Abstract:
An anchoring system for landscape projects uses at least a pair of hollow lightweight spaced apart post such that each post has a body member removably sitting atop a base and having either another body member or a cap sitting atop its upper surface. Each post has openings thereon such that a landscape timber extends between corresponding openings on adjacent body members pairs. The hollow internal cavity of each post may be filled with appropriate weighting material.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a lightweight system that allows for the precise placement, assembly, and anchoring of an entire landscape timber layout within a landscaping project. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Landscape timbers are used for their aesthetic as well as functional values in a landscaping project. Landscape timbers help highlight areas of landscaping interest such as trees and flower gardens. As the timber itself tends to be a high quality wood that is chosen for its beauty and relationship to the landscaping for which it is intended, the timbers enhance the overall appeal of the landscaping project. 
     Additionally, the landscape timbers serve a functional value. A system of timbers can cordon off an area to prevent unwanted intrusion by, for example, people or horses. Additionally, the timbers are used to build up an area, with the timbers serving to hold back and retain the soil in the built up area. 
     Landscape timbers are, by design, naturally very heavy and are relatively difficult to manipulate, making placement of such timbers into a desired position with a relatively high degree of accuracy desired within a high quality landscaping job very difficult. As the landscape timbers are supported by the soil upon which they rest, the landscape timbers tend to shift over time with the natural expansion and contraction of the soil. 
     Accordingly, landscape timber anchoring devices have been proposed. Such devices help to properly align the landscape timbers and hold them generally steady over time irrespective of the soil&#39;s desire to expand and contract. Such prior art devices, which work with varying degrees of efficiency, tend to have one or more drawbacks. Some prior art devices are relatively complex in design and construction, making such devices expensive to manufacture and install and specifically making proper alignment of the timbers tricky. Other devices, which have a subterranean anchoring method, only allow a single timber to be anchored at a given spot and do not allow stacking of the timbers thereby limiting the height of the landscape timber structure that can be built. Still other devices only allow a very limited number of geometric shapes that can be built by the systems, which shapes tend to be rectangular. 
     Therefore, a need in the art for a landscape timber anchoring system that overcomes the aforementioned needs in the art. Such a system must allow for relatively precise placement of landscape timbers within an overall landscape project that makes uses of the timbers and the system must be of relatively simple design and construction and must be relatively easy to install. Such a system must allow for landscape timber systems to be built more than one timber in height and must allow for a robust number to geometric shape to be built. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,660 to Cravatt, incorporated herein by reference, addresses the above-mentioned needs in the art by providing a landscape timber anchoring system that allows a user to be able to place landscape timbers with relative precision within an overall landscape project. The landscape timber anchoring system is of relatively simple design and construction and is relatively easy to install. The Cravatt system allows for landscape timber systems to be built more than one timber in height and also allows for a robust number of geometric shapes to be achieved by the system. With further development and refinement, the present invention furthers the objectives and functional attributes of the Cravatt system 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The landscape timber anchoring system of the present invention is a landscape timber anchoring system that allows a user to be able to place landscape timbers with relative precision within an overall landscape project. The landscape timber anchoring system is of relatively simple design and construction and is relatively easy to install so as to be readily affordable and attractive to a wide segment of consumers for this type of product. The landscape timber anchoring system, like its predecessor the Cravatt system, allows for landscape timber systems to be built more than one timber in height and also allows for a robust number of geometric shapes to be achieved by the system. 
     The landscape timber anchoring system of the present invention is comprised of a first body member that a first upper surface with a first series of protrusions extending upwardly therefrom and a first lower surface having a first set of receivers. The first upper surface and the first lower surface have at least one first sidewall extending therebetween, the first sidewall has at least one first opening therein. A first base has a second upper surface and an opposing second lower surface such that the second upper surface has a second series of protrusions extending upwardly therefrom. The first body member is positioned atop the first base such that each of the first receivers receives a respective one of the second protrusions in order to maintain the first body member atop the first base. A first cap has a first top surface and an opposing first bottom surface and a series of second receivers located on the first bottom surface. The first cap is positioned atop the first body member such that each of the second receivers receives a respective one of the first protrusions in order to maintain the first cap atop the first body member. Similarly, a second body member has a third upper surface with a third series of protrusions extending upwardly therefrom and a third lower surface having a third set of receivers. The third upper surface and the third lower surface have at least one second sidewall extending therebetween, the second sidewall has at least one second opening. A second base has a fourth upper surface and an opposing fourth lower surface such that the fourth upper surface has a fourth series of protrusions extending upwardly therefrom. The second body member is positioned atop the second base such that each of the third receivers receive a respective one of the fourth protrusions in order to maintain the second body member atop the second base. A second cap has a second top surface and an opposing second bottom surface and a series of fourth receivers located on the second bottom surface. The second cap is positioned atop the second body member such that each of the fourth receivers receives a respective one of the third protrusions in order to maintain the second cap atop the second body member. A first landscape timber has a first end received within one of the first openings and a second end received within one of the second openings. The first body member has a first internal cavity and the second body member has a second internal cavity such that a weighting material may be disposed within the first internal cavity or the second internal cavity such that the weighting material may be selected from the group consisting of water, sand, rock and aggregate. The first base, the first body member, and the first cap may each be made from plastic and the second base, the second body member, and the second cap may each also be made from plastic. At least one first generally vertically disposed slit may be disposed within the first post while a second generally vertically disposed slit may be disposed within the second post. A first generally flat plank has a third end received within the first slit and a fourth end received within the second slit. A third body member may be provide and have a fifth upper surface with a fifth series of protrusions extending upwardly therefrom and a fifth lower surface having a fifth set of receivers. The fifth upper surface and the fifth lower surface have at least third second sidewall extending therebetween, the third sidewall having at least one third opening. A third base has a sixth upper surface and an opposing sixth lower surface such that the sixth upper surface has a sixth series of protrusions extending upwardly therefrom. That the third body member is positioned atop the third base such that each of the fifth receivers receives a respective one of the sixth protrusions in order to maintain the third body member atop the third base. A third cap has a third top surface and an opposing third bottom surface and a series of sixth receivers located on the third bottom surface. The third cap is positioned atop the third body member such that each of the sixth receivers receives a respective one of the fifth protrusions in order to maintain the third cap atop the third body member. A second landscape timber has a third end received within the first opening and a fourth end received within the third opening. A plug may be is removably received within one of the first openings or one of the second openings or one of the third openings or some combination thereof. The third body member has a third internal cavity which may be filled with the weighting material. The third base, the third body member, and the third cap may also each be made from plastic. A third generally vertically disposed slit may be disposed within the third post while a second generally flat plank has a seventh end received within one of the first slits and an eight end received within the third slit. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the landscape timber anchoring system of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the landscape timber anchoring system. 
         FIG. 3  is an elevation of the landscape timber anchoring system. 
         FIG. 4  is an underneath perspective view of a post having 180 degree spaced apart timber openings of the landscape timber anchoring system. 
         FIG. 5  is an upper perspective view of the post of the landscape timber anchoring system of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is an upper perspective view of a post of the landscape timber anchoring system having 90 degree spaced apart timber openings. 
         FIG. 7  is an upper perspective view of a cap of the landscape timber anchoring system. 
         FIG. 8  is a lower perspective view of the cap of the landscape timber anchoring system. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a plug of the landscape timber anchoring system. 
