Grass cutting and processing tools

Abstract

This cutting tool is suitable for finely chopping weeds that have been cut or pulled out, and further crushing them to break down their fibrous texture. [Solution] A blade member B for cutting grass is attached to the tip of the handle 2. This blade member B consists of a pair of strip-shaped metal pieces 30 that are inclined at an angle of 60 degrees or more with respect to the longitudinal direction of the handle 2 and extend substantially parallel to each other. One end of each strip-shaped metal piece 30 has a cutting edge 31 that extends in the width direction, while the other end is bent to form a bent end so that it is close to the other end. The bent ends may be connected to form a single U-shaped end 32.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a cutting tool that is convenient for finely cutting and further crushing the cut or pulled weeds to loosen the fibrous material.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in order to make it easier to cut weeds by hand, various tools have been proposed, such as a sickle with a handle shape that is easy to hold (see Patent Document 1) and a weed removal tool that is inserted into the soil and pulled out root by root (see Patent Document 2).

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the cut or pulled weeds need to be further finely cut or beaten and crushed to loosen the fibrous material in order to be suitable for composting, which is time-consuming and laborious. In composting, for example, leftover food and garbage can use fermentation accelerators, but weeds have strong fibrous materials and are still alive just by being pulled out. Therefore, they need to be finely cut or crushed to loosen the fibrous material so that microorganisms and bacteria can act easily.

[0005] Regarding this point, the conventional sickles and the like described above are suitable for cutting or pulling out growing weeds by the action of pulling forward while holding the handle, but are not suitable for further finely cutting or hitting and crushing them afterwards. Furthermore, while there are machines that use a power source to finely shred branches and other materials, these machines were not originally designed to finely cut weeds, and there was also the problem that the blades would quickly become dull if weeds with soil or sand attached were fed into them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The objective of this invention is to provide a cutting tool suitable for finely cutting grass with soil and sand attached, along with its roots, and further crushing it to loosen its fibrous texture. To achieve this, the tool is designed to cut and crush weeds by swinging it down like a hammer.

[0007] Specifically, the present invention is a cutting tool in which a blade member for cutting grass is attached to the tip of a handle, and the blade member consists of a pair of strip-shaped metal pieces that are inclined at an angle of 60 degrees or more with respect to the longitudinal direction of the handle and extend substantially parallel to each other, with a cutting edge formed at one end of each strip-shaped metal piece extending in the width direction. Therefore, by placing the cut or pulled-out weeds on the ground, floor, or a tray made of rubber or similar material, and then gripping the handle of the cutting tool and swinging it down from above like a hammer, the cutting blade attached to the end of the handle will easily shred the weeds.

[0008] On the other hand, the other ends of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces are bent so that they are closer together, forming bent ends. Therefore, after shredding the weeds as described above, you can readjust your grip on the handle to reverse the direction of the blade and strike the weeds with the bent ends to crush them and loosen the fibers. In other words, simply by readjusting your grip on the handle of a single tool, you can easily switch between using the cutting edge at one end of the blade to shred weeds and the bent end at the other end to crush them.

[0009] A preferred example is that the bent ends of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces are connected to each other to form a single U-shaped end. In this case, a cutting tool can be easily manufactured by first preparing a long piece of metal that is longer than the combined length of a pair of strip-shaped metal pieces, forming cutting edges on both ends of its longitudinal direction, and then bending the whole thing into a U-shape and attaching it to the end of a handle.

[0010] Another preferred example is to provide a pair of extensions at one end of each of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces, extending in opposite directions outward in the width direction of the strip-shaped metal piece, and to curve each of these extensions into a U-shape to form an annular shape as a whole, with a cutting edge formed along the entire length of this annular extension. This allows you to make the cutting blade long enough to shred the weeds, and by making it circular, you can efficiently shred the weeds within the targeted area.

