GB2499832A

GB2499832A - Lawn edging apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2499832A
Application number: GB1203661.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keith Toule
Original assignee: Blackmoor Developments Ltd
Current assignee: Blackmoor Developments Ltd
Priority date: 2012-03-02
Filing date: 2012-03-02
Publication date: 2013-09-04
Anticipated expiration: 2032-03-02
Also published as: GB201203661D0; GB2499832B

Abstract

Lawn edging apparatus comprises a plurality of supports 50, each comprising a spike 60 which can be driven into the ground adjacent to a lawn edge 20 and a first mountÂing connection 70; a plurality of elongate edging bodies 10 which, in use, extend beÂtween the supports to provide an upper edging surface 30 and front face 80 extending downwardly and rearwardly therefrom to rest against an obliqueÂly-angled edge of the lawn, the edging bodies each having at each end thereof a second mountÂing connection 120 co-operable with a respective one of the first mounting connections, such that each edging body is rotatable relative to the adÂjacent supports between a first position, wherein the front face thereof extends upwardly from the supports and the first and second mounting connections are separable one from the other, and a second position, wherein the front face is in engagement with the lawn edge and the first and second mounting connections resist separation.

Description

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LAWN EDGING APPARATUS

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to lawn edging apparatus.

Background to the Invention

In Patent No GB2357416 the inventor disclosed and claimed a lawn edging device which consisted of an elongate body having an angled front face which, in use, rests on a correspondingly angled lawn edge. The body is pivotal-ly mounted on an anchorage member so as to be capable of being lifted and lowered to trap straggling grass beneath the angled front face of the body, where it would simply rot away. In this manner, the lawn edge can be kept tidy without the need to cut the excess grass straying over the edging strip.

The body and the anchorage member were designed to be formed as plastics extrusions, with the result that the cost of the device was relatively high, and choice of colour was limited by the need to produce relatively large quantities in any one colour. In addition, the fixing of the anchorage members required care to ensure that the mounting of the body remained level, and accommodating curves in the lawn edge was difficult.

In Patent No GB2434071 the inventor disclosed and claimed a lawn edging device which consisted of an elongate body having an angled front face which in use rests on a correspondingly angled lawn edge. The body is provided with a plurality of recesses which located onto corresponding pegs which were pre-located in the ground at spaced intervals. The body was designed to be able to be lifted vertically off the pegs and then replaced to trap any plant matter growing outwardly from the lawn edge under the body.

In use, the body was easy to pull off the pegs meaning that if the elongate body was accidentally pulled of the pegs, it would have been necessary to re-align each peg with a corresponding recess in order to refit. To do so required a person to get down on their hands and knees to manually line up the pegs and recesses.

During installation, it was necessary to accurately locate each pin to ensure that the pins and recesses lined up. If one or more pins were not in the correct position, they would have to be removed and refitted until such a time they

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were in the correct position to line up with a corresponding recess in the elongate body.

Additionally, specialist tooling was required to manufacture the elongate body and pegs. As each of the components were manufactured from plastic, the methods of manufacture were limited to those requiring specialist equipment.

The present invention seeks to provide improved lawn edging apparatus both in terms of use and ease of manufacture.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides lawn edging apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of supports, each comprising a spike which can be driven, in use, into the ground adjacent to a lawn edge and a first mounting connection thereon; and a plurality of elongate edging bodies which, in use, extend between the supports to provide an upper edging surface and front face extending downwardly and rearwardly therefrom to rest against an obliquely-angled edge of the lawn,

the edging bodies each carrying at each end thereof a second mounting connection co-operable with a respective one of the first mounting connections, such that each edging body is rotatable relative to the adjacent supports between a first position, wherein the front face thereof extends upwardly from the supports and the first and second mounting connections are separable one from the other, and a second position, wherein the front face is in engagement with the lawn edge and the first and second mounting connections resist separation.

The first mounting connection preferably comprises a substantially horizontal pivot rod provided as part of each support. The pivot rod is shaped such that its circular cross section has a reduced diameter in one dimension. The second mounting connection preferably comprises a mounting bracket having an entrance slot conforming to the reduced with dimension of the pivot rod and a channel corresponding to the circular cross section of the pivot rod.

In use, the pivot rod may be received by the entrance slot of the mounting bracket when the entrance slot and the reduced width dimension of the pivot rod are in alignment. Rotation of the mounting bracket relative to and out of

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alignment with the pivot rod provides a resistance to detachment of the two mounting connections.

Preferably, the elongate bodies each comprise a substantially horizontal upper edging surface and front face extending downwardly and rearwardly therefrom to rest against an obliquely-angled edge of the lawn. A substantially horizontal bottom face extends at an acute angle from the front face and a vertical rear face is located between the top and bottom faces. The rear face is provided with a recessed portion in which the mounting bracket is preferably located.

