Geomatic pole support and foot therefor
A support for geomatic equipment such as a geomatic pole has feet which facilitate stability of the pole. The feet are constructed to resist forces applied along legs of the support to which they are connected in both directions, including forces which tend to lift the feet upward. The foot is formed to readily penetrate certain surfaces and to resist withdrawal from the surfaces after penetration. In one embodiment, a fixed connection to the underlying surface may be achieved. The foot is also constructed to resist rotation of the foot and leg to which it is attached which could cause instability of the support.
1. A leg for use in supporting geomatic equipment, the leg having opposite elongate sides and adapted to be mounted for pivoting motion, a foot on a free end of the leg including a ground penetration portion shaped to penetrate ground on which the support is resting to facilitate securement of the support, said ground penetration portion having a tip, the tip being disposed inwardly of the free end of the leg so that the tip is adapted for positioning generally under the leg upon penetration of the foot into the ground such that the support resists forces in both directions along the length of the leg to maintain stability of the support, the foot having a mount thereon adapted for mounting articles on the foot.
2. A leg for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 1 wherein the mount is formed for tongue in groove connection of an article thereto.
3. A leg for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 2 wherein the mount is formed for bolted connection of an article thereto.
4. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment comprising:
a first leg for use in supporting the geomatic equipment, the first leg having opposite elongate sides and adapted to be mounted for pivoting motion, a foot on a free end of the first leg including a ground penetration portion shaped to penetrate the ground on which the support is resting to facilitate securement of the support, said ground penetration portion having a tip, the tip being disposed inwardly of the free end of the first leg so that the tip is adapted for positioning generally under the first leg upon penetration of the foot into the ground such that the support resists forces in both directions along the length of the first leg to maintain stability of the support,
a second leg the second leg having opposite elongate sides and adapted to be mounted for pivoting motion, a foot on a free end of the second leg including a ground penetration portion shaped to penetrate the ground on which the support is resting to facilitate securement of the support, said ground penetration portion having a tip, the tip being disposed inwardly of the free end of the second leg so that the tip is adapted for positioning generally under the second leg upon penetration of the foot into the ground such that the support resists forces in both directions along the length of the second leg to maintain stability of the support, the first and second legs being operable to support the geomatic equipment,
a head on which the legs are pivotally mounted, the head being adapted for releasable connection to a geomatic pole, and
a locking mechanism adapted to lock the legs in a fixed position against pivoting relative to the head.
5. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 4 wherein each foot further comprises a pedal including a foot engagement surface lying generally in a plane intersecting a longitudinal axis of the respective leg at an angle of greater than or equal to about 135 degrees thereby to facilitate driving the ground penetration portion into the ground at an angle.
6. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 5 wherein the foot further comprises a sleeve receiving an end portion of the respective leg and connecting the foot to the leg, the sleeve, ground penetration portion and pedal being formed as one piece.
7. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 4 wherein said ground penetration portion has barbs formed thereon adapted to resist withdrawal of the foot from the ground upon penetration of the ground.
8. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 7 wherein the barbs are arranged in generally parallel, spaced apart rows.
9. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 7 wherein said ground penetration portion comprises a first wall and a second wall intersecting the first wall at generally right angles therewith whereby the ground penetration portion is generally “T” shaped in cross section.
10. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 4 wherein said ground penetration portion comprises a first wall and a second wall intersecting the first wall at generally right angles therewith whereby the ground penetration portion is generally “T” shaped in cross section.
11. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 4 wherein said ground penetration portion has a transverse dimension larger than any other portion of the foot.
12. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 4 wherein each of the legs comprises first and second sections, the first and second sections being telescopingly interconnected for extension and retraction of the first section relative to the second section to selectively lengthen or shorten the leg, the first and second sections being fixed relative to one another against rotation about the longitudinal axis of the leg whereby the foot is held in a fixed rotational position.
13. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 12 further comprising a releasable locking device for locking the first and second sections of the leg in a selected position of extension.
14. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 4 further comprising a third leg adapted for releasable connection to the geomatic pole for pivoting inwardly and outwardly with respect to the head, a foot on a free end of the third leg having a ground penetration portion shaped to penetrate the ground on which the support is resting to facilitate securement of the support, said ground penetration portion having a tip, the tip being disposed inwardly of the free end of the third leg so that the tip is adapted for positioning generally under the third leg upon penetration of the foot into the ground such that the support resists forces in both directions along the length of the third leg to maintain stability of the support.
15. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 4 wherein the tip is positioned relative to the respective leg whereby upon penetration into the ground a portion of the ground is disposed between at least one of the tip and the leg and the foot and the leg.
16. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 4 wherein the ground penetrating portion includes a boundary surface defining a greatest interior angle between a centerline of the leg and the ground penetrating portion, the greatest internal angle being less than 150°.
17. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 16 wherein the greatest interior angle is less than or equal to about 120°.
18. A support for use in supporting geomatic equipment as set forth in claim 16 wherein the boundary surface is defined by a first wall of the ground penetrating portion.