COMBINED POST DRIVER AND EXTRACTOR

Related Application This application claim priority from Australian Patent application No, AU 201.3902689, the contents of which are incorporated in entirety b reference.

Field of the Inventio The present invention relates to a post driver and, in particular, a post driver that can also be used to grip and lift a post out of the ground .

Background of the Invention One known form of post driver includes a steel tube with handles and a support leg that is stowed inside the driver. The tube is open at one end and has a strike plate positioned at a blind end for hittin and driving a stake into the ground. The length of the tube is limited by the need to also accommodate the support leg inside the body of the driver, behind the strike plate, Ih particular, the leg is stowed by being inserted into the body from an opposite end of the dri ver, so that the tube and leg are in line and -arranged in an end-to-end configuration.

Object of the Invention

The present invention seeks to provide an alternative form of post driver.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a post driver with:

an elongate body that has an internal tube with a strike plate positioned toward one end of the driver, for driving a post into the ground;

a jaw located adjacent the end of the driver for gripping a post to remove the post from the _ ~ ground by lever action applied through the driver body; and

a le to engage the ground and provide an elevated pivot connection for the lever action, to better faci litate ease of removal of the post from the ground, wherein

the leg is coupled to the body to move between a stowed position, alongside of the tube, and a deployed position for engaging the ground.

Preferably, a sliding niember connects the leg to the body whereby t allow axial movement of the leg out of the stowed position, lengthwise of the body. Preferably, the post driver includes a lock to releasably hold the leg in the stowed position during post driving action.

Preferably, the member slides internally of an outer easing of the body, between the casing and the tube, and the le is coupled to the member by a lug that passes through a lengthwise extending slot formed in the casing,

Preferably, the slot terminates in a socket that allows pivotal movement between the leg and the body, when the leg is in the deployed position. Preferably, the leg is formed of a foo section and two lateral struts that sit either side of the body in the stowed position.

Preferably , the jaw i hinged to a coupling at the end of the driver. Preferably, the coupling and jaw are housed in a rece s formed in a head of the driver.

Preferably, the recess is closed by the leg when the leg is in the stowed position.

Preferably, abase of the recess is formed of polymeric material to provide electrical insulation to the ja w and reduce impact nois of the strike plate impacting a post when the post dri ver is used to dri ve the post into the ground. Preferably, a fool of the leg that, closes the recess provides for further attenuation of noise from driving impact on the strike plate. Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention is described in more detail by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a post driver;

Figure 2 is a side view of the post driver with a le in a deployed position;

Figure 3 is a side view of the post driver being used to pull a stake out of the ground;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectioned view of an end of the post driver; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 with various componen removed for clarity. Detailed Description of the Drawings

Referring firstly to Figure 1 , a post driver 1 is shown which includes a main elongate body 2 with an internal tube 3 and electrically insulated handles 4. In a post driving mode, a post (not shown) is inserted into the open end 5 of the driver 1 and the body 2 of the drive 1 is worked up and down to drive the post into a. ground surface.

The post driver 1 also includes a support leg 6 that is held i a s towed position, externally of the bod 2. The leg 6 has a foot section 7 and two lateral struts 8, one of either side of the. body 2. The leg 6 i coupled relative to the main body 2 by a lug 9, that allows the leg 6 to slide out of the stowed position and then pivot relative to the bod 2. Referring to. Figure 2, the leg 6 is shown in a deployed position, where the lug 9 has been slid down a lengthwise extending slot 10. into a terminating socket 11, so that, the body 2 is then able to pivot about the leg 6. Figure 2 also shows a jaw 12 in a deployed position. The ja 12 has been, rotated out from a recess 1.3 at the end 14 of the body 2, where it was previously covered by the foot section 7 of the leg 6. With the jaw 12 and le 6 in the position shown, the post driver 1 can be used as a post extractor, More particularly, with reference to Figure 3, the leg 6 is shown engaging the ground 15 and the jaw 12 is shown gripping a post 16. The leg 6 serves to provide an elevated pivot connection 1.7 t the body 2 of the dri ver 3 to allow lever action to be applied to the body 2 for mechanical advantage in lifting the jaw 12 and removing the post 16 from the ground 15. Referrin now to Figure 4, part of the driver 1 is shown in cross-section. The body 2 includes an outer casing 18 that houses the tube 3. A concentric channel 19 is provided between the outer casing 18 and the tube 3, which ex tends from a centre section 20 of the body 2 t the. end 14 of the driver 1. A sliding member 21, which is coupled to the lug 9 shown in Figure 1 to 3, is arranged to slide within the channel 19 as the leg 6 moves between the stowed and deployed positions.

