GB2153733A

GB2153733A - Improvements in or relating to tools for installing posts in the ground

Info

Publication number: GB2153733A
Application number: GB08403182A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Lloyd
Original assignee: Glasdon Ltd
Current assignee: Glasdon Ltd
Priority date: 1984-02-07
Filing date: 1984-02-07
Publication date: 1985-08-29
Also published as: GB2153733B; GB8403182D0

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a tool 10 for installing road marker posts in the ground having a shaft 18 with a cutting blade 20 at one end and an impacting sleeve 23 having an impact block 25 and slidable on the other end of the shaft 18 to hit on the shaft 18 and drive the blade into the ground to create a hole for the post. After creation of the hole the tool 10 is inverted and a flanged plate 28 attached to the impacting sleeve 23 is engaged on the upper end of the post. The shaft 18 of the tool is then impacted upon the sleeve 23 downwardly to cause the plate 28 to drive the post into the ground. The shaft 18 carries a grip 32 thereon for holding the tool after inversion. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to tools for installing posts in the ground The invention relates to tools for inserting posts in the ground and particularly although not exclusively to posts of the form illustrated in our U.K.

Registered Design No. 1015513.

The invention provides a tool for installing a post in the ground comprising a shaft having a blade at one end to cut a hole in the ground, an impacting member mounted for reciprocal movement on the shaft towards and away from a stop to drive the bladed end of the shaft into the ground to create a hole for the post and means on the impact member to engage the post when the tool is inverted to permit the post to be pile driven into the hole created in the ground by reciprocation of the shaft to impact on the member.

Preferably the impacting member comprises a sleeve closed at one end and extending along the other end of the shaft to pile drive the bladed end of the shaft into the ground by reciprocation of the sleeve and impact of the end of the sleeve on said other end of the shaft.

Said one end of the sleeve may be closed by a solid plug to impact on said other end of the shaft by reciprocation of the sleeve.

The means on the impact member for engaging the post comprise a plate secured to said other end of the sleeve around the shaft and projecting on either side of the sleeve to bear on the upper end of the post and drive the post into the ground when the shaft is reciprocated to impact said other end of the shaft on said one end of the sleeve.

More specifically the plate (which may be of rectangular shape) may have an encircling flange around its periphery projecting on the side of the plate facing towards said one end of the sleeve to constrain the end of the post when it is engaged with the plate.

The following is a description of a specific embodiment of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tool for installing a post in the ground; Figure 2 is a sectional view through the tool; Figure 3 is a detailed view of part of the tool for engaging a post to be driven into the ground; Figure 4 is an elevation view of the post to be driven into the ground; Figure 5 is a plan view of the post; Figure 6 illustrated diagrammatically step by step the installation of a post in the ground using the tool.

The drawings shows a tool indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 for installing a post in the ground. The tool is particularly suitable for installing posts of the form shown in Figures 4 and 5 and which form the subject of our U.K. Registered Design no. 1015513. Such posts comprise an elongate extrusion 12 which, in cross section, is of arcuate form and has integral beads 13 formed along its elongate edges. One end of the post to be inserted in the ground is cut to a point 14 and the other end of the post 15 extends transversely to the length of the post. The post is particularly intended as a road marker post and the convex side 16 of the post has a bright red reflective surface to face on coming traffic and the reverse concave side 17 of the post has white reflective surface.

The tool for installing the post described above in the ground is shown in detail in Figures 1 to 3 and comprises an elongate steel shaft 18 to one end 19 of which a diamond shaped cutting blade 20 is secured by welding with one tip 20a of the blade extending below the end of the shaft. At the other end 21 of the post there is an encircling bush 22 secured thereto by welding. An impacting sleeve 23 is closed at one end 24 by a heavy metal plug 25 secured to the end of the sleeve by a pin 26 and welding 27. The sleeve 23 is located over the end part of the shaft 18 remote from the cutting blade 20 and is supported for reciprocal movement from the shaft by the bush 22.When the tool is located in the upright position shown in Figures 1 and 2, the sleeve is reciprocated along the shaft to bring the plug 25 at the end of the sleeve heavily into engagement with the end 21 of the shaft to drive the shaft downwardly into the ground to create the hole required for the post as described later.

The end of the sleeve 23 remote from the plug 25 is formed with an inner extension sleeve 27 which slides on the shaft 18 to which, in turn, there is secured rectangular blade 28 extending transversely to the sleeve 27 and formed with a central aperture 29 through which the shaft 18 extends and around which the end of the sleeve 27 is secured by welding 30. The blade 28 is formed with an upstanding peripheral flange 31. When the tool is to be used for inserting a post in the ground, it is inverted and the sleeve 23 is laid along the inner concave side 17 of the post with the plate 28 bearing on the upper end 15 of the post.The encircling flange 31 on the plate serves to retain the end of the post on the plate as the post is driven into the ground, the dimensions of the plate being such that the end of the post is a close fit in the flange plate as can be seen in Figure 3 of the drawings.

