GB2122462A

GB2122462A - Plant removing tool

Info

Publication number: GB2122462A
Application number: GB08217844A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Duxbury
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-06-19
Filing date: 1982-06-19
Publication date: 1984-01-18
Also published as: GB2122462B

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for removing plants from the soil in which they are growing. The device comprises a hollow tubular member (3) having open ends (5,7), a piston (17) slidably located in the hollow tubular member, a rod (19) connected to the piston and extending out of the hollow tubular member through one of the open ends therein, an inwardly pointing indentation (9) located in the wall of the hollow tubular member in the region of its other open end, and wherein said other open end of the hollow tubular member is tapered. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Plant removing tool The present invention relates to a plant removing tool. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device four removing plants from the soil in which they are growing.

According to the present invention there is provided a plant removing tool, which comprises a hollow tubular member having open ends, a piston slidably located in the hollow tubular member, a rod connected to the piston and extending out of the hollow tubular member through one ofthe open ends therein, an inwardly pointing indentation located in the wall of the hollowtubular member in the region of its other open end, and wherein said other open end ofthe hollowtubular member is tapered.

The open end ofthe hollowtubular member out of which the rod extends preferably has an internal diameter smaller than the diameter ofthe piston to which the rod is connected. This may for example, be achieved by crimping the end ofthe hollowtubular memberthrough which the rod extends and will preventthe piston/rod arrangement from being com pletelywithdrawn from the hollow tubular member after manufacture of the plant removing tool.

Preferablythe hollowtubular member has a handle fixedly attached thereto,the handle allowing the hollowtubular member to be readily held over that region ofthe soil containing the root ofthe plantto be removed and also allowing the hollow tubular memberto be readily pushed by hand into the soil such that the root of the plant to be removed is then located within the hollow tubular member. Whilst it has been indicatedthatthe handle is preferably fixedly attached to the hollow tubular member, it will be understood that the handle may be formed integrallywiththe hollowtubular member.

The rod, which is connected to the piston and which extends out one ofthe open ends ofthe hollow tubular member, may, for example, be solid or hollow and preferably has a handlefixedly attached tothe end thereof located outside the hollowtubular member.

Whilst it has been indicated thatthe hanlde may be fixedly attached to the rod, it will be understood that the handle may be formed integrally with the rod.

Preferably,thetaperedendofthe hollowtubular member is at an angle of approximately 60"to the longitudinal axis of the hollow tubular member. The tapered end ofthe hollowtubular member may, for example, be chamfered to aid the insertion ofthe hollowtubular member into the soil.

The hollowtubular member, the piston, the rod connected to the piston and, if present, the handles attached to the holl6wtubular member and the rod may be made of any suitable material, for example, metal, e.g. stainlesssteel, mild steel oraluminium, or a plastics material, e.g. nylon.

The wall ofthe hollowtubularmembermay,for example, have a hole thereinto allow a lubricant, e.g.

oil, to be inserted into the hollow tubular memberto lubricate the piston. However, if the piston is made from nylon, the provision of such a lubrication hole is not necessary.

The present invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like parts and in which: Fig. lisa vertical sectional view of a plant removing tool according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view ofthe plant removing tool illustrated in Fig. 1 taken along line l-l.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a plant removing tool 1 comprising a hollowtubular member 3 having open ends 5 and 7.

End 5 ofthe hollowtubular member3 istaperedatan angle of approximately 600 to the longitudinal axis of the hollowtubular member 3 (indicated as angle X in Fig. 2). Further, end 5 of the hollow tubular member 3 has a small inwardly pointing indentation 9, for example, extending approximately 1 mm inwardly from thewall ofthe hollow tubular member 3. The indentation 9 is preferably located on the longest longitudinal axis of the hollowtubular member3.

Hollow tubular member3 has a handle 11 fixedly connected to end 7thereof by means oaf flange 13 and a washer 15 5 having inwardly pointing teeth which engagewiththeouterwall ofthehollowtubular member 3.

