Claims
- 1. A ground rod driver comprising a frame, a coil supply of continuous ground rod feeding said driver, a jaw slide assembly mounted on said frame for movement toward and away from the ground, power means to move said assembly toward and away from the ground, and a power-operated releasable gripping jaw mounted on said slide assembly operative automatically to grip a ground rod when said slide is moved toward the ground, and release such ground rod when said slide is moved away from the ground, whereby such continuous ground rod may be pulled from said coil supply and driven incrementally into the ground.
- 2. A driver as set forth in claim 1 including straightening means for said rod between said coil supply and gripping jaw.
- 3. A driver as set forth in claim 2 wherein said straightening means comprises a roll set mounted on said frame.
- 4. A driver as set forth in claim 3 wherein said straightening means comprises two roll sets mounted on said frame, said respective roll sets being in planes normal to each other.
- 5. A driver as set forth in claim 1 including a guide tube at the bottom of said frame into which such rod is driven.
- 6. A driver as set forth in claim 5 including a rod shear above said guide tube and below said gripping jaw.
- 7. A driver as set forth in claim 1 including means to support said frame for angular adjustment with respect to the ground to control the angle at which the ground rod is driven into the ground.
- 8. A driver as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means to move said assembly comprises a piston-cylinder assembly.
- 9. A driver as set forth in claim 1 including a vehicle supporting both said driver and said coil supply, and means mounting said driver at the back of said vehicle for movement to and from an operative and a transportation position.
- 10. A driver as set forth in claim 9 including a hydraulic power unit on said vehicle operative to power said driver.
- 11. A driver as set forth in claim 1 wherein said releasable gripping jaw comprises a fixed jaw and a movable jaw, both of said jaws being elongated in the direction of the axis of the rod.
- 12. A driver as set forth in claim 11 including a pair of piston-cylinder assemblies operative to open and close said movable jaw.
- 13. A driver as set forth in claim 1 including means to vibrate said jaw slide assembly and thus said rod when the rod encounters increased driving in resistance.
- 14. A driver as set forth in claim 13 wherein said means to vibrate imparts high frequency vertical impacts to such rod.
- 15. A driver as set forth in claim 14 wherein said means to vibrate comprises a rotary vibration ring.
- 16. A driver as set forth in claim 13 including a hydraulic piston cylinder assembly operative to move said jaw slide assembly toward and away from the ground, said means to vibrate said jaw slide assembly comprising pulse generating means in the circuit of said hydraulic piston cylinder assembly.
- 17. A driver as set forth in claim 16 wherein said pulse generating means comprises a pump in an auxiliary hydraulic circuit.
- 18. A driver as set forth in claim 16 wherein said pulse generating means comprises a rotary valve in the circuit of said hydraulic piston cylinder assembly.
- 19. A driver as set forth in claim 16 wherein said pulse generating means comprises a shuttle valve in the circuit of said hydraulic piston cylinder assembly.
- 20. A driver as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means to move said assembly comprises a piston-cylinder assembly having a rod end and a blind end, said rod end being connected to said slide whereby pressure in the blind end of said piston-cylinder assembly drives the ground rod into the ground when said gripping jaw grips the ground rod.
- 21. A ground rod driver comprising a frame, a jaw slide assembly mounted on said frame for movement toward and away from the ground, means to move said assembly toward and away from the ground comprising a piston-cylinder assembly, a releasable gripping jaw mounted on said slide assembly operative to grip a ground rod when said slide is moved toward the ground, and release such ground rod when said slide is moved away from the ground, wherein the rod of said piston-cylinder assembly is connected to said slide assembly and the cylinder is mounted for short distance movement on said frame.
- 22. A driver as set forth in claim 21 including means to vibrate said driver and thus the driven rod when the cylinder moves such short distance.
- 23. A driver as set forth in claim 22 wherein said means to vibrate comprises a rotationally fixed and a rotary vibration ring which are brought into engagement when said cylinder moves such short distance.
- 24. A driver as set forth in claim 23 including a motor operative to drive said rotary vibration ring.
- 25. A driver as set forth in claim 22 including a rod straightener mounted on said frame for short distance movement above said cylinder, said cylinder being mounted on the lower end of said straightener, and means to vibrate said driver and thus said rod when said rod straightener moves through such short distance.
- 26. A driver as set forth in claim 25 including a fixed vibration ring on top of said straightener, and a rotary vibration ring spaced thereabove operative to engage said fixed ring when said straightener moves through such short distances.
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 925,225 filed Oct. 31, 1986, now abandoned, entitled "Ground Rods and Method and Apparatus for Forming and Placing Such Rods".
US Referenced Citations (11)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
925225 |
Oct 1982 |
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