text:
Come join us for dinner at Fog City! Recently revamped, this New American restaurant is highly recommended by SF Foodies' organizers! We'll share their best dishes family style.
Smoked Paprika and Bacon Roasted Peanuts
Grilled & Raw Kale
Market Stone Fruit, Manchego Cheese, Sherry Vinaigrette, Marcona Almonds
Blistered Summer Peppers
Sea Salt, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Broccoli di Ciccio
Flame Grilled with Lemon, Garum, Fiordolio Olive Oil, Garlic Chips
Hand- Cut Furikake Fries
Bonito Flakes, Garlic Aioli
Wood Oven Clams
Green Garlic Tomato Broth, Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, Straus Butter
Spice Roasted Wild Boar Ribs
Pickled Celery, Jalapeno, Carrot and Honey Slaw
Grilled Local King Salmon
Baby Carrots, Mariquita Farm Erbette Chard, Dill Scented Greek Yogurt
Wood Oven Whole Chicken
Roasted Cabbage Hearts, Bacon, Crispy Potatoes, Chili Butter, Spiced Salt
Grilled Spiced Lamb Skewers
Tomato, Red Onion, Lemon, Vadouvan Yogurt, Butter Lettuce Cups
Strawberry Shortcake
Cream Biscuit, Seascape Strawberries, Brown Sugar Whipped Cream
(menu subject to change upon chef's discretion)
Total Eclipse of the Diner Under Bruce Hill and Erik Lowe, Fog City has undergone a smoky-eyed makeover
by Jonathan Kauffman (Tasting Table)
When we heard that the iconic Fog City Diner was reopening as "Fog City," we thought the change would be merely superficial.
Gone are all traces of 1930s nostalgia. Also gone: most of the interior walls. A new U-shaped bar is topped with glowing alabaster and the open kitchen is on fire.
Or, as chef de cuisine Erik Lowe calls the restaurant's custom-built cooking apparatus, a "wall of fire." He enthuses, "It's by far the most awesome grill I've ever seen or worked on."
The former Bix chef de cuisine now uses fire and smoke the way most chefs use black pepper: as a primary seasoning. He roasts baby carrots ($12) in the attached wood-fired oven, serving them with a subtle black-garlic mole and micro cilantro. Albacore fillets ($26) are grilled over high flames and served with fat, creamy-centered beans and dashi spiked with Hatch chiles.
Carrots and the oven they're cooked in (Photos: Kristen Loken & Heimo Schmidt)
The only trait left over from the old Fog City Diner may be its culinary eclecticism, which Lowe and executive chef Bruce Hill have brought up to date.
Skip one heritage item, the Fog City burger ($14), and instead get the chicken for two ($29). Its spice-rubbed skin is rendered crisp in the wood-fired oven, and the meat is brightened at the table with a sprinkle of coriander-lemon salt.
Diner no more.
$48 nonrefundable ticket covers our dinner, tax, Healthy SF mandate, tip and PayPal transaction fee, and is required for attendance. Drop-in diners will not be given a seat. Additional dishes and beverages may be purchased separately.
Refunds offered if:
Payments you make go to the organizer, not to Meetup. You must make refund requests to the organizer.
Meetup members, Log in
By clicking "Sign up" or "Sign up using Facebook", you confirm that you accept our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy


text:
Call our experts: 888.808.FINE
Fall Wedding Favorites Save 15% off The Spotted Olive Products | Code: SpottedOlive15
Select a quantity and printing method. Changes are easily made later.
This ecru, textured, flat invitation features a pretty mermaid. Colors in the design on the card include: pink, green, blue, tan, yellow and black. Matching liners are included with square flap envelopes.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
No Refugee-Bashing in My Name!
The refugee crisis is global and requires a global response. Blaming refugee for acts of terror are wrong.
Take Action Now
June 17, 2015
Dogius Koly Théa and Kala Honomou, two men arbitrarily detained in Guinea, have been granted provisional release on health grounds. Authorities continue to conduct investigations into their case....
June 16, 2015
An Iraqi woman, Basima Al-Jibouri, imprisoned in Iran since 2011, is critically ill: she has been on hunger strike since 8 April. She has served four years of a five-year sentence for "espionage",...
June 15, 2015
Pharmacist Yasir Mirghani Abdalrahman, who is also the Secretary General of the Sudanese Consumer Protection Society, and civil society activist, Nasreen Ali Mustafa have been released.
June 15, 2015
Three Emirati sisters were released on 15 May in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They had been secretly detained since 15 February. Their brother is a prisoner of conscience.


text:
Latest Features
News Japan Weekly: Bravely Second Jobs Revealed and Theatrhythm Dragon Quest Reviewed
Along with a handful of other 3DS and Wii U reviews straight from Japan
Poll Vote For Your Ten Must-Play Games On Nintendo 3DS
The portable is now four years old
Feature The Legend of Zelda on Wii U - What Do We Know So Far?
What can we expect from the next Zelda adventure?
Parent Trap Mario Party amiibo Toys Get Both Genders Battling
Family Gamer's Andy Robertson talks Toys to Life
Community Interview Give Us Your Affordable Space Adventures Questions for KnapNok Games and Nifflas
What do you want to know?
Interview Nintendo and Nd Cube on Bowser, amiibo and the Pure Luck of the Dice in Mario Party 10
Part of the goal are "actions that are overflowing with energy"
Opinion Splatoon Is to Shooters what Mario Kart Is to Racers
Ron and Alex share their thoughts on Nintendo's new IP
Feature Before They Were Enemies, Sega And Nintendo Worked On One Of The Rarest Arcade Games Ever Made
Taking a look at a genuine piece of gaming history
Preview We Take Aim at Splatoon to See if It Offers the Best of Both Worlds
Catching up with Splatoon's solo and multiplayer modes
Events Nintendo At The MCM Birmingham Comic Con 2015
A fun-packed festival of popular culture, cosplay and gaming
Poll Where Do You Stand On DeNA, Smart Device Games, Nintendo 'Membership' And The Nintendo NX?
Now that the dust has settled
Japan Weekly Famitsu Discusses Splatoon Weaponry And Gives Details On Style Savvy 3
Two obscure Japanese games are also reviewed
Interview Nintendo's Hiro Yamada On The Challenge Of Bringing Xenoblade Chronicles To The New Nintendo 3DS
"We hope the players will be satisfied with the outcome"
Interview Dan Marshall on The Swindle, Cancellation and Its Rebirth
"Here we are thirteen months later and it's expanded"
Editorial Nintendo's Heading For a Period of Major Change, and We Can't Fight It
The times, they are a-changin'
Feature We Catch Up With Four Nindies at EGX Rezzed
Say hi to Image & Form, aPriori Digital, Dreadlocks and Delve Interactive
Talking Point Nintendo's DeNA Plans and Ideas Are Smart, Not a Beginning of the End
This doesn't have to be a 'Sega' moment
Guide Everything We Know So Far About Nintendo's Deal With DeNA, Smart Device Plans and More
We break down the major details and questions
Interview Dan Marshall Discusses His Development History, The Expanding Indie Boundaries and His Route to Consoles
"There's always something exciting about games on a console"
Talking Point It's Time for a Nintendo Direct to Set the Agenda
With two months since the last broadcast, our bodies are ready
Japan Weekly Famitsu Gives More Details on Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition and Xenoblade Chronicles X
Along with a quick look at Stella Glow, the upcoming 3DS RPG
News Parent Trap: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Is Beast-Slaying Brilliance For The Whole Family
Family Gamer's Andy Robertson goes hunting with the youngsters


text:
Wisconsin's attorney general filed suit against 20 of the nation's largest pharmaceutical companies yesterday, accusing them of inflating prices and violating Wisconsin laws dealing with wholesale pricing. The suit states the drugmakers put in place "an unlawful scheme" as early as 1992, and if the court finds the violations were against senior citizens, the suit seeks fines of $10,000 per violation for a restitution program.
Full Story:NYTimes.com


text:
Skip to comments.Mitt Romney's VC Firm to Buy Clear Channel
Posted on 01/15/2008 3:29:39 PM PST by Blue Collar Republican
Mitt Romney's VC Firm to Buy Clear Channel TOP del.icio.us digg
What would it cost to buy the support of just about every nationally-syndicated neocon talk show host in America? About $19.5 Billion, which is what Mitt Romney's private equity firm, Bain Capital, and Thomas H. Lee Partners have agreed to pay in a leveraged buyout agreement with Clear Channel Communications, the largest radio station owner in the country. This is part of a negotiation that has been pending for over a year.
Clear Channel owns over 1,100 full-power AM, FM, and shortwave radio stations, twelve radio channels on XM Satellite Radio, and more than 30 television stations in the United States. Premiere Radio Networks, which is the largest syndication company in the United States, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Clear Channel and is home to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and many others. Sean Hannity recently signed a large multi-market contract with Clear Channel, as well.
This is a little too "vast right-wing conspiracy" for most Republicans isn't it?
Luckily Myth will be a distant memory by the time the sale goes through.