Slidably located in the hollow tubular member 3 is a piston 17 connected to a rod 19. The upper end of rod 19 has a handle 21 fixedly attached thereto. The internal diameter of the open end 7 ofthe hollow tubular member 3 is smaller than the diameter ofthe piston 17 thereby preventing the piston/rod arrangement from being completely withdrawn from the hollowtubularmember3.

Piston 17 and rod 19 are held together by means of a screw 23 located in bores 25 and 27 in piston 17 and rod 19, respectively.

In operation, the plant removal tool 1 is placed above that part of the soil where the plant to be removed is located. Downward pressure is then applied to handle 11 and this forces the hollowtubular member 3 into the soil such that it surrounds the root 29 ofthe plant to be removed, or at least surrounds the main portion of the root. The plant removal tool 1 is then removed from the soil and in so doing the pellet 31 of soil and root located within the hollow tubular member 3 is also removed. The pellet 31 of soil and root is then ejected from the plant removal tool by pushing down on handle 21 and thereby pushing piston 25 downwards.

On ejecting the pellet 31 of soil and root from the plant removal tool 1,the pellet 31 is scored along its length by means of indentation 9. The presence of such a score line is particularly useful when thetap root ofthe plant to be removed does not extend vertically downwards from the surface of the soil but slopes at an angle and hence is not completely removed by the tool 1. The advantage of the presence of the score line is that, ifthetap root of the plant to be The drawing(s) originally filed was/were informal and the print here reproduced is taken from a later fited format eopy.

removed slopes at an angle in the soil and does not extend vertically downwards from the soil surface, when the pellet is ejected from the tool 1, it will be observed that the root has been cut by the tool leaving some ofthe root in the soil Therefore, by knowing the orientation of the tool when itwasinsertedintothe soil, for example its orientation with respect to an object such as a fence post, and by also observing the angle ofthe root relative to the score line, it is possible to determine which direction that portion ofthe root still in the soil istaking. The tool 1 can then be reinserted into the soil, through the hole in the surface ofthesoilformedbythetoolwhen removingtheinitial pellet of soil.However, thistimethetool 1 can be inserted in the direction thatthe portion ofthe rootstill in the soil is taking and can therefore be used to remove the remaining portion ofthe root without making additional holes in the surface ofthe soil.

After removal of the pellet 31 of soil and root from the soil, a hole will be present in the soil and this may befilled by inserting a pellet of soil minus root.

The plant removal tool according to the present invention may, for example, be used to remove weeds from the soil, e.g. to remove weeds from lawns.

However, it may also be used for seeding wherein it is usedto make a hole in the soil ofthe required depth into which the seed is dropped. Further, it may be used to make holes in the soil into which propogated seedlings may be placed.

The plant removal tool according to the present invention has the advantage that little damage is done to the soil from which the plant is removed, e.g. to the lawn from which weeds are removed bythetool.

Further, when the plant removal tool ofthe present invention is used to remove weeds, e.g.from a lawn, it hastheadvantagethatthe use of chemical weed killers may be reduced or even eliminated.

When the plant removal tool according to the present invention is used to remove weeds from a lawn it has the added advantage thatthe holes left behind in the lawn after removal of the soil/root pellet serve to aerate the lawn.

CLAIMS (Filed on 27-5-83) 1. A plant removing tool, which comprises a hollowtubular member having open ends, a piston slidably located in the hollowtubularmember, a rod connected to the piston and extending out of the hollowtubular member through one ofthe open ends therein, an inwardly pointing indentation located in the wall ofthe hollow tubular member in the region of its other open end, and wherein said other open end of the hollowtubular member is tapered.

2. A plant removing tool as claimed in claim 1, in which the end ofthe hollowtubular member out of which the rod extends has an internal diameter smallerthan the diameter ofthe piston to which the rod is connected.

3. A plant removing tool as claimed in claim 2, in which the end of the hollow tubular member out of which the rod extends is crimped such that it has an internal diameter smallerthan the diameter of the piston to which the rod is connected.

