Trimmer head

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10130030-B2
Application number	US-201414287977-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2014
Priority date	May 27, 2014
Publication date	Nov 20, 2018
Grant date	Nov 20, 2018

Abstract

A spool for a trimmer head has a structure for guiding a pair of separate trimmer line pieces through a core of the spool. The spool includes separate trimmer line channels formed through the core, each channel receiving one of the trimmer line pieces. A spool cover is positionable adjacent to the spool to enclose the channels. The spool cover includes a pair of cantilever springs extending therefrom for releasably securing the trimmer line pieces within the channels.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A trimmer head comprising:
a spool having a core, a central flange having a portion extending radially outward from said core and a portion located within said core, a pair of outer flanges extending outwardly from said core and in which each of said outer flanges is spaced apart from an opposing side of said central flange to form an upper channel between one of said outer flanges and said central flange and a lower channel between the other of said outer flanges and said central flange, and a pair of trimmer line channels formed into said portion of said central flange within said core;
a spool cover having a plate and a pair of cantilevered springs extending at an angle from said plate, said spool cover positionable immediately adjacent to said portion of said central flange located within said core, and each of said springs extending into one of said trimmer line channels of said spool;
a knob releasably attachable to said spool;
an upper housing; and
a lower housing attachable to said upper housing to form a casing, wherein said spool, spool cover, and a portion of said knob are positioned between said upper and lower housings, and said casing having a pair of opposing eyelets for receiving said pair of trimmer lines.

2. The trimmer head of claim 1 , wherein each of said trimmer line channels includes a raised portion therein.

3. The trimmer head of claim 2 , wherein each of said springs of said spool cover is positioned adjacent to one of said raised portions in said trimmer line channel to form a reduced cross-section therebetween, and said trimmer lines within said trimmer line channels are releasably securable between said springs and said raised portions.

4. The trimmer head of claim 1 , wherein a biasing mechanism is located between said spool and said upper housing, said biasing mechanism biases said spool into engagement with said lower housing.

5. The trimmer head of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of ramps extending from each of said outer flanges.

6. The trimmer head of claim 5 , wherein each ramp includes a sloped top and a stop face.

7. The trimmer head of claim 6 , wherein at least one of said upper and lower housing include a plurality of ribs extending from an inner surface thereof, said stop faces of said ramps engageable with at least one of said ribs to prevent rotation of said spool relative to said casing.

8. The trimmer head of claim 1 , wherein said spool is positionable within said casing in two different orientations.

9. The trimmer head of claim 1 , wherein a pair of opposing pathways are formed into said central flange, each of said pathways being connected to one of said trimmer line channels to allow a piece of trimmer line to be insertable into said corresponding channel through said pathway.

10. The trimmer head of claim 9 , wherein a pair of sidewall openings are formed through said core, each of said sidewall openings being connected to one of said trimmer line channels to allow a piece of trimmer line to exit said trimmer line channel and said core.

11. A trimmer head comprising:
a spool having a core, a central flange having a portion extending from said core and a portion located within said core, a pair of trimmer line channels formed into said portion of said central flange within said core, and a pair of sidewall openings formed through said core wherein each of said sidewall openings connects to one of said trimmer line channels;
a spool cover positioned immediately adjacent to said portion of said central flange located within said core, wherein said spool cover encloses said trimmer line channels;
a knob releasably attachable to said spool,
an upper housing; and
a lower housing attachable to said upper housing, wherein at least a portion of said spool and said knob are positioned between said upper and lower housings, and said upper and lower housings forming a pair of opposing eyelets.

12. The trimmer head of claim 11 , wherein said spool further includes a pair of pathways extending from an outer peripheral edge of said central flange to said core wherein each of said pathways connects to an end of one of said trimmer line channels, said pair of pathways are alignable with said eyelets.

13. The trimmer head of claim 11 , wherein said knob and said spool are selectively rotatable relative to said housing.

14. The trimmer head of claim 13 , wherein said spool includes an upper channel and a lower channel surrounding said core.

15. The trimmer head of claim 11 , wherein said spool includes a collar defining a central opening through said portion of said central flange within said core, said collar having an indexing tab extending outwardly therefrom, wherein said indexing tab is received within a notch formed in said spool cover for properly aligning said spool cover relative to said spool.

16. A trimmer head comprising:
an upper housing;
a lower housing releasably attachable to said upper housing to form a casing, wherein said casing includes at least a pair of eyelets for receiving a piece of trimmer line into each of said pair of eyelets;
a spool positioned within said casing, said spool comprising:
a central flange, wherein a portion of said central flange extends radially outward from a core and a portion of said central flange is within said core, said central flange having an upper surface and a lower surface;
a pair of trimmer line channels formed into said upper surface of said portion of said central flange within said core, wherein each of said trimmer line channels includes an inlet aperture and an outlet aperture formed through said core; and
a knob attached to said spool, wherein a portion of said knob extends from said casing, and wherein rotation of said knob causes rotation of said spool for winding said trimmer line pieces onto said spool and bumping said knob against a surface causes said trimmer line pieces to be partially unwound from said spool; and
a spool cover positioned within said core of said spool, wherein said spool cover encloses said trimmer line channels and is sandwiched between said knob and said portion of said central flange within said core.

Assignees

• Mtd Products Inc

Inventors

• Sprungman Michael Robert
• Cites Charles Lee

Classifications

• A01D34/4166

  Mounting or replacement of the lines · CPC title

• A01D34/4163 Primary

  by triggered line feedout, e.g. bump-feeding · CPC title