The present invention relates to a ground anchorage device with a post belonging thereto to be used for erecting fences or erecting posts for other purposes.

There are in many connections a demand for the anchorage of posts in the ground for different purposes in a simple and reliable way. Prior art anchorage devices are either defective from the functional point of view or too expensive and complicated to be used in the large extent which is required for example when erecting game fences along motor ways, high speed train lines and so on. Prior art ground anchorage devices are restricted also in respect of the possibili¬ ties of anchoring posts in grounds of different characters.

The object of the invention is to provide a ground anchorage device with a post belonging thereto, in which the above drawbacks of prior art devices have been obviated.

In order to comply with this object the ground anchorage device with the post belonging thereto is according to the invention character¬ ized by an anchorage element having triangular cross section and consisting of side elements having their side edges connected with each other and a post connected with the upper portion of the anchorage element.

The ground anchorage device with the post belonging thereto according to the invention can be used for erecting and providing fence posts and gates at industries, schools, manufacturing plants and the like and is also suitable for erecting game fences along motor ways, high speed train lines and the like. The ground anchorage device with a post belonging thereto according to the invention can also be used for erecting reindeer fences, sheep and cattle fences and so on. Especially game fences for motor ways and high speed train lines and reindeer fences, sheep and cattle fences are suitable purposes as the ground anchorage device with the post belonging thereto can to a large extent be manufactured and mounted at the place where the fence shall be erected or can in a small scale be manufactured at several places close to the place or places where the fence shall be erected.

Preferably the anchorage element tapers downwardly to a point and is thereby constituted by substantially triangular side elements.

The anchorage element can be manufactured in one piece with the post or alternatively the anchorage element and the post can be consti¬ tuted by separate elements.

In the case that the anchorage element and the post are manufactured in one piece it is suitable that the post is of triangular cross section and consists of side elements constituted by sheet metal strips having their side edges connected with each other, each side element of the post passing into one triangular side element of the anchorage element.

Preferably the side elements of the anchorage element are at there side edges provided with edge sections which are connected with each other by means of riveting, preferably punch riveting, folding or in any other suitable way. At the side edges of the side element the anchorage element can be provided with outwardly directed stabiliz- ing wings, and thereby these stabilizing wings can be constituted by the edge sections of the side elements, which are connected with each other.

The ground anchorage device and the post belonging thereto according to the invention can be anchored in grounds of different characters. In extremely difficult types of grounds it is preferable to use an anchorage element forming a chamber which is connected with an injection pipe for concrete positioned at the upper portion of the anchorage element and provided with outlet openings for the concrete injected into the chamber. Thereby the outlet openings are prefera¬ bly constituted by openings arranged in the side portions of the ground anchorage element and covered by flaps which are opened outwardly by the concrete injected into the chamber and forcing its way out through the outlet openings. In a ground anchorage device of this kind it is possible to provide a stable anchorage of the anchorage element in substantially all types of ground surfaces.

When the anchorage element and the post are constituted by separate elements it is suitable that the anchorage element has at its upper portion a space open upwardly for receiving an end portion of the

post. Thereby, the space which is open upwardly preferably has a bottom which is connected with the side elements of the anchorage element and on which the lower surface of the post is placeable, the space receiving the end portion of the post being arranged to allow a certain rotation and changing of angle of inclination, whereupon the post is fixable in the adjusted rotation and inclination position by means of for example a resin adhesive.

The invention is described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a ground anchorage device with a post according to the invention, the anchorage element and the post being manufactured in one piece.

Fig. 2 is a section on line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section of a sheet metal strip profile of the kind which is used for manufacturing the ground anchorage device with a post according to the invention as shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a section of a portion of the ground anchorage device with a post in the area of the connection of the parts of the device with each other on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a ground anchorage device with a post belonging thereto according to the invention, in which the anchorage element and the post consist of separate elements.

Fig. 6 is a section of the post on line VI-VI in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a section of the anchorage element on line VII-VII in Fig. 5.

Figs. 8 and 9 are perspective views of modified embodiments of ground anchorage devices according to the invention, in which the anchorage element and the post consist of separate elements.

Fig. 10 is a cross section of the connection between the anchorage element and the post in a modified embodiment of a ground anchorage

device with a post belonging thereto consisting of separate elements.

The ground anchorage device 2 with a post 4 belonging thereto as shown in Fig. 1 is of triangular cross section and consists of three side elements 6 connected with each other. The side elements 6 consist of sheet metal strips which along the main portion of their heights is of uniform width and at there lower end terminate in triangular portions 8. The side elements 6 are along their total height including the triangular portions 8 provided with edge sections 10 formed by bending the edge portions of the sheet metal strips outwardly by 30o as shown in Fig. 3. Preferably the edge sections 10 formed by the bending have a width of about 10 mm.

