Patent Publication Number: US-11034553-B1

Title: Post handling tool adaptable for mounting on a skid steer device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a post handling tool adaptable for mounting on a skid steer device. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Tractors are very handy vehicles commonly used around farms, nurseries, and for general landscaping and maintenance. They are also often used in construction along with their close cousins, the skid steer loaders and front-end loaders. Their small size and maneuverability allow them to operate in tight spaces. Their light weight allows them to be towed behind a full-size pickup truck, and the wide array of attachable accessories makes them very flexible. They are commonly used by landscapers to move landscaping and building materials, and a wide variety of other tasks. However, such machines are not very useful when it comes to comes to picking up long linear objects such as logs or pipes and are even less useful when trying to lift such items into a vertical position such as when placing poles into the ground for a pole building or elevated deck. Such maneuvers often require the use of a separate crane along with an increase in construction cost and another machine causing congestion on a construction site. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which tractors, skid steer machines and the like can be modified to increase their usefulness when handling and moving long linear loads. The development of the post handling tool adaptable for mounting on a skid steer device fulfills this need. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The inventor has recognized the aforementioned, inherent problems and lack in the art and observed that there is a need for a post handling attachment, comprising a back plate adapted to a standard skid steer attachment system found on a skid steer machine or a tractor and pair of movable jaw plates provided on a face of the post handling attachment. The pair of movable jaw plates serve as a contact grabbing point for a long linear object being lifted. The movable jaw plates are each provided with a support arm to allow for grabbing movement of the movable jaw plates. There is also a plurality of reinforcing supports provided to reinforce a joint between the movable jaw plates and the support arms and a safety support provided at a center top portion of the back plate to restrain the lifted long linear object from falling backwards. There is also a U-shaped restraint disposed at a top of the safety support to prevent falling behind the sides of the post handling attachment. The safety support is attached to the back plate using a collar and an anchor bolt which allows for ready removal of the safety support during transport of the post handling attachment. 
     There is also an enclosure housing a hydraulic cylinder that drives an actuating arm back and forth along a first travel path. The actuating arm is connected to the support arms via a pair of driver arms to allow the movable jaw plates to open and close. The hydraulic cylinder is connected to the hydraulic system of the host vehicle via a high-pressure supply hose and a return hose supplied with a quick connect fitting. The safety support along with the “U”-shaped restraint is mechanically attached to the back plate via the collar while a piston of the hydraulic cylinder is connected to the actuating arm via a third pivot point. There is also a plurality of angular protrusions which help to grip the long linear object and prevent unattended movement. 
     The movable jaw plates may each be equipped with a reach catch plate and a forward catch plate to allow for the long linear object to move within the movable jaw plates along its axis without worry of becoming disengaged. The support arms along with a horizontal plate may be firmly affixed to the back plate. The actuating arm may move along the first travel path with said motion being transferred to the support arms via the driver arms using four first pivot points. The support arms are pinned at a second pivot point, thus translating the linear motion of the actuating arm into radial motion that results in angular jaw travel path that will grab the long linear object between the movable jaw plates. 
     The angular protrusions may assist in grapping the long linear object or in grapping an odd shaped linear object. Attaching the post handling attachment may involve manipulation of a plurality of locking levers upon the locking lever area as well as engagement of a plurality of quick connect fittings on the high-pressure supply hose and the return hose. The tractor may then be manipulated over the long linear object and is centered. Once centered between the open movable jaw plates as well as the “U”-shaped restraint, the hydraulic controls of the “U”-shaped restraint may be engaged to close the movable jaw plates upon the long linear object. Using existing controls for the loader arms, the long linear object may be lifted whereupon it is transferred to another location by the tractor. Transportation may occur with the long linear object in a lowered horizontal position occurs with the long linear object in a vertical position as rotated along an angular lifting path. A user may manipulate the hydraulic controls of the tractor such that the loader arms position the back plate in a vertical position. The safety support and the “U”-shaped restraint may provide protection for the user should the long linear object unintentionally fall backwards as the movable jaw plates are released from pressure. 
     Once the long linear object is inserted into a bored hole, the movable jaw plates are completely opened and the tractor reversed. The long linear object and the insertion into the bored hole continues as many times as needed. The post handling attachment is an attachment to lift, handle and transport the long linear object. The post handling attachment may be attached to a tractor or attached to a skid steer machine. The post handling attachment may be made of various steel alloys. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of the post handling attachment  10 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the post handling attachment  10 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the post handling attachment  10 , as seen along a line I-I, as shown in  FIG. 1 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a pictorial view of the post handling attachment  10 , shown in a utilized state, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and, 
         FIG. 5  is a pictorial view of the post handling attachment  10 , shown in another utilized state, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTIVE KEY 
     
