GB2554886B

GB2554886B - Garden hand-tool

Info

Publication number: GB2554886B
Application number: GB1617284.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mandall David
Original assignee: Dig My Bed Ltd
Current assignee: Dig My Bed Ltd
Priority date: 2016-10-12
Filing date: 2016-10-12
Publication date: 2019-11-20
Anticipated expiration: 2036-10-12
Also published as: GB201617284D0; GB2554886A; WO2018069698A1

Description

Garden Hand-Tool

The present invention relates to a novel hand tool, principally intended for garden use, in a similar manner to conventional garden tools, such as garden forks, spades and the like.

Typically, and probably over hundreds of years, gardeners will have had in their sheds a range of hand tools for working the soil, commonly including at least a garden fork, a garden spade, a hoe and a rake. A gardener will frequently have to use each of these implements in turn when digging and preparing soil. The designs of such tools are familiar and well-established, with little variations in designs. There may be differences in sizes of the tool heads and some tools may be all made of metal, with head and handle welded or formed together, whilst others may have replaceable handles of wood or plastic.

Typically, a gardener digging over a bed will use multiple tools in turn, from a fork to loosen the soil, a spade to turn the soil, a sieve to remove large stones and plant roots, to a hoe and a rake to level the ground ready for replanting. This necessarily requires carrying a lot of tools to and fro and swapping around in use.

There have been some attempts to modify the conventional designs, but these have not offered any significant advantages to have gained much popularity. DeWit, for example, offer a range of so-called "Spork" tools (such as illustrated in Fig. 9 hereto) which comprise a spade shaped head with a saw tooth blade and elongated cut outs in the blade to lighten it. Other tools have been proposed with a combination of various features for different garden or horticultural uses. In 1910, US Patent 965,736 disclosed a grading, fork-like implement with a hinged frame enabling the space between tines to be altered for grading fruit and vegetables. In 1990, GB 2 250 170 described a plastic tool with a shovel-like portion provided with sieve apertures in an upper half and multiple tines extending in the lower half. In 1995, GB 2 306 094 proposed welding short tines onto the bottom of a conventional spade. In 2013, DE 20 2013 006617 disclosed a design for a leaf shovel, with the shovel body comprising a plastic mesh with thin tines, preferably with rounded ends, along the front edge, specifically for guiding the shovel horizontally through grass to pick up leaves and hedge clippings. None of these designs is practical for multifunctional garden use in substituting for a conventional garden spade, fork and other tools.

The present invention, as defined in the appended claims, in its various embodiments, and with additional features, provides an innovative advance in garden tool design offering very significant improvements in utility and flexibility in use.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a garden tool head for use in digging and grating soil with a handle mount and a fork frame with multiple fork tines extending down from a lateral upper frame member (similar to a conventional garden fork design), with the addition of a blade positioned between adjacent tines away from the upper frame member and closer to the lower ends of the tines, the blade having a leading edge towards the pointed ends of the tines and a trailing edge away from the pointed ends, with the leading edge of the blade set back from the points of the adjacent tines, and with a grille extending between the adjacent tines in the space between the trailing edge of the blade up towards the upper frame member, the grille having a plurality of dividing elements between the adjacent tines, thereby defining a mesh with multiple gaps through which soil may pass in use. A tool head will have a minimum of two fork tines extending down from the upper frame member. A tool with a narrow head, having only two tines may be appropriate for use when working along a channel for a seed row, for example. Preferably, for general garden use, a tool head with three tines will be appropriate. For wider tool heads, more than three tines may be provided. A tool with a tool head according to the present invention has a number of advantages over conventional forks and spades. The blade between the lower sections of the adjacent tines adds rigidity, which makes the tines less prone to bending or twisting out of line than on an ordinary fork. Setting the leading edge of the blade back from the ends of the tines introduces an advantage over a conventional spade, in that the tine points are arranged go into, and gain purchase in, the ground and stabilise the tool, before the edge of the blade starts to cut into the ground surface. This makes it easier for users to get started. In contrast, users of an ordinary spade will often have to lift the spade up high and plunge it down quickly and hard to get the spade started into the ground.

