WO2010068120A2

WO2010068120A2 - Post driver safety system

Info

Publication number: WO2010068120A2
Application number: PCT/NZ2009/000278
Authority: WO
Inventors: James Ernest Fairbrother
Original assignee: Fairbrother Industries Limited
Priority date: 2008-12-10
Filing date: 2009-12-04
Publication date: 2010-06-17
Also published as: AU2009325214A1; WO2010068120A3

Abstract

A post driver having a shielding structure able to be raised and lowered on guides of and/or relative to a mast structure which guides the monkey or hammer. The monkey and/or a member or members dependent from it (e.g. whether part of a post cap or not) is able to interact with the shielding structure in order to uplift it to allow access to the impact zone or to where at least the top region of a post to be driven is, or is to be, positioned. The shield structure extends below the impact zone, i.e. where the impact face of the monkey will engage a post or post cap to be driven. Repeated blows by the monkey can be made with the lowered safety shield not moving with the monkey.

Description

"POST DRIVER SAFETY SYSTEM"

The present invention relates to post or pile drivers ("post drivers"). The present invention recognises the prospect of addressing or meeting Australian safety requirements, and conferring a measure of safety to the operator of a post driver by denying the operator, the access to the impact zone when the post driver is being operated to allow the impact drop of the monkey or hammer ("monkey"). This includes preferably not only the monkey/post top or monkey/post cap interface but also thereabove within operator reach and up to 300 mm below. In Australia, safety requirements are designed to require a shield or cage so that at least the operator is denied the opportunity to be caught between any monkey and the post, or between any post cap (previously carried by the monkey) and the monkey during the driving stroke.

In particular, although not solely, the present invention relates to any of the types of post driver typified by those of our company such as exemplified in New Zealand patent numbers 532190/532239/533562, 538154 and 553592/560375, Patent applications 565198, 565236, 566515, 566677, 568942, 569029 and New Zealand registered design numbers 403615, 408782, 408783 or in our KINGHITTER™ range of postdrivers (see www.fairbrotherind.com).

Such post drivers, whether with a telescopic mast arrangement or not, usually have some measure of mechanical advantage between a hydraulic ram and the monkey such mat small upward movements under hydraulic power of the ram system lifts the monkey further than does the ram system extend. In some embodiments, where there is the telescopic advantage, this is accentuated. In many of our postdriver ranges there is a whole variety of different hydraulically driven functionalities. So much so that a bank of hydraulic valves is generally installed to be operated as and when required by the operator. These additional functionalities can be to arrange tilt, arrange lean, arrange swing, etc.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a postdriver which has a safety enhancement in that it denies the operator the opportunity to access the impact zone during the driving of a post.

In another aspect the invention consists in^' a postdriver of a kind having a mast guided hammer or monkey ("monkey") and a mast guided post cap selectively carried or not carried upwards with the monkey; wherein a safety shield or cage ("cage") guidably raisable and guidably lowerable can be controlled as to its height by the post cap.

Preferably an operator movable latching handle enables post cap to monkey inter- engagement for lifting of the cage with the post cap and monkey. Preferably the inter-engagement is self releasing when the post cap is supported on a post top.

In another aspect the invention consists in a pile or post driver ("post driver") having a shielding structure able to be raised and lowered on guides of and/ or relative to a mast structure which guides the monkey or hammer ("monkey"); wherein the monkey and/or a member or members dependent from it (eg, whether part of a post cap or not) is able to interact with the shielding structure in order to uplift it to allow access to the impact zone or to where at least the top region of a post to be driven is, or is to be, positioned; and wherein lowering of the monkey and a member or members dependent from it ensures the shield structure extends below the impact zone ie, below where the impact face of the monkey will engage a post or post cap to be driven.

In another aspect the invention consists in a post driver of a kind having a mast guided hammer or monkey ("monkey") and a mast guided post cap selectively carried or not carried upwards with the monkey; wherein a safety shield or cage ("cage"), guidably raisable and guidably lowerable on rails substantially parallel to the mast, can be controlled as to its height by the post cap.

Preferably an operator movable latching handle enables post cap to monkey inter- engagement for lifting of the cage with the post cap and monkey.

Preferably the inter-engagement is self releasing when the post cap is supported on a post top.

Preferably the cage is three sided ie, being essentially channel shaped, the tops of the walls to the channels including rail guides (preferably sleeves that run on tubes or rods which are the rails).

Preferably the cage is latticed for example with a mesh or expanded metal or other material.

