GB2375500A

GB2375500A - Garden Shears

Info

Publication number: GB2375500A
Application number: GB0210469A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Anthony Bates
Original assignee: James Neill Holdings Ltd
Current assignee: James Neill Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 2001-05-17
Filing date: 2002-05-08
Publication date: 2002-11-20
Anticipated expiration: 2022-05-08
Also published as: TWI232724B; GB0112003D0; GB2375500B; CN1251576C; GB0210469D0; CN1398507A

Abstract

The invention relates to a garden tool and in particular to so-called edging shears (1, fig 1) for cutting the edges of a lawned or grassed area. Hitherto, edging shears (1, fig 1) have had pivotal handles 2,3 with cooperating blades 4,5, opening and closing the handles 2,3 causing both blades 4,5 to pivot to open and closed positions. Pivotal movement of the lower blade frequently causes ground contact, to limit the degree of opening of the blades 4,5 or to cause the shears to lift, making edge cutting difficult or practically impossible. This difficulty is avoided by a construction of garden tool with a pair of handles 2,3 each pivotally located on a support plate 6, the handles 2,3 each having facing and meshing gear tooth sectors 8,9 of the same first full diameter, one handle 3 having a second gear tooth sector 9 lying substantially at 90{ to the first sector 8 and having a larger second full diameter, the second gear tooth sector 9 being in meshing engagement with a third gear tooth sector 14 secured directly, or indirectly, to a blade 4 pivotally mounted on the support plate, the third gear tooth sector 14 having a third full diameter smaller than the said first full diameter, and there being a second blade 5 secured to the support plate and extending in the same general direction as the pivotal blade.

Description

GARDEN TOOL This invention relates to garden tools, and is particularly concerned with so-called edging shears, a pivoted-blade tool for cutting the edges of a lawned or grassed area.

Ordinarily, edging shears are formed by handles of relatively long length to allow a user to stand in a substantially upright position, each with a blade extending at 900 to its respective handle, and with the blades pivoted together towards their connections with the handle. Opening and closing of the handles causes a pivotal opening and closing movement of the blades in a scissorlike manner, to cut grass positioned between the blades.

Where at the edge of a lawn there is an appreciable depth from the lawn surface to the ground of a border, the pivotal movement of the lower blade can be accommodated. If, however, the depth is relatively small, there can be ground contact between the lower blade and the ground before the blades have opened sufficiently to allow the introduction of grass. Further attempted opening causes the whole of the tool to lift, making cutting of the edge of a lawn extremely difficult, or practically impossible.

The primary objective of the invention is to overcome the difficulty mentioned above.

According to the present invention, a garden tool comprises a pair of handles each pivotally located on a support plate, the handles each having facing and meshing gear tooth sectors of the same first full diameter, one handle having a second gear tooth sector lying substantially at 90 to the first sector, and having a larger second full diameter, the second gear tooth sector being in meshing engagement with a third gear tooth sector secured directly, or indirectly, to a blade pivotally mounted on the support plate, the third gear tooth sector having a third full diameter smaller than the said first full diameter, and there being a second blade secured to the support plate and extending in the same general direction as the pivotal blade.

By having meshing gear sectors on the handles of the same full diameter, there is ensured an equal and opposite pivotal movement of the handles on the support plate, and a consequent pivoting of the pivotal blade between the open and closed condition, and by having a larger full

diameter for the second gear sector meshing with the gear sector on the blade of a full diameter less than the said first full diameter, there is assured a pivotal movement of the pivotal blade to an effective open condition to allow cutting with relative ease. Desirably, the ratio as between the second and third full diameters is 15: 8, to create a pivotal movement of the pivotal blade to a degree slightly less than the pivotal movement of the handles.

A housing may be provided to encase the support plate and gears sectors, and from which project the handles and blades. Equally, the wall of the housing may form the support plate, with a removable casing provided to encase the lower ends of the handles, the gear sectors and adjacent ends of the blades.

The support plate and the fixed blade may be of unitary construction and formed by any appropriate casting or machining process. Equally, the blade could be separately formed and suitably secured to the support plate, such as by lugs on the support plate engaging in co-operating slots in the end section of the fixed blade.

The support plate may carry three plain or screwed studs to serve as the pivots for the handles and the movable blade, with the plain studs deformed to form heads to hold the handles and pivotal blade in place, or with nuts applied to the screwed stems for that purpose. Equally, studs can be provided on the cover plate to engage in bores in the spindles on the support member, and fixing screws can pass through the cover plate, the studs on the cover plate and into the bores of the spindles.

To set the gear sector on the pivotal blade in the same plane as the gear sector on the cooperating handle, a boss may be formed on the blade to which is secured, or on which is formed, the third gear sector, and the support plate formed with a recess in which sits the pivotal blade and its boss, the pivotal handles abutting the adjacent face of the support plate.

