Patent Application
20240010469
The present invention relates generally to electric pole removing devices and more particularly to piling head pulling devices.
Use of poles is common in electrical infrastructure. Electrical poles, often times also known as utility poles, are usually made of wood, metal, or concrete and are used for supporting power lines, communication cables, and other equipment necessary for electrical distribution. Timber piles or pilings are made from timber obtained from a tree. A wooden piling is often used for foundations and structural support as an electrical pole. However, over time, these poles can become damaged due to natural wear and tear, harsh weather conditions, or accidents. When this happens, it becomes necessary to replace or repair the damaged poles.
Conventionally, when an electrical pole such as a wooden piling is broken or damaged, one conventional method for removal of the pole (including the piling) is to use a chain to lift the piling. Specifically, an operator wraps a chain around the top of the pole, also known as the head or cap, and cinch it tight. The chain is then lifted by a crane to remove the pole from its foundation.
However, there are drawbacks to using chains to remove damaged electrical poles. For one, there is a risk of the chain slipping off the head of the piling during the lifting process, which could cause the pole to fall and potentially injure workers or damage property. Additionally, the process can be inefficient, as it may require multiple attempts to lift the pole out of the ground and place it in the desired location.
Over the years, various devices have been made to assist operators with removal of wooden piling electrical poles. Devices including hydraulic pole pullers and pneumatic pole extractors have been used; however, they are complex to use, unsafe, and inefficient. Such devices require manual operation and considerable effort by operators in attaching to piling heads to pull and remove such electrical poles. Further, in many cases, due to limited accessibility in many locations, such conventional devices cannot be used.
People have long used conventional devices such as chains or wires hooped around piling heads to remove such pilings from the ground, but such devices do not provide adequate stability, safety, and support. There is a fear of slippage of such conventional devices during lifting or pulling operations which can lead to serious injuries. Further, conventional piling removing devices do not allow operators to use automated tools such as a combination of a drill and a crane for removing wooden piling electrical poles.
None of the existing piling removal devices include a convenient, effective, and efficient way to remove wooden piling electrical poles easily, safely, and effectively.
A need exists for new devices that provide a more stable, secure, and safe way for operators to connect their pulling devices to piling heads without fear of slippage and danger.
While conventional devices may be partly suitable for the particular purposes employed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter. None of such conventional devices disclose the unique structures and advantages of the present disclosure. The devices disclosed herein avoid many of the drawbacks of existing devices.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved piling head puller device that significantly eases the process of removing electrical poles without using conventional chains, ropes and other similar items. Conventional chains, ropes and other similar items wrapped around a piling head have a tendency to slip off of the piling head, or break off an upper portion of the piling head, during a pulling or lifting operation, which poses great risk of harm to operators.
It is one prospect of the present invention to provide a novel piling head puller device of simple but effective construction for convenient and efficient pulling of piling heads without risk of injury to an operator and without damage to the piling head.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a piling head puller device that can be attached to a head of a piling using a conventional drill for safe and easy pulling and removal of the piling from the ground.
Yet another object of the disclosed invention is to provide a piling head puller device that includes a moveable lifting element for connecting to a hook of a hoist to pull and remove a piling from the ground easily and safely.
Yet another object of the disclosed invention is to provide a piling head pulling device that eliminates most of the manual effort of operators when attaching to a piling head and removing such piling form the ground.
Yet another object of the disclosed invention is to provide a piling head pulling device that does not break or damage a piling head when pulled, for effective piling removal operations.
Yet another object of the disclosed invention is to provide a piling head pulling device that has a threaded elongated portion which is installed inside a piling head enabling an operator to lift the piling head by connecting a hook of a hoist to the moveable lifting element.
As disclosed in this application, the inventor has discovered novel and unique devices for efficiently and effectively removing a piling without damaging the piling head and while avoiding injury to operators, while saving tremendous effort during the piling removal process.
Embodiments of the present invention provide for a piling head puller device as described and defined in the description below and in the annexed claims which provide for improved safety, efficiency and effectiveness characteristics in order to conveniently and more effectively connect to piling heads to uplift pilings in a multitude of environments.
The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented herein.
Therefore, in accordance with embodiments of the invention, there is provided a piling head puller device comprising an elongated cylindrical rod having a proximal end and an opposite distal end. The proximal end includes a drive head preferably having a hexagonally shaped drive nut that is integrally molded therewith. The drive nut is preferably adapted to fit into a drill head. A portable cordless drill, a corded drill, an impact drill, a hammer drill and the like can provide the drill head.
In one embodiment, the piling head puller device has a driving position, for installing the outer threaded portion of the elongated cylindrical rod into a wooden piling head, and the wooden piling head puller device has a pulling position, for pulling and uplifting the piling head in order to remove the wooden piling from the ground.
In a preferred embodiment, the elongated cylindrical rod has a smooth cylindrical outer surface portion disposed between the drive head and a stop flange. The cylindrical rod has a threaded outer surface portion disposed between the stop flange and the distal end of the elongated cylindrical rod.
The threaded outer surface portion of the elongated cylindrical rod includes a plurality of continuous threads that are adapted to be driven axially into a top of a piling head, to mount the piling head puller device to the piling head in a pulling position, when the drive nut is rotated by the drill head.
