Abstract:
A collection tool that allows retrieval and storage of pine cones by a user while maintaining an erect posture. The tool provides an elongate tubular body having manipulative handles at its upper end portion and first connecting means to attach entry structure at its lower end portion. The entry structure provides an annular rim with second connecting means to interconnect the body and carries radially inwardly extending triangular-like fingers formed of resiliently deformable polymeric material having retentent memory. Pine cones may enter through the entry structure responsive to downwardly directed force on the collection tool but are prevented from exiting to be collected in the body channel for mass disposition.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This is a continuation-in-part of an application Ser. No. 10/826,629 filed Apr. 15, 2004. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates generally to receptacles with means to gather and store a product and more particularly to a tubular receptacle having a resiliently deformable entry structure at its lower end to allow ingress of pine cones therethrough and prevent egress of the pine cones therethrough.  
         [0004]     2. Background and Description of Prior Art  
         [0005]     Coniferous trees of the order Coniferales are widely distributed especially through the temperate zones of the earth and such plants are often used for ornamentation and landscaping in cultivated habitable areas. These plants in their ordinary life cycle drop cones during a substantial portion of each calendar year and in general it is desired that these cones be collected and removed from cultivated areas both by reason of the aesthetics involved and the impediments that such cones present to future cultivation if they remain in place. In general in smaller areas such cones heretofore have been collected for removal by manual means of collection such as directly with the collector&#39;s hands or sometimes as aided by tools such as a rake to bring a plurality of such cones into a collection area where the plurality may be picked up by hand or moved into a container. In larger areas fallen pine cones have sometimes been collected by use of mechanical devices such a mechanized rakes, rotary brushes or the like. Mechanized devices, however, are sufficiently costly to make them economically infeasible for the owners of smaller parcels of property and often such mechanisms are not operative within the physical bounds, about obstacles and over topographic features often present in such parcels.  
         [0006]     The instant invention provides a hand manipulable tool, of simple and economic construction for use in picking up and storing a plurality of fallen pine cones, that may be operated by a user while maintaining a standing position and without direct manual contact with the pine cones.  
         [0007]     Pine cones comprise a plurality of ovule-bearing or pollen-bearing scales or bracts in trees of the pine family (genus Pinus of the Pinaceae family) or in cycads (family Cycadacene). The size and configuration of pine cones vary widely with major dimensions ranging upwardly to twelve inches or more and minor dimensions, especially in smaller cones, often approaching the major dimensions to produce configurations ranging from a near spherical-like shape ranging through oblate spheroids to elongate curvilinear conic-like shapes. Pine cones also vary widely in both density and rigidity and all of these attributes commonly change through different periods of the cone life cycle, whether a cone is attached to a tree or has fallen therefrom. For a tool to be useful in collecting pine cones and have economic viability for use throughout the United States, the tool must be usable with a wide variety of cones of varying physical attributes there present.  
         [0008]     The scales and bracts of pine cones are commonly quite hard and rigid when and after the cones have dropped and the configuration of many bracteal types is somewhat triangular with the triangle apex extending outwardly and terminating in a sharp thorn-like end. By reason of this structure it is desirable that a tool for pine cone collection operate in a fashion that does not require direct manual contact or manipulation of the cone by a user to prevent injury and discomfort.  
         [0009]     It is further desirable that a pine cone collection tool provide a containment structure wherein a plurality of collected pine cones may be accumulated and stored before having to empty the tool for further use. For practical usability the containment chamber must also be easily accessible and manipulable to allow emptying of stored pine cones preferably without any manual contact by a user.  
