| CPC E21B 10/44 (2013.01) | 22 Claims |
|
1. An auger system comprising:
(a) a powerhead, wherein the powerhead comprises a frame and a rotatable output shaft configured to be driven by a rotatable output source;
(b) a bit having a first bit end and a second bit end, wherein the first bit end is attachable to the rotatable output shaft via a collar, the second bit end carries a cutting portion for cutting into a medium, the collar includes a passageway extending at least partially through the collar along a direction that is transverse to a rotation axis of the rotatable output shaft, wherein the passageway does not intersect the rotation axis;
(c) a coupler positionable around the collar, wherein the coupler comprises an inner surface positionable to face the collar, an outer surface positionable to face away from the collar, and a pin extending from the inner surface, wherein the pin is positionable in the passageway;
(d) an anchoring device having a first anchoring device end and a second anchoring device end positioned opposite the first anchoring device end along a longitudinal axis of the anchoring device, wherein the first anchoring device end is attachable to the frame and removable from the frame, the second anchoring device end is configured to engage a fixed surface, and the anchoring device comprises a tube (i) passing through the first anchoring device end along a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis or (ii) attached to the first anchoring device end and extending along a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis; and
(e) a pintle assembly, wherein the pintle assembly comprises (i) a rod extending between a first end of the rod and a second end of the rod, (ii) a toggle pivotably attached to the second end of the rod, (iii) a shoulder fixed to the first end of the rod, and (iv) a biasing element on the rod between the shoulder and the toggle;
(f) wherein:
(i) the frame carries two lobes extending from a first side of the frame, wherein, for each lobe, the lobe has an aperture and a ledge below the aperture and that extends from a lateral surface of the lobe, and wherein the lateral surfaces of the lobes face each other such that the ledges extend toward each other;
(ii) the tube is positionable on the ledges and between the lobes;
(iii) the second end of the rod and the toggle are positionable to pass through the apertures and through the tube, wherein when the two lobes are between the toggle and the first end of the rod and the rod extends through the tube and the apertures, the toggle is movable between a first position in which the toggle resists removal of the pintle assembly from the apertures and the tube, and a second position in which the toggle permits removal of the pintle assembly from apertures and the tube;
(iv) when the two lobes are between the toggle and the first end of the rod, the biasing element biases the shoulder away from the lobes and biases the toggle toward the lobes; and
(g) wherein:
(i) the coupler comprises a first arcuate portion pivotably attached to, or pivotably connectable to, a second arcuate portion;
(ii) the first arcuate portion has a first arcuate length, the second arcuate portion has a second arcuate length, and the second arcuate length is greater than the first arcuate length;
(iii) at least one of the first arcuate portion or the second arcuate portion comprises a resilient or elastic material biasing the at least one of the first arcuate portion or the second arcuate portion toward greater curvature;
(iv) the first arcuate portion carries the pin; and
(v) when the first bit end is attached to the rotatable output shaft via the collar, when the pin is positioned in the passageway, and when the second arcuate portion and the first arcuate portion at least partially surround a perimeter of the collar, the pin resists separation of the first bit end from the rotatable output shaft.
|