Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the tool technology and more particularly to tools for installing anchors in concrete.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, with the existing tools and methods, installing anchors in concrete is a slow, labor intensive and costly process, as it involves a significant amount of manual labor.
The process used to fasten anchors to concrete has basically remained unchanged over the years. Although there are epoxy/chemical type anchors in use today, the majority of concrete anchors still rely on the same principles that were developed many years ago. Typically, a hole with a certain amount of volume is made and then more material is inserted into the hole. This increased volume of material pushes against the interior wall of the hole and creates friction. This friction is how most mechanical concrete anchors obtain their holding values.
All mechanical type concrete anchors work based on the same basic principle: drill a specific size hole, insert the anchor and expand the anchor inside the hole in order to make it difficult for the anchor to be pulled out of the hole.
Fastening to concrete is unique compared to other fastening applications, such as fastening two pieces of metal together by using a screw or a bolt and a nut. Concrete anchors are much more difficult to install and use. In the same time, concrete is the most widely used base material in the world for the last 2000 years and probably will remain so for the next 2000 years due to its simplicity, strength, versatility and the abundance of the ingredients used to make it.
The process with which anchors are currently fasten to concrete includes typically the following steps: a hole is made in the concrete; then, the anchor is inserted in the hole to take up the space created, and the material in or on the anchor is expanded in the hole, by manually hammering directly on the anchor or hammering on a setting tool; and then, finally, a bolt or a nut, depending on the type of anchor used, is manually ratcheted into place. Obviously, the process is labor intensive and slow, and thus, costly and inefficient.
Thus, there is a need for new and improved tools and methods that address the problems described above.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key aspects or essential aspects of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, this Summary is not intended for use as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In one exemplary embodiment a wedge anchor driver is disclosed. In another exemplary embodiment, a drop-in anchor driver is disclosed. Both drivers are installable in a typical hammer drill. Thus, an advantage is that a considerable amount of manual labor needed to drive and secure the anchors is eliminated. Another advantage is that the process of installing anchors is much faster and efficient.
The above embodiments and advantages, as well as other embodiments and advantages, will become apparent from the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.
For exemplification purposes, and not for limitation purposes, embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:
a illustrate a back perspective view of a solid wedge anchor driver, according to another embodiment.
b-c illustrate side views of the solid wedge anchor driver from
d is a side view of the solid wedge anchor driver from
e is a front perspective view of the solid wedge anchor driver from
a-b illustrate a side view of the adjustable wedge anchor driver 102 from
c-d illustrate a front perspective view of the adjustable wedge anchor driver 102 from
a illustrates a perspective view of a typical drop-in anchor 440 (prior art) and of a manual drop-in setting tool 450 (prior art).
b-c illustrate back and front perspective views, respectively, of a solid drop-in anchor driver, according to another embodiment.
d-e illustrate back and front perspective views, respectively, of an adjustable drop-in anchor driver, according to another embodiment.
f-g illustrate back and front perspective views, respectively, of a solid hex drop-in anchor driver, according to another embodiment.
a illustrates the typical steps of the existing process used for fastening anchors to concrete.
b illustrates a new and improved process of installing anchors, according to another embodiment.
What follows is a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in which the invention may be practiced. Reference will be made to the attached drawings, and the information included in the drawings is part of this detailed description. The specific preferred embodiments of the invention, which will be described herein, are presented for exemplification purposes, and not for limitation purposes. It should be understood that structural and/or logical modifications could be made by someone of ordinary skills in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.
Referring to
The first cylinder 103, which is on the front end of the two-cylinder assembly, may be in essence a modified socket (preferably stronger though) for a socket wrench, with an opening 107-a configured to fit onto the nut 107-b of the wedge anchor 101 and also configured with an opening (see 308a in
The back end of the second cylinder 104, may be connected, removably or irremovably, to a shank 106. The shank 106 may be configured to be capable of being installed in the chuck of any standard hammer drill. The shank 106 allows the wedge anchor driver 102 to be used in conjunction with a standard hammer drill, as oppose to a manual use of the driver, which dramatically increases the speed of installing wedge anchors, as it will be described and explained in more details later herein.
For increased strength, it may be preferable to construct the second cylinder 104 and the shank 106 as one piece, through known manufacturing processes such as casting, welding and/or machining Furthermore, for increasing the strength of the wedge anchor driver 102, while still maintaining control over the volume and the weight of the driver, as shown in
It should be apparent that, the shape and size, such as the outside diameter of the first cylinder 103 and the size of its opening 107-a, could vary as necessary to correspond to the standard sizes of the wedge anchors available on the market, or to other shapes and sizes of wedge anchors which a user may wish to use. It should also be apparent that the length of first cylinder 103, as well as its internal configuration (see 307a and 308a in
It should be apparent that the first and the second cylinder 103 and 104, may have other shapes, besides the cylinder-like shape shown and suggested by the nomenclature used herein.
In most cases, it is preferable that the wedge anchor driver 102 measures approximately 5 (five) inches in length.
a illustrate a back perspective view of a solid wedge anchor driver, according to another embodiment.