The support preferably comprises an injection moulded T-piece wherein a vertical elongate member is provided at one end with a spike for driving into the soil. The term "spike" used herein encompasses any anchoring member that can be driven into the soil, for example a tube.

The pivot rod is preferably located at the upper end of the vertical elongate member so as to form a T-piece. A substantially horizontal support plate is preferably provided towards the upper end of the support and limits the depth at which the support may be inserted into the soil. The support plate further prevents downward rotation of the elongate body beyond a limit defined by the position of the supporting plate.

Preferably, one or more stiffening ribs are provided between the vertical elongate member and pivot rod in order to provide a stable and secure footing in the ground.

The elongate body will preferably be manufactured from timber so as to be environmentally friendly and renewable without creating landfill waste.

The present invention provides advantages over the prior art in that the elongate body cannot accidentally be removed when raising to trap plant matter. It is therefore possible to use an elongated tool, having a hook or claw at one end to raise the elongate bodies. Using a tool removes the need for the user to get down on their hands and knees in order to maintain the lawn edge. Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is an illustrative view showing the lawn edging device in a closed position with the grass overgrowing the border.

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Figure 2 is an illustrative view showing the lawn edging device in an open position.

Figure 3 is an illustrative view showing the lawn edging device in a closed position with the long grass trapped under the elongate body.

Figure 4 is an illustrative view of the lawn edging device being used in conjunction with a tool.

Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the lawn edging device.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment

Figure 1 shows the lawn edging apparatus in its rest position whereby an elongate edging body 10 is resting against an obtuse lawn edge 20 with the top face or upper edging surface 30 of the body 10 being aligned approximately with the ground level of the lawn 40. The elongate body 10 is attached to the ground by way of a plurality of supports 50.

The elongate body 10 is made from wood, plastic or metal and comprises of a substantially horizontal top face 30 from which extends an acutely angled front face 80 which rests against an obtuse lawn edge 20. A substantially horizontal bottom face 90 is provided opposite to the top face 30, between which is a substantially vertical rear face 100 recessed 110 to receive a mounting bracket 120.

The mounting bracket 120 is provided with a channel, profiled to confirm to the circular cross section of the pivot rod 70. The mounting bracket 120 is screwed into the recess 110 of the elongate body 10 permitting the elongate body 10 to be mounted onto the supports 50 and rotated relative to the pivot rod 70.

The supports 50 each comprise a vertical elongate member 60, with a spike 67 at one end thereof, and a pivot rod 70, fixedly attached to the opposite end to form a T-piece arrangement. The pivot rod 70 is generally of circular cross section with a reduced width in one dimension.

The reduced width dimension of the pivot rod 70 corresponds to the internal shape of an entrance slot to the mounting bracket 120. The entrance slot is dimensioned such that it will permit entry of the pivot rod 70 only when the entrance slot is aligned with the reduced width dimension of the pivot rod 70.

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Rotating the mounting bracket 120 relative to the pivot rod 70 moves the entrance slot to the mounting bracket 120 and pivot rod 70 out of alignment thus providing a resistance to detachment of the mounting bracket 120 from the pivot rod 70.

The supports 50 further comprise a plurality of stiffening ribs 65 positioned between the vertical member 60 and the pivot rod 70. The ribs 65 are provided in order to a) stiffen the structure of the supports 50 and b) improve the stability of the supports 50 in the ground. The supports are manufactured from either wood, plastic or metal.

Once mounted, the elongate body 10 is rotatable relative to the supports 50 into a horizontal rest position. In its rest position, the front angled face 80 of the body 10 rests against the obtuse lawn edge 20 and the flat bottom face of the body rests against a support plate 75. As the profile of the pivot rod 70 and the entrance slot of mounting bracket 120 will not align when the elongate body 10 is in a rest position, detachment of the body 10 from the supports 50 is resisted.

A gap is required between the pivot rod 70 and support plate 75 to permit rotation of the elongate body 10 relative to the supports 50. The gap is required to be slightly greater than the thickness of the mounting bracket 120 material to permit smooth passage. If no gap is present or if the gap is not sufficient, it would not be possible to rotate the elongate body 10.

In use, the engagement of the body 10 against the lawn edge 20 and support plate 75, permits a loading to be applied to the body 10. Without a support plate 75, the body would be permitted to move relative to the supports 50 thus resulting in each section of body 10 potentially resting at different angles and elevations.

The lawn edging apparatus of the present invention can be used to provide a neat edge around corners of a lawn or along curves. Each elongate body 10 is provided as a straight length of a fixed, pre-determined dimension. Each length can be cut to the required size in order to accommodate any lawn edging geometry.

