Segmented Edging Blade with Opposing Teeth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional edging blades clog due to soil and grass being thrown upward, requiring manual cleanup and inefficient operation, and they fail to make wide cuts into the ground effectively.
Innovation Solution
A vertically rotating blade with teeth at opposing ends, where the teeth are bent tabs extending in opposite directions, minimizing resistance and allowing material to be thrown to the sides, preventing clogging and enabling wider cuts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a conventional rectangular blade is used for edging, then the blade structure is simple, but the blade throws soil and grass upward into the safety cover causing clogging
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is segmented into multiple cutting sections (e.g., four perpendicular rectangular cutting sections) arranged in a cross pattern, with each section having sharpened edges. This segmentation allows material to be diverted to the sides rather than thrown upward, preventing clogging while maintaining structural simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting sections are arranged asymmetrically in a cross pattern with perpendicular orientations, creating different cutting angles and material ejection paths on each side of the blade, which prevents uniform upward throwing of material into the cover
2Device complexity
If a conventional rectangular blade is used for edging, then the blade design is simple, but the cut width is limited to the blade width requiring manual cleanup
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is divided into multiple cutting sections (e.g., four perpendicular rectangular sections) that create multiple parallel cuts simultaneously, effectively widening the total cut width beyond what a single rectangular blade could achieve, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for manual cleanup
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple cutting sections are merged into a single blade assembly that rotates together, combining the functionality of multiple blades into one unit, achieving wider effective cut width while maintaining a single blade structure
3Object-generated harmful factors
If teeth are added to the blade to prevent clogging, then material is thrown to the sides preventing clogging, but the blade structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The blade structure itself is segmented into multiple perpendicular cutting sections, which inherently divert material to the sides without requiring additional teeth or attachments, achieving clogging prevention through the basic blade geometry rather than added components
Data Source
AI summary
The invention features an elongated blade having at least one first tooth near a first end extending in one direction and at least one second tooth near a second end extending in the opposite direction. The body of the blade can be a generally rectangular plate. There can be at least two first and second teeth. The blade can include four corners, wherein at the first end the first teeth are formed in the first edge and at the second end the second teeth are formed in the second edge. Edges of the blade can be formed without teeth near two corners and can be sharpened or not. The teeth may extend different distances from the blade. The blade cuts into a surface. In one application, the blade is used for edging or trenching and is rotated generally vertically so as to penetrate the ground and any material on or in the ground such as grass, sod, turf, leaves, thatch and the like. The invention also features devices used to power a shaft on which one or more of the blades are mounted, such as edging or trenching machines.