Preferably one of the walls of the preferred generally U-shaped form includes an abutment surface up from the bottom of the cage (when in its normal substantially vertical disposition) to enable a leg of the post cap to uplift the cage.

Preferably said cage has features substantially as hereinafter described with reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings. In another aspect the invention is a kit or combination of components to adapt a postdriver as aforesaid to one with shielding.

In still a further aspect the present invention consists in a sequence of operation of a post driver of a kind having a mast guided hammer or monkey ("monkey"), a mast guided post cap selectively carried or not carried upwards with the monkey and a safety shield or cage guidably raisable and guidably lowerable relative about the monkey and the post cap, said method comprising or including uplifting the monkey the post cap and the cage, the cage being uplifted by virtue of an interaction between the post cap and the cage, positioning a post to be driven, lowering the post cap down onto the top of the post together with the cage, disengaging or allowing self release of the post cap from the monkey, uplifting the monkey without uplifting the cage, and dropping the monkey on the post cap capping the post to be driven, the zone of interaction of the monkey with the post cap being above the bottom of the cage.

Preferably the inter-engagement is self releasing when the post cap is supported on a post top. Preferably the post driving apparatus also includes a hydraulic system and operator control requirement as hereafter described with respect to NZ573429.

In a further aspect the invention consists in a method when performed substantially as hereinafter described with or without reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

In another aspect the invention is, in combination, a monkey and post cap assembly able to be inter-engaged yet to be self releasing.

In yet a further aspect the invention consists in a cage substantially as hereinafter described with or without reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

In still a further aspect the present invention consists in, in combination, a post cap with an arm to support a guard and a guard substantially as hereinafter described and/or either components individually.

As used herein the term "and/ or" means "and" or "or", or both.

As used herein "(s)" following a noun means the plural and/or singular forms of the noun.

The term "post" includes "pile" and other elongate drivable forms. The term "comprising" as used in this specification means "consisting at least in part of. When interpreting statements in this specification which include that term, the features, prefaced by that term in each statement, all need to be present but other features can also be present. Related terms such as "comprise" and "comprised" are to be interpreted in the same manner. It is intended that reference to a range of numbers disclosed herein (for example, 1 to 10) also incorporates reference to all rational numbers within that range (for example, 1, 1.1, 2, 3, 3.9, 4, 5, 6, 6.5, 7, 8, 9 and 10) and also any range of rational numbers within that range (for example, 2 to 8, 1.5 to 5.5 and 3.1 to 4.7).

The entire disclosures of all applications, patents and publications, cited above and below, if any, are hereby incorporated by reference.

Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which

Figure 1, in respect of a first embodiment, is an exploded view of rails or slide bars, bottom brackets top brackets, the shied or cage (the slidable guard but without its mesh) and a post cap with an arm to support the guard,

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the frame of the cage in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 3 is an isometric view of a bottom bracket for the tubular guide rails. Figure 4 shows the cage with its mesh, the outstand showing the channel in which the outstanding arm from the post cap is to move upwardly and downwardly to an abutment zone where it then uplifts the cage, and

Figure 5 in a lowered condition but with the cage not shown the monkey sitting down on the post cap, both the monkey and post cap being slidably movable upwardly and downwardly relative to the mast but away from the vertical tubular guides one of which can be seen, Figure 6 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of the present invention, 1 where there can be a hydraulic bank control as disclosed in our New Zealand patent application 573429 (if desired) and having means whereby there is use of rails for the upwardly moveable guard, there can be use of the post cap to raise and lower the guard and there can be self release when the post cap and monkey are first lowered onto the post, the post cap being interposed between the post and the monkey,

Figure 7 shows the exploded view of a preferred post cap assembly in accordance with the present invention to include a pivotable lever able to be locked over an upstand of the monkey yet to be releasable therefrom under a spring and/or gravity bias when the post cap is supported from below and the monkey is positioned slowly on the post cap, Figure 8 is a plan view of an assembly of the apparatus of Figure 7, Figut e 9 is a front elevational view of the apparatus of Figure 8,

Figure 10 is an end elevation or side elevation of the apparatus of Figures 8 and 9 showing the loop able to be fitted over an upstand of a suitable monkey, the monkey being for example that monkey depicted in the exploded apparatus of Figure 6, Figure 11 is a plan view from above of the apparatus of Figures 6 to 10 when assembled and in use, and

