A tine, a panel and a lawn aerator device

Abstract

A tine for perforating a lawn to aerate the lawn, the tine (200, figure 2a) comprising a tine attachment portion (208) configured to be removably coupled with a panel attachment portion 209 of a panel

Description

The present disclosure relates to a tine for perforating a lawn, a panel for use with the one or more tines and a lawn aerator device comprising one or more tines and the panel. BACKGROUND A lawn aerator is a gardening tool designed to perforate the soil in a lawn with small holes, creating channels for air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the soil more effectively. This process is known as "aeration” and helps to alleviate soil compaction, improve root growth, and enhance overall lawn health. Spiked shoes have been used as lawn aerators in the past, but they have a small coverage and, when in use, it is not possible for a user to reliably step evenly in and out of the ground thereby making them cumbersome and strenuous for the user to use; when the spiked shoe gets stuck in the ground the user’s foot naturally jolts out of the ground suddenly which can risk a user losing their balance. Another known type of lawn aerator is a manual lawn roller. In addition to these challenges, traditional lawn aerators are not flexible to changing weather conditions or different lawn care requirements, therefore it is desirable to facilitate a lawn aerator that can cater to diverse lawn requirements. SUMMARY It is desirable to provide a lawn aerator that provides one or more advantages over existing lawn aeration devices, such as spike shoes and manual lawn rollers. According to a first aspect of the disclosure there is provided a tine for perforating a lawn to aerate the lawn, the tine comprising a tine attachment portion configured to be removably coupled with a panel attachment portion of a panel, and a perforating portion for perforating the lawn. Optionally, the perforating portion has a length within a range of approximately 25mm to approximately 50mm. Optionally, the perforating portion has a length of approximately 25mm, or approximately 35mm or approximately 50mm. Optionally, the perforating portion comprises an internal tine bore hole. Optionally, the perforating portion is configured to have a ribbed surface or a crosshair shape. Optionally, the tine attachment portion is configured to be removably coupled with the panel attachment portion using a nut. Optionally, the nut is a nyloc nut. Optionally, the tine attachment portion is configured to be removably coupled with the panel attachment portion using a washer. Optionally, the tine attachment portion comprises a head portion and a thread portion, the thread portion being configured to receive the nut such that when tightened, a protrusion of the panel attachment portion is held between the head portion and the nut. Optionally, the head portion has a hexagonal shape. According to a second aspect of the disclosure there is provided a panel for holding one or more tines for perforating a lawn to aerate the lawn, each of the one or more tines comprising a tine attachment portion, the panel comprising a panel attachment portion configured to be removably coupled with the tine attachment portion of each of the one or more tines. Optionally, the panel is substantially planar. Optionally, the panel comprises an upper surface for receiving a user’s foot, and a lower surface for protruding the one or more tines outwardly. Optionally, the panel comprises a handle coupling portion for coupling with one or more handles for a user to hold. Optionally, the handle coupling portion is configured to enable attachment of one or more linking components, the one or more handles being couplable to the handle coupling portion via the one or more linking components. Optionally, each of the one or more linking components is configured to have an adjustable length and / or be flexible. Optionally, the handle coupling portion comprises one or more eyelets, each configured to permit coupling to one of the one or more linking components. Optionally, the handle coupling portion comprises four eyelets, each configured to permit coupling to one the one or more linking components and positioning in a corner of the panel. Optionally, the lower surface comprises an indentation for providing an imprint on the aerated lawn. Optionally, the indentation has a repeating diamond pattern structure. Optionally, the panel attachment portion comprises one or more attachment sub portions, each of the attachment sub portions being configured to permit removable coupling of the tine attachment portion of one of the one or more tines. Optionally, each of the one or more attachment sub portions comprises an orifice for receiving the tine attachment portion. Optionally, each of the one or more attachment sub portions comprises a protrusion. Optionally, each of the one or more attachment sub portions comprises a recess. Optionally, the panel attachment portion comprises 42 attachment sub portions. Optionally, the 42 attachment sub portions are arranged in a 7 by 6 configuration. According to a third aspect of the disclosure there is provided a lawn aerator device comprising one or more tines of the first aspect and the panel of any of the second aspect. Optionally, the lawn aerator device comprises a first handle and a second handle, each coupled to the panel. Optionally, the lawn aerator device comprises a first linking component and a second linking component, wherein the first handle is coupled to the panel via the first linking component and the second handle is coupled to the panel via the second linking component. Optionally, the lawn aerator device being configured to be disassemblable. According to a fourth aspect of the disclosure there is provided a method of aerating a lawn using the lawn aerator device of the third aspect. Optionally, the method comprises placing the panel on the lawn with the one or more tines facing downwards, standing on the panel to press the one or more tines into the lawn, and lifting the panel to remove the one or more tines from the ground. