CA1097281A - Convertible catcher-to-chute loose foliage bagger - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

Leaf collecting equipment comprises a blanket having a central hole through it and an attachement means around the hole to which the blanket is secured, the attachment means having provisions for removably attaching a trash bag to it to receive leaves dropped through the blanket hole and the attachment means directly into the bag.

Description

72~L

This invention relates to leaf bag~ing equipment and particu:Lar:ly to an assembly on which the leaves are to be collected and from ~hich the gathered leaves are to be deposited directly into a trash bag.
The invention will be desc:r.ibecl with special reference to tree leaves but it is to be understood that the word "leaves"
is used herein .in a generic sense and is intended to include : other debris which is to be gathered together and deposiked in a trash bag for dlsposal.` Such debris includes wood shavings, small cut wood pieces, bush clippings, twigs and even small scrap metal pieces and the like, which are generally swept or raked together and then picked up and placed in a bag which is to be discarded, The usual way for collecting leaves and putting them in a trash bag is time-consuming, awkward and cumbersome. After ~: the leaves are swept or raked together in a pile, portions of . ~.
.~ it are picked up by hand, possibly with some asslstance from a broom or rake, and then placed in a trash bag. As both hands ~. :
;. are generaIly required to pick up the leaves and as the top of `:~ 20 the bag must be opened it is apparent that a person finds it ; : difficult to work alone. Even if two persons work together:on ~; the leaf colleating project they find that the transfer of the ;~-~
pile of leaves to the inside of the trash bag lS~ not easily accomplished.
The feature of the present invention is the provision of equipment which facilltates putting scattered leaves in a trash bag. :The equipment inc]udes a blanket or sheet on which . the leaves are raked or swept and it provides a means for depositing the pile of leaves directly ln a trash bag. The bm~

leaves are somewhat compact~d on the blanket and dumped.from the blanket into the bag w.it?nout any m~nua.l. handling oE the leaves. There is no piece-meal h~ndling of -the collec-ted leaves.
In sum~clry, there~ore~ the present invention may be broadly defined as pro~iding leaf bagging ec~uipment comprising a blanket on which.leaves are to be collected and having a centrally loca-ted hole through it, an attachment means around : the hole to hold :it open and to which the bl~nket is secured, and the attachment means also hav~ng provision for temporarily ~ ~
at-taching a remov~ble trash. bag to it to d.irectly receive leaves ~ :
dropped through.and blanket hole and through. the attachment .
means, ; Representative embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 i.s a plan view o~ a preferred construction of the equipment, ready for use, . Fig~ 2 is a side yiew of the equipment, ]n perspective, ~.
, a front portion of the collecting blanket belng removed~
;~ 20 Fi~. 3 is a side elevation sh.owing -the manner of ~ dumping the collected leaves into a trash bag, -: Fig. 4 is a plan view of the clamping rin~
~ I Ei~. 5 is a side elevation, upside-down from Fig. 2 : showing the removable parts separated and ready for assembly to make the equipment of Figs. 1 and 2, ?
Fig 6 is a plan view of a simplified construction o~
. the equipment, Fig~ 7 is. a perspective view looking down on Fig~ 6, parts being in sectlon on the line 7-7 of Fig, 6,:and . ~3~
bm~

:
.
". : ;

~g728~

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on an enla~gecl scale on the line 7-7 o~ l~ig. 6 bu-t only of the leEt hand por-tion thereof and with the trash bag removed.
Referring Eirst to F:iys~ 1 to 5r -the blanket 10 is a cloth or plastic she~et on which the leaves are raked or swept.
It is spread out on the grouhd at an appropriate place close -to the leaves which are to be collec-ted and the leaves are gathered on it in one or more piles. It may be made of any flexible material which is strong enough to resist the raking and pulling to which it will be subjected~ It is shown as square but it may be oblong or curved in outline.
At the four corners of the sheet are attached rings 11 and they serve thedouble purpose of holding the sheet in a spread-out position and providing handles to spread the sheet out on the ground as shown in Fig. 1 and to pick it up as is shown ln Pig. 3. The rings are attached to the blanket l0 by folding the corners of the blanket through them to form the tabs . ~
12 which are fastened by rivets 13 or other means to the blanket.

