The invention relates to a ground anchor system. Ground anchor systems can be used to hold, restrain and support buildings and other structures, either permanently or temporarily, and provide a quick and convenient alternative to conventional concrete foundations.

A known type of ground anchor system includes a base component which is set upon the ground and which receives a plurality of anchor pins that are driven (e.g. hammered or screwed) through the base component and into the ground below. The anchor pins may be arranged at different angles so as to distribute loads over a greater area in order to provide increased resistance to uplift and lateral movements. The present invention seeks to provide a ground anchor system which can be used in different environments and thus has improved versatility.

In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a ground anchor system for securing a structure to the ground, the system comprising: a base component having a plurality of anchor holes configured to receive anchor pins which are driven through the anchor holes and into the ground to secure the base component to the ground; wherein the base component is configured to be attached to the structure to secure the structure to the ground; wherein the base component further comprises a plurality of tabs; wherein the tabs have a first configuration in which they are arranged so as to project downwards into the ground and a second configuration in which they are perpendicular to when in the first configuration such that they extend along the surface of the ground; wherein the tabs are movable between the first and second configurations.

The tabs may be movable between the first and second configurations by bending the tabs.

The base component may comprise a hollow-section portion which has a closed cross- section defined by one or more walls and the tabs may extend from an edge of the one or more walls. The hollow-section portion may be formed by a plurality of walls and each tab may extend from an edge of one of the plurality of walls.

The anchor holes may be formed in the hollow-section portion and the anchor holes may be arranged in opposing pairs. Each opposing pair of anchor holes may define a passageway through the base component across the closed cross-section of the hollow-section portion.

The passageways formed by the opposing pairs of anchor holes may not intersect one another.

The anchor holes may be elliptical.

Each of the tabs may have a recess which is configured to receive an anchor pin when in the second configuration.

The base component may further comprise at least one attachment hole for securing the base component to the structure.

The base component may comprise a cutaway portion which extends from the hollow- section portion. The at least one attachment hole may be formed in the cutaway portion which has an open cross-section to provide access to the at least one attachment hole.

The cutaway portion may have rotational symmetry.

The ground anchor system may further comprise a plurality of anchor pins.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a method of securing a structure to the ground using a ground anchor system as described above, the method comprising: moving the tabs of the base component from the first configuration to the second configuration; sitting the base component on the ground with the tabs extending along the surface of the ground; driving a plurality of anchor pins through the holes and into the ground to secure the base component to the ground; and attaching the structure to the base component to secure the structure to the ground. Moving the tabs of the base component from the first configuration to the second configuration may comprise bending the tabs.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a ground anchor system for securing a structure to the ground, the system comprising: a base component configured to be attached to the structure to secure the structure to the ground; wherein the base component comprises a hollow-section portion which has a closed cross-section and a cutaway portion which extends from the hollow-section portion and has an open cross-section; wherein the hollow-section portion comprises a plurality of holes which are configured to receive anchor pins which are driven through the holes and into the ground to secure the base component to the ground; wherein at least one attachment hole is formed in the cutaway portion and wherein the open cross-section of the cutaway portion is configured to provide access to the at least one attachment hole.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a ground anchor system according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the ground anchor system;

Figure 3 is a top view of the ground anchor system;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the ground anchor system in an alternative configuration; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a base component of a ground anchor system according to another embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 shows a ground anchor system 2 according to an embodiment of the invention. The ground anchor system 2 comprises a base component 4. The base component 4 comprises a hollow-section portion 6 and a cutaway portion 8. The base component 4 may be formed from metal, such as steel.

The hollow-section portion 6 has a hollow (i.e. closed) cross-section. In this example, the hollow-section portion 6 has four walls, a front wall 7a, first and second side walls 7b, 7c and a rear wall 7d. The walls 7a-7d are of equal length, such that the cross- section is a square. In other examples, the hollow-section portion 6 may have a different cross-section, such as circular or rectangular (i.e. oblong).