         [0010]     Heretofore various hand tools designed and used primarily for purposes other than the collection of pine cones have been used or indicated as usable for pine cone collection, but it is not known that any tools heretofore known have been specially designed for pine cone collection. Long handled tools of a grasping type having jaws pivotally movable toward and away from each other have been used for pine cone collection but those tools do not necessarily well grasp a pine cone, are not easily manipulable to so do and do not provide means for storing a plurality of collected pine cones for deposition at a future time. Various sweeping or raking type hand tools have been used to amass a plurality of pine cones for collection but these tools provide no storage facility for collected cones and often require the user to move from a standing position to place amassed cones in a storage or transport member. Various tube or chamber type devices having an orifice structure that passes objects only for ingress and prevent egress of contained objects have heretofore been known, but in general such devices have been designed for specific objects generally having uniform predeterminable size and configuration such as collection devices for golf balls, tennis balls, baseballs, nuts and the like. These devices have often allowed operation without a user moving from a standing posture but they are not usefully operable to pick up pine cones of substantially varying shapes and sizes as such devices generally have no means for picking up variously sized and configured objects such as pine cones. If pine cones should pass into their storage elements there generally is no means to surely prevent their egress.  
         [0011]     The instant invention seeks to resolve these problems by providing an elongate tubular tool with a particular specialized entry structure about its lower orifice providing a releasably attachable annulus supporting plural radially inwardly extending circumferentially spaced finger elements that are formed of resiliently deformable sheet material that has a retentent memory operative quite rapidly to return the finger elements to the normal null configuration after deformation. The finger elements may have a slightly arcuate axially inward angulation to aid in maintaining a pine cone beneath the entry structure for and during collection. Both any angulation of the entry structure and the peripheral shape of split finger elements operate synergistically during the collecting process aid in moving a pine cone into a position relative to the entry structure that provides a higher probability of entry of the pine cone through the entry structure and its retention in the tool than entry and retaining structures of known devices used to collect objects of predetermined similar size and configuration.  
         [0012]     Our invention does not reside in any one of the these features individually but rather in the synergistic combination of all of the structures of our tool that necessarily give rise to the functions flowing therefrom as hereinafter specified and claimed.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0013]     Our tool generally provides a rigid cylindrically tubular body having a first upper end and second lower end defining first fastening means. The upper outer portion of the body spacedly below its upper orifice preferably carries one or more manipulating handles to aid manual manipulation and carriage of the tool. The second lower end portion of the body carries an entry structure comprising a cap-like member having an annular peripheral rim defining second connecting means to releasably interconnect the entry structure with the first connecting means of the lower end portion of the body. The peripheral rim structurally carries preferably three radially inwardly extending split finger elements of substantial area that extend inwardly to points spacedly adjacent from the axis of the peripheral rim to leave a void about the inner end portions of the fingers that communicates with slots between the fingers. The finger elements are formed of resiliently deformable sheet material having a retentent memory that operates within a relatively short period of time, such as particular polymeric or resinous plastic of modern day commerce.  
         [0014]     In operation the assembled tool in substantially vertical orientation is positioned over a loose ground supported pine cone to be collected with the pine cone immediately beneath the lower surface of the entry structure. Force is applied by the user to move the tool downwardly upon and over the subject pine cone. As this occurs the entry structure fingers will deform upwardly toward the tool body to cause the subject pine cone to pass upwardly through the entry structure and into the tool body channel. Upon such passage the split fingers will assume their previously existing null position by reason of their retentent memory. A plurality of pine cones may be collected in similar fashion with later collected pine cones displacing previously collected pine cones upwardly within the chamber defined by the body to ultimately allow dumping through the orifice at the open upper end of the body by appropriate manipulation of the tool by the user.  
         [0015]     In providing such a device it is:  
         [0016]     a principal object is to provide a pine cone collection tool specifically designed to allow collection of pine cones of a wide range of sizes and shapes.  
         [0017]     A further object is to provide such a tool with an elongate tubular body of sufficient length that the tool may be manipulated manually by a user to collect pine cones while the user remains in a standing posture.  
         [0018]     A further object is to provide such a tool having an open upper channel orifice that permits simple and easy dumping of pine cones contained in the body channel by tipping the tool with its normally upper end downwardly over a desired deposition site to allow removal of contained cones by action of gravity.  
         [0019]     A further object is to provide such a tool having a releasably carried entry structure at the lower end of the body that partially covers the lower entrance of the body to allow ingress of pine cones through the entry structure and into the body channel but prevents egress of cones carried in the body channel back through the entry structure.  
