Anchoring Device

Abstract

An anchoring device made of an elongated shaft, a bracket with an L-shaped cross section, and an angled portion connecting the two. The anchoring device is configured to accept or connect to a beach or boating accessory at one end and insert into the ground at the other end. An alternate embodiment of the device includes a weighted portion that is located above the point where the shaft meets the angled portion of the device.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present disclosure described a novel marine accessory, specifically an anchoring device.

(b) Background Art

Boating and beach activities are some of the most popular summertime activities the United States has to offer. Millions of people each summer flock to the beaches in boats and by foot to relax by, in or on the water during the warmer months of the year. Boating and beach activities necessarily involve a lot of accessories and equipment to make the experience more comfortable and easier to enjoy. Those relaxing on or near the shore oftentimes find themselves in need of tables, chairs, coolers, umbrellas, grills, games and the like. Those that are enjoying the coastline in boats need similar accessories as well as equipment specific to their use of the boat such as anchors. A number of these accessories need to be supported in some way or are designed to provide support to another piece of equipment. For example, umbrellas and tables need some support in order to function properly and any boat that is situated in the water near the coast needs to be anchored to something to prevent it from floating away from the shore.

Most mechanisms designed to support beach accessories such as tables and umbrellas present a dilemma—if the soil is loose enough to insert these devices into the ground to hold them in place, then the soil will not produce enough support to prevent the device from falling over. In particular, the devices that have been designed to support accessories meant to be used at the beach are not designed well enough that they are easy to install in the ground in such a way that the device does not fall over. More importantly, no current device is configured to hold such an accessory in place in the water.

One option is to place the accessory directly on the ground, but the sand at the beach is usually very uneven and the breeze at the beach and be quite strong. As a result, placing a beach accessory like a table directly on the surface of the beach results in it being on the ground shortly thereafter. In addition, placing these devices directly on the surface of the beach means that they cannot be used in the water at all as the motion of the waves will simply knock the accessory over into the water and carry it away.

Naturally, people have been thinking of ways to support such structures in loose sand for years. There are a variety of devices commonly on the market that include shafts or legs with pointed ends that allow the user to insert the legs of a table, chair or other device into the sand. Other devices commonly rely on a screw mechanism or an auger, a device with a helical shaft designed to bore into a surface, to support an accessory. However, these devices have long been known to be as easy to knock over or pull them out of the sand as it is to insert them into the sand to begin with.

As a result, people have been searching for a better device for quite some time. A lot of inventors have independently concluded that the solution to the above problems is to equip the accessory with a shovel-like device at one end to assist in burying the end of the accessory in the sand. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,950,085 issued to Eddie J. McGovern describes a shovel that is configured to hold a number of different camping tools while being inserted upright into the ground. However, shovels tend to have relatively flat blades that are designed to go into the ground easily. As a result of that design, the shovel does not provide resistance to being pushed over unless the force acting on the device is roughly perpendicular to the plane of the blade. In addition, the tapered shape of the blade of the shovel taught by McGovern is again, designed to allow the shovel to be more easily pushed into soil and does little to assist in resisting forces acting to push the portion of the shovel that is above ground.

Walter Dorr created a similar device that is described in U.S. Patent Publication Number 2013/0037066. The Dorr reference describes a beach umbrella with a shaft ending in another shovel mechanism as above. However, Dorr has changed the shape of the shovel design to make it easier to insert into the ground and harder to pull back out. In doing so, Dorr added a wedge-shaped piece to a traditional shovel blade to add resistance to lateral as well as vertical movement. However, the wedge-shaped structure adds more vertical resistance to the device than it does anything else and most of the forces acting to knock the device over will not be vertical pulling forces. Typically, when someone is applying a vertical force to such a device, that are deliberately trying to remove the device from the soil and increased resistance in this respect is unwanted. In addition, since the blade of the shovel is still tapered and the wedge-shaped piece is also tapered, the device simply does not add very much resistance to lateral movement at the point placed deepest into the ground. What is needed is a device that provides as much resistance to lateral movement in one direction as it does another and takes advantage of the fact that the soil is denser the deeper one digs.

The present device is an anchoring device that provides increased lateral stability in any horizontal direction—so much so, that the device can anchor another device in the sand or soil that is beneath the water. Another object of the present invention is to provide an anchor that can be used for boating accessories as well as boats themselves. Since this anchoring device can be inserted into sand that is underwater, it works just as well to anchor a table or umbrella as it does to anchor a marine vessel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a universal anchoring device fit for use with accessories such as beach furniture as well as marine vessels. The device can be adapted to accommodate a number of different beach and boating accessories including tables and umbrellas as well as tools, clothing and even seating.

