Abstract
A device for host structures having an elongated section, for attaching, leveling, stabilizing and protecting such host structures. The device includes: (a) a support pad having a top, a bottom and at least one side wall, and at least one groove on its top, adapted to receive an elongated section of the host structure, and having a plurality of anchor-receiving orifice; and (b) at least one triple action anchor, being inverted U-shaped and adapted to be inserted into opposing anchor-receiving orifices, and being adopted to straddle the elongated section, with sufficient length to extend through said orifices and into ground to anchor said support pad and said elongated section. Secondary stackable support pads increase the thickness of the device for steep slope leveling.
Claims
1. A device for host structures having an elongated metal section, or an elongated plastic section or other material elongated section, for attaching, leveling, stabilizing and protecting said structures, which comprises: a) a support pad, said support pad having a top, a bottom and at least one side wall, said support pad having at least one groove on its top, said groove adapted to receive an elongated section of a host structure, said support pad having a plurality of anchor-receiving orifices, with at least one of said orifices being located on a first portion of said top and at least another of said orifices being located opposite said groove on a second portion of said top; b) at least one triple action anchor, being an inverted U-shaped anchor adapted to be inserted into opposing anchor-receiving orifices, and being adopted to fit over said elongated section, and having sufficient length to extend through said orifices and into ground to anchor said support pad and said elongated section.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein said groove is open at one end and is truncated at an opposite end so as to not extend through said support pad.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein said truncated opposite end is arcuated.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein said groove is open-ended at both ends so as to have no end walls and runs the full length of said support pad.
5. The device of claim 1 wherein said groove has a rectilinear cross-section.
6. The device of claim 1 wherein said groove has an arcuated cross-section.
7. The device of claim 6 wherein said groove has a half pipe cross-section.
8. The device of claim 1 wherein said pad has at least two sets of two orifices for each set, each set having opposing orifices.
9. The device of claim 1 wherein said support pad has a top view peripheral shape selected from the group consisting of square, rectangle, circle, oval and polygon.
10. The device of claim 1 wherein said support pad is made of moisture resistant material selected from the group consisting of plastic, rubber, recycled tires and combinations thereof.
11. The device of claim 1 wherein said triple action anchor has an inverted u-shape with a flat top.
12. The device of claim 1 wherein said triple action anchor has an inverted u-shape with an arcuated top.
13. The device of claim 1 wherein said support pad has a predetermined thickness and said triple action anchor has legs that are at least 1.5 times said predetermined thickness of said support pad and is adapted for earth penetration.
14. The device of claim 1 wherein said support pad has a plurality of stacking stabilizers on said top and a plurality of stacking stabilizers on said bottom, said plurality of stacking stabilizers being a combination of nesting protrusions and recesses.
15. The device of claim 1 wherein said triple action anchor has three interconnected components, said components being a top and rotatable opposing leg, said rotatable opposing legs being selected from the group consisting of: hand-crank auger; hand-crank cork screw; power driven augur; and power-driven cork screw.
16. The device of claim 1 which further includes: c) at least one secondary support pad for positioning under said support pad for increased height of support, and said at least one secondary support pad has anchor-receiving orifices positioned to correspond to said has anchor-receiving orifices of said support pad.
17. The device of claim 16 wherein said at least one secondary support pad has a top view peripheral shape that matches said support pad shape.
18. The device of claim 16 wherein said at least one secondary support pad is tapered in a direction at a right angle to said groove of said support pad.
19. The device of claim 16 wherein said at least one secondary support pad is tapered in a direction parallel to said groove of said support pad.
20. The device of claim 16 wherein said at least one secondary support pad has a plurality of stacking stabilizers on said top and a plurality of stacking stabilizers on said bottom, said plurality of stacking stabilizers being a combination of nesting protrusions and recesses.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
[0026] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of some features of the present invention outdoor triple action anchoring leveling device;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows another block diagram of some other features of the present invention outdoor triple action anchoring leveling device;
[0028] FIG. 3 shows an oblique end view of a rectangular present invention outdoor triple action anchoring leveling device and FIG. 4 shows a side view thereof;
[0029] FIG. 5 shows a top view an alternative present invention outdoor triple action anchoring leveling device with rounded ends and with a groove that has two open ends, and FIG. 6 shows a side view thereof. and FIG. 7 shows an end view thereof;
[0030] FIG. 8 shows a front view of one embodiment of a present invention triple action anchor component having an arcuated top;
[0031] FIG. 9 shows a front view of one embodiment of a present invention triple action anchor component having a flat top;
[0032] FIG. 10 shows a combination of a present invention device with a three component anchor, in an exploded end view;
[0033] FIG. 11 shows another alternative present invention anchor component with drill-rotatable anchoring cork screw legs;
[0034] FIG. 12 shows an end view of a present invention device that includes an anchor with hand-crank auger legs;
[0035] FIG. 13 shows an oblique view of a present invention device attach to an elongated section of a trampoline base that includes a primary support pads and a tapered secondary support pad;
[0036] FIG. 14 shows an oblique end view of another present invention support pad having protruding stacking stabilizers and recessed stacking stabilizers and FIG. 15 shows an end view thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0037] The present invention relates to stabilizing, leveling devices that are anchored both to the item (host structure) that it serves, and to the ground or earth. The anchors are triple action anchors. The term “level” and “leveling” as used herein should be broadly taken to mean set or setting the host structure to a desired angle. For example, leveling a trampoline means getting as close to zero degrees as possible (horizontal), while leveling a water pipe may mean leveling at an angle of three degrees to comply with code or to enable draining when necessary. Also, in some cases leveling will mean less than horizontal even when horizontal is desired, such as in leveling a beach chair on a steep sand beach.
