Abstract:
An exemplary embodiment comprises a plurality of aerating members with each aerating member having two opposing end portions, an aerating portion, an inner surface, and an outer surface. The end portions of the aerating members being angled with respect to the aerating portion. A plurality of linking members are moveably coupled with fasteners to the end portions such that an alternating series of linking members and aerating members form a loop of such members for attaching to a tire. A plurality of stud members are attached to the aerating portion of the aerating members.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is a utility application that claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application entitled, “Mow-Aerator”, having Ser. No. 60/813,202, filed Jun. 13, 2006, and co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application entitled, “Systems for Aerating Soil”, filed Mar. 19, 2007 via Express Mail, no. EV628220731 US, which are entirely incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The invention relates to lawnmowers and aerating systems for lawn mowers.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Soil aeration allows air and water to enter the soil and contact the root systems of grass under the surface of the soil. This process results in a healthier lawn.  
         [0004]     The majority of soil aeration is accomplished by the use of expensive commercial machinery dedicated to the task of soil aeration. These machines may aerate soil by driving holes in the soil or pulling out plugs of the soil. Use of such machines for performing soil aeration is inefficient for a number of reasons. For example, purchasing an aeration machine can be costly. Additionally, the use of a dedicated aeration machine requires subjecting a lawn to two passes, one while mowing the lawn, and a second while aerating the soil. Finally, there are millions of existing lawnmowers that are not designed to aerate soil. It is desirable that there be an apparatus that can easily fit on existing lawnmowers with out having to make substantial modifications to the lawnmowers. Prior machines used to both cut grass and aerate soil use complicated designs that are expensive to implement.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     Systems for aerating soil are provided. In this regard, an exemplary embodiment comprises a plurality of aerating members with each aerating member having two opposing end portions, an aerating portion, an inner surface, and an outer surface. The end portions of the aerating members being angled with respect to the aerating portion. A plurality of linking members are moveably coupled with fasteners to the end portions such that an alternating series of linking members and aerating members form a loop of such members for attaching to a tire. A plurality of stud members are attached to the aerating portion of the aerating members.  
         [0006]     Another exemplary embodiment of such a system comprises a lawnmower having a plurality of wheels, each of the wheels having a tread surface and side wall surfaces. An aerating apparatus engaging at least one of the plurality of wheels. The aerating apparatus comprising a plurality of aerating members each aerating member having end portions, an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surfaces are in contact with the tread surfaces, the end portions are in contact with the side wall surfaces. The aerating members are moveably coupled with a plurality of linking members and fasteners. A plurality of stud members are attached to the outer surface of the aerating members.  
         [0007]     Other systems, methods, features, and/or advantages of the present invention will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and/or advantages be included within this description and protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Additionally, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a system for aerating soil.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a wheel to which an exemplary embodiment of a system for aerating is attached.  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a view of an exemplary embodiment of a threaded linkage.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a view of an exemplary embodiment of a threaded stud removed from an aerating portion.  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a wheel to which an exemplary embodiment of a system for aerating is attached.  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a wheel to which an exemplary embodiment of a system for aerating is attached.  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  shows an embodiment of an aerating system using a lawnmower.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0016]     Systems for aerating soil are provided. Referring now in detail to the drawings,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a system  100  that incorporates a lawnmower and an aerating apparatus. In particular, the lawnmower  102 , in this case, a riding lawnmower, has a wheel  101  engaged with an aerating apparatus  103 . Those skilled in the art will understand that the aerating apparatus  103  may be used with a riding lawnmower, push lawnmower, tractor, or any other device that may use wheels to traverse a lawn.  
         [0017]     The aerating apparatus  103  comprises a plurality of aerating members  109  linked together. The aerating members  109  are engaged by studs  123  and connected by linking members  117 . The aerating members  109  engage the wheel  101  of the lawnmower  102 . As the lawnmower  102  is driven on a lawn to cut grass, the aerating apparatus  103  drives holes in the soil with studs  123 . These holes thereby allow air and water to contact the roots of grass resulting in healthier grass.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of wheel  201 , with sidewall  207  and tread surface  205  engaged with an embodiment of an aerating apparatus  203 . Those skilled in the art understand that the tread surface  205  may have one of a variety of known tread patterns, or may be substantially smooth with no tread pattern. Aerating apparatus  203  comprises: a plurality of aerating members  209  having end portions  210 , an aerating portion  230 , an inner surface  211 , and an outer surface  213 . In this embodiment, the end portions  210  of each aerating member  209  are angled to be substantially perpendicular to the aerating portion  230  so that the inner surface  211  contacts the sidwalls  207  of the wheel  201 . In this embodiment, each of the end portions  210  define a hole (not shown) so that a fastener  215  may be used to attach linking members  217  that link one aerating member  209  to another aerating member  209 .  
