This disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for removing fence posts and other elongate objects embedded in the earth with a mobile vehicle such as a tractor, backhoe or front end loader having a lift arm. In one embodiment, the method is accomplished without the operator of the vehicle mounting or dismounting the vehicle to engage the apparatus with the elongate object.
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Removing T-type fence posts, as well as wooden and pipe-type posts, may, however, be difficult, particularly when the posts have been in the ground for an extended period. Considerable force may be required to extract the posts from the earth due to compaction of the soil around the posts and surface corrosion of the posts. Typically, a chain, cable or rope is tied to the post and attached to a front end loader, tractor, backhoe or other piece of engine powered mobile equipment or vehicle that is used to pull the post from the ground. However, the chain cable or rope may slip off the post and/or the post may be bent or broken to the point that it cannot be re-used.
Further, the operator of the mobile equipment or vehicle must dismount to wrap the chain or cable around each post, remount the tractor to pull the post, dismount the tractor to remove the chain or cable from the post and then remount the tractor proceed to the next post. Alternatively, a helper must be employed to attach the cable or chain to the post. If the chain or cable slips off the post the operator must dismount re-position the chain or cable and remount the tractor or other piece of mobile equipment. As will be appreciated, if a large number of posts are to be pulled, this can be a time consuming and labor intensive process.
Manual post pulling devices similar to jacks may be used to pull posts from the earth, but these tools normally require even more labor and time. Devices that use hydraulically powered jaws to grip and pull posts may also be used, however, these tend to be expensive and typically must be mounted on a piece of mobile equipment. Consequently there is a need for a method of pulling T-type posts and other similar elongate rigid objects from the earth that is simple, inexpensive, and quick and that reduces the amount of physical labor involved in the process.
As used herein, a powered piece of mobile equipment or vehicle refers to a front end loader, tractor, backhoe or other piece of powered mobile equipment or vehicle having a hydraulically actuated lift arm wherein a human operator rides on the vehicle to steer and control the operation of the piece of equipment or vehicle, including the lift arm.
In one aspect, a method of removing a T-type fence post embedded in the earth with a powered, mobile piece of equipment controlled by a human operator, wherein a portion of the fence post projects from the earth, includes attaching a substantially flat plate to a lift arm of the powered mobile piece of equipment such that the plate hangs substantially vertically from the lift arm and can move in an arc, the plate having a opening therethrough, the opening having a top wall and a bottom wall. The plate may be connected to the lift arm of the powered, mobile piece of equipment with one of a chain, cable or rope such that the plate may move in an arc beneath the lift arm.
The powered, mobile piece of equipment is moved into proximity with the T-type fence post such that the opening of the plate is adjacent an upper end of the T-type fence post. The powered, mobile piece of equipment is then moved in a first direction to pull the plate over the T-type fence post such that the plate moves over the T-type fence post and an upper portion of the T-type fence post enters the opening and projects through the opening with the bottom wall of the opening adjacent the cross-bar of the T-type fence post.
The bottom wall of the opening is engaged with a stud projecting from the cross bar of the T-type fence post with the upper wall of the engaging the flange of the T-type fence post with sufficient force to retain the post in the opening when the post is pulled from the earth. The lift arm is then raised to pull the post in a substantially vertical direction to extract the fence post from the earth.
In one variation, the powered, mobile piece of equipment is moved in a reverse direction, opposite the first direction, after the engaging the stud such that the lower wall of the opening engages the cross bar of the T-type fence post and the upper wall engages the flange of the post with sufficient force to retain the T-type fence post in the opening when the post is pulled from the earth.
In one embodiment, the T-type fence post may be disengaged from the plate by lowering the lift arm such that a lower end of the T-type fence post contacts the earth and then moving the powered, mobile piece of equipment in a reverse direction to disengage the post from the opening in the plate. As will be appreciated, the foregoing method may be practiced without the operator of the piece of mobile equipment dismounting from the piece of equipment to attach a chain, cable, rope or other device to the fence post.
In another aspect, a rigid elongate object such as a wooden or steel fence post, tree trunk or similar object is removed from the earth with a powered mobile vehicle controlled by a human operator. The method includes attaching a substantially flat plate to a hydraulically operated lift arm of the powered, mobile vehicle with one of a chain, cable or rope such that the plate hangs vertically from the lift arm and can move in an arc. The plate has an opening therethrough, with the opening having a top wall and a bottom wall. The powered mobile vehicle is moved into proximity with the rigid elongate object such that the opening of the plate is adjacent an upper end of the rigid elongate object. The powered mobile vehicle is then moved in a first direction to pull the plate over the rigid elongate object with an upper portion of the rigid elongate object entering the opening and projecting through the opening.
A first side of the rigid elongate object is engaged with the bottom wall of the opening and a second, opposed side of the rigid elongate object is engaged with the upper wall of the opening. The bottom wall and the upper wall engage the rigid elongate object with sufficient force to retain the object in the opening when the object is pulled from the earth by raising the lift arm. In one variation, the powered mobile vehicle is moved in a reverse direction after the engaging the rigid elongate object such that the lower wall of the opening engages a first side of the rigid elongate object and the upper wall engages an opposed, second side of the rigid elongate object with sufficient force to retain the rigid elongate object in the opening when the object is pulled from the earth. To disengage the object after it is pulled from the earth, the lift arm may be lowered and the vehicle moved in the reverse direction.
For a more complete understanding, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which:
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers are used herein to designate like elements throughout, the various views and embodiments of a post-puller and method are illustrated and described, and other possible embodiments are described. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in some instances the drawings have been exaggerated and/or simplified in places for illustrative purposes only. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the many possible applications and variations based on the following examples of possible embodiments.
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It will be appreciated that the method described above in connection with
Although the foregoing method has been described in connection with the extraction of T-type steel fence posts from the earth, it will be appreciated that the method may be employed with other types of rigid, elongate objects embedded in the earth. As illustrated in
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this post-puller and method provides a method and apparatus for extracting T-type fence posts and similar elongate rigid objects from the earth. In accordance with the method, the extraction of the fence posts may be accomplished through the use of a piece of mobile equipment or vehicle having a lift arm without the operator dismounting the vehicle to engage the apparatus with the post or elongate object.
It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description herein are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive manner, and are not intended to be limiting to the particular forms and examples disclosed. On the contrary, included are any further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, as defined by the following claims. Thus, it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments.