This invention relates to ground stabilising devices. Embodiments of this invention relate to ground stabilising devices for use with matting, such as geotextile matting

Methods for stabilising the ground can involve laying geotextile matting over the ground and then securing the matting to the ground by the use of a ground stabilising device anchored in place by means of a ground anchor. A cable extends from the ground stabilising device to the ground anchor. The ground stabilising device comprises a clamping arrangement for clamping the cable and a load transmitting arrangement that extends across the matting. The matting is formed of long strands that can become entangled around the load transmitting arrangement, or cause the load transmitting arrangement to be unstable on the matting. In addition, the clamping arrangement can become snagged on the matting, which can have the effect of causing the clamping arrangement to become locked onto the cable.

According to one aspect of this invention, there is provided a ground stabilising device comprising a securing arrangement and a load transmitting arrangement on the securing arrangement for transmitting load from the securing arrangement to the ground, the securing arrangement being configured for securing an elongate article thereto, and the load transmitting arrangement comprising an outwardly extending member on the securing arrangement, said outwardly extending member having a strand receiving formation for receiving a strand of an item engaged by the load transmitting arrangement.

The item may comprise a matting, such as a geotextile matting.

The strand receiving formation may comprise a groove defined in the outwardly extending member. The strand receiving formation may extend circumferentially or tangentially along the outwardly extending member. The outwardly extending member may have a plurality of the strand receiving formations. The outwardly extending member may include a lower surface, and the, or each, strand receiving formation may be provided on the lower surface of the outwardly extending member.

The outwardly extending member may be elongate. The outwardly extending member may extend radially outwardly from the securing arrangement. The outwardly extending member may comprise a spoke.

The load transmitting arrangement may comprise a plurality of said outwardly extending members. Each of said outwardly extending member may have a plurality of the strand receiving formations. The strand receiving formations may be spaced from one another along the outwardly extending member.

The load transmitting arrangement may comprise a rim extending at least partially around the securing arrangement. The rim may extend wholly around the securing arrangement. The rim may be substantially of an oval configuration, but it will be appreciated that the rim could be any other suitable configuration. The outwardly extending member may extend from the securing arrangement to the rim.

The load transmitting arrangement may include two longer outwardly extending members and two shorter outwardly extending members. Each longer outwardly extending member may include five of the strand receiving formations. Each shorter outwardly extending member may include four of the strand receiving formations.

The securing arrangement may define a through passage for an elongate article. The securing arrangement may also include a channel in communication with the passage. The securing arrangement may further include a clamping arrangement in the channel. The clamping arrangement may be movable along the channel towards the passage to clamp the elongate article in the passage and secure the elongate article to the ground stabilising device.

The securing arrangement may comprise a body. The body may have a guide formation to guide the clamping member towards the through passage. The guide formation may comprise a guide wall. The guide formation may comprise an internal guide wall.

The body may have a clamping formation. The clamping formation may define the through passage. The clamping formation may extend along the through passage. The clamping member may be arranged to clamp the elongate article against the clamping formation.

The clamping formation may comprise a clamping wall. The clamping formation may comprise an internal clamping wall. The guide formation and the clamping formation may taper towards each other.

The ground stabilising device may comprise an engaging portion extending outwardly from the body. The engaging portion may extend transverse to the body. The engaging portion may comprise a flange, which may be substantially rectangular or substantially circular. The engaging portion may surround the body.

The body may have proximal and distal end regions. The engaging portion may be provided at the proximal end region of the body. When the body is inserted into the ground, the distal end region may be inserted first.

The securing arrangement may include urging means for urging the clamping member towards the through passage into clamping engagement with the elongate article. The urging means may urge the clamping member away from the proximal end region towards the distal end region. The clamping member may be disposed between the proximal and distal end regions of the body. The urging means may be disposed between the clamping member and the proximal end region of the body.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a ground stabilising device; Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view of the ground stabilising device shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a sectional side view along the lines III - III in Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing a geotextile matting schematically.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a ground stabilising device 10, which comprises a substantially oval load transmitting arrangement 12 and a securing arrangement 14. An engaging portion in the form of a flange 15 extends around the securing arrangement 14.

The load transmitting arrangement 12 comprises a substantially oval rim 16 and a plurality of radially outwardly extending members in the form of spokes 18. As can be seen from Figure 1 , the load transmitting arrangement 12 comprises two longer spokes 18 arranged opposite each other and two shorter spokes 18 also arranged opposite each other. The longer spokes 18 extend transverse to the shorter spokes 18 so that the spokes 18 are arranged in a cross configuration. Each spoke 18 extends from the flange 15 to the rim 16.

Each spoke 18 has a lower surface 20 in which a plurality of strand receiving formations 22 are defined. Each of the strand receiving formations 22 is in the form of a recess, such as a groove, extending across the lower surface 20 of the respective spoke 18 in a circumferential direction of the load transmitting arrangement 12. The purpose of the strand receiving formations 22 is explained below.

The load transmitting arrangement 12 also includes a plurality of cylindrical legs 23 extending downwardly from the rim 16 and the shorter spokes 18. The cylindrical legs 23 facilitate removal of the ground stabilising device 10 from the mould in which it is formed.

