US642140A - Lawn-trimmer. - Google Patents

Description

H0. $42M). Patented Jan. 30, I900. W. LUKE.

LAWN TRIMMER.

(Application filed Dec. 20, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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STATES PATEN rricn.

"WILLIAM LUKE, OF SAN ANTONIO, T JXAS.

LAWN TRllVIiVIER.

SIECIFIGATIDN forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,140, dated January 30, 1900.

Application filed December 20, 1898. Serial No. 699,829. (No model.)

To (tZZ 2072,0712 it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM LUKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Lawn- Trimmer, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to improvements in lawn-trimmers or grass-cutters; and one object in view is to provide a simple, efficient, and cheap construction by which a person is able to cut the edge of alawn or to trim shrubbery without assuming the inconvenient and tiresome posture which is necessary with ordinary hedge-shears.

A further object is to provide means by which the handles may be adjusted at a proper angle to the shears to suit the convenience of the operator and to provide a simple and easily-operated locking contrivance for securely holding the handles in the positions to which they may be adjusted.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for positively arresting the opening movement of the handles, and thereby prevent the leverage of the handle-bars from straining the spring of the shears.

Vith these ends in view the invention consists in the novel combination of elements and in the construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand the invention, I have illustrated the same in the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lawntrimmer constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an inverted or bottom plan View. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. i is a vertical cross-section on the plane through the pivots of the hangers. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the adjustable shears-hangers. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of the shoe-support. Fig. 7 is a detail view of the arrestingstop for the handlebars.

Like numerals of reference denote like and corresponding parts in each of the several figures of the drawings.

In my invention I employ ordinary shears 10, that are commonly used for trimming hedges or the edges of lawns, as well as for horticultural work generally. These shears 1O consist of the blades 11, the shanks 12, and the bowed spring 13, all of the usual or any preferred construction; and in adapting my improvements to shears of this type I have arranged the supporting devices for the handle-bars in a manner to operate the shears by an opening-and-closing movement of the handle-bars and have arranged the supportingwheel shoe at a point on the shears where it will not be interfered with by the handlebars.

For the purpose of connecting the handlebars to the shears I employ the hangers 14 15. The hanger 14 is made from a plate of metal which is bent or doubled upon itself to provide the clip 16 at the lower end of the hanger, and in the upper end of said hanger is a pivot-hole 17, adapted to receive a bolt, by which the hanger is pivotally attached to one of the handle-bars. The other hanger 15 is a broad plate, which is considerably wider than the hanger 14, and the lower edge of the plate-like hanger 15 is bent to form the offset 15, which is adapted to embrace one shank of the shears. This broad plate-like hanger has a clamping-plate 18 applied to one side thereof, and this clamping-plate is bent or curved at its lower edge, so as to bear against one shear-shank on the opposite side from the ofiset lower edge of the plate-hanger 15, and the clamping-plate 18 is fastened securely to the hanger 15 by transverse bolts 19, whereby the hanger and the plate may be attached firmly to one shank of the shears, while the other hanger 14 may have its clip 16 engage with the other shank of the shears. The broad plate-hanger 15 is formed near its front edge with a transverse pivot-hole 20, and the rear edge of the hanger is arc-shaped, as at 21, the are being struck from the axis of the pivot-hole 20. Near the arc-shaped edge of the hanger is a series of transverse apertures 22, adapted to receive a latch pin or bolt, whereby the hanger 15 is constructed for pivotal attachment to one handle-bar for adjustment to different positions thereon, and it may be locked in its adjusted position by a latch, which may engage with either one of the series of apertures 22.

