto the support pillar. 
     Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,664 which issued to Butler on Dec. 20, 1994 for a Self-Contained Automatic Gate System. Butler discloses the construction of pillar footings by inserting a cardboard tube into a hole dug in the ground, positioning a plurality of vertical metal rods with spacers within the tube and pouring concrete into the tube leaving the upper threaded ends of the rods exposed. Once the concrete is hardened a bottom flange of the pillar is bolted to the rods to mount the gate assembly onto the footing. A metal collar may be provided about the top of the tube, with a flared upper end of the collar at ground level if the pillar is to be mounted below ground level. The footing is thus left exposed to the elements. 
     Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 7,191,573 which issued to Newton on Mar. 20, 2007 for a Structural Pre-Fabricated Column Pillar for Securing to the Ground. Newton discloses a pre-fabricated column having rods which secure to the bottom of the column and a concrete form which is removably secured to the rods. A central tube is mounted in the column using support pans and is telescopically received within a receiver tube concreted into the ground. With the central tube mounted in the receiver tube, concrete is poured into the concrete form. Once the concrete cures, the form is removed and the ends of the rods plugged. 
     Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 7,988,035, which issued Aug. 2, 2011 to Cox et al. for An Apparatus For Secure Postal And Parcel Receipt And Storage. Cox et al. disclose a housing having a compartment closed by a front door on the front of the receptacle. Mail is placed into the compartment via the door. The bottom or base portion of the receptacle includes a base and a plate. Both the plate and the base include holes into which the upper ends of J-bolts extend. Rubber washers/sleeves are mounted on the J-bolts within the holes in the base. The uppermost ends of the J-bolts are threaded and correspondingly threaded nuts are mounted onto the uppermost ends of the J-bolts so as to sandwich the rubber sleeves/washers between the nuts and the plate below the base so that by rotating the J-bolts, the nut is lowered so as to compress the rubber sleeves/washers thereby expanding the sleeves/washers to provide a pinch friction fit of the rubber sleeves/washers within the holes in the base. With the plate installed up against the underside of the base, the plate is set on the ground above a hole. Cement or concrete is poured into the hole and the lower ends of the J-bolts are sunk into the cement. After the cement hardens the base is placed onto the plate with the ends of the J-bolt sticking up through the holes in the base, and the washers, rubber sleeves and nuts are threaded onto the J-bolts to secure the base to the plate. The rubber sleeves expand when the nuts tightened on them. The tight fit of the holes around the extended rubber sleeves secures or affixes the base to the plate and to the J-bolts. Cox et al. teach that the base is secured only through the tight fit of the rubber sleeves and not otherwise fastened to the plate or J-bolts. Consequently, the orientation of the base relative to the plate may not be adjusted according to the mechanism of Cox et al., as compared to the adjustable mechanism provided in the base according to one aspect of the present invention wherein the angular orientation of the base relative to the bars extending upwardly from the foundation may be adjusted so as to orient the pillar to vertical when the ground surface is not horizontal. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The adjustable and reversible pillar according to one aspect of the present invention may be characterized as including a reversible substantially rectangular parallelepiped pillar housing resting on a base. The housing has opposite first and second ends which are substantially mirror images of one another. The first and second ends have corresponding first and second mounting flanges extending therearound. The housing is hollow, having a cavity therein defined by pillar walls extending longitudinally between the first and second ends of the pillar. The mounting flanges each extend inwardly of the walls and into the cavity. Either of the first or seconds ends is adapted for mounting on the base. At least one of the housing walls is selectively removable from the housing to provide access into the cavity when removed from the housing. The base has substantially parallel upper and lower surfaces. At least the upper surface of the base is sized to mate with the first or second ends of the pillar housing by mounting of the corresponding first or second mounting flanges onto the upper surface of base. Vertically adjustable feet are mounted to the lower surface of the base. A vertically adjustable hinge mounting assembly is mounted to or formed in one of the walls. 
     The mounting flanges each have a plurality of mounting holes spaced theraround. The base has a corresponding plurality of ground anchor holes spaced around the base so as to cooperate with the plurality of mounting holes for journaling of ground anchors therethrough whereby upper ends of the ground anchors are securable down against the corresponding mounting flange when resting down onto the upper surface of the base to thereby secure the pillar housing down onto the base, and the base down onto the ground surface. The ground anchors protrude vertically upwardly from the ground. 
     The hinge mounting assembly may include at least one track formed and extending longitudinally along one of the pillar housing walls. The track may be a single vertical track. 
     Advantageously the upper surface of the base is substantially square, and a lateral cross-section through the first or second ends of the pillar housing is also square and substantially correspondingly sized for flush mounting of the first or second mounting flanges down onto the upper surface of the base. The housing is thereby selectively positionable about a longitudinally extending, centroidal axis of the housing, and is reversible end-for-end so as to mount either the first or the second ends of the housing on the base. 