         [0020]     A still further object is to provide such entry structure having a peripheral annulus with preferably three circumferentially spaced split finger elements of substantial area extending radially inwardly therefrom to positions spacedly adjacent from each other to define a central void between the finger element ends that communicates with slots in and between the finger elements.  
         [0021]     A further object is to form such finger elements of resiliently deformable sheet material having quickly acting retentent memory so that the finger elements may be deformed to allow ingress of pine cones therethrough and into the body channel by reason of resilient deformation but prevent egress of the pine cones from the body channel outwardly through the finger elements by reason of the retentent memory.  
         [0022]     A still further object is to provide such entry structure wherein the resilient finger elements may be angulated axially inward relative to the lower end of the tubular body to aid in positioning and maintaining a pine cone beneath the entry structure and in moving the pine cone into the tool body channel.  
         [0023]     A still further object is to provide such a tool that is of new and novel design, of rugged and durable nature, of simple and economic manufacture and one that is otherwise well suited to the uses and purposes for which it is intended.  
         [0024]     Other and further objects of our invention will appear from the following specification and accompanying drawings which form a part hereof. In carrying out the objects of the invention, however, it is be understood that its features are susceptible to change in design and structural arrangement with only one preferred and practical embodiment being illustrated in the accompanying drawings as is required.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0025]     In the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein like numbers of reference refer to similar parts throughout:  
         [0026]      FIG. 1  is an isometric front and right side view of our pine cone collection tool.  
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged partially cutaway orthographic front elevational view of the tool of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged isometric view of one of the manipulating handles of the tool of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 4  is a medial cross-sectional view of the handle of  FIG. 3 , taken on the line  4 - 4  thereon in the direction indicated by the arrows.  
         [0030]      FIG. 5  is an isometric view of the entry structure of the tool of  FIG. 1  having coplanar entry fingers, taken from the inside looking in an outward direction.  
         [0031]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of the entry structure of the tool of  FIG. 1  having inwardly angulated entry fingers, looking inwardly toward the tool body.  
         [0032]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged orthographic bottom view of the entry structure of  FIG. 6 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 8  is a diametrical cross-sectional view through the entry structure of  FIG. 7 , taken on the line  8 - 8  thereon in the direction indicated by the arrows.  
         [0034]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged diametrical cross-sectional view through the entry structure of  FIG. 5 , taken on the line  9 - 9  thereon in the direction indicated by the arrows.  
         [0035]      FIG. 10  is an isometric view of a typical pine cone which may be collected by our tool.  
         [0036]      FIG. 11  is a partial isometric view of a ground supported pine cone entering the instant collection tool.  
         [0037]      FIG. 12  is an enlarged isometric view of the pine cone of  FIG. 11  passing into and partially through the entry structure of the pine cone collection tool.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0038]     Our pine cone collection tool generally comprises elongate tubular body  10  carrying at least one manipulating handle  11  axially inwardly from its upper end and releasably carrying cap-like entry structure  12  at its lower end.  
         [0039]     Body  10  provides elongate right circular cylindrical tube  13  defining medial channel  14  extending from upper end portion  15  to lower end portion  16 . The lower end portion  16  of tube  13  defines fastening means  17  in the instance illustrated in  FIG. 2  comprising external threads to cooperate with fastening means defined by entry structure  12  to positionally maintain the entry structure  12  on the lower end portion of cylindrical body tube  13 , preferably in a releasable type interconnection.  
         [0040]     Cylindrical tube  13  is formed of rigid durable material that is of light weight to aid manipulation of the tool, preferably such as polymeric or resinous plastic. For use with a maximum number of pine cones of conifers prevalent in the United States the cylindrical tube  13  should have a relatively thin circumferential wall with an external diameter of approximately five inches and a length varying from approximately thirty-six to forty-eight inches. This preferred configuration is not essential to the operability of the tool and may vary to accommodate particular conditions of use, size of pine cones and physical characteristics of users.  