The handlebars of my invention are indicated at 23 24, and these bars may be from four feet to four and a half feet long", or any other desired length to suit the convenience of the operator. The handle-bars cross one another at a point near their lower ends, and to enable the bars to be fitted compactly together diagonal recesses 25 are out in the opposing faces of the bars in a manner to secure the overlapping thereof and to permit of a limited pivotal movement of the bars one upon the other sufficient for the operation of the shears. The handle-bars are pivoted together by a transverse fulcrum-bolt which passes through the recessed overlapped portions of the bars, and the head and nut of this fulcrum-bolt bear upon metallic reinforcementplates 27, that are fastened to the outer faces of the bars. The bar 23 has its lower end formed with a recess 28 on the inner edge or face thereof, and this end of the bar, as well as its recessed face, is protected against splitting and abrasion by the hanger 14 by means of a metallic wear-plate 29, which is bolted securely in place on the bar. The upper perforated end of the hanger 14 is fitted in the recessed face of the bar and its wear-plate, and a pivotal bolt 30 passes through the opening 17 of the hanger and through the handlebar to pivotally and securely attach the hanger 14 to said bar 23. The other handlebar 24 has a recess 31 formed therein, which is longer and deeper than the recess 28 in the bar 23, and this recessed end of the handlebar is protected in like manner by a guide and wear strap 32. The strap 32 is bent to accurately conform to the contour of the handle-bar 24 and its recess 31, and said strap is furthermore doubled upon itself to form the guide-clip 33, which receives the arc-shaped edge of the hanger 15. This hangeris applied laterally to the recessed face and strap of the handle-bar 24, and it is'pivotally mounted thereon by a bolt 34, which passes through the opening 20 of the hanger and the bar 24. A latch-pin 35 is loosely fitted in an opening provided transversely in the bar 24 and the strap 32 thereof in a position to coincide with either of the openings 22 in the hanger, thus enabling the latch-pin to engage with and fasten the hanger 15 at any point of its adjustment. The latch-pin is notched at 36 to receive the forked end 39 of a spring 38, which is applied laterally to the handle-bar 24 and is secured thereon by the fastening-bolt 34; and this spring serves to normally impel the latch-pin into engagement with the apertured hanger, while theend of the latch-pin projects a suitable distance beyond the bar 24 to be grasped readily by the operator.

It will be observed that the hangers are attached to the handle-bars and the shanks of the shears in a manner to transmit the opening and closing movement of the handlebars to the blades of the shears for the purpose of operating the latter, and as the hangers are pivotally connected to the handle-bars the latter may be raised or lowered within certain limits to suit the convenience'of the operator, the latch-pin serving to hold the handle-bars securely in their adjusted positions.

In order to prevent the handle-bars from opening the shears to such an extent as to unduly strain or break the bowed spring of the shears, I employ a stop-bail 40, which embraces the handle-bars at a suitable distance above the fulcrum 26 thereof. As shown by Fig. 7, this stop-bail is bent from a single piece of wire to have a short loop 42 formed at one end thereof, while its other end is bent to form a long loop 41, each end of the wire embracing the long bar of the bail. The loop 42 is fitted around the handle-bar 23 and is re-' ceived in a clip 43, which is fastened to said handle-bar 23 on the outside thereof. The other end of the bail 40 is fitted around the handle-bar 24 for the purpose of allowing said handle-bar to have the necessary movement within the bail, and said end of the bail is received slidably in a guide-plate 44, which embraces the bar 24 and serves to hold the bail 40 in proper position on the handle-bar and to prevent abrasion or wear thereof. The stop-bail may be applied to the handle-bars at a proper distance from the fulcrum 26 thereof, so as to limit theoutward or opening movement of the bars, and thus the shears are prevented from being strained by thebars to such an extent as to injure or break the bowed spring thereof.

In order to sustain the shears above the ground and to present the blades ata proper angle to secure maximum efficiency in trimming the grass, I employ a wheel-shoe,which is attached to the bowed spring of the shears and is adapted to travel on the ground. This wheel-shoe is mounted in a supporting-plate 45, which is provided with horizontal spaced arms 46, which receive between themselves the wheel 47. The arms 46 serve to support the shaft or axle 48 of the wheel 47, which occupies the space within the bowed spring and between the planes of the shear-shanks. The supporting-plate 45 is applied in a Vertical position to the central part of the bowed spring, and this plate cooperates with a clamping-plate 49, that is applied against the opposite face of the shear-spring. The clamping-plate has a bent tongue 50,which is adapted to be inserted between the spaced arms 46 and embrace the lower edge of the supportin g-plate 45 and the shear-spring, and the upper end of this clamp-plate is fastened to the plate 45 by means of a bolt 51, which passes through said plates 45 49 at a suitable distance above the edge of the shear-spring. It is evident that the plates 45 49 may be clamped firmly on the shear-spring to properly support the wheel-shoe 47, and the supporting means for this shoe may be adjusted vertically for a limited distance to vary the angle of the shear to the ground.

