GB2045046A

GB2045046A - Lawn edger

Info

Publication number: GB2045046A
Application number: GB8010095A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1979-03-31
Filing date: 1980-03-26
Publication date: 1980-10-29
Also published as: GB2045046B

Abstract

A lawn edger comprises a cutting disc (8) mounted on shaft 11 for rotation therewith for cutting the edge of the lawn, 12 means 9 for scattering marginal parts of the lawn removed by the disc 8 and means for driving the shaft. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Lawn edger This invention is for a lawn edger.

Grass at the edges of a lawn tends to grow outwardly from the lawn, so that the lawn may merge for example into a flower bed, resulting in a less attractive appearance. It is therefore an accepted practice in gardening to trim the edges of a lawn so as to give a sharp, clean and attractive appearance.

The trimming of the edge of a lawn is a time consuming and tedious operation and various proposals to simplify the operation have been made. It is customary, for example, to use a pair of shears to clip those parts of the grass which are growing sideways from the lawn and extending into the flower bed or the like. However, the clipping of the grass growing in that direction is often impeded by the fact that the edge of the base of the lawn supporting the grass (i.e. the soil and the fibrous mass of grass roots), is not itself sufficiently clean. In other words, the lawn base may be sloping, and the edge may be uneven, thus preventing smooth passage of the shears. Other cutting means for trimming and cleaning up the growing edge of a lawn are known.

The present invention seeks to provide a lawn edger which will readily enable the edge of a lawn to be made even.

The present invention provides a lawn edger adapted for movement on a lawn along an edge thereof and comprising a shaft rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, a cutting disc mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith for cutting the edge of a lawn, means for scattering marginal parts of the lawn removed by the disc and means for driving said shaft.

The means for scattering marginal parts of the lawn removed by the disc may comprise a blade mounted on the disc or the shaft.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lawn edger according to the present invention; Figure 2 is an end view in the direction of arrow 2 of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is an end view in the direction of arrow 3 of Figure 1.

The edger comprises a housing 6 which is movable over a lawn by a pair of rollers 4 and 5, the rollers being mounted on brackets 14 and adapted to rotate about pivots 1 Sal Sb. Inside the housing 6 is provided means for rotating a shaft 11. Such means may for example comprise an electric motor (not shown), which may be switched on and off by actuation of a hand operated switch 3 mounted on a handle 2 on an arm 1 secured to the housing 6.

Alternative means for rotating the shaft 11 will include a petrol operated motor, or a gas operated driving means such as a compressed air motor. The rollers 4 and 5 may be replaced by a pair of wheels and a roller or two pairs of wheels or such other convenient ground engaging means, as may be most apPropriate. Mounted on the shaft 11 is a cutting disc 8 having a saw-tooth or other cutting peripheral edge and also mounted on the shaft and on the outer face of the disc 8 is a scattering device-9 having wings 10 projecting outwardly from the disc.

The scattering device 9 and the cutting disc 8 are secured jointly onto the shaft 11 and rotate beneath a cowling 7 forming part of the housing 6. Each wing 10 lies in a plant at an oblique angle a to the tangent to the circular path of the radially outermost point of the wing.

A blade 18 is mounted on the housing 6 and has a 'knife edge, which co-operates with the saw teeth of the disc 8 (Figure 2) to form a scissor-like shearing arrangement.

Means may also be provided for adjusting the vertical height of the shaft 11 relative to the pivots 1 spa, 1 Sb in order to determine the depth of cut of the cutting disc 8 when in use.

From Figure 2, it will be appreciated that the cutting disc 8 is located, in use, so as to be closely adjacent to the edge of the lawn 12 to be trimmed.

The cutting disc 8 is rotated anti-clockwise as shown and; cuts through the lawn including the soil beneath the lawn surface to remove marginal portions.

The scattering device 9 with the wings 10, lacerates these marginal portions, comprising soil, grass and grass roots and scatters them into the adjacent areas of the garden, such as a flower bed. The cowling 7 assists in distributing the lacerated soil and grass into the flower bed. The angular arrangement of the wings, referred to previously, results in a-downward pull being exerted on the edger.

Grass overhanging the edges of the lawn in sheared by the disc 8 in co-operation with the blade 18.

It will be appreciated that alternative cutting discs from that illustrated may be used, for example, a cutting disc with a sharp edge as opposed.to a saw-tooth configuration may be provided and alternative scattering devices may be provided for exam pipe, projections welded or otherwise secured to theouter face of the cutting disc 8. Alternatively two or more scattering devices 9 may be provided. In place of rollers 4 and 5 a suitable skid plate may be provided.

It is thought that the present invention provides a lawn edger which is especially effective in cutting and sharpening up the edge of a lawn. At the same time, the edger removes a marginal part of the lawn but the part of the base of the lawn removed is only two or three millimeters, so thart the reduction in size of the lawn is of no consequence.

1. A lawn edger adapted for movement on a lawn along an edge thereof which comprises a shaft rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, a cutting disc mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith for cutting the edge of the lawn, means for scattering marginal parts of the lawn removed by the disc and means for driving said shaft.