         [0041]     Manipulating handles  11  illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4  are two in number and of a common U-shaped off set type. The handles  11  provide grasping back  18  perpendicularly projecting legs  19  each having fastening brackets  20  extending perpendicularly from the outer end portion of each leg  19 . In the instance illustrated each fastening bracket defines medial hole  21  to receive nut/bolt fastener  22  therethrough to attach the handles to cylindrical tube  13 . Spacedly opposed pairs of fastening holes (not shown) are defined in cylindrical tube  13  inwardly adjacent upper end portion  15  of the cylindrical tube  13  with the same spacing as holes  21  in fastening brackets  20  of the manipulating handles  11  to allow releasable fastening of those handles  11  by fasteners  22  in vertical orientation and diametrically opposed positions on the upper end portion  15  of cylindrical tube  13 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
         [0042]     The particular manipulating handle structures illustrated are not essential to the operation of our tool but do make tool operation and manipulation more easy. Various other known types of handles may be substituted for use with the tool and the handles may have varying orientation and positioning in the upper part of the tool. The tool is operative without any handle structures at all but in that configuration the tool may not be as easily manipulated and used as in a configuration providing handles.  
         [0043]     Entry structure  12  is a cap-like member formed by circularly annular peripheral rim  24  structurally carrying radially inwardly extending fingers  25 . The inner surface of rim  24  has a diameter slighter greater than the outer diameter of cylindrical tube  13  so that the rim may fit over and about the lower end portion  16  of the cylindrical tube  13  to allow fastening without narrowing the internal diameter of medial channel  14  of the cylindrical tube  13 . The upper inner surface of rim  24  defines fastening means  26 , in the instance illustrated comprising external threads, to releasably fastenably interconnect with fastening means  17  comprising internal threads defined by lower end portion  16  of cylindrical tube  13 .  
         [0044]     Fingers  25  in the instance illustrated in  FIGS. 5-8  are three in number and formed of flat sheet material to a somewhat truncated triangular configuration with corners and edges filleted as illustrated. Each finger  25  is equally spaced about the inner circumferential periphery of rim  24  and is structurally supported thereby. Structural support may be created by reason of unitary formation of the fingers and rim or known structural joinder methods for the materials involved. If desired, the fingers may be joined by a separate finger rim (not shown) so that they may be removably attached to rim  24  to allow replacement without replacing the entire annular peripheral rim if desired.  
         [0045]     Each finger defines a radially oriented medial slot  27  that in its radially outer end portion terminates in bulbous enlargement  27   a  to allow more flexibility of each opposed portion of the fingers  25  and prevent breakage and cracking of the finger material in its radially outer portion. The fingers  25  are configured and circumferentially spaced about rim  24  such that the circumferential space between fingers  25  is at least equal to or greater than the circumferential space occupied by the base of each finger  25  at the line of its attachment to rim  24  to create somewhat angularly shaped spaces  28  between each finger. The radial extension of inner end portions  25   a  of each finger is spacedly distant from the center of rim  24  and from each other finger  25  to create a medial space  29  between inner ends  25   a  of fingers  25 . With this structure the spaces  28  between fingers  25  and the medial space  29  between the end portions  25   a  of the fingers join with each other to form a clover leaf type orifice  28 , 29  within the inner periphery of rim  24 .  
         [0046]     The fingers  25  may be coplanar (not illustrated) in a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of rim  24  and body  10  or preferably the fingers  25  may be somewhat angulated in a direction toward body  10  when rim  24  is in fastened position thereon, as shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 8 . If fingers  25  are angulated, this creates an indentation in the medial portion of the entry structure which makes it easier for a user to center a pine cone to be operated upon beneath the orifice  28 , 29  and also makes it easier to manipulate the tool to cause a pine cone to enter through the orifice  28 ,  29 . If the fingers  25  are angulated the angulation may not be too great, preferably not more than ten to fifteen degrees, or the angulation may hinder the operation of the tool in picking up a pine cone beneath the entry structure by causing downward force on body  10  as hereafter described.  
