The present invention relates to masonry anchors and, in particular, to a self drilling masonry anchor and insertion adaptor which allows the anchor to be drilled into masonry materials in a single procedure unlike conventional masonry anchors which need to be pre-drilled to the correct depth, forced in and then fastened.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Conventional masonry anchors require a hole to be pre-drilled into the masonry, ie concrete, brickwork, stonework or the like, into which the conventional masonry anchor is inserted. This conventional type masonry anchor includes a split tube in which a partially threaded bolt is substantially received therein. A thicker unthreaded portion of the partially threaded bolt protrudes from one end of the split tube while a nut is located at the other end, the threaded portion of the partially threaded bolt being threadingly received in the nut. Once the hole has been drilled to the correct depth and diameter to receive the thicker portion of the bolt, masonry anchor is placed within the drilled hole. The anchor's interior partially threaded bolt is screwed through the nut by means of turning the nut thus drawing the bolt in a direction out of the hole. The thicker portion of the partially threaded bolt is thus drawn into the split tube which expands in diameter against the interior surface of the pre-drilled hole thus being anchored therein.

The above described conventional masonry anchors have the disadvantages that the holes in which they are to be received have to be drilled to the correct depth and diameter prior to insertion. The requirement for the diameter means that in usual practice, the anchor is forced into the pre-drilled hole so that it can be successfully anchored therein. If the diameter is drilled to large, the anchor will not take and if the hole does not have enough depth the anchor will not be able to be received therein.

Therefore the procedure in inserting conventional masonry anchors is seen to be relatively time consuming as different steps in the process are to be completed. If any of the steps, and in particular the pre-drilling of the hole, is not done properly, the masonry anchor will not be secured properly, and it may be necessary to re-insert in the correct manner.

The use of masonry anchors as described above is very widespread and as such a substantial number of them have to be inserted on any particular job site at any particular period. It is therefore seen that a more time efficient method of insertion of masonry anchors is desired.

Therefore it would be advantageous to provide a self drilling masonry anchor and method of insertion into masonry and the like which enables the user to correctly insert a number of anchors in a more efficient manner than presently done. Such a self drilling masonry anchor would provide an improvement in the building industry as it would make it easier for the building workers to insert such anchors.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a self drilling masonry anchor and insertion adaptor which substantially overcomes or ameliorates the above mentioned disadvantages. At the very least, the object of the invention is to provide an alternative to known masonry anchors.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a self drilling masonry anchor or the like in combination with an insertion adaptor, comprising at least one partially split outer tube having first and second ends into which a partially threaded bolt is substantially received therein with a thicker portion of said bolt protruding from said second end of said tube, and a nut or screw means with an internal thread corresponding to the thread on said bolt positioned adjacent and in use abutting against said first end of said tube whereby the partially threaded bolt is able to be screwed through or into said nut or screw means to be drawn out of said tube, said thicker portion of said bolt having a drill tip with a diameter at least as wide as said tube, said insertion adaptor having a first portion adapted to fit a rotary/impact machine or the like and a second portion adapted to receive the threaded bolt and the nut or screw means therein, wherein the rotary/impact machine in use rotates the bolt and thus its drill tip to drill the hole into masonry, wood or like material whereby said tube is inserted into the drilled hole during the drilling thereof and after the hole has been drilled and the anchor is in position the adaptor is used to hold the threaded bolt while

the nut or screw means is rotated relative to the threaded bolt to draw the thicker portion of the bolt into the split tube which results in the expansion in diameter of the split tube thus being anchored in said hole.

In one preferred form, the insertion adaptor is a two part device which locks together in use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a self drilling masonry anchor according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a side view of the self drilling masonry anchor of Fig. 1 together with an insertion adaptor in its use position.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The self drilling masonry anchor 10 of the preferred embodiment is preferably for use in masonry materials such as concrete, brickwork, stoneware, rock and the like and the following description is related to these types of uses. However it is envisaged that it is suitable for use with other materials inclusive of timber and plastics materials if so desired.

The anchor 10 has a single split tube 11 as its main body portion even though more than one tube is within the scope of the present invention as it is noted that some masonry anchors have two or more split tubes in alignment. A partially threaded bolt 12 is substantially received within the tube 11 with a thicker portion 13 of the bolt 12 protruding from one end of the tube 11 and a threaded portion 14 being threadingly received in a nut 15 at the other end of the tube 11. The nut 15 abuts against the end of the tube 11 as illustrated in the drawings. The threaded portion 14 of the bolt is seen to extend through the nut 15 and is therefore able to be screwed to draw the thicker portion 13 into the split tube 11 in the conventional manner.

The thicker portion 13 of the bolt 12 has a drill tip 16 and is made from hardened steel or like material. It is seen that the drill tip 16 and hence the thicker portion 13 has a slightly greater diameter than the diameter of the tube 11. This ensures that the tube 1 1 is able to fit into the hole that the drill tip 16 is used to drill into the material into which the anchor 10 is to be inserted.

The masonry anchor 10 as illustrated and described above is used by drilling it into the material. This is accomplished by use of a two-part adaptor device 20 as illustrated in Fig. 2. The two-part adaptor device 20 includes a first part being a masonry anchor adaptor 21 which at one end receives the threaded portion 14 of the bolt 12 into a corresponding mating threaded recess 22. This end of the masonry anchor adaptor 21 locks against the nut 15 and therefore the bolt 12 and nut 15 are locked together so that there is no relative movement therebetween. This means that when the adaptor device 20 is used to insert the anchor 10 into masonry materials or the like, the drill tip 16 is rotated and the tube 1 1 has no relative translational movement to the drill tip 16 thereby allowing the drill tip 16 to drill the hole without interference from the tube 1 1.

The second part of the two-part adaptor device 20 is a rotary/impact machine attachment 23 which fits a conventional machine at one end and at the other end also locks together with the masonry anchor adaptor 21 as shown in Fig. 2 in a spigot locking system. The connecting end 24 of the masonry anchor adaptor 21 is adapted to receive a spigot of the connecting end 25 of the rotary/impact machine attachment 23. This type of connection is the type of connection formed in a socket set.

Once the self drilling masonry anchor 10 is inserted as described above by means of drilling a hole with the anchor 10, it is fastened into the masonry or like material in the conventional manner. The self drilling masonry anchor 10 as described provides a simple and time efficient method of insertion and fastening and overcomes any difficulties which can arise with respect to the hole into which it is inserted.

The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention, and modifications obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, the bolt 12 can comprise a number of segments connected end to end. The preferred method of connection being by means of mating threads. In this way the length of the bolt can be easily changed according to the particular requirements. In a like fashion the single split tube 11 can be formed by a number of split tubes or the like placed end to end over the number of bolts. In this way a number of discrete lengths can be obtained using bolts or tubes of a single length. This also has the advantage that only the drill tip needs to be made from a hardened material.