MULTIPURPOSE GARDEN TOOL |
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申请号 | US12848203 | 申请日 | 2010-08-01 | 公开(公告)号 | US20120023755A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2012-02-02 |
申请人 | Gary Croce; | 发明人 | Gary Croce; | ||||
摘要 | A tool for removing unwanted plants from an area of soil is disclosed. A flexible two-edged blade bent back upon itself with both ends fastened to a common shaft. One edge acts as a knife to slice through soil and roots, moving parallel to the surface of the ground. The opposing blade edge has teeth to grasp, uproot and remove unwanted plants. The design facilitates the removal of unwanted plants or debris without touching said debris with the hands. | ||||||
权利要求 | What is claimed is: |
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说明书全文 | This invention relates to garden tools, and more specifically, to a hand held garden tool that is intended to assist in removing unwanted plants and debris. Undesirable plants compete with desirable plants with regard to water, nutrients and sunlight. Desirable plants produce food or provide ornamental displays such as lawns and flower gardens. Numerous tools have been created to assist in the task of removing undesirable plants. One of the traditional tools associated with this task is the hoe. The hoe incorporates a blade that strikes the surface at an angle more or less perpendicular to the ground and is capable of penetrating the soil to cut the roots and turn over the soil to bury the undesirable plants. The physical work required to move the mass of the soil accompanied with the work of “chiseling” the soil loose is excessive and unnecessary. This results in a large expenditure of energy by the user, resulting in minimal time at task before becoming physically tired and forced to stop. Therefore, it is desirable to have an improved garden tool to assist in removing unwanted plants and debris. Embodiments of the present invention provide a tool for removing unwanted plants from an area of soil. One embodiment is comprised of a flexible two-edged blade bent back upon itself with both ends fastened to a common shaft. In one embodiment, the shaft is circular. One edge acts as a knife to slice through soil and roots, moving parallel to the surface of the ground. The opposing blade edge has teeth to grasp, uproot and remove unwanted plants. The design facilitates the removal of unwanted plants or debris without touching said debris with the hands. The blade design is capable of utilizing handles of various diameters and lengths to suit the needs of the user. The advantages of this design are such that the blade may be sold separately and mounted on any readily available handle. The blade is replaceable when it becomes dull. Many previous hoes were designed to weed large areas around crops planted in rows. Modern flower gardens and beds are not planted in rows and access is more difficult. This creates a need to remove undesirable plants growing in close proximity to desirable plants. Embodiments of the present invention are capable of cultivating and loosening soil as well as outlining the edges of beds while utilizing a tooth edged blade to lift and remove unwanted plants. The shape of the blade 102 is in a U-shape, and is such that force is concentrated into a small area. This permits the operator to expend less energy and work for longer periods. The relatively narrow width of the tool head permits the removal of unwanted plants in close proximity to obstructions or desirable plants. The toothed edge 108 of the blade 102 serves to uproot and grasp unwanted plants for removal. The knife edge 110 of the blade 102 serves to slice through soil and cut roots and can be used to outline flower beds and perimeters. In one embodiment, blades 102 can be readily mounted on user-supplied shafts 104 of varying lengths and diameters. Furthermore, with embodiments of the present invention, the blade is easily replaced when worn or damaged. Although the description above contains many specific details, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but merely as providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of the present invention. The present invention may have various other embodiments. Furthermore, while the form of the invention herein shown and described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is not intended to illustrate all possible forms thereof. It will also be understood that the words used are words of description rather than limitation, and that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention disclosed. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than solely by the examples given. |