Figure 12 is Figure 1 from the aforementioned NZ573429, the full content of which is herein included irrespective of whether or not the controls to be used with the aspects of the present invention are those aspects of NZ573429 or not, being a view of a post driver of our KINGHITTER™ range showing a vehicle mounted postdriver with a single acting ram for raising the monkey operable by hydraulic valve bank control as described as Figure 1 in NZ573429,

Figure 13 shows at a lower most condition, where the post cap assembly is supported by a support at the bottom of the mast itself, the latching lever being used whilst the guard is lowered to engage the latching system between the post cap and the monkey once the monkey is lowered onto the post cap or in close proximity thereto,

Figure 14 shows the post cap having lifted the guard reliant upon the post cap assembly to guard abutment interaction as the monkey is raised thereby in turn lifting the post cap reliant on the latching system, Figure 15 shows the apparatus still further raised and the positioning of a log under the post cap assembly for subsequent driving, and

Figure 16 shows the lowering of the post cap assembly down onto the post whereupon the latching mechanism self releases thereby enabling the monkey to be raised subsequently for driving purposes without also lifting the post cap assembly and the guard or safety cage. In a form of the present invention there is shown the frame of the shield 1 (preferably of metal) with its shoulder portion 2 to provide the abutment for the outstand or arm 3 of the post cap 4.

The frame 1 is meshed as shown as 5 in Figure 4 with its sleeves 6 to run upwardly and downwardly on the tubular rails 7. The post cap 3 with its shackled chain 8 (or other linkage) can be attached or unattached from the outstand 9 so as to be lifted up with the cage.

The top brackets 10 and the bottom brackets 11 and 12 can be easily retrofitted to any of the KINGHITTER™ type range in order to support rails 7. The small modification of the addition of the outstand 3 to the post cap and clearance to allow attachment/ detachment of the shackle of the linkage 8 is all that is required to ensure an operable raising and lowering being possible of the sleeve 6 guided cage 5.

The mode of operation is preferably one where, in order to position a post in the locus of movement of both the monkey and the monkey supported post cap, all have been raised out of the way together with the cage, and are then slowly lowered preferably utilising a low speed hydraulic bleed. This enables alignment of the post cap 4 on the post and the disengagement with the bottom of the cage 5 well below the impact zone above the post cap 4. Thereafter the monkey can be raised without any raising of the cage 5 or the post cap 4 and then to be used in the protective environment of the guard without risk to the operator. Subsequently when it is desired to uplift the cage again it is simply necessary for the post cap to be reattached to the monkey whereupon raising of the monkey and, as the linked follower, the post cap also raises and shortly later so does the cage then all to move upwardly in unison.

The controls of the operator preferably (but not necessarily) requires two handed input to allow monkey drops as a safety feature. The invention of our NZ Patent Application 573429 (the full content of which is herein included) recognises the prospect of conferring a measure of safety to the operator of a post driver by denying the operator the opportunity to have a free hand when the post driver is being operated to allow the free fall of the monkey or hammer ("monkey").

It relates to post or pile driving apparatus (hereafter "post driving apparatus") which is controllable by a two handed control system thereby ensuring an operator's hand can not be between (i) the post or a post cap of the post driver, and (ϋ) the monkey of the post driver during the drop of the monkey to drive the post directly or via the post cap.

Preferably the arrangement involves hydraulic controls. Such controls can be button or lever operated (preferably lever). A most preferred embodiment is one where it is not possible to drop the monkey at driving speed to a post (or the post cap on the post) without each of the operator's hands being on one of the two controls. A low speed drop of the monkey preferably is possible using only one hand of the operator. This low speed drop is to allow alignment of the monkey with the post and/or the alignment of the post to the post cap and/or monkey. It also relates to post driving apparatus of a kind dependent on a hydraulic ram to raise the monkey (preferably through a mechanical advantage) for an ensuring drop; wherein there is a provision to dump hydraulic fluid from the ram into the hydraulic circuit to allow the drop of the monkey; and wherein interactive valving or some equivalent arrangement requires both hands of the operator to be employed on valve and/or other actuator(s) to allow the driving drop. Preferably two valves separately require separate hand actuation to allow a sufficient exhaust via an exhaust pathway to achieve a driving speed.

Preferably the functionality of interactive valves or like functionalities is such as to allow, with one hand, a low speed lowering of the monkey. Preferably such low speed lowering is to allowed by a reduced exhaust flow of the hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic ram.

It also relates in a post driving apparatus having a hydraulic system to raise the monkey (whether with or without telescopic extension of the mast or part thereof); wherein two controls, one for each hand of an operator, must be actuated to allow a faster exhaust of hydraulic fluid which allows the monkey drop than is the case where one only of the controls actuated by a single hand of the operator.

