CA1290545C - Marker post system - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure A boundary marking system comprising cylindrical receptacles having relatively large plates flush with one end and adapted to be installed in the ground with the plate at ground level. A marker stake which is color coded to the top of the plate is placed in the receptacle through a hole in the plate so that the stake extends a foot or so above ground to mark a boundary. Because of the color coding, installation and replacement of the stakes is facilitated. Moreover the particular character of the marked boundary may be perceived not only by the color of the stake, but also by the color of the flush plate even if the stake is missing. A hole maker to facilitate installation of the receptacle is also disclosed.

Description

M~P~KER POST S~STEM
___. _ Introduc~ion This invention relates ~o boundary marlser systems and the like and more particularly to a method and apparat.ls foe convenien~ly marking tlle boundarie~ cf a playing fleld such as a golf course using inexpensive and easily maintained app~ratu~.

BackqroJnd of the Invention It is common to define both exterior boundaries and lateral hazards of a golf course with painted stakes which are driven into tn~- ground;
exterior boundary stakes are typically white, lateral hazard markers are typically red and water hazards are typically yellow.
~ lthough the stakes are usually made of wood and are therefore inexpensive to fabricate, they creatc a ma.~n~enance problem due to ~he fact tl.at they are rela'i~--ly imm3bi.1~ 2~d often interfere ;ith the go]ferl. ~bility to take a proper stand for a stroke.
More spe~ifically, a ball wllich comes to rest ~g ~ X90~;45 - -LMC-O~ n -- ~ 15A6 sufficiently clos~ t~ a marker stake so as to interfere with the swing or tne line of flight presen~s the golfer with the need to either move the ball, which is an infraction o the rules of golf, or remove the ;~ake.
If the stake is relatively loose in the ground, it may be summarily removed and dispatched by the gGlfer where upon it must be found and replaced b,~ the maintenance crew.
Moreover, stakes which are simply driven into the ground present obstacles to golf couese maintenance personnel in that they interfere with the use of mowing equipment. Again, the area immediately around the stake must either be left uncut or laboriously trimmed by hand. Alternatively, the mower operator can stop the mower, remove the stake, mow the area and replace the ;!1 stake, a time consuming process.

Summary of ~h~ Invention Erlefly summ~rized, the invention ~s a sv~s~em for marking boundaries and for providing removab2e above gr~uhd sta'~e-lilce structures in such a fashio. as ~:c faciiitate installati~ " maintenance -~ e~ten replacement. In general the combinatJon o the in~ention comprises a receptacle for in-groun~

~0~;4~
LMC-~10 ~-3 15A6 installatiolland comprising a generally cylindrical body of rigid material such as steel or plastic having at least one open end ~nd a ~late which is fastened to the body slibstantially fl-lsh with ~he open end. By this arrangement the rece~t~cle may be pushed into a premade hole in ~he earth with the plate at ground level. The ~latt is forn!ed with an aperture which is coextensive with the open end of the body and hence the plate prorinently marks the location of the receptacle. The combin~ ion further comprises a stake or post which i8 of such diameter as to easily fit within the receptacle throu~h the opening in the plate and of such length as to extend and show substantiall~ above the plate~ By this arrangement the stake may be easily and readily removeA and a mower run over the flush plate and the stake quickly and inexpensively put back in place.
Moreover the stake may be replaced if it is removed and inadvertently lost.
In the preferred embodiment both the plate and ~he ~take are marked with identical indicia such as colo~ so a~; ~o associate the receptacle and stake with one another and also to provide a back-up marking system for the golfer in the e~ent the stake is removed and lost before he appears on the scene; i.e., the golfer 1~54S

can identify a lateral boundary marking simply by observing the red surface on the flush plate.
The invention, when assembled as a kit or product combination may further include a hole maker comprising a post-like device having a sharpened end and a foot plate and spacer which is spaced from the sharpened end by the effective length of the marker receptacle.
The method of the invention for marking boundaries comprises the steps of forming a substantially cylindrical hole in the earth of length L with a hole maker device; withdrawing the hole maker device from the earth to expose the formed cylindrical hole; rigidly securing a plate having a specific indicia to the upper end of a cylindrical receptacle of length L; placing the rigid cylindrical receptacle in said hole so that the plate lies substantially at ground level with its indicia exposed to view; providing a stake having a specific indicia corresponding to the indicia of said plate and having a length X sub'stantially greater than the length L; and placing the stake within the implanted receptacle so that a substantial length of the stake shows above the plate and the indicia of the exposed stake visually matches the indicia of the plate.
Again the receptacle plate and the stake are preferably color matched not only for association but for back-up marking purposes as described above.

