DRIVEN FOUNDATION PILE

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/667,092 filed Jul. 2, 2024.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to foundation piles and piers and more particularly relates to generally planar, unitary, driven piles suitable for forming a foundation for construction of walls.

Description of Related Art

Piers, or piles, play a crucial role in the structural integrity and aesthetic appeal of walls, such as landscape and highway walls. They serve as vertical structural elements that support and distribute loads from the wall above into the foundation below. Their design and construction are integral to the safety, longevity, and functionality of these walls in various environments. Piers are often used in the construction of retaining walls, garden walls, and decorative fences. Retaining walls, which hold back soil and create level areas in sloped landscapes, rely on piers for added stability. Foundation piers are typically spaced at regular intervals and are constructed from materials such as concrete, stone, brick, or timber. Choice of materials is influenced by aesthetic preferences, durability, and environmental factors.

The cost of labor and materials are major factors in the selection of piers for a wall construction project. Construction of concrete piers, for example, includes site preparation, excavation, formwork and reinforcement, pouring concrete and curing, all of which take time and cost money. Steel piers, more particularly designed for high strength and durability, usually in the form of cylindrical piers or I-beams, are appropriate for large structures such as buildings or bridges and for highway walls and landscaping walls that must withstand substantial forces over long periods of time. However, such robust piers are not needed for shorter walls, such as short landscaping walls. A need therefore exists in the wall construction industry for a foundation that is less expensive to manufacture and install yet provides proper support and longevity for shorter walls not subject to substantial long-term stresses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A driven foundation pile according to the invention comprises a shaft having a top portion and a bottom portion wherein the bottom portion includes a top plate and a bottom plate. The top plate and the bottom plate extend laterally from the shaft and are disposed in parallel alignment. The bottom plate is spaced from the top plate and in one embodiment has a tapered bottom edge. The top portion of the shaft includes one or more openings.

A wall can be built by driving two or more piles into the ground until both the top and bottom plates are embedded in the soil and the top portion only extends above ground. Each of the piles is arranged with the top and bottom plates in planar alignment with the wall to be constructed and substantially in parallel alignment with the plates of adjacent piles. Construction block, such as hollow blocks, are then positioned on top of the piles with the top portions thereof positioned in the hollow interiors of the blocks. The blocks are then filled with concrete or mortar, binding the wall to the top portions of the shaft and thus to the foundation, and completing the wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a lower right perspective view of a driven foundation pile according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is an upper right perspective view thereof.

FIG. 3 is front elevational view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 5A is a top view thereof.

FIG. 5B is a bottom view thereof.

FIG. 6A is a top plan sectional view thereof taken along lines 6A-6A of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6B is a top plan sectional view thereof taken along lines 6B-6B of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a top plan representation of several driven foundation piles according to the invention showing their disposition with respect to a wall.

FIG. 8 is an end view thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

A driven foundation pile according to the invention, referred to generally at 10 in FIGS. 1-3, comprises a shaft 12 having a top portion 14 and a bottom portion 16. A top plate 18 and a bottom plate 20 are attached to the bottom portion 16 as shown. The shaft 12 and plates 18, 20 are driven until firmly embedded into the soil at a work site such as can be seen in FIG. 8. In the illustrated embodiment, the top plate 18 generally has the shape of a square, but in other embodiments it could be rectangular or have tapered side, bottom and top edges. The illustrated embodiment also shows the bottom plate 20 as having sloped bottom edges 22 coming to a point 24. This tapered shape eases driving the pile into the soil, but it will be understood that the bottom plate 20 in other embodiments can have other shapes such as being square or rectangular or the bottom edges 22 having different slopes as may be appropriate to soil conditions on a project site. Openings 26 are provided in the top portion 14 of the shaft 12 to facilitate its embedment in an above grade G wall or other structure, especially one formed by concrete or mortar (such as seen in FIG. 8).

With reference now to FIGS. 3-6B, it is seen that the top and bottom plates 18, 20 are received in slots 28, 30, respectively, provided in shaft 12. Top slot 28 is sized for insertion of top plate 18 which simplifies construction of the pile and ensures a sturdier attachment of the top plate 18 to the shaft 12 since top plate 18 is physically integrated into shaft 12. Top plate 18, once inserted, is firmly attached to shaft 12 by welding or other means of attachment. In other embodiments, separate side plates may extend from shaft 12 instead of a unitary plate being received in a slot in the shaft.

The bottom portion 16 of shaft 12 includes bottom slot 30 that is sized to receive bottom plate 20 as seen. As with top plate 18 and top slot 28, integration of bottom plate 20 into shaft 12 ensures a sturdier attachment of the bottom plate 20 to the shaft 12 since bottom plate 20 is physically integrated into shaft 12. Bottom plate 20, once inserted, is firmly attached to shaft 12 by welding or other means of attachment. In other embodiments, bottom plate 20 may be configured with a slot that fits around the shaft instead of being inserted in slot 30.

With reference to FIGS. 7-8, it will be understood that a wall can be constructed by driving a series of foundation piles 10 into the ground in parallel disposition with the plates 18, 20 thereof disposed parallel to the linear extent of the wall, leaving the top portions 14 of the pile exposed above ground. A wall can then be constructed in which the upper portions of the piles are enclosed in the wall. One anticipated scenario is that a wall can be constructed of prefabricated hollow blocks positioned with the upper portions of the piles embedded in the interiors of the blocks, then filling the blocks with mortar or cement to form a wall and to secure the blocks to the upper portions of the piles.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 7-8, it can be understood that an important function of the plates 18, 20 is to withstand lateral forces F on a wall W. The plates 18, 20 are therefore embedded in the soil parallel to the wall W as seen and perpendicular to the direction of forces anticipated to bear on the wall. As mentioned above, the plates in other embodiments may be shaped other than as illustrated so long as they have sufficient surface area to perform the function of resisting lateral forces bearing on the wall W.

A driven foundation pile as described herein is relatively inexpensive and straightforward to manufacture and provides a sturdy foundation for construction of shorter walls, such as landscaping walls of generally no more that three feet in height. Use of driven foundation piles according to the invention will speed up construction and eliminate the time and expense of installing more traditional types of foundations such as concrete piers.

There have thus been described and illustrated certain embodiments of a driven foundation pile according to the invention. Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it should be clearly understood that the disclosure is illustrative only and is not to be taken as limiting, the spirit and scope of the invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims and their legal equivalents.