Additionally, the provision of a grille between the tines behind the blade makes the tool lighter than a conventional spade, but also makes it easier to move the tool head back and forward in the ground to loosen the soil, as well as providing the facility for the user to sieve out stones, for example when soil is lifted out. The placement of the dividing elements of the grille can be set to define a mesh with gaps at an appropriate mesh size suited to the type of soil in which the tool is expected to be used. For typical garden soil, the inventor has found that mesh sizes of 2 - 3cm across allow the tool head to work effectively as a shovel when first lifting soil (prior to grating or sieving into a finer tilth) and allow effective sieving out of larger stones and roots. For more sandy soil, a smaller mesh size may be preferable.

Similarly, the distance by which the blade is set back from the tine points may differ according to the size of the tool head and the type of soil in which it is intended to be used. For typical garden soil, the inventor has found that setting the leading edge back from the tine points by a distance corresponding to 15 - 25% of the tine length is suitable. Preferably, for example, for tines of around 30cm, commonly found on ordinary garden forks, the leading edge of the blade can be set back by around 5-6cm. For shorter tines of around 20cm, such as may be found on a smaller garden border fork, a set back of 3.5-5cm may be appropriate.

The grille dividing elements may conveniently be formed of lengths of wire criss-crossed between adjacent tines.

Alternatively, the grille may be formed by pressing or cutting out the grille mesh in a sheet metal insert.

Advantageously, the blade and associated grille may be formed together as an integral insert.

Conveniently, the gaps in the mesh defined by the dividing elements in the grille are parallelograms. Preferably, the dividing elements are arranged to form diamond-shaped gaps with opposing pairs of vertices on axes substantially parallel to the tines in one direction and orthogonal to the tines in the other. The inventor has found that this arrangement makes the grille particularly effective for grating soil when moving the tool up and down in the ground.

Alternatively, the grille dividing element may define a mesh with circular gaps.

Preferably, the leading edge of the blade is sharpened into a cutting edge. This improves the effectiveness of the tool in cutting roots, for example.

Conveniently, for ordinary garden use, the head is provided with three tines - two outer tines, one extending down from each end of the lateral upper frame member, and a third tine extending down centrally between the two outer tines, with a blade and a grille provided between each pair of adjacent tines.

Conveniently also, the leading edge of the blade is located equidistant from a line between the pointed ends of each adjacent tine. Alternatively, the leading edge of the blade may be slanted or curved between adjacent tines so that the distances from a line between the pointed ends of each adjacent tine to the leading edge of the blade may differ.

Additionally, and further advantageously, an outer tine may be provided with a side plate extending along most of the length of said tine from on or about the line of the leading edge of the blade towards the upper frame member and raised out of the plane of the front face of the tool head between adjacent tines, thereby to provide a retaining edge. Such a side plate acts as a side blade providing a consistent edge to the cutting action of the tool when digging into the ground. Further, the side plate acts like the edge of a shovel to keep soil on the front face of the tool head when lifted up. Preferably, each outer tine is provided with a like side plate.

To aid a user when digging, the upper frame member may be provided with a footrest. For additional strengthening, a side plate on an outer tine may be extended and joined to a footrest.

In a second aspect of the invention, a garden hand tool comprising a handle with a tool head according to the first aspect of the invention is provided.

In a third aspect of the invention, an integral blade and grille insert for use in the manufacture of a tool head or tool according to first or second aspects of the invention.

Overall, a single tool with a head according to the invention can perform the functions of a fork, a spade, a sieve, a root cutter, a shovel, an earth grater, a basic rake and a hoe, all in one.

Various embodiments and aspects of garden tool-heads and tools according to the invention will now be described in more detail and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a tool-head according to the invention in (a) perspective from above the front face of the tool-head, and (b) rear plan views;

Fig. 2 similarly illustrates an alternative embodiment of a tool-head according to the invention in (a) perspective, (b) rear plan views, and (c) end elevation;

Figures 3, 4 and 5 show various tools with different tool-heads according to the invention;

Fig. 6 illustrates a tool with a tool-head provided with side plates;

Fig. 7 illustrates a tool with a tool-head having side plates and footrests;

Fig. 8 illustrates various alternative embodiments of integral blade and grille inserts for use in tool-heads according to the invention; and

Fig. 9 is a drawing of a prior art DeWit* "spork" spade with saw-tooth blade.