Yeah, but if Mitt fires Rush, how much is his property worth then? More likely Mitt will remind Rush how much money Rush is making for him.
old news, nothing to see here, move along.
seriously, Romney has nothing to do with Bain Capital anymore and hasn't for a long time.
From 2001:
W. Mitt Romney is quitting Boston-based Bain Capital, the $13 billion investment firm he started with $35 million in 1984. The son of a former governor and himself a presidential candidate is going into politics in either Massachusetts or Utah after he completes work helping organize next year's Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
Romney, 54, is giving up his 100 percent control of Bain Capital to 26 managing directors. The firm has made 170 venture and buyout investments in companies like pizza delivery chain Domino's Pizza Inc., brokerage Datek Online Holdings Corp. and retailers Staples Inc. and the Sports Authority Inc.,
This is a dishonest, deceptive smear. Romney is no longer associated with Bain Capital; he would have nothing to do with this deal. The author is either an idiot or a liar.
Like I noted to the poster, Romney has not been associated with Bain for a long time. He has no relationship to this transaction; the story is a lie.
Romney is no longer associated with Bain. He left the firm in 2001.
Yes, thanks for the definitive post. It is simply outrageous that people are saying otherwise.
Good catch;thank you.
If we blamed Mitt for this, there would be no candidate left.
All of them are successful in private life. As long as his association ended in 2001, that is good enough for me.
I would be more worried about a person that has lived off the taxpayers for a number of years.
I certainly hope that when Bain buys Clear Channel, they change a lot of their policies to make radio more heterogeneous around the country.
For example, bring back DJs for local markets, not just a "morning crew" that works 4 or 5 metro areas and try to appear to be local. Then give station managers the authority to come up with their own play lists, instead of a generic one created by the corporate marketing department.
Local programming can be good, too. Community involvement with radio stations adds a lot of color and character. And stations should be free to purchase indy programming that would help them to stand out in the market.
Syndicated shows such as Dr. Demento and the Hour of Slack, and other FM favorites can boost off-prime ratings far better than just a music-commercial-music format. And AM could be revitalized with a wide array of syndicated shows.
Now you're just descending into conspiratorial moonbattery.
No wonder Rush has been kind to Romney!
Since you support Huck, I can understand why you hate Rush.
I am not an avid Romney person, but, he looks a lot better than Huck.
Uh huh.
You give the sheeple what they want if you want to survive. That's why we get reality shows and formula dramas on the Networks and or taxes pay for little watched "culture" shows and left leaning news on PBS and NPR.
You want local, yet you want syndicated shows like Dr. Demento? Make up your mind..
Name calling? That's what you got?
Its not about ownership, its about influence.
Oh please. That is ridiculous. It is not his fault the company bought this media. And if the media gives Mitt good press well then I guess it is good on Mitt but still does not prove anything. I guess the other candidates had the option to start a company from nothing and make it a multi-million dollar corporation too but they did not go that direction so really their loss.
You made an unfalsifiable but unprovable smear against Romney, implying some kind of behind-the-scenes "influence." You provide no evidence of what you believe; you just expect us all to nod thoughtfully and agree. What kind of substantive response would be warranted to your silly accusation?
Your tactics and thought patterns look very similar to a friend of mine who is a 9/11 "Truther." If it looks, smells, and tastes like conspiratorial moonbattery, then that's probably what it is.
Radio Computing Services also known as RCS Inc., is a provider of scheduling and broadcast software for radio, Internet and television stations. It is owned by Clear Channel.
RCS offers scheduling software called GSelector and Linker. GSelector provides song lists based on broadcast rules and marketing needs. Linker is optimised to schedule non-music/non-commercial broadcast content: promos, jingles, liners, sweeps etc. commonly referred to as links.
It also allows to integrate traffic schedules (playlists with commercials) into the main schedule at designated positions (called spotsets). It is possible to operate Selector and Linker independently as separate programs but typically they are used as a pair since they complement each other.
However, as I said before, the end result is a generic and bland multi-market system whose primary advantage is giving advertisers collective market promotions at a somewhat higher price, than by dealing with individual stations. As such, it only works well when independent stations are swept away, as Clear Channel has successfully done in most major markets.
But this is not giving the listener what they want, just what they will tolerate. It is too brittle to survive when faced with real competition. Hopefully, there will be a political movement to bust up the major info-tainment media oligarchy, much like the trust busting of the early 20th Century.
Local programming managers used to accept "dime bag special" promotions from record labels and their reps, and it created a scandal.
Part of centralization was corporate compliance issues associated with payola.
I thought the reason for reality TV and primetime game shows was low-cost programming. A set. A familiar face. Generic graphics. No screenplays, no location shoots, no stars. No real content. Low, low, low cost.
Please explain why a number of stations are still on version 12 (dos based) and some still use Musicgen. The later a product of Prophet which was merged with RCS, I realize, but still they're using it.
There is no centralized mandatory music playlist,Period. If there were it would affect me directly.
W. Mitt Romney is quitting Boston-based Bain Capital, the $13 billion investment firm he started with $35 million in 1984.
I thought your post included an excerpt of a larger article but your reference was all that was in the article. I would like to know some more specific details before I buy this. Romney is a genius buisnessman and he just gave away a company worth 13 billion dollars without keeping a hand in it. How much did he get? What are his ties? I don't believe that he just gave this company away.
Giving up control does not necessarily mean that he gave it away for free.
I have no idea how much, if any, compensation he received for relinquishing control.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


text:
- Jul 28, 2016 - Juancho Hernangomez signed a multi-year contract with the Denver Nuggets.
Denver Nuggets Front Office
Mike Miller signed with the Nuggets last offseason after spending the 14-15 season with the Cavaliers.
Dwyane Wade is deciding between the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets.
There is no meeting set between Dwyane Wade and the Heat as of now.
The Heat are approximately $10 million short of Denver's offer to Dwyane Wade with a two-year, $40 million offer.
Both the Bulls and Nuggets can offer Dwyane Wade a more lucrative deal than the Heat.
Dwyane Wade and the Heat continue to discuss a new contract after being offered a two-year, $40 million deal.
Milwaukee is scheduled to meet with Dwyane Wade after the 4th of July holiday.
The Nuggets have agreed upon a three-year deal with Darrell Arthur.
A detailed look at the offseasons for the Pelicans, Wizards, Magic, Kings, Nuggets and Grizzlies.
Darrell Arthur was scheduled to make $2.9 million with the Nuggets.
Nuggets Analysis
The Nuggets' roster is filled with trade chips. And considering the youth already on their hands, they'd likely be willing to part ways with an attractive combination of young players and picks for the right star to launch them into contention.
For the Bulls, Bucks and Nuggets, pursuing Dwyane Wade seemed to clash with the direction of their roster. It's best to provide context by examining where each team exists on the competitive cycle of the NBA and what their interest in Wade says about their approach.
Headlined by the great drafts from the 76ers and Nuggets, we go team-by-team to breakdown how every GM did based on the opportunities available to them.


text:
#3459048, By Charm Silly threads RIP
Charm 3,982 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 9 years ago
The best Pokémon in Pokémon Go How does Charizard rank against Dragonite and Lapras?
Best tips, tricks and cheats for Pokémon Go What you didn't know about catching 'em all.
Loading... hold tight!


text:
- Anonymous
- Hungary, Female, 31-40
- Avid Traveller
- 17 reviews
The place is terrible, noisy and dirty. The area is also disappointing - no bars and restaurants around the building. The only good thing about the location is that the metro station is near.
- Anonymous
- USA, Couple, 25-30
- Novice Nomad
- 8 reviews
Very large place, but when we were there is was extremely crowded and packed with children. Roof top bar was closed, even during open hours.
- hectaa93
- Mexico, Male, 18-24
- Novice Nomad
- 8 reviews
Stayed here twice and would probably stay a third time. The hostel is quite nice, but it gets packed with under aged teens in groups of 20-30, which takes away the hostel feeling. Everything is quite clean, location is good (2 minutes from S-Bahn), and the facilities are awesome.
- Anonymous
- Australia, Female, 18-24
- Avid Traveller
- 16 reviews
I thought this was going to be a cheap hostel but it ended being nearly twice as much as expected, the wifi is terrible, they force you to pay for sheets even though you already have some, location is pretty bad too. Do yourself a favour and stay somewhere else even if it costs more!
- Anonymous
- Ireland, Female, 18-24
- Novice Nomad
- 9 reviews
I wouldnt recommend this hostel, especially to solo travellers. I felt unsafe getting there and I felt unsafe in my room. There is no age limits on the dorm rooms so I ended up with a 60-70 year old man and I'm a 22 year old female. The staff mostly unpleasant in earlier dealings but Mary was very helpful in changing my room to be in a female dorm. It is very clean but I think over priced for what it was and also the location. I paid for sheets and there were already some in the room on all beds
- Anonymous
- Malaysia, Male, 18-24
- Novice Nomad
- 5 reviews
This hostel was a disappointment. On arriving, I sought the advice of the receptionist as to where to go in Hamburg and where to eat, as it was late and we were all hungry. She looked busy and distracted and showed no initiative in helping me, only replying briefly to the questions asked. After awhile, I gave up. As for the rooms, the pillows were flat and practically non-existent and the beds were thin. The floor and general area was not cleaned well. Noise from the streets was also loud.
