Abstract:
An adaptor for a line trimmer is disclosed including a mounting for mounting the adaptor to a line trimmer; and a support for maintaining the head of the line trimmer in spaced relationship to a grassy ground surface and allowing movement of the adaptor across the ground surface to thereby mow the grass by way of the head of the line trimmer.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to line trimmers and particularly relates to an adaptor for a line trimmer. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    In order to maintain a lawn it is typically necessary to maintain an inventory of tools to care for the lawn including a line trimmer for trimming lawn edges and around trees, and a lawn mower for mowing flat areas of the lawn. It would be advantageous to reduce the number of tools required to care for a lawn both from the perspective of reducing the cost of caring for a lawn, and to reduce the storage space required to store these tools when not in use. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In a first aspect the present invention provides an adaptor for a line trimmer, the adaptor including: mounting means for mounting the adaptor to a line trimmer; and support means for maintaining the head of the line trimmer in spaced relationship to a grassy ground surface and allowing movement of the adaptor across the ground surface to thereby mow the grass by way of the head of the line trimmer. 
         [0004]    The mounting means may include a bracket. 
         [0005]    The bracket may be arranged to grip about the shaft of a line trimmer. 
         [0006]    The bracket may be securable to the adaptor in one of a number of positions to provide for a degree of adjustment to accommodate line trimmers of various geometries. 
         [0007]    The support means may include a number of wheels which bear against the ground surface. 
         [0008]    The support means may include at least two wheels which are free to swivel. 
         [0009]    The support means may include at least four wheels which are free to swivel. 
         [0010]    The support means may be adjustable to maintain the head of the line trimmer in any one of a number of different heights above the ground surface. 
         [0011]    The adaptor may further include a shroud which surrounds the head of the line trimmer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of known type of line trimmer; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an adaptor for a line trimmer according to the invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  shows the adaptor of  FIG. 2  attached to the line trimmer of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an adaptor for a line trimmer according to the invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  shows the adaptor of  FIG. 4  attached to the line trimmer of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIGS. 6 &amp; 7  are above perspective views of a third embodiment of an adaptor for a line trimmer according to the invention; and 
           [0019]      FIGS. 8 &amp; 9  are further views of the adaptor of  FIGS. 6 &amp; 7  with an alternative bracket attached. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0020]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a typical line trimmer  10  is shown having a shaft  12 , a cutting head  16  including lengths of cutting line  18 , and a shroud  14  which partially surrounds the cutting head  16  to protect a user from being injured by the spinning cutting wires during use. The trimmer  10  is of a type known as a straight shaft trimmer because the shaft  12  is straight along its length and meets and cutting head  16  at an angle of about 45 degrees. 
         [0021]    Another common type of line trimmer is known as a bent shaft trimmer. In this case, the shaft of the trimmer extends vertically from the head  16  and a bend of approximately 45 degrees is provided at a point along the length of the shaft. 
         [0022]    Upon depression of a trigger or other switch at the handle (not shown) of the shaft, the cutting head spins at high speed and any vegetation with which the cutting lines come into contact with is severed by the cutting lines. If the cutting lines become damaged, then they can be extended from a reel housed in the head, or are replaced. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , an adaptor  20  is shown for use with line trimmer  10 . Adaptor includes a mounting means for mounting the line trimmer in the form of bracket  22  which is formed integrally with the shroud  28  of the adaptor. Adaptor further includes support means in the form of swivelling wheels  24  and fixed wheels  26  which serve to space bracket  22  away from the ground on which adaptor is positioned. The wheels allow the adaptor to travel over the ground. 
         [0024]    Adaptor is fitted to trimmer  10  in the following manner. First, shroud  14  is removed from shaft  12  of trimmer  10  by releasing securing screws. Then, the shaft  12  of trimmer is inserted handle first through the underside of the adaptor through the hole of bracket  22  and secured by passing screws through the holes of bracket  22  to engage with the head  16  of trimmer  10 . 
         [0025]    With the adaptor in place, the head  16  of trimmer  10  is maintained at a fixed distance from the ground and the head is maintained in a position in which it is approximately parallel with the ground. Holding the handle of trimmer  10 , the adaptor can be moved along the ground over a grassy area and thus the cutting lines of the spinning head  16  sever the grass to a fixed height. As adaptor is moved about over a lawn, the lawn is effectively mowed by the trimming head  16 . 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , adaptor  30  differs from adaptor  20  in the manner of attachment of the line trimmer. Adaptor  30  is formed in two halves  40 ,  42  which are pivotally joined at hinge  43  (see  FIG. 5 ). An adjustable bush  32  is provided in two halves, one half attached to either half of the adaptor. To attach to a line trimmer, buckle clasp  44  is released and the two adaptor halves are rotated apart. The halves are then placed about shaft  12  of line trimmer  10 . The halves are then closed together so that the two halves of bush  32  grip about the shaft  12  and buckle clasp  44  is engaged. Operation is identical to adaptor  20  described above. 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIGS. 6 &amp; 7 , a further alternative adaptor  50  is shown. In this embodiment, mounting means is provided in the form of a removable bracket  52 . Bracket engages with holes  53  provided on the adaptor. A number of pairs of holes  53  are provided and by selecting from these holes, the distance between the bracket  52  and aperture  55  may be adjusted. This allows accommodation of trimmers of varying geometries. In this embodiment, aperture  55  is sufficiently large that the line trimmer head  16  may be inserted through the aperture  55 . The shaft  12  of the trimmer is then secured by bracket  52 . 
         [0028]    In this embodiment, all of the wheels  54  are identical in construction and are free to swivel. This provides increased manoeuvrability during use. Each of wheels  54  is mounted on an axle piece  64  which extends upwards from the wheel  54  and passes through and is free to pivot in a hole in the arm of adaptor  50 . Each of the axle pieces  64  includes a lug (not shown) which limits their depth of insertion into adaptor  50 . A bush  62  is provided on each axle and is secured by split pin  60 . The height of the cutting head above the ground, and hence the length of the mown grass, may be adjusted by way of these bushes  62  as follows. First split pin  60  is released and the bush  62  removed. The axle  64  is then removed from the adaptor  50 . The bush  62  is threaded onto axle  64  and abuts the lug (not shown) on axle  64  which is then re-inserted into the aperture in the adaptor  50  and the split pin  60  replaced. When this adjustment has been made to all four wheels then the height of the adaptor above the ground is increased by the height of bush  62 . Various sizes of bushes may be provided to allow the adaptor  50  to be configured for a range of cutting heights. 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , adaptor  50  is shown in combination with an alternative style of bracket  72 . This bracket is intended for use with straight shaft type line trimmers. Also evident from  FIG. 8  are the alternative mounting holes  53 . In all, 5 pairs of holes  53  are provided, thus allowing for three different mounting positions. 
         [0030]    As well as being used to mow the lawn, the line trimmer  10  can of course be used in its conventional role for trimming and edging. It can be seen that embodiments of the invention allow a lawn to be mowed and trimmed by way of the line trimmer and the adaptor. A separate dedicated lawn mower is not required. This saves the cost of purchasing and maintaining a lawn mower and also saves on storage space. 
         [0031]    The adapters according to the invention are typically formed from polyethylene and are rugged and lightweight. When not is use, the adapter according to the invention can be stowed away by hanging on a hook on a wall for instance. The storage space requirements are low. 
         [0032]    Any reference to prior art contained herein is not to be taken as an admission that the information is common general knowledge, unless otherwise indicated. 
         [0033]    Finally, it is to be appreciated that various alterations or additions may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention.