GB2038155A - Improvements in or relating to structural elements for defining lawns, garden plots, foot-paths and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

An edging element comprises a moulded member for partial embedding into the ground, to have a vertical contact surface for guiding a lawn mower during mowing in the area of the edge of the lawn. The contact surface is formed by a first limb 1 for installation as an upright in a vertical position and a second limb 4 forming a cross-piece located below the upper face 5 of this first limb. The cross-piece 4 has a horizontal bearing surface 6 to support a lawn mower and is connected to the limb 1 and a first longitudinally extending vertical endface 8 of the cross-piece serves to define the lawn area. The horizontal width of this bearing surface 6 is so dimensioned that it is partly overlapped by the cutting width 5 of the lawn mower in use. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to structural elements for defining lawns, garden plots, foot-paths and the like The present invention relates to a structural ele ment for defining lawns, garden plots, footpaths and the like, especially for bordering and defining lawns, and consisting of a moulded body which is partly set into the ground with a vertical contacting face for lateral guiding of a lawn mower during mowing the area of the edge of the lawn.

Common structural elements of this type are in the form of an elongated plate with a basically rectangu lar cross-section which, for example for bordering a lawn, is set into the ground upright on one of its longitudinal sides and indeed so that the plates which are arranged against one another are anchored with the predominant part of their height in the ground whilst the part of the plate in the area of the grass roots and the part of the plate protruding upwards over the ground is the actual bordering for the lawn. Thus this free-standing part of the plate forms a type of guide and bearing surface for a lawn-mower with its vertical longitudinally side facing the delimiting long side and, indeed, in the sense that the lawn-mower on mowing the outer area of the edge of the lawn can be guided along.This sur- face therefore defines the largest possible lateral drive movement of the lawn mower.

Such plate-shaped structural elements are disadvantageous above all insofar as the lawn will grow unhindered up to the said vertical side face of the element with the result that, in the immediate area of the element, the grass to be found there cannot be mowed by the lawn mower. The reason for this is that the lawn mower, even if it is driven along with one of its wheels directly on the element, can only cut the lawn definitely up to a certain distance from the element because its cutting area will not directly reach to the element.This is true both for the socalled rollermowers which cannot mow at least one strip of lawn corresponding to the distance between the outer wheel, which runs along the border, and the adjacent edge of the cutter block, and also for rotary horizontal-bladed lawn mowers or other types of lawn mowers with which, because of their structure, the cutting area does not reach to the vertical bordering surface. Thus one therefore regularly has to cut the outer border area of a lawn by hand with the corresponding tools.

It is therefore an object of the invention to avoid or minimise these disadvantages and to provide a sim ple structural element for this purpose which can be manufactured at a suitable price as well as being easily installable.

Accordingly, the invention consists in a structural element for bordering lawns comprising a moulded member for partial embedding into the ground to have a vertical contact surface for guiding a lawn mower during mowing in the area of the edge of the lawn, wherein the contact surface is formed by a first limb for installation as, an upright in a vertical position and a second limb forming a cross-piece located blow the upper face of said first limb, a said cross piece having a horizontal bearing surface to support a lawn mower and being connected to said first limb, a longitudinally extending vertical endface of said cross-piece serving to define the lawn area and the horizontal width of said bearing surface being so dimensioned that it is partly overlapped by the cutting width of said lawn mower in use.

The advantage of this construction is that the second limb, i.e. the horizontal cross-piece, takes over the actual purpose of bordering the lawn with its free longitudinally extending vertical end face, therefore preventing a further lateral growth and spread of the lawn outwards so that the horizontal bearing face of this cross-piece which always remains free from grass on the one hand offers a firm foundation for moving the lawn mower along and, on the other hand, by a corresponding choice of its width ensures that the lawn mower which is driven along the border can cut outwards with its cutting width or cutting area over the said bordering end face. The disadvantageous cutting of the edges of the lawn which would otherwise be necessary is thus therefore dispensed with.

Furthermore, the structural element according to the invention is simple to produce because it can be moulded or formed into appropriate shapes preferably from concrete. By arranging several such structural elements together in rows the bordering can then be simply constructed.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which show certain embodiments thereof by way of example and in which: Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of the element with a single lateral cross-piece, in front view, Fig. 2 shows a second-embodiment thereof having two lateral cross-pieces.

Fig. 3 shows an L-shaped element, Fig. 4 shows an element in the form of a T standing on its head, Fig. 5 shows part of an upright in side view, Fig. 6 is the upright shown in Fig. 5 in end view, and Fig. 7 is the upright according to Figs. 5 and 6 in combination with two different horizontal crosspieces.

