Abstract:
Taught is an auger having a working head ( 15 ), a ratcheting T-handle ( 50 ), and a shaft ( 20 ) attached there between forming a hand-powered ratcheting auger for drilling holes near the ground surface. Shaft ( 20 ) may include one or more lengths of extension shaft parts to control the length of the shaft. Working head ( 15 ) contains a drill-bit ( 14 ), semi-circular non-planar cutting blades ( 12 ), a working head shaft part ( 22 ), with the drill-bit and cutting blades fixedly attached to the working head shaft part and shaft part ( 22 ) detachably attached to shaft ( 20 ). The auger may also include an air induction unit  66  including an air-receiving opening in the T-shaped handle; an air-line  60  positioned within a hollow of the shaft connecting the air-receiving opening with air exhaust openings so as a jet of the air can blow out of said auger to break up and blow away the drilling detritus.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This Non-Provisional Application claims the benefit of the filing date of Provisional Application 61/387,579 filed Sep. 29, 2010. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0004]    The present invention relates generally to the art of advancing bore holes, and more particularly, to improvements in the construction and operation of hand powered advancement tools. 
         [0005]    The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty and usefulness of the present invention. This background information is not admitted prior art. 
         [0006]    Underground excavations may be performed using powered or manual digging apparatus. Hole boring using a powered-auger is a commonly accepted way of providing for holes in the ground. Conventional, powered-auger assemblies consist of a central power transmission stem twin helical auger flighting that provides for removing pick-up, optional tooth mounting bars with digger teeth, and a pilot point. Boring using the undercutting principal is best achieved by utilizing the flightings on the central power transmission stem, with or with-out the addition of cutting teeth on the flightings. The flightings are designed so that as the radial distance from the centerline or axis of the auger drill increases the depth that can be cut increases. Furthermore, as the radial distance from the centerline of the auger increases, the cutting teeth, or cutting edge, in radially subsequent rows precede those in the adjacent radially inner row. This variation of design allows advancement in particularly hard layered formations, such as clay, although, conventional augers in use today, both powered and hand-powered, are somewhat limited in the types, i.e., compositions of formations that they can advance into. 
         [0007]    To assure public safety and to prevent damage to public and private property, New York State (NYS) has established procedures to protect underground facilities (see NYS General Business Law Article 36 (Protection of Underground Facilities) and Public Service Law Section 119-b (Part 753, also referred to as Industrial Code 53). The law requires: (1) that before using power equipment within the tolerance zone (i.e., the distance of one-half the known diameter of the underground facility plus two feet on either side of the designated center line of the facility), the locations of gas, utilities, and petroleum lines must be verified by means hand-dug test holes and, (2) that power equipment may be used for removal of pavement, only to the depth of pavement. Failure to comply with this, or with any other provision, of this law shall result in a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars for the first violation and up to an additional seven thousand five hundred dollars for each succeeding violation which occurs in connection with the entire self-same excavation or demolition activity within a two month period. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    Hand-held, manually powered digging tools, commonly referred to as hand-augers, have helped to fulfill this mandate, but the present inventors realized are not fully effective. Hand-dug holes are manually executed excavations used for designating, testing, or verification. Conventional hand-powered auger assemblies consist of shovels, post-holes diggers, and surface-soil sampling augers/equipment. Such augers cannot easily, quickly, or accurately meet the requirement of opening the hole to the diameter of the mechanized drill that will be used to continue drilling the bore and to install the well or other sub-surface equipment. Advancing a test borehole and retrieving the excavated soil with traditional means, such as a shovel, digging bar, or post hole digger, proves to be not only tedious, difficult work, but slow and inaccurate, as well. This is due partly to presently available hand-augers being two-inch diameter tools and thus, are awkward to use when digging a hole having a required minimum four-inch diameter. Such labor- and time-extensive work adds significantly to the cost of all projects. 
         [0009]    Accordingly, the present inventors devised a set of inventive principles that provide for hand-powered augers having, among other attributes, the leverage and body-positioning ability that enable simple and easy boring, as compared to presently available augers. The examples of the invention described herein are capable of boring into harder and more varied surface soils, such as hard pan and other surface materials in a much more effortless manner and doing so time-efficiently. Additionally, an auger made using the inventive concept taught herein is able to provide for a bore hole with the required diameter, that is, the diameter of the powered tool that will continue boring past the maximum depth of the hand-auger. 
         [0010]    In general, augers made according to the principles of the present invention may be defined as comprising a pilot point (also referred to as a “bit”) for locating the auger in a medium to be bored, and cutting means, extending out from behind from the pilot point, having a radially outermost portion defining the radius of the hole being bored and preceding to an inner portion that undercuts the material being drilled into and promotes fracture of this material to facilitate penetration of the auger into the medium. The cutting means and pilot point both extend from a first end of a length of auger shaft and are referred to as the “working end” or “working head” of the auger. The second end of the working head shaft may be directly connected to a ratcheted T-handle or may be connected to the ratcheted T-handle via one or several lengths of auger shaft extender parts. On the opposite end of the length of auger shaft is a ratcheted T-handle providing for easy and rapid working of the auger. If desired, compressed air may be fed through the shaft to promote disintegration of the medium being bored and to assist in removal of the boring debris. Advancing compressed air through the auger directly into the hole first disrupts and breaks apart the soil, providing for the cutting means, which is the example provided herein are a pair of semi-circular, gently-fluted cutting blades providing even more easily advancement through the soil. With, or without, the use of compressed air, once the auger has advanced to a reasonable depth, the excavated soil can be removed by removing the auger from the hole. 
         [0011]    Still other benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed specification and related drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    In order that these and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention may be more fully comprehended and appreciated, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to specific examples thereof which are illustrated in appended drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures. It should be understood that these drawings only depict one example of the present invention that clearly presents the use of inventive concepts and are not therefore to be considered limiting in scope, thus, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an example of the invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the example of the invention, as shown in  FIG. 1 , with the auger separated into two parts. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective close-up front view of the head of the example shown in 
           [0016]      FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a perspective close-up view of one side of the head of the example shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a perspective close-up view of another side of the head of the example shown in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a perspective close-up view of the joint connections of the separate shaft parts of the example shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 6   a  is a perspective close-up view of the male joint connection of the separate shaft parts of the example shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 6   b  is a perspective close-up view of the female joint connection of the separate shaft parts of the example shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a perspective close-up view of the backside of the T-handle of the example shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is a perspective close-up view of the front side of the T-handle of the example shown in  FIG. 1  illustrating the ratchet device, air hose, compressed air inlet, and actuator handle. 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  is a perspective close-up view of the head of the example shown in  FIG. 1  showing the air holes on each side of the diamond-shaped tip providing for compressed air to be injected into the bore hole that is being advanced. 
       
