GB2288845A

GB2288845A - Holding apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2288845A
Application number: GB9408463A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shaun Andrew Gallager
Original assignee: S G BALDWIN Ltd
Current assignee: S G BALDWIN Ltd
Priority date: 1994-04-28
Filing date: 1994-04-28
Publication date: 1995-11-01
Anticipated expiration: 2014-04-28
Also published as: GB9408463D0; GB2288845B

Abstract

Apparatus (10) for holding together first and second articles (12) comprises a first member (14) which can engage one face of each of the articles, and a second member (34) which can engage an opposite face of each of the articles. The apparatus (10) further includes connection means (18, 26) adapted to extend between the first and second articles. The connection means (18, 26) are adapted to secure the first member (14) to the second member (34), whereby the first and second members can be connected to each other in engagement with a respective one of the faces of each article. A nut (26) can be provided with formations engageable only by a special tool for release. <IMAGE>

Description

Improvements in or Relating to Holding Apparatus This invention relates to holding apparatus. In particular, but not exclusively, this invention relates to holding apparatus suitable for holding together a plurality of articles, for example lids of troughs to prevent unauthorised access.

Lines of concrete troughs are often used alongside railway lines to house electric cables. The troughs are provided with lids to prevent damage by, for example, the weather or animals. Unfortunately, the lids are easily removable and, as a result, there has been a problem concerning vandalism.

A mechanism is available which locks the lids to the troughs. This has the disadvantage that modifications are required to the lids and the troughs in order to fit the mechanisms to troughs and lids. Also, the mechanism uses up some of the spaces inside the lid thereby reducing the available space for the cables.

It is an object of this invention to obviate and/or mitigate these disadvantages.

According to one aspect of this invention there is provided apparatus for holding together first and second articles, each article having substantially oppositely arranged faces, the apparatus comprising a first member which can engage one of the faces of each of the articles and a second member which can engage the other of the faces of each of the articles, and connection means adapted to extend between said first and second articles, the connection means being adapted to secure the first member to the second member, whereby the first and second members can be connected to each other in engagement with a respective one of the faces of each article.

Preferably, the connection means comprises an upstanding member on the first member and securing means adapted to secure the second member to the upstanding member. Advantageously, the connection means comprises first and second upstanding members, whereby the second member can be secured to the upstanding members by the securing means.

Preferably, the securing means comprises first and second securing members to secure the second member to the first and second upstanding members respectively.

The or each upstanding member may be threaded, and the or each securing member may be correspondingly threaded to be screwed onto the or each upstanding member. The or each upstanding member is preferably in the form of a bolt, and the or each securing member is preferably in the form of a nut.

The or each nut may be substantially cylindrical in configuration and may be provided with at least one notch whereby the nut can be screwed onto, or unscrewed from, the or each upstanding member. Preferably, the or each nut is provided with a pair of oppositely arranged notches adapted to receive corresponding prongs of a tool whereby the nuts can be screwed onto, or unscrewed from, the or each upstanding member.

Advantageously, the second member defines a cavity for receiving the, or one of the, securing members.

The second member may define a pair of said cavities for receiving each of said securing members.

Preferably, the second member is provided with walls to define the, or each, cavity. The cavities are desirably of corresponding configuration to the or each securing member and are preferably cylindrical in configuration.

In the preferred embodiment, the first and second members are in the form of substantially flat plates, which may be square or rectangular in configuration.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further includes a looped member adapted to extend from the first member to the second member. Preferably, the looped member is so configured as to be adapted to extend around one of said first and second articles.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an assembly comprising a plurality of apparatus as described in paragraphs 5 to 12 above adapted to be secured to at least some of a plurality of articles arranged adjacent each other in succession.

Preferably, when the plurality of articles are arranged in a line, apparatus as described in paragraph 13 above may be secured to articles at each end of the line whereby the looped portion extends around the end articles.

Preferably, holding members may be arranged between adjacent articles to which apparatus as described above are not secured.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a tool for use with apparatus as described in paragraphs 5 to 13 above, said tool comprising a shaft having a handle at one end and first and second projections at the opposite end, the first and second projections being adapted to be received in the notches in said nuts, whereby the tool can be used to tighten or release the nuts on the upstanding members.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side view of apparatus for holding together first and second articles; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of apparatus as shown in Fig.

1 with the first member removed; Fig. 4 is a view along the lines IV-IV in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a side view of a second member forming part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a side view of apparatus similar to that shown in Fig. 1, and having a looped member extending between the first and second members; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a side view of a holding member; and Fig. 9 is a plan view of the holding shown in Fig.

8; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an assembly comprising a plurality of apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 secured to a plurality of articles; Fig. 11 is a side view of a tool for use with the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 12 is a view along the lines XII-XII of Fig.

11.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5, there is shown apparatus 10 for use in holding together first and second articles.

