Expansible nail like plug

#The present invention relates to a new expansible plug which can be driven into materials having very different consistences and hardnesses.

#Known plugs are intended to be used with relatively precisely defined materials, for example, concrete. These plugs are virtually unusable with different materials. This is particularly the case with plugs which can be expanded by driving in a cylindrical or conical core in order to expand one end of the plug which is divided into a plurality of portions by slots extending from one end of the plug up to an intermediate zone.

#It is particularly desirable to have a single type of expansible plug which, depending on the particular material involved, can be driven in like a nail and then expanded or, on the contrary, can be inserted into a previously drilled hole. Plugs of this type would be particularly useful for fixing various devices, for example, traffic control strips onto asphalted highways laid on a substratum of widely differing types, such as for example, earth, free aggregates, concrete, etc.

#The invention will be better understood from reading the following description relative to a non-limitative embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings in which:

#FIG. 1 is an axial sectional view of a nail-like plug according to one embodiment of the invention after expansion;

#FIG. 2 is an elevational view partly in section of the nail-like plug body of FIG. 1;

#The nail-like plug according to the exemplified embodiment described comprises a body 1 expanded by means of a cylindrical shank 2 having a substantially conical point 3. The body has a pointed end 4 and from the opposite end to the said point and over approximately half its length is provided with a cylindrical blind bore 5 whose diameter is slightly greater than that of shank 2.

#Between its two ends, body 1 is subdivided into two portions 6 and 7 by means of a radial slot 8 which terminates short of the point 4. About a third of the length of the body starting from the end opposite to point 4 is unslotted. Body 1 is also provided with a peripheral flange 10 at its end opposite to point 4.

#FIG. 1 shows the nail-like plug fitted in a hole 11 hollowed out of a material 12, whereby flange 10 is supported on a metal plate 13 perforated by holes 14, whereby the complete assembly serves for fitting a traffic control strip 15. By means of a driver comprising a recess corresponding at least to the projecting portion of expansion shank 2 the latter can be fitted at the same time as body 1, whereby its point 3 rests on the bottom of blind bore 5. As a variant, shank 2 can be introduced after fitting body 1. Shank 2 is then driven in by force, whereby its point 3 moves apart portions 6 and 7 of the plug body, which are radially expanded and ensure the anchoring of the nail-like plug.