         FIG. 10  is an elevation view of the plug of the landscape timber anchoring system. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings, it is seen that the landscape timber anchoring system of the present invention, generally denoted by reference numeral  10 , is comprised of at least a pair of posts  12 , which posts  12  comprise a body member  14  with a lower surface  16 , an upper surface  18 , and four side surfaces  20  (although the body member  14  is illustrated as generally rectangular, other shapes for the body member are also possible including cylindrical, triangular, octagonal, etc.). The body member  14  is hollow so as to have an internal cavity  22  therein. At least a pair of openings  24  is located on the body member  14  such that the openings  24  may be located on opposite side surfaces  20  of the body members as best seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  4 , and  5 , or the openings  24  may be on adjacent side surfaces  20  of the body member  14  as best seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  6 . The openings  24  may but need not necessarily be, connected to one another. Additional vertically offset opening pairs  24  may be provided on the body member  14 , the location of each such vertically offset opening pair  24  may but need correspond to the location of the original openings  24 . As seen, a series of protrusions  26  extend upwardly from the upper surface  18  of the body member  14 , each protrusion  26  being located proximate a respective one of the corners of the body member  14 . A corresponding first set of receivers  28  is located on the lower surface  16  of the body member  14 , each first receiver  28  being located proximate a respective one of the corners of the body member  14 . 
     Each body member  14  is made from plastic or similar material so as to be relatively lightweight and the outer facade of each body member  14  may be decoratively adorned as desired. 
     Of course some or all of the body members  14  of the landscape timber anchoring system  10  of the present invention may have a shape other than the disclosed rectangular shape, such as a hexagon, a cylinder, an octagon, etc., depending on the particular landscaping project that is being addressed. In such configurations, openings  24  may be located on more than two of the sides of the body member  14 . 
     A cap  30  has a decorative top side  32  and an underside  34  which has a second set of receivers  36  thereon, each second receiver  36  being located proximate a respective one of the corners of the cap  30 . The top side  32  of the cap  30  may have appropriate decorative elements thereon as desired. 
     A plug  38  has a sidewall  40  that corresponds to the shape and size of the openings  24  of the body member  14  and a top  42  which may be decorative as desired. 
     A base  44  has an upper surface  46  that has a second series of second protrusions  48  thereon, each second protrusion  48  located proximate a corner of the base  44 . 
     In order to use the landscape timber anchoring system  10  of the present invention, a series of posts  12  are placed as desired at a landscaping project. Each post  12  is positioned on a base  44  such that each second protrusion  48  of the base  44  is received within a respective one of the first series of female first receivers  28  of the body member  14  in order to attach the post  12  to the base  44 . The internal cavities  22  of each post  12  may be filled with an appropriate weighting material, such as water, sand, gravel, aggregate, etc., in order to. weigh down each post  12  and help stabilize the system  10 . A landscape timber  50  extends between a pair of posts  12  such that the timber  50  is received within one of the openings  24  of the first post  12  and a corresponding one of the openings  24  of the second post  12 . Additional timbers  50  may be provided depending on the number of corresponding openings  24  located on adjacent posts  12 . If a single level of posts  12  and landscape timbers  50  is desired, then a cap  30  is placed atop the body member  14  such that the underside  34  of the cap  30  faces the body member  14  and such that the second receivers  36  receive a respective one of the protrusions  26  of the body member  14  in order to help interference fit maintain the cap  30  upon the otherwise open top of the body member  14 . However, if the system  10  is to be more than one level in height, then a second body member  14  is sat atop the first body member  14  such that the protrusions  26  on the upper surface  18  of the lower positioned body member  14  are received within the first set of receivers  28  located on the lower surface  16  of the upper positioned body member  14  so as to interference connect the two body members  14  to one another. The internal cavity  22  of one or both of the body members  14  may be filled with the desired weighting element. Additional posts  12  may be stacked on top one another until the desired height is received with timbers  50  extending between stacked post sets. A cap  30  is placed atop the uppermost post  12  as described earlier. 
     Sets of bases  44 , posts  12 , caps  30 , and timbers  50  are laid out in the desired fashion for the architectural design desired. Once all elements are in place, a plug  38  may be inserted into each opening  24  of each post that does not have a timber  50  received therein in order to aesthetically plug each such opening  24 . 
     Like the Cravatt system, the landscape timber anchoring system may  10  have slots located on each of a pair of adjoining posts so that a plank may extended between the two posts and such that the plank&#39;s ends are received within the respective slot on the respective post  12   
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to an embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.