GB1558467A

GB1558467A - Tools for turf treatment or for other prposes

Info

Publication number: GB1558467A
Application number: GB3751475A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Wilkinson Sword Ltd
Current assignee: Wilkinson Sword Ltd
Priority date: 1976-09-13
Filing date: 1976-09-13
Publication date: 1980-01-03

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO TOOLS FOR TURF TREATMENT OR FOR OTHER PURPOSES (71) We, WILKINSON SWORD LIMITED, a British Company, of Sword House, Totteridge Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP13 6EJ, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to tools for treatment of turf and for other uses in gardening, horticulture, and agriculture.

The invention will be described in connection with its application to a turf treatment tool, specifically a hand tool for slitting turf to improve aeration.

According to the present invention, there is provided a tool comprising spindle means, at least two rotary ground penetration devicesmounted for independent rotation with respect to one another on the spindle means, each device comprising a ground penetration member attached to a separate spacer which is rotatable with respect to the spindle means, each said member frictionally engaging the next adjacent said member, and means operable at will to vary the frictional force acting between one of said members and the spindle whereby the resistance to rotation of said members relative to the spindle can be varied to the depth of penetration of the members.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a tool comprising spindle means, a plurality of spacers rotatable independently of one another on the spindle means, a plurality of ground-penetration members each of which has been mounted on and secured to a separate one of the spacers for rotation therewith, the members being spaced apart along the spindle means and means operable at will to vary the resistance of the members to rotation relative to the spindle whereby the depth of penetration of the members can be varied.

Still further according to the present invention there is provided a tool comprising a handle having two spaced tangs at one end thereof, spindle means non-rotatably spanning the tangs, a plurality of spacers rotatable independently of one another on the spindle means in end-to-end frictional contact with one another, and a plurality of ground.

penetration members each located between two adjacent spacers and each having been fitted to one of said spacers for rotation therewith, and means operable at will to vary the frictional force between one of said spacers and means fixed relative to the shaft to vary the resistance to rotation of said spacer and thereby vary the depth of penetration of the members.

An embodiment of a tool in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the tool with only part of the handle shown; and Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of some of the components of the tool.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that the tool comprises groundpenetration members in the form of six starshaped slitters 10 which are rotatablymounted on a spindle 11, the movement of the slitters 10 across turf or ground being under the control of a handle assembly of any appropriate form, the two ends 12 of which engage the spindle 11.

The spindle 11 is of circular cross-section except for the two ends where opposed parallel flats 1 la are formed to give a noncircular cross-section, part 1 lb at each end of the spindle being screw-threaded.

The slitters 10 are separated from one another and from the handle by seven spacers 13. The spacers 13, which conveniently are plastics mouldings, each have- a hub 13a, so dimensioned that the spacers 13 are freely rotatable on the spindle 11. At one end each spacer 13, with the exception of the spacer which is shown at the right-hand end in Figure 1, has a square boss 13b, (at its righthand end as seen in Figure 1) which engages in a corresponding square aperture 10a in the slitter so that each slitter 10 and the spacer 13 to its left will rotate together.

The hub 1 3n of each spacer at the left-hand end as shown lies inwardly of the end of the spacer to accommodate the square boss 13b of the adjacent spacer to the left thereof.

The outer face of each of the end spacers 13 is in contact with a thrust washer 14, and a dished spring washer 15 is positioned between the trust washer 14 and the tang 12a of the handle assembly. The right-hand end of the spindle 11 is capped with a nut 16 which is tightened to the depth of the screw-thread 1 lb at that end portion of the spindle 11. Outwardly of the handle tang 1 2a at the left-hand end of the spindle 11, a washer 17 is positioned and a hand wheel 18 engageswith the screwthread 1 lh on the end of the spindle 11. The aperture in each handle tang 12a and in each thrust washer 14 is shaped to correspond to the non-circular end portion of the spindle 11, so that the spindle 11 and thrust washer 14 cannot rotate relative to the handle assembly.

The components mounted on the spindle 11 are held together by suitable adjustment of the hand wheel 18, and when the hand wheel 18 is turned to tighten the assembly the spring washers 15 are compressed thereby transmitting end thrust to the thrust washers 14 at each end of the assembly. Because the spacers 13 are free to move transversely on the spindle 11 thrust is transmitted equally to each end.

In this manner the freedom of the slitters 10 to rotate on the spindle 11 is controlled by the frictional force applied by the thrust washers 14 to the end spacers 13 resulting from the force applied by spring washers 15, and hence by the position to which the hand wheel 18 is adjusted.

In use the tool is pushed across turf by the user holding the handle at an angle to the vertical, for example of the order of 30". A horizontal component of the effort applied by the user drives the tool forward across the turf, whilst a vertical component of the effort tends to drive the slitters 10 into the turf to effect slitting. The tighter the adjustment of the hand wheel 18, the greater will be the magnitude of the force required to drive the tool forwards across the turf and consequently the greater will be the force pushing the slitter 10 into the turf. Thus, the depth of slitting is controllable by adjustment of the hand wheel 18.

