US2598288A - Posthole digger - Google Patents

Description

L. L. NAVARRE POSTHOLE DIGGER May 27, 1952 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Oct. 31, 1949 Louis L. Navarre INVENTOR.

L. L. NAVARRE POSTHOLE 'DIGGER -May 27, 1952 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Oct. 31, 1949 Louis L. Navarre INVENTOR. 405a... BY w eon Fwy 3M Patented May 27, 1952 UNITE D- STATES? PATE T" o FFl C-E- POSTHOLE BIGGER.

Louis L. Navarre, Shreveport, 12a.

ApplicationzQctober 31, 1949; Serial'-No'. 124;5.44;

3 Claims; 1.

This invention relates to new" and. useful improvements. and structural, refinements; in post...

the hole digging operation. by facilitatingrcona venient removal of accumulated mud,, soil, et

cetera, from the. ground engaging. tools of the digger.

This object is achieved; by theprovision ofaan.

earth and mudscraper.v between the to.o1s'..of the digger, together with meansjor reciprocating the.

scraper between the tools insuch manner. that.

accumulated'earth, mud,fet cetera, may be conveniently and expeditiously. removed;

Some of the advantages of the invention. re: side in its simplicity of constructiomin itsconvenient operation as aforesaid,. andjinitsadaptability for use on post hole diggers OfQdiiTerent sizes and types.

With the above more important objects and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this, specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially, of the arrangement and construction of'parts. as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of-a post hole digger having the invention embodied therein;

Figure 2 is another elevational view, taken in the direction of the arrow 2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view; taken substantially in the plane of the .line. 33 in Figure.2.;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional detail, taken. substantially in the plane of the liner4=-4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional viewsonan enlarged scale, this view being taken substantially in the plane of the line 5 5'in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a perspective view ofa latch used in the invention;

Figure '7 is a perspective view of a latch bracket used therein, and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a stop member used in connection with the bracket illustrated in Figure 7.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention is embodied in a post hole digger designated generally by the reference character It], this being of a conventional construction and including a pair of substantially upright handles 12, I4 disposed in spaced relation, the lower ends of the handles having secured thereto suitable members l6, l8, respectively.

zen-50.8).

These members, being; inlthe: nature of clamps,

areimounteclrupon the lower portions of thehan dlesi'by afpluralityyof' bolts or screws 20;.anqzl it;

togetherbyyar-transverse'boltaor-pin 26, as is best shown inzE-igure- 4;

Suitable 1' ground engaging tools-28: are riveted as at; 30to' the members. I6, 18-, and itistoebe' observed that by virtueof the pivot 26', thextools 28 may be swung together and apart by'the manipulation. of the handles l2, l4 in the. conventional manner.

The essence. of novelty in-the invention-resides in the provision of means for expeditiously removing; accumulated earth, mud, et cetera; ,from

the tools 28, these means involving the provision of a vertically elongatedguide. 32 which is: securedadjacent the lower endthereof between theearszz ofthe-member wand. slidablyaccommodatesnan upright plunger 34.

To. prevent relative rotation thereof, the guide 32; and, plunger. 34v arepreferably polygonal in cross; section, anditis. to benotedthat anearth scraping. plate 3 6, provided. with .3 aisocketl 38 .is-a

securediby. a transverse pinv 40 to-the. lower. end.

portion of the plunger 34, as is best illustrated in Figure 3.

- Thislplate is reciprocable .between theftools 28, whereby accumulated mud; soil, et cetera,,may be. expeditiously scrapedfrom. the. tools .by. simply sliding the ,plunger 34 downwardly in amanner hereinafter to be. described. Itis to be, noted. that the. plater36 is .of such. configuration (see. Figure 4) to permit .thetwo tools. 28.to. beswung: toward andaway fromreach other when the.

handles I 2;. I 4 areimanipulatedi The sliding of'the plunger 341s eifected by means of a foot pedal 42 which is secured to the upper end of the plunger, while a suitable compression spring 44 is positioned on the plunger and on the upper portion of the guide 32, one end of the spring bearing against the foot pedal 42 while the remaining end of the spring bears against the ears 22, whereby the scraper plate 36 is normally urged upwardly, that is, to its inoperative position, as shown in Figure 3. However, by simply stepping upon the foot pedal 42 and depressing the same, the plunger 34 together with the plate 36 may be slid downwardly as indicated by the phantom lines in Figure 2, thus effecting the tool scraping operation.