2. A lawn edger as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for scattering marginal parts of the lawn comprises one or more projections secured to the

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Lawn edger This invention is for a lawn edger. Grass at the edges of a lawn tends to grow outwardly from the lawn, so that the lawn may merge for example into a flower bed, resulting in a less attractive appearance. It is therefore an accepted practice in gardening to trim the edges of a lawn so as to give a sharp, clean and attractive appearance. The trimming of the edge of a lawn is a time consuming and tedious operation and various proposals to simplify the operation have been made. It is customary, for example, to use a pair of shears to clip those parts of the grass which are growing sideways from the lawn and extending into the flower bed or the like. However, the clipping of the grass growing in that direction is often impeded by the fact that the edge of the base of the lawn supporting the grass (i.e. the soil and the fibrous mass of grass roots), is not itself sufficiently clean. In other words, the lawn base may be sloping, and the edge may be uneven, thus preventing smooth passage of the shears. Other cutting means for trimming and cleaning up the growing edge of a lawn are known. The present invention seeks to provide a lawn edger which will readily enable the edge of a lawn to be made even. The present invention provides a lawn edger adapted for movement on a lawn along an edge thereof and comprising a shaft rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, a cutting disc mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith for cutting the edge of a lawn, means for scattering marginal parts of the lawn removed by the disc and means for driving said shaft. The means for scattering marginal parts of the lawn removed by the disc may comprise a blade mounted on the disc or the shaft. Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lawn edger according to the present invention; Figure 2 is an end view in the direction of arrow 2 of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is an end view in the direction of arrow 3 of Figure 1. The edger comprises a housing 6 which is movable over a lawn by a pair of rollers 4 and 5, the rollers being mounted on brackets 14 and adapted to rotate about pivots 1 Sal Sb. Inside the housing 6 is provided means for rotating a shaft 11. Such means may for example comprise an electric motor (not shown), which may be switched on and off by actuation of a hand operated switch 3 mounted on a handle 2 on an arm 1 secured to the housing 6. Alternative means for rotating the shaft 11 will include a petrol operated motor, or a gas operated driving means such as a compressed air motor. The rollers 4 and 5 may be replaced by a pair of wheels and a roller or two pairs of wheels or such other convenient ground engaging means, as may be most apPropriate. Mounted on the shaft 11 is a cutting disc 8 having a saw-tooth or other cutting peripheral edge and also mounted on the shaft and on the outer face of the disc 8 is a scattering device-9 having wings 10 projecting outwardly from the disc. The scattering device 9 and the cutting disc 8 are secured jointly onto the shaft 11 and rotate beneath a cowling 7 forming part of the housing 6. Each wing 10 lies in a plant at an oblique angle a to the tangent to the circular path of the radially outermost point of the wing. A blade 18 is mounted on the housing 6 and has a 'knife edge, which co-operates with the saw teeth of the disc 8 (Figure 2) to form a scissor-like shearing arrangement. Means may also be provided for adjusting the vertical height of the shaft 11 relative to the pivots 1 spa, 1 Sb in order to determine the depth of cut of the cutting disc 8 when in use. From Figure 2, it will be appreciated that the cutting disc 8 is located, in use, so as to be closely adjacent to the edge of the lawn 12 to be trimmed. The cutting disc 8 is rotated anti-clockwise as shown and; cuts through the lawn including the soil beneath the lawn surface to remove marginal portions. The scattering device 9 with the wings 10, lacerates these marginal portions, comprising soil, grass and grass roots and scatters them into the adjacent areas of the garden, such as a flower bed. The cowling 7 assists in distributing the lacerated soil and grass into the flower bed. The angular arrangement of the wings, referred to previously, results in a-downward pull being exerted on the edger. Grass overhanging the edges of the lawn in sheared by the disc 8 in co-operation with the blade 18. It will be appreciated that alternative cutting discs from that illustrated may be used, for example, a cutting disc with a sharp edge as opposed.to a saw-tooth configuration may be provided and alternative scattering devices may be provided for exam pipe, projections welded or otherwise secured to theouter face of the cutting disc 8. Alternatively two or more scattering devices 9 may be provided. In place of rollers 4 and 5 a suitable skid plate may be provided. It is thought that the present invention provides a lawn edger which is especially effective in cutting and sharpening up the edge of a lawn. At the same time, the edger removes a marginal part of the lawn but the part of the base of the lawn removed is only two or three millimeters, so thart the reduction in size of the lawn is of no consequence. CLAIMS

2. A lawn edger as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for scattering marginal parts of the lawn comprises one or more projections secured to the outer face of the cutting disc.

3. A lawn edger as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for scattering marginal parts of the lawn removed by the disc comprises a blade mounted on the disc and/or shaft.

4. A lawn edger as claimed in claim 3 wherein the blade is mounted on the shaft and the outer face of the disc and each end of the blade is provided with a wing projecting outwardly from the disc.

5. A lawn edger as claimed in claim 4 wherein each wing lies in a plane at an oblique angle to the tangent to the circular path of the radially outermost point of the wing.

6. A lawn edger as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the cutting disc has a saw-tooth peripheral edge.

7. A lawn edger as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 which further comprises a blade having a knifeedge which co-operates with the cutting edge of the cutting disc to form a scissor-like shearing arrangement.

8. A lawn edger as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 wherein substantially all of the length of the rotatable shaft is enclosed in a housing, the remainder of the length protruding from said housing and having the cutting disc mounted thereon.

9. A lawn edger as claimed in claim 8 wherein the housing is provided with a cowling which extends over the cutting disc.

10. A lawn edger as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the housing is provided with a pair of rotatable ground engaging rollers.

11. A lawn edger as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10 wherein the means for driving the shaft comprises an electric motor.

12. A lawn edger adapted for movement on a lawn along one edge thereof substantially as herein describes with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.