Patent Publication Number: US-7717195-B2

Title: Auger stabilizer

Description:
FIELD 
   The present application relates to a stabilizer for an auger, specifically, an auger used for drilling post holes and the like. 
   BACKGROUND 
   Augers are commonly used to dig holes, such as for posts. These augers have a gas powered engine that drives a depending auger screw. Handles are provided to allow either one or two people to operate it. A problem often encountered is reactive torque. U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,492 teaches a safety stabilizer to help counteract the twisting motion on the handles caused by reactive torque. 
   SUMMARY 
   There is provided an auger stabilizer which includes a rigid elongated body having a first end and a second end. The length of the body is adjustable between a retracted transport position and an extended drilling position. A pair of spaced apart wheels are attached at the second end of the body. Means are provided for pivotally attaching the first end of the body to a handle of an auger. When the body is in the extended drilling position, the pair of spaced apart wheels roll along a ground surface away from the auger as the handle of the auger descends and the pair of spaced apart wheels act to stabilize the handle of the auger against reactive torque. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a side plan view of the auger stabilizer in the extended drilling position. 
       FIG. 2  is a side plan view of the auger stabilizer in the extended drilling position with the auger drilling a hole. 
       FIG. 3  is a side plan view of the auger stabilizer in the retracted transport position and in an upright orientation. 
       FIG. 4  is a side plan view of the auger stabilizer of  FIG. 1  in the retracted transport position and in a reclined position. 
       FIG. 5  is a detailed perspective view of the pivotal attachment of the auger stabilizer to the handle of the auger 
       FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of the body of the auger stabilizer. 
       FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of the support stand. 
       FIG. 8  is an exploded perspective view of the counterweight and counterweight mounting. 
       FIG. 9  is an exploded side elevation view of the support stand being used to remove the auger from the ground. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   An auger stabilizer generally identified by reference numeral  10 , will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 9 . 
   Structure and Relationship of Parts: 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , auger stabilizer  10  includes a rigid elongated body  12  having a first end  14  and a second end  16 . The length of body  12  is adjustable between a retracted transport position shown in  FIG. 3  and an extended drilling position shown in  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , this may be done by providing a first tubular member  17  and a second tubular member  18  that are telescopically mated. A removable pin connection  20  is provided for fixing first tubular member  17  and second tubular member  18  in a selected telescopic position. It will be understood that other means known to those skilled in the art may be used to make the length of body  12  adjustable and to fix their position. A cross bar  22  is transversely positioned at second end  16  of body  12  having opposed ends  24  and  26 . Wheel mounts  29  are provided at each of opposed ends  24  and  26  of cross bar  22 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , a pair of are spaced apart wheels  28  may then be mounted to body  12 . Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 6 , when reclined for use as a dolly, cross bar  22  engages a ground piercing end  32  of auger  30  to serve as a pivotal stop. Referring to  FIG. 3 , to allow auger  30  to remain upright when not being transported and when not drilling, a support stand  34  is mounted on cross bar  22  at second end  16  of body  12 . Support stand  34  is designed to support body  12  and auger  30  in a substantially vertical orientation when body  12  is in the retracted transport position. 
   Referring to  FIG. 5 , first end  14  of body  12  is pivotally attached to the handle  36  of auger  30 . As depicted, this is done by providing a split body  38  having two halves  40  and  42  that are positioned around handle  36  and then secured together with fasteners  44 . Thus, body  12  is able to rotate with respect to auger  30  between the extended drilling position shown in  FIG. 1  and the retracted transport position shown in  FIG. 3 . In the retracted transport position, body  12  may be reclined to be used as a dolly as shown in  FIG. 4  such that cross bar  22  engages ground piercing end  32  as described above. When in this position, wheels  28  allow body  12  to act as a dolly to transport auger  30 . Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in the extended drilling position, wheels  28  roll along a ground surface  45  away from auger  30  as handle  36  of auger  30  descends. As this occurs, wheels  28  act to stabilize handle  36  of auger  30  against reactive torque. A counterweight mounting  46  is positioned at second end  16  of body  12 . As depicted, counterweight mounting  46  is positioned at a remote end  48  of a cantilever arm  50 . One or more counterweights  52  is then mounted on counterweight mounting  46  to provide additional mass acting upon wheels  28 . This helps further stabilize handle  36  against reactive torque, and also allows the user to lift auger  30  using less force. 
   In order to allow for more flexible use, some attachments are releasable. For example, referring to  FIG. 5 , split body  38  has a depending female coupling  54  adapted to mate with first end  14  of body  12 , which serves as a male coupling  56 . A pin connection  58  is provided to prevent male coupling  56  from being accidentally withdrawn from female coupling  54 . Body  12  is thus selectively detachable from female coupling  54  and thus auger  30  by removing pin connection  58 . In addition, referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , cantilever arm  50  and support stand  34  use similar pin connections  60  and  62 , respectively. Referring to  FIG. 6 , cross bar  22  also has mounting  64  and  66  to support cantilever arm  50  and support stand  34 , respectively, such that either may be removed so as not to impede the use of body  12  and auger  30 . Body  12  is designed such that cantilever arm  50  and support stand  34  extend in opposite directions from cross bar  22 . In addition, referring to  FIG. 9 , it may be necessary to remove the top portion of auger  30  from the auger screw if auger  30  becomes stuck. A bar is then be used as a wrench to turn auger  30  to remove it from the ground. Support stand  34  may be designed such that it can be used as a bar for that purpose. 
   Operation: 
   The use of auger stabilizer  10  described above in relation to  FIGS. 1 through 8  will now be discussed. Referring to  FIG. 5 , split body  38  is attached to handle  36  of auger  30  by placing first half  40  and second half  42  about handle  36 , and securing it using fasteners  44  to as a pivotal connection. Body  12  is then attached to split body  38  and thus handle  36  of auger  30  by engaging male coupling  56  and female coupling  54 , and securing them with pin connection  58 . As pin connection  58  is removable, it is unnecessary to remove split body  38  once attached, if it is preferable to use auger  30  without body  12 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , body  12  is shown in the retracted transport position. Support stand  34  allows auger  30  and body  12  to remain in a substantially vertical position. Referring to  FIG. 4 , body  12  may be reclined such that support stand  34  no longer engages ground surface  45 , and ground piercing end  32  of auger  30  is supported by cross bar  22 . Body  12  thus acts as a dolly such that auger  30  may be moved to the desired location on wheels  28 . When auger  30  is correctly positioned, support stand  34  is removed, and counterweight mounting  46  is attached to body  12  as shown in  FIG. 1 . Body  12  is then extended by telescopically extending first tubular member  17  and second tubular member  18 , and using pin connection  20  to fix them in the selected telescopic position. Auger  30  may then be operated to dig a hole in ground surface  45 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , as auger  30  and handle  36  descend, wheels  28  allow second end  16  of body  12  to move further away from auger  30 , with counterweight  52  providing additional weight on wheels  28 . This helps to stabilize auger  30  from any reactive torque that may be applied during drilling. Counterweight  52  also acts to reduce the amount of force necessary to lift auger from the hole. Referring to  FIG. 1 , auger  30  may then be raised, and repositioned to drill another hole. When the drilling is completed, body  12  is returned to the retracted position shown in  FIG. 3 , counterweight  52  is replaced with support stand  34 , and body  12  may again be used as a dolly as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
   In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements. 
   It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the Claims.