For each solid wedge anchor driver in a set, the first opening 207a needs to be shaped and sized to fit a particular size and shape of the nut 107-b (
The solid wedge anchor driver may be advantageous to use, for example, when working with a single size of wedge anchor, which needs to be installed repeatedly. It should also be apparent, that the solid wedge anchor driver offers increased strength, which may be critical when performing heavy duty jobs. One difference between the adjustable wedge anchor driver, depicted in
a-b illustrate a side view of the adjustable wedge anchor driver 102 from
Again, the first cylinder has a first opening 307a, having for example a hexagonal cross-section, sized to fit a particular size of a nut 107-b (
Like it is the case with the solid wedge anchor drivers, there also may be a set of sizes for the adjustable wedge anchor driver; however, this set would include only one installation member 309 and a set of first cylinders 303 of various sizes.
Testing of prototypes show that the solid wedge anchor driver is longer lasting for heavy use such as in construction work. However, at the same time, the adjustable wedge anchor driver is more attractive for its variations that can be accommodated in a small kit that can be stored in a confined space, such as in the limited available space of a rescue vehicle.
a illustrates a perspective view of a typical drop-in anchor 440 (prior art) and of a manual drop-in setting tool 450 (prior art). As known in the art, drop-in anchors 440 are female anchors designed to be placed and fastened in concrete, or other hard material, and then to have a threaded rod or bolt (not shown) fastened to it. The drop-in anchor 440 is typically made-up of two parts: the expansion shield 440a (made from zinc plated carbon or stainless steel) and a case hardened expander plug (not shown) that is cone-shaped and also made typically from zinc plated carbon or stainless steel. As shown in
The anchor is set by placing the anchor into a hole in concrete or other similar materials, and by setting the expander plug using a manual setting tool 450. Each diameter of drop-in anchor 440 has typically a specific, corresponding manual setting tool 450. As shown in
As with all female type anchors, the size of the designated size of the anchor correlates with the bolt size that goes into the anchor. Also, as one of ordinary skills knows, generally, the hole size in the concrete, is slightly larger than the anchor size.
It should be apparent that the prior art manual setting of the drop-in anchor described above is labor intensive, show, inefficient, and thus, costly. Thus there is a need for a new and improved drop-in anchor driver that addresses these problems.
b-c illustrate back and front perspective views, respectively, of a solid drop-in anchor driver, according to another embodiment.
As suggested by
As shown in
Next, the solid drop-in anchor driver 460 has a third section 460d typically, as shown, having an even greater, third diameter than the second section 460c, for increasing the overall strength of the driver. The third section 460d is the section that is inserted, completely or partially, and then fastened, into a chuck of a standard hammer drill. Thus, as shown, a portion 460e of the third section 460d is configured (e.g., as shown for exemplification purposes only, with channels and depressions) to fit and be able to be properly fastened into the chuck of a standard hammer drill. Thus, naturally, the configuration of portion 460e will correspond with the type of hammer drill intended to be used.
Thus, to more efficiently set drop-in anchors 440, instead of manually hammering a manual setting tool 450 as described earlier, a user can use the solid drop-in anchor driver 460 installed into a standard hammer drill, which is set in the hammer position, to more rapidly, easier, and thus, more affordably, set a plurality of drop-in anchors at any given time.
The second variation of drop-in anchor driver, as seen in
Finally, the third variation, as seen in
a illustrates the typical steps of the existing (prior art) process used for fastening anchors to concrete. The process with which anchors are currently fasten to concrete includes typically the following steps (see
b illustrates a new and improved process of installing anchors, according to another embodiment.
As illustrated in
It should be noted that if a drop-in anchor is being set, then in Step 12, the user may have the installation member 309 (
It should be also noted that no manual hammering is needed at all using the improved process. The new and improved anchor drivers, in conjunction with a hammer drill, may be used by an installer to quickly drive and secure the anchor in place, and its corresponding nut or bolt. Thus, the new process is much faster, considerably less laborious, and much more economical.
Thus, the advantages of the invention are that driving and locking anchors becomes less strenuous and time consuming, productivity is improved significantly, and prevention of injuries is achieved. The invention removes the need of hammering with a sledge hammer and then having to ratchet to lock the anchor into position. The disclosed anchor driver is a tool that can be attached to a hammer drill, which, once the hole is drilled, it hammers and ratchets an anchor (e.g. wedge anchor) into place in one step: only a simple switch of the hammer drill's mode is needed (from the hammering mode to the non-hammering rotating mode). Additional features that make the new anchor driver appealing are its small size, compactness, and light weight.
Furthermore, as explained earlier, kits may be configured, to include, for example, only one installation member 309 (
The anchor driver is preferably made of high strength steel, or other similar materials, that allow the tool to be used for a long time without the risk of breaking.
It may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used in this patent document. The term “couple” and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein for the purpose of disclosing the preferred embodiments, someone of ordinary skills in the art will easily detect alternate embodiments and/or equivalent variations, which may be capable of achieving the same results, and which may be substituted for the specific embodiments illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of this application is intended to cover alternate embodiments and/or equivalent variations of the specific embodiments illustrated and/or described herein.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/579,765, filed Dec. 23, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference, to the extent that it is not conflicting with the present application.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61579765 | Dec 2011 | US |