Hydraulic and earth engineering – Foundation – Columnar structure
Patent
1992-09-21
1994-03-22
Taylor, Dennis L.
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Foundation
Columnar structure
405244, 405258, 52157, E21B 726, E04H 1222, E02D 1300
Patent
active
052957667
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for building a foundation, particularly a frost-resistant foundation, for uprights such as flagpoles, posts, pillars or the like or for making passages therethrough e.g. for cables, tubes etc., said apparatus comprising a drive-shaft equipped helical auger, said shaft being provided with a tubular body portion, the helical auger having a substantially larger diameter than the body portion.
At present, the upright foundations are generally built by digging a hole in the ground, by setting a concrete pipe in the hole and by casting grippers or a self-erectable assembly in the concrete pipe. This type of method is relatively tedious and, in addition, causes disturbances in the environment e.g. when the installation is made on a lawn, due to the necessity of digging a sufficiently large erection hole. The passages are presently made by using e.g. percussion drilling, pressure drilling as well as ramming. One drawback in these methods is a relatively high power demand of the equipment used therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple and expedient method and apparatus for facilitating the building of a foundation for uprights, said apparatus and method being also applicable for fixing various objects to the bottoms of waterways. Another object is to provide an apparatus and a method for making various passages e.g. for passing under traffic routes.
The objects of the present invention are achieved by an apparatus for building a frost-resistant foundation for uprights, such as flagpoles, posts, pillars etc., or for making passages e.g. for cables, tubes etc., wherein the apparatus has a drive-shaft equipped helical auger. The shaft is fitted with a tubular body portion and the diameter of the helical auger is substantially larger than that of the body portion. An end of a body section facing the helical auger is fitted with a conical section tapering towards the helical auger whereby, when the apparatus is in operation, the tapered section compacts the soil layer that is softened by the helical auger.
The following are advantageous developments of the apparatus of the present invention. The body section is fixedly mounted on the drive shaft. The body portion includes two sections in a manner that a leading body section is fixedly mounted on the drive shaft while a remaining body section is mounted in the freely rotatable fashion relative to leading body section. The remaining body section is made of a thin sheet metal, plastic or a like so as to serve as a tubular mould for a foundation or as a passage conduit. The remaining body section comprises a pipeline to be passed through. The body portion is mounted in a freely rotatable fashion on the drive shaft, the apparatus being operated by rotating the drive shaft. The body portion is adapted to include at least two sections, the sections being coupled together by means of an internal connecting sleeve.
The magnitude of the coming angle .alpha. of the tapered section is within the range of circa 25-5020, preferably circa 30-45.degree..
The length of the tapered section is at least equal to the pitch of helical auger, the volume of earth material compacted by tapered section being at least equal to that of earth material displaced by the helical auger during the course of a single rotation.
The tapered section originates substantially at the level of the top edge of the helical auger.
The ratio of the external diameter of the body portion to that of the drive shaft is circa 1.5-10:1, preferably circa 2-8:1.
The apparatus of the present invention can be used as a mooring apparatus for objects to be anchored on or below the surface of a waterway.
The present invention is also a method for building a frost-resistant foundation for uprights, such as flagpoles, posts, pillars and the like, the method using an apparatus which includes a drive-shaft equipped helical auger, the shaft being provided with a tubular body portion. The end
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