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure will be described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an illustration of the aeration process displaying, the steps for lawn aeration on a typical soil; Figure 2(a) is a schematic of a side view of a tine for perforating a lawn for aeration with a first embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 2(b) is a schematic of a perspective view of the panel that attaches to the tine for aerating a lawn, Figure 2(c) is a schematic of a side view of a lawn aerator device for aerating a lawn; Figure 3(a) is a schematic is a schematic of a side view of a tine for perforating a soft and / or wet lawn for aeration in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 3(b) is a schematic side view of a tine for perforating a typical lawn for aeration in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 3(c) is a schematic side view of a tine for perforating a hard lawn and / or dry lawn for aeration in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 3(d) is a schematic side view of a tine for perforating a lawn and providing watering aid in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 3(e) is a schematic side view of a tine for perforating a lawn and proving watering aid in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 3(f) is a schematic of a specific embodiment of the tine attachment portion, Figure 3(g) is a schematic cross section of the attachment portion of Figure 3(f) coupled with the panel attachment portion of the panel, Figure 3(h) is a schematic cross section showing the tine fixed to the panel, in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 4(a) is a schematic of a top view of a panel in accordance a with an seventh embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 4(b) is a schematic of a perspective view of the of Figure 4(a), Figure 4(c) is a schematic of a bottom view of the panel of Figure 4(a) Figure 4(d) is a schematic perspective view of the panel of Figure 4(a); Figure 5(a) is a schematic of a perspective view of an assembled lawn aerator for perforating a lawn for aeration in accordance with an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 5(b) is a schematic ofa perspective view of the assembled lawn aerator for perforating a lawn with upper-side on display for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 5(c) is a schematic of a perspective view of the assembled lawn aerator for perforating a lawn with under-side on display for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 6(a) is a first step of the process of a user operating the assembled lawn aerator for perforating a lawn display for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 6(b) is a second step of the process of a user operating the assembled lawn aerator for perforating a lawn display for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 6(c) is a third step of the process of a user operating the assembled lawn aerator for perforating a lawn display for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 6(d) is a fourth step of the process of a user operating the assembled lawn aerator for perforating a lawn display for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 7 is a schematic of sectional views of the panel for a ninth embodiment of the present disclosure; and Figure 8(a) is a schematic of a perspective view of the lawn aeration kit which has a reduced panel displaying the upper-side for a tenth embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 8(b) is a schematic of a perspective view of the lawn aeration kit of Figure 8(a) which has a reduced panel displaying the under-side. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Aerating a lawn improves drainage, relieves compaction and allows air, water and nutrients to penetrate the soil encouraging healthy grass growth. Figure 1 is an illustration of an aeration process 100 displaying the steps 102,104, 106 for lawn aeration on a typical soil 110. The lawn aeration process 100 shows a pre-aeration step 102 where a lawn 108 has its roots 112 only penetrating the first layer of top soil. The post-aeration step 104 shows perforations 116 after penetration of the soil 110 as part of the aeration process, allowing air, water and nutrients to penetrate deeper past the first layer of top soil 110. The growth step 106 shows the roots 112 extending further into the post aerated soil 110 layers thereby causing the lawn 108 to grow and be in a healthier state Figure 2(a) is a schematic of a side view of a tine 200 for perforating a lawn for aeration in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2(b) is a