The apparatus 10 is particularly suitable for use with a plurality of troughs arranged in a line. The apparatus 10 can be used for holding together the lids of the troughs (see Fig. 10). In Fig. 1, the lids of the troughs are represented in dotted lines and designated by the number 12. The apparatus 10 comprises a first member in the form of a first substantially square flat plate 14 which is adapted to engage lower faces 16 of the lids 12.

A pair of upstanding members in the form of bolts 18,20 extend from the first plate 14 and are attached to the first plate 14 by any suitable means, for example welding. The bolts 18,20 are provided with threaded regions 22,24 respectively at their upper ends. First and second securing members in the form of first and second nuts 26,28 can be threadably received on the threaded regions 22,24 of the bolts 18,20. The nuts 26,28 are substantially circular in plan view having oppositely arranged notches 30,32 arranged therein. The purpose of the notches 30,32 will be explained below.

The apparatus 10 also include a second member in the form of a second substantially square flat plate 34 which is provided with first and second apertures 36,38 to receive, respectively, the first and second bolts 18,20. The second plate 34 is also provided with upstanding walls 40,42 surrounding the apertures 36,38.

The walls 40,42 are substantially circular in plan view and define cavities 40A,42A adapted to receive therein the nuts 26,28. Thus, when the second plate 34 is disposed over the first plate 14 such that the bolts 18,20 are received in the apertures 36,38, the nuts 26,28 can be screwed onto the threaded ends 22,24 and the nuts 18,20 can be received in the cavities 40A,42A defined by the walls 40,42. The apparatus 10 can be arranged such that the bolts 18,20 extend between adjacent lids 12 such that the first plate 14 engages the lower faces 16 of the lids 12 and the second plate 34 engages the upper faces 44 of the lids 12. Upon tightening the nuts 26,28 onto the threaded ends 22,24, the first and second plates 14,34, can be tightened against the lower and upper faces 16,44 respectively of the lids 12, thereby holding the adjacent lids 12 together.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, there is shown another embodiment of the invention, which is suitable for use in an assembly which includes the embodiments shown in Figs.

1 to 5. The embodiments shown in Figs. 6 and 7 comprises all the features of the embodiments shown in Fig. 1 and these features have been designated with the same reference numerals. The embodiments shown in Figs. 6 and 7 also comprises a looped member 50 which extends from the first plate 14 outwardly therefrom to a closed end 52 and to the second plate 34. The looped member 50 is suitably attached to the first and second plate 14,34, for example by welding.

As can be seen by the dotted lines in Fig. 6 which represent the lid 12, the end 52 of the looped member 50 extends around the end 12A of the lid 12. The diagonal lines A,B are shown on Figs. 6 and 7 to indicate that the length of the looped member 50 can be any appropriate length to enable it to extend around the end 12A of the lid 12. This embodiment of the invention, is particularly suitable for use at the end lids of a plurality of lids arranged in a line (see Fig. 10).

Referring to rigs. 8 and 9, there is shown, respectively, side and top plan views of a holding member. The holding member can be used in conjunction with the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 7. To hold a plurality of lids together in a line. The holding member 110 is of a substantially H configuration and comprises upper and lower plates 112,114 adapted to engage respectively upper and lower faces 16,44 of lids 12. A perpendicular plate 116 extends between the upper and lower plates 112,114 and is attached to the upper and lower plates 112,114 by any suitable means, for example by welding. The purpose of the holding member 110 will be described below.

Referring to Fig. 10, there is shown a plurality of troughs 11 arranged in a straight line. It will be appreciated that it is not essential for the line of trough to be straight, the use of curved troughs 11 and lids 12 will result in a curved line. Each trough 11 is provided with a corresponding lid 12. The lids 12 are held together by an assembly which comprises a plurality of apparatus 10 (Figs. 1 to 5), a plurality of holding members 110 (Figs. 9 and 10), and two of the apparatus 100 (Figs. 6 and 7). As can be seen, the apparatus 100 are provided at opposite ends of the line of troughs 11,12. The apparatus 100 holds together the first lid 12A and the second lid 12B. A holding member 110 holds together the second lid 12B and third lid 12C.

Similarly, a second holding member 110 holds together the third lid 12C and the fourth lid 12D. The fourth lid 12D and the fifth lid 12E are held together by a first apparatus 10. The fifth lid 12E and the sixth lid 12F are held together by a second apparatus 10. The end two lids are held together by apparatus 100. Thus, it is clear from Fig. 10 that all of the lids 12 are held to their adjacent lids, and thereby, all the lids are held together. Thus, in effect, if a person wished to attempt to remove one of the lids he would be prevented from doing so by he combined weight of all the lids held together.The holding members 110 and the apparatus 10 are arranged along the line of lids at suitable intervals, for example after every two holding members 110 are arranged in place to hold together successive lids 12, two of the apparatus 10 can be arranged in place to hold together further successive lids and to provide points of access to the contents of the troughs.

