AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Invention Title: A Modular Garden Bed Assembly Applicants: Neill Bosch Simon Bird The following statement is a full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to me.
-2 TECHNICAL FIELD The invention described herein relates to a garden bed assembly. In particular, the invention is directed to a modular garden bed assembly and to a kit for a modular garden bed assembly, although the scope of the invention is not necessarily limited thereto. 5 BACKGROUND ART In recent years, it has become the practice of many property owners, particularly those in suburban areas, to grow their own vegetables. As is known, it is usually necessary for a gardener to use a raised garden bed in which soil is retained. Raised garden beds are provided in many forms. The most basic form is one which uses timber shuttering which encloses a 0 volume into which the soil is placed prior to planting. Other basic forms are those which use construction blocks or rocks to enclose and retain the soil. A problem with such garden beds is that they are not readily stored and transported, either because of their size or weight. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 5 According to a first embodiment of the invention, there is provided a modular garden bed assembly which comprises a plurality of garden bed members, each garden bed member including a wall and a connecting arrangement on each of a pair of opposed, operatively vertical ends of the wall, the garden bed members arranged consecutively with respect to each other, with connecting 20 arrangements of respective consecutive walls connected to each other so that the walls bound a volume in which soil for planting can be retained by the walls. Each connecting arrangement may include a series of openings defined in respective said vertical edges of the walls such that the openings in consecutive walls can be brought into register with each other when said vertical ends of the consecutive walls overlap to permit the 25 walls to be fastened to each other with fasteners received through the openings. The invention thus provides a means whereby a garden bed assembly can be supplied in a relatively compact manner. This allows the garden bed assembly to be sold at retail outlets in which the customer generally packs and transports purchased items in his or her own vehicle. As the DIY market has grown, such retail outlets have become more and more popular.
-3 Thus, according to a second embodiment of the invention, there is provided a kit for a modular garden bed assembly, the kit comprising a plurality of garden bed members, each garden bed member including a wall and a connecting arrangement on each of a pair of opposed operatively vertical ends of the wall, such 5 that the garden bed members can be arranged consecutively with respect to each other, the connecting arrangements of respective consecutive walls being capable of being connected to each other so that the walls can bound a volume in which soil for planting can be retained by the walls. It will be appreciated that the garden bed members can take a number of different 0 shapes. For ease of packing and storage, the garden bed members may be shaped to facilitate nesting of the garden bed members in a pre-assembled configuration. Each wall may be in the form of a length of corrugated metal sheeting, for example, of the type used in construction and fabrication of storage containers such as water tanks. The corrugated metal sheeting may also be of the type used for roofing, which is of a thicker gauge 5 than the water tank material. The openings may be positioned in peaks and troughs of respective operatively vertical edges to facilitate registration of the openings. Said fasteners received through the openings may be in the form of nut and bolt arrangements. The modular garden bed assembly may include a protective beading strip that can be 20 positioned on an upper, operatively horizontal edge of the walls to protect a user against cuts. In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practice, one or more preferred embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is merely for the purpose of allowing a person of ordinary skill in the art to carry out preferred embodiment/s of the 25 invention. Accordingly, the following description is not intended to limit the scope of the preceding paragraphs or of the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 shows a plan view of a modular garden bed assembly, in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, assembled with a kit, in accordance with a second 30 embodiment of the invention, for a garden bed assembly.
-4 Figure 2 shows a longer side of the modular garden bed assembly. Figure 3 shows a shorter side of the modular garden bed assembly. Figure 4 shows detail of a connecting arrangement of the modular garden bed assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 5 In figures 1, 2 and 3, reference numeral 10 generally indicates a garden bed assembly, in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention, assembled with a kit, in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, for a garden bed assembly. The kit can readily be ascertained from the drawings. The garden bed assembly 10 includes a number of garden bed members 12. In this 0 example, there are twelve garden bed members 12 assembled together to form a rectangular garden bed with rounded corners. Four of the garden bed members 12.1 are arcuate in plan profile and are substantially identical to each other to provide the rounded corners. The remaining eight garden bed members 12.2 are substantially straight and identical to each other. It follows that the garden bed members 12 can readily be stacked together for storage and 5 transport, particularly by the end user. Thus, this embodiment of the invention is particularly suited for display and sale at retail outlets targeted at end users. Each garden bed member 12 includes a wall 14. The wall 14 is of corrugated metal sheeting, such as that used for construction and fabrication of storage containers such as water tanks. The metal sheeting can also be of the type which is used as roofing, which is of a thicker 20 gauge than the water tank material. Such metal sheeting is usually of galvanised steel or aluminium, which makes it particularly suited for outdoor use, and particularly for retaining soil. Each member 12 has a pair of connecting arrangements 16 on opposite, operatively vertical edges 18 for connecting the members to each other. More specifically, the connecting 25 arrangements 16 each include a series of openings 20 defined in the vertical edges 18. The walls 14 are arranged with respect to each other so that the edges 18 overlap with the openings 20 in register with each other. The openings 20 are defined in respective peaks and troughs of the walls 14 to facilitate alignment of the openings 20. The connecting arrangements 16 include fasteners 22 that are received through 30 respective pairs of corresponding openings 20 to fasten the members 12 to each other. Each -5 fastener 22 is in the form of a bolt and nut combination, such as a bolt 24 and wing-nut 26 combination to facilitate assembly of the garden bed without tools. The garden bed assembly 10 includes a protective beading strip 28. The strip 28 can be arranged on an upper, operatively horizontal edge of the members 12 to protect a user against 5 cuts. Instead of the bolt and nut combinations, the connecting arrangements 16 can take a number of different forms. For example, the walls 14 can be clipped to each other with complementary clipping arrangements. Furthermore, the bolt and nut combinations can be replaced with rivets. Still further, flanges can be provided on respective vertical edges 18, the 0 flanges being brought into abutment and fastened to each other for assembling the garden bed. It will readily be appreciated that assembling the garden bed assembly 10 is a simple matter of placing the garden bed members 12 in position on a substrate and fastening the edges 18 to each other with the bolts 24 and wing-nuts 26, by hand. Furthermore, the garden bed assembly 10 can be supplied to the end user in a relatively compact package for transport by 5 the end user. The fact that the walls 14 are of corrugated metal sheeting allows the garden bed assembly 10 to have a weight suitable for lifting and carrying by most able-bodied end-users or consumers. It will also be appreciated that the garden bed members 12 can be provided in a number of different shapes to suit differently sized and shaped garden bed assemblies. For example, an 20 embodiment of a modular wall assembly or kit can include four of the arcuate members 12.1. In another example, there can be provided four or more of the straight members 12.2 only. Furthermore, by providing various numbers and sets of the garden bed members 12, a consumer can combine or split kits of the invention to achieve larger or more garden bed assemblies of different shapes. 25 Applicant envisages that the garden bed members 12 can be of materials other than corrugated metal sheeting. For example, the garden bed members 12 can be of a plastics material or of fibre glass or of any other material which is both weather-resistant and of a weight that facilitates transport, packaging and sale at retail outlets which supply direct to the end-user. 30 The foregoing embodiments are illustrative only of the principles of the invention, and various modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The invention is -6 capable of being practiced and carried out in various ways and in other embodiments. It is also to be understood that the terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The term "comprise" and variants of the term such as "comprises" or "comprising" are 5 used herein to denote the inclusion of a stated integer or stated integers but not to exclude any other integer or any other integers, unless in the context or usage an exclusive interpretation of the term is required.