     In a preferred embodiment the hinge mounting assembly is offset to one lateral side of one of the walls. For example, the hinge mounting assembly may be substantially along an edge of one of the walls, and may include a linear track for mounting hinges therein on hinge plates for selectively adjustable positioning therealong. The hinge plates are clamped towards the corresponding hinge by means of a bolt or the like so as to clamp the position of the hinge along the track. 
     The vertically adjustable feet may include vertically adjustable threaded male members such as bolts for mating into correspondingly threaded female members such as bolts mounted in or to the base. 
     Where the pillar according to the invention further includes ground anchors, for example in a pillar and mounting system, the ground anchors advantageously include rods having upper and lower ends, where the upper ends are threaded and the lower ends are adapted for mounting below ground level to provide anchoring to resist tipping of the housing. The upper ends of the rods journal upwardly through the anchor holes and mounting holes. Threaded nuts are threadably mountable onto and along the upper ends of the rods so as to clamp the nuts down onto the first or second mounting flange, whichever is the lower end, when resting on the upper surface of the base. Thus the first or second ends of the housing are clamped down onto the base and the feet of the base clamped down onto the ground surface. 
     In one embodiment the base may be hollow, having side walls, an open top, and at least a partially enclosed floor defining the lower surface of the base. The anchor holes in the lower surface of the base are formed in the base floor. The upper edges of the side walls form at least part of the upper surface of the base. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is, in perspective view, one embodiment of the adjustable pillar of the present invention with a gate mounted thereto. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken along a vertical plane vertically bisecting the pillar of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is, in partially exploded partially cut-away perspective view, the foundation and pillar box of the adjustable pillar of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is, in partially exploded view, the modular pillar and gate of  FIG. 1  mounted by hinges according to a further embodiment. 
         FIG. 4   a  is a sectional view along line  4   a - 4   a  in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 5  is the view of  FIG. 2  showing an alternative embodiment of adjustable foundation according to one aspect of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is the view of  FIG. 5  showing a further alternative embodiment of the adjustable foundation. 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view horizontally through pillar box  10  so as to expose in plan view a semi-automatic gate opener mounted within the pillar box and cooperating with the gate by means of a pair of scissoring linkage arms. 
         FIG. 8  is the gate opener of  FIG. 7  with the gate in a position perpendicular to the position of the gate in  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is, in partially exploded top perspective view, the adjustable, reversible pillar according to one aspect of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is, a partially cut away side elevation view of the lower end of the pillar of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is, in plan view, the upper end of the pillar housing of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 12   a  is, in side elevation view, the top cap of the pillar of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 12   b  is, in plan view, the top cap of  FIG. 12   a.    
         FIG. 13   a  is, in side elevation view, the right side of the pillar housing of  FIG. 9  showing the removable door panel on the side of the pillar housing. 
         FIG. 13   b  is, in front elevation view, the pillar housing of  FIG. 9  with the hinges and track covers removed. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The modular pillar according to the present invention has a hollow housing or pillar box  10  which is vertically elongate and generally rectangular on side. Pillar box  10  has rectangular openings, namely upper and lower openings  10   a  and  10   b  respectively. Openings  10   a  and  10   b  may be rectangular and may be defined by sides  10   c.    
     A circumferentially extending rigid flange or shelf  12  is formed circumferentially around the entire inner circumference of the cavity within pillar box  10 . In one embodiment flange  12  is spaced upwardly from the lower opening  10   b  by approximately one quarter of the vertical length of pillar box  10 . Apertures  12   a  are formed in the four corners of flange  12 . 
     A foundation  14  may in one embodiment be provided which includes a frame of, for example, four vertically orientated rods  16  mounted to so as to extend vertically upward from a square base frame  18 . Frame  18  may also for example be constructed of rods which have been cut to length and welded together at the corners. The lower most ends of rods  16  are also welded at the corners of base frame  18 . Base frame  18  is sized so that, when rods  16  extend vertically upwards therefrom, the upper threaded ends  16   a  align with, so as to be journalled through apertures  12   a  in flange  12 . 
     Ends  16   a  of rods  16  extend upwardly through a box form or base  20 . Base  20  provides a box-like form around rods  16 . Base  20  is sized so that it may nest within opening  10   b  so as to vertically telescope relative to the lower or base end of pillar box  10 . 
     During installation of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the ground  22  is excavated and base frame  18  and the lower portions of rods  16 , below threaded ends  16   a  are lowered into the excavation. Rods  16  provide a reinforced footing when encased in concrete poured into the excavation. Base  20  is placed over threaded ends  16   a . Threaded ends  16   a  are snugly bracketed in the corresponding corners  20   a  of base  20 , and are thereby maintained in their vertical alignment above base frame  18 . 