To accommodate users of different heights, each handle may be of telescopic construction, with means to hold the handles in an extended condition.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :- Figure 1 is a side elevation of edging shears according to the invention; and Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the edging shears of Figure 1.

In the drawings, edging shears 1 have two elongated handles 2,3 and cutting blades 4,5 extending from a support member 6 and cover plate 7.

At one, lower end of the handle 2 is a gear tooth sector 8 formed integral with the handle 2 or rigidly secured thereto and at the same lower end of the handle 3 is a gear tooth sector 9 formed integral with the handle 3 or rigidly secured thereto. The gear tooth sector 8 has three teeth 10 in mesh with two gear teeth 11 on the gear tooth sector 9, the teeth 10 and 11 having the same full diameter.

On the gear tooth sector 9 is a second gear tooth sector 12 positioned at 900 to the sector 9, the sector 12 having three teeth 13 having a full diameter smaller than that of the sector 9, the teeth 13 meshing with a gear wheel 14 of the same full diameter as the sector 12, attached directly or indirectly via a mounting plate to one inner end of the blade 4.

The blade 5 is rigidly attached to the inner face of the support member 6 and a spindle 15 is provided extending from the inner face of the support member 6 through a co-operating hole 16 through the blade 5 and its gear wheel 14 to be engaged by a securing screw or other fixing means on the cover plate 7 to hold the support member and the cover plate together in close juxtaposition around the gear tooth sectors on the handles.

Second and third spindles 17 and 18 are provided extending from the support member 6 and through respective co-operating holes 19,20 in the gear tooth sectors 8 and 9 to be engaged by securing screws or other fixing means to ensure that the support member 6 and cover plate 7 are held in place. Thus, as shown, co-operating studs 15A, 17A and 18A are provided on the cover plate 7 to engage as a push fit in bores in the spindles 15,17 and 18 respectively.

Where the handles 2 and 3 emerge from the housing, appropriate gaps 21 and 22 are provided in the housing members, a further gap 23 being provided through which the blades 4,5 emerge.

Thus, with the handles gripped by an operative stood in a generally upright position, the edging shears can be held immediately adjacent e. g. a lawn edge. The handles 3,4 and hence the gear sectors 8,9 can be rotated in opposite directions about the respective spindle 17 and 18, the meshing gear tooth sectors 8,9 ensunng that the handles move to equal and opposite degrees.

As a consequence of the rotation of the gear tooth sector 9 about its spindle 18, there is caused a rotational movement of the gear tooth sector 12 causing the rotation of the gear wheel 14 and an arcuate movement of the blade 4 in about the spindle 16, to open and close the blade 4 in relation to the blade 5 that is held stationery in relation to the housing members during movement of the blade 4.

Consequently, the blade 5 remains in close proximity to the ground below a lawn edge, whilst the moveable blade 4 performs a scissor action to cut grass at the lawn edge.

Claims

1. A garden tool comprising a pair of handles each pivotally located on a support plate, the handles each having facing and meshing gear tooth sectors of the same first full diameter, one handle having a second gear tooth sector lying substantially at 900 to the first sector, and having a larger second full diameter, the second gear tooth sector being in meshing engagement with a third gear tooth sector secured directly, or indirectly, to a blade pivotally mounted on the support plate, the third gear tooth sector having a third full diameter smaller than the said first full diameter, and there being a second blade secured to the support plate and extending in the same general direction as the pivotal blade.

2. A garden tool as in Claim 1, wherein the ratio as between the second and third full diameters is 15: 8, to create a pivotal movement of the pivotal blade less than the pivotal movement of the handles.

3. A garden tool as in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein a housing is provided to encase the support plate and gear sectors.

4. A garden tool as in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein a wall of the housing forms the support plate, a removable casing being provided to encase the lower ends of the handles, the gear sectors and the adjacent ends of the blades.

5. A garden tool as in any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the support plate and fixed blade are of a unitary construction.

6. A garden tool as in any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the support plate and fixed blade are separately formed and suitably secured to each other.

7. A garden tool as in Claim 6, wherein lugs on the support plate engage in co-operating slots in the end section of the fixed blade.

8. A garden tool as in any of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the support plate carries three plain or screwed studs to serve as the pivots for the handles and the movable blade.

9. A garden tool as in Claim 8, wherein the studs are plain studs deformed to form heads

to hold the handles and pivotal blade in place.

10. A garden tool as in Claim 8, wherein the studs are screw threaded to receive nuts to hold the handles and the moveable blade in place.

11. A garden tool as in Claim 9 or Claim 10 wherein studs are formed on the cover plate to engage bores in the respective spindles on the support member.

12. A garden tool as in Claim 11, wherein fixing screws pass through the cover plate, the studs on the cover plate and into the bores of the spindles.

13. A garden tool as in any of Claims 1 to 11, wherein gaps are provided in the support plate and the cover plate to allow movement of the pivotal blade and the handles respectively.

14. A garden tool substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompany drawings.