GB2150067A

GB2150067A - Improvements in garden shears

Info

Publication number: GB2150067A
Application number: GB08328577A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher Roland Bo Harrison
Original assignee: Wilkinson Sword Ltd
Current assignee: Wilkinson Sword Ltd
Priority date: 1983-10-26
Filing date: 1983-10-26
Publication date: 1985-06-26
Also published as: GB2148777A; GB2150067B; GB8422560D0; GB8328577D0

Abstract

A garden shears of the edging type comprises left and right hand blades 10, 11 moulded into one limb of L shaped plastics blade supports 15. A terminal portion of the other limb is enlarged transversely of the blades to a height about twice that of the remainder of the blade and blade support to receive and support a rectangular metal tang (20, Fig. 3). Each handle 12, 13 of the shears is tubular and contains a longitudinally split sleeve shaped to fit tightly over the associated tang. <IMAGE>

Description

1

SPECIFICATION

Improvements in garden shears This invention relates to garden shears, and in 70 particular to long-handled edging shears.

Garden shears normally comprise a pair of blades, a pivot bolt assembly of which the bolt passes through each blade to secure the blades together for relative pivotal movement, and a pair of handles, each connected to a separate blade by means of a tang. Originally each tang was forged integrally with the corre sponding blade, the tang being formed as a spike for insertion in one end of the associ- 80 ated handle.

More recently, the Applicant has formed each blade out of a strip of metal, and this blade has then been rivetted or otherwise secured to a blade support of metal or plastics 85 material to which the handle has been fitted.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a garden shear comprising a pair of blades, a pair of handles and a pair of blade supports, each blade support rigidly securing a separate one of said blades to a respective one of the said handles, each blade and each blade support having an aperture therein, and a pivot bolt and nut assembly having a bolt which passes through superimposed apertures in the blades and blade supports, said assembly securing each blade and associated blade support together for pivotal movement relative to the other blade and blade support by movement of the 100 handles, and wherein each blade support comprises a moulding in which the corre sponding blade is embedded, the moulding having a terminal portion remote from the blade support and a metal tang embedded in said terminal portion, each handle being tubu lar at least at its end adjacent the blade support and fitted over the respective tang.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a garden shear comprising a pair of blades, a pair of handles and a pair of tangs, each tang rigidly secured at one end to a separate one of said blades and as its opposite end fitting within a sepa rate one of said handles, each handle being tubular and containing a plastics sleeve, the plastics sleeve having one or more longitudi nal slits therein permitting the sleeve to fit tightly within the handle and over the tang without circumferential strain in the sleeve.

The invention will now be particularly de scribed with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of edging shears in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation, from the oppo site side, of the shears of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view of the inside of the left hand blade and associated blade support of the shears of Figure 1; GB2150067A 1 Figure 4 is a view of the inside of the right hand blade and associated blade support of the shears of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a section on the line V-V of Figure 2; Figure 6 is a rear view of the shears of Figure 1; and Figure 7 is a partial section through one of the handles of the shears of Figure 1.

The edging shears shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprise left and rignt blades 10, 11, for ward and rearward handles 12,13 and left and right blade supports 14,15, the left blade support 14 being connected on the one hand to left blade 10 and forward handle 12, whereas the right blade support 15 is con nected at one end to the right blade 11 and on the other hand to the rearward handle 13.

A pivot bolt assembly 16 comprises a bolt 17 and a nut 18 of which the bolt 17 passes through superimposed apertures 14a, 10a, 11 a and 1 5a in the blade support 14, blade 10, blade 11 and blade support 15. A nut 18 fitted to the outer end of the bolt secures the parts of the shear together and permits the blades to be moved pivotally by the handles 12,13.

Each blade support is a plastic moulding of generally L shape which is moulded onto the respective blade so that the blade is embedded in the final L shape moulding. Apertures 10b and 10c in blade 10and 11b, 11c in blade 11 are shaped to receive the plastics moulding material therein as described in our British Patent No.2067451 so that the blade is rigidly supported and firmly locked by the moulding.

In the finished moulding of blade support 14, a surface 1 4b of the moulding lies flush with the inside surface 1 Od of the blade 10, but a terminal portion 14c of the blade support 14 which lies adjacent the handle and therefore remote from the blade is enlarged laterally of the blade 10. This enlarged termi- nal portion 14c has a surface 14d on the same side of the moulding as surface 14b but which is spaced therefrom by a step 14e, the height of the step being substantially half the height of the terminal portion 14c in a direc- tion perpendicular to surface 1 4b.

In a similar way, blade support 15 is formed with a terminal portion 1 5c which has a surface 1 5d spaced by a step 1 5e from a surface 1 5b, the surface 1 5b being flush with the inside surface 11 d of the blade 11.