schematic of a perspective view of a panel 202 that can attach to the tine 200 for aerating a lawn. It will be appreciated that a tine may, for example, be alternatively referred to as a "spike”, a "prong”, a "protrusion implement", or a “perforating implement”, in accordance with the understanding of the skilled person. The tine 200 comprises a perforating portion 206 for perforating the lawn. In the present example, the perforating portion 206 has the form of a conical frustum spike that extends to a pointed end. However, it will be appreciated that in further embodiments, the perforating portion 206 may be of a different form, in accordance with the understanding of the skilled person. The perforating portion 206 can be used to pierce the target area soil, creating a channels for air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the soil more effectively. The tine 200 comprises a tine attachment portion 208 which can be used to removably couple the tine 200 to the panel 202. The tine attachment portion 208 may be removably couplable with a panel attachment portion 209 of the panel 202. By “removably couple”, it is meant that the tine 200 may be coupled and decoupled from the panel 202 in a non-destructive manner. This permits reuse and / or replacement of the tines 200. Furthermore, this permits an aeration device to be reconfigurable by enabling simple swapping out one set of tines 200 with another set of tines 200 having different properties, as may be desirable for different lawn types or different lawn conditions. As an example, the tine attachment portion 208 may take the form of a threaded pin connection, so as to receive a retaining nut, such as a nyloc nut. The panel 202 is able to hold one or more tines 200 and comprises the panel attachment portion 209 for removable coupling to one or more tines 200 via coupling with the tine attachment portion 208 of each of the one or more tines 200. The panel attachment portion 209 allows for selective engagement with the tine attachment portion 208. As an example, panel attachment portion 209 may comprise a mating box connection that is couplable to the tine attachment portion’s 208 pin connection. The panel attachment portion 209 may comprise one or more attachment subportions 210 where each attachment sub portion is configured to permit removable coupling of the tine attachment portion 208 of one of the tines 200. The panel 202 may be manufactured from injection moulding, for example, using recycled plastic. Figure 2(c) is a schematic of a side view of a lawn aerator device 204 for aerating a lawn. The lawn aerator kit 204 is the assembled kit comprising one or more tines 200 and the panel 202. When the panel 202 is compressed into a lawn the one or more tines 200 perforate the lawn, thereby allowing the lawn to be aerated. The panel attachment portion 209 allows the tines 200 to be removed and changed out to a different tine 200 or removed and packaged down enabling the lawn aerator kit 204 to be packaged down into a flat-pack configuration. It will be appreciated that flat-pack refers to the commonly understood term for a piece of equipment that is packaged or stored in pieces and packed flat in a box for easy of transport and can later be assembled by a user without additional manufacturing processes or excessive equipment. Figure 3(a) is a schematic of a side view of a tine 300 for perforating a soft and / or wet lawn for aeration in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The tine 300 comprises the tine attachment portion 208 and the perforating portion 206. The tine 300 has a perforating length 312 of 50mm that enables it to penetrate deeper into soft wet soil, exposing more of earth to aeration process. Figure 3(b) is a schematic side view of a tine 302 for perforating a typical lawn for aeration, in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure. The tine 302 comprises the attachment mechanism 208 and the perforating portion 206. The tine 302 has a perforating length 314 of 35mm that enables it to penetrate easier into typical soil. By shortening the perforating length 314 from the previous application of the tine 300, less compression load is required to drive the tine 302 into the soil until the panel 202 bottoms out against the soil. In addition, some lawns have obstructions, close to the surface, such as stones, which makes longer tines difficult to use for perforation and by making the length 314 shorter, the panel 202 can be compressed without the tine 302 impacting the obstructions. Figure 3(c) is a schematic side view of a tine 304 for perforating a hard lawn and / or dry lawn for aeration with a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. The tine 304 comprises the tine attachment portion 208 and the perforating portion 206. The tine 304 has a perforating length 316 of 25mm that enables it to penetrate deeper into firmer soil. As explained in relation to the tine 302 application, by shortening the perforating length 316 further less compression load is required to drive the tine 304 into the soil until the panel 202 bottoms out against the soil. Figure 3(d) is a schematic side view of a tine 306 for perforating a lawn and providing watering aid in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. The tine 306 comprises the tine attachment portion 208 and the perforating portion 206. The tine 306 may have a ribbed exterior