Protective sleeve for posts

Abstract

The invention of this application is a protective sleeve for posts, such as fence posts, which are placed in the ground and cemented in place. The use of the protective sleeve increases the useful life of the post and makes it easy to replace a broken post without removing the concrete.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A protective sleeve for a post, the post having a cross sectional shape, comprising: 
 a) an elongate body with a cross sectional shape similar to the cross sectional shape of the post, the elongate body having two substantially open ends, an outer surface and an inner surface, and    b) a plurality of axial protrusions emanating into the elongate body from said inner surface, such that said protective sleeve is capable of accepting the post within the elongate body inside of the axial protrusions.    
     
     
         2 . The protective shield of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of axial protrusions define an inner volume bounded by the axial protrusions and the protective sleeve is capable of accepting the post within a tolerance of touching any axial protrusion.  
     
     
         3 . The protective sleeve of  claim 2  wherein the protective sleeve has a height such that when a portion of the post is placed below ground level, the protective sleeve is capable of accepting the portion and extending above ground level.  
     
     
         4 . The protective sleeve of  claim 3  wherein the protrusions have a triangular shape in a cross section drawn perpendicular to the height of the elongate body.  
     
     
         5 . The protective sleeve of  claim 3  wherein the protrusions have a “T” shape in a cross section drawn perpendicular to the height of the elongate body.  
     
     
         6 . The protective sleeve of  claim 3  wherein the elongate body has a generally rectangular cross-section having four corners, such that a rectangular cross sectioned post having four corners will fit within the elongate body without the corners of the post touching the corners of the body.  
     
     
         7 . The protective sleeve of  claim 3  wherein the elongate body has a generally circular cross-section.  
     
     
         8 . The protective sleeve of  claim 3  wherein the protective sleeve comprises a durable plastic.  
     
     
         9 . The protective sleeve of  claim 8  wherein the elongate body and plurality of axial protrusions are a single integral structure formed by extruding plastic through at least one die.  
     
     
         10 . The protective sleeve of  claim 9  wherein the protective sleeve has a generally rectangular shape and the plurality of protrusions have a triangular shape in a cross section drawn perpendicular to the height of the elongate body and wherein the durable plastic comprises polyvinyl chloride.  
     
     
         11 . The protective sleeve of  claim 9  wherein the protective sleeve has a generally circular shape and the plurality of protrusions have a triangular shape in a cross section drawn perpendicular to the height of the elongate body.  
     
     
         12 . The protective sleeve of  claim 10  further comprising a rectangular post therein and at least one screw extending through the protective sleeve into the post.  
     
     
         13 . The protective sleeve of  claim 11  further comprising a circular post therein and at least one screw extending through the protective sleeve into the post.  
     
     
         14 . A method of placing a post in the ground, comprising the acts of: 
 a) providing a hole in the ground;    b) placing an end of a post in a protective sleeve, wherein the protective sleeve comprises an elongate body with a cross sectional shape similar to the shape of the cross sectional shape of the post having two open ends, an outer surface and an inner surface, and a plurality of axial protrusions emanating into the elongate body from said inner surface, such that said protective sleeve is capable of accepting the post within the body inside of the axial protrusions;    c) placing the protective sleeve into the ground, and    d) filling the hole around the protective sleeve.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the act of filling the hole comprises adding concrete to the hole.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the act of providing a hole further comprises the acts of adding gravel into the bottom of he hole before adding concrete to the hole and placing at least one screw through the protective sleeve into the post.  
     
     
         17 . A post embedded in the ground according to  claim 15 .  
     
     
         18 . A post embedded in the ground according to  claim 16 .  
     
     
         19 . A method of building a removable fence section comprising the acts of: 
 a) providing three fence sections, the removable fence section and two adjacent fence sections, each fence section being between two fence posts,    b) providing two holes in the ground each hole being located to accept one fence post from the removable fence section and one fence post from one of the adjacent fence sections;    c) placing a protective sleeve in each of the two holes, wherein the protective sleeve comprises an elongate body with a cross sectional shape suitable for holding two fence posts, having two open ends, an outer surface and an inner surface, and a plurality of axial protrusions emanating into the body from said inner surface, such that said protective sleeve is capable of accepting two fence posts within the body inside of the axial protrusions, and wherein each protective sleeve extends above its hole;    d) filling the holes around each the two protective sleeves;    e) placing a pair of fence posts in each of the two protective sleeves, where a pair of fence posts consists of one fence post from the removable fence section and one fence post from one of the adjacent fence posts in each of the protective sleeves;    f) placing at least one shim between each pair of fence posts in a protective sleeve; and    g) placing at least one screw into each fence post in a protective sleeve, whereby the removable section may be removed by removing the at least one screw though each of its fence post and removing each of the at least one shims adjacent to each of its fence posts.    
     
     
         20 . A removable fence section constructed according to  claim 19.