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US 12,540,448 B2Granted
Removable shoring element
AssigneeRichlyn Developments Ltd.
InventorRichard Lamontagne
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shoring element has a shoring plate and a shaft received within a shaft receiver of the shoring plate. The shoring plate is rotatable and is permitted limited axial movement along the shaft. During installation, rotating the shaft in a first direction drives the shaft into the ground formation and causes the drive collar to contact a drive shoulder of the shoring plate such that the drive collar applies a driving force to the shoring plate. During removal, the shaft is rotated in a second direction to withdraw the shaft from the ground formation and the drive collar to move away from the drive shoulder. Applying an upward force to the lifting points causes the shoring plate to move axially relative to the shaft.
Claims20
A shoring element, comprising:
- a shaft having a top end, a bottom end, and an axis, the shaft comprising a rotary drive connector at the top end of the shaft, an auger at the bottom end of the shaft, and a drive collar axially spaced between the top end and the bottom end, the auger having a pitch;
- a shoring plate comprising:
- a shaft receiver that receives the shaft such that the shoring plate is rotatably and axially moveable relative to the shaft;
- a drive shoulder that is sized to engage the drive collar, the drive shoulder being positioned between the drive collar and the bottom end of the shaft, wherein the shoring plate is movable along the shaft between an engaged position in which the drive shoulder is engaged with the drive collar, and a spaced position in which the drive shoulder is spaced from the drive collar toward the bottom end of the shaft by a travel distance, wherein the travel distance is greater than twice the pitch of the auger;
- and
- lifting points;
- wherein the shaft and the shoring plate are provided such that:
- during installation, rotating the shaft in a first direction causes the auger to drive the shaft into a ground formation and the drive collar to contact the drive shoulder of the shoring plate such that the drive collar applies a driving force to the shoring plate;
- and
- during removal:
- with the shoring plate stationary, rotating the shaft through a plurality of rotations in a second direction causes the auger to withdraw from the ground formation relative to the shoring plate and move along the travel distance from the engaged position toward the spaced position, and
- with the shaft stationary, applying an upward force to the lifting points causes the shoring plate to move along the travel distance toward the top end of the shaft from the spaced position toward the engaged position.
9 more elements
A method of removing a shoring element, comprising:
- with the shoring element installed in a ground formation, the shoring element comprising a shaft and a shoring plate, the shaft comprising a rotary drive connector at a top end of the shaft, an auger at a bottom end of the shaft, and a drive collar spaced between the rotary drive connector and the auger that engages a drive shoulder of the shoring plate, the shaft being carried in a shaft receiver of the shoring plate that permits limited axial movement of the shaft relative to the shoring plate:
- using a rotary drive configured to apply a rotary force to the rotary drive connector, driving the rotary drive connector in a direction that causes the auger to withdraw from the ground formation such that the shaft moves axially relative to the shoring plate and the drive collar is spaced from the drive shoulder of the shoring plate;
- and
- with the shaft stationary, using a linear actuator to apply a lifting force to the shoring plate relative to the shaft such that the shoring plate moves axially relative to the shaft and the drive shoulder moves toward the drive collar.
1 more element
A system for removing shoring plates from a ground formation, the system comprising:
- a shoring element comprising:
- a shaft having a top end, a bottom end, and an axis, the shaft comprising a rotary drive connector at the top end of the shaft, an auger at the bottom end of the shaft, and a drive collar axially spaced between the top end and the bottom end;
- a shoring plate comprising:
- a shaft receiver that receives the shaft such that the shoring plate is rotatably and axially moveable relative to the shaft, the drive collar and the shaft receiver cooperating to permit limited axial movement of the shoring plate along the shaft toward the top end of the shaft;
- a drive shoulder that is sized to engage the drive collar, the drive shoulder being positioned between the drive collar and the bottom end of the shaft;
- and
- lifting points;
- a driver comprising:
- a rotary driver that is configured to apply a rotary force to the rotary drive connector;
- and
- linear actuators on opposed sides of the rotary driver that are configured to engage the lifting points of the shoring plate and apply a lifting force relative to the rotary driver, such that the lifting force is applied between the top end of the shaft and the lifting points;
- wherein:
- during installation, the rotary driver rotates the shaft in a first direction to cause the auger to drive the shaft into a ground formation and the drive collar to contact the drive shoulder of the shoring plate such that the drive collar applies a driving force to the shoring plate;
- and
- during removal, the rotary drive rotates the shaft in a second direction to cause the auger to withdraw from the ground formation and the drive collar to move away from the drive shoulder, and the linear actuators apply an upward force to the lifting points to cause the shoring plate to move toward the top end of the shaft.
12 more elements
A shoring element, comprising:
- a shaft having a top end, a bottom end, and an axis, the shaft comprising a rotary drive connector at the top end of the shaft, an auger at the bottom end of the shaft, and a drive collar axially spaced between the top end and the bottom end;
- a shoring plate comprising:
- a shaft receiver that receives the shaft such that the shoring plate is rotatably and axially moveable relative to the shaft, the drive collar and the shaft receiver cooperating to permit limited axial movement of the shoring plate along the shaft toward the top end of the shaft;
- a drive shoulder that is sized to engage the drive collar, the drive shoulder being positioned between the drive collar and the bottom end of the shaft;
- and
- lifting points;
- wherein:
- during installation, rotating the shaft in a first direction causes the auger to drive the shaft into a ground formation and the drive collar to contact the drive shoulder of the shoring plate such that the drive collar applies a driving force to the shoring plate;
- during removal, rotating the shaft in a second direction causes the auger to withdraw from the ground formation and the drive collar to move away from the drive shoulder, and applying an upward force to the lifting points causes the shoring plate to move toward the top end of the shaft;
- and
- the drive collar and the shaft receiver permit at least 12 inches of axial movement of the shoring plate along the shaft.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.