1~90545 - 4a In the drawings, FIGURE 1 iS a view of a boundary marked with the use of a device incorporating the invention;
FIGURE 2 iS a side view of an installed device incorporating the invention;
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the receptacle part of the system; and ~ ,~

129~5~5 LMC-OlO ~~~ 15A6 FIGURE 4 is a side view of a hole-maker.

D~tailed nescri~tion of the ~pe~ific Eml~odiment Fi~ure 1 sho~7s a Serie of marker stakes 12, 12a and 12b inser~ed in~o recep.a~les exhibi~lrg plates 1~, lGa and 1~b, respec'i~ely, which are f]ush w-~tn the ground. The stakes 12, 12a and 12b are arranged essenti~lly in a line and, for purposes of illustration, represent the out-of-bounds boundary of a gol~ course.
Both the stakes 12, 12a and 12b and the plates 10, lOa and lQb of the associated rece~tacles are, accordingly, white in color.
Looking now to Figures 2 and 3 tne specific construction of the receptacle and stake structure will be described in greater detail.
As shown in Figure 2 the receptacle 14 comprises an essentially cylindrical body which may be fabricate~ from a rigid and durable material such as plastic or steel, is on the order of 6 to 10 inches in axial length and on the order of 1 1/2 inches in outside diameter. These dimensions are OL course merely illustrative and it should also be noted that the term "cylindricaln, as used herein, does not necessarily denote a regular and circular cross sectional configuration so much as it denotes a sleeve-like body;

lZ~05fl5 LMC-Oln --~ 15A6 in short, cross sectiona] shape is unimport.ant and can be oblong, square or what.have you. The receptacle 14 has open ends and has fastened thereto, flush with the upper open end, a 4-inch diameter plate 10 which is also constructed o~ a rigic1 and durable material such as plastic or steel. The plate is provided with tangs 1~
which may generate a friction fit with the receptacle body 14 although, in the case of plastic, it may be advisable to utilize an adhesive to secure the plate 10 to the receptacle body 14 and, in the case of steel, it may be desirable to weld. The plate, as illustrated in Figure 1, can be round, but shape is not important; it has a central aperture which is coextensive with the open upper end of the receptacle b~dy 14 for purposes of admitting the stake 12.
Stake 12 is a relati~ely lightweight plastic or somewhat less li.ghtweight steel post of approxil~ately 20 to 24 inches in length and is of a diameter which will permit it to be easily an~ non-frictionally inserted into the receptacle 14 when the receptacle is in.s~alled in the ground with the plate 10 ilu~h with the surface of the ground as shown in Figure 2. Of course, it can also be wood..

129()S~5 Recept~cle l4 i~ preferably provided with ~
ser1e~ of bzrb~like t3ngs 18 and 20 ~/hi.ch are angled in the upwardly diLection to inhibit the remosral o~ the recep~acle 14 from the in-ground ins~.all.ation shown in ~'igure 2~
To inst.all the receptacle 14 in the ground it i~a pref~rable to provide a hole maker of the type shown in F~gu--e 4. The hole make{ i~ a relatively simple but sturdy device and comprises a 4 foot length of steèl pipe 22 having braised or welded into the end thereof a solid steel piercinq point 24 to facilitate the entry of the hole maker into the ground. A step plate 26 is welded to th~ exterior surface of the pipe 22 approximately 6 to 8 inches form the piercing point 24 so as to correspond in length to the length of ~.ne receptacle 14. If necessary to form holes in hard ground, a loose fitting pile dri.ver qlee-Je 28 OL ste21 r:,ay he loose]y di3posed about th~ pipe 22 so tha,t it may be oper~ted in the manner of a ram against t.he reaction surface provided b~ step plate 26 to drive the pie.cing point 24 lnto the ground. The hole which is made corresponds in both diameter and length to the receptacle 14 so that th~ receptacle may be easily but snuggly pushed into the hole.