[0011] In this case, it is preferable to curve the bent ends of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces into a U-shape so that they are close together, and to arrange them in close proximity to each other. When the U-shaped curved ends lined up at the other end of the blade member strike weeds and the like, the impact causes each of the U-shaped curved ends to bend appropriately, thereby enhancing the effect of loosening the fibrous material of weeds and the like. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] As described above, according to this invention, first, with soil and sand still attached to the weeds that have been cut or pulled out, the cutting tool can be swung down from above like a hammer to easily shred the weeds. After that, by switching hands and swinging down in the same way, the shredded weeds can be crushed and the fibrous material can be loosened. In particular, if one end of the blade member is made ring-shaped and a cutting edge is provided there, it is possible to ensure a sufficient length of cutting edge for cutting weeds while appropriately narrowing the cutting area, thus efficiently shredding weeds. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1]This diagram illustrates an example of a grass cutting tool according to the present invention. The T-shaped plate shown in Figure (a) is bent to produce a pair of blade members shown in Figure (b), and these are attached to the end of the handle to create the cutting tool shown in Figure (c). [Figure 2] This is a diagram equivalent to Figure 1, illustrating another example of forming a blade member by bending a flat bar. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram showing examples of trays for receiving weeds when shredding; (a) uses discarded car tires, and (b) uses a repurposed rubber mat. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] —Example 1— Below, we will describe one embodiment (Embodiment 1) of a grass cutting tool with reference to the attached drawings. Figure 1(a) shows a T-shaped plate made of, for example, a thin sheet of iron or its alloy, which is commonly available as a building material, but in this example it is used as the blade member B shown in Figure 1(b).

[0015] In other words, the T-shaped plate 1 is provided with a pair of extensions 11 that extend outward in the width direction (to the left and right in the figure) from one end of the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped metal piece 10, which corresponds to the vertical bar of the T (the lower end in the figure (a)), and these extensions correspond to the horizontal bar of the T. First, a through hole 10a is made near the center of the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped metal piece 10, and a cutting edge 12 is formed so as to extend from one end of the strip-shaped metal piece 10 to the left and right extensions 11.

[0016] Next, each of the pair of extensions 11 is bent to create a U-shape as shown in Figure (b), and the edges of the two extensions are brought together to form a flat, annular shape overall. The other end (the upper end in Figure (a)) is gently bent in the opposite direction from the pair of extensions 11 to form a U-shaped curved end 13. Thus, two T-shaped plates 1 are processed to manufacture a pair of blade members B as shown in Fig. (b) of the same figure, and screws 14 are set in the through holes 10a of the respective strip-shaped metal pieces 10.

[0017] Then, the pair of blade members B are arranged such that the curved end portions 13 at their other ends face each other, and as shown in Fig. (c) of the same figure, for example, the tip portion (the right end portion in the figure) of the wooden handle 2 is sandwiched and attached. At that time, when the strip-shaped metal piece 10 is set at an angle of approximately 90 degrees with respect to the longitudinal direction of the handle 2 and tightened and fixed with the screw 14, the cutting tool A is completed.

[0018] In the thus-completed cutting tool A, in the pair of blade members B attached to the tip portion of the handle 2, the respective strip-shaped metal pieces 10 are substantially orthogonal to the handle 2 and extend substantially parallel to each other, and an annular cutting edge 12 is provided at one end portion in the longitudinal direction of each (the lower end portion in Fig. 1(c)). Therefore, by placing the clump of weeds cut or pulled out on the ground, floor, or a tray C (shown as an example in Fig. 3), grasping the handle 2 of the cutting tool A, and swinging it down like a hammer, the force can be concentrated on the cutting edge 12 of the blade member B, and the weeds can be easily shredded.

[0019] Moreover, since the cutting edge 12 of the blade member B is formed in an annular shape, while making its length sufficiently long, the weeds within the targeted range can be efficiently shredded. That is, if a straight cutting edge 12 is made long, when the cutting tool A is swung down once, the range of cutting into the clump of weeds becomes too wide, making it difficult to handle. However, by forming it in an annular shape, the cutting range can be restricted to some extent while making the effective cutting length sufficiently long.

