Plant husbandry – Ornamental beds
Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-08
2001-12-04
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Plant husbandry
Ornamental beds
Reexamination Certificate
active
06324782
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to landscape edging systems, methods and components, and to paving block edging systems, methods and components for forming borders or walkways between adjoining garden, landscape, driveway, walkway, patio or sidewalk areas.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Gardeners, landscapers and homeowners frequently use border or edging material such as fences, logs, railroad ties, bricks, concrete blocks and the like to provide a decorative edge for a landscape or garden. Such border or edging material is also frequently employed to physically separate landscape, garden and other areas from one another.
Plastic landscape edging is now commonly used to divide and separate different landscape areas to preclude material in one area from spilling over into an adjacent area, and to prevent grass, flowers or the like contained in one area from growing in an adjoining area. For example, plastic edging is typically used to divide grass landscape areas from adjoining garden areas, and helps prevent grass from taking root in adjoining garden areas. Plastic edging also helps prevent garden bedding material from spilling onto the adjoining landscape area. The most prevalent materials used to fabricate landscape edging today are inert, synthetic flexible plastics such as polyethylene and ethylene vinyl acetate.
In the past, landscape edging has been formed from lengths of wood, corrugated metal strips, plastic, cement blocks and poured concrete. Wood is subject to rot and insect attack and decays over time. Wood landscape timbers must therefore be replaced rather frequently. Ungalvanized metal bands oxidize and rust, and tend to become bent and misshapen over time. Even galvanized metal bands eventually corrode once the protective zinc coating has been oxidized. Concrete blocks are inflexible, difficult to install and generally heavy. Poured concrete is expensive, difficult or impossible to modify once poured and set, and difficult and time-consuming to install.
Plastic landscape edging, on the other hand, is inexpensive, readily manufactured, flexible and has a long service life. As a result of the disadvantages inhering in wood, metal and concrete landscaping materials and the unique advantages of plastic, plastic landscape edging has become the landscape edging material of choice of many consumers.
While landscape edging formed from inert synthetic plastic has many advantages such as being flexible and resisting deterioration well, problems nevertheless occur in their use. Conventional landscape edging usually consists of a longitudinally extending strip of material having a lower edge that is inserted into the ground to a predetermined depth and an upper edge or rail that generally projects above the ground. The edging is typically installed by digging a narrow trench, inserting the lower edge to a predetermined depth, refilling the trench and compacting the earth around the edging. Such installation normally maintains the edging in its intended position for a period of time.
As time progresses, however, the environment and other factors actively work against the edging remaining in its original position. The edging may be walked on, bumped, kicked, shoved aside or otherwise engaged in such a manner that it is displaced in respect of its original position. Landscape mowers or tractors may repeatedly drive over the edging and displace or damage the edging.
The winter effects of frost heave, or the freezing and thawing action of the earth surrounding the edging, are often more severe than the foregoing effects in respect of edging displacement or damage. The ground retains moisture in the fall that freezes with dropping temperatures. Water is one of the few materials having a coefficient of volume expansion that increases as temperature decreases, and the ground accordingly expands with frozen moisture in the winter. This has the effect of compressing and heaving the landscape edging, and as a result the edging breaks or is laterally or vertically displaced. When spring arrives in colder climates, plastic landscape edging is often found to have buckled upwards and protruded from the ground during the winter in response to frost heave, especially where adjacent strips of edging are connected to one another. As temperatures rise in spring, the moisture beneath the ground surface melts, again changing the volume of the subsurface ground adjoining the edging. As the seasons alternate, the landscape edging is repeatedly exposed to a variety of forces arising from changing soil volumes that, over the long term, cause the edging to become dislodged or damaged.
Landscape edging systems, components and methods are well known in the art, some examples of which may be found in the issued U.S. Patents listed in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1
Prior Art Patents
Patent Number
Title
425,890
Border for Flower Bed
1,166,664
Curbing Block
1,183,055
Dividing Stone for Gardens or Landscapes
1,843,108
Curb or Edging for garden Paths and the Like
1,977,021
Root Fence for Flower Edges and the Like
2,094,519
Walk and Drive Edging
2,235,356
Protective Tile for Covering Underground Cables
2,713,751
Garden Edging Device
2,744,357
Landscape Edging Device
2,746,723
Border Fencing
2,769,277
Terrace Barrier or Curbing
2,794,375
Sectional Curbs for Parking Lots and the Like
2,865,136
Border Block
2,920,184
Illuminated Driveway Curbing
3,289,349
Curbing and Bordering Means
3,387,786
Divider and Sprinkler Combination
3,636,829
Parking Barrier
4,074,479
Landscape Edging
4,281,473
Landscaping Bed Divider
4,601,140
Landscape Edging System
4,628,632
Edging Strip
4,644,685
Edging Strip
4,695,502
Interlocking Landscape Planking
4,702,034
Edging Assembly
4,747,231
Landscape Edging
4,761,923
Landscape Edging
4,809,459
Building and Garden Edging
4,823,521
Landscaping Bed Divider
4,897,973
Modular Sun Block System
4,945,675
Dividing, Watering and Lighting System for Landscapes
4,969,289
Garden Edging Device
5,027,551
Decorative Landscape Edging Package
5,067,273
Landscape Edging
5,080,523
Concrete Stone for Forming Road Edges
5,117,583
Landscape Terracing Material
5,119,587
Method and Apparatus for Landscape Edging
5,121,569
Landscape Edging Device
5,133,163
Conduit Containing Construction Block
5,154,399
Implement for Removing Landscape Edging
5,157,867
Landscape Edging Apparatus and Method
5,168,678
Modular Landscaping System and Structures
5,201,154
Landscape Edging and Methods of Manufacturing and
Using Same
5,233,806
Articulating Stone Edging Construction
5,236,179
Garden Trim Fence
5,259,154
Landscape Border
5,315,780
Landscape Edging Material Anchoring Arrangement
5,317,833
Landscape and Flower Bed Edging
5,375,369
Landscape Edgings with Stakeable Connectors
5,377,447
Landscape Edging Apparatus and Method
5,410,458
Illuminated Landscape Edging
5,414,956
Interlocking Garden Edging and Ornament
5,421,118
Landscape Edging System
5,426,888
Landscape Edging System
5,438,804
Landscape Edging
5,442,877
Modular Landscape Borders
5,501,036
Even-Coil Edging for Cartonless Packaging
5,519,970
Landscape Edging
5,531,044
Landscape Edging Device and Method
5,535,568
Self Indexing Landscape Module
5,544,445,
Landscape Edging Device
5,564,240
Edging Block and Method of Enclosing an Area Utilizing
a Series of Edging Blocks
Des. 335,429
Male End Cap for Landscaping Terracing
Des. 363,801
Border Edge
Particular attention is directed to the following prior art patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,113 to O'Mullen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,231 to LeMay et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,675 to Kendrick; U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,551 to Rodriguez; U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,587 to Waltz; U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,343 to Strobl, Jr.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,118 to Bauer.
Those of skill in the art will appreciate readily upon reading the Summary of the Invention, Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and Claims set forth below, that at least some of the devices and methods disclosed in the patents of Table 1 may be modified advantageously using the teachings of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invent
Jordan Charles T.
Palo Francis T.
Woods T.
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