The side elements 6 are connected with each other for providing the ground anchorage device with the post belonging thereto by connect¬ ing the edge sections 10 with each other which is preferably provided by so called punch riveting. The punch riveting is a cold forming operation conducted by means of a die and a punch. Subse- quent to the punch riveting operation the edge sections have the appearance as shown in section in Fig. 4 showing a portion of two connected edge sections in which a punch riveting has been conduct¬ ed.

If desired, the sheet metal strips forming the side elements of the post can be formed with openings, lugs and so on before the sheet metal strips are profiled. Such openings, lugs and so on can be used for connecting a fence net, pivots for gates and so on. It is also possible to form one or more of the side elements 6 with a profiled central portion in order to provide a better resistance to bending, the profiled central portion being formed before the side elements are connected with each other for forming the ground anchorage device with the post belonging thereto. The profiling of the side elements in order to provide the side elements with the bended edge sections and with the profiled central portion can easily be conducted by a light mobile rolling mill which at a desired place can form sheet metal strips to a desired profile. This makes it possible to manufacture in a simple way the ground anchorage device with the post belonging thereto by manufacturing and mounting the device in situ or on a small scale at several places closed to the

place or the places where a fence shall be erected. This is advantageous especially when erecting game fences, cattle fences and so on where the erection of the fences take place over long distances and often far away from built-up areas. The ground anchorage device with the post belonging thereto can be erected by digging a hole in the ground in which the ground anchorage device is pressed down. The ground can be solidified by vibration for which reason casting of the ground anchorage device often can be excluded. In order to facilitate casting of the ground anchorage device into the ground, if casting is necessary with regard to the ground conditions, the ground anchorage device with the post belonging thereto is at the lower end provided with a pressure chamber 12 which is defined by the side elements 6 including the triangular portions 8 and a partition 14 connected therewith. The pressure chamber 12 is provided with openings 16 having flaps 18 connected with the side elements by means of pivots 20 positioned at the lower edge of the flaps. Thereby, the flaps can be cut directly from the material of the side elements and can at their lower edge be connected with any suitable kind of folding weakening for providing the pivots. In addition thereto the pressure chamber 12 is provided with an injection opening for concrete (not shown) . When injecting

_* concrete into the pressure chamber 12 the concrete will after the chamber has been filled be pressed through the openings 16 which in turn provide that the flaps 18 are folded outwards by pivoting around the pivots 20 to the position shown in Fig. 2. After injection of concrete and the folding of the flaps 18 outwardly the ground anchorage device will be extremely stable fixed in the ground independently of the existing ground conditions.

In the embodiment of the ground anchorage device with the post belonging thereto according to the present invention the ground anchorage element 22 and the post 24 are in accordance with Fig. 5 constituted by separat parts. The anchorage element 22 is in cross section of triangular shape and tapers downwardly to a point. The anchorage element 22 consists of three triangular side elements 26 which in accordance with the embodiment according to Fig. l has edge sections 28 which are folded outwardly by 30°, have a width of 10 mm and are connected with each other by means of punch riveting.

At its upper portion the anchorage element 22 has a partition 30

defining a pressure chamber 32 positioned below the partition. The pressure chamber 32 is adapted for concrete injection in the same way as the pressure chamber 12 in the embodiment according to Fig. 1 and has an injection opening 34 for concrete in the partition 30 and outlet opening 36 for the concrete in the side walls 26. As in the embodiment according to Fig. 1 flaps 38 are positioned at the outlet openings 36 to close these openings and to pivot outwardly around a lower pivot to a stabilizing position engaging the surrounding ground when the concrete is injected.

Above the partition 30 the anchorage element 22 forms an upwardly open space 40 for receiving the end portion of the post 24. The space 40 is of triangular cross section and widens upwardly from the partition 30.

The post 24 has the cross section shown in Fig. 6, and thus, each side element of the post has a central portion 42, portions 44 extending inwardly angled therefrom and edge sections 46 connected with the portions 44 and extending outwardly at a right angle there- from. Thus, the edge sections 46 are outwardly angled by 30° in relation to the central portion 42. Because of this design the section of the post is inscribable in a triangle with the central portions 42 coinciding with the sides of the triangle and the points of the edge sections 46 positioned in the corners of the triangle. The side elements are connected with each other in order to form the post by connection of the edge sections 46 with each other by punch riveting. The section of the post 24 is such that the section is exactly inscribable in the triangle formed by the partition 30 which means that the lower end of the post is exactly defined with regard to its position at its lower end when the post is positioned in the space 40 in the anchorage element 22. Because of the fact that the space 40 widens upwardly the post can be adjusted into an exactly vertical position even if the anchorage element 22 should have been arranged in an inclined position in the ground. The post is fixed in relation to the anchorage device in the space 40 by supplying a settable material, preferably a resin adhesive, to the spaces between the outer surfaces of the post and the inner surfaces of the side elements of the anchorage element 22.

