Abrading – Attachment – To cutting machine to sharpen blade
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-21
2001-06-05
Hail, III, Joseph E. (Department: 3723)
Abrading
Attachment
To cutting machine to sharpen blade
C451S321000, C451S349000, C076S082100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241595
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATIONS
There are no previously filed, nor currently any co-pending applications, anywhere in the world.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to blade sharpening devices and, more particularly, to a blade sharpening device for lawn edgers.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the prior art, devices for sharpening the blades of power equipment such as lawn mowers are well known. However, absent in the art are any such devices particularly designed for the sharpening of the blades of powered lawn edging equipment.
Many Americans spend countless hours maintaining and beautifying their lawns and landscape. As a matter of pride and personal expression, these people manicure their grass, plant and maintain flowers, shrubs, bushes and trees all for the sake of enhancing the aesthetic qualities of their property. In performing these tasks one uses a variety of tools and machinery, each of which performs a specialized yard care or maintenance function. Among these devices, the lawn edger is among the most popular. One of the essential steps in maintaining one's yard consists of trimming the grass border that abuts with the driveway or sidewalk, etc. In doing so, the border is given a straight, uniform look rather than overlapping the adjoining areas. Motorized edgers are of a great help in performing this task. These edgers consist of a wheeled device that includes a blade that is spun, in a vertical orientation, by a gas-powered engine or electric motor. The edger includes a handle that allows the user to push the device along the edge of the grass to be trimmed with great ease and control while the spinning blade trims the edge of the grass line in a neat, uniform manner. One problem with these devices, however, is that the blade tends to dull quickly as it passes through a great deal of dirt during typical use. The dirt acts as an abrasive that serves to dull the blade. As a result, one must routinely remove the blade in order to sharpen it, consuming a great deal of time and effort.
Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which lawn edger blades can be maintained in a uniform, sharpened manner without unnecessarily inconveniencing the user. The development of the Stay Sharp lawn edger fulfills this need.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related:
U.S. Pat. No.
Inventor
Issue Date
5,549,508
Searle et al.
August 27, 1996
4,936,053
Shanelec
June 26, 1990
4,694,613
Bernhard
September 22, 1987
4,148,158
Hewitt
April 10, 1979
3,636,666
Brayman
January 25, 1972
3,659,385
Ferguson
May 2, 1972
2,879,629
Machovic
March 31, 1959
5,371,977
Liner
December 13, 1994
4,265,146
Horrell
May 5, 1981
5,062,322
Sinko
November 5, 1991
4,509,316
Edwards
April 9, 1985
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for sharpening the blades of a conventional powered lawn edger.
It is a feature of the present invention to be able to be installed on new lawn edgers and retrofitted on existing lawn edgers.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide a motorized operation that is easy to use, convenient and efficient.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to sharpen blades automatically.
It is still yet another feature of the present invention to provide a handle mounted trigger actuation.
It is yet still another feature of the present invention to greatly reduce the time required of manual sharpening.
Briefly described according to one embodiment of the present invention, the Edger Blade Sharpener is a blade sharpening mechanism that is used to maintain the blade of an otherwise conventional motorized lawn edger lawn in a sharpened condition without requiring removal of the blade or manual sharpening. The blade is sharpened by a pair of sharpening stones that are supported by a caliper-type mechanism such that they lie one on each side of the blade. Activated by squeezing a trigger located on the edger handle, the calipers converge upon the blade, forcing the sharpening stones into contact with the edger blade as it is spun by the motor. As the blade turns, it is sharpened automatically, relieving the user of the need to perform any manual sharpening operations on the blade. As a result, use of the Edger Blade Sharpener allows the user to obtain the benefits of a motorized edger device without the hassle of blade maintenance.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2377984 (1945-06-01), Ward
patent: 4393627 (1983-07-01), Ailey, Jr.
patent: 5152104 (1992-10-01), Wood et al.
Gugliotta John D.
Hail, III Joseph E.
Nguyen George
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