The terminal portions 1 4c and 1 5c of blade supports 14,15 are so spaced from and oriented with respect to the pivot bolt that the terminal portions 1 4c, 1 5c lie one in front of the other in a direction along the length of the blades in the closed position of the blades.

Each terminal portion of the blade support is thus of a height, in a direction perpendicular to the inner faces of the blades, sufficient to receive a rectangular section metal tang 20 2 GB 2 150 067A 2 or 21 which is moulded into the terminal portion in the moulding process. Moreover the terminal portion must support the tang with sufficient strength to transmit torque from the handles via the mouldings to the blades, the mouldings having no metal reinforcement between the tang and the blade.

Each tang is located to lie in the plane which contains the inner surfaces of the blades. In particular the two tangs are coplanar and extend in the direction substantially perpendicular to the length of each blade.

It will thus be seen that a construction has been provided of a shear blade rigid with a tang without the tang having been formed integrally with the blade but the tang being rigidly secured to the blade by means of a plastics moulding dimensioned to give ade- quate strength for transmitting torque through the 90 bend between the tang and the blade.

Each tubular handle 12,13 is fitted to the tang 20,21 of the associated blade by means of a plastics sleeve 22 which fits over the tang so that an enlarged rim 23 at the lower end of the sleeve 22 is in abutment with the upper surface of the terminal portion of the blade support.

Each sleeve 22 is formed with a rectangular section opening extending throughout its length and dimensioned to receive the rectangular section tang. The rim 23 at the lower end is of greater dimensions than the sleeve to form an abutment between the lower end of the handle 12 or 13 and the upper end of the blade support 14 or 15.

Moreover, the sleeve is slit over its entire length or substantially the entire length, between the rim 23 and the free end of the sleeve, to permit the sleeve to expand without significant circumferential stress as the tang is forced into the handle. Although the sleeve is illustrated as being divided into two equal parts by the slits, more than two slits could be provided.

In the assembly of the shear, each plastics sleeve is first inserted fully into the lower end of the corresponding tubular handle until the rim abuts the end of the handle. Each handle and sleeve is then forced onto the tang and either the tang or the rectangular section opening in the sleeve is slightly tapered so that as the tang enters the sleeve, the longitu- dinal slit opens to allow the sleeve to expand into tight engagement both the tang and with the inside of the tubular handle. The split formation of the sleeve allows the tang to be forced into the sleeve without the expanditure of energy which would be needed to expand an unslit sleeve, and hence without circumferential strain in the sleeve. of the shear are then fitted together and secured by the nut and bolt assembly.

It will be seen that the construction de- scribed above represents a significant departure from the standard manufacturing processes for the production of garden shears and leads to an economic and strong shear construction of relatively light weight.

Claims

1. A garden shear comprising a pair of blades, a pair of handles and a pair of blade supports each blade support rigidly securing a separate one of said blades to a respective one of said handles, each blade and each blade support having an aperture therein, and a pivot bolt and nut assembly having a bolt which passes through superimposed apertures in the blades and blade supports, said assembly securing the each blade and associated blade support together for pivotal movement relative to the other blade and blade support by movement of the handles, and wherein each blade support comprises a moulding in which the corresponding blade is embedded, the moulding having a terminal portion remote from the blade support and a metal tang embedded in said terminal portion, each handle being tubular at least at its end adjacent to the blade support and fitted over the respective tang.

2. A garden shear according to Claim 1 wherein ech said moulding is of L shape, one limb of the L shape having the blade embedded therein, the associated blade having an outer face which lies within the moulding and an inner face which lies flush with an adjacent surface of the moulding, said terminal portion having a surface spaced from said adjacent surface of the moulding by a step.

3. A garden shear according to Claim 2 wherein the height of the step is approxi- mately equal to half the thickness of said terminal portion in a direction perpendicular to the inner face of the blade.

4. A garden shear according to Claim 2 or Claim 3 wherein each tang lies in the plane in which the blades contact each other.

5. A garden shear according to any preceding claim wherein the tangs are coplanar.

6. A garden shear according to Claim 1 wherein each handle contains a plastics sleeve which is slit longitudinally and fits together over the tang and tightly within the handle.

New claims or amendments to claims filed on 3.1.85 Claim 7 deleted and Claim 8 renumbered '7'.

7. A garden shear comprising a pair of blades, a pair of tubular handles and a pair of tangs, each tang rigidly secured at one end to a separate one of said handles, each handle containing a plastics sleeve, the plastics sleeve having one or more longitudinal slits therein permitting the sleeve to fit tightly within the handle and tightly over the tang 3 GB2150067A 3 without circumferential strain in the sleeve.

8. A garden shear substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Printed in the United Kingdom for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Dd 8818935, 1985, 4235. Published at The Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A lAY, from which copies may be obtained.