Systems, apparatus and methods for manipulating a ground cover attachment pin
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A power tool comprising:
- a carrier having an upper end and a lower end and being selectively positionable over an attachment pin that secures a first ground cover and a second ground cover;
at least one gripper carried by the carrier and positioned proximate to the lower end of the carrier, the at least one gripper being selectively moveable relative to the carrier between at least one engaged position and at least one disengaged position, the at least one gripper selectively gripping the attachment pin in the engaged position and the at least one gripper not gripping the attachment pin in the disengaged position;
at least one rotator operatively connected to the carrier and positioned proximate to the lower end, the at least one rotator being, engageable with the attachment pin the at least one rotator being configured to rotate the attachment pin from at least one unlocked position to at least one locked position to releasably couple the first and second ground covers together and from at least one locked position to at least one unlocked position to unlock the attachment pin from the first and second ground covers; and
at least one power-driven actuator associated with the carrier and operatively coupled to the at least one rotator and the at least one gripper to selectively rotate the at least one rotator and cause the at least one gripper to move between the engaged and disengaged positions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A power tool for unlocking a releasable attachment pin from at least two ground covers includes at least one gripper carried by a carrier and selectively moveable relative to the carrier to grip a first portion of the attachment pin. At least one rotator also carried by the carrier is selectively rotatable relative to the first portion of the attachment pin to rotate a second portion of the attachment pin to unlock the attachment pin from the ground covers. A power-driven actuator associated with the carrier is operatively coupled to the rotator(s) and configured to selectively rotate the rotator(s).
25 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A power tool comprising:
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a carrier having an upper end and a lower end and being selectively positionable over an attachment pin that secures a first ground cover and a second ground cover; at least one gripper carried by the carrier and positioned proximate to the lower end of the carrier, the at least one gripper being selectively moveable relative to the carrier between at least one engaged position and at least one disengaged position, the at least one gripper selectively gripping the attachment pin in the engaged position and the at least one gripper not gripping the attachment pin in the disengaged position; at least one rotator operatively connected to the carrier and positioned proximate to the lower end, the at least one rotator being, engageable with the attachment pin the at least one rotator being configured to rotate the attachment pin from at least one unlocked position to at least one locked position to releasably couple the first and second ground covers together and from at least one locked position to at least one unlocked position to unlock the attachment pin from the first and second ground covers; and at least one power-driven actuator associated with the carrier and operatively coupled to the at least one rotator and the at least one gripper to selectively rotate the at least one rotator and cause the at least one gripper to move between the engaged and disengaged positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A power tool useful for unlocking a releasable attachment pin from at least first and second ground covers, the power tool comprising:
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a carrier having an upper end and a lower end and being selectively positionable over the attachment pin and first and second ground covers; at least one gripper carried by the carrier and positioned proximate to the lower end of the carrier, the at least one gripper being selectively moveable relative to the carrier between at least one engaged position and at least one disengaged position, the at least one gripper in at least one engaged position gripping the attachment pin and the at least one gripper in the disengaged position not gripping the attachment pin, wherein the at least one gripper is selectively moveable axially toward the upper end of the carrier to extract the attachment pin from the first and second ground covers when the at least one gripper is in an engaged position and gripping the attachment pin and the attachment pin is in an unlocked position; at least one rotator carried by the carrier and positioned proximate to the lower end of the carrier, the at least one rotator being distinct from the at least one gripper, engageable with the attachment pin and selectively rotatable relative to the carrier, the at least one gripper, the attachment pin, and the first and second ground covers to rotate the attachment pin from at least one locked position to at least one unlocked position to unlock the attachment pin from the first and second ground covers; and at least one power-driven actuator associated with the carrier and operatively coupled to the at least one rotator to selectively rotate the at least one rotator. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A power tool for operating an attachment pin that selectively joins a first ground cover to a second ground cover, the power tool comprising:
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a carrier; first and second grippers carried by the carrier, the first and second grippers being selectively axially and selectively radially shiftable relative to the carrier; a rotator extending axially outwardly of the carrier between the first and second grippers, the rotator being extendable through a first portion of the attachment pin into engagement with a second portion of the attachment pin, the rotator being configured to rotate the second portion of the attachment pin relative to the first portion of the attachment pin to releasably couple the first and second ground covers; and at least one power-driven actuator associated with the carrier and operatively coupled to the rotator. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A power tool useful for securing an attachment pin into and out of locking engagement with at least first and second ground covers and extracting the attachment pin from the first and second ground covers, the attachment pin extending at least partially through aligned holes in the first and second ground covers and being selectively rotatable relative to the first and second ground covers between at least one locked position and at least one unlocked position to respectively couple and uncouple the first and second ground covers together, the power tool comprising:
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a carrier having an upper end and a lower end and being selectively positionable over the attachment pin; at least one gripper carried by the carrier and positioned proximate to the lower end of the carrier, the at least one gripper being selectively moveable into and out of gripping engagement with the attachment pin, rotatable relative to the first and second ground covers and moveable away from the first and second ground covers, whereby when the at least one gripper is in gripping engagement with the attachment pin, the at least one gripper is rotatable to rotate the attachment pin between locked and unlocked positions and when the at least one gripper is in gripping engagement with the attachment pin and the attachment pin is in an unlocked position, the at least one gripper is moveable axially away from the first and second ground covers to remove the attachment pin therefrom; and at least one power-driven actuator carried by the carrier and operatively coupled to the at least one of gripper to selectively rotate the at least one gripper relative to the first and second ground covers and selectively move the at least one gripper up and away from the first and second ground covers.
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Specification