In the embodiment of the ground anchorage device with the post

belonging thereto according to the invention the anchorage element 50 and the post 52 are in accordance with Fig. 8 constituted by separate elements as is the embodiment according to Fig. 5. The anchorage element 50 is like the ground anchorage element 22 according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 of triangular section and tapers downwardly forming a point at the lower end. The anchorage element 50 consists of side elements 54 having edge sections 56 which can be used for connecting the side elements 54 with each other and are of such a design that they provide stabiliz- ing wings when the anchorage element is positioned in the ground. It is of course possible to form the edge sections 56 of the anchorage element 50 with a relatively small width and to fasten separate stabilizing wings to the edge sections.

Also the anchorage element 50 in the embodiment according to Fig..8 has a partition 58 defining below the partition a pressure chamber 60 for concrete injection. The pressure chamber 60 has outlet openings for the injected concrete, provided with flaps 62. The flaps 62 are connected with the side elements 54 by means of pivot elements at the lower edges of the flaps, and the flaps are pivoted outwardly to a position engaging the surrounding ground when the concrete injected into the chamber 60 is forced out through the outlet openings. In the embodiment of the ground anchorage device shown in Fig. 8 the partition 58 is provided with a central injection pipe 64 for concrete. The injection pipe 64 constitutes also a central pin for defining the position of the lower end of the post 52 which at its lower end has a wall provided with an opening which is placed over the injection pipe 64 when the lower end of the post is positioned in the receiving space 66 positioned above the partition 58. In this embodiment the cross section of the post is smaller than the bottom 58 which provides that the post can be rotated in the space 66 around the injection pipe 64 in order to take a correct rotational position even if the anchorage element 50 should have been placed in the ground in a somewhat incorrect position. At the same time it is as in the embodiment according to Fig. 5 possible to adjust the position of the post 52 in the receiving space 66 in the anchorage element 50 before the post is fixed in the receiving space by supplying a setting adhesive or the like.

Also in the embodiment of the ground anchorage device with a post as shown in Fig. 9 the ground anchorage element 68 and the post 70 are constituted by separate elements. The anchorage element 68 has a triangular cross section and consists of three side elements 72 and a flat bottom 74. As in the embodiments of the anchorage devices described above the side elements 72 are provided with edge sections 76 connected with each other by punch riveting.

The ground anchorage device with a post belonging thereto as shown in Fig. 9 is intended to be anchored to a hard surface for example rock ground and for this object the bottom 74 is provided with a central opening 78 which can be used for the passing of an expan¬ sion-shell bolt or the like. Thus, before the post 70 is positioned in the anchorage element 68 this is fixed to the rock surface or the like by passing an expansion-shell bolt through the opening 78 in the bottom 74 and anchoring the bolt in a hole in the rock or the like. Thereupon the post 70 is connected with the anchorage element 68 in the same way as in the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 10 there is shown a section of a ground anchorage device with a post belonging thereto of the kind in which the anchorage element and the post consist of separate portions. The section is positioned in the area of the connection between the post 80 and the anchorage element 82, and the anchorage element has a triangular receiving space 84 for receiving the end portion of the post. The embodiment according to Fig. 10 differs from the embodiments according to Figs. 5, 8 and 9 in respect of the design of the receiving space 84 which in this embodiment has a uniform cross section over its whole height and does not widen upwardly. In this embodiment the post 80 is in a releasable way connected with the anchorage element 82 by the fact that the side elements 86 of the anchorage element are provided with holes 88 engaged by spring- loaded balls 90 positioned on the end portion of the post.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 10 the retaining of the post 80 in the anchorage element 82 is calculated so that the post can be released from the anchorage element by being drawn upwardly therefrom. This can be provided by the fact that the post 80 is provided with a through opening at its lower portion in which

opening a pin is positioned. Thereby the post can be drawn up from the anchorage element by means of a fork which by engagement with the pin acts as a breaking tool. Thus, it is possible to use permanently installed ground anchorage devices for fences which are temporarily erected and are thereupon removed.

The anchorage device with the post belonging thereto according to the invention can be designed with regard to desired use in respect of strength, possible rejustment of the position, as a releasable post and so on. The post can have any desired cross sectional shape provided that the lower end portion of the post can be connected with the anchorage element.

The invention can be modified within the scope of the following claims.