The inventive anchoring device includes an elongated shaft that is connected to a bracket at an obtuse angle and is designed to be inserted into the ground. The bracket has an L-shaped cross-section and is elongated, extending past the end of the shaft and the angled portion to which it is connected.

In preferred embodiments, the shaft is hollow, i.e. the interior has space to accommodate sand or soil as the device is inserted into the ground. This decreases the amount of resistance the device experiences when being inserted into the soil. In addition, the shaft optionally features an angled portion that overlaps with a portion of the bracket. This angled portion can be an angled extension of the shaft or it can be a separate piece that connects the shaft and the bracket. The angled portion of the device has the effect of making the device easier to insert into the ground. A user can simply insert the tip of the bracket into loose soil and rock the device back and forth to insert it into the soil. This function is a result of the angle at which the bracket protrudes or extends away from the shaft, as well as the weight of the device. Preferred embodiments of the device have a shaft featuring an angled portion and it is the angled portion that is joined to the bracket. As a result, the bracket extends away from the straight portion of the shaft at an obtuse angle. That is to say that the angle formed between the angled portion of the shaft and the straight portion of the shaft is an angle that is larger than 90 degrees.

Other optional features of the inventive anchoring device include a bracket that has an uneven or tapered end, i.e., the bracket extends down further away from the shaft at the point where the two sides of the bracket come together to form a corner. In addition, the end of the shaft featuring the angled portion can also feature the same form of tapering in that a portion of the annular end of the angled portion can extend further down away from the top of the shaft when compared to another portion of the same edge. These structures are formed by cutting the shaft and/or the side of the bracket at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and/or bracket. In addition, some versions of the device position the long end of the angled portion into the corner formed by the two sides of the bracket coming together. This is an optional feature and some versions may show more stability if this protruding portion is on the opposite side of the shaft from the portion that joins the bracket.

In addition, the construction of the device can be varied as needed. The dimensions of the elongated bracket can be varied as much as desired to provide a longer bracket to insert into the earth and/or longer sides of the bracket to provide additional support to the device. Moreover, the device can be constructed out of any durable material but is preferably constructed of metal to provide weight to the device to make it easier to insert into the ground and harder to knock over. The bracket and the shaft can be made as one extruded or pressed piece of material or they can be attached to each other using any conventional means including welding and traditional fasteners. Moreover, the shaft can be integrally constructed with the bracket and can feature an upper tapered portion that could be inserted into a second shaft rather than making the shaft one piece.

In addition, the upper portion or first end of the shaft can be optionally configured to accept and secure an accessory such as an umbrella, a table or even the seat of a chair. The accessory need only be equipped with a stub or other protrusion that can insert into the hollow interior of the first end of the shaft. Moreover, multiple devices can be used to provide support to larger accessories such as a three cornered blind or a four cornered dock. The user would simply attach a device to each corner of the accessory to support the accessory at multiple points.

Another optional feature of the device would include a weighted portion added to the device to make it heavier and harder to pull free from the soil or sand by a lateral force. In this case a lateral force generally means a force that is at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. Preferred embodiments of the anchoring device featuring the optional weight include a weighted portion being integrated into the shaft above the point where the bracket attaches to the shaft. The weighted portion can be additional weighted material located on the outside of the shaft or it can be installed inside the shaft itself.

In practice, a user simply inserts the lower tip or edge of the bracket into the earth a short distance, and then rocks the protruding shaft back and forth at an angle to its longitudinal axis allowing the weight and the shape of the device to insert the bracket further into the ground. The shape of the bracket helps to push the soil out of the way just enough to insert the bracket into the ground, without disturbing the soil nearby allowing for more secure retention of the device. The bracket provides a flat surface to resist the movement of the rest of the device in the ground regardless of which direction a force comes from whether it be force caused by wind, water or people. It does not provide increased resistance to a vertical force when compared to other devices, i.e. it is easy to remove if pulled out of the ground intentionally.

In addition to accommodating accessories such as tables and umbrellas, the device can be used to anchor a marine vessel such as a boat in roughly the same manner. Just about anything that needs anchoring can be used with the device—it can hold the end of a pet's leash or a toy on a string such as a kite. The device is sturdy enough to support the weight of an adult human balanced on its upper end and as a result, has a multitude of uses.