surface 324. The tine 306 has a perforating length 316 of 25mm that enables it penetrate deeper into typical soil. As with explained in relation to the previous tine 302 application, by shortening the perforating length 316 further the less compression load is required to drive the tine 304 into the soil until the panel 202 bottoms out against the soil. Figure 3(e) is a schematic side view of a tine 308 for perforating a lawn and providing watering aid to a lawn with a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. The tine 308 comprises the tine attachment portion 208 and a perforating portion 206. The tine 308 further comprises a crosshair section 322 for enhancing the water supply to compacted soil, and for easing soil penetration. The tine 308 has a perforating length 316 of 25mm that enables it penetrate deeper into typical soil. The crosshair section 322 may comprise two flat linear portions intersection at 90° to form a cross shape. Each of the tines in Figure 3(a)-3(e) may be suitable for different situations. For example, if required, on firm dry ground, the standard 50mm aeration tine 300 can be changed to one of the shorter tines 302, 304, 306, 308 to perforate the surface. This can improve water soaking into the soil surface, rather than water run-off, or water being partly lost by evaporation in hot weather. In further embodiments, any of the tines of Figure 3(a)-3(e) may have an internal tine bore hole and / or a ribbed surface and / or a crosshair shape to aid the supply of water into the soil. For embodiments having an internal tine bore hole, the internal tine bore hole may extend from one end of the tine to the other end of the tine. This will enable a first portion of soil to be collected in the internal tine bore hole from a single aeration step, then in a subsequent aeration step, a second portion of soil will be collected, which will displace the first portion of soil. Once the soil within the internal tine bore hole exceeds the volume of the internal tine bore hole, some of the soil will escape from the top of the tine with additional soil escaping with each subsequent aeration step. Figure 3(f) is a schematic of a specific embodiment of the tine attachment portion 208 as may be implemented as part of any of the tines described herein, in accordance with the understanding of the skilled person. The tine attachment portion 208 may be configured to be removably coupled with the panel attachment portion 209 using a nut 330, for example a nyloc nut, and, optionally, a washer 332. The tine attachment portion 208 may comprise a head portion 334 and a thread portion 336. The head portion 334 may have a hexagonal shape. Figure 3(g) is a schematic cross section of the attachment portion 208 of Figure 3(f) coupled with the panel attachment portion 209 of the panel, in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. In the present example, there is shown a single attachment sub portion 210 comprising an orifice 338 and a protrusion 340. It can be observed that the tine 200 is fixed to the panel 202 by the nut 330 and washer 332 being tightened against the protrusion 340 above which is position the head portion 334. Figure 3(h) is a schematic cross section showing the tine 200 fixed to the panel 202, in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. The attachment sub portion 210 may comprise a recess 342 such the head portion 334 does not protrude above a surface of the panel 202 when in use. In a specific embodiment, one or more of the attachment sub portions 210 may be implemented in this manner, in accordance with the understanding of the skilled person. The length of the portion of the tine 200 embedded within the panel 202 may be designed to reduce the risk of bending of the tine 200 when in use, as may occur in known systems. For example, the length of the portion of the tine 200 embedded within the panel may have a length of at least a third of the length of the portion of the tine 200 protruding outside the panel 200. In a specific embodiment, the length of the portion of the tine 200 embedded within the panel may have a length of at least a half of the length of the portion of the tine 200 protruding outside the panel 200. In a specific embodiment, the length of the portion of the tine 200 embedded within the panel may have a length that is equal to or greater than the length of the portion of the tine 200 protruding outside the panel 202. Figure 4(a) is a schematic of a top view of a panel 400 in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. The panel 400 is a specific example of the panel 202 as discussed previously. Figure 4(b) is a schematic of a perspective view of the panel 400. Figure 4(c) is a schematic of a bottom view of the panel 400. Figure 4(d) is a schematic perspective view of the panel 400. The panel 400 is substantially planar. The panel 400 comprises an upper surface 402 for a user to stand on when in use and the panel 400 comprises a lower surface 406, being the surface that the one or more tines protrude outward from. The use of the upper surface 402 for a user to stand on offers advantages over manual lawn rollers, which do notpermita userto stand on them. By enabling a user to stand on a surface of the panel 400, the user’s weight can aid the aeration process. The upper surface 402 may have a plurality of studs 404 that creates additional friction on the that