AU3647400A - Composting tool - Google Patents

Description

Page 1

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION of PETTY PATENT For a COMPOSTING TOOL The following statement is a full description of this Invention, including the best method of performing it known to me.

Page 2 COMPOSTING TOOL This invention relates to a device to assist gardeners in the manufacture of garden compost. The device is described as a COMPOSTING TOOL.

Various garden compost bins are in use from relatively expensive rotating bins to simple static bins often in the form of a plastic cylinder open at the bottom with a lid.

Lawn clippings, leaf, vegetable matter, sawdust, manure etc.

are placed in the bin to be broken down to form a compost To perform this process the contents should be aerated and mixed by turning over frequently resulting in an accelerated aerobic breakdown of material.

:°oooo A typical static bin is in the order of 600 mm. diameter by 700 mm. high which makes it difficult to perform work on the bin's contents. Conventional garden tools forks) are not satisfactory as they cannot work effectively to the full depth because of confined nature of the bin. A degree of aeration can be achieved by rods or prods and vents, these fall short of the good mixing and aeration that is required.

Gardeners usually find it necessary to empty the contents of the bin and use conventional tools to mix and then replace contents in the bin for further composting. This is relatively hard and time consuming work and often leads to neglect.

The Composting Tool is presented to provide an effective operation (refer to page 6) to work within these static compost bins.

Description of Compostin Tool To assist in understanding the invention reference is made to the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 shows the principal features of the Composting Tool.

Fig. 2 illustrates the operation of the Composting Tool.

The Composting Tool as shown in Fig.l consists of a member formed into a spiral form helix) at one end, a straight shaft and a handle at the other end.

The simple spiral form is of fundamental importance because of the ease of penetration it's streamline shape offers to enable it to access any position within the compost bin.

The Composting Tool is operated, manually, as shown in Fig 2.

in a vertical or near vertical position within the compost bin. The handle is rotated and the tool's spiral screws easily into the contents to the required position. This it does with Page 3 little disturbance of the compost material's structure within the spiral form at that position.

Then, without rotation, the Composting Tool is lifted upwards, and the spiral form captures, supports, protects and lifts this plug of compost material. This displacement of material results in a void which induces (sucks) air flow through the compost material to this area. As the tool continues to rise additional voiding, aeration and agitation occurs. This plug of compost may then be transferred to other points of the bin to repeat the procedure and so work through and turn over the contents of the bin. Alternatively plugs of completed compost may be transferred from the bin for use by the gardener.

The component features of the Composting Tool are now described with reference to the numbers shown in Fig. 1.

The Composting Tool performs effectively constructed to the dimensions (see note 1) as follows.

1-Diameter of spiral: (refer to Note 120 mm.

**.The form is nominally parallel.

2-Pitch of spiral: 70 mm. Helix angle can be either right or left hand right hand is preferred 3-Leading end of spiral is preferably pointed.

number of turns in the spiral form can be several, not less than 1-3/4. Two is sufficient for the configuration now described.

transition from the spiral leads to the shaft so that their axis are aligned.

6-Any material that combines strength and a relatively small cross section so that the spiral form can readily penetrate and yet have strength to carry out all the operations without breakage or permanent distortion can be used for the Composting Tool. Steel rod, preferably rust resistant is satisfactory.

7-Shaft 8-Handle, as shown, is in the form of a combined crank and tee although other forms such as tee or wheel and also composite construction are suitable.

9-Overall length of Composting Tool (800 mm.) suits an average bin height and offers a convenient working height for an adult. (See Note 2) Note 1. The volume of the captured plug is a function of the spiral form's dimensions i.e. its diameter and length (pitch times number of turns) therefore a smaller diameter has more turns and vice versa.

The pitch must remain fairly coarse to effect a speedy decent.

To capture the relatively thin layer of completed Page 4 compost at the bottom of the bin requires that the spiral form is of a shorter length and larger diameter and must be consistent also with the physical ability of the user to raise the Tool. These considerations lead to the above dimensions.

Note 2. Length adjustment can be provided as required.

o*oe o *o* :°eteo o*oo oooo *o* oooQ' •ego oooo Pag eS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMPOSTING TOOL 1-The Composting Tool provides a clean and convenient operation to effectively aerate, mix, turn and transfer material within the narrow confines of the compost bin. It does this while the bin remains in situ so the contents are not unduly exposed to the elements.

The Composting Tool with its convenient and efficient action encourages the gardener to regular use and good composting practice.

2-The spiral form of the Composting Tool, when rotated, penetrates the mix with little force (it has no large cross bar as does a conventional fork ,for example o 3-The Compost Tool can access any position in the bin oo 4-The size of the spiral form enables the Tool to traverse the area of the bottom of the bin to extract completed compost in a few minutes.

the Composting Tool be screwed too far into the bin so as to make the lift too heavy (for example, a neglected mix or catch on a tree root), the tool can be unwound a turn or so to reduce the load.

The Composting Tool can always be extracted simply by reversing.

6-The Composting Tool is lightweight. Work is performed at the bin in a comfortable position with a near straight line lift and little waste motion.

7-Bins can be worked in confined areas since all work is performed in the bin which in itself provides a distinct safety feature.

8-Good composting relies on aeration and a diverse range of carbonaceous, nitrogenous, nutrient rich materials and moisture. The Composting Tool allows these and other corrective materials such as dolomite, to be added to the bin when required since it is a simple operation to mix them through.

9-The Composting Tool can be used to transfer material from the bin to a container when quantities of completed compost are required.

Claims (3)

1-The Composting Tool comprising of a spiral form (i.e. helix), shaft and handle, which when rotated about its axis, screws smoothly and easily into the compost to the required depth to capture, protect and support a plug of undisturbed compost material within the spiral form so that when the tool is raised without rotation, transfer, aeration, agitation and mixing of compost takes place to efficiently implement the necessary composting operations within the confined working space of the compost bin. 0:99

2-The Composting Tool of claim 1 has a spiral form of suitable 4 and sufficient dimensions, so that when the plug of captured compost is raised with the Tool significant voiding occurs to S. induce (suck) air through the compost material to the area of capture and subsequent voided areas as the tool continues to S• rise.

3- The Composting Tool of claim 1 enables material so captured within and supported by the spiral form to be transferred, to deposit material at other points of the bin where, with further use of the Tool achieve progressive turn over and aeration of the bins contents, or as completed compost transferred external to the bin for use by the gardener. APPLICANT- DION KENTWELL 23 May 2000