[0038] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of some features of the present invention outdoor triple action anchoring leveling device, block 1, for attaching, stabilizing, leveling and protecting the host structure. The present invention attaches itself to the host structure elongated member; it stabilizes the structure by inhibiting it from undesirably moving; it levels the host by raising up a lower portion of the host structure, and it protects the host structure from torquing, sliding and eroding from ground contact. The present invention support pads, block 3, have at least one groove and usually have only one groove, but may have more. For example, these pads could have three open ended grooves, such as 3 parallel grooves, for supporting three conduits, such as water or electrical on-the-ground or in-the-ground conduits that need to be levelled; or have two grooves, one being single end open and the other being both ends open, so that a user may select positioning at an end of an elongated section of a host structure, such as an end of a trampoline base tube, or otherwise, such as in the middle of a trampoline base tube.
[0039] In FIG. 1, block 5, the anchors are described. They are triple action because they fit over the host structure; align the pad with the host structure and anchor both to the ground. When multiple pads are stacked, they also align these and keep them in place. These anchors may be flat or arcuated at the top, block 13, depending upon their uses. Arcuated as in a semi-circle to straddle circular tubing and flat to straddle squared beams or similar structures. To enhance ground gripping, these anchors may have rebar shapes, spirals, spikes, augers or ridges, block 15. They may be enhanced for easy ground insertion, such as with hand cranks or with drill or other driver receivers at the top of the anchor legs (which would be rotatable within the anchor top).
[0040] The support pads may be made of any outdoor material, block 7, such as plastic, metal, wood, closed pore foam (e. g., rigid urethane), rubber or composite. Composite materials may be wood, wood-metal, synthetics-wood, synthetics-metal, rubber-plastic or any other outdoor weather resistant composite. One preferred composite is a recycled tire/rubber/plastic composite. These pads may be rigid, flexible or semi-flexible. For some applications, semi-flexible is preferred to allow for pad adjustments to rough topography. As mentioned, the pads may be open ended at both ends or at one end, block 9. They may have any shape, block 11, i. e. a top view footprint, such as square, rectangle, circular oval, or polygonal or irregular and may have one side wall (as in a circle or oval), or more, such as in a triangle or rectangle. Elongated shapes are preferred because the host structure has an elongated section that is supported by the pad.
[0041] FIG. 2 shows another block diagram of some additional features of the present invention outdoor triple action anchoring leveling device, block 21. Thus, the support pads have at least one set of orifices on opposite sides of the groove, but preferably have multiple sets of orifices, block 23, for receiving the anchor legs so that two or more anchors are preferably used. The support pads (aka primary pads) may have male and female stacking stabilizers in the form of outcrops and matching insets. There may be one or more secondary support pads, block 25, under the primary pad (top pad with the groove(s). They preferably, but not necessarily, will have the same profile (footprint) as the top support pad, and have corresponding (aligned) orifices. These secondary support pads may have the same of different thicknesses from the primary pad and from each other to allow for varying height adjustments for more refined leveling. They may of even thickness or tapered thickness and may have the preferred male and female stacking stabilizers. The anchors, block 27, must be long enough to grip the earth and in many instances are preferably a foot or more in height (leg length).
[0042] FIG. 3 shows an oblique end view of a rectangular present invention outdoor triple action anchoring leveling device 41 and FIG. 4 shows a side view thereof. Device 41 is a generally rectangular pad of even thickness. It has ends 53 and 55 and sides, such as side 51, a top 49 and a bottom 65. Top 49 has an elongated groove 43 with an open end 45 and a closed end 47 that is adapted to receive an end of an elongated tubular section of a host structure, such as a trampoline base. There are two sets of orifices for the legs of two anchors to penetrate and lodge into ground. Thus, orifices 57 and 59 are on opposite sides of the groove 43, as are orifices 61 and 63. Anchors with arcuated tops would be preferred here. The trampoline base section end would fit into groove 43, and the anchors would each straddle the trampoline base section and penetrate the pad 41 and lodge into the ground to prevent lateral motion and to maintain the connection of the pad 41 with its host structure.