- Anonymous
- Estonia, Female, 25-30
- Novice Nomad
- 1 review
This place is huge . If you're looking for something cozy then that's not a good option. It's ok to stay there for few nights if you just need a bed. I found it quite pricey and they also charge extra for bed sheets. We were asked at the reception that do we have our own sheets and if not we need some but when we arrived to the dorm then some beds were already made and others had bed sheets on them so we actually did not need extra sheets....and refund was not possible.
- WanderinDerWelt
- USA, All Female Group, 18-24
- Avid Traveller
- 19 reviews
This is the second A&O Hostel I've stayed at and the experience was very similar. Very clean and it is very close to an S-bahn and U-bahn station, which made getting around the city super easy. Breakfast is not included.
- Anonymous
- Ireland, Male, 18-24
- Novice Nomad
- 2 reviews
This place is huge. The downstairs bar was full of large loud groups when I was there, not too inviting for a solo traveller. The rooftop bar, which I was excited about (as the place has 8 floors of rooms) was closed when I went looking, and I couldn't find the opening hours. The location is close to the ZOB which is nice. There's also a Real pretty much across the road. There were leftover bottles from a previous group in my room. If you're just looking for a bed, the place is fine...
- persson_miranda919
- Sweden, Female, 31-40
- Globetrotter
- 22 reviews
It was too much feeling of a hotel, I prefer (small) hostels. The athmosphere was not good. The whole complex was like a labyrint. The location could have been closer to Central Station and city centre in my opinion. The self service kitchen was terrible and dirty, and the door was always looked, even thought it should be open in the morning. The microwave oven didn't work as it should. I recommend you to save some Money and go to Hamburg Thor Metro Station and by cheaper breakfast.
Hostelworld Mobile Apps
Book on the go with the new Hostelworld mobile apps.


text:
Enter your mobile number below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Getting the download link through email is temporarily not available. Please check back later.
To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Learn more
The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom Hardcover – July 26, 2011
|New from
|Used from
Paperback, International Edition
"Please retry"
Unknown Binding
"Please retry"
"When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodron
This book is a treasury of wisdom for going on living when we are overcome by pain and difficulties. Learn more | See related books
Frequently Bought Together
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Editorial Reviews
"…Deftly outlines the essence of the human condition and explains how to work with our desires—instead of against them—to find long-lasting happiness in both the material and spiritual realm…Stryker serves as a marvelous guide, one who teaches us not only how to progress on the path, but also how to light our own way. His writing is engaging and even entertaining…The Four Desires will give you a road map for your spiritual journey—and for the ups and downs of everyday life, too." —Yoga Journal
"A compelling and inspiring guide to finding happiness in every aspect of life….a gateway to a new level of fulfillment." —Yoga International
"Rod Stryker's teachings have given me a whole new lens with which to see the world and my own potential; his teachings are sparks in a powder keg. My life has exploded with beauty, mystery and depth under his tutelage." —Jennifer Nettles, Grammy award winner, songwriter, lead singer, Sugarland
"The Four Desires is a provocative interactive workbook for living your best possible life. The end game here is to know your highest, most authentic self, and create a road map to living out your dreams. (Who wouldn't want that?) Stryker is a masterful guide, and the journey he creates is fun—and abundantly fruitful." —Kaitlin Quistgaard, editor-in-chief, Yoga Journal
"Rod Stryker is one of the truly bright lights of modern yoga. He connects to the sincere seeker's heart, while his straight forward scholarship emboldens the mind. The Four Desires is an outstanding book, advancing the integrity and luster of modern yoga." —John Friend, founder of Anusara yoga
"The Four Desires is a rare accomplishment: a book of valuable, profound wisdom that is easy to learn from, live by, and love. I will be carrying a dog-eared copy of it for years." —Mark Bryan, author of The Artist's Way at Work
"For decades, Rod has led yoga practitioners on the path of inner and outer fulfillment. The Four Desires offers practical and profound teachings from which people of all backgrounds can benefit. It is a treasure that is destined to become a classic." —Shiva Rea, creator of Prana Flow yoga
"Read The Four Desires slowly, savor its wisdom, and then do the exercises to help embody that wisdom. It will help you live your best life." —Erich Schiffmann, author of YOGA: The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness
"Profound enough for the advanced practitioner yet accessible to anyone looking for guidance on their journey, The Four Desires is filled with the wisdom and authority of Rod Stryker's years of practice, study, and teaching." —Sally Kempton, author of Meditation for the Love of It
"Anyone seeking inner healing and lasting happiness must read this book." —Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, chairman and spiritual head, Himalayan Institute
"Rod Stryker guides us to uncover the beauty, power, and purpose of our lives. This insight leads us to live more meaningfully and richly. This book is an incredible gift to have as both teacher and student, and I am excited to use it as a resource for my own continued growth and self-discovery." —Seane Corn, yoga instructor, co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World
About the Author
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Related Media
Customer Reviews
Top Customer Reviews
Because most of the concepts were new to me, I found the book challenging, but satisfying. Basically, Stryker uses the "four desires" to help the reader find his or her purpose in life by identifying inner desires and fulfilling them. Starting with finding your overall purpose in life (your "Dharma Code"), Stryker then provides meditative exercises which guide readers to explore inside their minds, to develop more specific goals and aspirations. Exercises include "Forty-Eight Hours of Fearless Action" and "Relaxing Into Greatness." Sometimes what the rational mind thinks is one's life purpose (such as "make a lot of money") might conflict with what the entire self really wants from life. Fortunately Stryker provides ways to bypass the conscious mind and overcome mental obstacles. I should note that this is not a book about satisfying every selfish whim. "Desire" in Eastern philosophy is much more complicated than this, and the highest forms of desire are selfless.
The book made me reflect on my purpose in life. I never really thought about an overarching purpose before, and when I did, I tended to think of it as relating to my career or completing educational hurdles. His ideas got me thinking more deeply about my purpose in life and what hinders my own self-development. He strikes a balance between spirituality and science, and even though the book is largely Eastern in character, he includes Western wisdom too, including Biblical quotes.Read more ›
The meditation (TM) that I practice is different from the ones presented in this book, but they do not conflict or take anything away from my practice... so if you already meditate this book will only enhance your knowledge. At age 63 and retired, some of the lessons in this book would have been much more helpful to me at a younger age but I still found many useful and some were life changing for me. The lesson to determine my life work (direction)was a bit late for me since I long ago found myself on "my" perfect path (work). But the exercises to help me determine why some of my desires were not being fulfilled were incredible. I have already noticed changes for the better in my life with a few very simple exercises.If you practice the ideas in the book "The Secret", you might find "The Four Desires" helpful as well.Read more ›
Dharma is your purpose in life. It can be a career, or if you can't make a living from it yet are compelled to do it anyway, it could be a calling. Perhaps you will have to make a living another way to support yourself, but that will be all right because you are fulfilling your purpose in life.
Kama is pleasure, and that covers a lot of ground, like good food, love, happiness, and enjoyment of Art, Music, and Literature. Though you can overindulge or sometimes find that desire is infinite, and you can't really be satisfied, there is nothing wrong with pleasure if it is balanced with the other three desires. You don't have to completely ignore your desire to follow a spiritual path.
Artha is prosperity, but it is also the means to fulfill your other desires. It can be a job, income, shelter, food as fuel to keep going, air to breath, water to drink. It is also concerned with physical health. Whatever it takes to keep you going while you are fulfilling your higher purpose.
Moksha is called Freedom in the title to this book, but it is a kind of peace of mind, or Freedom from worry. It is a kind of detachment and acceptance of whatever happens, a contentment that you can feel in spite of your circumstances.
I enjoyed reading it, but now that I have finished reading it the real work begins. It seems very simple to meditate, but can I do it consistently every day? People read self-help manuals and make resolutions, but how many people follow through?Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
If you do yoga or you meditate, this book will help you find your life purpose ! Great book !Published 3 months ago by Marie L.
This book balances life between ultra yogi and ultra materialistic. Finally an idea that we need to find balance between the two.Published 3 months ago by Fat Bob
Excellent read! I recommend this book to anyone in search of life/spiritual direction.Published 5 months ago by Nannynan
This is a book that could change your life. I wish I had read it when I was in high school so that I could have made more focused decisions using my life purpose. Read morePublished 9 months ago by Marcia T Jones
Excellent book. This book and the workshop that Rod teaches have changed my life.Published 10 months ago by Stefanie
This book is worth your time. It will make you consider all the things in life that you've swept under the rug and forgotten about - the things you thought you could never achieve... Read morePublished 15 months ago by Margaret L. Martin
Set up an Amazon Giveaway
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


text:
The Radio 4 Blog
Featured Post
Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah and Dame Hilary Mantel to deliver BBC Reith Lectures in 2016 and 2017
Radio 4,
Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah and Dame Hilary Mantel to deliver BBC Reith Lectures in 2016 and 2017
Musicals galore from Radio 4 Extra
Radio 4 Extra
If you love musical theatre you'll be delighted to know that Radio 4 Extra is set to start a five-week Summer run of classic musicals. We've been given access to Radio 2's extensive – and impressive – back-catalogue of exclusively-recorded works from the mid-'90s including Sweeney Todd, Guys and Dolls, Carousel, Jesus Christ Superstar and Kismet.
Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Saturday 16 July 2016 at 09.00am
The season starts with Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Starring Denis Quilley and Julia McKenzie, this is an exclusive recording of the Royal National Theatre's hit production of Stephen Sondheim's musical thriller.
It's the tale of a half-mad barber who returns home after escaping from an unjust imprisonment, to take vengeance on the corrupt judge who sentenced him, ravished his wife and now plans to marry his daughter. However, Sweeney doesn't limit himself to one victim: he takes revenge against the...
Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah and Dame Hilary Mantel to deliver BBC Reith Lectures in 2016 and 2017
Radio 4
Tagged with:
Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah and Dame Hilary Mantel
BBC Radio 4 is delighted to announce philosopher and cultural theorist Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah as the BBC Reith Lecturer for 2016. He will be followed by author Dame Hilary Mantel who will deliver the prestigious Reith Lectures in spring 2017.
Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born, Ghanaian-American philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist who specialises in moral and political philosophy, as well as issues of personal and political identity, cosmopolitanism and nationalism.
His four lectures entitled 'Mistaken Identity' will each have a different focus – Colour, Country, Creed and Culture. They will be recorded in London, Glasgow, Washington DC, and in Appiah's adopted hometown of New York and will broadcast in November.
Kwame Anthony Appiah says: "We live in a world where the language of identity pervades both our public and our private lives. We are Muslim and Christian, so we have religious identities. We are English and Scottish, so we have national identities. We...
Book Club: Tony Harrison
Jim Naughtie
Jim Naughtie presents Bookclub on BBC Radio 4
Tony Harrison was about to celebrate the start of his 80th year when we met this month's group of readers at the Hexham Book Festival, not far from where he lives in north-east England. It's worth mentioning his age, because he is a poet who spans the generations – an inspiration for many poets writing today, and a voice that retains its power. The poem we chose was 'V', a long account of a visit he made to his parents' grave in Leeds in the 1980s, and a poem that brought him great acclaim and notoriety all at the same time, as so often the poet's lot. The trouble for some of the self-appointed guardians of public morality was that in his exploration of his feelings on discovering that the grave had been desecrated by vandals, he used the words they had scrawled on the stone (how else could he describe it, you may well ask). So there was a storm. When Channel 4 decided to broadcast a reading, Tony found himself on the tabloid front pages. But he also attracted some unlikely admirers (for a man of the Left), including Bernard Levin and Auberon Waugh, who saw immediately that in the 112 stanzas there was an elegant and powerful poetic voice at work.
He told us how the title came...
A Strange Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and their Remarkable Families by Michael Holroyd
Jim Naughtie
Jim Naughtie presents Bookclub on BBC Radio 4
Michael Holroyd thinks that if Edwardian theatre-goers could read his biography of Ellen Terry and Henry Irving they'd be astonished. These were the two great figures of the stage, who sprang to fame in the last Victorian age and became glamorous figures like the Hollywood stars of the next century. They were a devoted couple – certainly lovers, Michael Holroyd concludes – but never married. And, although their relationship was known in the social circles in which they moved, their devoted audiences knew little of the truth.
A Strange Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry,...
Inside the mind of Professor Stephen Hawking
Radio 4
Tagged with:
Editor: Hear Professor Hawking's Reith Lectures on black holes on 26 January and 2 February or listen online. You can also get downloads of this and previous Reith Lectures.
It's always exciting to find out who's giving the Reith Lectures for Radio 4. When we heard it was going to be Professor Stephen Hawking it was clear the world renowned scientist was going to be a hit with the Radio...
Book Club: Colum McCann - TransAtlantic
Jim Naughtie
Jim Naughtie presents Bookclub on BBC Radio 4
Editor's note: This episode of Bookclub is available from Sunday 6 December and will be available to listen online or for download.
Colum McCann's novel TransAtlantic is a familiar story in some ways, because the story of the links between Ireland and America is so well known, and so embedded in the history of the two countries. But it's a revelation too. I didn't know, for example, of the visit made to Ireland by the black anti-slavery campaigner Frederick Douglass in the 1840s. The episode is one of many historical events that Colum weaves into a story that ends in the hands of the...
Book Club: China Miéville - The City and the City
Jim Naughtie
Jim Naughtie presents Bookclub on BBC Radio 4
Editor's note: This episode of Bookclub is available from Sunday 1 November and will be available to listen online or for download.
China Miéville says that when he's writing he can't sustain interest in anything that doesn't have elements that are unreal, and magical. It means that even when he's writing a story like The City and The City which follows the pattern of a familiar detective thriller - in the police procedural style - his attraction to mystery leads him into territory that's his own. He did the same in his novel Iron Council which is an American western - as he would put it...
An introduction to Online First
Andrew Caspari
Tagged with:
The magic of radio is that when you switch it on in your kitchen, in your car, laptop or phone you can probably find something suited to your taste at that moment. However, sometimes that isn't always the case... Maybe the programme on now is not quite what you want. Luckily you can find almost everything you could possibly wish for on demand on all platforms and now for download for 30 days on smartphone and tablet in the iPlayer Radio app.
We now offer the chance to get programmes Online First. So from now you can go online and hear a selection of our programmes before they have been...
Bookclub: Tessa Hadley - Married Love
Jim Naughtie
Jim Naughtie presents Bookclub on BBC Radio 4
Editor's note: This programme is available to listen to online and to download.
We've had some strange interruptions in Bookclub over the years. We had the creaky floor in Dr Johnson's house that wouldn't stop squeaking, the demonstration outside Broadcasting House that was so loud that the chanting came through the windows, and a reader's alarm that went off to remind her to feed the chickens. I had never expected, however, to have to abandon a recording because of the intervention of an automatic milking machine.
We were at Charleston, the Bloomsbury group's lair near Lewes in East...
Bookclub: David Nicholls - One Day
Jim Naughtie
Jim Naughtie presents Bookclub on BBC Radio 4
Editor's note: This programme is available to listen to online and to download.
What is it about David Nicholls? He has a way of telling stories that attracts readers like flies to a honeypot: once they have a taste, they can't stay away. Talking to him about his novel One Day for this month's Bookclub, he said this: 'I like this idea – that there's no such thing as an ordinary day. I like the challenge of making often mundane days full of event and full of significance and full of intrigue.' In pursuing that thought he opts, quite deliberately, for a narrative that seems to promise –...


text:
Vermont Supreme Court affirms Bruno's murder convictionStaff Report | October 05,2012The Vermont Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by convicted killer Jonathan Bruno.
Bruno, who was sentenced to 35 years to life for the 2007 murder of John Baptie, claimed that he was wrongly denied a motion for a new trial after a new witness came forward backing his self-defense claim. His attorney also argued that two jurors should have been excluded for cause and that the jury instructions were vague on how to weigh Bruno's claim of diminished capacity.
The Supreme Court, in an opinion issued Friday, upheld the lower court's rulings on all issues, finding that the new testimony would not likely have altered the verdict, that there were no grounds to exclude the jurors and that the jury instructions were sufficient.MORE IN This Just InLOS ANGELES As throngs of Pokemon Go players traipse around to real-world landmarks in... Full StoryAs Rutland debates the potential arrival of 100 Syrian refugees, an oft-repeated claim by... Full StoryMONTPELIER After 18 years in the Legislature, Chittenden County Sen. Full Story
- Most Popular
- Most Emailed


text:
Nike Air Max Womens Uk,Buy Air Max 2011risby-park.co.uk
About The Park
Contact Us
Find Us
Nike Air Max Womens Uk,Buy Air Max 2011
An effective suggestion you must remember if you're seeking all-natural approaches to combat a candida is to apply garlic herb. Garlic herb is an excellent natural treat since it will help get rid of germs and also other fungi. In addition there are different ways to eat garlic cloves such as just ingesting it or consuming it in tablet computer kind. As was explained within the opening section of the post, marketing with video is
Nike Air Max Womens Uk
definitely an remarkable tool which will help business owners make big income. To boost your business's bottom line, cautiously implement online video marketing employing every one of the expertise you may have gained by understanding this post. With correct online video marketing, you should certainly observe an increase in
Buy Air Max 2011
revenue almost immediately! Have a great time.Use Search Engine Optimization And Increase Website Traffic Play playing golf with a close friend instead of solo if you truly desire to boost your activity. Not only will you be able to discuss ideas and words of advice having a close friend, and viceversa, but there's yet another tiny levels of competition there that will enhance the best in you. No a couple can adhere to the same style, however, these ideas available above, are perfect for almost any dimension and way of living. You may try to adapt the workouts and match yourself into a timetable that results in feeling and looking greater, than in the past. It is never too late to start out losing a pants' dimensions.Physical Fitness And Health In Your Maternity Time Get free from your sweaty exercise clothes as quickly as possible. Sweaty workout outfits cause the physique to be open to a moist environment. When such an surroundings exists inside the genital place, the result can be a painful and uncomfortable yeast infection. Bring a big difference of clothes to a health club, and change the instant you are able to. As you now did the research, it's time to get the coverage you possess chosen. Remember, your ultimate aim is to achieve the most beneficial insurance coverage you want to the minimum feasible sum from your pocket. Also, make sure you get into this to your budget.Life Coverage Tips That Everybody Ought To Know Try out diverse products suitable for you and target certain ageing functions. A lot of anti--growing older products are not made the same, so by striving different things, you may find an element of your routine might reap the benefits of some alterations. Healthy skin care is all about customization, so tend not to get way too more comfortable with routine! When you are inside an crash ensure that you involve aid without delay. In no way make your assumption that someone more could have known as for assist. In the event the crash is quite small you ought to have an official go to the picture so that an accident record could be filed.
