Anchoring gabion system for erosion control

Abstract

An artificial root system for gabions to control soil erosion has an anchor which has a nose cone threadable onto a threaded rod and deployable stainless steel blades. On deployment of one or more anchors on each of a series of rods, connectors are attached to the rods. These connectors have four couplers to receive the ends of threaded rods or bars, and a central coupler to receive one (passing through) or two (meeting) threaded rods or bars. Threaded cross bars or rods are attached to the connectors to form a framework to support geotextiles attached to the cross bars or rods to form a gabion, or gabion array. The gabions are then filled with suitable material, to repair, or replace eroded shoreline, river frontage, lake frontage, etc.

I claim:  
     
         1 . An anchor for an artificial root system comprising a nose cone and a deployable anchor blade attached to said nose cone, said nose cone having a central threaded aperture to receive a threaded rod.  
     
     
         2 . Anchor of  claim 1 , wherein said blade has a tang receivable in a slot in said nose cone, and extending outward of said tang a semicylindrical portion, convex side away from said threaded aperture.  
     
     
         3 . Anchor of  claim 2 , wherein a pressure yield aperture is present at the join of said tang and said semicylindrical portion, whereby when sufficient force is applied to said semicylindrical portion said blade bends at the join of said tang and said semicylindrical portion.  
     
     
         4 . Anchor of  claim 3 , wherein said semicylindrical portion has a convex strengthening rib running along its exterior, and a tip portion extends outward of said semicylindrical portion away from said central threaded aperture.  
     
     
         5 . Anchor of  claim 3  wherein said tang has a retaining aperture, said nose cone has a radial pinning aperture aligned with said retaining aperture and a retaining pin in said radial pinning aperture engaging said retaining aperture of said tang.  
     
     
         6 . Anchor of  claim 3 , wherein said nose cone has an outward angled back stop plane to engage said blade when said blade is bent outward at said tang-semicylindrical join.  
     
     
         7 . Anchor of  claim 1 , wherein said nose cone has four blades symmetrically arranged around said threaded aperture, said nose cone tapers away from said blades, each said blade has a tang receivable in a slot in said nose cone, and extending outward of said tang a semicylindrical portion, convex side away from said threaded aperture, a pressure yield aperture is present at the join of said tang and said semicylindrical portion, whereby when sufficient force is applied to said semicylindrical portion said blade bends at the join of said tang and said semicylindrical portion, and a tip portion extends outward of each said semicylindrical portion away from said central threaded aperture, and each said tang has a retaining aperture, said nose cone has a radial pinning aperture aligned with each said retaining aperture and a retaining pin in each said radial pinning aperture engaging each said retaining aperture of said tang, and said nose cone has a separate outward angled back stop plane to engage each said blade when each said blade is bent outward at said tang-semicylindrical join.  
     
     
         8 . Anchor of  claim 7 , wherein said central threaded aperture engages a steel threaded rod.  
     
     
         9 . Anchor of  claim 8  wherein said anchor is in a substrate and said blades are deployed outward to engage said substrate.  
     
     
         10 . Gabion system comprising an array of vertical threaded rods, anchored in a substrate by anchors, each having a nose cone having central threaded aperture engaging said threaded rods, and a plurality of blades attached to said nose cone deployed outward to engage said substrate.  
     
     
         11 . Gabion system of  claim 10 , wherein each said vertical threaded rod engages a six way connector by a central fixed coupler, said connector having four rotatable couplers symmetrical arranged around said central fixed coupler to engage threaded cross bars at their ends connecting said vertical threaded rods.  
     
     
         12 . Gabion system of  claim 11 . wherein said six way connector has a housing, containing a central socket comprising a central fixed coupler, and four radial sockets comprising rotatable couplers, said radial sockets being cylindrical with a circumferential axle rib, said rotatable couplers being cylindrical with an external circumferential groove engaging said rib, said coupler having an interior threaded aperture to engage a threaded cross bar.  
     
     
         13 . Gabion system of  claim 12 , wherein said central fixed coupler has an interior threaded aperture to engage a threaded vertical rod.  
     
     
         14 . Gabion system of  claim 11 , wherein threaded cross bars engage said connectors to form at least one gabion cage.  
     
     
         15 . Gabion system of  claim 14 , wherein geotextiles are attached to said cross bars and depend downward to the substrate forming the walls of at least one gabion cage, wherein a geotextile lying on the substrate forms the base of a gabion cage, and said downward geotextiles are clipped to the base geotextile to form said gabion cage.  
     
     
         16 . Gabion system of  claim 15 , wherein said at least one gabion cage is filled with suitable material.  
     
     
         17 . Method of construction of a gabion cage system, comprising the step of drilling and array of vertical holes, then the step of inserting into each hole a vertical threaded rod, said threaded rod engaging an anchor having a central threaded aperture and deployable blades, and the further step of deploying said blades to engage said substrate.  
     
     
         18 . Method of  claim 17 , comprising the additional step of placing connectors having a central fixed coupler and four radial rotatable couplers on the vertical rod by passing said vertical rod through said central coupler, and the further step of levelling said connectors.  
     
     
         19 . Method of  claim 18 , comprising the additional step of connecting threaded cross bars to said radial couplers to form at least one gabion cage, and the further step of attaching geotextiles to said cross bars to form the walls of at least one gabion cage, then the further step laying a geotextile to form the base of said at least one gabion cage, and then the further step of clipping said wall geotextiles to said base geotextile.  
     
     
         20 . Method of  claim 19 , comprising the additional step of filling said at least one gabion cage with suitable material.