         [0019]     Linking a plurality of aerating members  209  together using the linking members  217  and fasteners  215 , will result in an aerating apparatus  203  of sufficient length to fit the tread surface  205  of the wheel  201 . The aerating apparatus  203  may be secured to the wheel  201  using threaded linking members  219 . The threaded linking members  219  may engage the aerating apparatus  203  at end fasteners  221  that have a threaded bore (not shown) that receives the threaded fastener  219 .  
         [0020]     A user installs the aerating apparatus  203  by placing the aerating apparatus  203  on a wheel  201  so that the inner surfaces  211  of the aerating members  209  contact the sidewall  207  and the tread surface  205 . A user turns the threaded linking members  219  using their hands or an appropriate tool (not shown) so that the aerating apparatus  203  is a length approximate to the length of the tread surface  205  of the wheel  201 . The user may tighten the threaded linking members  219  so that the aerating apparatus  203  engages the wheel  201  without slipping while the wheel  201  is driven on soil.  
         [0021]     The aerating member  209  has a plurality of studs  223  attached to the aerating portion  230 . The studs  223  in this embodiment are in the shape of spikes. However, one skilled in the art would understand that the shape of the studs  223  is not limited to spikes and may include, as a non-limiting example, studs in a hollow shape that cut plugs in the soil, studs that have a rounded tip, substantially flat studs, or studs in a mushroom shape.  
         [0022]     Once assembled and installed on the wheel  201  of a lawnmower (not shown), the aeration apparatus  203  may aerate the soil by driving holes into soil by means of the studs  223 .  
         [0023]     In operation, the end portions  210  are in contact with the sidewalls  207  of the wheel  201 . The end portions  210  are operative to keep the aerating portion  230  aligned with the tread surface  205  of the wheel  201 . As the lawnmower is driven on soil, the weight of the lawnmower acts to drive the studs  223  into the soil, thereby resulting in holes in the soil. In one embodiment, the linking members  217  may rotate on an axis substantially perpendicular to the fasteners  215 . This rotation allows the aerating members  209  to move when force from the weight of the lawnmower is applied.  
         [0024]     A person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the aerating apparatus  203  may be assembled in a number of different configurations. For example, the aerating members  209  and the linking members  217  may be fabricated in a variety of shapes and dimensions in order to fit different sized and types of wheels or lawnmowers. Additionally, the aerating members  209  may not have a hole on each end to accommodate a fastener  215 , but may have for example, a threaded stud or other type of fastener attached to the outer surface  213  of the aerating member  209 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  shows the threaded linking members  319  engaging the end fasteners  321 . The threaded linking members  319  may be rotated so that the distance between the end fasteners  321  may be adjusted. A threaded linking member  319  is used along both the inside and outside sidewalls of the wheel  301  (not shown). The removal of the threaded linking members  319  from the aerating apparatus  303  allows for the removal of the aerating apparatus  303  from the wheel  201  (not shown). One skilled in the art will understand that the threaded linking members  319  may be different lengths and types depending on the requirements of the embodiment.  
         [0026]      FIG. 4  shows how, in one embodiment, the studs  423  may be removed from aerating member  409  by unscrewing the studs  423  from the threaded holes  425  in aerating member  409 . This allows the studs  423  to be interchangeable. However one skilled in the art would realize that in alternate embodiments, the studs  423  may be permanently fixed to the aerating member  409 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 5  shows one embodiment of the aerating apparatus  502 . In the illustrated embodiment, the studs  523  may be fabricated by cutting the aerating portion  530  and bending the cut portions  532  of the aerating portion  530  outward so that a stud  523  is formed.  
         [0028]      FIG. 6  shows an embodiment of an aerating system  600 . The aerating apparatus  602  includes two aerating members  610 . The aerating members  610  have aerating portions  630 . Inner surfaces (not shown) of the aerating portions  630  contact the tread surface (not shown) of a wheel  601 , and side wall portions  608  of the aerating members  610  contact the side wall  607  of the wheel  601 . The aerating members  610  are secured to the wheel  601  by fasteners  605  that are inserted into holes (not shown) in flange portions  609 . Studs  632  are attached to the outer surface  631  of the aerating portions  630 .  
         [0029]     One skilled in the art would understand that the studs  632  may be fabricated in the same manner as the studs illustrated in  FIG. 5 , and discussed above.  
         [0030]      FIG. 7  shows an embodiment of an aerating system  600  using a push-type lawnmower  701 .  
         [0031]     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present invention and protected by the following claims.