Patent Application
20220394917
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The disclosure relates to trolley devices and more particularly pertains to a new trolley device for facilitating a weed trimmer to be rolled along a support surface. The device includes a swivel that is attachable to a pole of the weed trimmer, a pair of legs coupled to the swivel and a pair of rollers attached to the legs. Each of the rollers rolls along a support surface such that a user of the weed trimmer does not have to support the weight of the weed trimmer.
The prior art relates to trolley devices including a variety of trolleys that are attachable to a pole of a weed trimmer for rolling, rather than carrying, the weed trimmer. The prior art discloses a variety of roller devices that each includes a plurality of legs, each being attachable to a pole of a weed trimmer, and which have wheels coupled thereto for rolling the weed trimmer. In no instance does the prior art disclose a trolley that includes a swivel and telescopically adjustable legs.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a clamp which has a first portion that is closable with a second portion for securing around a pole of a weed trimmer. A swivel is rotatably disposed on the clamp and the swivel is positionable at a variety of angles with respect to the weed trimmer. A pair of legs is each coupled to and extends downwardly from the swivel. Each of the legs comprises a first half that threadably engages a second half such that each of the legs has an adjustable length. A pair of arms is provided and each of the arms is coupled to a respective one of the legs. A pair of rollers is each rotatably coupled to a respective one of the arms to support the weed trimmer and thereby assist a physically limited user with employing the weed trimmer.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The second portion 16 is positionable in a closed position having the bottom side 24 of the second portion 16 resting on the top side 22 of the first portion 14 to define a hole 26 to accommodate the pole 18 of the weed trimmer 20. The clamp 12 includes a screw 28 extending through the second portion 16 and releasably engaging the first portion 14 when the second portion 16 is in the closed position. The screw 28 tightens the second portion 16 against the first portion 14 when the screw 28 is tightened to compress the clamp 12 around the pole 18 of the weed trimmer 20. In this way the clamp 12 is secured to the pole 18 at a location that is preferred by a user of the weed trimmer 20. The user might be a physically limited user, such as a person suffering from a back injury, or other user that would find employing a weed trimmer 20 to be painful or difficult.
A swivel 30 is included that is rotatably disposed on the clamp 12. The swivel 30 includes a primary portion 32 that is rotatable about a first axis and a secondary portion 34 that is ballable about a perpendicular axis with respect to the first axis. In this way the swivel 30 is positionable at a variety of angles with respect to the weed trimmer 20. The primary portion 32 of the swivel 30 comprises a first disk 36 that has a top surface 38 and a bottom surface 40, and the bottom side 24 of the first portion 14 of the clamp 12 is coupled to the top surface 38. The primary portion 32 of the swivel 30 includes a second disk 41 that has an upper surface 42 and a lower surface 44. The upper surface 42 rotatably engages the bottom surface 40 of the first disk 36 such that the first disk 36 and the second disk 41 are independently rotatable with respect to each other. The first disk 36 has a plurality of apertures 43 each extending through said top surface 38 and the bottom surface 40. A pin 45 is extendable through a respective one of the apertures 43 to engage the second disk 41 for retaining the first disk 36 at a selected degree of rotation on the second disk 41. In this way the weed trimmer 20 can be oriented at a desired angle with respect to the swivel 30.
The secondary portion 34 of the swivel 30 comprises a first rod 46 that is coupled to and extends downwardly from the lower surface 44 of the second disk 41, and the first rod 46 has a distal end 48 with respect to the lower surface 44. The secondary portion 34 includes a ball 50 that is coupled to the distal end 48 of the first rod 46. The swivel 30 includes a cup 54 that contains the ball 50 such that the ball is rotatable in the cup 54. The cup 54 has a bottom end 56 and a top end 58, and the top end 56 is open for insertably receiving the ball 50. Additionally, the top end 56 has a diameter that is less than the diameter of the ball 50 to inhibit the ball 50 from being removable from the cup 54. A second rod 49 is coupled to and extends downwardly from the bottom end 56 of the cup and the second rod 49 has a distal end 51 with respect to the bottom end 56.
A pair of legs 60 is each coupled to and extends downwardly from the cup 54. Each of the legs 60 comprises a first half 62 that threadably engages a second half 64 such that each of the legs 60 has a telescopically adjustable length. An inside surface 66 of the first half 62 is threaded and an outside surface 68 of the second half 64 is threaded. In this way the outside surface 68 of the second half 64 threadably engages the inside surface 66 of the first half 62. Thus, the first half 62 can be rotated on the second half 64 for adjusting the length of the legs 60. Additionally, The first half 62 has a first end 70 and the second half 64 has a second end 72.
A coupling 74 is coupled to the distal end 51 of the second rod 49 associated with the secondary portion 34 of the swivel 30. The coupling 74 has a pair of receivers 76 that is each oriented at an angle with the distal end 51 of the second rod 49. Each of the receivers 76 receives the second end 72 of the second half 64 of a respective one of the legs 60 such that each of the legs 60 forms a Y-shape with the cup 54. A pair of shock absorbers 78 is provided and each of the shock absorbers 78 has a first end 80 and a second end 82. Each of the shock absorbers 78 is compressible along an axis extending through the first end 80 and the second end 82 of the shock absorbers 78. Moreover, the first end 80 of each of the shock absorbers 78 is coupled to the first end 70 of the first half 62 of a respective one of the legs 60. Each of the shock absorbers 78 may comprise a gas charged shock absorber, a spring loaded shock absorber or any other type of compressible shock absorber.
A pair of arms 84 is each coupled to a respective one of the legs 60. Each of the arms 84 has an elbow 86 thereon such that each of the arms 84 forms an angle with the respective leg 60. Each of the arms 84 has an upper end 88 and a lower end 90, and the elbow 86 is positioned between the upper end 88 and the lower end 90. The upper end 88 of each of the arms 84 is coupled to the second end 82 of a respective one of the shock absorbers 78. In this way a lower portion 92 of each of the arms 84 is oriented to extend along an axis is oriented parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cup 54 of the secondary portion 34 of the swivel 30.
A pair of rollers 94 is each rotatably coupled to a respective one of the arms 84 thereby facilitating each of the rollers 94 to roll along a support surface 96. In this way each of the rollers 94 can support the weed trimmer 20 to assist a physically limited user to employ the weed trimmer 20. Each of the rollers 94 is positioned on the lower portion 92 of the respective arm 84 at a point that is located adjacent to the lower end 90 of the respective arm 84. Each of the rollers 94 has a rotational axis that is oriented perpendicular to the lower portion 92 of the respective arm 84. Each of the rollers 94 may comprise a wheel, a rubber tire or other type of roller that can roll along a yard, a garden, a rock bed or any other location that a weed trimmer might be employed. Additionally, each of the rollers 94 is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the lower portion 92 of the respective arm 84 such that the rollers 94 have 360.0 degrees of rotation on the respective arm 84.
In use, the clamp 12 is positioned around the pole 18 of the weed trimmer 20 at a selected location and the ball 50 is manipulated to position the legs 60 at a desired angle with respect to the pole 18 of the weed trimmer 20. In this way the rollers 94 support the weed trimmer 20 above the support surface 96 such that the user does not have to support the weight of the weed trimmer 20. The legs 60 can be adjusted to a desired height to place the weed trimmer 20 at the optimal height for the user. Additionally, the legs 60 facilitate a head 98 of the weed trimmer 20 to be positioned a desired distance from the support surface 96. In this way the weed trimmer 20 can be supported at a preferred orientation that facilitates the user to employ the weed trimmer 20 in the most efficient manner and with the least amount of effort.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
