Patent Application
20130099028
The innovation disclosed herein relates to lawn seeders/spreaders and more specifically, to a bag type seeder/spreader having a feature to facilitate filling the bag with spreadable material.
Conventional seeders and spreaders come in many varieties and designs. For example, one type of seeder/spreader includes a nylon bag hopper that houses spreadable material (e.g., seeds). One common type of a bag hopper seeder/spreader is a hand held type that may also include a contoured base that suitably conforms to a user's hip and is attached to the bag hopper, an adjustable shoulder strap and a long crank handle. Hand held seeder/spreaders are ideal when the terrain is hilly and/or wet.
Many of these types of spreaders are equipped with a corrosion, tear and weather resistant 20 lb/9 kg nylon bag hopper that includes a zippered top for convenient filling and closure. Although, the bag hopper is collapsible for easy storage, the bag hopper does not remain in an upright rigid position when filing. As such, while the hand held, bag-type spreaders are very convenient to use, they lack in convenience of filling. Thus, there is a need in the art for an apparatus that can be used with the bag-type family of spreaders that enhances the ease and ability to fill the bag hopper.
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the innovation. This summary is not an extensive overview of the innovation. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of the innovation. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the innovation in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In an aspect of the innovation, A particulate material dispensing apparatus is provided that includes a base, a collapsible hopper attached to a top of the base to hold particulate material, at least one support removably attached to the base and extending in a direction away from the top of the base such that the at least one support engages the collapsible hopper to provide a means to maintain the collapsible hopper in an upright position, a dispensing mechanism that when actuated dispenses the particulate material through the base and an impeller rotatably actuated upon actuation of the dispensing mechanism to thereby distribute the particulate material dispensed through the base.
In another aspect of the innovation, the at least one support is made from a non-deformable material having a thickness such that the at least one support can be flexed in a forward and rearward direction a height less than but nearly equal to a height of the collapsible hopper, and a width less than half the height of the at least one support.
In yet another aspect of the innovation, a hand-held seeder/spreader is provided that includes a base having a concave curved portion to closely conform the base to a user's torso or hip, a bag hopper attached to a top of the base to hold seed or fertilizer, a pair of supports removably attached to opposite ends or sides of the base and extending in a direction away from the top of the base such that the pair of supports engage the bag hopper to provide a means to maintain the bag hopper in an upright position, a crank mechanism that when actuated dispenses the seed or fertilizer through the base, and an impeller rotatably actuated upon actuation of the crank mechanism to thereby distribute the seed of fertilizer dispensed through the base.
To accomplish the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the innovation are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the innovation can be employed and the subject innovation is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the innovation will become apparent from the following detailed description of the innovation when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject innovation. It may be evident, however, that the innovation can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the innovation.
While specific characteristics are described herein (e.g., thickness), it is to be understood that the features, functions and benefits of the innovation can employ characteristics that vary from those described herein. These alternatives are to be included within the scope of the innovation and claims appended hereto.
While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the one or more methodologies shown herein, e.g., in the form of a flow chart, are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the subject innovation is not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance with the innovation, occur in a different order and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with the innovation.
With reference now to the figures,
Referring to
The base 102 is comprised of a frame 114 having an open top 116 and bottom 118, and a cover 120 that attaches to the top 116 of the frame 114. A handle 122 is attached to the frame to assist the user in dispensing the particulate material. The base 102 has an oval shape with a concave curved portion 124 to conform the base 102 to a user's torso or hip area. It is to be appreciated, however, that the shape of the base may be any geometrical shape, such as but not limited to, circular, square, rectangular, etc. A projection 126 is disposed on opposite ends or sides of the frame 114. Each projection 126 extends inward toward the opposite projection 126 and, in one embodiment, is used to secure the supports 112 to the base 102, as will be described further below. The frame 114 further includes multiple attachment tabs 128 to facilitate the attachment of a strap 130 to assist the user in carrying the dispersing apparatus 100.
The cover 120 has a crowned surface and, as mentioned above, attaches to the top 116 of the frame 114. An aperture 132 is defined at a lowest point in the crowned surface cover 120. The agitator 110 is rotatably situated atop the cover and, when actuated, rotates to dispense the particulate material through the aperture 132. A slot 134 is defined at each end or side of the cover 120 adjacent to each projection 126. Each slot 134 is adapted to receive a support 112, as will be described further below. A fastening aperture 136 is defined at each end or side of the cover 120 adjacent to each slot 134. In another embodiment, the fastening apertures 136 are adapted to receive a fastener 138 to secure each support 112 to the base 102, as will be described further below.
The bag-type hopper 104, as mentioned above, attaches to a top 116 of the base 114 such that the bag hopper 104 encloses the cover 120. The bag hopper 104 is a made from a collapsible/flexible (non-rigid), yet non-deformable material, such as but not limited to, nylon, canvas, etc. In an embodiment, the material may be corrosion resistant, tear resistant, weather resistant, etc. The bag hopper 104 includes a closable top opening 140 and a means to facilitate opening and closing the top opening 140, such as but not limited to a zipper 142 (shown in the example embodiment in the figures), snaps, buttons, Velcro®, etc.
In the example embodiment illustrated in the figures the dispensing mechanism 106 is comprised of a crank handle. It is to be appreciated, however, that the dispensing mechanism may be comprised of wheels on a walk behind type seeder/spreader. When the operator rotates the crank handle, both the impeller 108 and the agitator 110 rotate to thereby disperse or distribute the granular material. The crank handle attaches to a rotating shaft 144 extending from below the frame 114. The shaft 144 is attached to both the impeller 108 and the agitator 110 via gearing and, thus, when rotated by the crank handle operatively rotates both the impeller 108 and the agitator 110 to distribute the granular material.
Referring to
The supports 112 have a thickness such that the supports 112 can be flexed in a forward and rearward direction as indicated by the arrow 146, a height less than but nearly equal to a height of the collapsible hopper 104, and a width less than half the height the supports 112. The supports 112 are secured to the base 102 and extend in a direction away from the top 116 of the base 102 such that the supports engage the collapsible hopper 104 to provide a means to maintain the collapsible hopper 104 in an upright position.
In one embodiment, the supports 112 may extend away from the top 116 of the base 102 and be disposed on the inside of the collapsible hopper 104. In another embodiment, the supports 112 may extend away from the top 116 of the base 102 and be disposed on the outside of the collapsible hopper 104, whereby the collapsible hopper 104 includes pockets or sleeves to receive the upper portion of the supports 112. In yet another embodiment, the supports 112 may extend away from the top 116 of the base 102 and be disposed in a sleeve that extends along the entire side of the collapsible hopper 104.
In one embodiment, shown in
For example, in another embodiment, shown in
In yet another embodiment, shown in
Referring to
As mentioned above, the innovative support device disclosed herein is adapted to maintain a collapsible-bag type hopper in an upright position to facilitate the filling of the hopper with a particulate material.
What has been described above includes examples of the innovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the subject innovation, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the innovation are possible. Accordingly, the innovation is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 61/548,947 entitled “BAG RIGIDIZER” filed on Oct. 19, 2011. The entirety of the above-noted application is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61548947 | Oct 2011 | US |