The assembly as described above has the advantage that a line of lids is held together by holding together each adjacent lid. This is advantageous over a prior art lids in that it avoids the need to lock the lids to the troughs. The use of the apparatus 10 provides a means whereby the lids can be held together rapidly and easily on site. The assembly allows the maximum use of the internal capacity of the trough. This is an advantage of the assembly, in that the prior art devices used up some of the internal volume of the trough. Also, the apparatus of the present invention requires no alteration to the standard lid and can be easily be incorporated on existing troughs. This has the advantage of minimul site disruption and low labour costs.

The cavity defined by the wall members 40 and 42 provides the advantage of preventing unauthorised persons removing the nuts 26,28, since it is only possible to remove the nuts by use of the appropriate tool.

Referring to Fig. 11, there is shown a tool for use with the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 7. The tool 150 comprises a shaft 152 which is provided with first and second opposed projections 154,156. The projections 154,156 are so arranged as to be capable of being fitted into the notches 30,32 on the nuts 26,28. This allows the tool to unscrew or tighten the nuts 26,28.

The shaft 152 is also provided with a blind bore 158 which can receive an end region 22,24 of the bolts 18,20 projecting beyond the nuts 26,28. A handle 160 is also provided which extends through a bore 162 in the shaft 152.

The apparatus 10,100 and the holding member 110 can be made from steel galvanized to B.S. 729, or any other suitable material.

Various modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its scope. For example, the apparatus 10 could be provided with rubber gripping members on the inner faces of the first and second plates 14,34. This would enable the apparatus 10 to grip more firmly the lids 12.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. Apparatus for holding together first and second articles, each article having substantially oppositely arranged faces, the apparatus comprising a first member which can engage one of the faces of each of the articles and a second member which can engage the other of the faces of each of the articles, and connection means adapted to extend between said first and second articles, the connection means being adapted to secure the first member to the second member, whereby the first and second members can be connected to each other in engagement with a respective one of the faces of each article.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the connection means comprises an upstanding member on the first member and securing means adapted to secure the second member to the upstanding member.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein the connection means comprises first and second upstanding members, whereby the second member can be secured to the upstanding members by the securing means.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the securing means comprises first and second securing members to secure the second member to the first and second upstanding members respectively.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 4 wherein the or each upstanding member is threaded, and the or each securing member is correspondingly threaded to be screwed onto the or each upstanding member.

6. Apparatus according to Claim 4 or 5 wherein the or each upstanding member is in the form of a bolt, and the or each securing member is in the form of a nut.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 4,5 or 6 wherein the or each securing member substantially cylindrical in configuration and securing member provided with at least one notch whereby the or each securing member can be screwed onto, or unscrewed from, the or each upstanding member.

8. Apparatus according to any of Claims 4 to 7 wherein the or each nut is provided with a pair of oppositely arranged notches adapted to receive corresponding prongs of a tool whereby the nuts can be screwed onto, or unscrewed from, the or each upstanding member.

9. Apparatus according to any of Claims 4 to 8 wherein the second member defines a cavity for receiving the, or one of the, securing members.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein the second member may define first and second cavities for receiving said first and second securing members.

11. Apparatus according to Claim 10 wherein the second member is provided with walls to define the, or each, cavity, the cavities being of corresponding configuration to the or each securing member.

12. Apparatus according to Claim 11 wherein the cavities are cylindrical in configuration.

13. Apparatus according to any preceding Claim wherein the first and second members are in the form of substantially flat plates, which are square or rectangular in configuration.

14. Apparatus according to any preceding Claim further including a looped member adapted to extend from the first member to the second member.

15. Apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein the looped member is so configured as to be adapted to extend around one of said first and second articles.

16. An assembly comprising a plurality of apparatus as claimed in any preceding Claim adapted to be secured to at least some of a plurality of articles arranged adjacent each other in succession.

17. An assembly according to Claim 16 comprising a plurality of said articles arranged in a line, and wherein apparatus as claimed in Claims 14 or 15 is secured to the articles at each end of the line whereby the looped portion can extend around the end articles.

18. An assembly according to Claim 16 or 17 wherein holding members are arranged between adjacent articles to which apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 15 are not secured.

19. A tool for use with apparatus as claimed in Claims 1 to 15 said tool comprising a shaft having a handle at one end and first and second projections at the opposite end, the first and second projections being adapted to be received in the notches in said nuts, whereby the tool can be used to tighten or release the nuts on the upstanding members.

20. Apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

21. An assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

22. A tool substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

23. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter herein disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.

Amendments to the claims have been flled as follows 20. An assembly for holding together a plurality of articles comprising a first apparatus, and a second apparatus, each of said first and second apparatus comprising a first member adapted to engage a first face of each of two adjacent articles to be held together, a second member adapted to engage a second opposite face of each of said adjacent articles, and connection means adapted to extend between the first and second members to secure the first member to the second member, and the second apparatus comprising a looped member adapted to extend around one of the articles held by the second apparatus.

21. An assembly according to Claim 23 wherein the first and second apparatus comprise features of any of Claims 1 to 21.

22. Apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

23. An assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

24. A tool substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

25. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter herein disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.