also helps a user keep maintain foot position on the upper-side during use by friction provided by the studs. Only a single stud has been labelled in the drawings to aid in the clarity of the drawings. The panel 400 comprises the panel attachment portion 209 comprising attachment sub portions 210 each for removably coupling to a tine, where the tine may be any of the tines described herein. It will be appreciated that the panel 400 may be coupled with a plurality of tines all of the same type, or of different types. To aid in the clarity of the drawings, the panel attachment portion 209 has only been labelled in Figures 4(a) and 4(c) with only a single attachment sub portion 210 being labelled. To attach one or more tines, the tine can slide though the upper surface 402 with the perforating portion 206 protruding through the lower surface 406 and locked in position using the retaining nut 330 and the washer 332 as described previously. The panel 400 may have corner supports 408 on the upper surface 402 that provide barriers to maintain a user’s foot on the panel 400 during use, and can add rigidity to the panel 400. The lower surface 406 may comprise an indentation 410, that may be a repeating pattern. In this example of the present disclosure the indentation 410 is a repeating diamond that may be referred to as a "quilted” structure. The diamond structure acts to reinforce the panel 400 and provides a reduction in material requirement during manufacture to achieve the same structural properties. It also reduces the crushing of the grass underneath the panel 400 when in use. The indentation also provides a means of imprinting a pattern onto the lawn after the panel 400 has been pressed into the soil thereby providing a user with a marking relating to which areas of the lawn have been perforated and which are still to be perforated. Figure 5(a) is a schematic of a perspective view of an assembled lawn aerator device 500 for perforating a lawn for aeration in accordance with an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure. The lawn aerator 500 has a plurality of tines 200 removably coupled to the panel 400 via the panel attachment portion 209. The panel 400 comprises a handle coupling portion 501 for coupling with handles 506. The handle coupling portion 501 is configured to enable attachment of linking components 502, with the handles 506 being coupled to the panel 400 using the linking components 502. The handle 506 is configured to receive a user's grip and may be constructed from a flexible durable material, such as foam padding. The linking components 502 may be flexible and may, for example, be formed from a chain linkage, rope, textile or other means. The linking components 502 may be adjustable to a user’s height allowing the lawn aerator kit 500 to be used by a wide variety of users. Each handle 506 may be fixed centrally to a linking component 502 to ensure the lawn aerator kit 500 load distribution is evenly balanced when gripped by a user. The handle coupling portion 501 may comprise eyelets 504 that are coupled to the linking components 502 and may be placed in the corners of the panel400. The eyelets 504 may be removable which allows the eyelets 504, and therefore the entire gripping means to be removed from the panel 504; which when combined with the removable tines enables the lawn aerator kit 500 to arranged in a flat-pack configuration. The eyelets 504 may comprise steel. The lawn aerator kit 500 provides a single user a manual, easy to use lawn aerator grass surface spiker. The prior art spike shoes have much smaller and uneven coverage and it is not possible to stutter walk evenly in and out of the lawn, resulting in users typically getting stuck in the ground, forcing the user to jolt their foot out of the ground suddenly and risk losing balance. The lawn aerator kit 500 provides a simple and effective way of evenly and accurately perforating any chosen areas of a lawn, in regular regimented lines or blocks thereby ensuring even coverage. Furthermore, the lawn aerator kit 500 of the present disclosure permits simple removal and replacement of the tines, thereby enabling tines to be removed for repair or replacement. Furthermore, tines may be replaced by different tine types for different lawn conditions thereby providing a flexible and reconfigurable lawn aeration system. Figure 5(b) is a schematic of a perspective view of the assembled lawn aerator 500 for perforating a lawn with upper surface 402 on display for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5(c) is a schematic of a perspective view of the assembled lawn aerator 500 for perforating a lawn with the lower surface 406 on display for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6(a) is a first step 600 of the process of a user operating the assembled lawn aerator 500 for perforating a lawn for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. The first step demonstrates a user gripping the handles 506 and placing the panel over the desired target location on the location to begin perforating. Figure 6(b) is a second step 602 of the process of a user operating the assembled lawn aerator 500 for perforating a lawn for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. Is a second step of the process where a user places their load onto the lawn aerator 506, on the upper surface402, while maintaining their grip on the