    
    
     A LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS AND PARTS TO WHICH THEY REFER 
       [0000]    
       
           10  An example of a hardpan auger according to the principles of the present invention. 
           12  One version of the auger blades of the example illustrated. 
           14  A bit. 
           15  Auger (working) head of the example illustrated. 
           20  Shaft of the example illustrated. 
           22  Shaft part of the example illustrated attached to head  15 . 
           24  A shaft extension. 
           26  Shaft part of the example illustrated attached to handle  50 . 
           28  O-ring seals. 
           32  A male shaft insertion connector part. 
           33  A hexagonally-shaped neck of the male shaft connector part. 
           34  A female shaft accepting connector part. 
           35  A hexagonally-shaped receiving aperture of the female shaft connector part. 
           36  An optional set screw. 
           38  An optional set screw aperture. 
           50  T-handle of the example illustrated. 
           52  Rod part of T-handle  50 . 
           54  A left/right ratchet. 
           60  An air line. 
           62  An air inlet aperture. 
           64  An air exhaust opening. 
           66  An air induction union. 
           68  An air on/off lever. 
           72  A pin valve. 
       
     
       DEFINITIONS 
       [0049]    Auger, as used herein, refers to a device for moving material or liquid by means of a rotating flighting or blades. The material is moved along the axis of rotation. For some uses a helical ‘flighting’ is enclosed in a tube, for other uses the flighting is not encased, and yet for others, blades are used.
 
Earth or soil auger, as used herein, refers to a device that can be a manually turned, handheld device, or powered by an electric motor or internal-combustion engine, possibly attached to a tractor.
 
Flighting, as used herein, is a term to describe the sides of an auger, or any of various hand tools, typically having a threaded shank and cross handle or a rotating helical shaft for boring into the earth, wood, or ice. It may also refer to digging blades and a drill bit.
 