Nike Air Max Ltd Uk,Nike Air Vortex Vintage
Nike Air Max Sale Men,Nike Air Pegasus 29
Nike Air Max 97 Hyperfuse,Nike Air Trainers Sale
Nike Air Max 90 Womens Uk,Cheap Air Max 1 Womens
Air Force 1 Nike,Nike Air Max Ltd Ii
Nike Air Max 87 Black,Nike Air Pegasus 89


text:
Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock now available for pre-order at $299
Belkin has announced that its $299 Thunderbolt Express Dock is now available for pre-order and will be shipping within the next week.
The Thunderbolt Express Dock was first announced in September 2011 with three USB ports, an outbound Thunderbolt port for daisy-chaining, FireWire 800 port and Gigabit Ethernet port.
At CES 2012 we saw further changes, including an added HDMI port and 3.5mm audio port. But guess what, it didn't stop there, as a USB 3.0, audio in port, and eSATA were added in June 2012, bumping the dock to $400.
At CES 2013, Belkin settled with its final design, removing the eSATA port and dropping the price to a more reasonable $299, after more than a year of changes. It now features one Thunderbolt port, one FireWire 800 port, one Gigabit Ethernet port, three USB 3.0 ports (max 2.5Gbps transfer rate speed), one 3.5mm-out port and one 3.5mm-in port.
This device is intended to make for a single connection over Thunderbolt, creating an easy way to transfer data between eight other devices. Multiple Thunderbolt devices can also be daisy-chained together.
You can order the Thunderbolt Express Dock on Belkin's website found in the source link below.
Windscribe VPN: Get a lifetime of ad-free, private browsing for 91 per cent off
Can I get Amazon Prime Now one-hour deliveries in my area?
Launch an IT career with the Professional Python and Linux Administration Bundle...
Pay what you want for a huge archive of top-quality design assets in the 2016...
- Windscribe VPN: Get a lifetime of ad-free, private browsing for 91 per cent off
- Can I get Amazon Prime Now one-hour deliveries in my area?
- Launch an IT career with the Professional Python and Linux Administration Bundle (over 90 per cent Off)
- Pay what you want for a huge archive of top-quality design assets in the 2016 Summer Design Bundle
- Get a lifetime subscription to Stone River Academy and access over 2,000 hours of premium tech training (93 per cent off)
- Edit photos like the pros with the Ultimate Adobe Photo Editing Bundle (94 per cent off)
- Anonymous and unrestricted browsing for life: TigerVPN full lifetime subscription (93 per cent off)
- Here is Facebook's internet-beaming plane completing its first test flight
- Watch NASA's year-long timelapse of Earth from a million miles away
- Get 6 IT certifications with the Essential CompTIA and Microsoft Windows Server Administrator Certification Bundle (96 per cent off)
- Pokemon Go Gym tips: How to battle, train and win
- Pokemon Go: How to find and catch rare Pokemon like Charizard, Blastoise and Alakazam
- 17 Facebook Messenger tips and tricks you likely didn't know
- This is how much space PlayStation VR requires for you to play
- Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Sep 27, 2011
|Filing date
|Nov 16, 2007
|Priority date
|Nov 16, 2007
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|George E. Alliss, Steven W. Hamblin
|Original Assignee
|Alliss George E, Hamblin Steven W
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (47), Referenced by (9), Classifications (6), Legal Events (3)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/859,246, filed Nov. 16, 2006 by George E. Alliss, which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to US Patent Application Publication US 2005/0252009 A1, which is patent application Ser. No. 11/126,842, filed Nov. 17, 2005 by George E. Alliss, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates generally to vegetation trimmer apparatuses.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. Unless otherwise identified as prior art, the subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
Internal combustion engine and electric motor powered vegetation trimmers are commonly used to cut and trim grass, weeds, brush and other vegetation. The typical motorized trimmer may include an elongated handle to which is connected an internal combustion or electric motor that rotatably drives a trimmer head located at a distal end of the handle. This machine is "handheld".
The trimmer head (e.g., a rotary cutting head attachment to a driveshaft of a trimmer), in turn, carries radially outwardly projecting cutting implements, which cut the vegetation as the trimmer head rotates. In addition to "handheld" vegetation cutting machines there are also wheeled type vegetation trimmers, which are gas powered, and utilize an engine that generates much greater horsepower than any "handheld" type machine, the trimmer and cutting machines are designed to cut very dense (e.g., thick) vegetation and brush. These trimmer machines use some types of cutting heads that are used with the "handheld" trimmer machines.
The trimmer head may include one or more flexible monofilament line or rigid cutting implements. Rigid cutting implements (a cutting means) typically assumes the form of blades fabricated from plastic and or metal and often have corrugations or scalloping about their peripheral cutting edges. They are a unitary one-piece cutting blade molded from a durable high strength plastic/metal material with plurality of cutting arms extending outward from the hub. The pivoting type rigid blades are attached to circular pins mounted vertically on the peripheral portion of trimmer head body, and the body is attached directly to the trimmer machine's driveshaft. The pivoting blades yield when they contact hard objects, thereby prolonging the service life of these blades. Other fixed rigid type blades mount directly to the trimmer driveshaft. Both of these above mentioned vegetation cutting blades are normally used to cut very dense and thick grasses, and weeds to include brush. Other forms of rigid type of cutting blades are used on handheld and wheeled type trimmer machines alike. A usage of rigid cutting blades is for cutting, weeds, small bushes, corn stalks, brush, saplings having a small diameter, 3″ thick, for example. Rigid blades may be made from a metal disc (e.g., a circular plate) that is attached to the driveshaft of the trimmer machine and mounted around the periphery of the metal disc is a series of chainsaw cutting teeth as used on a "Chainsaw." All of the above mentioned types of blades may cause considerable injury to the trimmer operator or other persons during operation of the trimmer, should the operator or other persons be accidentally struck by one of these types of blades, if they are made of metal or hard, rigid, sharp plastic material.
Generally, weeds growing on footpaths between rice fields etc. have to be cut several times a year because they tend to be nested by pests. The weed cutting is usually very laborious, and thus various automatic weed cutters have heretofore been proposed and put to practical use, among which shoulder-hung weed cutters are very popular because of their small size and handling ease. In most of the shoulder-hung weed cutters, a driving-force transmission shaft or driveshaft, which is passed through a pipe-shaped handling rod, is rotated via an engine provided at one end of the handling rod so as to rotate a cutter blade provided at the other end of the handling rod.
In most cases, a human operator hangs the weed cutter on his or her shoulder using a hanging belt, and cuts weeds with the rotating cutter blade by gripping a U-shaped handle provided on an intermediate position of the handling rod to swing the handling rod in front-and-rear and left-and-right directions.
Both in light duty, medium and heavy duty gas and electric powered trimmers, the cutting implements may be fabricated as a continuous strand flexible monofilament plastic line wrapped about a spool contained within the trimmer head. In such devices, the plastic line is typically selectively dispensed by the centrifugal force generated by rotation of the trimmer head.
A disadvantage common to these sorts of devices is that the line quite frequently becomes jammed when a user attempts to dispense fresh line from the spool and the line prematurely breaks off at the eyelet because the diameter of the line is small and has little tensile strength when making contact with hard objects and heavy vegetation. When this occurs, the user generally must stop the trimming operation, disassemble the trimmer head, fix the jam and or extend line through the eyelets and reassemble the trimmer head before resuming trimming. Such repeated disruption is very frustrating and time-consuming by the end user. It should be noted that spool heads of automatic and semi-automatic type, include a line cutting blade on the debris shield. When the head is bumped on the ground and dispenses the line, more line is generally extended from the storage spool than needed, and the blade on the shield cuts off the extra line.
Another species of vegetation trimmer cutting apparatuses are automatic spool trimmer heads. This type of trimmer cutting head is called "automatic trimmer head." The automatic trimmer heads require no tapping on the ground and automatic trimmer heads always feed out a set length of trimmer line.