[0043] FIG. 5 shows a top view an alternative present invention outdoor triple action anchoring leveling device 71 with rounded ends 77 and 99, top 73, sides 75 and 85, and with a groove 79 that has two open ends 81 and 83. FIG. 6 shows a side view thereof and FIG. 7 shows an end view thereof, wherein identical parts are identically numbered. There are three sets of anchor-receiving orifices, namely, orifices 89 and 97, orifices 87 and 91 and orifices 93 and 95, so that up to three anchors may be used with this pad 71. Note that the end view of FIG. 7 reveals that the groove 79 not only passes all the way through the pad 71, but has a rectilinear cross-section, which is best for rectangular frames and square tube elongated sections of host structures.
[0044] FIG. 8 shows a front view of one embodiment of a present invention triple action anchor 111 having an arcuated top 113 in the shape of a semi-circle to straddle a round pipe or tube or bar. Anchor 111 includes downwardly extended legs 115 and 117, pointed ends 119 and 121 for earth penetration, and spikes such as spike 123, biased upwardly for ease of insertion and resistance to removal. This anchor 111 is made of metal or heavy-duty plastic and may be, for example ½ an inch or greater thickness and about 1.3 feet in height.
[0045] FIG. 9 shows a front view of one embodiment of a present invention triple action anchor 131 having a flat top 133 to accommodate and fit onto flat pipes, tubes, rods, beams, etc. of the host structure. It has legs 135 and 137 with spiral ridges to aid in gripping the earth, and has optional pointed ends 139 and 141. This anchor 131 could be machine bent rebar stock.
[0046] FIG. 10 shows a combination of a present invention device with a three-component anchor 151, and a primary support pad 171 in an exploded end view for attachment to tube 169. Anchor 151 includes single piece top 165, and separate ridged legs 157 and 159. Host structure tube 169 is placed in double open-ended groove 173 of primary support pad 171, and then ends 161 and 163 of legs 157 and 159 are passed through the orifices of top 165and then through the orifices of pad 171, with top 165 resting upon tube 169. Next, the legs 157 and 159 are hammered into ground to secure everything in place and to clamp the tube 169 in the pad groove 173. This secures the host structure and raises up the elongated tube 169 for leveling. Secondary support pads (not shown) may be added as needed to further accommodate leveling.
[0047] FIG. 11 shows another alternative present invention multi-component anchor 181, with drill-rotatable anchoring cork screw legs 185 and 187, with pointed ends 193 and 195. The tops of legs189 and 191 have hexagonal or other shaped recesses to receive hex drill or hex ratchet or other driver to assist in earth penetration after inserted into a support pad and over an elongated section of a host structure.
[0048] FIG. 12 shows an end view of a present invention device that includes an anchor 201, with top 205 and hand-crank auger legs 207 and 209, and support pad 203. Support pad 203 has larger diameter orifices 217 and 219 to receive auger legs 207 and 209. Hand cranks 211 and 213, at the top end of legs 207 and 209 respectively may be rotated by hand to screw the auger legs into the ground. (The cranks are not shown to scale, but would have longer handles for holding while cranking.)
[0049] FIG. 13 shows an oblique view of a present invention device 221 attached to an elongated section 243 of a trampoline base 223 that includes a primary support pad 225 and a tapered secondary support pad 227. Primary support pad 225 has a groove 235 that has an open end at wall 231 and a closed end at top 237 that receives and holds elongated section 243 of a host structure, here, trampoline base 223.The two anchors 239 and 241 are three-piece anchors, each with a pair of very long legs such as leg 245 that penetrate ground 229. Secondary support pad 227 shows wall 233 being tapered at a right angle to and below groove 235, but it need not be tapered or could be tapered in a different direction, such as parallel to or at 45 degrees to the groove 235.
[0050] FIG. 14 shows an oblique end view and FIG. 15 shows an end view of another present invention support pad 251, with top 253 having a one open end groove 255, and having anchor-receiving orifices such as orifice 257. Pad 251 also has protruding (male) stacking stabilizers 259, 261, 263 and 265 and recessed (female) stacking stabilizers 269 and 271 (FIG. 15) with two others not shown. These would correspond to similar male and female stacking stabilizers on secondary support pad(s) so that they align and stay aligned when stacked to increase height of an elongated section of a host structure.
[0051] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those particular embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be included therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the groove of the support pad could be curved instead of straight to accommodate a curved elongated section of a host structure. The groove could have varying depth (such as to receive a section of a wheel or could even have other footprints to accommodate a host structure with a unique elongated base, such as a linear base with a crisscross member or members protruding therefrom. Further, the legs of the anchors could be pre-embedded, such as in concrete or other material, and the one or more pads added on, followed by the host structure, followed by a snap-on, screwed on or otherwise fitted and attached anchor top, such as in FIG. 11.