In the preferred form of the present invention a vehicle mounted post driver, typified by any suitable post driver on a tractor with a hydraulic circuit to link to the post driver, is adapted to require a bank of control levers of which preferably two are operable in a couple of modes: - Mode 1 -where no valve of a hydraulic system is actuated, ie, no movement of the monkey.

Mode 2 - where at least one valve is actuated to cause raising of the monkey. Mode 3 - where at least one valve is actuated to allow a slow lowering of the monkey. - Mode 4 - where two valves are actuated to allow an increased exhaust flow

(whether through one or two controlled valves) to allow a fast drop of the monkey.

Many different ways can achieve this outcome whether reliant solely upon hydraulics or other modes of action. Preferably a same lever is required for each of modes 2, 3 and 4 but the other lever is also required for mode 4. Various hydraulic galley type systems with valving biases for valves, etc, can be used to ensure a first lever or button can assume the role for one hand and another lever or button can assume the role for another hand of an operator.

Such controls would preferably be in a zone (such as shown generally by the arrow 5). Shown in Figure 12 is a post 16 adjacent a vehicle carried postdriving apparatus having a mast 13 up which the monkey 14 can be lifted by cable under the action of a single acting hydraulic ram 18. The monkey as shown in Figure 1 is resting on a post cap 15 on top of the post 16.

A person skilled in the art will appreciate how mode 3 for slowly lowering the monkey 14 to the condition as shown in Figure 12 may require the second hand to be free. However, once the alignment has been assured, the ram can be actuated (eg, by one hand or two hands - depends on the hydraulic circuitry) to lift the monkey 14 to the driving drop height. Thereafter the monkey 14 can be allowed to drop back slowly or at speed to the condition ^' as shown in Figure 12 but only when two of the levers of the bank of levers 17 is being held by separate hands of the operator away from the danger 2one. The danger zone is that zone between the monkey 14 and the cap 15, or if the cap 15 is carried by a flexible linkage from the monkey 14, between the cap 15 and the post 16. In use however preferably the cap is fitted on the post in advance of the drop.

A preferred form of the invention is as disclosed in Figures 6 through 11 as a further development beyond the embodiment of Figures 1 to 5. Its use is shown in Figures 13 to 16.

In this second embodiment there is a mast assembly 17 able to be telescoped upwardly in the manner as described in some of the aforementioned patent specifications. It is preferably provided with a main ram guard 18. The monkey 19 preferably has an upstand 20 the function of which will be described shortly.

The monkey is adapted to drive through a post cap assembly 21 which carries a handle 39 or lever operated loop 22 adapted to be positionable over and be retained by the upstand 20 of the monkey 19 during lifting and to be capable of self release when both the monkey 19 and post cap 21 are lowered down with the post cap 21 on to a support (post or otherwise).

The monkey 19 and the post cap 21 includes a constricted opening 23 and 24 respectively in order to be guidably retained in a slidable manner on the flanges 25 of the mast assembly 17.

Carried from outstands 26 of the mast assembly 17 are a pair of rails (preferably tubes) 27 on which the sleeves 28 of the guard 29 for the impact zone is to be mounted so as to be raisable upwardly and downwardly together with the post cap 21. This guard 29 can be mesh enclosed (or otherwise partly enclosed but sufficiently for safety purposes) to allow viewing of the impact zone. The controls are a hydraulic bank of levers 30.

Other features shown in the exploded drawing are the monkey stop 31, a rely pilot valve 32, a valve plate 33, a valve side guard 34, a pilot valve operating lever 35, a stop bolt guide plate 36, a bottom mount 37 and a bolt kit 38.

In the assemblies the loop 22 of the handle 39 can be seen to be sleeved at 40 for pinning by pin 41 to the outstands 42 of the post cap 51. The member 22/39/40 is to be moveable between latch stops under and/or against the action of a spring bias provided by spring 44. Spring 44 is act between 45 of the handle member 39 and 46 of the post cap 51.

The handle arrangement 39 preferably has a plate or other means 49 to restrict access through the gap 50 shown in the guard.

The outstand 47 of the post cap 51 is a rest preferably softened for noise reduction and damage reduction by a rubber or other top pad 48 that fits thereover. The operation will now be described in more detail with reference to Figures 13 to 16. In the mode shown in Figure 13 the guard 29 and the post cap assembly with handle 39 has been lowered. It is possible for an operator to pull the handle 39 against the bias of spring 44 so that loop 22 engages over the top of the upstand 20 of the lowered monkey 19.