A plurality of openings 10 are formed in the hollow-section portion 6. In particular, in this example, a pair of openings 10 is provided in each wall of the hollow-section portion 6. The pair of openings 10 in each wall of the hollow-section portion 6 are offset from one another both laterally and longitudinally. The pair of openings 10 in each wall thus form an upper inlet opening 10a and a lower outlet opening 10b which are arranged side-by-side.

The upper inlet opening 10a in each wall cooperates with the lower outlet opening 10b of an opposing wall to form a (notional) passageway (i.e. a pathway) across the hollow cross-section. The openings 10 are arranged such that the passageways do not intersect one another.

Each of the openings 10 is elliptical and is arranged such that its major axis extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the base component 4 (i.e. along its length).

A plurality of discrete tabs 12 extend from a lower end of the hollow-section portion 6. In this example, two opposing walls (the front wall 7a and the rear wall 7d) of the hollow-section portion 6 are provided with tabs 12 which extend along the width of the walls. The tabs 12 are integrally formed with their adjoining walls and as such are continuous and contiguous with one another. In other examples, the tabs 12 may be affixed to the adjoining walls. Each tab 12 is substantially rectangular (in this case, oblong) and so a distal edge of the tab 12 is parallel to a lower edge of the adjoining wall to which the tab is connected. In other examples, each wall may be provided with a tab 12. In such an arrangement, the tabs 12 may be formed by cutting along the edges of the hollow-section portion 6 in order to separate the walls from one another over a lowermost portion.

The tabs 12 have a first configuration in which they extend parallel to the walls of the hollow-section portion 6, as shown in Figure 1, and a second configuration in which they extend perpendicularly to the walls of the hollow-section portion 6, as shown in Figure 4. The tabs 12 are movable between the first and second configurations by, for example, bending the tabs 12 relative to the adjoining wall of the hollow-section portion 6.

The cutaway portion 8 extends from the hollow-section portion 6 in the longitudinal direction of the base component 4. Specifically, above the level of the openings 10, part of the hollow section is removed to form the cutaway portion 8. In particular, at least one of the walls of the hollow-section portion 6 may be partially or completed removed over the cutaway portion 8 to provide access to an opposing wall in which a plurality of attachment slots 14 are formed. The cutaway portion 8 therefore has an open cross-section. The attachment slots 14 are spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the base component 4.

As shown, in this embodiment, the attachment slots 14 are formed in the rear wall 7d and the front wall 7a is entirely removed over the cutaway portion 8. The side walls 7b, 7c are also partially removed over the cutaway portion 8. Specifically, half of the side walls 7b, 7c is removed in a widthwise direction such that only the rear wall 7d and half of the side walls 7b, 7c extending from the edge with the rear wall 7d remain. The cross-section of the hollow section is therefore cut in half through the side walls 7b, 7c to leave a C or U-shaped cross-section. As shown, the cutaway portion 8 is chamfered at either end.

The cutaway portion 8 has rotational symmetry such that multiple base components 4 can be formed from a single length of hollow section. Specifically, the portion which is removed to form the cutaway portion 8 forms the cutaway portion 8 of another base component 4. Similarly, the portion removed from the hollow section to form the tabs 12 may form the tabs 12 of another base component. The base components 4 can therefore be formed in an efficient process without wasting material. In use, the base component 4 is set upon the ground with the hollow-section portion 6 adjacent the ground and the cutaway portion 8 spaced from the ground by the hollow- section portion 6. As described previously, the tabs 12 have a first configuration in which they extend parallel to the walls of the hollow-section portion 6. In this configuration, the tabs 12 of the base component 4 may be driven into the ground such that they lie beneath the surface (denoted by line 16), as shown in Figure 2. The tabs 12 therefore provide additional stability to the base component 4 during installation.

A plurality of anchor pins 18 are then driven through the openings 10 in the base component 4 and into the ground below. Each anchor pin 18 is an elongate element with a cylindrical cross-section which is sized to fit through the openings 10. One end of the anchor pin 18 may be swaged or otherwise formed into a point to aid insertion into the ground. The other end of the anchor pin may be flared or otherwise formed into or provided with an enlarged head which prevents the end of the pin 18 from passing through the openings 10. The anchor pins 18 may be driven into the ground by hammering either manually or using an automatic tool. It will be appreciated that other forms of anchor pin 18 may be used, including anchor pins which are screwed into the ground.

