Patent ID: 8573074

Claim:
A vehicle mounted soil sampler comprising: a generally vertical mast; a hitch mount assembly adapted to be attached to a vehicle, clamped to said generally vertical mast and wherein the hitch mount assembly is vertically adjustable relative to said generally vertical mast; a support plate clamped to said generally vertical mast and vertically adjustable relative to said generally vertical mast; a motor connected to a drive shaft and gear journaled in a gear housing, and mounted on the support plate; an elongated gear rack with gear teeth, held substantially parallel to said vertical mast by the gear housing and movable parallel to said generally vertical mast, by the motor connected to the drive shaft and gear journaled in the gear housing, in a downward direction and wherein the motor and drive shaft and gear journaled in the gear housing are reversible to move to the elongated gear rack generally parallel to said generally vertical mast in an upward direction; a tubular soil probe with an upper end clamped to a bottom end of the elongated gear rack and a soil probe open end which permits movement of soil into the interior of the soil probe upon downward movement of the soil probe by the elongated gear rack, the drive shaft and gear journaled in the gear housing and the motor, and an open slot in the tubular soil probe; a spoon bar pivotally attached to a spoon mounting plate, clamped to said generally vertical mast, by a horizontal pivot pin, the spoon bar including a bar lower portion with a concave surface that is movable into and out of the open slot in the tubular soil probe upon pivotable movement about the horizontal pivot pin and a spring urging the lower portion of the spoon bar toward the open slot; and a soil sample container supported by said generally vertical mast 12 in a position to catch soil samples moved through the open slot of the tubular soil probe in response to upward movement of the tubular soil probe and the elongated gear rack.