Or, the rings 11 may simply be stitched to the blanket and in fact the rings can be eliminated as they are not vital~-to the `
use of the equipment.
The blanket 10 has a large hole through it at or near its center and an important feature of the invention is that ; the leaves which have been collected on the blanket are to be discharged through this hole and directly into the removably ~` attached trash bag 16. The attachment means between the blanket 10 and the trash bag 16, in the structure of Figs. 1 to 5, , .
includes a collar or sleeve 17 which is of generally cylindrical ., shape. At this point it may be mentioned that the blanket is bm~

- . - . . . . .
, .
-: : , : :- :

9~8~L

permanently attachecl to this centraL fastening means an(l that the trash bag is removably f~stened to it, The marginal area oE the blanket around khe hole 15 is attached to one end portion or ~one 18 oE -the sleeve 17 by any suitable fastening means such as the staples or riveks 19, -~
To more firmly hold the blanket on the cyllndrical encl portion 18 an outer hoop or band 21 may be, but not necessarily, provided, The rivets 1~ then tightly clamp the blanket around its hole 15, between the outer band 21 and the Gylindrical end zone 1~. If the band 21 has a tight enough frictional fit the rivets 19 may be eliminated.
The collar 17 is preferably made of metal such as steel but it can be made of a strong, relatively inflexible ~l~ plastic. The band 21 may be made of metal or plastlc and the collar and the band need not be made of the same material, ;
At spaced intervals around the ou-tside of the band 21 are radially projècting hubs or bosses 22 for a purpose which will be explained. From two to eight of them will be sufficient for this purpose but they may be omitted altogether. They are h~eld in place by the screws 23 which pass thxough the central collar 17. Of course/ if the band 21 is omitted the hubs will ` be held against the blanket itself and serve to further hold it in place.
~ he trash bag is to be temporaily attached to the other end portion 24 of the collar 17 and this is accomplished by the expansible~contractible clamping ring 25. It is of the conventional split ring type so that its ends may be drawn firmly toward each other to grip ~he end of the ~rash bag ~o the bm:

728~1L

end por-tion 24 or the encls mc1y sprincJ aE~ar-t to release the trash bag. :C-t is gellerally macle o~ me-tal but :it may be made of a strong plastic.
The details o~ a usable clamp:ing ring are shown in Fig. 4. A lever 26 ls pivoted to one end of the ring 25 and a link 27 is pivo-ted to the otl;er end of the r:ing and also to the lever. This is the usual "over the center" arxangement as it is self locking in the position shown in E~ . 4. When the handle or lever 26 is pulled far enough away ~rom split ring 25 the ring opens wide and the trash bag 16 is instantly released.
Fig. 5 shows how the structure is assembled for use The blanket lO is placed on the ground with the collar 17 sticking upwardly. The open end of the trash bag is drawn downwardly over the end portion 24 of the collar and, i~ the bosses 22 are present, the bag is pulled over several of them to stretch the bag so it will be tightly held on the collar 17.
~ .
This is to reduce the chances that the bag will slip off while the clamping ring 25 is being applied.
When the trash bag is upon the collar the clamping ring is moved over the bag and to a position around the end ; portion 24. If the bosses 22 are present they serve as positioning stops to more quickly and accurately locate the `~ ring 25 where it should be cla~ped, Then the lever 26 is moved to its self locking position and the equipment is ready for use.
.~ .
To use it, the blanket lO is spread out on the ground with the trash bag on its under side as shown in Fig. 2. As there is nothing in the bag and as it is thin the entire blanke-t ~ lies quite flat and leaves can be racked or swept on its entire ; -6- , bm~ --:. . ~, .
. :
: ~ , . . .
:: . . . .. .

- . : ~- .. . . '' , .

~g~28~
.~ upper side. I~hen it i~ fel-t ~hat a sufficient load of leaves is on the blanke-t the rings are pickecl up and brought together as is shown in Fig. 3. The leaves are then aasily shaken through the hole 15 directly into the -trash bag. :If the La~ is not,~ul:l this action is repeated as the presence oE some leaves :i.n the bag will not inter:Eere too much with spreacling out the blanket.
When the bag is full the position oE E'ig. 3 is maintained while the clamping ring is released and the ri.ng will open and drop down over the bag to the ground. The top of the bag is held in one hand while the blanket and attached collar are discarded ; with the other hand. Finally, the open end of the -trash bag is closed in and a draw string or tab is applied to hold -the bag closed.
~ he end portion 24 of the collar 17 may be of simple cylindrical shape similar to the end portion 18 but a refinement in the structure is to slightly bow the portion 24 in cross section as is shown in Fig. 2. Then the clamping ring 25 should be bowed in like manner as is shown in Fig. 2 so that the .
surfaces complement each other. This interfit between the end portion 24 and the clamping ring 25 serves to more securely hold the clamping ring in place and retain the trash bag.
To produc an inexpensive structure, the collar 17, the -outer band 21 and the clamping ring 25 may be parts which are at the open end of the conventional fiberboard container. The blanket 10 occupies the space between the collar 17 and band 21 which would be occupied by the open end of a fiberboard container.
The clamping bana 25 may be the same one which holds a lid on the conventional fiberboard container.
` Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show a more simplified structure. ~nstead ; :
~ 7-:- . .: . . . . .

