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US 4,915,180 AGranted
Post driver
OwnerRalph T. Schislerinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A post driver has a combination of hydraulically operable orthogonal and angular mechanical carriages giving five degrees of motion of the driving hammer for the setting of posts in various soils and terrain slopes. Adjustment of the carriages allows accurate location of posts in a fence line that is offset from the line of travel of the supporting tractor. The structure of the apparatus provides distributed weight to both sides of the tractor to assure its stability and safety for operations over variable terrain slopes. A post sleeve and holding bar contain the posts for hands-off driving and also provide means for overcoming post misalignment due to variable density and stony soils. A damping device is added to the impact hammer mechanisms.
Claims15
An implement for use with a tractor and like mobile vehicles in the driving of posts in diverse soils and terrain, comprising:
- (a) a supporting frame with means for mounting beneath the belly of said tractor normal to the longitudinal axis of said tractor at a location between the rear and forward wheels thereof;
- (b) a mechanical subassembly of operable carriages upon a first end of said supporting frame for four degrees of movement of a mounting channel of said implement, said subassembly of carriages comprising two orthogonal and two angular subcarriages;
- (c) an impact post driving hammer subassembly having a single degree of movement for attachment upon said mounting channel of said subassembly of operable carriages, the combination of said driving hammer and operable carriages having five degrees of mechanical movement for the driving of said posts from a fixed position of said tractor;
- (d) a subassembly of balancing counterweights affixed at the opposite second end of said supporting frame for establishing a low centralized center of gravity for yielding stability and for reducing roll reactions in the operation of the combined apparatus of said implement and tractor when deployed upon sloping terrain:
- (e) means responsive to an attendant's control for adjusting verticality, azimuth, and location of said posts with said driving hammer during operation of said implement:
- (f) means of supplying implement power from the engine of said tractor for operation of said implement;
- (g) a group of controls at a ground station adjacent to said hammer subassembly, operable by a single attendant who may at said ground station insert said posts in said hammer subassembly and operate said controls for selective application of said implement power to activate and execute said five degrees of mechanical movement for the driving of said posts;
- and
- (h) means for damping oscillatory vibrations of post driving tension springs of the driving hammer subassembly following hammer impact with posts during driving operations.
6 more elements
Apparatus for the driving of posts, into terrain of variable slopes and soil characteristics, from an offset line of travel for the construction of fences and similar barriers along prescribed lines upon said terrain, which comprises:
- (a) a tractor, or like vehicle, comprising:
- an engine for power generation;
- a power train for mobility of said tractor;
- a wide rear axle for said tractor;
- a wide front axle for said tractor;
- at least four distributed wheels for said axles for stability of said tractor when maneuvering over said sloping terrain;
- and
- a means of supplying take-off power from said engine;
- (b) a structure for attachment to said tractor at a location between said front and rear axles comprising means for:
- the assembly and support upon a first lateral side of said tractor of a maneuverable offset post driving subsystem that is responsive to control by an attending operator of said apparatus;
- the assembly and support upon a second lateral side of said tractor, opposite to said post driving subsystem, of a subassembly of system components comprising:
- counterweight for maintaining weight balance and the stability of the platform of said apparatus during its maneuvering and post driving operations upon said terrain;
- (c) a mechanical subsystem of actuators and movable carriages, operable by said take-off power, that are responsive to selective control of said attending operator, comprising:
- a first subassembly for the reciprocative location of a post driver in a two foot range of positions extending laterally beyond the line of travel of said tractor wheels, which comprises:
- * an in-and-out carriage, operable perpendicular to said line of tractor travel;
- * a first double acting actuator for linear movement of said in-and-out carriage;
- and
- * a first device, responsive to said attending operator, for control of said first actuator and in-and-out carriage;
- a second subassembly for the reciprocative location of said post driver in a sixteen inch range of positions extending fore-and-aft along a line parallel to said line of tractor travel, which comprises:
- * a fore-and-aft carriage, operable parallel to said line of tractor travel;
- * a second double acting actuator for linear movement of said fore-and-aft carriage;
- and
- * a second device, responsive to said attending operator, for control of said second actuator and fore-and-aft carriage;
- a third subassembly for the reciprocative lateral tilting of said post driver in a seventy degree range of angles about the line of travel of said fore-and-aft carriage as referred to the direction of the yaw-axis of said tractor, which comprises:
- * a lateral tilting carriage;
- * a third double acting actuator for angular rotation of said lateral tilting carriage;
- and
- * a third device, responsive to said attending operator, for control of said third actuator and said lateral tilting carriage;
- and
- a fourth subassembly for the reciprocative fore-and-aft tilting of said post driver in a seventy degree range of angles about the line of travel of said in-and-out carriage as referred to the direction of said yaw axis of said tractor, which comprises:
- * a fore-and-aft tilting carriage;
- * a fourth double acting actuator for angular rotation of said fore-and-aft tilting carriage;
- and
- * a fourth device, responsive to said attending operator, for control of said fourth actuator and said fore-and-aft tilting carriage;
- (d) means for assembling said post driver to said mechanical subsystem of actuators and movable carriages;
- and
- (e) means for mechanical confinement of a post within said maneuverable post driving subsystem during post driving operations, responsive to isolated control by said attending operator.
34 more elements
A mechanical device for the adaption of a tractor to the driving of posts, in soils of terrain that slope away from the horizontal plane, from an adjustable offset line of travel of said tractor away from and parallel to a prescribed fence line for said posts, which comprises:
- (a) a means of extracting power from the engine of said tractor for the operation of said device;
- (b) a structural framework for attachment to said tractor;
- (c) a first mechanical subassembly affixed to said structural framework comprising:
- a first orthogonal carriage for effecting lateral offset positioning, responsive to control by an attending operator, of an intermediate equipment mounting fixture;
- and
- a second orthogonal carriage for effecting fore-and-aft positioning, responsive to control by said attending operator, of said intermediate equipment mounting fixture;
- and
- (d) a second mechanical subassembly affixed to said intermediate equipment mounting fixture, comprising:
- a first angular carriage for effecting lateral tilting, responsive to control by said attending operator, of a post driver mounting fixture;
- and
- a second angular carriage for effecting fore-and-aft tilting, responsive to control by said attending operator, of said post driver mounting fixture.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.