Patent Application
20220061209
The present invention is broadly concerned with apparatus for compacting materials and, more particularly, with a leaf tamper removably attached to an elongated handle of a gardening tool, such as a leaf rake or the like.
Lawn maintenance often requires gathering leaves, twigs, grass and weed clippings, and the like into piles or bunches. A leaf rake, also known as a yard broom, is often used for gathering such debris. A leaf rake is a long used, relatively simple gardening tool of which there are many varieties with significant differences. Gardeners and landscapers who wish to maintain a well-groomed lawn will regularly cut the grass and will use these standard hand tools to gather loose grass cuttings or clippings, fallen leaves, and other unattached relatively light lawn or yard debris into piles to facilitate disposal thereof. Although there are alternate and more modern solutions to leaf raking and subsequent removal, such as leaf blowers, bag-equipped power lawn mowers, or even burning in place, these are usually either noisy, comparatively expensive, sometimes unsafe, or environmentally undesirable. Thus, leaf rakes are still in relatively wide use.
Once gathered, the lawn debris must be contained for disposal by placing it in a container or by being bagged, often for pickup by trash or recycling services. Leaf bags for this purpose are usually made of a flexible, sturdy paper. Dried leaves and yard clippings are typically low in density and of such shapes that they do not naturally pack very densely in a leaf bag. It is usually desirable to pack the debris to such a degree that a minimum number of leaf bags are required while maintaining a weight per bag which can be conveniently lifted, carried, and stacked.
Some compacting of lawn debris can be accomplished by using the hands or feet. However, such a manner of compacting is awkward and not particularly effective. A typical leaf rake has a straight, cylindrical, elongated, inflexible, either metallic, hard plastic or wooden handle, that is attached to a fan-type rake head usually consisting of a polypropylene or metallic plurality of somewhat resilient teeth or tines that are inwardly curved or angled at their edges. Because of their shape, conventional leaf rakes are not well suited for compacting lawn debris.
Various kinds of devices for compacting or tamping leaves and yard debris in bags have been suggested. Some known devices are separate tools which are designed for compacting or tamping leaves and lawn debris. In other cases, the handle of the implement is made removable from the tool head, and the tool head is replaced by a tamper member.
The present invention provides embodiments of a gardening tool or implement with a tamper or compacter member which is removably secured to an elongated handle of the tool.
An embodiment of a leaf tamper or leaf tamper assembly, according to the present invention, is configured for use on an end of an elongated handle of a gardening tool, such as a gardening tool configured for moving and gathering lawn debris, and includes a mounting collar or stem configured to enable the collar to be removably secured to an end of the elongated handle of the gardening tool, the collar having a collar axis and an outer end, and a tamper plate extending outwardly from the outer end of the mounting collar in a plane substantially perpendicular to the collar axis, the tamper plate having an inner surface facing the outer end of the mounting collar and an opposite outer surface. Preferably, the leaf tamper is sized and shaped in such a manner as to enable use of the gardening tool for normal gardening functions with the leaf tamper secured on the handle thereof.
Embodiments of the leaf tamper may include a peripheral wall extending peripherally from the inner surface of tamper plate. An outer surface of the tamper plate may have a somewhat concave shape or a somewhat convex shape. A selectively shaped relief may be formed on the inner or outer surface of the tamper plate. Such a relief may be decorative, such a leaf shape, or a functional shape, such as bumps or ribs formed on the outer surface to prevent leaves from slipping out from under the tamper plate.
Embodiments of the leaf tamper may include a threaded connection removably securing the mounting collar to an end of the elongated handle. The threaded connection may be in the form of internal threads formed on an internal surface of the mounting collar which cooperate with external threads formed on the external surface of the outer end of the elongated handle of the gardening tool. Alternatively the threaded connection may include a threaded fastener engaged between the mounting collar and an end of the elongated handle and removably securing the mounting collar to the handle. The threaded fastener may be in the form of a threaded thumbscrew engaged between the mounting collar and an end of the elongated handle and including a finger grip to enable manual grasping and rotation of the thumbscrew to removably secure the mounting collar to the handle.