[0020] On the other hand, U-shaped curved end portions 13 are formed at the ends of the blade member B opposite to the cutting edge 12, and they are provided side by side in close proximity to each other. Therefore, if the cutting tool A is swung down with these facing downwards, the shredded weeds can be efficiently struck, crushed, and the fibers can be loosened as described above. In other words, the pair of curved ends 13, which are close to each other, bend when they receive the impact of hitting weeds, and as they deform appropriately in a direction perpendicular to the impact, they begin to crush the weeds, thus increasing the effect of loosening the fibrous material.

[0021] In this way, the cutting tool A of Example 1 can be used in two ways: by simply readjusting your grip on the handle 2, you can shred weeds and the like with the cutting blade 12 at one end of the blade member B, and then crush them by striking them with the curved end 13 at the other end. Both shredding and crushing can be done very effectively. Therefore, the effort and time required to prepare weeds that have been cut or pulled out for composting are significantly reduced compared to conventional methods.

[0022] —Example 2— Next, we will describe Example 2 with reference to Figure 2. The flat bar 3 shown in Figure 2(a) is a material that is commonly available, for example, as a building material, similar to the T-shaped plate 1 in Example 1, and in this example, it is used as the blade member B as shown in Figure 2(b). In other words, the flat bar 3 is a long metal piece having a length greater than the combined length of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces 30 of the blade member B. A region approximately the thickness of the handle 2 is set in its central part, and through holes 30a are formed approximately in the center between this region and both ends in the longitudinal direction.

[0023] Then, after forming cutting edges 31 at both ends of the flat bar 3, the entire bar is bent in the longitudinal direction to produce a blade member B in which a pair of strip-shaped metal pieces 30, each having a cutting edge 31 at its tip, are connected at the U-shaped end 32 at the other end, as shown in Figure (b). The cutting tool A is completed by attaching the blade member B to the tip of the handle 2 (the left end in the figure) so that the strip-shaped metal piece 30 is at approximately a 90-degree angle to the longitudinal direction of the handle 2, and then tightening and securing it with a screw 14 inserted into the through hole 30a.

[0024] The cutting tool A in this second embodiment can be used in two ways, just like in the first embodiment: by simply readjusting your grip on the handle 2, you can shred weeds and other materials with the cutting edge 31 of the blade member B, and then crush them by striking them with the U-shaped end 32. Furthermore, because the shape of the blade member B and the flat bar 3 that makes it up is simple, the number of processing steps is far less and the material costs are lower compared to Example 1, thus reducing the manufacturing cost of the cutting tool A.

[0025] Furthermore, the specific structure and materials of the grass cutting tool A according to this invention are not limited to either of the above-described embodiments 1 and 2. For example, in both cutting tools A, the blade member B is attached perpendicular to the handle 2, but it is considered that the inclination should be 60 degrees or more. Furthermore, it is not necessary to use T-shaped plates 1 or flat bars 3 as the material for the blade component B, and of course, the handle 2 is not limited to wood. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0026] A. Grass cutting tool, B. Blade component, 1. T-shaped plate, 2. Handle, 3 flat bar, 10 strip metal piece, 11 extension, 12 cutting edge, 13 curved end, 30 strip metal piece, 31 cutting edge, 32 U-shaped end

Claims

1. A cutting tool in which a blade member for cutting grass is attached to the end of the handle, The blade member consists of a pair of strip-shaped metal pieces that extend substantially parallel to each other and are inclined at an angle of 60 degrees or more with respect to the longitudinal direction of the handle. Each of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces has a cutting edge that extends in the width direction of the strip-shaped metal piece at one end. A grass cutting tool characterized in that the other ends of each of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces are bent so that they are close together, forming bent ends.

2. The grass cutting tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the bent ends of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces are connected to each other to form a single U-shaped end.

3. Each of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces is provided with a pair of extensions at one end that extend outward in the width direction of the strip-shaped metal piece in opposite directions. The pair of extensions are each curved in a U-shape, forming an annular shape as a whole. The cutting edge at one end of the strip-shaped metal piece is formed over the entire length of the annular extension, The grass cutting tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the bent ends of each of the pair of strip-shaped metal pieces are U-shaped curved ends and are arranged in close proximity to each other.

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