Thereafter the monkey 19 can be caused to rise with engagement by the pad 48 of the outstand 47 also lifting the guard cage 29 as the post cap assembly 51 rises with the monkey 19. In this respect see Figures 14 and 15.

Thereafter a post 52 can be interposed under the raised monkey captive post cap assembly 51 and post cap carried safety cage 29.

The cage 29 can then slowly be lowered with the monkey 19 and with the monkey captive post cap assembly 51 onto the top of the post 52 as shown in Figure 16. The provision of underneath support of the post cap assembly 51 by the post 52 then allows the loop 22 to clear the top of the upstand 20 and the bias moves the loop 22 away from its retained condition on and behind the upstand 20.

Thereafter there can be normal operation of the monkey with the post cap assembly not moving upwardly each time with the monkey yet still supporting and allowing downward movement with the driven post and post cap of the safety cage 29. Repeated blows by the monkey can be made with the lowered safety shield not moving with the monkey.

The cage 29 preferably extends at least 300 mm between the impact plane of the monkey on the post cap. In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents is not to be construed as an admission that such documents, or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A postdriver of a kind having a mast guided hammer or monkey ("monkey") and a mast guided post cap selectively carried or not carried upwards with the monkey; wherein a safety shield or cage ("cage") guidably raisable and guidably lowerable can be controlled as to its height by the post cap.

2. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein an operator movable latching handle enables post cap to monkey inter-engagement for lifting of the cage with the post cap and monkey.

3. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein the inter-engagement is self releasing when the post cap is supported on a post top.

4. Apparatus of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the cage is guidable on rails substantially parallel to the mast.

5. Apparatus of claim 4 the cage is three sided, being essentially channel shaped, the tops of the walls to the channels including rail guides.

6. Apparatus of claim 4 or 5 wherein sleeves that run on tubes or rods which are the rails.

7. Apparatus of any one of the preceding claims wherein the cage is latticed.

8. Apparatus of claim 5 or 6 wherein one of the walls of the preferred generally U-shaped form includes an abutment surface up from the bottom of the cage (when in its normal substantially vertical disposition) to enable a leg of the post cap to uplift the cage.

9. Apparatus of any one of the preceding claims said cage has features substantially as herein described with reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

10. A pile or post driver ("post driver") having a shielding structure able to be raised and lowered on guides of and/or relative to a mast structure which guides the monkey or hammer ("monkey"); wherein the monkey and/ or a member or members dependent from it (eg, whether part of a post cap or not) is able to interact with the shielding structure in order to uplift it to allow access to the impact zone or to where at least the top region of a post to be driven is, or is to be, positioned; and wherein lowering of the monkey and a member or members dependent from it ensures the shield structure extends below the impact zone, ie. below where the impact face of the monkey will engage a post or post cap to be driven.

11. Apparatus of claim 10 wherein an operator movable latching handle enables post cap to monkey inter-engagement for lifting of the cage with the post cap and monkey.

12. Apparatus of claim 11 the inter-engagement is self releasing when the post cap is supported on a post top.

13. A kit of combination of components to adapt a postdiiver as aforesaid to one with shielding thereby to provide apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. In a sequence of operation of a post driver of a kind having a mast guided hammer or monkey ("monkey"), a mast guided post cap selectively carried or not carried upwards with the monkey and a safety shield or cage guidably raisable and guidably lowerable relative about the monkey and the post cap, said method comprising or including uplifting the monkey the post cap and the cage, the cage being uplifted by virtue of an interaction between the post cap and the cage, positioning a post to be driven, lowering the post cap down onto the top of the post together with the cage, disengaging or allowing self release of the post cap from the monkey, uplifting the monkey without uplifting the cage, and dropping the monkey on the post cap capping the post to be driven, the zone of interaction of the monkey with the post cap being above the bottom of the cage.

15. A method of claim 14 wherein an operator movable latching handle enables post cap to monkey inter-engagement for lifting of the cage with the post cap and monkey.

16. A method of claim 15 wherein the inter-engagement is self releasing when the post cap is supported on a post top.

17. A method of any one of claims 14 to 16 which includes a hydraulic system and operator control requirement as here described with respect to NZ573429.

18. A method when performed substantially as herein described with or without reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

19. In combination, a monkey and post cap assembly able to be inter-engaged yet to be self releasing.

20. A cage substantially as herein described with or without reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

21. In combination, a post cap with an arm to support a guard and a guard substantially as herein described and/or either components individually.