Roger Bullivant of Texas, Inc.

Global Innovations, Inc.

Roxbury Limited

Roger Bullivant Inc.

Roger A Bullivant

A drill head has a domed leading face and carries cutting teeth. A tubular drill string can be used to drive the head into the ground. An off-center aperture communicates with the bore of the string, by means of a connecting passage, which defines an oblique cone. During drilling, a flushing medium can be pumped down the bore and out through the aperture. As the drill string and head are withdrawn, an elongate member can be introduced down the bore, out through the aperture, to be left in the passage drilled by the head. The form of the mouths and connecting passage avoid the elongate member encountering any discontinuities which would prevent it leaving the head. The elongate member could be reinforcing bar for a cast-in-situ pile, or part of a ground loop for a ground heat energy system.

Method and apparatus for introducing elongate members into the ground

A connector for connecting elongate members, such as pile sections, in an end-to-end relationship. A housing is fitted to each end of a reinforcing bar in the elongate member. The housing has a first attachment socket at one end, the first attachment socket having an internal thread for accommodating helical protrusions formed on an outer surface of a standard reinforcing bar. A second attachment socket having a circular cross section is provided at the other end of the housing. Protrusions having a saw tooth cross section project inwardly from the second socket walls. The connector also includes an initially separate joining member which comprises a hollow cylinder having a short central portion with no protrusions therefrom and serrated sections extending from each end thereof, each having protrusions of a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the protrusions from the second attachment socket.

Connector

A ground treatment device ( ) is weighted to provide ground treatment by dropping the device onto the ground. The device ( ) has a relatively narrow nose ( ) which provides, in use, the point of first contact with the ground. The device widens away from the nose ( ), over a portion ( ). A clevis arrangement ( ) allows the device ( ) to hang from a cable ( ), to allow the device ( ) to be raised by a crane, before dropping. A shoulder ( ) projects outwardly and allows calibrated measurement of the degree of compaction achieved in the ground. Variations of the device ( ) are described, together with apparatus for use in lifting and dropping the device, and methods of using the device.

Ground treatment

A pile for driving into the ground to provide support for a structure is elongate and is substantially rectangular in cross-section when viewed along its length. The ratio of the side lengths in cross-section may be 2:1 or greater, or may be 3:1 or greater. The pile is preferably formed of concrete and is preferably formed by extrusion. The pile preferably comprises at least one cavity running lengthwise along and within the pile, and preferably comprises at least one reinforcing bar running lengthwise along and within the pile. The arrangement of the cavities and/or reinforcing bars is preferably symmetrical about the central axis of the pile.

Pile and method thereof

Apparatus for use in forming piles

A structural beam has a generally T-shaped cross-sectional profile with a column portion and a capital portion. The capital portion has a top surface and downwardly and inwardly converging sidewalls, while the column portion has downwardly and inwardly converging sidewalls and a bottom surface, with the rate of convergence of the capital portion being greater than the rate of convergence of the column portion. Such beam can be employed as a floor beam in a flooring system for a building structure, wherein the ends of a plurality of such floor beams are supported by the inner flanges on opposed foundation beams having an inverted T-shaped profile. The foundation beams can be positioned end-to-end to form shuttering for an in situ cast concrete slab. A layer of a thermal insulating material can be positioned on top of the floor beams, and a concrete slab can be cast on top of the insulating layer such that the top of the concrete slab is no higher than the top of the foundation beams.

Structural beam for use in flooring system

A pre-cast reinforced concrete structural beam comprises an upstanding web (136) and at least an inwardly directed flange (138) at the base of the web, the face of the web which is innermost in use and/or the upper face of the flange having surface irregularities (236,140) formed therein into which a cast in situ floor slab can penetrate to form a mechanical lock with the beam.

Structural beams

A pile (18) has a preformed disc-like load spreading member (34) fixed to its upper end after the pile (18) has been driven into the ground. A recess (16) is formed around the top of the pile and can be filled with particulate material (22) to position the load spreading member (34) while a bonding agent (23) fixing the load spreading member (34) to the pile (18) sets. A downwardly converging hollow concrete conical member (40), driven into the ground, has a cover (46) placed thereon to distribute the load to the conical member (40). A pile (56) can be driven through the hollow chamber of the conical member (40) and fixed to the conical member (40) by pouring concrete into the chamber after the pile (56) has been driven.

Method and apparatus for supporting a load

A cast in situ pile (12, 112) has a pile cap assembly (14, 114), comprising a plate (16, 116) with fixing bolts (18, 118) extending upwardly therefrom and at least one tube (28, 128) extending downwardly therefrom. The pile cap assembly is fitted to the pile prior to the concrete setting, whereby the pile cap assembly can be moved relative to the unset pile to achieve optimum positional accuracy.

Piles and pile forming methods

A method of driving a sectional hollow concrete pile comprises applying a direct driving force to the upper end of a first pile section and driving it into the ground. Thereafter, a second similar pile section is applied to the top of the first driven pile section and the composite sectional pile is driven to the required depth. Further, similar sections may be applied one on top of the other and the composite pile thereby formed after the application of each further pile section is driven to the required depth.

Composite sectional concrete piles

A building method is provided that avoids the use of the traditional excavated foundation. The method comprises placing primary support members (10) into the ground in which the structure is to be built at predetermined intervals, spanning the gap between support members (10) by pre-cast reinforced concrete beams (14) of generally inverted T-shape and predetermined length and building, for example, a double skin wall (42, 44) on the outer flange (22) and top of the beam while the inner flange (22) supports a floor slab of beams (40) blocks (46) and screed (48) and abuts the inner face (31) of the upright of the beam to resist inward lateral movement thereof.

Supports for building structures

A method of forming a pile and a method for supporting a building structure by utilizing a pile so formed comprises driving a pile casing (19), with an enlargement (24) near its leading end (20) to a desired depth and supplying under pressure a settable mixture through the top of the casing so that it flows through apertures (26) at the enlargement to fill the oversize hole left by the enlargement around the casing. The casing can be driven through a hole formed in the building structure to be supported and the settable mixture may flow up the pile casing to fill a void under the structure.

Method for forming a piling beneath a structure

A method of forming a base for a building structure comprises forming a plurality of holes in the ground on which the structure is to be supported, each hole diverging upwardly and pouring a mould for a concrete support column formed in situ therein, the support columns supporting beam sections forming a ring beam on which the building structure can be built.

A soil displacement tool, or mole, comprises a hollow cylindrical body in which is provided an hydraulically reciprocal piston the movement of which drives the tool through the soil to form a hole, the body and piston being annular such that the tool is hollow.

Soil displacement tools

Several underpinning arrangements are described. In each, a concrete pile is cast in a hole formed adjacent to the structure to be underpinned. The hole is formed from at or near ground level and is vertical or at an angle close to the vertical. At least one supporting limb is also formed. This extends from the pile hole and engages the structure. When the pile is cast in the pile hole, the pile and supporting limb are made to form a unitary element so that forces exerted on the supporting limb by the structures are transmitted to and borne by the pile. Various configurations of supporting limb are described, as are various arrangements for ensuring that the supporting limb is retained in a position in which it supports the structure. A drilling assembly for use in the method is also described.

Growing community of inventors

Burton-on-Trent, United Kingdom

Roger A Bullivant