Earth working – With drive means for tool or cleaner – Attendant supported tool
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-05
2001-06-19
Novosad, Christopher J. (Department: 3671)
Earth working
With drive means for tool or cleaner
Attendant supported tool
C172S123000, C172S136000, C030SDIG007, C056S012700, C056S234000, C056S249500, C056S251000, C056S255000, C056S256000, C056S294000, C056S295000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247539
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a two-hands-held, powered tool with a very long handle for doing various chores, mostly garden-related, generally characterized as a “Weed-Eater” type of device. In one aspect of the present invention, it is initially directed in particular to a basic, unique garden cultivator implement for such a device and also preferably to one which includes supplemental means for doing filament line cutting as well. The present invention further relates to a powered, user-two-hand-held, long handle, garden cleaning device or unit which is used to remove weeds and the like out of, for example, a garden, and more particularly to such a garden cleaning implement which has a relatively rigid, rotating member allowing for protective cutting of, for example, weeds and the like immediately adjacent to, for example, desirable vegetation without damaging the vegetation, while also allowing the cultivator implement to be lowered down into the ground for cultivating the soil and macerating the weed roots. The invention is further directed to a sub-system which includes a “universal” attachment or adapter interface by which a number of different work implements can be easily and quickly attached to the “Weed-Eater” type, powered tool for doing different types of work, depending on the particular implement the user attaches to the powered tool. The invention is further directed to various, unique implements for use on a hand-held, powered device of the “Weed-Eater” type to do different types of work.
BACKGROUND ART
The following is a list of patents which may be of interest for general background information:
Patent No.
Inventor(s)
Issue Date
3,129,771
Lidstone
21 Apr 1964
4,242,794
Peterson
06 Jan 1981
4,286,675
Tuggle
01 Sep 1981
4,501,332
Straayer
26 Feb 1985
4,856,194
Lee
15 Aug 1989
4,862,682
Wait et al
05 Sep 1989
5,426,852
Macomber
27 Jun 1995
5,430,943
Lee
11 Jul 1995
5,491,963
Jerez
20 Feb 1996
5,493,783
Oostendorp
27 Feb 1996
5,615,543
Caffey, et al
01 Apr 1997
5,617,636
Taggett, et al
08 Apr 1997
5,622,035
Kondo, et al
22 Apr 1997
5,651,418
Jerez
29 Jul 1997
5,722,172
Walden
03 Mar 1998
With respect to exemplary, two-hands-held, powered tools with extended handles to which cutters, cultivators or other work implements are attached, note, for example, the prior '418 & '963 patents of the inventor hereof (Jerez), as well the '794 (Peterson), the '852 (Macomber), the '783 (Oostendorp), the Wait et al ('682), the Straayer ('332), and the '636 (Taggert) patents, etc. It is further noted that the Lidstone '771 patent, directed to a relatively small, single-hand-held, power drill adaptation, is not from the art to which the present invention applies, namely, the long-handle, two-hands-held, gardening power tool art exemplified by the “Weed-Eater” type of device, although, it is noted for general background purposes, that the Lidstone patent does include a very different cultivator device in comparison to the cultivator implement of the present invention.
With respect to the broad concept of having a long-handle, two-hands-held, powered garden tool system which includes a number of differing work implements, note, for example, the '675 Tuggle patent. With respect to cultivator implements for long-handle, two-hands-held, gardening power tool devices of the general “Weed-Eater” type of device, note, among others, the patents to Straayer ('332) and Wait et al ('682), with the former having a circular type body in the form of a conical section with a continuous, uninterrupted, circular bottom edge.
For an example of a blower attachment, see the '794 (Peterson) patent. With respect to a cylindrically or conically shaped implement with a central opening or bore for attaching the implement to the threaded drive pin of a conventional line trimmer with a nut or bolt and with the former having holes in very thick side wall portions for inserting filament line segments but with the enlarged, side-wall “gussets” inhibiting its use as a cultivator, and the latter being a circular cultivator, note the '543 Caffey, et al and the '332 Straayer patent. The other cited patents includes examples of other types of exemplary attachments or work implements.
However, in this relatively “crowded” art, there are substantial, innovative, “unobvious” differences between the present invention and the prior art, as brought out more fully below. It is believed that the present invention represents an innovative, substantial advance in the prior art and a valuable contribution to the “useful arts.”
GENERAL SUMMARY DISCUSSION OF INVENTION
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a two-hand-held, long handle, powered unit for gardening use with an improved cultivator implement and preferably with an improved, combined cultivator/cutter implement, particularly one in which the cultivator can be safely used as a cultivator next to desired vegetation without damaging that vegetation.
It is a further object to provide an adapter for quickly and easily adding a multiple number of different work implements and changing one for another, using, for example, a preferred, “snap-in” and twist type sub-system.
It is still a further object of the present invention to achieve both of the foregoing objects in a combined structure, including preferably both the cultivator/cutter potential functions and the adapter function into a single structure.
It is a final set of objects to provide additional improved implements that allow, for example, the conversion of a standard type, line filament grass/weed cutter of the general “Weed-Eater” type, into a general work, multi-use tool, while still allowing it to be quickly and easily converted back to a gardening type tool or unit.
Thus, in the preferred, exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a combined cultivator/cutter implement of the invention is attachable to different ones of exemplary types of prior art, two-hand-held, long handle, powered devices designed for gardening use using an exemplary, connection sub-system, including a female-threaded-member (e.g. a nut or female threaded end), a male threaded-member (e.g. bolt or male threaded end) and washer combination, varying in its details for different ones of the two-hand-held powered devices. The preferred cultivator implement preferably includes an at least generally cylindrical body with a curved side wall and a series of downwardly extending, circumferentially spaced, preferably inwardly offset and tapered protrusions extending down from the bottom of the cultivator's cylindrical side walls.
When the implement is rotated by the powered unit the protrusions serve to dig into the ground, cultivating it and digging up and macerating any weeds and like undesirable vegetation, while not significantly damaging, if any damage at all, to adjacent vegetation or plants due to their only being a smoothly curved, sidewall contact with the desired vegetation. The cultivator implement preferably also includes a circumferentially spaced set of filament holes into which filament segments can be added with their two ends extending out from each hole set, allowing the cultivator implement to be used as a supplemental or concurrent “Weed-Eater” filament type cutter.
This initial cultivator/cutter implement further preferably includes “snap-in” type opening for attaching other work implements to the “Weed-Eater” type, powered device via the cultivator/cutter element then serving as a “universal” adapter.
The cultivator/cutter implement thus is also used as a “snap-in” attachment adapter for, for example, at least two, exemplary types of implements—a larger, cylindrically concentric one with multiple “snap” legs, and a smaller, circular, ring or disc-shaped one with multiple “snap” legs, respectively, which represent two, exemplary approaches to general implement design for use in the multi-implement system aspect of the present invention.
Thus, with the foregoing approach, one or more, preferably many, different impleme
Novosad Christopher J.
Pugh C. Emmett
Pugh/Associates, Patent & Trademark Attorneys
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