Figure 1 shows, in (a) perspective, and (b) rear plan views, a garden tool head 10 according to the invention. A conventional garden tool head handle mount 1 (adapted to receive a standard handle familiar in the art) is attached at its lower end to a fork frame 2 with a lateral upper frame member 3, from which three fork tines 4a, 4b, 4c extend downwards similarly to a conventional garden fork head. Between each pair of adjacent tines 4a, 4b and 4b, 4c a blade 5 is positioned towards the lower ends of the tines with its leading edge 6 set back from the pointed ends of the tines and its trailing edge 7 further up towards the upper frame member 3. In the space between the trailing edge 7 of each blade and the upper frame member 3, there is a grille 8 formed by dividing elements 9 criss-crossing diagonally across the space between adjacent tines and defining a mesh with diamond shaped gaps in the grille 8. In the illustrated embodiment, the grille extends the whole length of the tines from trailing edge of the each blade up to the upper frame member. However, it is not essential for a single grille to extend the whole of that length. The grille may not necessarily directly abut the trailing edge of the blade or the upper frame member. Additional, strengthening intermediate cross members, or secondary blades, or another secondary grille may also be positioned in the space between the tines.

An alternative embodiment 20 is illustrated in (a) perspective, (b) rear plan, and (c) end-on views in Figure 2. In this embodiment, the central tine 4b is curved gently downwards relative to the plane between the outer tines 4a, 4c to create a slightly dished tool head when viewed end-on. This is similar to the curvature often seen across conventional spade heads, for example, and acts similarly. The blades 5 in this embodiment are also each slightly curved between the central tine and each outer tine. The grille 8 in this case is formed by dividing elements 9 extending parallel and orthogonal to the tines, defining substantially rectangular gaps with a mesh size somewhat larger than those in the grilles of the Figure 1 embodiment.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 illustrate different tool configurations with tool heads according to the invention. In Figure 3, tool head 30 is provided with a handle 35 inserted in the mount 1, and the grilles are formed of wire dividing elements 9 criss-crossing across the gaps between adjacent tines to produce diamond shaped gaps in the mesh.

In Figure 4, tool head 40 is provided with a different handle 45 inserted in the mount 1, and in this case the wire grille dividing elements 9 are arranged to produce substantially square-shaped gaps in the grille mesh.

In Figure 5, tool head 50 is provided with an alternative handle 55 having a longer shaft 56, which is bifurcated at the lower end with two legs 57 adapted to fit mounts 58 at either end of the upper frame member 3. In this embodiment, a user's foot could press directly on the upper frame member 3 between the two legs 57, rather than on either side of the mount 1 as in the previous embodiments. This shows that the tool head according to the invention is not limited to having any particular type of handle mount.

Figure 6 shows (a) a perspective view of the front face of a tool head 60 with a handle 65 attached, and (b) a rear plan view of this tool. The basic tool head is essentially similar to that of Figure 4, except that, in the Figure 6 embodiment, the blades 5 and grilles 8 with square mesh gaps are formed together by press cutting metal plates, which are then fixed between the respective adjacent tine pairs 4a, 4b and 4b, 4c. The head 60 is further modified by the addition of side plates 66 affixed to each outer tine 4a, 4c from about the line of the leading edges of the blades 5 along most of the length of each outer tine 4a, 4c up towards the upper frame member 3. The side plates are of metal, like the blades 5, and extend upward out of the plane of the front face of the tool head between adjacent tines, as illustrated, thereby to provide retaining edges (to act similarly to the sides of a shovel blade). The lower leading edges 67 of the side plates act as blades (and may be sharpened for that purpose, if desired) to assist in cutting out a consistent width of sod when digging into the ground. The side plates otherwise serve to keep soil on the front face of the tool when raised up, and facilitate sieving stones and roots through the grilles 8. In this embodiment the side plates 66 are shown fixed to the outside edges of the outer tines 4a, 4c. Alternatively, the side plates may conveniently be located on the front faces of the tines. The addition of such plates acts to stiffen the tines and makes them more resistant to bending backwards or forwards in use. A similar plate may be added to intermediate tine 4b for the same purpose.