The member 21 is shown in a location corresponding to the leg 6 being in the stowed position. A lock 22 is provided in the form of a re-leasable retainer cli 23 that holds the member 21 and leg 6 in the position shown such as when the post driver 1 is used for driving a post into the ground, so that the leg 6 does not inadvertently come free, in order to release the leg 6, an axial release force is applied to the foot section 7 of the leg 6 sufficient to overcome the locking force of the clip 23.

As can be seen, the tube 3 lias a striker plate 24 toward the end 14 of the driver 1, for impacting and driving the post into the ground. The striker plate 24 is preferably formed of steel and is welded to the tube 3. The striker plate 24 has an. integral arm 25 that projects from the plate 24 and allows the jaw 12 to swing clear of the end 14 of the body 2 t grip the post 16, as shown in Figure 3. The jaw 12 is hinged to the arm 25 via a pivot point 26.

The striker plate 24 and jaw 12 are shown in a stowed condition, in a recess 27 formed in the end 14 of the body 2. A polymeric material such as a layer of polyurethane is preferably positioned between the striker plate 24 and the jaw 12 to electricall insulate the striker plate 24 and jaw 12 and to deaden the sound of the striker plate 24 impacting a post when the driver 1 is used for driving a post into the ground. Additional sound attenuation is provided by the foot section.7 of the leg 6 closing the recess 27. The foot section 7 can also provide electrical insulation to the end 14 of the driver 1 ,

Referring BOW to Figure 5, the driver 1 is shown in partial cross-section, wit some of the components omitted for clarity. The sliding member 21 is shown in more detail _* with the lug 9 attached. Since the member 21 i covered by the outer casing 18 of the body 2 so that onl y the lu 9, which pas ses through the slot 10, projects from the casing 18 , in order to mount the leg 6 externally of the casing 18.

With some prior art post drivers, various components of the leg are stored internally of the body, which reduces the overall length of tube available for post driving purposes. With the present invention, the tube 3 can extend substantially the entire lengt of the driver body 2 since the leg 6 is mounted externally of the body 2» which provides a related advantage that the comparative stroke length for a post driving operation can be increased, which increase the efficiency of the driver 1. Another advantage of the driver 1 is tha (he jaw 12 is mounted in a relatively flat orientation on top of the striker plate 24 so as t occupy a minimum length dimension of the driver 1, to again allow the tube length to be maximised. The jaw 12 can be stowed in an insulated position, protected from passing electrical current to an operator if an underground service or the like is struck while driving a post into the ground. The jaw 12 is also mounted generally centrally to the body 3 and is provided with a structurally sound connection to the tube 13 , via the arm 25 so that the lube 3 and body 2 can be used as a strong and effective lever when removing posts.

Additionally, as mentioned above,, the polyurethane material on top of the striker p late 24 and the foot secti on 7 of the leg 6 can serve to reduce noise of the striker plate 24 impacting a post in the post driving mode, to provide abetter working environment for an operator of the driver i .

The driver 1 has been described by way of non-limiting example only and man modifications and vaxiations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention,

List of Parts

1. Post driver

2. Body

3. Tube

4. Handle

5. Open end

6. Leg

7. Foot section

8. Stmt

9. Lug

10. Slot

1 1 . Socket

12. Jaw

13. Recess

14. End

15. Ground

16. Post

17. Pivot connection

18. Casing

19. Channel

20. Centre section

21. Member

22. Loci-

23. Clip

24. Striker plate

25. Arm

26. Pivot point

27. Recess