Powered and manual auger

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for drilling a hole. A hybrid powered and manual auger is disclosed. The auger may include one or more cutting blades coupled to a drive shaft driven by a motor. The auger may further include a manual crank configured to rotate the motor and the drive shaft about a drive axis. The manual crank comprises a U-shaped offset formed by an upper crank arm and a lower crank arm joined by a crank handle portion. The drive shaft can be rotated by the motor alone, by rotation of the manual crank alone, and by a combination of the motor and rotation of the manual crank.

1 . An auger comprising:
 one or more cutting blades configured to penetrate a surface of a material in which a hole is desired;   a drive shaft coupled to the one or more cutting blades and configured to rotate the one or more cutting blades around a drive axis in line with a longitudinal axis of the drive shaft, the cutting blades positioned at a distal end of the drive shaft;   a spiral auger blade extending a length from the one or more cutting blades toward a proximal end of the drive shaft, the spiral auger blade configured to raise debris created by the blades out of the hole as the spiral auger blade is rotated in a drilling direction, the drive shaft coupled to the spiral auger blade and configured to rotate the spiral auger blade around the drive axis in the drilling direction;   a motor coupled to the drive shaft and configured to, when activated, rotate the drive shaft on the drive axis; and   a manual crank coupled to the motor and configured to rotate the motor and the drive shaft about the drive axis, the manual crank comprising a U-shaped offset formed by an upper crank arm and a lower crank arm joined by a crank handle portion,   wherein the drive shaft can be rotated by the motor alone, by rotation of the manual crank alone, and by a combination of the motor and rotation of the manual crank.   
     
     
         2 . An auger of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a hand grip for the manual crank positioned on the crank handle portion, the hand grip rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the crank handle portion and relative to the crank handle portion; and   a trigger on the hand grip of the manual crank to activate the motor.   
     
     
         3 . An auger of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a top handle coupled to the upper crank arm and positioned above and separate from the drive shaft and aligned with the drive axis, the top handle rotatable about the drive axis and relative to the crank arm;   and a trigger on the top handle to activate the motor.   
     
     
         4 . An auger of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a hand grip for the manual crank positioned on the crank handle portion, the hand grip rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the crank handle portion and relative to the crank handle portion;   a trigger on the hand grip of the manual crank to activate the motor;   a top handle coupled to the upper crank arm and positioned above and separate from the drive shaft and aligned with the drive axis, the top handle rotatable about the drive axis and relative to the crank arm;   and a trigger on the top handle to activate the motor,   wherein the drive motor is activated by concurrent activation of the trigger on the hand grip of the manual crank and activation of the trigger on the top handle, such that the two triggers provide a two-button activation safety mechanism by ensuring two hands are positioned on the auger when the motor of the auger is activated.   
     
     
         5 . An auger of  claim 1 , further comprising a breaking mechanism configured to lock the drive shaft relative to the motor to enable the motor to be manually rotated to rotate the drive shaft and the blades. 
     
     
         6 . An auger of  claim 1 , wherein the motor is an electric motor. 
     
     
         7 . An auger of  claim 1 , wherein the motor is a fuel-powered engine. 
     
     
         8 . An auger of  claim 1 , further comprising a two-button activation mechanism to ensure two hands are positioned on the auger when the motor of the auger is activated, the two-button activation mechanism comprising:
 a trigger on a hand grip of the manual crank; and   a trigger on a top handle, the top handle coupled to the upper crank arm and positioned above and separate from the drive shaft and aligned with the drive axis,   wherein the drive motor is activated by concurrent activation of the trigger on the hand grip of the manual crank and activation of the trigger on the top handle, such that the two triggers provide a safety mechanism to ensure two hands are positioned on the auger when the motor of the auger is activated.   
     
     
         9 . An auger comprising:
 a drive shaft configured to rotate on a drive axis in line with a longitudinal axis of the drive shaft;   an auger bit coupled to the drive shaft and configured to be rotated by the drive shaft on the drive axis, the auger bit comprising:
 a bit shank having an elongate shape having a proximal end and distal end, the proximal end configured to releasably couple to the drive shaft; 
 one or more blades disposed at the distal end of the bit shank and configured to penetrate a surface in which the hole is desired as a force is applied down the drive shaft and down the bit shank, the bit shank coupled to the one or more blades and configured to rotate the one or more blades around the drive axis in a drilling direction to cause the blades to bore into the surface; and 
 a spiral auger blade spiraling and extending a length from the one or more blades at the distal end of the bit shank toward the proximal end of the bit shank, the spiral auger blade configured to raise debris created by the blades out of the hole as the spiral auger blade is rotated in the drilling direction, the bit shank coupled to the spiral auger blade and configured to rotate the spiral auger blade around the drive axis in the drilling direction; 
   a motor coupled to the drive shaft and configured to, when activated, rotate the drive shaft on the drive axis and thereby rotate the auger bit; and   a manual crank configured to rotate the motor and the drive shaft about the drive axis, the manual crank comprising a U-shaped offset formed by an upper crank arm and a lower crank arm joined by a crank handle portion,   wherein the drive shaft can be rotated by the motor alone, by rotation of the manual crank alone, and by a combination of the motor and rotation of the manual crank.   
     
