The invention relates to support apparatuses, and more specifically to support apparatuses for supporting headstones.
Headstones have been used for centuries to mark graves and can take many forms. A typical headstone includes a stone slab having a lower portion which is generally rectangular and an upper portion which can have a semicircular or an arcuate profile.
When the headstone is installed over a corresponding grave, at least part of the lower portion is buried underground in the soil, under a ground surface, and the rest of the lower portion and the top portion extend over the ground surface.
Headstones of this design typically have an inscription or engraving on their front and/or rear face. Alternatively, the headstone could include a statue or another type of representation which is adapted to be viewed properly when the headstone is generally vertical.
For aesthetic and practical reasons, it is therefore desirable that the headstone remain in a generally vertical orientation once installed, preferably permanently.
Unfortunately, there can be movement of the soil over time, which can result in the headstone becoming angled relative to the vertical, and even to the headstone becoming completely unsupported and falling over.
There is therefore a need for an apparatus which would overcome at least one of the above-identified drawbacks.
According to one aspect, there is provided a support apparatus for supporting a headstone, the apparatus comprising: a pile having a top end and a bottom end; a helical member secured to the bottom end of the pile; and a pile head secured to the top end of the pile, the pile head having a mounting portion engaging the top end of the pile and a holding portion extending away from the mounting portion for engaging a bottom end portion of the headstone to maintain the headstone in a vertical orientation.
In one embodiment, the mounting portion of the pile head includes: a sleeve having an open first end for receiving the top end of the pile and a closed second end, the sleeve defining a longitudinal axis; and a lower positioning plate extending orthogonally to the longitudinal axis and secured to the second end of the sleeve.
In one embodiment, the holding portion includes: an upper positioning plate spaced from the lower positioning plate, away from the pile; and a connection assembly connecting the upper positioning plate to the lower positioning plate, the connection assembly being configured to maintain the upper positioning plate at a desired distance from the lower positioning plate.
In one embodiment, the connection assembly includes at least one threaded rod, each threaded rod having an upper end secured to the upper positioning plate and a lower end engaging a corresponding receiving hole defined in the lower positioning plate.
In one embodiment, the at least one threaded rod includes four threaded rods disposed generally orthogonally to the lower and upper positioning plates.
In one embodiment, the upper positioning plate is rectangular, and further wherein the upper end of each threaded rod is secured to a corresponding corner of the upper positioning plate.
In one embodiment, the connection assembly further includes at least one nut threadably engaging the threaded rod for fastening the lower positioning plate to the lower end of the at least one threaded rod.
In one embodiment, the at least one nut includes a pair of nuts spaced apart to receive and hold the lower positioning plate therebetween.
In one embodiment, the connection assembly further includes at least one split washer disposed between the at least one nut and the lower positioning plate to prevent rotation of the at least one nut relative to the lower positioning plate.
In one embodiment, the receiving holes of the lower positioning plate are oblong to allow lateral adjustment of the upper positioning plate relative to the lower positioning plate.
In one embodiment, the top portion includes a peg extending away from the pile, the peg being sized and shaped to be received in a corresponding recess defined in a bottom face of the headstone.
In one embodiment, the peg is tubular and has a circular cross-section.
In one embodiment, the top portion includes a peg having a lower end secured to the upper positioning plate and an upper end disposed away from the upper positioning plate.
In one embodiment, the peg is tubular and defines a longitudinal axis orthogonal to the upper positioning plate.
In one embodiment, the peg is centered on the upper positioning plate.
In one embodiment, the top portion includes a clamp assembly sized and shaped for snuggly receiving and holding the bottom portion of the headstone.
In one embodiment, the clamp assembly includes a first jaw member connected to the upper positioning plate and a second jaw member movably connected to the first jaw member.
In one embodiment, the first jaw member includes a rectangular panel extending perpendicular to the upper positioning plate.
In one embodiment, the rectangular panel includes a central rectangular opening.
In one embodiment, the second jaw member includes an upper second jaw portion and a lower second jaw portion spaced from the upper second jaw portion.
In one embodiment, each second jaw portion includes an elongated band extending parallel to the first jaw member.
In one embodiment, the first jaw member includes a first side portion and a second side portion, and wherein each second jaw portion includes a first connecting portion connected to the first side portion of the first jaw member, a second connecting portion connected to the second side portion of the first jaw member and a central clamping portion extending between the first and second connecting portions.
