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US 6,052,976 AGranted
Trimmer shield for grass trimmer
AssigneeThe Toro Company
InventorsRichard L. Cellini, Jeffrey E. Zander
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A grass trimmer with a trimmer shield that can be manually assembled to the housing without the use of tools is disclosed. The trimmer shield can also preferably be disassembled from the housing by a consumer to allow for replacement of the trimmer shield. One preferred trimmer shield includes at least one retaining member that prevents translational movement of the trimmer shield and at least one retaining member that prevents deflection of the trimmer shield in a vertical direction.
Claims15
A hand-held grass trimmer comprising:
- a housing having a front, a rear and at least one retaining opening provided therein;
- a trimming element rotating below the housing about a first axis of rotation, wherein the first axis is generally vertical;
- a trimmer shield attached to the rear of the housing;
- at least one first retaining member integral with the trimmer shield, the first retaining member extending through the retaining opening in the housing, wherein the first retaining member and the retaining opening cooperate to restrict first movement of the trimmer shield away from the housing in a horizontal direction;
- at least one compressible barb on the first retaining member, wherein the compressible barb and the first retaining member have a width that is greater than a width of the retaining opening in the housing such that the barb is compressed during insertion through the retaining opening;
- and
- at least one second retaining member integral with the trimmer shield, wherein the second retaining member cooperates with the housing to restrict deflection of the trimmer shield about a generally horizontal axis intersecting at least one of the retaining openings.
4 more elements
A method of assembling a hand-held grass trimmer comprising:
- providing a housing having a front and a rear, the housing comprising at least one retaining opening in the housing and a trimming element attached to the housing, the trimming element rotating about a first axis of rotation, wherein the first axis is generally vertical;
- providing a trimmer shield comprising at least one integral first retaining member comprising a barb, and at least one second retaining member;
- manually moving the housing and trimmer shield translationally relative to each other in a generally horizontal direction to align the first retaining member with the retaining opening in the housing, and further wherein the second retaining member engages the housing, wherein the trimmer shield is restricted from rotation about a generally horizontal axis intersecting the retaining opening;
- and
- manually engaging the first retaining member with the retaining opening comprising compressing the barb, whereby the trimmer shield is manually attached to the housing.
2 more elements
A method of disassembling a hand-held grass trimmer comprising:
- a) providing a grass trimmer comprising:
- a housing having a front and a rear;
- a trimming element rotating below the housing about a first axis of rotation;
- a trimmer shield attached to the housing;
- at least two first retaining members integral with the trimmer shield, each of the first retaining members extending through a retaining opening located in the housing, wherein each of the first retaining members comprises a barb, and further wherein the first retaining members and retaining openings cooperate to restrict translational movement of the trimmer shield in a direction generally perpendicular to the first axis of rotation;
- and
- at least one second retaining element integral with the trimmer shield, wherein the second retaining element engages with the housing to restrict rotation of the trimmer shield about a second axis extending through at least one of the first retaining members;
- b) removing each of the first retaining members from the retaining openings in the housing, wherein removing each of the first retaining members from the retaining openings comprises compressing the barb;
- and
- c) manually moving the trimmer shield translationally in a direction away from the housing, wherein the second retaining element member disengages from the housing, and further wherein the trimmer shield is removed from attachment to the housing.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.