Patent Application
20240049647
The present disclosure is directed to a tree pruner, specifically a tree pruner configured to reduce the width of the device to facilitate reduction of shipping costs and store space.
Current tree pruners typically comprise a leverage to reduce the user's force required in operation. Configuration of the lever makes the product wide at the head. This significantly increases the packaging and shipping costs, because larger boxes are needed to package the tree pruner and more shipping spaces are required. Shelf space is also limited because tree pruners with a lever occupy a larger space. This limits the number of products that can be placed in store. Thus, there is an unmet need in the art to help reduce the width of tree pruners to reduce the shipping costs and store space.
Disclosed herein is a tree pruner having a self-locking pin arrangement to reduce the width of the device to facilitate reduction of shipping costs and store space. The tree pruner 1 comprises at a head portion:
In some embodiments, the lower end 41 of the leaf spring 40 is mounted onto the lower portion of the lever 20 at where the lever 20 is pivotally connected to the back hook 10.
The lever 20 of the tree pruner 1 is held at a first position when the pruner 1 is at shipping or store front, and pulled to a second position to get ready for use, wherein the tree pruner 1 has a smaller width when the lever 20 is at the first position than the second position.
When the lever 20 is held at the first position, the leaf spring 40 is in tension. The upper end 42 of the leaf spring 40 exerts force on the first end 51 of the self-locking pin 50, such that a second end 52 of the self-locking pin 50 engages with an outer surface of the back hook 10 to hold the lever 20 at the first position. At this position, not an entirety of the self-locking pin 50 penetrates the lever 20.
When the lever 20 is at the second position, the leaf spring 40 is at rest. An entirety of the self-locking pin 50 penetrates the lever 20. At this position, the self-locking pin 50 engages with an edge of the back hook 10 to restrict movement of the lever 20 to where the self-locking pin 50 engages with the edge of the back hook 10.
The objects and advantages of the disclosure will appear more fully from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the disclosure made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The pruner 1 further comprises a leaf spring 40 on an outer surface of the lever 20. A lower end 41 of the leaf spring 40 is mounted onto a lower portion of the lever 20. In the exemplary embodiment shown herein, the lower end 41 of the leaf spring 40 is mounted onto the lever 20 at where the lever 20 is pivotally connected to the back hook 10 by the screw 61 and the nut 62. An upper end 42 of the leaf spring 40 is connected to a first end 51 of a self-locking pin 50, wherein the self-locking pin 50 penetrates a middle portion of the lever 20 through a hole 21 (
The lever 20 is held at a first position when the tree pruner 1 is at shipping or store front (
As shown in
When the lever 20 is pulled to the second position to get ready for use, the tension of the leaf spring 40 is released once the second end 52 of the self-locking pin 50 leaves the outer surface of the back hook 10, and the leaf spring 40 pushes the self-locking pin 50 to penetrate all the way through the hole 21 of the lever 20. As shown in
Thus, the arrangement of the self-locking pin 50 reduces the width of the head portion of the tree pruner 1 at shipping and store front by holding the lever 20 at the first position. This configuration allows the tree pruner 1 to be less wide at shipping and store front than it will be during use, such that the shipping cost and store front space is reduced.
After use of the tree pruner 1, if the user would like to reset the lever 20 to the first position, the user can push the self-locking pin 50 backward through the hole 21 and move the lever 20 back to the first position, so that the leaf spring 40 is in tension and exerts force on the self-locking pin 50 to engage with the outer surface of the back hook 10 to hold the lever 20 at the first position.
All the components of the tree pruner 1 can be manufactured by any materials that are suitable for endurable use. The shape and dimension of each component can vary from the preferred embodiments shown herein within the scope of the disclosure.
In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clarity, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be inferred therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed. The different configurations and systems described herein may be used alone or in combination with other configurations and systems. It is to be expected that various equivalents, alternatives and modifications are possible within the scope of the foregoing description.
Any version of any component of the disclosure may be used with any other component of the disclosure. The elements described herein can be used in any combination whether explicitly described or not.
As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.
As used herein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or” operator and is equivalent to the term “and/or” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Numerical ranges as used herein are intended to include every number and subset of numbers contained within that range, whether specifically disclosed or not. Further, these numerical ranges should be construed as providing support for a claim directed to any number or subset of numbers in that range. For example, a disclosure of from 1 to 10 should be construed as supporting a range of from 2 to 8, from 3 to 7, from 5 to 6, from 1 to 9, from 3.6 to 4.6, from 3.5 to 9.9, and so forth.
The systems of the present disclosure can comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the essential elements and limitations described herein, as well as any additional or optional components, or limitations described herein or otherwise useful in the art. The disclosure provided herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein.
While this disclosure may be embodied in many forms, what is described in detail herein is a specific preferred embodiment of the disclosure. The present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiments illustrated. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular examples, configurations, and materials disclosed herein as such configurations and materials may vary somewhat. It is also understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope of the present disclosure will be limited to only the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
The application claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/398,145, filed Aug. 15, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63398145 | Aug 2022 | US |
