Post and drainage hole digger

The Post and Drainage Hole Digger is designed to manually dig shallow holes in the earth for posts or deeper holes for drainage or shallow wells. It is a modification of an existing device called an earth anchor used for anchoring situations such as storage sheds and guying applications. The invention is comprised of a steel disk screw mechanism, a steel shaft to which the steel disk is welded at one end and an attaching mechanism is incorporated at the other end, a U-shaped steel cutting bar welded to the shaft and the disk, a steel cutting tooth bent downward and welded to the disk, a detachable turning handle connected to the shaft via the attaching mechanism, and extension(s) that can be inserted between the main shaft and the turning handle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

INTERNATIONAL PATENT DOCUMENTS

Description

Background of the Invention

1. Field of Endeavor

The present invention generally relates to manually operated hole diggers that are normally used to dig shallow holes in the earth for posts and deeper holes in the earth for drainage or shallow wells. The present invention more specifically relates to a helical disk type hole digger that enables a user to conveniently and economically produce a vertical hole in the ground.

2. Description of Prior Art

Traditional post hole diggers include two concave blades that face one another to form a cylindrical region generally about six inches in diameter. The blades are pivotally connected to one another at the top portion of the blades. Extending from each blade is a fixture or cap supporting a shaft handle extending approximately four feet in height. By thrusting the blades into the ground and moving the upper end of the handles away from one another the blades pivot inward to secure the earth between the blades. As the hole becomes deeper, the pivoting motion of the blades results in the shafts contacting the edge of the hole at the top of the hole. This minimizes the pivoting motion of the blades and thereby reduces the amount of dirt that can be pulled out. The user is forced to widen the width of the hole in order to accommodate the shafts. The undesirable result is a cone shaped hole that gets larger as the hole gets deeper. Many post hole diggers modify the traditional concave blade approach to include a variety of handle designs that attempt to minimize or eliminate this undesirable effect. Unfortunately, many of these designs cannot compete with the traditional design because they appear to be expensive to produce. Other designs that appear to be economical to produce, are only somewhat effective.

Single flight augers are effective hole diggers that work well when power driven. Unfortunately, they are expensive devices that do not work as well when manually operated. Most auger type hole diggers work best in loose, well aerated soils but the true test of their effectiveness is how well they work in damp or wet clay. When single flight augers are manually screwed into damp or wet clay they can get stuck and be difficult to remove.

Accordingly, a need exists to provide an economical manually operated hole digger that digs a cylindrical hole for posts and deeper holes that can be used for drainage or shallow wells that work well in damp or wet clay, loam, or sand without having to increase the diameter of the hole opening as the depth of the hole increases. It is the object of this invention to provide these advantageous features. The present invention further relates to various features and combinations of features shown and described in the disclosed embodiments. Other ways in which the objects and features of the disclosed embodiments are accomplished will be described in the following specification or will become apparent to those skilled in the art after they have read this specification. Such other ways are deemed to fall within the scope of the disclosed embodiments if they fall within the scope of the claims which follow.

SUMMARY

The Post and Drainage Hole Digger is designed to manually dig shallow holes in the earth for posts or deeper holes for drainage or shallow wells. It is effective in damp or wet clay, loam, and sand. It is a modification of an existing device called an earth anchor used for imbedding within the earth to acquire a secure and snug retention therein. This invention has a steel disk that is similar to the one used on the earth anchor. It has a shaft hole at its center and a radial cut that is bent at the radial cut to form the screw mechanism. A steel shaft that contains an attaching mechanism at one end of the shaft is welded to the steel disk at the other end. A U-shaped steel cutting bar is welded to the shaft and the disk. A steel cutting tooth is angled downward and welded to the disk. A detachable turning handle is connected to the shaft. As the steel disk is turned into the ground, the cutting tooth angled downward provides additional bite needed to screw the steel disk into the ground and provides turbulence of the soil below the disk by pushing the soil forward and upward. This introduces air into the soil and breaks the seal between the bottom of the disk and the soil below. The U-shaped cutting bar cuts the earth and introduces an air gap along the circumference of the disk. The shaft is turned until a plug of earth fills the U-shaped cutting bar area. The tool and plug are pulled out of the hole, the plug is removed, and the operation is repeated until the desired depth is reached. Extension(s) can be inserted between the main shaft and the turning handle to dig deeper holes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The Post and Drainage Hole Digger is a device for manually digging holes in the earth through damp or wet clay, loam, and sand. It is a modification of an existing device called an earth anchor used for imbedding within the earth to acquire a secure and snug retention therein. This invention consists of a steel disk1as shown inFIG. 1that is similar to the one used on the earth anchor. It has a shaft hole at its center and a radial cut that is bent at the radial cut to form the screw mechanism. It also consists of a steel shaft2, shown inFIG. 1, to which the steel disk is welded near one end and an attaching means7is incorporated at the other end. A U-shaped steel cutting bar3, with a hole drilled in the bottom of the U and one leg longer than the other, is fabricated. The shaft2is placed through the hole in the U-shaped cutting bar3such that the ends of the legs contact the steel disk1at two diametrically opposed points as shown in theFIG. 1. The width of the legs is set to cause at least a ¼ inch compression of the plug being cut. This introduces an air gap around the perimeter of the plug. The thickness of the legs is set to provide low resistance but adequate strength. The cutting bar3is then welded to the shaft2and the disk1. A steel cutting tooth4is angled downward and welded to the disk1as shown inFIG. 1. It is positioned directly adjacent to the shaft, has a width that is ¼ to ½ of the radius of the helical disk, and is angled about 45 degrees downward relative to a plane perpendicular to the shaft. This cutting tooth4provides the additional bite needed to screw the steel disk1into the ground and provides turbulence of the soil below the disk by pushing the soil forward and upward. This introduces air into the soil and helps breaks the seal between the bottom of the disk and the soil below. The disk1, cutting bar3and cutting tooth4all have beveled edges to form sharp edges that cut into the earth. A detachable turning handle5as shown inFIG. 1is connected to the shaft2. As the steel disk1is turned into the ground, the U-shaped cutting bar3cuts and compresses the earth along the circumference of the disk1. The shaft2is turned until a plug of earth fills the U-shaped cutting bar3area. The air gap introduced around the perimeter of the plug and the air introduced beneath the disk allow the tool and plug to be pulled out of the hole. The operation is repeated until the desired depth is reached. The extension(s)6shown inFIG. 2can be inserted between the main shaft2and the turning handle5to dig deeper holes. The turning handle and extensions have attaching means7incorporated for quick and easy connection and removal.

While the present invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiment, other similar embodiments may be used for performing the same function. Therefore, the present invention should be construed in breath and scope in accordance with the recitation of the appended claims.