In one embodiment, the central clamping portion is spaced from the first jaw member to define a receiving recess therebetween, the receiving recess being sized and shaped to receive the bottom end of the headstone.
Further details of the invention and its advantages will be apparent from the detailed description included below.
In the following description of the embodiments, references to the accompanying drawings are by way of illustration of an example by which the invention may be practiced. It will be understood that other embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed.
Referring first to
In the illustrated embodiment, the headstone 150 includes a typical headstone made of a slab of stone or similar material defining a generally rectangular bottom portion 152 and a convex top portion 154 extending away from the bottom portion 152. Specifically, the headstone 150 has a planar bottom face 156, a top arcuate face 158, planar front and rear faces 160, 162 orthogonal to the bottom face 156 and a pair of planar side faces 164, 166 orthogonal to both the bottom face 156 and the front and rear faces 160, 162. Still in the illustrated embodiment, the headstone 150 is generally elongated and therefore defines a headstone axis H which is parallel to the front, rear and side faces 160, 162, 164, 166 of the headstone 150.
In the embodiment illustrated in
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Still in the illustrated embodiment, the apparatus 100 further includes a helical member 110 secured to the bottom end 106 of the pile 102. The helical member 110 is adapted to engage the soil and enable the pile to move downwardly or be screwed into the soil when the pile 102 is rotated. Specifically, the top end 108 of the pile 102 may be connected to a corresponding machine or tool adapted to rotate the pile 102 so as to screw the pile 102 deeper into the soil. The bottom end 106 of the pile 102 can therefore be buried at a desired distance under the ground surface by a user standing on the ground surface and having only access to the top end 108 of the pile 102.
The apparatus 100 further includes a pile head 112 secured to the top end 108 of the pile 102. Specifically, the pile head 112 includes a mounting portion 114 which engages the top end 108 of the pile 102, and a holding portion 116 which extends away from the mounting portion 114.
The holding portion 116 is adapted to engage the bottom portion 152 of the headstone 150 to prevent movement of the headstone 150 relative to the pile 102 in order for the headstone axis H to remain parallel to the pile 102, as it will become apparent below.
In the embodiment illustrated in
It will be appreciated that when the headstone 150 is installed at its desired location such that the peg 200 is received in the recess 157 of the headstone 150, the pile 102 acts as an anchor to maintain the headstone 150 in a vertical orientation. More specifically, since the bottom end 106 of the pile 102 is located relatively deep below the ground surface, the orientation of the pile 102 will remain relatively unaffected by movement of the soil near the ground surface and will therefore maintain the headstone is a generally vertical orientation. The pile 102 will also prevent the headstone 150 from moving away from a vertical orientation if the headstone 150 is bumped or otherwise pushed laterally.
While in the illustrated embodiment, the holding portion 116 of the pile head 112 includes only one peg 200 which extends away from the mounting portion 114, sized and shaped to be received in only one recess 157 defined in the bottom portion 152 of the headstone 150, it will be appreciated that the holding portion 116 could be provided with two or more pegs similar to peg 200, and that the headstone 150 could be provided with a corresponding number of recesses similar to recess 157. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that in such a case, the pegs and corresponding recesses could all be sized and shaped differently. For instance, the holding portion 116 could be provided with two pegs, one having a circular cross-section (e.g. similar to peg 200) and the other one having a generally square cross-section, where the pegs would be received in recesses having corresponding shape and size.
It will also be appreciated that an adhesive could be used to help securing the headstone 150 to the holding portion 116 of the pile 102. For instance, an epoxy adhesive or any other type of suitable adhesive could be applied into the recess 157 of the headstone 150, the adhesive contributing to secure the headstone 150 to the holding portion 116 when the peg 200 is engaged in the recess 157.
Referring now to
The sleeve 300 has a lower end 304 which is open to allow the top end 108 of the pile 102 to be inserted into the sleeve 300 and an upper end 306 to which the lower positioning plate 302 is secured, effectively closing off the upper end 306. More specifically, the sleeve 300 defines a longitudinal axis and the lower positioning plate 302 is disposed orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve 300. The sleeve 300 is further generally centered on the lower positioning plate 302 and is secured to the top end 108 of the pile 102 using one or more fasteners 307 which could include one or more through bolts 307a with corresponding nuts 307b extending through corresponding aligned holes in the sleeve 300 and the top end 108 of the pile 102. In one embodiment, the one or more fasteners 307 could also include one or more bolts 307c threadably engaging corresponding nuts 307d welded to the top end 108 of the pile and aligned with corresponding openings in the sleeve 300 and the top end 108 of the pile 102.