Embodiments of the leaf tamper may be provided combination with a gardening tool having an elongated handle. The gardening tool may be a tool configured for moving and gathering lawn debris and having an elongated handle.
Various objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.
The drawings constitute a part of this specification, include exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure
Referring to the drawings in more detail, the reference number 1 generally designates an embodiment of a garden tool leaf tamper or leaf tamper structure according to the present invention. The leaf tamper 1 is configured for removable attachment to a gardening tool 3, such as a leaf rake or the like, having an elongated handle 5 secured to a gardening tool head 7. The leaf tamper 1 provides a convenient means for tamping or compacting lawn debris 9, such as leaves, grass clippings, twigs, or the like, particularly debris 9 (
Referring to
The illustrated leaf tamper 1 includes a mounting collar 30 having a tamper plate 32 joined to an outer end 34 of the collar 30. The mounting collar 30 is a cylindrical, sleeve-like member which receives an outer end 36 of the handle 5 therein. The collar 30 has a cylindrical collar axis 38. The tamper plate 32 may be a planar or flat member which is used to tamp or compact the lawn debris 9. The tamper plate 32 extends or radiates from the upper end 36 of the collar 30 and is oriented substantially perpendicular to the collar axis 38. The illustrated tamper plate 32 has a cylindrical socket 40 projecting from an inner surface 42 thereof which receives the outer end 40 of the mounting collar 30. The illustrated tamper plate 32 has a cylindrical wall 44 extending inwardly from a periphery 46 thereof in surrounding relation to the outer end 36 of the mounting collar 30. The wall 30 tends to stiffen the tamper plate 32. The tamper plate 32 may be joined to the mounting collar 30, as by welding, or may be integral or monolithic therewith, as a consequence of being molded or cast therewith.
The leaf tamper 1 may be secured to an upper end 48 of the handle 5 my means such as a threaded connection 50. The threaded connection 50 may be a threaded fastener 52 engaged between the mounting collar 30 and the upper end 48 of the handle. The threaded fastener 52 may include a screw threaded into a hole (not shown) which bears against the upper handle end 48, in the manner of a set screw, or one which penetrates the end 48. The fastener 52 may be in the form of a thumbscrew having a finger grip 54 to enable manual insertion or removal of the screw 52, to removably secure the leaf tamper 1 on the handle 5. Additionally, the threaded connection 50 may include a threaded socket (not shown) embedded in the upper handle end 48 which received a threaded fastener through an unthreaded hole (not shown) formed in the mounting collar 30.
In an embodiment of the leaf tamper 1, the threaded connection 50 may be external threads 56 (
It is foreseen that embodiments of the leaf tamper 1 may include non-threaded connections to secure the mounting collar 30 to the upper end 48 of the handle 5. Such non-threaded connections may include rivets, cotter keys, or the like (not shown). Non-threaded connections of the mounting collar 30 to the handle 5, along with the threaded connections 50, may also be provided for a leaf tamper 1 manufactured in combination with the gardening tool 3.
The tamper plate 32 shown in
The inner surface 42 of the tamper plate 32 is shown as substantially planar or flat. An outer surface 62 of the tamper plate 32, opposite the inner surface 42, can also be flat, as shown in
Referring to
In use, the tool 3 is used with the tool head 7 in a downward position to gather lawn debris 9 into a pile or piles. Debris 9 from such a pile is placed in the leaf bag 11 where it may be tamped or compacted, using the tool 3 with the leaf tamper 1 in a downward position, to increase the amount of debris 9 that can be contained within the bag 11. During placement of the debris 9 in the bag 11 and compacting the debris, the bag 11 may be supported, as by a barrel 70 (
It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.