Hardpan, as used herein, is a general term for a dense layer of soil, usually found below the uppermost topsoil layer. There are different types of hardpan, all sharing the general characteristic of being a distinct soil layer that is largely impervious to water. Some hardpans are formed by deposits in the soil that fuse and bind the soil particles. These deposits can range from dissolved silica to matrices formed from iron oxides and calcium carbonate. Others are man-made, such as hardpan formed by compaction from repeated plowing and pollution from man made sources.
 
Ratchet, as used herein, is a device that allows continuous linear or rotary motion in only one direction while preventing motion in the opposite direction.
 
         [0050]    It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0051]    Referring now, with more particularity, to the drawings, it should be noted that the disclosed invention is disposed to examples in various sizes, shapes, and forms. Therefore, the examples described herein are provided with the understanding that the present disclosure is intended as illustrative and is not intended to limit the invention to the examples described herein. 
         [0052]    The present invention is directed towards an improved hand-powered auger, designed, among other things, to meet the mandates of New York State Industrial Code 53 that requires the use of hand-powered drills before using powered equipment within the tolerance zone (i.e., the distance of one-half the known diameter of the underground facility plus two feet on either side of the designated center line of the facility), as explained above. That is, the locations of gas, utilities, and liquid petroleum lines must currently be verified by means time-consuming, difficult to dig, hand-dug test holes and that powered equipment may be used for removal of pavement, only to the depth of the pavement. 
         [0053]    Turning now to the drawings,  FIG. 1 , a perspective view, illustrates one example of a hardpan auger made according to the principles of the present invention. Hardpan auger  10  basically comprises working head  15 , ratcheting T-handle  50 , and shaft  20 . Shaft  20  connects, and is positioned between, working head  15  and T-handle  50 . Working head end  15  of the auger, comprises sharpened point drill-bit (pilot point)  14  and cutting blades  12  welded to working head shaft part  22  of shaft  20 . In this example, cutting blades  12  consist of two approximately semi-circular non-planar cutting blades. The non-planar blade shape is used to advantage to ease cutting into the material being bored and to lift the bored material up and out of the bore. The number of cutting blades may be increased or decreased to suit the needs of a particular job. Increasing or decreasing the number of cutting blades used is within the scope of the invention. Shaft  20  may comprise one or more lengths of shaft, functionally connected to each other, to increase the length of the shaft, as required. Shaft  20  is lengthened by adding of one or more shaft extensions  24  (described further below). In the example illustrated, working head shaft part  22  has one end fixedly attached to and extending from auger head  15  and has its other end secured in a detachable manner to an end of shaft extension  24 . The opposing end of shaft extension  24  is detachably attached to shaft part  26  that is fixed to and extends from ratcheting T-handle  50 . Attached to T-handle  50  is air on/off lever  68  which will be discussed below. 
         [0054]      FIG. 2 , a perspective view, illustrates the invention, as shown in  FIG. 1 , with the auger separated into two parts by disconnecting shaft extension  24  from shaft part  34 . This illustration shows how easy it is to increase or decrease the length of the auger to any desired length by adding or removing additional extension shaft-units  24  to the basic working head and handle shafts,  22  and  26 , respectively. 
         [0055]      FIG. 3 , provides a close-up perspective end view of working head  15  showing fixedly attached pilot point (bit)  14  auger extending out from cutting blades  12 . Note that, in this example, bit  14  is triangular-shaped, which shape is used to advantage by the rotating cutting motion of the two semi-circular, gently-angled cutting blades  12 . The shape of the cutting blades may be altered to meet the demands of the material being bored. A change in the shape of the cutting blades is within the scope of the invention. 
         [0056]      FIG. 4 , close-up perspective side view of working head  15 , illustrates more clearly the triangular shape of bit  14 , the fluted shape of blades  12  and their physical relationship to each other, and the connection of pilot point  14  to working head shaft part  22 .  FIG. 5  is also a close-up perspective side view of working head  15  taken along the edge of bit  15 . 