     With base  20  resting down onto the upper surface  24   a  of concrete  24  (or down onto ground  22  if concrete  24  has been covered over), lower threaded nuts  26   a  are threaded down onto threaded ends  16   a  and positioned at approximately the desired elevation of flange  12 , that is, the elevation which corresponds to the desired spacing A of the lower most edge  10   d  of pillar box  10  above ground level. With lower nuts  26   a  in their desired position on threaded ends  16   a  (or at least in their approximate position), pillar box  10  is lowered down onto threaded ends  16   a  so as to journal threaded ends  16   a  through apertures  12   a  in flange  12 . Flange  12  rests down against lower nuts  26   a . Flange  12  may be supported by vertical ribs or bracket  12   b.    
     Access panel  28  on the lower end of pillar box  10  is opened if not already open to as to provide access to the upper and lower sides of flange  12 . Lower nuts  26   a  are adjusted on threaded ends  16   a  until the desired spacing A is achieved and pillar box  10  is vertical. Upper threaded nuts  26   b  are then threaded down onto threaded ends  16   a  so as to sandwich flange  12  between upper nuts  26   b  and lower nuts  26   a . Flange  12 , and thus pillar box  10 , is thereby locked into place, vertically telescoped over base  20 . The threaded ends  16   a  of rods  16 , flange  12  and nuts  26   a ,  26   b  are protected from the weather by their location inside pillar box  10  and base  20 . 
     In one embodiment, base  20  provides a form for pouring a concrete base or footing, in which case base  20  may be made of sheet metal which may be removed exposing the concrete footing. The concrete footing provides a rigid base supporting rods  16  and in particular supporting threaded ends  16   a . In other embodiments, base  20  may itself be a rigid base, that is, is not replaced by a poured concrete footing. 
     In one embodiment, rods  16  are formed of so-called rebar, as is base frame  18 . Threaded ends  16   a  are formed on the upper ends of the rebar so to accept nuts  26   a  and  26   b  in threaded mating thereon. The sides  10   c  of pillar box  10  may be made of sheet metal, as also may be access panels  28 . 
     With pillar box  10  mounted onto foundation  14 , and with foundation  14  encased in concrete  24  and entrenched in an excavation  22   a  in ground  22  pillar box  10  is well adapted to resist the bending moments acting on the pillar box as a result of gates  30  being hung from one side of pillar box  10  by gate hinges  32 . Gate hinges  32  may be selectively actuable hinges which may be selectively actuated so as to open gates  30  by means of actuators such as gate openers  52  housed within pillar box  10 . 
     Hinges  32  may be mounted to pillar box  10  by various means. For example in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , hinges  32  are rigidly mounted onto mounting plates  34  by means of bolts  36  mounted through adjustment slots  38 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , hinges  32  are mounted into channel  38  by means of slide plates  32   a  sliding along channel  38  while engaged under opposed facing retaining flanges  38   a . Bolts  32   b  frictionally engage within channel  38  when hinges  32  are positioned at their desired height along channel  38 . 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , threaded rods or bolts  40  are used to anchor a base plate  42  down onto a rigid surface such as a concrete slab  44 . Box  20  is mounted down onto base plate  42 . Threaded rods  46  are mounted to base plate  42  and extend vertically upwardly from base plate  42  through box  20  so as to be mounted to flange  12  through apertures  12   a  by means of upper and lower nuts  26   b  and  26   a  respectively as described above. As in the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , flange  12  may have vertical reinforcing ribs or plates  48  mounted thereunder. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 6 , rods  46  are mounted down onto an underground supporting structure  50  buried in ground  22  or in slab  44 . Supporting alternative  50  may be cross bars, rebar, plates etc. formed to extend laterally from the lower ends of rods  46  into the surrounding earth or slab to stabilize rods  46  when engaged with flange  12  by means of threaded couplers  26   a  and  26   b , although other forms of couplers would also work (collectively referred to herein as threaded couplers). 
     As seen in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , a semi-automatic gate opener  52  may be mounted within pillar box  10  so as to cooperate with gate  30  for semi-automatic opening of gate  30 . As seen in  FIG. 7 , with gate  30  at substantially a perpendicular orientation relative to its position shown in dotted outline, linkage arms  54   a  and  54   b  are pivoted so as to rotate the inner end  54   c  in direction B about hinge pin or shaft  56 . Linkage arm  54   b  is pivotably mounted at its distal end  54   d  to linkage arm  54   a , itself pivotally mounted at hinge  54   e  to gate  30 . Stop  58   a  arrests rotation of end  54   c  in direction B as end  54   e  is rotated under the resilient urging, in tension, of spring  60 . 