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By removing one mounting bracket 120 from each elongate body 10 and cutting 4" off the length of the body 10 at eleven degrees, it is possible to create a neat corner edging using the original straight elongate body 10 lengths. The eleven degree angle is required to prevent adjacent sections of elongate body 10 from interfering with one another when pivoted relative to the supports 50.

Figure 2 shows the lawn edging apparatus in an open position. By rotating the elongate body 10 by as little as thirty degrees, grass or other plant matter 130 naturally falls into the gap between the underside of the elongate body and the lawn edge 20. Returning the elongate body to its rest position traps this plant matter 130 under the front angled face 80 of the elongate body, resulting in the trapped plant matter 130 being out of sight thus (See Figure 3) maintaining a neat lawn edge 20. Trapping the plant matter 130 causes it to die off allowing dead plant material 130 to easily be removed at a later date if required.

Figure 4 identifies that a tool 140, such as a shaft with a hook attached at one end thereof, may be used to operate the lawn edging device. The illustrated embodiment shows a tool 140 provided with a bracket at one end which is adapted so that the internal shape of the bracket conforms to at least part of the outer shape of the elongate body 10.

The illustrated bracket comprises a substantially horizontal top plate 143 from which a ninety degree flange 141 extends downwardly at one end and an acutely angled flange 142 extends downwardly at the other end. The bracket is attached to the edge of an elongate member 144 such as a wooden pole.

In use, the bracket is positioned to receive the upper part of an elongate body 10. The bracket is dimensioned such that the elongate body 10 is gripped by the internal surfaces of the bracket thus permitting rotation of the elongate body 10 relative to the supports 50.

It will be appreciated that while a specific design of tool is illustrated and described, any other elongate member with a hook or claw at one end thereof may be used.

Figure 5 shows an enlarged view of the lawn edging apparatus to clarify the relationship between the elongate body 10 and the supports 50. The elongate body 10 is shown in a closed position meaning that it cannot be removed

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from the supports 50. It is clear from Figure 5 that rotating the elongate body 10 upwardly through ninety degrees would permit removal of the elongate body 10 from the supports 50. It can further be seen that when closed, the elongate body 10 is supported on a horizontal support plate 75 thus preventing downward rotation from a closed position.

It will be appreciated that while the figures show that the elongate bodies 10 may be removed from the supports 50 while at right angles to the ground, the supports may be orientated such that the detachment position is at any other suitable angle.

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Claims

1. Lawn edging apparatus, comprising:

the edging bodies each having at each end thereof a second mounting connection co-operable with a respective one of the first mounting connections, such that each edging body is rotatable relative to the adjacent supports between a first position, wherein the front face thereof extends upwardly from the supports and the first and second mounting connections are separable one from the other, and a second position, wherein the front face is in engagement with the lawn edge and the first and second mounting connections resist separation.

2. Lawn edging apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the first mounting connection comprises a substantially horizontal pivot rod of circular cross section but having a reduced width in one dimension,

and the second mounting connection comprises a mounting bracket having a channel therein, receiving and conforming withthe pivot rod, and an entrance slot thereto, closely corresponding to the reduced with dimension of the pivot rod,

whereby, the pivot rod is permitted to enter the entrance slot of the mounting bracket when said entrance slot and the reduced width dimension of the pivot rod are aligned with detachment of the mounting bracket from the pivot rod being resisted when the entrance slot is rotated out of alignment with the reduced width dimension of the pivot rod.

3. Lawn edging apparatus according to either of Claims 1 or 2, wherein the elongate bodies further comprise a vertical rear face extending downwardly from the upper edging surface with a recessed portion therein and a horizontal bottom face extending at an acute angle from the front face.

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4. Lawn edging apparatus according to either of Claims 2 or 3, wherein the mounting brackets are located in the recessed portion of the elongate bodies, whereby to permit rotation of the elongate bodies relative to the supports.

5. Lawn edging apparatus according to either of Claims 1 or 2, wherein the supports further comprise one or more stiffening ribs.

6. Lawn edging apparatus according to Claim 2,, wherein the supports further comprise a substantially horizontal support plate located towards the upper end of the pivot rod, permitting the elongate body, in use, to be supported by the support plate thereby limiting insertion of the support into the soil and preventing rotation, beyond a pre-determined limit, of the elongate body in a downwards direction relative to the pivot bar.

7. Lawn edging apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the elongate body is produced from wood, plastic or metal.

8. Lawn edging apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the supports are produced from wood, plastic or metal.

9. A lawn edging device, substantially as described with reference to, and/or as shown in, the drawings.