SINGLE PASS LAWNMOWER DE-THATCHING AND SWEEPING BLADE

TONDEUSE A GAZON A LAME DECHAUMEUSE ET BALAYEUSE EN PASSE UNIQUE

English Abstract

A lawnmower blade that provides for single operation de-thatching and bagging
of grass clippings, without necessitating the changing of blades for
subsequent collection of grass
thatch and clippings in the lawnmower bag.

Claims

Claims: The embodiments of the invention in which exclusive property or
privilege is claimed
are defined as follows:
1. The combination for use with a powered rotary lawn mower comprising:
A horizontal flat bar having opposed upwardly turned rear edges for one step
lawn de-
thatching and sweeping and bagging of grass clippings.
.cndot. 1. said horizontal flat bar of the particular length to match
appropriately to the radius of
the lawn mower deck to allow for maximum sweeping strength, with upward turned
rear
edge vanes for lawn sweeping and locating of the de-thatching springs and a
central
means for its mounting on the lower end of the vertical drive shaft of the
mower, further
comprising of bar end sections having a slotted tang or tab located in the
rear portion of
the bar end vane, each tang located in behind the front edge and in the
sweeping edge of
the bar means.
.cndot. 2. two spring type tine devices, being securely attached to the bar
means by way of
tension, allowing for the secure attachment of the spring tines to the bar
ends while also
allowing for the on site removal of the spring tines without necessitating the
removal of
the blade from the mower or the use of any tools to remove the spring tines.
.cndot. each tine being formed of spring wire and consisting of a series of
coils, a tang extending
horizontally from the first coil forming a loop end to allow for the easy
manipulation of
the loop and secondly a straight tine end, the working end, extending at a 90
degree angle
downwardly from the loop end, allowing for compression of the tine by a
joining
movement between the loop end and the working end so that the spring tine can
be slid
onto the blade tang where upon release spring compression forces secure the
tines to the
specifically notched blade tangs.
.cndot. each downward extended tine being disposed to be pivotally displaced
upward and
rearward respecting the rotational movement of the blade. Each said tines loop
securely


engaging the bar and preventing rotation, in either direction on the bar tang,
or loss or
displacement of the spring tine from the bar means.
.cndot. whereby the spring tine coils function as a spring device to return
the tine to its
downward position following such displacement.
.cndot. whereby the entire blade means can function as single operation lawn
raking/de-thatching
and bagging device.
2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the spring tines are held in place in
the blade vane
mechanically.
3. The combination of claim 1 wherein the outer end portion of the tang of
each device extends
radially inward respecting the blade.
4. The combination of claim 1 wherein the axis of the coils is normally
straight and each slot and
coils are dimensioned such that the series of coils fit snugly over the tang.
5. The combination of claim 1 wherein the radial outer sections of the blade
further include
upturned trailing edges adapted to cause the air to lift the loosened grass
for collection.
6. The combination of a powered rotary lawn mower blade and two securely
attached but
detachable tine devices,
.cndot. said blade comprising a horizontal flat bar having
.cndot. 1. end sections, each end section having
.cndot. a. a forward edge,
.cndot. b. a rearward upturned air-vane,

4


.cndot. c. a U-shaped slot in each blade vane end extending inwardly to
the blade center
point.
.cndot. said slot positioned behind the cutting edge and located in the air-
vane.
.cndot. 2. a central section having mounting means for mounting the blade on
the lower end of
the drive shaft of the mower; each of said tine devices comprising a length of
spring wire
including:
.cndot. a. a coiled central section to be mounted on said tabs with first and
second end
coils,
.cndot. b. a straight section extending downwardly from the first coil and
forming a tine,
and
.cndot. c. a horizontally projecting section extending from the second coil
and forming a
loop which allows for the compression of the spring required for mounting the
spring to the blade while also preventing rotation of the device on said tab,
the
resilience of said coils being such as to allow the tine to be pivotally
displaced
upwardly and rearwardly beneath the air-vane and to return the tine to its
downward position.
7. The combination of claim 6 wherein the diameter of the blade matches the
diameter of the
mower deck to allow for maximum sweeping power.

5

Description

CA 02358666 2001-09-26
w~lw
PATENT ACT o~C C~Po
SEP 2 ~ 2001 2 fi 9
FORM 24 Feeler
Reml~ a
Chyvd to
Title: Single pass lawnmower de-thatching and sweeping/bagging blade.
of grass clippings, without necessitating the c ' ~~g-eftr~e~r subsequent
collection of grass
Specification: This invention relates to the design of a lawnmower blade that
will allow for
single pass de-thatching and bagging of lawn clippings. Currently all rotary
mower de-thatching
devices are separate bars, not actual blades, that must be installed in place
of the mower blade
when a de-thatching operation is needed. The replacement of the mower blade
with the de-
thatching bar eliminates the ability of the mower to both de-thatch and sweep
up grass clippings
in one pass. This necessitating one pass over the lawn with the de-thatching
bar followed by the
removal and replacement of the bar with the sweeping blade so that another
pass over the lawn
can be made with the mower blade to sweep up and collect the loosened thatch
and clippings.
Prior art has proposed similar types of multi-function lawn mower blades but
none of them have
been successful because they provided for the de-thatching spring to be
located in the flat,
horizontal portion of the blade. These types of designs dramatically reduce
the sweeping effect of
the blade due to the required operating height from the cutting surface due to
length and mounting
position of the spring tines in the horizontal. The proposed invention
provides for one pass de-
thatching and bagging of clippings by way of placement of securely mounted,
but removable,
spring tines located in the blade vane ends providing for much lower operating
heights,

CA 02358666 2001-09-26
improving the ability for the blade function as both a lawn de-thatching
device and a lawn thatch
collection device. And further the proposed invention allows for the tool less
removal of the
tension mounted spring tines from the blade ends whereby the operator can
easily remove and
replace worn or broken tines simply by turning the mower on its side and
removing the tines by
compressing the two tines ends together and sliding the tines out of the
spring locating tangs
which are located in the blade vanes.
2

CA 02358666 2001-09-26
Drawings:
Figure 1 shows the end view of blade with spring (a) installed in vane
retaining tab (b).
2. Figure 2 shows the front view of the blade with mowing edge (c), spring (a)
and tab in
vane (b).
3. Figure 3 shows the front view of blade without the spring showing vane tab
(a), vane (b)
and mowing edge (c).
6