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In the illustrated embodiment, each threaded rod 312 is disposed generally in one of the four corners of the upper positioning plate 308 and the lower positioning plate 302 includes four receiving holes 318 located at the four corners of the lower positioning plate 302. As best shown in
It will also be appreciated that this configuration further allows the orientation of the upper positioning plate 308 to be adjusted relative to the lower positioning plate 302. More specifically, the oblong receiving holes 318 allow the threaded rods 312 to extend through the lower positioning plate 302 while being angled relative to the lower positioning plate 302, rather than being orthogonal to the lower positioning plate 302. For example, if the pile 102, when buried in the soil, is slightly angled relative to the vertical instead of being exactly vertical, the orientation of the upper positioning plate 308 could be adjusted such that the upper positioning plate 308 is still disposed along a horizontal plane such that the headstone axis H is vertical. Alternatively, the receiving holes 318 could instead be circular instead of being oblong, or they could have any other suitable shape.
Still in the embodiment illustrated in
Specifically, the plurality of nuts 320 include four pair of nuts 320a, 320b, each pair of nuts 320a, 320b engaging one of the four threaded rods 312. Specifically, when the holding portion 116 of the pile head 112 is connected to the mounting portion 114, the lower end 316 of each thread rod 312 extends below the lower positioning plate 302. Each pair of nuts 320a, 320b includes an upper nut 320a located on the corresponding threaded rod 312 between the lower positioning plate 302 and the upper positioning plate 308 and a lower nut 320b engaging the lower end 316 of the threaded rod 312 below the lower positioning plate 302. The upper and lower nuts 320a, 320b can be threadably moved towards each other to “sandwich” and hold the lower positioning plate 302 between the upper and lower nuts 320a, 320b and thereby prevent further movement of the upper positioning plate 308 relative to the lower positioning plate 302. It will be appreciated that by moving the upper and lower nuts 320a, 320b along the threaded rods 312, the distance between the lower and upper positioning plates 302, 308 can be adjusted as desired.
In the embodiment illustrated in
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The support apparatus 700 is generally similar to the support apparatus 100 illustrated in
Specifically, the support apparatus 700 includes a pile 702 having a bottom end 704 and a top end 706, a helical member 708 secured to the bottom end 704 of the pile 702 and a pile head 710 secured to the top end 706 of the pile 102, similarly to the support apparatus 100 illustrated in
The pile 702 and the helical member 708 are substantially similar to the pile 102 and the helical member 110 illustrated in
Similarly to the pile head 112 illustrated in
The mounting portion 712 of the pile head 710 is also generally similar to the mounting portion 114 of the pile head 112 illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
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The central panel 724 further has a generally rectangular opening 729 which defines a left side portion 730 of the central panel 724 between the opening 729 and the left side panel 726 and a right side portion 732 of the central panel 724 between the opening 729 and the right side panel 728.
Still in the embodiment illustrated in
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Each jaw portion 800, 802 is further configured to be selectively movable towards and away from the central panel 724. More specifically, each jaw portion 800, 802 is connected to the central panel 724 by a pair of bolts 816, each of which extends through the end tab 812 of one of the connecting portions 808, 810 and through a corresponding side portion 730, 732 of the central panel 724. As best shown in
As further shown in
In this configuration, once the pile 702 is positioned and at least partially buried at its desired location, the headstone can simply be lowered into the receiving space 1100 and the bolts 816 can be tightened to move the second jaw member 722 towards the first jaw member 720 and thereby clamp the bottom portion 703 of the headstone 701 within the clamping assembly 750 to maintain the headstone 701 in a desired vertical orientation.
As it will be appreciated, the first jaw member 720, the second jaw member 722 and/or other components of the holding portion 714 could be provided with resilient material, such as a rubber material, facing toward the receiving space 1100, such that the resilient material is “sandwiched” between the first and/or second jaw members 720, 772 and the bottom portion 703 of the headstone 701, thereby contributing to avoid potential damages which could be caused causes by a direct contact between the metal material of the clamping portion 750 upon tightening of the bolts 816 to prevent movement of the headstone 701 relative to the apparatus 700.
Although the above description relates to a specific preferred embodiment as presently contemplated by the inventor, it will be understood that the invention in its broad aspect includes mechanical and functional equivalents of the elements described herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62543700 | Aug 2017 | US |