The shears may be detached from the hangers and the operating-handles, and the support for the wheel-shoe may be removed from IEO the shear-spring, thus enabling the shears to be detached from their supporting and operating devices and permitting said shears to be used in an ordinary manner by hand.

One of the importantadvantages of my construction is that the locking-bolt or latch-pin 35 may be detached and the hangers may be turned on the handle-bars for the purpose of inverting the blades of the shears over and upon the handle-bars,whereby the shears may be thrown out of active position and into compact relation to the handle-bars for the purpose of conveniently carrying the implement without danger of cutting the operator or of storing the implement away in a small space.

Changes may be made in the form and proportion of some of the parts, while their es,- sential features are retained and the spirit of the invention embodied. Hence I do not desire to be limited to the precise form of all the parts as shown, reserving the right to vary therefrom.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is- 1. In alawn-trimmer, the combination with shears, of pivoted handle-bars, hangers attached to said handle-bars and attached to the shears, and a shoe supported on the sh earsspring, substantially as described.

2. In a lawn-trimmer, the combination with shears, of handle-bars pivoted together, hangers clamped to the members of the shears and pivoted on the respective handle-bars, a locking device carried by one of the handlebars and engaging with a hanger, and a shoe supported on the heel of the shears; said hangers, the shears and the shoe being foldable on the handle-bars by turning the hangers on their pivotal connection to said bars, substantially as described.

3. In a lawn-trimmer, the combination with shears and pivoted handle-bars, of a hanger pivoted to one of the bars and embracing one shank of the shears, another hanger provided with apertures and pivoted on the other handle-bar, a clamping-plate attached to the hanger and coacting therewith in engaging with the other shank of the shears, and a latch mounted on the handle-bar and engaging with the perforated hanger, substantially as described.

4;. In a lawn-trim mer, the combination with shears and pivoted handle-bars, of a strap applied to one of the handle-bars and having a guide-clip, a perforated hanger pivoted on said handle-bar and fitted in the clip of the strap, a locking device engaging with said hanger and the handle-bar, means for attaching the hanger to one shank of the shears, and another hanger pivoted to the other handie-bar and engaging with the other shank of the shears, substantially as described.

5. In a lawn-trimmer, the combination of handle-bars pivoted together, independent hangers clamped to the handle-bars to par- -take of the movement thereof, spring-shears having the members fastened independently to said hangers, and a shoe attached to the heel of the shears between the members thereof, substantially as described.

6. In a lawn-trimmer, the combination with shears and pivoted handle-bars connected therewith, of a clip attached to one handlebar, a guide-plate fitted to the other handlebar, and a stop device having a loop engaged by the clip and another loop which is slidably fitted to the guide-plate and arranged to limit the relative movement of the handle-bars when opened, substantially as described.

7. In a lawntrimmer, the combination with shears and handle-bars connected therewith, of a supporting device clamped adjustably to the bowed spring of the shears, and a wheel-shoe supported by the device within the shears, substantially as described.

8. In a lawn-trimmer, the combination of handle-bars pivotally joined at a point intermediate their extremities, a spring-shears having means for operatively connecting the respective blades thereof to said handle-bars on one side of the pivot of the latter, and a stop device connected to the handle-bars on the opposite side of the pivot thereof from the shear-connecting means, said step device comprising the short loop snugly fitting one handlebar, and a long loop slidably fitted to the opposite handlebar to arrest the play of said bars within the limits of the spring of said shears.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signaturein the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM LUKE.

Witnesses:

EARL Sco'rT, Tries. JOHNSON.

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