Another species of vegetation trimmer, where trimmer line is selectively dispensed from a spool by an operator, is fully manual in operation. Devices of this sort include at least one or more, typically spring-biased, indexing pins or buttons that are connected to one or more internal trimmer line carrying spools. In order to dispense trimmer line, an operator displaces the indexing pins or buttons from a seating engagement with one or more holes provided in the trimmer head housing.
Once the indexing pin(s) or button(s) are separated from the housing, the user either turns the internal spool(s) or pulls on the trimmer line itself from the spool in order to pay out the line from the trimmer head. When the desired length(s) of trimmer line have been dispensed, the operator reseats the indexing pin(s) or button(s) into their associated indexing opening(s) in the trimmer head housing.
Another species of spool trimmer heads has surfaced, which is very distinctly and substantially different from prior art examples of spool trimmer heads described and reference above. Typically, reloading fresh line into a spool trimmer head is a difficult and time consuming process. All the prior art reference spool trimmer heads reference above, require some form of disassembly of the trimmer head components prior to loading or reloading new trimmer line onto the spool.
Spool type trimmer heads often have some form of anchoring means to secure one or more fixed lengths of line to the hub of the spool prior to wrapping the lengths of line onto and around the spool hub.
Another species of vegetation trimmer heads employs finite or fixed cut lengths of monofilament (nylon) plastic line or string that can be quickly and easily replaced as they become broken or worn, without need to resort to disassembly and reassembly of the trimmer head.
In this category of trimmer heads the finite length(s) of trimmer line are securely held in a fixed position within the trimmer head body by different methods (i.e., weaving means, different types and forms of clamping means with and without mechanical bias, special injection molded flails that have a special end portion of the cutting flail that holds the finite length of cutting line securely in the body of the trimmer head during cutting operations, etc.). All of the these fixed length types of line vegetation trimmer cutting heads provide the end user a more user friendly trimmer head product vs. the standard spool "bump and feed" product.
Fixed length trimmer heads have the benefit of making the replacement of worn flexible cutting line and the loading of new flexible cutting line much easier. These types of trimmer heads allow the end user the opportunity the ability to use a broad range of flexible lines having many diameters (e.g., diameters including 0.065″ to 0.155″). These trimmer heads typically weigh less and are less expensive to manufacture. Since fixed length type vegetation cutting heads can receive and hold a wide range of differently sized trimmer lines, a customer can select the size of line that works best with the size and power of the machine available. Too large of a flexible cutting line diameter and too long of a length extending from the exit ports of the head will deplete the rotational speed and power because of air drag caused by the size of the cutting line. There is a wide variety of electric and gas powered trimmer machines manufactured and they also have a wide range of power ratings per machine. It is important to select and use the right cutting attachment with different machines so that they will work efficiently and safely during operation.
In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to refer to like elements. Although the following figures depict various examples of the invention, the invention is not limited to the examples depicted in the figures.
Although various embodiments of the invention may have been motivated by various deficiencies with the prior art, which may be discussed or alluded to in one or more places in the specification, the embodiments of the invention do not necessarily address any of these deficiencies. In other words, different embodiments of the invention may address different deficiencies that may be discussed in the specification. Some embodiments may only partially address some deficiencies or just one deficiency that may be discussed in the specification, and some embodiments may not address any of these deficiencies.
In general, at the beginning of the discussion of each of
Vegetation Trimmer
Vegetation trimmer 100 may be a handheld device that is used for cutting vegetation or other material. Motor 102 powers vegetation trimmer 100. Motor 102 may be an electric motor, combustion engine, or another type of motor. Steering handle 104 may be used for holding, guiding, and directing the vegetation trimmer. Shaft 106 may also be used for holding vegetation trimmer 100. Shaft 106 may be hollow and, within the hollow portion, shaft 106 may contain a mechanical connection (which maybe referred to as the driveshaft) coupling motor 102 to a trimmer head. The present invention avoids the above referenced problems experienced in the prior art. This is a "bi-directional", spool trimmer head invention that does not require disassembly of the trimmer head components prior to reloading new trimmer line onto the enclosed storage spool. This specification may have some similarity to current US, Non-Provisional Patent Application US2005/0252009, Nov. 17, 2005. There are multiple manufactures of handheld weed trimmer machines and models that are offered and sold on the market. There is "no" common or standard specification (i.e., design, type or size) in the industry for driveshaft arbors for the attachment of a string trimmer head or other types of vegetation cutting tools to a handheld trimmer machine (e.g., gas and/or electric trimmer machines).
The majority of manufacturers use a threaded fastener (e.g., a male and/or female nut and bolt) to secure the main housing of the trimmer head to the threaded driveshaft arbor. There are driveshaft arbors for attaching a string trimmer head that are relatively "short" in length, and there are "longer" driveshaft arbors that extend through the top center opening of the trimmer head main housing and through the center of the spool and beyond. In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 uses one of the "longer" driveshaft arbors. Examples of prior art having easy load, spool trimmer heads with "longer" type driveshaft arbors are: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,659,960; 5,671,536; 5,806,192; 6,148,523 by Everets, U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,580 by Stark; and US Patent Application 20050217120 by Proulx, which may include an easy load, spool trimmer head with separate fixed lengths of line for reloading the inner spool.
Trimmer head 108 may connect, via the driveshaft, to shaft 106 at a distal end. Trimmer head 108 may be used with other types of trimmers other than vegetation trimmer 100. For example, although vegetation trimmer 100 is illustrated as a handheld machine, an embodiment of a trimmer head 108 may be used on a wheeled trimmer machine. As used herein, the terms "top" and "bottom" refer to the relative positions that the top and bottom of trimmer head 108 would assume when trimmer head 108 is "in use" or while "operating," when attached to shaft 106 of vegetation trimmer 100.
Trimmer head 108 may hold trimmer lines 110, and may include a spinning portion that causes ends 112 a and b to rotate at a fast enough speed to cut vegetation. Trimmer lines 110 may be a flexible wire. For example, trimmer lines 110 may be a nylon wire or other type of wire. As trimmer head 108 spins ends 112 a and b tend to extend radially outward as a result of the centrifugal force. In an embodiment, trimmer lines 110, may be any of a wide range of both different sizes (e.g., 0.047″ to 0.160″ in diameter) and of different shapes, such as round or non-round cross sections (e.g., square, octagon, hexagon, diamond, or oval). For example, trimmer line 110 may be any trimmer line constructed as a flexible yet rugged filament, string, or wire. In an embodiment, trimmers line 110 may be any of the commercially available flexible monofilament plastic trimmer lines of any suitable type and cross-sectional configuration, such as 0.065″, 0.080″, 0.095″, 0.105″, 0.12″, 0.130″ or 0.155″ gauge nylon trimmer line or the like, which is currently used as cutting filament in a conventional vegetation trimmer.
Shield 122 is optional. Shield 122 is for the operator's safety. Shield 122 may protect the user from flying debris that may be kicked up by ends 112 a and b or trimmer head 108.
In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 is a fixed line trimmer head for flexible line trimmers that does not require disassembly, which can be easy and quickly loaded as well as easily and quickly unloaded without the use of a separate tool. In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 is a fixed line trimmer head for flexible line rotary trimmers that simplifies both easy line loading and unloading of trimmer line while providing a tight securement of the line to the head "non-dependent" of the rotational velocity of the head. In an embodiment, a trimmer head 108 is for flexible line rotary trimmers, and includes a simplified easy trimmer line removal, and trimmer head 108 is of simple construction and economical to manufacture. In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 is for flexible trimmer lines and enables easy trimmer line removal and replacement, and is adapted for use in heavy brush. In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 is for a flexible line rotary trimmer that has a simplified easy line removal and replacement while providing a tight securement of the line to the head independent of the rotational velocity of the head and is adaptable for use with cutting line of a wide variety of diameters and round and non-round shapes.
In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 is for a flexible line rotary trimmer that has a simplified line removal and replacement without the need for any disassembly and reassembly of trimmer housing parts while replacing the trimmer line. In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 is for flexible line rotary trimmers, which are more durable than known arrangements, and reduce (e.g., minimizes) wear on the string during operation. In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 is for flexible line rotary trimmers that can be used on the majority of gas and electric manufactured handheld, wheeled, vegetation, and brush cutting machines (e.g., multi-fit) and is for use by both home users or commercial users. In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 is for flexible line rotary trimmers, which enables both easy loading and unloading of trimmer line while providing a tight securement of the trimmer line to trimmer head 108. The tightness of the securement of trimmer head to the trimmer line may be dependent on the rotational velocity of the head. In an embodiment, trimmer head 108 includes a "one way" gripping device that may slide or pivot and may be spring biased.
Cross-Section of Trimmer Head
Fastener 206 is used to attach the main housing body to driveshaft 202. In an embodiment, fastener 206 is a bolt or nut. In an embodiment, fastener 206 is threaded.