         
         
           
               10  post handling attachment 
               15  back plate 
               20  locking lever area 
               25  movable jaw plate 
               30  support arm 
               35  reinforcing support 
               40  safety support 
               45  “U”-shaped restraint 
               50  collar 
               55  anchor bolt 
               60  enclosure 
               65  hydraulic cylinder 
               70  actuating arm 
               75  first travel path “ 1 ” 
               80  driver arm 
               85  high pressure supply hose 
               90  return hose 
               95  quick connect fitting 
               100  first pivot point 
               105  second pivot point 
               110  angular jaw travel path 
               115  reach catch plate 
               120  forward catch plate 
               125  angular protrusion 
               130  piston 
               135  third pivot point 
               140  horizontal plate 
               145  tractor 
               150  loader arm 
               155  locking lever 
               160  linear object 
               165  angular lifting path “a” 
               170  bored hole 
               175  user 
           
         
       
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment, herein depicted within  FIGS. 1 through 5 . However, the invention is not limited to the described embodiment, and a person skilled in the art will appreciate that many other embodiments of the invention are possible without deviating from the basic concept of the invention and that any such work around will also fall under scope of this invention. It is envisioned that other styles and configurations of the present invention can be easily incorporated into the teachings of the present invention, and only one (1) particular configuration shall be shown and described for purposes of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation of scope. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. 
     The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one (1) of the referenced items. 
     1. Detailed Description of the Figures 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a front view of the post handling attachment  10 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The post handling attachment  10  (herein also described as the “device”)  10 , is an attachment for tractors  145  and/or skid steer machines to lift, handle and transport long linear objects  160  such as posts, logs, pipes, or the like. It is more specifically designed to lift, transport, pull and set linear objects  160  such as a square post, sized from six to eight inches (6-8 in.) in width (diameter) and up to twenty feet (20 ft.) long. It is specifically adept at inserting the object  160  into pre-dug holes  170  such as those used for pole bam or elevated deck construction. The device  10  includes a back plate  15  that adapts to the standard skid steer attachment system found on skid steer machines and tractors  145 . The attachment system uses two (2) locking lever areas  20  which are well-known in the art and not within the scope of the present invention. Two (2) movable jaw plates  25  are provided on the face of the device  10  and serve as the contact grabbing point for the object  160  being lifted. The movable jaw plates  25  are provided with support arms  30  to allow for grabbing movement of the movable jaw plates  25 . Further description of the movable jaw plates  25  will be provided herein below. 
     Multiple reinforcing supports  35  are provided to reinforce the joint between the movable jaw plates  25  and the support arms  30 . A safety support  40  is provided at the center top portion of the back plate  15  to restrain any lifted objects  160  from falling backwards. A “U”-shaped restraint  45  at the top of the safety support  40  prevents falling to the rear of the sides. The safety support  40  is attached to the back plate  15  using a collar  50  and anchor bolt  55  which allows for ready removal of the safety support  40  during transport of the device  10 . The majority of the components comprising the device  10  would be made of various steel alloys using well-known cutting, forming, and attachment methods. 
     Referring next to  FIG. 2 , a side view of the device  10 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is depicted. This view provides clarification on the movable jaw plates  25 . An enclosure  60  houses a hydraulic cylinder  65  (not shown due to illustrative limitations), that drives an actuating arm  70  back and forth along a first travel path “1”  75 . The actuating arm  70  is connected to the support arms  30  (of which only one (1) of two (2) total is shown due to illustrative limitations) via two (2) driver arms  80  (of which only one (1) is shown. This movement allows the movable jaw plates  25  to open and close, as will be described in greater detail herein below. The hydraulic cylinder  65  is connected to the hydraulic system of the host vehicle  145  via a high-pressure supply hose  85  and a return hose  90 , each supplied with a quick connect fitting  95 . The locking lever area  20  is visible on the rear of the back plate  15 , while the safety support  40  along with the “U”-shaped restraint  45  is mechanically attached to the back plate  15  via the collar  50 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a sectional view of the device  10 , as seen along a line I-I, as shown in  FIG. 1 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. This view provides clarification on the movement of the movable jaw plates  25 . As the actuating arm  70  moves along the first travel path “1”  75  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ), said motion is transferred to the support arms  30  via the driver arms  80  using four (4) first pivot points  100 . The support arms  30  is pinned at a second pivot point  105 , thus translating the linear motion of the actuating arm  70  into radial motion that results in angular jaw travel path  110  that will grab linear objects  160  between the movable jaw plates  25 . The movable jaw plates  25  are each equipped with a reach catch plate  115  and a forward catch plate  120  to allow for the linear object  160  to move within the movable jaw plates  25  along its axis without worry of becoming disengaged. A set of angular protrusions  125  help to grip the linear object  160  and prevent unattended movement. The angular protrusions  125  would assist in grapping round or odd shaped linear objects  160  as well. The high-pressure supply hose  85  and the return hose  90  are connected to the hydraulic cylinder  65  inside of the enclosure  60  in an expected and customary manner. The piston  130  of the hydraulic cylinder  65  is connected to the actuating arm  70  via a third pivot point  135 . The support arms  30  along with a horizontal plate  140  is firmly affixed to the back plate  15 . 