The shape of the bracket provides resistance to force in any lateral direction. Lateral direction in this sense refers to forces other than forces that generally align with the longitudinal axis of the device, i.e. forces that are at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the bracket. Regardless of which direction such a lateral force is coming from, the bracket provides a flat surface stuck in the soil to resist that force. The shape of the bracket makes this possible. In addition, the side walls of the bracket come together to form a corner. A force that is applied to the outside of the corner causes the inside of the corner to push against the soil in front of it, thereby creating extra resistance to movement in that direction. In addition, the length of the bracket allows it to be inserted into the ground much deeper than a traditional shovel blade. One of the drawbacks of the traditional shovel blade is that is does not penetrate into the ground very far. When inserting structures into the loose soil found at shore, it is preferable to the elongated bracket does a much better job of reaching deeper, more compacted soil in which to be inserted itself providing increased support to the anchoring device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the anchoring device;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the anchoring device with an accessory detached from the anchoring device;

FIG. 2B is another perspective view of a first embodiment of the anchoring device with an accessory detached from the anchoring device;

FIGS. 3A-3D are a perspective views of accessories that can be used with the anchoring device;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device inserted into the soil, example accessories and a marine vessel transporting the device and an accessory;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the anchoring device;

and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a marine vessel carrying the anchoring device and an accessory; and

FIG. 7 is another perspective view of a marine vessel carrying the anchoring device and an accessory

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the inventive anchoring device 10. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows the shaft 11, the angled portion 12 and the bracket 13. In this embodiment, the shaft 11 is a hollow pipe or tube that is joined to the bracket 13 by the angled portion 12. The angled portion 12 is a cylindrical tube or hollow pipe that connects to a first end 11a of the shaft 11 and the bracket 13 and can be an extension of the shaft 11. The shape of the shaft 11 and/or the angled portion 12 can be altered to form a square or rectangular prism if desired. The shaft 11 is joined to the angled portion 12 at a second end 11b end via conventional fastening means such that it is positioned at an angle to the bracket 13. Alternately, the shaft 11 and angled portion 12 could consist of one long shaft of metal that is bent to form the angled portion 12 at one end.

FIG. 1 shows the angled portion 12 connected to the bracket 13 such that it overlaps substantially with the bracket 13 and fits into a corner 14 of the bracket 13 formed by the two sides 15 of the bracket 13 coming together. FIG. 1 also shows the angled portion 12 having an end that is tapered. In this case, tapered means that the end of the angled portion that is farthest from the shaft 11 is not even, i.e. one side of it extends past the other. This structure is formed by cutting the angled portion of the device at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shaft or angled portion 12. This feature makes it easier to insert the device 10 into the ground past lowest part of the angled portion 12.

In addition, FIG. 1 shows the bracket 13 that extends away from the angled portion 12. In some embodiments, the far end 16 of the bracket 13, the end that is farthest from the shaft 11, is tapered. That is to say that each end of each of the sides of the bracket 13 are cut at an angle such that the sides that come together to form a corner 14. The sides of the bracket 13 are longer at the corner 14 than they are at other points. In this embodiment, the angled portion 12 and the bracket 13 overlap, such that the longest portion of the tapered end of the angled portion is closest to the corner 14 formed by the bracket 13.

FIGS. 2A and B show the same embodiment of the device 10 together with an accessory configured to attach to a first end 11a of the shaft 11. In this case, the accessory is a table 20 that features a solid protrusion or stock 21 that is sized and shaped to fit into the first end 11a of the shaft 11. In some embodiments, the stock 21 traverses the table from its bottom surface 22 to its top surface 23 and protrudes from the top surface. FIG. 2 also shows the device 10 from a different angle making the angled portion 12 a bit more noticeable.

FIGS. 3A-3D show other examples of accessories that can be used with the inventive anchoring device 10. Specifically, the inventors anticipate that some accessories will require the use of more than one anchoring device 10. A single device 10 can be used to support an accessory such as a chair 30 in the same manner that it supports a table 20 as described above, i.e. through the use of a stock 21 that inserts into the first end 11a of the device. Multiple devices 10 can be used in combination to support larger accessories such as a three-cornered duck blind 40 or a dock 50 with four corners.