The slitters 10 are free to move independently of each other, but once they enter the turf the forward motion coupled with the keying into the turf produces a regular pattern from each slitter. Should a slitter 10 meet extra resistance it can cease to rotate whilst the others continue to rotate, or can rotate at a different speed, due to the fact that the slitters 10 can move independently from one another It will be appreciated that whilst the tool has been described in respect of its application to slitting turf, the mechanism could also be used for tools used for other purposes in gardening, horticulture, or agriculture, for example as a cultivator.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A tool comprising spindle means, at least two rotary ground-penetration devices mounted for independent rotation with respect to one another on the spindle means, each device comprising a ground penetration member attached to a separate spacer which is rotatable with respect to the spindle means, each said member frictionally engaging the next adjacent said member, and means operable at will to vary the frictional force acting between one of said members and the spindle whereby the resistance to rotation of said members relative to the spindle can be varied to vary the depth of penetration of the members.

2. A tool comprising spindle means, a plurality of spacers rotatable independently of one another on the spindle means, a plurality of ground-penetration members each of which has been mounted on and secured to a separate one of the spacers for rotation therewith, the members being spaced apart along the spindle means and means operable at will to vary the resistance of the members to rotation relative to the spindle whereby the depth of penetration of the members can be varied.

3. A tool comprising a handle having two spaced tangs at one end thereof, spindle means non-rotatably spanning the tangs, a plurality of spacers rotatable independently of one another on the spindle means in end-to-end frictional contact with one another and a plurality of ground-penetration members each located between two adjacent spacers and each having been fitted to one of said spacers for rotation therewith, and means operable at will to vary the frictional force between one of said spacers and means fixed relative to the shaft to vary the resistance to rotation of said spacers and thereby vary the depth of penetration of the members.

4. A tool according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein said means for varying said resistance to rotation are effective to vary the axial force exerted between adjacent spacers.

5. A tool according to claim 3 wherein the spindle means has end portions of noncircular section engaging in complementary apertures the tangs and the end portions are screw-threaded, one said screw-threaded end portion receiving a nut and a resilient thrust washer and the other screw-threaded end portion receiving an adjustable member and a thrust-washer whereby the force acting on the assembly - of spacers and groundpenetration members can be adjusted to vary

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. in a corresponding square aperture 10a in the slitter so that each slitter 10 and the spacer 13 to its left will rotate together. The hub 1 3n of each spacer at the left-hand end as shown lies inwardly of the end of the spacer to accommodate the square boss 13b of the adjacent spacer to the left thereof. The outer face of each of the end spacers 13 is in contact with a thrust washer 14, and a dished spring washer 15 is positioned between the trust washer 14 and the tang 12a of the handle assembly. The right-hand end of the spindle 11 is capped with a nut 16 which is tightened to the depth of the screw-thread 1 lb at that end portion of the spindle 11. Outwardly of the handle tang 1 2a at the left-hand end of the spindle 11, a washer 17 is positioned and a hand wheel 18 engageswith the screwthread 1 lh on the end of the spindle 11. The aperture in each handle tang 12a and in each thrust washer 14 is shaped to correspond to the non-circular end portion of the spindle 11, so that the spindle 11 and thrust washer 14 cannot rotate relative to the handle assembly. The components mounted on the spindle 11 are held together by suitable adjustment of the hand wheel 18, and when the hand wheel 18 is turned to tighten the assembly the spring washers 15 are compressed thereby transmitting end thrust to the thrust washers 14 at each end of the assembly. Because the spacers 13 are free to move transversely on the spindle 11 thrust is transmitted equally to each end. In this manner the freedom of the slitters 10 to rotate on the spindle 11 is controlled by the frictional force applied by the thrust washers 14 to the end spacers 13 resulting from the force applied by spring washers 15, and hence by the position to which the hand wheel 18 is adjusted. In use the tool is pushed across turf by the user holding the handle at an angle to the vertical, for example of the order of 30". A horizontal component of the effort applied by the user drives the tool forward across the turf, whilst a vertical component of the effort tends to drive the slitters 10 into the turf to effect slitting. The tighter the adjustment of the hand wheel 18, the greater will be the magnitude of the force required to drive the tool forwards across the turf and consequently the greater will be the force pushing the slitter 10 into the turf. Thus, the depth of slitting is controllable by adjustment of the hand wheel 18. The slitters 10 are free to move independently of each other, but once they enter the turf the forward motion coupled with the keying into the turf produces a regular pattern from each slitter. Should a slitter 10 meet extra resistance it can cease to rotate whilst the others continue to rotate, or can rotate at a different speed, due to the fact that the slitters 10 can move independently from one another It will be appreciated that whilst the tool has been described in respect of its application to slitting turf, the mechanism could also be used for tools used for other purposes in gardening, horticulture, or agriculture, for example as a cultivator. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A tool comprising spindle means, at least two rotary ground-penetration devices mounted for independent rotation with respect to one another on the spindle means, each device comprising a ground penetration member attached to a separate spacer which is rotatable with respect to the spindle means, each said member frictionally engaging the next adjacent said member, and means operable at will to vary the frictional force acting between one of said members and the spindle whereby the resistance to rotation of said members relative to the spindle can be varied to vary the depth of penetration of the members.

the force required to rotate the groundpenetration members.

6. A tool according to claim 5 wherein the ground-penetration members are starshaped cutters.

7. A tool according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each said spacer is annular and comprises a hub by which the spacer is rotatably mounted on the spindle and an axial projection of non-circular section engaging in a complementary aperture of one of the ground-penetration.

8. A tool according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the spacers are of plastics material.

9. A tool according to any preceding claim wherein each member is suitable for slitting turf.

10. A tool according to claim 1 wherein the means for varying said force comprise a washer secured to the spindle means and means for varying the force between said washer and the spacer next adjacent thereto.

11. A tool substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.