     Referring next to  FIG. 4 , a pictorial view of the device  10 , shown in a utilized state, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The device  10  is attached to a tractor  145  previously equipped with loader arm(s)  150  (or “boom”). It is noted that while a tractor  145  is depicted in this and following illustrations, said device  10  would function equally as well with a skid steer machine. As such, the use of the device  10  with any particular type of equipment is not intended to be a limiting factor of the present inventions. The attachment process involves manipulation of locking levers  155  upon the locking lever area  20  as well as engagement of the quick connect fittings  95  on the high-pressure supply hose  85  and the return hose  90 . The tractor  145  is then manipulated over a linear object  160  (herein depicted as a post). Once centered between the open movable jaw plates  25  as well as the “U”-shaped restraint  45 , the hydraulic controls of the “U”-shaped restraint  45  are engaged to close the movable jaw plates  25  upon the linear object  160 . Using existing controls for the loader arms  150 , the linear object  160  is then lifted whereupon it may be transferred to another location by the tractor  145 . The transportation may occur with the linear object  160  in a lowered horizontal position as shown or may occur with the linear object  160  in a vertical position as rotated along an angular lifting path “a”  165 , as will be shown in greater detail herein below. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a pictorial view of the device  10 , shown in another utilized state, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is depicted. This view provides clarification of the linear object  160  in a vertical position, either for transport, or for insertion into a bored hole  170 . The user  175  would manipulate the hydraulic controls of the tractor  145  such that the loader arms  150  position the back plate  15  in a vertical position. The safety support  40  and “U”-shaped restraint  45  provide protection for the user  175  should the linear object  160  unintentionally fall backwards as the movable jaw plates  25  are released from pressure. Once the linear object  160  is inserted into the bored hole  170 , the movable jaw plates  25  may be completely opened and the tractor  145  reversed. The process of lifting the linear object  160  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ) and the insertion into a bored hole  170  may continue as many times as needed. 
     2. Operation of the Preferred Embodiment 
     The preferred embodiment of the present invention can be utilized by the common user in a simple and effortless manner with little or no training. It is envisioned that the device  10  would be constructed in general accordance with  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 5 . The user would procure the device  10  via conventional procurement channels such as farm machinery stores, rental stores, heavy equipment stores, mail order or internet supply houses or the like. Special attention would be paid to overall size of the device  10 , compatibility with the intended tractor  145 . 
     After procurement and prior to utilization, the device  10  would be prepared in the following manner: the locking lever area  20  of the back plate  15  would be engaged with the loader arms  150  of the tractor  145  and the locking levers  155  would be manipulated to a locked position following the same process as used with other attachable implements for a tractor  145 . The high-pressure supply hose  85  and the return hose  90  would be attached via the quick connect fittings  95  to the hydraulic system of the tractor  145 . At this point in time, the device  10  is ready for utilization. 
     During utilization of the device  10 , the following procedure would be initiated: the tractor  145  is manipulated over a linear object  160  that is isolated from other linear object  160 ; once centered between the open movable jaw plates  25  as well as the “U”-shaped restraint  45 , the hydraulic controls of the “U”-shaped restraint  45  are engaged to close the movable jaw plates  25  upon the linear object  160 ; using existing controls for the loader arms  150 , the linear object  160  is then lifted whereupon it may be transferred to another location by the tractor  145  in either a horizontal or vertical position; upon arrival at a bored hole  170 , the various existing controls of the tractor  145  are manipulated to place the linear object  160  over the bored hole  170  whereupon the hydraulic controls on the tractor  145  for the hydraulic cylinder  65  are released allowing the linear object  160  to fall into the bored hole  170 . The process of lifting, transporting and insertion of additional linear object  160  may occur as needed. 
     When finished with use, the device  10  may be removed from the tractor  145  by releasing the high-pressure supply hose  85  and return hose  90  as well as disengaging the locking levers  155  from the locking lever area  20 . 
     It is envisioned that use of the device  10  provides the following benefits: one-man transportation, lifting and erection of long, heavy, linear object  160 , increased safety, manpower and time savings, and increased consistency. 
     The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.