The post is driven into the ground using the tool by reciprocating shaft 18 and for that purpose the shaft is provided with a hand hold in the form of an encircling sleeve 32 welded to the shaft between the blade 20 and the plate 28 for gripping by the user of the tool. When the shaft is raised and then lowered with force, the end 21 of the shaft 18 impacts on the plug 25 secured to the sleeve 23 to transmit the impact to the upper end of the post through the plate 28 to drive the post into the hole preformed by the blade 20 of the post.

A further feature of the post not shown is the provision of a locking pin for locking the sleeve 27 to the shaft 18 when the post is not in use.

Referring now to Figure 6 of the drawings, there is shown diagrammatically the operation of the tool for installing a road marker post at the roadside in nine steps. The posts are installed with the red sides facing on coming traffic as illustrated in diagram 2. In diagram 1 the safety pin locking the sleeve 27 to the shaft 18 is withdrawn and the post is then ready for use. The tool is held vertically with the blade 20 at the location where the hole is to be formed in the ground. The sleeve 23 is then reciprocated to pile drive the bladed end into the ground as shown in diagrams 3 and 4a. The lower end of the sleeve 32 may be used as a depth marker and when the tool has been driven to that level in the ground, the tool is withdrawn as shown in diagram 4b. A post 11 is then inserted in the preformed hole pointed end 14 downwards as shown in diagram 5.

The tool is then inverted and the main body of the tool is located on the inside of the marker post with the upper end 15 of the post engaged on the plate 28 within the flange 31. The shaft 18 of the post is then reciprocated using the hand hold sleeve 32 to pile the post into the preformed holes as shown in Figure 7. The end of the plug 25 in sleeve 23 is sued to indicate that the post has been driven to the required depth into the ground by contact of the plug 25 with the ground. The post itself may also be provided with a depth mark to indicate how far it should be driven into the ground. When the post has reached the required depth (indicated by a marking on the post) the tool is withdrawn and the safety pin reinserted.

Claims

1. A tool for installing a post in the ground comprising a shaft having a blade at one end to cut a hole in the ground, an impacting member mounted for reciprocal movement on the shaft towards and away from a stop to drive the bladed end of the shaft into the ground to create a hole for the post and means on the impact member to engage the post when the tool is inverted to permit the post to be pile driven into the hole created in the ground by reciprocation of the shaft to impact on the member.

2. A tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein the impacting member comprises a sleeve closed at one end and extending along the other end of the shaft to pile drive the bladed end of the shaft into the ground by reciprocation of the sleeve and impact of the end of the sleeve on said other end of the shaft.

3. A tool as claimed in claim 2 wherein said one end of the sleeve is closed by a solid plug to impact on said other end of the shaft by reciprocation of the sleeve.

4. A tool as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the means on the impact member for engaging the post comprise a plate secured to said other end of the sleeve around the shaft and projecting on either side of the sleeve to bear on the upper end of the post and drive the post into the ground when the shaft is reciprocated to impact said other end of the shaft on said one end of the sleeve.

5. A tool as claimed in claim 4 wherein the plate has a central aperture through which the shaft extends and around which the sleeve is secured.

6. A tool as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5 wherein the plate has one or more projections adjacent its periphery projecting on the side of the plate facing towards said one end of the sleeve to constrain the end of the post when it is engaged with the plate.

7. A tool as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the plate is of rectangular shape.

8. A tool as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the blade at the end of the post is diamond shaped to penetrate the ground.

9. a tool as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the distance between the means on the impacting member to engage the post and the end of the impacting member remote from said post engaging means in relation to the post length is such that the end of the impacting member reaches the surface of the ground when the post has been driven sufficiently into the ground.

10. A tool as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the sleeve is fixed to the post between the blade and the impact member to provide a hand hold for reciprocating the shaft when impacting the post into the ground.

11. A tool as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein a lock is provided for securing the shaft against movement with respect to the impacting sleeve when the tool is out of use.

12. A tool as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein a depth indication is provided on the shaft to indicate when the blade end of the tool has been driven into the ground sufficiently to create a pilot hole of the required depth of the post.

13. A tool as claimed in claim 10 and in the case where a sleeve is attached to the shaft between the blade and impact member, wherein the end of the sleeve adjacent the blade is arranged to provide the depth indicator.

14. A tool for installing a post in the ground substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.