Referring now to the drawing, these parts which correspond or are identical or acting identically to each other in the various embodiments, each have the same reference numerals for better understanding. Thus each structural element has a first limb in the form ofan upright 1 to be positioned vertically in the installed position with a perpendicular bearing or guiding surface 2 which faces the lawn area 3 to be edged, and a second limb in the form of a crosspiece 4 which is set in general at right angles to the upright 1 and indeed is more deeply offset on the opposite side to the upper side 5 of the upright and which has a horizontal bearing surface 6 for a lawn mower which is not shown in detail but only indi cated by its wheels 7 in Figs. 1 and 7, one wheel of which is depicted resting on the bearing surface 6 for mowing the area of the edge of the lawn.

The longitudinally extending free front end 8 of the cross-piece 4 which is let into the ground 9 serves to define the lateral edge of the lawn area 3; it should, therefore, prevent the lawn from expanding further approximately laterally over the bearing surface 6.

Thus the vertical end face 8 of the cross-piece 4 let into the ground 9 should terminate at approximately the same level as the grass roots of the lawn and furthermore project upwards approximately over the base 10 of the lawn at the highest, so that the bearing surface 6 lies at least approximately at the same height as the base of the lawn.

The width of the horizontal bearing surface 6 should be so dimensioned that the cutting breadth S of the lawn mower, one wheel of which drives on the structural element, partly overlaps the bearing surface 6 (Fig, 1)so as to ensure that the lawn can also be directly cut at the border defined by the end face 8, the respective wheel of the lawn mower running on the outside being driven along as close as possible to the vertical guiding surface 2.

According to Figs. 2 and 4 a third limb in the form of a second cross-piece 11 can be provided on the other side of the structural element from the first cross-piece 4, this second cross-piece having a horizontal surface 12 to form an edge and border for say, a garden plot, with its longitudinally extending free front end 13: such plot may be for example, a gravel path 14 Figure 2, a flower bed 15 Figure 1 or a flagstone path 17 Figure 4.

Whilst the upper surface 12 of the second crosspiece 11 should lie in or approximately in the same plane 10 as the upper surface of the path or bed to be bordered, to ensure an even passage between the structural element and such areas, the cross-piece 11 will, nevertheless, be so far inserted into the ground 9 that is longitudinally extending end face 13 can fulfill its function for defining and edging the area concerned.

Thus the first and second cross-pieces 4, 11 can lie in the same planes, as shown. The two cross-pieces could be at different heights however, if the two plots on either side of the upright 1 are to be brought up to different levels.

The actual shape of the structural element can be widely varied. The various limbs may for example, have the shape of a vertical half-cross (Figs. 1 and 7) or a cross (Fig. 2) or also can be L-shaped (Fig. 3) or in the form of an upside down T (Fig. 4).

The undersides of both the first cross-piece 4 and also the second cross-piece 11 can be downwardly and rearwardly inclined at 4a and 11 a with respect to the vertical central plane 16 of the element. For this Figures 1,2 and 7 show specific possible formations.

This offers the advantage that the part of the structural element embedded in the ground can be satisfactorily made fast by stamping down the earth without cavities forming in the area of the lower side of the cross-piece which could possibly later cause tipping up of the embedded elements.

The shape of the actual structural elements need not be even, but may be adapted to the contours of the areas to be bordered, thus, the shape may be curved or angular.

The structural elements shown in Fig. 1 to 4 are in one piece. They can be simply and inexpensively produced for example from concrete with known manufacturing techniques. For further simplification of production and also for other reasons to be mentioned later, it may prove advantageous to make the elements of separate members. Thus, Figures 5 to 7 show embodiments in which the various members of the elements are connected or can be connected so that the resultant shapes are continuous i.e.

form-locked.

It is understood that a multiple-piece construction of the structural elements offers the possibility of breaking up the final shape into elements of comparatively simpler form which are easy to manufacture and can be arranged to be easily put together to make the required final shape which might prove difficult to build in one piece if it is rather complicated. The separate limbs can be handled individually and also more easily before their connection.

There are besides less bulky as substantially flat plates and therefore need less storage space on storage. Furthermore, the vertical limb can for example be produced in a constant standard size and the lateral cross-pieces can vary above all with reference to their weight so that the customer is indeed always supplied with identical vertical legs but can choose amongst the available lateral crosspieces which are best suited for the intended application.

For production of the form-locking connection between the various limbs, one of them must have at least one recess whilst one or more of the other limbs is provided with at least one projection to engage in such recess or recesses. Practical experiments have shown that it is especially advantageous to make the upright with a horizontally running longitudinal groove connecting it underneath to its guide surface in which the lateral cross-piece is inserted by its longitudinal side which faces inwards to the connection front.This for example the upright and also the lateral cross-piece are produced in the form of plates with standardized measurements, as is usual forflagstones for laying footpaths or as bordering slaps, so that the manufacturer producing such plates is given the possibility of using already existing moulds also for production of the limbs of the structural element according to the invention.

Thus only the one mould need to be correspondingly adapted for production of the vertical limb with the longitudinal groove, a ridge corresponding to the longitudinal groove being built into the mould.

