Abstract:
An anchor formed of a hollow tube and pivotally attached wings with fluid pressure in the tube being used to expand the wings outwardly. A ring encircles the hollow tube and is attached to the outside surface of the hollow tube to allow for securement of cables to the anchor.

Description:
Applicant claims priority of Provisional Ser. No. 60/302,680, filed Jul. 5, 2001. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an anchor and a method for installing the anchor where the anchor has a pair of pivoted wings. 
     Anchors have long being used to keep objects in place on the land and under water. On land, anchors have been used in conjunction with mobile homes, temporary construction offices and trailers, large tents, airplanes, free standing buildings, guy wires and retaining wall tiebacks. In water, anchors have been used to anchor boats, beach access, piers, pilings, and mooring buoys. 
     When hurricanes and other fierce weather conditions occur, it is essential that the anchor be kept in place to prevent undesired consequences to attached structures. To do so, the anchor must have a strong gripping surface to contact the ground, or earth, around where the anchor is seated to provide maximum resistance to movement. 
     In providing for this gripping surface, earlier inventions have used one or more wings or side flanges that extend outwardly from a main shaft to which they are attached. The present invention is directed to an improvement over such inventions which can be used both on land or in the water to firmly anchor an object. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Anchors and anchoring methods having extending wings or flanges from a central or main shaft are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,655 to Galuska discloses an anchor with a frangible casing through which flanges protrude when the anchor is in place. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,912 to Shibata discloses an anchor having a plurality of pivoting flanges which are spring biased. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,521 to Conrad discloses an anchor which is placed in the sea bed by means of fluid forced through a hollow tube. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,978 to Bates discloses an expandable anchor for attachment to pilings. 
     In the present invention a method of installing an anchor and the anchor is disclosed in which there is a hollow tube having a pair of pivotally attached wings with the tube and wings being forced into the ground by fluid pressure through the tube, all as will be detailed in the specification that follows hereafter. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an anchor and a method for placing the anchor in the ground which uses a hollow tube and pivotally attached wings with fluid pressure in the tube used to expand the wings outwardly. 
     It is the primary object of the present invention to provide for an improved anchor and anchoring method to install the anchor in place. 
     Another object is to provide for such an anchor and the method of installing the anchor wherein a hollow tube has pivotally attached wings that are forced by fluid pressure in the tube to expand outwardly before removing a pressure supplying conduit. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to readers from a consideration of the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of the anchor used in the present invention with the wings in a collapsed position. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the FIG. 1 anchor with the wings in an expanded position. 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the anchor inserted into the ground below the supporting pilings of a pier. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of the anchor  1  of the present invention with the side flanges, or wings  3  and  5  in a collapsed position. Both wings  3 ,  5  are pivotally attached to the hollow tube  7 . The wings  3 ,  5  are shaped and sized substantially identically. A bolt  9 , whose end is shown, extends through a hole in an end of each wing  3 ,  5 . A conventional fastener fixes the bolt  9  in place. By off set mounting the wings from each other, they may fold over each other as depicted. The upper end of tube  7  has a larger diameter collar  11  having internal threads. The lower end  13  of tube  7  is open. Encircling the tube  7 , above the wings  3 ,  5 , is a thimble eye  15 . Thimble eye  15  is welded to tube  7 . The thimble eye  15  provides a means for attaching a cable  17 , shown in dotted line format, to the anchor tube  7 . The cable  17  can be used to lower/raise the tube  7 . An upper tube extension  19 , also shown in dotted line format, may be threaded into collar  11  to introduce pressurized fluid, like water, into the tube  7 . 