     
         10 . An auger of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a top handle coupled to the upper crank arm and positioned above and separate from the drive shaft and aligned with the drive axis, the top handle rotatable about the drive axis and relative to the crank arm;   a hand grip for the manual crank positioned on the crank handle portion, the hand grip rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the crank handle portion and relative to the crank handle portion; and   a trigger on at least one of the top handle and the manual crank to activate the motor.   
     
     
         11 . An auger of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a trigger on the other of the top handle and the manual crank to activate the motor, such that both the top handle and the hand grip include a trigger.   
     
     
         12 . An auger of  claim 11 , wherein the drive motor is activated by concurrent activation of the trigger on the hand grip of the manual crank and activation of the trigger on the top handle, such that the two triggers provide a two-button activation safety mechanism by ensuring two hands are positioned on the auger when the motor of the auger is activated. 
     
     
         13 . An auger of  claim 9 , further comprising a two-button activation mechanism to ensure two hands are positioned on the auger when the motor of the auger is activated, the two-button activation mechanism comprising:
 a trigger on a hand grip of the manual crank; and   a trigger on a top handle, the top handle coupled to the upper crank arm and positioned above and separate from the drive shaft and aligned with the drive axis,   wherein the drive motor is activated by concurrent activation of the trigger on the hand grip of the manual crank and activation of the trigger on the top handle, such that the two triggers provide a safety mechanism to ensure two hands are positioned on the auger when the motor of the auger is activated.   
     
     
         14 . An auger of  claim 9 , further comprising a breaking mechanism configured to lock the drive shaft relative to the motor to enable the motor to be manually rotated to rotate the drive shaft and the blades. 
     
     
         15 . An auger of  claim 9 , wherein the motor is an electric motor. 
     
     
         16 . An auger of  claim 9 , wherein the motor is a fuel-powered engine. 
     
     
         17 . A method of drilling a hole, comprising:
 positioning an auger on a surface where the hole is desired, the auger configured to operate powered and manually, the auger comprising:
 one or more cutting blades configured to penetrate the surface in which the hole is desired; 
 a drive shaft coupled to the one or more cutting blades and configured to rotate the one or more cutting blades around a drive axis in line with a longitudinal axis of the drive shaft, the cutting blades positioned at a distal end of the drive shaft; 
 a spiral auger blade spiraling and extending a length from the one or more cutting blades toward a proximal end of the drive shaft, the spiral auger blade configured to raise debris created by the blades out of the hole as the spiral auger blade is rotated in the drilling direction, the drive shaft coupled to the spiral auger blade and configured to rotate the spiral auger blade around the drive axis in the drilling direction; 
 a motor coupled to the drive shaft and configured to, when activated, rotate the drive shaft on the drive axis; and 
 a manual crank configured to rotate the motor and the drive shaft about the drive axis, the manual crank comprising;
 a U-shaped offset formed by an upper crank arm and a lower crank arm joined by a crank handle portion; 
 a hand grip for the manual crank positioned on the crank handle portion, the hand grip rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the crank handle portion and relative to the crank handle portion, the hand grip including a trigger to activate the motor; and 
 
 a top handle coupled to the upper crank arm and positioned above and separate from the drive shaft and aligned with the drive axis, the top handle rotatable about the drive axis and relative to the crank arm, the top handle including a trigger to activate the motor, 
 wherein the drive motor is activated by concurrent activation of the trigger on the hand grip of the manual crank and activation of the trigger on the top handle; 
   positioning a first hand on the hand grip of the manual crank;   positioning a second hand on the top handle; and   activating the motor to rotate the drive shaft and drill the hole.   
     
     
         18 . The method of drilling a hole of  claim 17 , further comprising rotating the manual crank with the first hand to rotate the drive shaft by a combination of the motor and rotation of the manual crank. 
     
     
         19 . The method of drilling a hole of  claim 17 , wherein activating of the motor includes manipulating one of the trigger on the hand grip and the trigger on the top handle to activate the motor to rotate the drive shaft and drill the hole. 
     
     
         20 . The method of drilling a hole of  claim 17 , wherein the motor of the auger is configured such that activation of the motor requires concurrent manipulation of the trigger on the hand grip and the trigger on the top handle, and wherein activating the motor includes concurrently manipulating the trigger on the hand grip and the trigger on the top handle.