In addition, FIG. 4 shows the anchoring device 10 inserted into soil that is underwater. Specifically, the only portion of the device that protrudes above the waterline is the first end 11a of the shaft 11 that is the attachment point for any accessory used with the device 10. All or a portion of the bracket 13 is inserted into the soil and generally, the angled portion 12 protrudes above the soil, but stays underwater. However, a user is free to insert the distal end 16 of the device, i.e., the end of the bracket 13 that inserts into the earth, into the soil as far as desired to produce the required resistance to lateral pulling forces, even to the point that a portion of the angled portion 12 or even the shaft 11 of the device 10 are inserted into the soil. The hollowness of the shaft 11 and angled portion 12 as well as the tapering of the end of the angled portion 12a make for less resistance to insertion into soil. FIG. 4 also shows optional structures or tie points 11c for attaching a line or rope (not shown) to the anchoring device to anchor any structure that is also in the water with the device 10.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the inventive anchoring device 10. This embodiment also features a shaft 11, an angled portion 12 and a bracket 13 having an L-shaped cross section. This embodiment also features a weighted portion 17 which in this example consists of additional metal, such as aluminum stock, integrated into the shaft 11 or angled portion 12 of the device. In other embodiments, the weighted portion can be a bulbous structure that is located just above the point where the angled portion 12 meets the shaft 11. This weighted portion 17 is meant to provide the anchoring device 10 with more resistance to being pulled out of the soil as would be more important when the anchoring device is used. This embodiment is meant to be used as an anchor for a marine vessel in shallow water.

Finally, FIGS. 6-7 show the device 10 being transported on a marine vessel. The device 10 can be stored in a gunnel of a marine vessel and an accessory such as a table 20 can be stored using a rod holder adapted to accept the stock 21 of said accessory.

Other variations of the anchoring device are contemplated including a variation that does not have the cylindrical shaft at all. In such a device, the bracket has a first end and a second end that is meant to be inserted into the soil. The second end is the same as what has been described above. However, the first end of the bracket could be configured to accept an accessory as above, through the use of an adapter piece which would be a cylindrical structure located at the terminus of the first end and into which an accessory could be inserted. This embodiment of the device would feature an angled portion of the bracket such that the second end of the bracket would extend away from a longitudinal axis of the bracket at an angle.

Reference throughout the specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout the specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

It is understood that the above described embodiments are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiment, including the best mode, is to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, if any, in conjunction with the foregoing description.

While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. An anchoring device comprising an elongated shaft attached to a bracket having an L-shaped cross section.

2. The anchoring device of claim 1 wherein the bracket is attached to the shaft at an obtuse angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the shaft.

3. The anchoring device of claim 1 wherein the shaft has a first end and a second end and the second end of the shaft extends away from a longitudinal axis of the shaft at an obtuse angle forming an angled portion of the shaft.

4. The anchoring device of claim 3 wherein the second end of the shaft is cut at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

5. The anchoring device of claim 2 wherein the second end of the shaft is cut at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

6. The anchoring device of claim 4 wherein the bracket has a first side and a second side that meet to form a corner and wherein the shaft is attached to the bracket such that the shaft is positioned in that corner.

7. The anchoring device of claim 5 wherein the bracket has a first side and a second side that meet to form a corner and wherein the shaft is attached to the bracket such that the shaft is positioned in that corner.

8. The anchoring device of claim 6 wherein the bracket has a first side and a second side each of which has an end that is tapered.

9. The anchoring device of claim 7 wherein the bracket has a first side and a second side each of which has an end that is tapered.

10. The anchoring device of claim 8 further comprising a weight proximate to the point where the shaft and the angled portion connect.

11. The anchoring device of claim 9 further comprising a weight proximate to the point where the shaft and the angled portion connect.

12. The anchoring device of claim 10 wherein the first end of the shaft is configured to accept an accessory inserted therein.

13. An anchoring device for a marine vessel comprising: an elongated, hollow, cylindrical shaft joined to a bracket having an L-shaped cross section such that the bracket extends away from a longitudinal axis of the shaft at an angle to said longitudinal axis; and a weighted section featured by the shaft.

14. The anchoring device of claim 13 wherein the bracket has a first side and a second side that meet to form a corner and wherein the shaft is attached to the bracket such that the shaft is positioned in that corner.

15. The anchoring device of claim 14 wherein the shaft has a first end and a second end and the second end is connected to the bracket and wherein the second end of the shaft is cut at an angle to its longitudinal axis.

16. The anchoring device of claim 15 wherein each side of the bracket has a first end and a second end wherein the first end is in contact with the shaft and the second end is tapered.

17. The anchoring device of claim 13 wherein the shaft has a first end configured to accept an accessory and a second end that is connected to the bracket.