Figure 7 likewise shows (a) a perspective view from the front, and (b) a rear plan view, of a tool with a further modified embodiment of a tool-head 70 according to the invention. In this case, the tool head 70 has blades 5 with grilles 8 integrally formed together from a press cut metal sheet, this time with diamond shaped gaps cut out, to form the mesh. Each outer tine 4a, 4c is provided with a side plate 66, like those of Figure 6 except that these side plates extend right up to the upper edge of the upper frame member 3 where they are each joined to a respective footrest, 68 on either side of the handle mount 1. The footrests 68 make it easier for a user to apply pressure when digging. Although the footrests may be fixed separately to the upper frame member, each footrest may also be formed integrally with the corresponding side plate (e.g. by folding an elongated side plate end around on top of the upper frame member to form the corresponding footrest on that side).

Figure 8 illustrates four examples of integral, combined blade 5 and grille 8 inserts, showing various different mesh configurations which may be conveniently manufactured from press-cut or laser-cut metal plate, for fixing between adjacent tines of tool-heads according to the invention. Different mesh configurations may be used for the grilles in tool-heads according to the invention.

Figure 8(a) shows an insert with a diamond shaped grille mesh 8 and with the leading edge 6 of the integral blade 5 sharpened to provide a cutting edge. In Figure 8(b), the grille mesh 8 is square shaped, and the leading edge 6 of the integral blade 5 is likewise sharpened to a cutting edge. In Figure 8(c) the grille mesh has circular gaps, whilst in Figure 8(d) the grille 8 comprises multiple dividing elements 9 arranged to extend laterally across the space between adjacent tines. This configuration may be particularly suited to tool heads with smaller spacings between adjacent tines. It will be evident that the widths and lengths of the inserts and their respective blade and grille sections may be varied to suit and fit the intended tine lengths, and spacings, of a particular tool head. For example, if the outer tines are slightly splayed outwards at their tips (as is sometimes seen with ordinary garden forks), then the width of an insert at the blade end may be greater than the width at the upper end. The multiple grille dividing elements are arranged to extend across the space between adjacent tines to define the grille mesh. The mesh size may be varied to suit different types of soil. Where a tool head has three or more tines, then different mesh configuration and/or different mesh sizes may be used for the grilles between different pairs of adjacent tines, for example, to enable finer sieving on one section between one pair of adjacent tines, and coarser sieving between another pair.

The manufacture and production of tool heads and tools according to the invention is readily achieved using methods and materials conventionally employed for the production of garden forks and spades and the like. For example, the fork frame with its tines may be formed of steel in the same manner as a conventional fork head, and the blade made of pressed steel, such as used for ordinary spade heads. The grille may be formed of steel wire mesh spot welded between adjacent tines. The inventor has found steel wire of 2-3mm diameter suitable for such mesh. Alternatively, integral blade and grille inserts (as shown in Figure 8) maybe pressed or laser cut from steel plate and machine welded between adjacent tines. Carbon steel plate of 2-3mm thickness, for example, has been found suitable.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and ordinary gardeners, that a tool with a tool head according to the invention offers tremendous utility and flexibility in use. The inventor has established that there is a particular advantage in having a blade between adjacent fork tines and in having the leading edge of the tool blade set back from the points of the adjacent fork tines. This has the effect of altering to some extent the effective pivot point of the tool head when first inserted in the ground. A conventional garden fork, when inserted into the soil and moved back and forward, will pivot about its tine tips. A spade, similarly, when forced into the soil, will pivot about the lower edge of the blade. Using a tool head according to the invention, the fork tines will initially enter the soil up to the leading edge of the blade, which then provides a different pivot point at the ground surface, allowing the tips of the tines to move back and forth in the soil when the tool is rocked back and forward about the leading edge of the blade. This allows the tines to start breaking up the soil before the blade is pushed down into the ground. When the tool is pushed further down, so that the grille can be moved back and forward through the soil, the grille also facilitates breaking up of the soil, in contrast to a spade face, which would compress the soil in front or behind the blade as the spade is rocked back and forward.