:, - , , :

~97;~
of the cylindrical collar of the preferred struc-ture, the central attachment means hetwee~n the blanket 30 and the trash bag 31 i5 a Elat annulus 32. Thus annu:Lus may be made out of wood or a plastic in which na:ils may be driven. Fig. 8 shows that the blanke-t 30 is a-ttached around its central hole 3~ to the annulus 32 by staples 33. A strong g:Lue may be used to permanently or semi-permanently fasten them together.
Secured to the upper side of the annulus is a ring of clîps 35 or prongs over which the trash bag is drawn to releasibly hold -the bag in place. To use this equipment the bag is drawn up through the holes in the annulus and the blanket and hooked on the prongs 35 to hold the bag in place. This assembly is used as described above.
As the prongs 35 may tear an ordinary thin plastic trash bag it may be found to be bes-t to use a burlap or a canvas bag with this equipment. This may be the same material which is used to make the blanket or sheet 30 or 10. Instead of the more `-expensive rings 11 to handle the blanket, the blanket 30 has holes 36 in it at its corners and the blanket is stitched around :, ~
~ 20 these holes to strengthen it when the blanket is grasped.
.`~ .
In both structures the central attachment means serves to strengthen the blanket around the hole, to hold the hole open :; :
so all the leaves will be dumped through it, and to con-tain a provision for holding the trash bag so it will receive the leaves being shaken off the blanke-t. This makes it possible for the blanket to be both a leaf collecting sheet and subsequently a funnel to direct the collected leaves into the removeable trash ~. ~
bag.

Many variations and combinations or substitutions of ~" ~0 ` ~' ~ . ~
' j l~ . ~; .

:
:

~728~L

details are ~ossible. Illsteacl o:E lls:ing t:he clamping r.ing 25, the end porti.on 2~1 ma~ be prov:iclecd w:ith hooks o.r proncJs, l:i.ke the p.rOncJs 35, on whicl-l tlle trash bag .is huny. The hole i.n -the blanket need not be .round as i-t can be oval, square or ob]ong and in t.his case the attachment means should have ~he same :Eormation~ Fo.r instance, the annulus 32 need not be circular as i.t may be rectanyular and frame-like in its formation.

.
,, ' ~ ~ , :
~` 20 '';I ' f ~' I . ' :
~:

:

~:` 30 1: , ~ :, .. .

Claims (10)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. leaf bagging equipment comprising a blanket on which leaves are to be collected and having a centrally located hole through it, an attachment means around the hole to hold it open and to which the blanket is secured, and said attachment means also having provision for temporarily attaching a removable trash bag to it to directly receive leaves dropped through the blanket hole and through the attachment means.

2. The equipment of Claim 1 in which said attachment means is of generally cylindrical shape.

3. The equipment of Claim 1 in which said attachment means is of generally cylindrical shape, the blanket being secured to one end portion thereof and its other end portion having said provision for temporarily attaching the trash bag.

4. The equipment of Claim 1 in which said attachment means is of generally cylindrical shape and the blanket is secured to one end portion thereof, and an expansible-contractible ring which holds the trash bag on the other end portion thereof.

5. The equipment of Claim 1 in which said attachment means has prongs to releasibly engage the trash bag.

6. The equipment of Claim 1 in which said attachment means is a generally flat frame.

7. The equipment of Claim 1 in which said attachment means is an annulus.

8. The equipment of Claim 1 in which said attachment means is of generally cylindrical shape and has radially projecting bosses around its exterior.

9. The equipment of Claim l in which said blanket has peripheral handling means to spread it out and collect its periphery together.

10. The equipment of Claim 1 in which said blanket is rectangular and has grasping handles affixed at its corners.