handles506. Figure 6(c) is a third step 604 of the process of a user operating the assembled lawn aerator 500 for perforating a lawn for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. Is a third step of the process where a user compresses the panel 400 into the soil and then carefully distributes their load across the panel 400 to ensure a complete even perforation on the soil. This gently eases the spikes into the ground, unlike roller type lawn spikers known in the art which can ‘skim’ over the surface. Figure 6(d) is a fourth step 606 of the process of a user operating the assembled lawn aerator 500 for perforating a lawn display for a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. Is a fourth step of the process where a user removes one foot from the panel 400 and lifts the panel 400 from the soil with the handles 506, removing the tines 200 from the soil. No bending over is required by the user as they compress the panel 400 using their weight whilst gripping the handles 506 in each hand, with one foot being kept on the panel 400 and the other on the ground behind. This enables the user to slowly ease the lawn aerator kit 500 upwards using force through the user’s arms and hands. One foot remains on the lawn aerator device 500 as a stabiliser to prevent the panel 400 suddenly popping out of the ground. To repeat this process your standing foot acts like a pivot on the ground, allowing the other foot remaining on the mat to move it to the next position to perforate. Figure 7 is a schematic of sectional views of the panel 700 in accordance with a ninth embodiment of the present disclosure. The panel 700 has all features previously described in relation to the panel 400 with several specific additional dimensional attributes, specifically: a panel length 702 of 410.0mm, a panel breadth 704 of 320.0mm, a bore hole longitudinal spacing of 55.0mm, a bore hole latitudinal spacing of 50.0mm, a panel height 710 of 36.00mm and a bore hole internal diameter of 6.20mm. The panel 700 is arranged to have the attachment sub portions 210 each comprising a bore hole 712 in a 7 x 6 by configuration. Each attachment sub portion 210 in this configuration is for accepting a nyloc hexagonal nut. The bore holes may correspond to the orifice 338 as described previously in relation to Figure 3(g), in accordance with the understanding of the skilled person. Figure 8(a) is a schematic of a perspective view of the lawn aeration kit 800 which comprises a panel 804 in accordance with a tenth embodiment of the present disclosure, and showing the upper surface 402. Figure 8(b) is a schematic of a perspective view of the lawn aeration kit 800 showing the lower surface 406. The panel 804 is a specific embodiment of the panel 400 having smaller dimensions. The panel 804 is suitable for single foot, much a like a shoe but without the requirement to strap anything to a user’s foot. Unlike a spiked shoe known in the art, the reduced panel 804 retains the handles 506, linkages 502 and eyelets 504 to assist a user during operation. With known spiked shoe aerators using straps, a user has to strap the spiked shoe to their foot for use, and then remove the straps when not in use, which can be time consuming, uncomfortable and generally inconvenient. The inclusion of the handles 506, linkages 502 and eyelets 504 eliminates the requirement to have the panel 804 strapped to a user’s foot, as is required by known spiked shoe aerators. Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure, such as the lawn aeration kit 800, offer advantages over known systems in that a user simply has to stand off the panel 804 at the end of an aeration process, rather than having undergo an arduous unstrapping process. The reduced panel 804 permits removable coupling of tines as described previously. Aside from dimensional changes and the placement of eyelets 504, the reduced panel 804 may retain all the features described for panel 202, and any other features as described herein, in accordance with the understanding of the skilled person. In extended periods of hot dry weather using the lawn aerator kit 500, 800 can reduce the length of time water sprinklers are required to be on, as less water is lost to run-off and evaporation. Water gets to the grass roots quicker as it is effectively ‘grabbed’ in the holes made by the spikes. Therefore, the water sprinkler is more effective, reducing the time it needs to be on, thus reducing water usage. Furthermore, as known systems use fixed tines that cannot be removed, existing systems cannot be reconfigured to suit different weather or lawn requirements, and used tines cannot be removed for repair or replacement. Embodiments of the present disclosure enable tines to be coupled with a panel, and removed in a simple manner than enables the lawn aerator to be reconfigured for different weather and lawn situations by swapping one set of tines for a different set of tines. Furthermore, embodiments of the present disclosure permit simple removal of tines for maintenance or replacement purposes. Various improvements and modifications may be made to the above without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A tine for perforating a lawn to aerate the lawn, the tine comprising:a tine attachment portion configured to be removably coupled with a panel attachment portion of a panel; anda perforating portion for perforating the lawn.