Top housing 208 forms an upper portion of the housing. Top housing 208 is attached to shaft 106, via fastener 206. In an embodiment, top housing 208 includes a downward extension. In order to secure top housing 208 to the trimmer machine apparatus, fastener (bolt or nut) 206 is inserted through an opening in the downward extension and attached to driveshaft 202, so that top housing 208 spins with driveshaft 202 and consequently, trimmer head 108 spins with driveshaft 202.
Trimmer head 108 further includes spool 210 for carrying trimmer line 110 that is rotatably supported in the trimmer head housing. Mechanical bias 212 biases spool 210 into a position in which trimmer line 110 is not discharged during operation. During operation, pushing spool 210 in the opposite direction of the bias moves spool 210 into a position in which trimmer line 110 is released. In an embodiment, mechanical bias 212 pushes spool 210 away from top housing 208 (at the top of the trimmer head housing) towards the bottom of the trimmer head housing. In an embodiment, mechanical bias 212 presses spool 210 into engagement with a portion of trimmer head 108 that prevents spool 210 from rotating with respect to trimmer head 108, and thereby prevents trimmer line 110 from being released. In an embodiment, spool 210 includes a core about which trimmer line 110 may be wrapped. In an embodiment, spool 210 has two flanges at opposite ends of the core, which facilitate keeping trimmer line 110 wrapped around spool 210.
Channel 214 is located within spool 210. In an embodiment, channel 214 is located in an intermediate flange, which may be disc shaped and attached to the middle of the core of spool 210. When loading trimmer line 100 into trimmer head 108, channel 214 receives trimmer line 110 after trimmer line 110 has been threaded through one of eyelets 204. Channel 214 aligns with a channel within the core of spool 210. There are two channels 214 on opposite sides of the core of spool 210 each within the intermediate flange. Each of the two channels 214 aligns with the channel in the core and may be aligned with eyelets 204. The combination of channels 214 and the channel in the core forms a pathway that (when spool 210 is properly aligned with eyelets 204) continues from one of eyelets 204 to the other of eyelets 204. The channel within the core of the spool is not visible in
Bottom housing 216 forms a lower portion of the housing. In other words, trimmer head 108 may include a rigid molded plastic first or "top" portion, top housing 208, and a rigid molded plastic second or "bottom" portion, bottom housing 216. Together, top housing 208 and bottom housing 216 (which are body members of the housing) are referred to herein as the housing of trimmer head 108 or as the trimmer head housing. Top housing 208 and bottom housing 216 may be releasably fastened to one another by a snap, threads, a J-slot, or other releasable connection. In an embodiment, eyelets 204 are securely mounted between the circumferential wall of top housing 208 at diametrically opposed locations. In an embodiment, mechanical bias 212 presses spool 210 into engagement with a rib of bottom housing 216, which prevents spool 210 from rotating at a different rate than trimmer head 108 (and thereby prevents trimmer line 110 from being released).
Turning-knob 218 is a knob that turns to load trimmer line 110 onto spool 210. If turning-knob 218 is pushed inwards during operation, trimmer line 110 is released. Pushing turning-knob 218 inwards, releases spool 210 from being in engagement with the ribs 1912 (
Extension 220 may be a cylindrical extension that is part of top housing 208, which receives driveshaft 202. Central opening 222 is an opening within top housing 208, via which top housing 208 is attached to driveshaft 202. In an embodiment, extension 220 is a downward extension from top housing 208 that accommodates a driveshaft 202. When driveshaft 202 is connected to bottom housing 216, driveshaft 202 extends through and beyond the center of spool 210. In order to secure top housing 208 to the trimmer machine apparatus, fastener 206 (e.g., a bolt or a nut) may be inserted through central opening 222 of the extension 220 of top housing 208 of the housing. Opening 222 is located within driveshaft 202. Fastener 206 is received within, and engaged by, opening 222 to hold fastener 206 securely in place (thereby attaching the downward extended portion of top housing 208 to driveshaft 202, so that trimmer head 108 spins with shaft 106). In addition to receiving driveshaft 202, extension 220 may maintain mechanical bias 212 in stable orientation during operation of trimmer head 108.
Projection 224 is attached to one end of spool 210, such as to a flange at the end of spool 210. Projection 224 engages bottom housing 216 when pushed into engagement by mechanical bias 212. When engaging bottom housing 216, projection 226 prevents spool 210 from rotating with respect to bottom housing 216. In an embodiment, projection 224 engages ribs or depressions on bottom housing 216 in order to engage bottom housing 216.
Flange 226 may be located at one end of the core of spool 210, and flange 228 may be located at another end of spool 210 to facilitate wrapping trimmer line 110 around spool 210. Projection 224 may be located on flange 226. Flanges 226 and 228 may be circular and disc shaped bounding the placement of trimmer line 110. In an embodiment, spool 210 also has an intermediate flange (which includes channel 214) and which divides spool 210 into multiple chambers (that are open to the inside walls of trimmer head 108) or regions for storing trimmer line 110.
Projection 230 may be located on flange 228. In the currents configuration, projection 230 may engage a depression in the bottom of the top housing 208 that prevents spool 210 from rotating if turn-knob 218 is pressed inward against mechanical bias 212 during operation. Consequently, during operation spool 210 may only release trimmer line 110 when spool 210 is not resting on the top or bottom housing 216 or on the bottom of top housing 208, which limits how much trimmer line 110 is released during operation by tapping or bumping the bottom of turn-knob 218.
If spool 210 is flipped over, and if the direction of rotation of motor 102 (and therefore of driveshaft 202) is reversed, then projection 230 serves the same function as projection 224 serves in the current configuration (engaging bottom housing 216), and projection 224 serves the same function as projection 230 serves in the current configuration (engaging top housing 208). Presently available spool trimmer head assemblies (in which the trimmer line may be wound onto a spool without disassembly of trimmer head housing, to reload trimmer line onto the inner spool) are "unidirectional" and can only function properly on a trimmer machine that turns the driveshaft arbor in one specific direction (clock-wise or counter clockwise). In contrast, trimmer line spool 210 may be received in the trimmer head housing with either spool flange 226 or spool flange 228 in operative engagement with the inner surface of bottom housing 216. That is, spool 210 may be selectively placed in a desired orientation in bottom housing 216 depending on the direction of rotation of the driveshaft of the trimmer apparatus with which trimmer head 108 is intended to be used. In an alternative embodiment, projections 224 or 230 may be located on bottom housing 216 and depressions (e.g., between ribs) may be located on spool 210. Opening 232 is a hole placing a stop. The stop is not shown in
Exploded View of Trimmer Head
Peg 306 is attached to spool 210 and cover 304 covers peg 306 to hold peg 306 in place. The combination of peg 306 and cover 304 form stop 332, which hinders or prevent placing spool 210 into trimmer head 108 in the wrong orientation with respect to the direction of rotation of motor 102. Peg 306 may also support cover 304 so that cover 304 is less likely to break (than were cover 304 used alone as stop 332) if for example users attempt to assemble trimmer head 108 with spool 210 in the wrong orientation despite the presence of stop 332.
To elaborate further on the function of stop 332, in an embodiment, stop 332 (
Turning-knob 218 is set resting on bottom housing 216, protruding through an opening in the bottom of bottom housing 216. Mechanical bias 212 is placed within top housing 208, which pushes against spool 210, and then top housing 208 and bottom housing 216 are releasably fastened together.
Fully Assembled Trimmer Head
Bottom Housing
Eyelet supports 502 support and hold eyelets 204 (
Turning-knob 518 is a different embodiment of the turning knob than turning knob 218. Turning-knob 518 is discussed in conjunction with
Counterclockwise Side of Spool
Legends 702 mark which direction motor 102 needs to rotate trimmer head 108 in order for vegetation trimmer 100 to operate properly when spool 210 is inserted with the side with legends 702 facing up. There are many different texts that may be included in legend 702 to indicate how to orient spool 210. For example, legend 702 may refer to a structural feature that tends to accompany a clockwise or counter clockwise rotation. For instance, legend 702 may include the text "this side out for curved shaft", "this side up for curved shaft", "this side down for straight shaft", and/or "this side out for straight shaft" if curved shaft and straight shaft vegetation trimmers tend to spin the spool in opposite directions. Similarly, legend 702 may include a text that states that "this side" should be "up" or "out" ("down" or "in") for "clockwise" ("counterclockwise") "rotation" or "this side" should be "down" or "in" ("up" or "out") for "clockwise" ("counterclockwise") "rotation". The opposite side of spool 210 may state the converse directions.
Opening 704 receives extension 220 and allows extension 220 to pass through spool 210. Circular collar 705 forms opening 704. In an embodiment, other than projections 224 and 230, either spring 212 should be free to rotate with respect to circular collar 705 and/or top housing 208, so that while neither of projections 224 or 230 are engaged and preventing spool 210 from rotating, spool 210 may rotate with respect to the rest of trimmer head 108, and release trimmer line. For example, one may be tempted to place buttresses against collar 705 to structurally strengthen collar 705. However, the buttresses may hinder the rotation of spool 210 with respect to the rest of trimmer head 108 if mechanical bias 212 is anchored to top housing 208. In an embodiment, opening 706 is for inserting a tab from turning-knob 218 and thereby fastening turning-knob 218 to spool 210. In an embodiment opening 706 is for fastening stop 332.