The piling head puller device comprises a lifting element that is configured for axial movement along the smooth cylindrical outer surface portion of the elongated cylindrical rod. The lifting element includes a bearing washer, that has a glide hole, and a pull ring fixed to the bearing washer, where the pull ring extends from the bearing washer on a perpendicular plane relative to a horizontal plane of the bearing washer. The pull ring is adapted to provide a secure and stable connection to a hook of a hoist to pull the piling head while the threaded outer surface portion is embedded in the wood piling.
In a preferred embodiment, the top surface of the bearing washer abuts a bottom surface of the drive nut, and the pull ring extends axially above the drive head nut when the pull ring is attached to the hook and is pulled by the hoist for pulling the piling device and the piling head vertically upward, while the threaded outer surface portion is stuck in the piling head.
In a preferred embodiment, the threaded outer surface portion is embedded in the piling head in a driving position, wherein the pull ring is positioned at an angle that departs from a vertical axis of the elongated cylindrical rod preventing the pull ring from colliding with or obstructing with the elongated cylindrical rod, when the drill head rotates the drive nut in the driving position.
Preferably, the pull ring has a first edge, a second edge and an arcuate top edge. The first edge has an elongated member, a notch and a bottom transversal portion, wherein the notch accommodates a circumferential point of the bearing washer.
Preferably, the second edge has an elongated member, notch, and a bottom transversal portion, wherein the notch accommodates a circumferential point of the bearing washer.
Preferably, the hook engages with the arcuate top edge for lifting the piling head puller device and the piling head.
In a preferred embodiment, the length of the threaded outer surface portion is at least sixteen inches and is about at least 1.5 times of the length of the smooth cylindrical outer surface portion.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims.
Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
For a further understanding of the nature and function of the embodiments, reference should be made to the following detailed description. Detailed descriptions of the embodiments are provided herein, as well as, the best mode of carrying out and employing the present invention. It will be readily appreciated that the embodiments are well adapted to carry out and obtain the ends and features mentioned as well as those inherent herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, persons of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following disclosure is illustrative only and not in any way limiting, as the specific details disclosed herein provide a basis for the claims and a representative basis for teaching to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner. It should be understood that the devices, materials, methods, procedures, and techniques described herein are presently representative of various embodiments. Other embodiments of the disclosure will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
Referring initially to
As illustrated in
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Preferably, the distal end 106 of the elongated cylindrical rod 102 preferably includes a two-step thread 176 (also known as a two start or double thread) for effective insertion of the threaded outer surface portion 118 in a top surface 170 of a wooden piling head 168. In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of continuous threads 120 are double lead threads (i.e., a two start or double thread). A double lead screw thread has a lead (L) that is equal to twice the pitch.
In other embodiments, the plurality of continuous threads 120 are multiple start threads. Each multiple start thread lead is equal to an integral multiple of two or more times the pitch of the thread.
Additionally, as shown in
Referring to
The lifting element 122 has an integrally molded pull ring 128 extending from the bearing washer 124 preferably on a perpendicular plane relative to the bearing washer 124. The pull ring 128 is preferably of an inverted U-shape and extends across two opposite points 130, 132 of the bearing washer 124.
Referring again to
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In the pulling position, the pull ring 128 extends axially above the drive head nut 110, thereby, the drive head nut 110 does not obstruct the hook 140 while pulling the device 100. During pulling, the piling head 168 in which the threaded outer surface portion 118 is stuck, is pulled from the ground 172 without damaging the piling head 168.
Referring to
As illustrated in
As can be appreciated from the disclosure herein, the piling head puller device 100 is positionable between a driving position C, as illustrated in
In the pulling position B, referring to
The elongated cylindrical rod 102 of the piling head puller device 100 can be easily removed from the wooden piling head 168 in a manner similar to installation but with an opposite rotation of the elongated cylindrical rod 102. Meaning, a user can rotate the drive head 108 of the elongated cylindrical rod 102 in a counter-clockwise manner in order to back out or withdraw the threaded outer surface portion 118 of the elongated cylindrical rod 102 from the wooden piling head 168. Accordingly, through embodiment disclosed herein, the elongated cylindrical rod 102 of the piling head puller device 100 is removably connected to the wooden piling head 168, in a safe and efficient manner, at the option of the user.
In a preferred embodiment, the elongated cylindrical rod 102 and the lifting element 122 are each forged from carbon steel. The elongated cylindrical rod 102, in different embodiments, can be made from one of materials having high resistance to wear and tear such as steel, stainless steel, or aluminum. Preferably, the stop flange 114 is forged along with the elongated cylindrical rod 102 as a unitary construction (i.e., as one piece). In another embodiment, the stop flange 114 is welded onto the elongated cylindrical rod 102.
In another embodiment, the stop flange 114 can be made of a similar material as the cylindrical rod 102 or can be made of a different material, such as a polymer or a reinforced plastic, to reduce weight and increase ease of handling. The lifting element 122 can be made of a lighter and durable material, such as aluminum, steel, or an alloy, as the lifting element 122 is required to move axially along the smooth cylindrical outer surface portion 112. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the material for the piling device 100 and any of its components including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. When use of piling head puller device 100 is no longer desired, the device 100 can be easily stored in the backseat of a vehicle or a truck for easy storage and transportability.
Referring to
Except as may be expressly otherwise indicated, the article “a” or “an” if and as used herein is not intended to limit, and should not be construed as limiting, the description or a claim to a single element to which the article refers. Rather, the article “a” or “an” if and as used herein is intended to cover one or more such elements, unless the text expressly indicates otherwise.
This invention is susceptible to considerable variation within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
