Patent ID: 7658240

Claim:
An apparatus for forming a hole in ground comprising, in combination: a mounting plate adapted to be mounted to a bucket of a loader; a probe coupled with the mounting plate, with the probe including a bottom end spaced from the mounting plate along a vertical axis perpendicular to the ground, with the bottom end of the probe being adapted for digging a hole in the ground, with the probe movable relative to the mounting plate about a first axis perpendicular to the vertical axis and a second axis perpendicular to the vertical axis and perpendicular to the first axis; first and second arms extending radially outward from the vertical axis and from a periphery of the probe spaced from the bottom end of the probe, with the first and second arms being spaced from each other in a periphery direction of the probe not greater than 180°; and first and second cylinders each including an upper end coupled to the mounting plate, with the first cylinder further including a lower end coupled to the first arm, with the second cylinder further including a lower end coupled to the second arm, with each of the first and second cylinders being movable between an extended position and a retracted position, with the probe being movable along the vertical axis into the ground by movement of the mounting plate by the loader to move the mounting plate along the vertical axis and simultaneously moving at least one of the first and second cylinders, and with the probe being movable out of the ground along the vertical axis to form a hole in the ground.