         [0047]     Fingers  25  must be formed of some resiliently deformable material having a retentent memory such as to be operative in a reasonably short period of time to return the fingers  25  to their null mode after deformation. The material of preference is a polymeric or resinous plastic in the form of sheet material that may be configured as hereinbefore specified. Common plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polyurethane are suitable to fulfill this purpose. The configuration of the fingers  25 , both as to periphery and thickness, may have to be somewhat regulated to a particular plastic to produce the desired functions of the entry structure  12 . It is possible that the fingers  25  could be formed from quite thin sheet metal of sufficient elasticity, such as stainless steel and that material is within the ambit and scope of our invention, though it has not been found to be as useful and practical as polymeric material.  
         [0048]     For effective use in picking up pine cones it has been found by experimentation that only a single layer of fingers may be used and that those fingers must have appropriate deformability and some substantial surface are in a horizontal plane, the fingers become entangled in the structure of a pine cone attempted to be passed therethrough to such a degree as to prevent the passage or make it quite problematic because of the entanglement. The stiffness of the fingers in their radial portions also is critical for proper operation of the fingers. It has been found that the finger shape illustrated, with substantial area in a horizontal plane and a radially inwardly tapering body with a medial slit, provides the greatest flexibility for control of finger resilient deformability and retention memory in the various finger portions to prevent entanglement of pine cones in the entry structure. Entry structures for tools to pick up articles having at least two or more somewhat parallel spacedly opposed elastically deformable elements or multiple layers of somewhat radially oriented elastically deformable elements have been found not to be effective in picking up pine cones because such entry structures become entangled with the pine cone structure to such a degree as to prevent entry of pine cones therethrough to make them unreliable.  
         [0049]     Having described the structure of our cone collection tool its use may be understood.  
         [0050]     A tool is formed according the foregoing specification and manually moved to the location of a pine cone  30  ( FIG. 10 ) to be collected. The tool is placed with the entry structure  12  resting on and immediately above the subject pine cone  30 . The tool then is grasped usually by manipulating handles  11 , and forced downwardly until the lower edge of annular peripheral rim  24  rests on the surface supporting the subject pine cone  30 . As the entry structure  12  moves downwardly relative to the pine cone  30  therebeneath, portions of the fingers  25  will be deformed by the pine cone  30  and the cone  30  will ultimately pass upwardly through the orifice defined by spaces  28 , 29  to move into medial channel  14  of body  10 . As the pine cone  30  moves through the entry structure  12 , the fingers  25  of entry structure  12 , by reason of retentent memory, will return to their null state that existed before deformation, the pine cone  30  will be retained in channel  14  above entry structure  12  and the tool will be ready for a second similar pine cone  30  collecting operation as described.  
         [0051]     The collected pine cone  30  in medial channel  14  of the cylindrical tube  13  will be retained within the tube channel  14  because gravity forces acting upon the pine cone  30  are not sufficient to allow the contained pine cone  30  to deform fingers  25  to move downwardly therepast and the force of gravity acting upon all pine cones  30  in the body channel  14  is not sufficient to cause such action by reason of the rigidity of fingers  25 .  
         [0052]     The pine cone  30  collecting process then is continued in a similar fashion until a quantity of pine cones  30  is carried within medial channel  14  of the body  10 . At this point when the collecting operation has been completed or the body  10  reasonably filled with pine cones  30 , the tool is manually moved to a disposition sight spacedly above the area where pine cones  30  are to be deposited. The tool is manually manipulated to turn it upside-down and the pine cones  30  carried in medial channel  14  of the body  10  will move by action of gravity outwardly from the open upper end portion  15  of body  10  and be deposited somewhat vertically therebelow.  
         [0053]     In using the instant tool it is to be noted that both the tool and a pine cone  30  to be collected thereby may easily be moved relative to each other to better position the pine cone  30  in a loading position or to better accomplish the passage of the pine cone  30  through the entry structure  12  and into the tool body  10 . This movement, the entire loading operation and the unloading operation may be accomplished by the user while in a standing position and without any manual contact with the pine cones  30  in the entire collection and disposition process.  
         [0054]     The foregoing description of our invention is necessarily of a detailed nature so that a specific embodiment of its best known mode may be set forth as required, but it is to be understood that various modifications of detail, rearrangement and multiplication of parts might be resorted to without departing from its spirit, essence or scope.  
         [0055]     Having thusly described our invention, what we desire to protect by letters patent and