According to Figures 5 to 7, the upright or vertical limb 1 is basically in the shape of a flat plate, which has the guiding face 2 for the lawn mower, at which is provided therebeneath with a longitudinally extending recess in the shape of a horizontal groove la, in which a lateral cross-piece 4 is inserted by its one longitudinal side or its one longitudinal area 4b for construction of the finished structural element according to Fig. 7. This lateral cross piece 4 is in any case fixed at a certain distance below the upper end face 5 of the upright 1 so that there is a sufficiently high guide surface 2 and this can offer the lawn mower, one wheel 7 of which runs on the bearing surface 6 of the cross-piece 4 and which is not further shown in other respects, a safe lateral guide.

The guide surface 2 and bearing surface 6 generally form a right angle.

The structural element is normally sunk so far into the ground 9 that the bearing surface 6 lies at least approximately in a plane with the surface of the ground or can also lie somewhat higher so that the longitudinally extending, vertical, outwardly facing front end face 8 of the cross piece 4 can bound the lawn area 3 and will therefore prevent the lawn from spreading further outwards to the side.

The lateral cross-piece 4 can be rectangular in cross-section. It can of course also be so formed and for the reasons already mentioned that its bottom side 4a slants downwards in the direction of the upright.

The height and depth of the longitudinal groove la are so dimensioned that the longitudinal side 4b of the lateral cross-piece fits tightly and broadly enough into the groove. Thus a satisfactory mutual support of the two limbs 1 and 4 is obtained and grass or other plants can be prevented from growing upwards through the area at the point of connection.

The width of the horizontal cross-piece 4 is in many embodiments smaller than the height of the upright 1. Of course both limbs 1 and 4 can have an identical shape and can be provided with a longitudinal groove la or 4e for reception of the one longitudinal side of the other limb, the width ofthelongitudi- nal grooves being slightly greater than the thickness of the limbs at the said longitudinal side.

This possibility is also shown in Fig. 7 wherein the limbs 1 forms, as previously, the upright, and the horizontal cross-piece 4, drawn in a broken line, has the same shape. It is clear that, in this embodiment, only the groove 1a of the upright 1 and the longitudinal side4b of the horizontal cross-piece4 are necessark for production of the form-locking connection.

The important advantage in using identical shapes for both limbs is to primarily that the manufacturer only needs to produce one type of limb at any given time and the dealer also only needs to keep this one type of limb in stock. Furthermore, also there is the further advantage that the plate-like limbs can also be put to other uses. They can be used for example as paving stones for laying a pavement and with the broad side of the limb which is provided with the groove serving as the underside of the paving stones.

Claims (13)

1. A structural element for bordering lawns comprising a moulded member for partial embedding into the ground, to have a vertical contact surface for guiding a lawn mower during mowing in the area of the edge of the lawn, wherein the contact surface is formed by a first limb for installation as an upright in a vertical position and a second limb forming a cross-piece located below the upper face of the first limb, the cross-piece having a horizontal bearing surface to support a lawn mower and being conected to the first limb, a first longitudinal extending vertical endface of the cross-piece serving to define the lawn area and the horizontal width of the bearing surface being so dimensioned that it is partly overlapping by the cutting width of the lawn mower in use.

2. A structural element as claimed in claim 1, wherein a third limb forming a second cross-piece is located on the upright on the side thereof opposite the first cross-piece, said second cross-piece having a horizontal surface which forms a boundary for a second area by means of a longitudinally-extending free endface thereof.

3. A structural element as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first and second cross-piece lie in the same plane.

4. A structural element as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3, and having the shape of an upright cross, a half cross, and L on its side or a T standing on its head.

5. A structural element as claimed in any preceding claim 1, wherein the or each cross-piece has an underside which slopes downwardly towards said upright.

6. A structural element as claimed in any preceding claim, which is shaped to match the contour of an area to be edged.

7. A structural element according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each cross-piece is made separately and is connectable to the upright to form a continuous shape.

8. A structural element as claimed in claim 7, wherein one of the limbs has at least one recess and at least one other limb has a longitudinal side for co-operating with such recess or recesses.

9. A structural element as claimed in claim 7, wherein one of the limbs has at least one recess and at least one other limb has a projection for cooperating with such recess or recesses.

10. A structural element as claimed in claim 7,8 or 9, wherein the upright has a horizontal longitudinal groove below its bearing surface to receive a longitudinal side of the cross-piece, said side facing inwards to the point of connection.

11. A structural element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the upright and the or each cross-piece are identical in shape and are provided with a longitudinal groove for reception of the longitudinal side of the other limb, the width of the longitudinal grooves being slightly greater than the thickness of the co-operating limb at the said longitudinal side.

12. A structural element as claimed in any of the preceding claims 7 to 11, wherein the upright has a further recess for the form-locking engagement of a second cross-piece in its side opposite the first cross-piece.

13. Structural elements substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.