Each anchor pin 18 is driven through a notional passageway extending between one of the upper inlet openings 10a and the lower outlet opening 10b formed in the opposing wall. As described previously, the openings 10 are arranged such that the passageways do not intersect. The anchor pins 18 therefore do not interfere with one another. In this example, four anchor pins 18 are used which each run parallel to one of the walls of the hollow-section portion 6 and are angled downwards towards the ground. The anchor pins 18 enter the ground at an oblique angle and extend away from the base component 4 so as to distribute loads over a greater area in order to provide increased resistance to uplift and lateral movements.

As described previously, each of the openings 10 is elliptical and is arranged such that its major axis extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the base component 4. This allows the cylindrical anchor pins 18 to pass through the openings 10 in a downwardly extending angle.

As described previously, the tabs 12 may be provided in the second configuration in which they extend perpendicularly to the walls of the hollow-section portion 6, as shown in Figure 4. The second configuration may be used where the ground is relatively solid such that the tabs 12 cannot be easily driven into the ground. Accordingly, in the second configuration, the tabs 12 extend perpendicularly to the walls and thus lie parallel to the ground to increase the stability of the base component 4 as the anchor pins 18 are driven through the base component 4 and into the ground below.

Once the base component 4 has been secured to the ground using the anchor pins 18, it may be secured to another structure, such as a photo-voltaic module (solar panel). In particular, the structure may be attached to the base component 4 by bolting (or using any other suitable fastener) it to the base component 4 via the attachment slots 14. The base component 4 may support the weight of the structure or the weight may be taken by the ground. In either case, the ground anchor system 2, formed by the base component 4 and the anchor pins 18, prevents movement of the structure, in particular uplift and lateral movements of the structure.

Figure 5 shows another embodiment of the base component. The base component 104 of this embodiment substantially corresponds to the base component 4 described previously. Accordingly, only those features which differ from the base component 4 will be described here.

As shown in Figure 5, the tabs 112 of the base component 104 include a recess 120. The distal edge of the tab 112 extends a shorter distance from the lower edge of the adjoining wall over the recess 120 than the remainder of the tab 112. The recess 120 is aligned laterally with the lower outlet opening 10b such that the anchor pins 18 are received by the recess 120 during use. In other words, the anchor pins 18 enter the ground where the tab 112 would otherwise lie if it were not for the recess 120. It will be appreciated that this arrangement allows the remainder of the tab 112 to be longer than would otherwise be possible without the recess 120. This provides improved stability of the base component 104 in both the first and second configurations. In other examples, the recess 120 may be enclosed within the tab 112 to form an opening through which the anchor pin 18 can pass.

The tabs 112 may also include holes 122 for receiving nails, screws or other fasteners to provide additional fixation of the base component 4 to the ground when the tabs 112 are in the second configuration. To avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and repetition of text in the specification, certain features are described in relation to only one or several aspects or embodiments of the invention. However, it is to be understood that, where it is technically possible, features described in relation to any aspect or embodiment of the invention may also be used with any other aspect or embodiment of the invention.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, and may be modified or adapted without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

In particular, although the base component 4, 104 has been described as having a specific arrangement of holes 10, it will be appreciated that other arrangements may be used to form passageways for the anchor pins 18 which do not intersect one another. This may include the use of elongate tubes, which may be internally or externally located, through which the anchor pins 18 pass.

Further, the base component 4, 104 may have any number of attachment slots 14 or other attachment holes for securing a structure (or any other load) to the base component 4, 104.

In the examples described, the base component 4 comprises a hollow-section portion 6 and a cutaway portion 8 which are integrally formed with one another (i.e. cut from a length of hollow section). However, in other arrangements, the hollow-section portion 6 and the cutaway portion 8 may be formed separately and connected to one another. Accordingly, the cutaway portion 8 need not have had material physically cutaway from it and may be formed to have an open cross-section; references to the cutaway portion should therefore be interpreted accordingly.