Anchoring mechanism for flexible sheet structures

Claim 1

The combination of a flexible compressible sheet material and means anchoring the same in fluid tight relationship on a formed solid surface mass comprising: a rigid plate with generally flat end sections mounted in the mass with its opposite ends presenting exposed upper surfaces co-planar with the first mentioned surface, and an intermediate section with a configuration vertically offset from the plane of said surfaces, said intermediate section presenting an upper surface in the form of an arcuate segment; a post rigidly secured in the mass and extending vertically through one of the flat end sections; a clamp having a lower engagement surface generally coinciding with the profile of the upper surface of the plate including a generally flat end section corresponding to the end section of the plate where the post is located, and an opposite end section presenting a vertically offset lower surface in the form of an arcuate segment generally concentric with the arcuate segment of the plate; the sheet material being disposed on the upper surface of the plate on the end section through which the post extends and on the upper surface of the intermediate section, the post extending through the sheet material; and means associated with said post to tighten down on said clamp whereby said flexible material will be distorted to the profile of said upper surface of the intermediate section of said rigid plate and said arcuate suRface of said clamp and clamped with uniform compression between the arcuate segments and between the flat surfaces of the plate and clamp through which the post extends.