         [0057]    As mentioned, one or more shaft-units may be connected to each other and to the shaft parts of working head  15  and handle  50  to increase the length of the auger, as desired.  FIGS. 6 ,  6   a , and  6   b  provide an example of the connections that may be used when adding one or more extension shafts to the auger. To attach basic extension shaft-unit  24  between basic head part  15  and T-handle  50 , male insertion part  32  of extension shaft part  24  (see also  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) is, in the example illustrated, inserted into female accepting part  34  that comprises the open end of shaft part  26  that is fixed to T-handle  50 . The detachable attachment of male  32  to female part  34  is further secured, in this example, by positioning set screw  36  ( FIG. 6   b ) into set screw aperture  38  (as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 6 ). Optional set screw  36  maintains the secure attachment of the attached shaft parts, especially when the auger is being removed from the bore-hole. It should be noted that there are many known and as yet unknown mechanisms and methods to securely attach shaft lengths to each other and all of these methods and mechanisms are within the scope of the invention.  FIG. 6   a  illustrates o-ring seals  28  inserted into their accepting spaces about end portion of shaft  34 , the hollow of the shaft, and the hexagonally-shaped insertion neck  33  of the male shaft insertion connector part  32 .  FIG. 6   b  illustrates the hexagonally-shaped receiving aperture  35  of female shaft connector part  34 . The hexagonal shape of female receiving aperture  35  provides the hold that is necessary for transfer of the torque from the T-handle to the auger cutting blades. It should be understood that there are shapes other than hexagonal that will transfer torque, each of these shapes are within the scope of the invention. 
         [0058]      FIG. 7 , a perspective close-up view, illustrates the features best seen by looking at the one side of T-handle  50 , while  FIG. 8 , another perspective close-up view, illustrates the features best seen by looking at the other side of T-handle  50  of the example shown in  FIG. 1 . Fixedly connected to T-handle  50  and extending therefrom approximately perpendicularly from a center point of T-handle  50  is rod, or shaft part,  52 . The auger is advanced by turning the T-shaped handle in one direction to turn cutting blades  12 . Ratchet fixture  54  determines that the ratcheting motion is a left/right turning motion, in this example. The turning motion is repeated until the auger advances to a desired depth. 
         [0059]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 7 ,  8 , and  9 , T-handle  50  with fixedly connected extension  52  may include air induction union  66  that provides an opening in extension  52  to provide for air from air-line  60  to travel down through the hollow of the entire shaft length to provide for a jet of compressed air to blow out of air exhaust openings  64  in blades  12  to both assist in breaking up the material being drilled and to blow the broken up material out of the hole to aid in providing for a clean hole. Compressed air may be provided to air line  60  via air inlet aperture connection  62 , although the invention does not depend solely on this particular technique of supplying compressed air. The flow of compressed air through the auger is controlled by the dependent action of air on/off lever and pin valve  72 . 
         [0060]    To use auger  10  according to the principles of the present invention, working head  15  is attached to ratcheting T-handle  50  via one or more extension parts of shaft  20 . By holding onto to the ratcheting T-handle end of the auger the sharpened point drill-bit (pilot point)  14  of working head end  15  is then positioned on the ground surface where a hole is to be drilled, that is where the underground utility is mapped. The auger is then advanced by turning the T-shaped handle in one direction to turn cutting blades  12 . The turning motion is repeated until the auger advances to the desired depth. The auger is then removed from the hole, the utility is checked, and the hole is now ready to receive the drill bit of the powered auger. If desired, compressed air may be used to assist in breaking up the material being drilled and to blow the broken up material out of the hole to aid in providing for a clean hole. Compressed air is provided to the air line via air inlet aperture connection to travel down through the hollow of the entire shaft length to provide for a jet of compressed air to blow out of air exhaust openings. The flow of compressed air through the auger is controlled by use of the air on/off lever. 
         [0061]    Thus it has been shown that there is now a set of inventive principles to provide for hand-powered ratcheted augers to provide rapid, safe, and easy drilling wherever hand-powered drilling is required or needed. The augers made accordingly are useful for all kinds of hand-powered drilling besides the augering required by geologic drilling outfits including the drilling of fence post holes, shallow wells, foundation spaces, and the like. 
         [0062]    The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, uses specific and defined nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention as has been pointed out through out the teachings. Thus, the foregoing description of the specific example is presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made to the features, examples, and methods of making the examples of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the described methods, examples, features or combinations of features but include all the variation, methods, modifications, and combinations of features within the scope of the appended claims. The invention is limited only by the claims.