Claims
- 1. A debris shield assembly mountable to a generally vertical shaft portion extending from a head of a string trimmer, said debris shield assembly functioning to block vegetation cuttings and other debris resulting from operation of the string trimmer, said debris shield assembly comprising:a bracket mounted to said generally vertical shaft portion of said string trimmer, said bracket extending to a rear and to one side of said head of said string trimmer so that when said string trimmer is in use, said bracket is generally in a horizontal plane and positioned only to a one side of said string trimmer where debris is thrown toward a user, A contiguous debris shield mounted to said bracket for blocking said debris from legs and feet of the user, said debris shield extending downward from said bracket generally to a ground surface when said string trimmer is in use.
- 2. A debris shield as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bracket is adjustable rotatable about said upwardly extending portion of said shaft so that said debris shield is rotatable about a circumference of said rotating string, enabling said debris shield to be positionable on said side of said string trimmer from which said debris is thrown.
- 3. A grass and weed cutting system comprising:a portable, hand-held string trimmer having a shaft, and a string head attached to said shaft, with at least two vegetation cutting strings attached to said string head, said string head disposed for powered rotation in order to rapidly rotate said strings in a plane of rotation positionable to cut said weeds and grass, an elongated, L-shaped bracket mountable either above or below said shaft and to one side or the other of said shaft near said string head so that said bracket may be oriented between legs and feet of a user and a portion of said plane of rotation of said strings that throws debris toward a user, a debris shield attached to said bracket, said debris shield extending horizontally from a point near said shaft to a point near an outer end of said bracket, said debris shield further extending downward from said bracket generally to a ground surface so that said debris shield blocks debris on a one side of said string head where said strings are rotating toward legs and feet of a user, blocking debris thrown from said one side of said string head from impinging on legs and feet of a user.
- 4. A grass and weed cutting system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said string trimmer is provided with a curved shaft so as to form said generally vertical shaft portion, and said bracket is attachable to said generally vertical shaft portion near said string head so that said bracket is positionable in a plane generally above said plane of rotation, said bracket further provided with a generally perpendicular debris shield support member with said debris shield mounted to said debris shield support member, whereby said bracket may extend toward a user to support said debris shield between a one side of said string trimmer from which debris is thrown toward legs and feet of a user.
- 5. A vegetation cutting system comprising:a string trimmer having a cutting head mounted to a straight portion of a shaft extending vertically from said cutting head, said cutting head rotatably supporting at least two strings that rotate in a cutting plane of rotation to cut vegetation, and a debris shield comprising: a mounting bracket having a clamp portion at one end, said clamp portion clampably mounting the bracket to said shaft of said string trimmer, said bracket mountable by said clamp portion to said straight portion of said shaft and extending to a rear and to one side of said straight portion of said shaft and terminating at a point between legs and feet of a user and said plane of rotation of said cutting strings wherein said cutting strings are rotating toward said legs and feet of a user, a debris shield support member mounted to an end of said bracket opposite said clamp, said debris shield support member being generally centered on and generally perpendicular to said bracket, and a contiguous, flexible, transparent debris shield mounted to said debris shield support member and extending generally the length thereof, said debris shield further extending downward at least to a ground surface when in use, so that debris thrown toward legs and feet of a user by said cutting strings rotating toward legs and feet of a user.
- 6. A cutting system as set forth in claim 3 further comprising a clamp on a short side of said L-shaped bracket for clamping said bracket to said shaft, and said debris shield is a contiguous, flexible, transparent debris shield mounted along a length of a long side of said L-shaped bracket, and said bracket is mountable to said shaft so that said long side of said L-shaped bracket may extend either above or below said shaft, and to one side or an opposite side of said shaft, allowing said bracket and said debris shield to be mounted to different configurations of string trimmers.
- 7. A grass and weed cutting system comprising:a portable, hand-held string trimmer having a curved shaft so that said shaft adjacent said string head is generally vertical with respect to a ground surface, and a string head attached to said shaft, with at least two vegetation cutting strings attached to said string head, said string head disposed for rotation in order to rapidly rotate said strings in a plane of rotation positionable to cut said weeds and grass, an elongated bracket mounted to the generally vertical portion of said shaft near said string head, said bracket positionable in a plane generally above said plane of rotation and to one side of said string head so that said bracket is oriented between legs and feet of a user and a portion of said plane of rotation of said strings that throws debris toward a user, a debris shield support member mounted to an end of said bracket opposite said shaft, said support member generally perpendicular to said bracket, a debris shield mounted to said debris shield support member, whereby said bracket may be positioned to generally extend toward a user to support said debris shield between a one side of said string trimmer from which debris is thrown and legs and feet of a user.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuing application of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/096,416, filed Aug. 13, 1998.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4702005 |
Pittinger et al. |
Oct 1987 |
|
5524349 |
Dolin |
Jun 1996 |
|
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/096416 |
Aug 1998 |
US |