4. A plant removing tool as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3; in whichthe Boltowtubtlt meruberf the piston and the rod connected to the piston are made of metal ora plastics material.

5. A plant removing tool as claimed in claim 4, in which the metal is stainless steel, mild steel or aluminium.

6. A plant removing tool as claimed in claim > -4, in which the plastics material is nylon.

7. Aplant removing tool as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, inwhichthe hollowtubular member has a handle fixedly attached thereto.

8. A plant removing tool as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, in which thehollowtubular memberhas a handle formed integrallytherewith.

9. A plant removing tools claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, in which the rod has a handlefixedly attached to the end thereof located outside the hollow tubular member.

10. A plant removing tool as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, in which the rod hasa handle formed integrallythernwith 11. A plant removing tool as claimed in any of claims7to 10, in which the handle is made of metal or a plastics material.

12. A plant removing tool as claimed in claim 11, in which the metal is stainless steel, mild steel or aluminium.

13. A plant removing tool as claimed in claim 11, in which the plastics material is nylon.

14. Aplantremovingtool as claimed in anyof claims 1 to 13, in which the tapered end of the hollow tubular member is at an angle of approximately 60" to the longitudinal axis of the hollowtubular member.

15. A plant removing tool as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, in which the tapered end ofthe hollow tubular member is chamfered.

16. A plant removing tool as claimed in any of claims 1 to 15, in which the wall of the hollowtubular member has a hole therein to allow lubricant to be inserted into the hollowtubularmemberto lubricate the piston.

17. A plant removing tool as claimed in any of claims 1 to 16, in which the inwardly pointing indentation located inthewall ofthehollowtubular member is located on the longest longitudinal axis of the hollowtubular member.

18. A plant removing toolisubstantially as hereinbefore described with referencetothe accompanying drawings.

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

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. removed slopes at an angle in the soil and does not extend vertically downwards from the soil surface, when the pellet is ejected from the tool 1, it will be observed that the root has been cut by the tool leaving some ofthe root in the soil Therefore, by knowing the orientation of the tool when itwasinsertedintothe soil, for example its orientation with respect to an object such as a fence post, and by also observing the angle ofthe root relative to the score line, it is possible to determine which direction that portion ofthe root still in the soil istaking. The tool 1 can then be reinserted into the soil, through the hole in the surface ofthesoilformedbythetoolwhen removingtheinitial pellet of soil.However, thistimethetool 1 can be inserted in the direction thatthe portion ofthe rootstill in the soil is taking and can therefore be used to remove the remaining portion ofthe root without making additional holes in the surface ofthe soil. After removal of the pellet 31 of soil and root from the soil, a hole will be present in the soil and this may befilled by inserting a pellet of soil minus root. The plant removal tool according to the present invention may, for example, be used to remove weeds from the soil, e.g. to remove weeds from lawns. However, it may also be used for seeding wherein it is usedto make a hole in the soil ofthe required depth into which the seed is dropped. Further, it may be used to make holes in the soil into which propogated seedlings may be placed. The plant removal tool according to the present invention has the advantage that little damage is done to the soil from which the plant is removed, e.g. to the lawn from which weeds are removed bythetool. Further, when the plant removal tool ofthe present invention is used to remove weeds, e.g.from a lawn, it hastheadvantagethatthe use of chemical weed killers may be reduced or even eliminated. When the plant removal tool according to the present invention is used to remove weeds from a lawn it has the added advantage thatthe holes left behind in the lawn after removal of the soil/root pellet serve to aerate the lawn. CLAIMS (Filed on 27-5-83)

1. A plant removing tool, which comprises a hollowtubular member having open ends, a piston slidably located in the hollowtubularmember, a rod connected to the piston and extending out of the hollowtubular member through one ofthe open ends therein, an inwardly pointing indentation located in the wall ofthe hollow tubular member in the region of its other open end, and wherein said other open end of the hollowtubular member is tapered.

10. A plant removing tool as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, in which the rod hasa handle formed integrallythernwith

11. A plant removing tool as claimed in any of claims7to 10, in which the handle is made of metal or a plastics material.