WALL ANCHOR

DISPOSITIF D'ANCRAGE MURAL

English Abstract

"Hook and Line" equipment is commonly used by first responders to move suspicious packages from random locations to a safe container or location. Within buildings constructed with wallboard, wall anchors for guiding the line are typically mounted by punching through the wall board or adhering to it, either way causing considerable damage and not providing a very secure anchor. The device of the invention bores a neat circular hole in the wallboard, which is easily repaired. The device also uses pivotal grips which reach inside the hole, the wallboard being clamped between these grips and an outside adjusting ring or shoulder of the anchor. This provides a secure anchor which is easily removed when the task is complete.

French Abstract

De l'équipement à cordes et crochets est couramment utilisé par les premiers répondants pour déplacer des colis suspects vers un contenant ou un endroit sécuritaire. Dans les édifices construits avec des panneaux muraux, des ancrages muraux servant à guider la corde sont habituellement installés en défonçant le panneau mural ou en s'y collant, causant des dommages considérables et offrant un point d'ancrage peu solide. Le dispositif de l'invention perce un trou circulaire facilement réparable dans le panneau mural. Le dispositif utilise également des griffes pivotantes qui s'insèrent dans le trou, agrippant le panneau mural entre la griffe et une bague réglable externe ou l'épaulement de l'ancrage. Cela permet d'offrir un ancrage solide qui peut être facilement retiré lorsque la tâche est terminée.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1. A wall anchor comprising:
(a) a generally cylindrical body having an integral saw at a first end, and
a threaded
external surface at a second end;
(b) grippers pivotally mounted within said body, said grippers having a
sawing
position wherein said grippers are positioned inside said body, and an
installed
position wherein said grippers extend outwardly from said body;
(c) an adjusting ring which matingly engages with said threaded surface on
said
body; and an eyelet which is connected to said second end of said body.
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Description

CA 02504362 2011-05-04
Wall Anchor
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to Hook and Line equipment used by first responders to
remove suspicious
packages from a random location into a safe container. More particularly, this
device is typically
used in the removal of a suspicious package from a building constructed with
wallboard. The
Wall Anchor is mounted into the wall and is used to create an anchor point
enabling the first
responder to route a line to the suspicious package and remotely lift or
otherwise move the
package. The Wall Anchor can be used in combination with other Hook and Line
equipment in
scenarios where an anchor point is needed to open doors and move obstructions
from a safe
distance.
2. Description of Prior Art
Similar devices exist, in particular a design created by the RCMP (Royal
Canadian Mounted
Police). However, this design is based on a "punch" type device. Testing has
shown that punch
type devices can damage the wallboard, thus weakening the anchor point and
reducing the
weight the wallboard can support before breaking. Since the damage is not
visible (i.e. the
damage is typically inside the wall), the anchor point requires testing and
may require multiple
insertions to get an adequate anchor. A punch type wall anchor also requires
the use of a hammer
or equivalent mechanism to insert the anchor point; this is an additional
piece of equipment the
first responder must carry.
The punch type wall anchor does not have a mechanism to retract the clamping
mechanism. This
requires the wall to be further damaged to remove the anchor and could cause
damage to the
anchor itself These limitations make the punch type anchor less useful and
more risky to use by
first responders.
The more common type of wall anchor is based on a metal plaque with a hook or
eyelet that uses
double sided tape to hold it to the wallboard surface. The strength of this
kind of anchor is
therefore dependent on the surface adhesion. The effectiveness of the adhesive
can be effected
by a variety of environmental conditions including: the quality and type of
wallboard, the quality
and type of paint, temperature, humidity, the smoothness of the surface, dust
and a variety of
other items. These variables cause the strength of the anchor point to be
unpredictable and vary
greatly.
Removal of the adhesive anchor can cause significant damage to the wallboard.
Also, these types
of wall anchors can only be used once since the adhesive is no longer
effective due to
contamination. For these reasons, first responders only use these types of
wall anchors on
wallboard when no other option is available.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improved anchor which allows the first responder
to easily mount a
secure, reliable anchor point, which has consistent strength (dependant on the
thickness of the
wallboard) and can be easily removed without further damaging the wallboard or
the wall anchor
itself. Further, since the hole cut into the wall is clean (i.e. there is no
damage to the surrounding
wallboard) the anchor point can support more weight than wallboard damaged
using punch type
wall anchors.
The wall anchor preferably includes a generally cylindrical body having an
integral saw at a first
end, and a threaded external surface at a second end; grippers pivotally
mounted within said
body, said grippers having a sawing position wherein said grippers are
positioned inside said
body, and an installed position wherein said grippers extend outwardly from
said body; an
adjusting ring which matingly engages with said threaded surface on said body;
and an eyelet
which is connected to said second end of said body.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a method of installation for
a temporary
anchor comprising the steps of: cutting a hole in the mounting surface with an
integrated saw,
using a centering tip to keep the saw centered while cutting; deploying
integrated and pivotal
grippers behind said mounting surface; and clamping said anchor in place by
tightening an
adjustable ring against said mounting surface.
Although designed with wallboard in mind, the device can be use on surfaces
constricted with
other materials. Furthermore, the device can be installed in walls, ceilings,
floors, doors and any
other surfaces that might require an anchor point.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows one embodiment of the wall anchor according to the invention in
open and
clamped positions.
Figure 2 is an isometric view of the wall anchor of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a sectional view of the wall anchor of Figure 1 attached to a
wall.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Scenario 1
A temporary anchor point needs to be installed into an office building wall,
made of wallboard or
of similar material, to lift or move a suspicious package.
In this Scenario the improved wall anchor with the integrated saw is used to
manually cut a clean
hole in the wallboard. The centering tip keeps the saw centered while the hole
is cut. The
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CA 02504362 2011-05-04
clamping mechanism, the lock mechanism and adjustable ring are used to hold
and lock the
anchor point in place, independent of the wallboard thickness. A line is then
connected to the
anchor point and directly or indirectly attached to the suspicious package
which can now be
moved or lifted from a safe location.
Once the mission is complete the first responder can retrieve the Wall Anchor
by manually
releasing the clamping mechanism, retracting the gripper and removing the
anchor. This is
achieved without the need for additional tools or further damaging the
wallboard or wall anchor.
As shown in the figures, the anchor 10 includes an integrated saw 20, which
may be continuous
or have two separate sets of teeth as shown. Using two separate sets of teeth
and flattening the
sides of the device as shown, provides at least two advantages: it provides
two smooth surfaces
through which the pins of the gripping may be installed, and it allows for the
easy removal from
the device of the piece of wallboard that will be sawed out use.
Various types and designs of cutting teeth may be used depending on the
material that the teeth
are design to cut. Such designs are well known in the art.
The two grippers 30 are pivotal within the device, and are interconnected with
the eyelet 40 via
pins or linkages, or simply bear against a shoulder or surface of it. The
shaft 50 of the eyelet 40
has a hole that mates with the release pin 60 - when the eyelet is pressed
into the clamped
position, the release pin is pressed into the hole in the shaft of the eyelet,
fixing the position of
the grippers in the deployed position. The adjusting ring 70 has a thread that
mates with a thread
80 in the body of the device; tightening the adjusting ring will clamp the
drywall 90 between the
grippers 30 and the adjusting ring 70. A threaded locking ring 100 is also
included, which can be
tightened against the adjusting ring 70, locking it in place.
While the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments
and in specific
uses, various modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art
without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
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Representative Drawing