Typically most garden soils will be of a consistency which allows soil to be lifted in clumps or clods supported by the blade and grille. It is then possible to use the tool like a sieve to remove plant roots and stones larger than the grille mesh size. Additionally, the grille performs a very effective grating function when moved to and fro across lumps of soil on the ground. Further advantageously, when the soil has been loosened, moving the tool head up and down and forwards and backwards through the soil allows the grille to grate the soil into a finer grained tilth, in situ, which can offer a considerable saving in effort over that required to dig out, and sieve, the soil. The inventor has found that a grille with a diamond shaped mesh appears preferable for this purpose as, in this configuration, grating is more effective because the soil is forced into the upper and lower apexes of the diamond shapes as the head is moved down and up. The blade (and side plates) on a tool head according to the invention also provide a cutting function which can be used to remove weeds from the soil surface and cut through roots in the soil. It is preferable that the blade and side plates have sharpened, cutting edges for this purpose. A tool head with multiple tines may be readily used as a rake with the tines allowed to go into loose soil up to the leading edge of the blade which can then be dragged across the soil surface to remove loose debris. Tool heads with more than three tines may be particularly suited to such use. The blade itself can be conveniently used like a hoe, to break up lumps of soil, with the grille allowing loose soil to pass through so that soil does not build up on one face or other of the blade as it would with a conventional spade.

Overall, therefore, the invention offers significant advantages over the long-established conventional range of garden forks and spades.

Claims

1. A garden tool head (10) for use in digging and grating soil, the garden tool head comprising: a handle mount (1) for attachment to the lower end of a tool handle; a fork frame (2) having an upper frame member (3) extending laterally substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the tool handle, thereby defining the upper width of the tool head; a plurality of fork tines extending down from, and spaced apart across the upper frame member (3); the tool head characterised by: a blade (5) positioned between adjacent tines towards their lower, pointed ends, the blade (5) having a leading edge (6) towards the pointed ends of the tines and a trailing edge (7) away from the pointed ends, with the leading edge (6) of the blade set back from the points of the adjacent tines; and a grille (8) extending between the adjacent tines in the space between the trailing edge (7) of the blade up towards the upper frame member (3), the grille (8) having a plurality of dividing elements (9) between the adjacent tines thereby defining a mesh with multiple gaps through which soil may pass in use.

2. A garden tool head according to claim 1, wherein the grille is formed of wire dividing elements crossing between adjacent tines.

3. A garden tool head according to claim 1, wherein the grille is formed of a sheet metal insert with the mesh gaps cut or pressed out therefrom.

4. A garden tool head according to any preceding claim, wherein the grille dividing elements define gaps in the mesh in the form of parallelograms.

5. A garden tool head according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the grille dividing elements define diamond-shaped gaps in the mesh, preferably wherein the diamond-shaped gaps are arranged with opposing pairs of vertices on axes substantially parallel to the tines in one direction and orthogonal to the tines in the other.

6. A garden tool head according to any preceding claim, wherein the leading edge of the blade is sharpened to a cutting edge.

7. A garden tool head according to any preceding claim, wherein the head has three tines, comprising two outer tines (4a, 4c), one extending from each end of the lateral frame member (3), and a third tine (4b) extending down centrally between the two outer tines (4a, 4c).

8. A garden tool head according to Claim 7 having three or more tines, wherein at least a first grill provided between a first pair of adjacent tines has a differing mesh configuration and/or a differing mesh size to that of a second grill provided between a second pair of adjacent tines.

9. A garden tool head according to any preceding claim, wherein the leading edge of the blade is located equidistant from a line between the pointed ends of each adjacent tine.

10. A garden tool head according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and separately 9 insofar as it is not dependent on claim 7, wherein outer tines are, or according to any one of claims 7 and 8, and separately 9 insofar as it is dependent on claim 7, wherein the outer tines (4a, 4c) are provided with a side plate (66) extending along most of the length of the said tine from on or about the line of leading edge (6) of the blade (5) towards the upper frame member (3) and raised out of a plane of the front face of the tool head between the said outer tines (4a, 4c) and its adjacent tine (4b).

11. A garden tool head according to claim 10, wherein the side plate (66) extends up to the upper frame member (3) and is joined to a footrest (68) thereon.

12. A garden hand tool comprising a handle provided with a tool head according to any preceding claim.

13. An integral blade and grille insert for use in the manufacture of a tool head or tool according to any preceding claim.