Means are provided for locking the plate 36 and the plunger 34 in an upwardly slid position,

these means consisting of a latch member 48- 3 which is configurated as is best shown in Figure 6 and includes a pair of spaced ears 50 whereby it may be pivotally mounted by means of a pin 52 at the upper end of the plunger 34 or on the upper portion of the foot pedal 42, as desired. The latch member 48 is formed integrally with a projecting tongue 54 which, in turn, is provided with a cam-surfaced detent unit 56, the latter being separably engageable with a transverse bar member or element 58. This element or member assumes the form of a clamp fabricated integrally from a strap as is best shown in Figure 7, the entire member being secured to the handle l2 by a screw 60 and afiording at its free end a substantially flat portion 62 which is adapted to abut a coacting bracket or stop 66 mounted on the handle 14.

The two brackets 58, 66 are adapted to abut each other so as to limit the extent to which the handles I2, 14 may be brought together, but at the same time, the bracket 58 afiords a member with which the detent unit 56 may be engaged so as to releasably retain the plunger 34 and the scraper 36 in an upwardly slid position.

It is to be noted that the arrangement of the latch member 48 and of the foot pedal 42 is such that when a foot is applied to the latter, the latch member48 is automatically depressed so as to disengage the detent unit 56 from the bracket 58, thus facilitating downward sliding of the foot pedal.

' Finally, a suitable spring 68 is provided on the pivot 52 in engagement with the tongue 54 of the latch member 48, whereby the detent unit 56 is automatically engaged with the bracket 58 when the plunger 34 is slid upwardly by the action of spring 44.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure, and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described ,thepreferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is: V

1. In a post hole digger, the combination of a pair of spaced juxtaposed and substantially upright handles, pivotally connected members provided at the lower ends of said handles whereby the latter are movable toward and away from each other, coasting ground engaging tools mounted on and depending from said handles, a

stationary guide secured to one of said members. a plunger slidable vertically in said guide, an earth scraping plate mounted on the lower end of said plunger and reciprocable in the space between said tools, a foot pedal provided at the upper end of the plunger for pressing the latter downwardly, resilient means for sliding the plunger upwardly, and means for locking said plunger in its upwardly slid position, wherein said last mentioned means include a laterally projecting element provided on one of said handles, and a spring pressed latch pivotally mounted at the upper end of said plunger, said latch being engageable with said element when the plunger is slid upwardly by said resilient means.

2. A post hole digger comprising a pair of pivotally connected handles, coacting blades on one end portion of said handles, a rod slidable between the handles, a scraping plate on one end of the rod operable between the blades, 2. split band mounted on one of the handles, a pair of opposed, parallel bars integral with the ends of the split band and projecting therefrom toward the other handle, a resilient bumper integral with the free end of one of said bars and engageable with said other handle, and a latch on the rod engageable with said one bar for releasably securing the scraper in inoperative position.

3. A post hole digger comprising a pair of pivotally connected handles, coacting blades on one end portion of said handles, a scraper comprising a rod slidably mounted between the handles and further comprising a plate on one end of the rod operable between the blades, a foot pedal mounted on the rod, a bar mounted on one of the handles, a spring-loaded latch pivotally mounted on the rod and engageable with the bar for releasably securing the scraper in inoperative position, said latch including an operating handle engageable on the foot lever when said latch is swung to inoperative position, and a coil spring encircling the rod and operatively connected thereto for'returning the scraper to inoperative position.

LOUIS L. NAVARRE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the file of this patent: I

UNITED STATES PATENTS Smith May 8, 1917

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