2. The tine of claim 1, wherein the perforating portion has a length within a range of approximately 25mm to approximately 50mm.

3. The tine of claim 1 or 2, wherein the perforating portion comprises an internal tine bore hole.

4. The tine of any preceding claim, wherein the perforating portion is configured to have a ribbed surface or a crosshair shape.

5. The tine of any preceding claim, wherein the tine attachment portion is configured to be removably coupled with the panel attachment portion using a nut.

6. The tine of claim 5, wherein the tine attachment portion is configured to be removably coupled with the panel attachment portion using a washer.

7. The tine of claim 5 or 6, wherein:the tine attachment portion comprises:a head portion and a thread portion, the thread portion being configured to receive the nut such that when tightened, a protrusion of the panel attachment portion is held between the head portion and the nut.

8. A panel for holding one or more tines for perforating a lawn to aerate the lawn, each of the one or more tines comprising a tine attachment portion, the panel comprising:a panel attachment portion configured to be removably coupled with the tine attachment portion of each of the one or more tines.

9. The panel of claim 8 comprising:an upper surface for receiving a user's foot; anda lower surface for protruding the one or more tines outwardly.

10. The panel of claim 8 or 9 comprising a handle coupling portion for coupling with one or more handles for a user to hold.

11. The panel of claim 10, wherein the handle coupling portion is configured to enable attachment of one or more linking components, the one or more handles being couplable to the handle coupling portion via the one or more linking components.

12. The panel of claim 11, wherein each of the one or more linking components is configured to have an adjustable length and / or be flexible.

13. The panel of claim 11 or 12, wherein the handle coupling portion comprises: one or more eyelets, each configured to permit coupling to one of the one or more linking components.

14. The panel of claim 13, wherein the handle coupling portion comprises four eyelets, each configured to permit coupling to one the one or more linking components and positioning in a corner of the panel.

15. The panel of any of claims 9 to 14, wherein the lower surface comprises an indentation for providing an imprint on the aerated lawn.

16. The panel of any of claims 8 to 15, wherein the panel attachment portion comprises:one or more attachment sub portions, each of the attachment sub portions being configured to permit removable coupling of the tine attachment portion of one of the one or more tines.

17. The panel of claim 16, wherein each of the one or more attachment sub portions comprises an orifice for receiving the tine attachment portion.

18. The panel of claim 17, wherein each of the one or more attachment sub portions comprises a protrusion.

19. The panel of claim 17 or 18, wherein each of the one or more attachment sub portions comprises a recess.

20. A lawn aerator device comprising:one or more tines of any of claims 1 to 10; andthe panel of any of claims 11 to 25.

21. The lawn aerator device of claim 20 comprising:a first handle and a second handle, each coupled to the panel.

22. The lawn aerator device of claim 21, comprising a first linking component and a second linking component, wherein the first handle is coupled to the panel via the first linking component and the second handle is coupled to the panel via the second linking component.

23. The lawn aerator device of any of claims 20 to 22 being configured to be disassemblable.

24. A method of aerating a lawn using the lawn aerator device of any of claims 20 to23.

25. The method of claim 24 comprising:placing the panel on the lawn with the one or more tines facing downwards; standing on the panel to press the one or more tines into the lawn; and lifting the panel to remove the one or more tines from the ground.

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