~Z9VS~5 LMC~ 8 15A6 ~ rhe overall instal]ation procedure is as follows. First a h~le of 6 to 8 inches in length and apprG~imately 1 1/2 inches in ~i~ameter ls formed by drivin~, the piercing point 14 of the pipe 22 irito the ground until the step plate 26 is flush with the ground.
The hole maker comprislng pipe 22, pile driver ram 28 and step plate 2~ is then removed fr Jn the hole. Next the receptacle 14 is pushed into the hole until the flush ~late 10 is at ground level, ~ stake 12 is ther, droppeQ into the hole~
Yor maximum benefit from the system of the invention indicia such as surface color are provided for both the flush plate 1~ and the st;ke 12 and the indicia of the plate 10 and stake 12 are ma.ched. ~here color is the indicia, and this is preferred, both the exposed, viewable surface of the plate 10 and the exterior --urface of the stake 12 are, for example, red. This indicates a lateral hazard boundary and, even if the stake 12 were to be removed and discarded, the alert golfer will be able to perceive the location and character of the boundary simply by observing the color of the plate 10. The same color match makes it a ~elatively simple matter for the inst~ller o ~he syste, or ~h- ,arson~el wno replace s~akes during the season or ~90545 LMC-OlO --9 15~6 in the sprln~, to match stakes 12 wi~h plates 10 at the various marked boundaries.
It is feasible, although le5s desirable, to mark the plates 10 and s~akes l with other indicia such as "0~", "L~ and so forth. In addition to marking plating boundaries on a golf course tne receptacle and sLake arrang~lment of the present invention may be used to mark other boundari~s or simply ~o establish a fence line. In this regard it is possible to place adapters on top of the stakes l2 and srring lightweight chain link ~encing ~o e~tabllsh a low level and primarily decorative fence line.
It is self-evident that the stakes 12 may be conitructed of varions materidls including no~ only piastic and steel but wood and other inexpensive and durable materials. They may be hollow or solid and, as with the receptacle 14, cross sectional shape is of little or no consequence so long as it is essentially compatible with the cross sectional configuration of the receptacle 14.

-

Claims (10)

Claims

1. A boundary marker system comprising:
a receptacle for in-ground installation comprising a cylindrical body having at least one open end;
a separate plate fastened to said body substantially flush with said end to mark the location of said receptacle when installed in the ground with said plate at ground level;
said plate having indicia and having an aperture therein coextensive with the open end of said body; and a stake of diametral size to fit easily within said body, of substantially greater length than said body so as to extend and show above ground level when placed within said receptacle, and having an indicia corresponding to the indicia of said plate to facilitate matching of specific plate indicia with specific stake indicia.

2. A system as defined in claim 1 wherein said system includes a plurality of receptacles, a plurality of plates having a plurality of different indicia, and a plurality of stakes having a plurality of different indicia corresponding to the different indicia of said plates whereby to facilitate placement of the respective stakes of different indicia in the receptacles having plates of respective corresponding indicia.

3. A system as defined in claim 2 wherein said indicia is color.

4. A system as defined in claim 1 and further including barb-like tangs on the exterior surface of said receptacle body to inhibit removal of said body from an in-ground installation.

5. A system as defined in claim 1 wherein said stake is constructed of plastic.

6. A system as defined in claim 1 wherein said system further includes a hole maker device for use in the installation of said receptacle comprising a manually manipulable post having a diameter approximating the outside diameter of said receptacle body and a sharpened distal end, and a step plate on said post spaced from said distal end by the length of said receptacle body.

7. A method of marking boundaries comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a substantially cylindrical hole in the earth of length L with a hole maker device;
(b) withdrawing the hole maker device from the earth to expose the formed cylindrical hole;
(c) rigidly securing a plate having a specific indicia to the upper end of a cylindrical receptacle of length L;
(d) placing the rigid cylindrical receptacle in said hole so that the plate lies substantially at ground level with its indicia exposed to view;
(e) providing a stake having a specific indicia corresponding to the indicia of said plate and having a length X substantially greater than the length L; and (f) placing the stake within the implanted receptacle so that a substantial length of the stake shows above the plate and the indicia of the exposed stake visually matches the indicia of the plate.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the indicia is color.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein:
a plurality of receptacles are provided;
a plurality of plates having a plurality of different indicia are provided a plurality of stakes having a plurality of different indicia corresponding to the different indicia of the plates are provided; and the respective stakes of different indicia are selectively placed in the receptacles having the plates of respective corresponding indicia to provide a boundary marker system incorporating a plurality of matching plate and stake indicia corresponding to a plurality of different boundary system criteria.

10. A method of claim 9 wherein the indicia is color.