     As shown by the direction of the arrows A, free ends of the wings  3 ,  5  may be extended outwardly from their connections to the tube  7 . This is accomplished by introducing pressurized fluid such as, but not limited to, water into the tube  7 , which fluid exits through holes  23  in the sides (see FIG. 2) of the tube to move the wings from a collapsed position, as shown in FIG. 1, to an extended position, as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the FIG. 1 anchor  1  with the wings  3 ,  5  in an extended position. Each wing  3 ,  5  extends to a side of the tube  7 . The connecting bolt  9  extends through the ends of wings  3 ,  5  and into and through the tube  7 , and forms a pivot point for the wings  3 ,  5 . A conventional nut (not shown) retains the bolt  9  in place. Spaced along the tube  7  are through holes  23 . The number of holes  23  are not critical, as long as there are enough holes to direct fluid pressure from the tube  7  to the wings  3 ,  5 , and to pivot the wings to their extended position. The holes  23  allow pressurized fluid to pass through hollow tube  7  and to engage the facing surfaces  8  of the wings  3 ,  5 . The pressurized fluid forces the wings to pivot downwardly, as shown in FIG. 2, to an unfolded or expanded position. Each wing  3 ,  5  has two raised sides  25  on each side of the tube  7 . A lower recessed surface  8  extends between the sides  25  on each wing  3 ,  5 . It should be noted that any conventional source of pressurized fluid can be used with the present invention. 
     As stated previously, by making the wings  3 ,  5  slightly offset from each other, the collapsed wings can overlap each other when folded together as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The thimble eye, or ring,  15  has a center hole  16  which allows the cable  17 , shown in dotted line format in FIG. 1, to be inserted through hole  16 , and then around the ring  15  and attached in any conventional manner. The internal diameter of ring  15  is smaller than the external diameter of fitting  11  to prevent the ring  15  from slipping up the tube  9 . The fitting  11  has threads  27  which mate with external threads on tube extension  19 , shown in FIG. 3, to extend the length of tube  9 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the wing  3  fits to one side of the wing  5  with the bolt  9  extending through the two sides of each wing. In FIG. 2, both the cable  17  and tube extension  19  are not shown for clarity. 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of anchor  1  after it has been inserted into the sand S below the supporting pilings  33  of pier  35 . The supporting cables  17  extend from the ring  15  to a common swagging sleeve  37 . From sleeve  37  the cables  17  branches out in two directions to the cable clamps  39 , which secure the cables to fasteners  41  inserted into the pier  35 . This arrangement secures the cables  17  of anchor  1  to the pier  35 . 
     W indicates the water level above the sand and below the pier. 
     In installing the anchor  1 , as shown in the FIG. 3, extension conduit  19  is first threaded into the anchor collar  11 . The anchor  1  is then forced into the sand S below the water level W. The folded or collapsed wings  3 ,  5  are then opened. Expanding the wings is accomplished by injecting pressurized fluid pumped into tube  7  from a pump (not shown) through the tube extension  19 . 
     The pressurized water exits from tube holes  23  (see FIG. 2) to expand the wings outwardly into the adjacent sand. At the same time, the pressurized water also exists from opened tube end  13  blowing away the adjacent sand to provide for a seat for tube  7 . The end of tube  7 , below the wings, fits into this seat to provide a firm anchorage. Along with the now unfolded wings  3 ,  5 , the anchored tube  7  forms a firm hold for the anchor in the sand. Once the adjacent sand settles, the anchor  1  is firmly fixed in position by the sand. Next, the fluid pressure is removed and extension  19  can be removed from upper end of tube  7 . Once this occurs, the only anchor attachment to the surface is cables  17  fixed to ring  15 . The cables  17 , in turn, are fixed to the pier. 
     If the anchor  1  were to be used on land, a post hole digger could be used beforehand to form the ground hole for the tube  7 . Using high fluid pressures, folded wings  3 ,  5  could be expanded outwardly into the adjacent ground. Back filling material (dirt, concrete, etc.) could then be placed around the post on all sides filling in any visible holes to insure a firm anchor hold. 
     The anchor  1  can be manufactured in different sizes to suit the needs of the particular user. The materials used to construct the various components would depend on the particular use of the anchor. Thus, for use below water, waterproof or highly water resistant materials would be used. Using more than one cable  17  fixed to the anchor  1  insures a greater holding power especially when the cables are attached together to double or even triple the tensional strength over an individual cable. 
     Although the Anchor and the method of using the same according to the present invention has been described in the foregoing specification with considerable details, it is to be understood that modifications may be made to the invention which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of the present invention done by others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be considered infringements of this invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope of this invention.