     In  FIG. 8  gate  30  is perpendicular to the position of gate  30  in  FIG. 7 . Angle alpha (a) formed between linkage arms  54   a  and  54   b  is acute in  FIG. 7  and obtuse in  FIG. 8 . In  FIG. 8  end  54   c  of linkage arm  54   b  has been rotated in a direction opposite to direction B so as to engage against stop  58   b . This compresses compression spring  62  and elongates tension spring  60 . Hydraulic decelerator  64  may be provided adjacent stop  58   a  so as to decelerate end  54   e  prior to end  54   c  engaging against stop  58   a  under the urging of spring  60 . 
     As also seen in  FIG. 8 , with end  54   c  of linkage arm  54   b  rotated against stop  58   b , actuator  66  may be selectively actuated so as to swing roller lock  68  on the end of spring arm  70  in direction C. This engages roller lock  68  behind end  54   c  thereby locking end  54   c  against stop  58   b . When it is desired to release the lock so as to allow tension spring  60  to rotate linkage arm  54   b  in direction B, to thereby rotate gate  30  in direction D, actuator  66  is retracted thereby pulling roller lock  68  clear of end  54   c , that is, into the position illustrated in  FIG. 7 . Linkage arm  54   b  is then to swing in direction B. 
     In an alternative embodiment, and as seen commencing in  FIG. 9 , pillar  10  includes a symmetric and reversible pillar housing  100  adjustably mounted to base  102  and having a top cap  104 . Housing  100  is hollow and is reversible in the sense that the oppositely disposed ends  100   a  and  100   b  are substantially identical and mirror images of one another so that they may be swapped end-for-end and mounted onto base  102 . Thus, each end  100   a  and  100   b  of housing  100  includes a mounting flange  106  extending circumferentially around the open ends of housing  100 . Both mounting flanges  106 , that is, the mounting flange  106  on end  100   a  and the mounting flange  106  on end  100   b , have mounting holes  108  in an identically spaced-apart mirror-imaged pattern around each flange  106 . 
     Adjustable bolts  110  are mounted in the base  102  through the lower surface of the base, and in particular through the rigid floor  102   a  of base  102  so as to extend threaded upper ends of bolts  110  upwardly through floor  102   a . Feet may be mounted on the lowermost ends of bolts  110  so as to engage the ground surface  114   a . Threaded nuts  110   a  are mounted as by welding onto floor  102   a  so that the threaded ends of each bolt  110  may be threaded into the corresponding nut  110   a  so as to selectively vertically position the feet. 
     Ground anchors such as rods  16 , or which include rods  16 , are mounted in ground  114 , with rods  16  protruding vertically upwardly. The threaded upper ends  16   a  of rods  16  extend from ground surface  114   a  and are inserted through corresponding anchor holes  108  in floor  102   a  and through corresponding mounting holes  106   a  in the flange  106  which has been positioned as the lower end of housing  100 . Nuts  16   b  are threaded down onto ends  16   a  of rods  16  to clamp flange  106 , and thus the housing  100 , down onto the upper surfaces of base  102 , in the illustrated embodiment defined by the upper edges of the base sidewalls  102   b.    
     By pre-positioning the threaded ends of bolts  110  to thereby level base  102 , the lower flange  106  will also be level and the housing vertical when the housing is mounted on base  102 . In this fashion, if base  102  is mounted on a non-horizontal ground surface, the angular position of housing  100  and base  102  may be adjusted by the vertically adjusted positions of bolts  110  so that housing  100  is vertical. 
     A slideably mountable door  112 , which may be made to resemble one of the pillar walls, slideably mounts onto housing  100  by the mating of longitudinally extending lips  112   a  under and along corresponding channels  100   e  formed in one open side of housing  100 . Thus door  112  slides longitudinally onto and along the open side of housing  100  so as to selectively close the entire open side of housing  100  once the full length door  112  is slid into position. With cap  104  mounted down onto the uppermost end of housing  100 , door  112  is locked into position on housing  100  so as to close over and camouflage the existence of the open side of housing  100 . 
     The removable door  112  doubles as a decorative panel on the corner of the housing adjacent to the hinge track  116 . Door  112  is mounted on vertical slides so as to make it inconspicuous. It is accessible by removing the cap  104 . The pillar housing  100  is reversible so that it may be rotated about centroidal axis “X”, “Y” or “Z” to bring the hinge location to the front, inside, back or upside down depending on the required hinge location relative to the base  102 . 
     Mounting flanges  106  allow the pillar to be reversible end-for-end, that is, top to bottom and rotatable in 90 degree increments about axis X to cover the four most common hinge mounting locations, in a left hand or right hand configuration. 
     Vertical track  116  is formed near one of the corners into which threaded plate inserts  118  fit and slide up and down. Hinge bolts  118   a  are tightened to mount hinges  32  at their desired height along track  116 , to thereby provide an adjustable height attachment point for the gate (not shown). With the hinges in position, covers  120  may be mounted to the uncovered portions of track  116  so as to make track  116  inconspicuous. 
     As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.