The rim 16 also includes a rectangular member 25 extending outwardly from the rim 16 adjacent one of the shorter spokes 18. The rectangular member 25 allows the user to mark the ground stabilising device 10 with a desired trade mark, such as a name or logo.

A sectional side view of the securing arrangement 14 is shown in Figure 3. The securing arrangement 14 comprises a body 24 defining a through passage 26 for an elongate article 28 (also shown in broken lines.) The elongate article 28 extends through the passage 26. The elongate article 28 is in the form of a wire, wire strand or other suitable elongate article.

The body 24 has a proximal end region 24A adjacent the load transmitting arrangement 12 and a distal end region 24B at the opposite end of the body 24. The body 24 defines a clamping formation in the form of an internal clamping wall 30 and a guide formation in the form of an internal guide wall 32.

The securing arrangement 14 further includes a clamping arrangement 34 comprising clamping member 35 and urging means in the form of a coiled compression spring 36. In the embodiment shown, the clamping member 35 is in the form of a cylindrical roller, but it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the clamping member 35 could be any other suitable shape, such as spherical or wedge shaped.

A reaction member 38 extends part way across the passage 26 at the proximal end region 24A, and provides a reaction to the spring 36, thereby urging the clamping member 35 in the direction indicated by the arrow X along the guide wall 32. This urges the clamping member 35 into engagement with the elongate article 28 and, as a result, the elongate article 28 is clamped against the clamping wall 30 by the clamping member 35.

The clamping member 35 is disposed between the proximal end region 24A and the distal end region 24B of the body 24, and the spring 36 is disposed between the clamping member 35 and the proximal end region 24A.

In use, a ground anchor (not shown) of the type that would be known to those skilled in the art is first driven into the ground. The ground anchor has attached thereto the elongate article 28, which is of sufficient length to extend from the ground anchor to the surface of the ground. In Figure 3, the surface of the ground is generally designated 100. Prior to the ground anchor being driven into the ground 100, the ground can be covered with an item in the form of a sheet of geotextile matting 102 to enhance the stabilisation of the ground 100. the geotextile matting 102 is represented by a broken line.

The elongate article 28 is threaded through the passage 26 in the body 24 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in Figure 3, which pushes the clamping member 35 against the action of the spring 36 away from the clamping wall 30. The securing arrangement 14 is then threaded along the elongate article 28 until the load transmitting arrangement 12 is in engagement with the surface of the ground 100, or with the matting 102. The elongate article 28 can then be pulled through the body 24 in the direction indicated by the arrow A until the elongate article 28 is tight.

The clamping of the elongate article 28 occurs as a result of the spring 36 urging the clamping member 35 along the guide wall 32 into engagement with the elongate article 24. Any movement of the securing arrangement 14 relative to the elongate article 24 in the direction indicated by the arrow B tightens the clamping member 30 between the guide wall 32 and the elongate article 28, thereby clamping the elongate article 28 against the clamping wall 30.

It is desirable for the ground stabilising device 10 to press downwardly on the ground 100 under the force applied by the elongate article 28. This can be accomplished by the user pushing downwardly on the securing arrangement 14 while pulling up tightly on the elongate article 28. This slightly compresses the ground 100 and, when the downward force on the securing arrangement 14 is removed, the compressed ground 100 relaxes.

The relaxation of the ground pushes upwardly on the ground stabilising device 10, thereby causing the clamping member 35 to be engaged tightly between the guide wall 32 and the elongate article 28, and clamping the elongate article 28 tightly against the clamping wall 30. In prior art devices, cleats or studs or other formations may be used to compress the ground 100, but the use of such formations does not provide such positive engagement with the ground as the embodiment described herein.

In use, the ground stabilising device 10 is applied to geotextile matting 102 lain over the surface 100 of the ground. The matting 102 is formed of loosely woven strands 104 (see Figure 4), and the securing arrangement 14 can easily be inserted through the strands 104 into the ground.

Figure 4 is a view from below of the ground stabilising device 10 in use, showing the matting 02 schematically. The elongate article 28 is omitted from Figure for clarity.

The ground stabilising device 10 is shown in Figure 4 with some of the strands 104 of the matting 102 received in the strand receiving formations 22 in each of the spokes 18. The strand receiving formations 22 hold the strands 104 clear of the securing arrangement 14, thereby preventing the strands 104 from becoming entangled or snagged within the securing arrangement 14.

When the load spreading arrangement is pulled tightly against the matting 102, some of the strands 104 of the matting 102 are received in the strand receiving formations 22. This has the effect of preventing movement of the ground stabilising device 10 on the matting 102. The strand receiving formations 22 also has the effect of anchoring the strands 104 of the matting 102 in place, which maintains the weave of the matting102 and, thereby, allow the matting 102 to maintain its performance around the ground stabilising device 10.

There is thus described a ground stabilising device 10 in which the strand receiving formations 22 can receive and hold the strands of the geotextile matting 102 and can help prevent the securing arrangement 14 becoming locked to the elongate article 28.

Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the number of the spokes 18 can be varied. In addition, the number of the strand receiving formations 22 on each spoke 18 can also be varied.