Intermediate flange 708 divides spool 210 into two chambers. Intermediate flange 708 includes channel 214 (
Turning Knob
Grip 406 was discussed in conjunction with
Turning-knob 518 is attached to spool 210 so that if the interlocking between spool 210 and turning-knob 218 is not actively undone (e.g., by pushing tabs 920 out of openings 706 and pulling turning-knob 218 away form spool 210) one would expect turning-knob 218 to remain attached to spool 210. Turning-knob 218 is attached to spool 210 with a strong enough connection to hinder placing spool 210 into trimmer head 108 in an orientation that is inappropriate for the direction of rotation of the motor.
Extension 906 is similar to extension 506, which was described in conjunction with
Spool Cover
Channel Geometry
Channel 1120 is an embodiment of a curved channel, which may be an embodiment of channel 1104. Channel 1120 will work for trimmer line having a diameter of at least 1″ or less. Bends 1122 and 1126 are located near or at the apertures in the core of the spool and open into the apertures. In an embodiment bends 1122 and 1126 have a radius of curvature of 0.16″ at the center of channel 1120. In other words, in this embodiment, if a line is drawn down the center of channel 1120, the line will have a radius of curvature of 0.16″ at bends 1122 and 1126. In other embodiments, bends 1122 and 1126 may be the junction of two straight sections that are angled with respect to one another without a smooth bend or may have a bend with a somewhat larger or small radius of curvature. Bend 1124 is located close to the driveshaft hole. In an embodiment, the edge of bend 1124 facing the driveshaft hole is flush with the edge of the driveshaft hole.
Center axis 1128 is an imaginary line connecting the center of the aperture at one side of the core with center of an aperture on the opposite side of the core. Optional straight portion 1130 connects one aperture to bend 1122. Optional straight portion 1132 connects bend 1122 to bend 1124. In an embodiment, bend 1124 has a radius of curvature of 0.45″ at the center of channel 1120. Optional straight portion 1134 connects bend 1124 to bend 1126. Optional straight portion 1136 connects one aperture to bend 1126. Optional wall section 1137 is a section of the wall of channel 1120, which, in an embodiment, is straight and is present even if optional straight portion 1136 is not present. Channel 1120 may have a wall section associated with bend 1122 that is similar to (is a mirror image of) wall section 1137. Driveshaft hole 1138 is a hole through which the driveshaft extends. Driveshaft radius rdrive is the radius of driveshaft hole 1138, which is a little larger that the radius of the drive shaft. In an embodiment, driveshaft radius rdrive is 0.38″ or 0.338″. Core diameter dcore is the diameter of the core of the spool, which in an embodiment is 3″. Width w is the width of the channel. In an embodiment, width w is 0.26″. In an embodiment, the thickness of the walls of the channel are 0.08″. Distance d is the distance from the edge driveshaft hole to the outer edge of channel 1120 that faces the driveshaft hole 1138. In an embodiment, d is 0.0″.
Inner radius of curvature r1 is the radius of curvature of portion of channel 1120 that faces towards driveshaft hole 1138, and outer radius r2 is the radius of curvature of the outer surface of channel 1120 that faces away from driveshaft hole 1138, which are measures of the curvature of surfaces facing towards and away from driveshaft hole 1138. Inner radius r1 is radius of imaginary circle 1140, and outer radius r2 is the radius of imaginary circle 1142, which are both concentric with one another and drive shaft hole 1138. In an embodiment, inner radius r1 is set to r1=rdrive+d, and outer radius is set to r2=rdrive+d+w.
The configuration of channel 1120 is constrained by core diameter dcore, drive radius rdrive, channel width w, and smallest practical size for distance d. In an embodiment, the ratio of dcore to 2rdrive is between 3.2 and 3.5, or about 3.48. In an embodiment, dcore is 3″, the smallest practical size for d is 0.0″, rdrive is 0.38″, and w is at least 0.26″, depending on the wall thickness and the largest diameter trimmer line for which trimmer head 108 is designed. In an embodiment 0.26″ is the width between the two inner surfaces of the walls of channel 1120. The width between the two inner surfaces of the walls of channel 1120 need to be wider than the diameter of the largest trimmer line that trimmer head 108 accommodates. For example, for 0.1″ diameter trimmer line the width between the two inner surfaces of the walls of channel 1120 may be 0.12″ to 0.26″. In an alternative embodiment, the width between the outer surfaces of channel 1120, width w is 0.26″ or wider and the widest trimmer line used is 0.08″. If a 0.1″ diameter trimmer line is used, either the wall thickness is made slightly less than 0.08″ (e.g., 0.75″ or 0.78″) thick or the width w is at least slightly more than 0.26″ wide (e.g., 0.261″, 0.265″, 0.27″, or 0.28″ wide). In an embodiment, width w is 0.34″. Width w is wide enough so that the largest sized trimmer line can slide through channel 1120 without getting caught on the walls of channel 1120 as a result of the channel being too narrow.
Using the geometry illustrated in
It may be desirable to keep the length of channel 1120 relatively short so that there is less friction hampering threading trimmer line through channel 1120. It may be desirable to keep the maximum angle that the channel makes with a line parallel to central axis 1128 relatively small, so that channel 1120 is relatively close to being as straight as can be expected given the constraints of core diameter dcore, drive radius rdrive, channel width w, and the smallest practical size for distance d. It also may be desirable to keep the walls of the channel 1120 smooth, without corners. In view of this last consideration, one might have expected that it would be beneficial to have rounded corners with relatively large radii of curvatures for bends 1122 and 1126. However, the inventor has found empirically that large radii of curvature for bends 1122 and 1126 is not beneficial and do not always work well. It has been found that one class of channel geometries that work, keep angle a small. It has also been found empirically that keeping straight portions 1130 and 1136 short or non-existent can be beneficial. By keeping straight portions 1130 and 1136 short or nonexistent angle a may be kept smaller. In an embodiment angle a is 26 degrees.
In an embodiment, angle a may be as large as at least 30 degrees. Straight portions 1132 and 1134 may be extended from bends 1122 and 1126 so that the outer surfaces of the walls of channel 1120 are tangential or close to tangential to imaginary circles 1140 and 1142, respectively, which allows angle a to be as small as possible for a given location of bends 1122 and 1126. For example, straight portions 1132 and 1134 may be extended from bends 1122 and 1126 so that the outer wall of channel 1120 are tangential or close to tangential to imaginary circles 1140 and 1142, so as to keep the width of channel 1120 a constant value, which is width w. As another example, straight portions 1132 and 1134 may be extended from bends 1122 and 1126 until a center of straight portions 1132 and 1134 are tangential with an imaginary circle concentric with driveshaft hole 1138 that has a radius of r=(r1+r2)/2 or r=rdrive+d+w/2. Let the length of straight portions 1130 and 1136 be represented by s. Wall section 1137 has a length of (w)sin(a). Let the length L=dcore−(w)sin(a)−2s. The length of straight portions 1132 and 1134 is (((L)/2)2−r2)1/2, angle a is sin−1(2r/(L)), the length of bend 1124 is 2ar, and the length of the entire channel is 2[((L)/2)2−r2)1/2+ar]+(w)sin(a)+2s. For a fixed driveshaft hole diameter, distance d, channel width w, and length s, the value of angle a that will make channel 1120 tangential to circle 1140 at the point where straight portions 1132 and 1134 meet circle 1140 may be calculated iteratively. As a first approximation, angle a may be taken to be sin−1(2r/L), which may be approximated sin−1(2r/dcore) or more accurately
a˜sin−1[(2r/dcore)/(1−2rw/dcore 2)].
In other embodiments, other geometries may be used. For example, straight portions 1132 and 1134 may extend beyond, or may not reach, the point at which straight portions 1132 and 1134 are tangential to imaginary circle 1140. In order to wind trimmer line that is thicker than 1″ around a spool, the spool and therefore dcore needs to be larger than 3″, but the radius of the driveshaft hole 1138 may be kept the same and the thickness of the channel walls may be kept the same. Consequently, extending the length of straight portions 1132 and 1134 and keeping curved portion 1124 as close as possible to (e.g., flush with the edge of) driveshaft hole 1138, channel 1120 will still work.
Channel 1150 is another embodiment that illustrates other geometries of the channel. Channel 1150 will work for at least a trimmer line of a diameter of at least 0.085″ or less. In channel 1150, bends 1152 and 1154 have a considerable amount of curvature and have a rounded curvature. Sections 1156 and 1158 may also have a considerable amount of curvature, and may not have any straight portion. Curved portion 1160 may have any of a number of different shapes of curvature, such as circular, elliptical, hyperbolic or any of another of different types of curves. In an embodiment, curved portion 1160 may be at least 0.38 inches or less. In an embodiment, the radius of curvature for curved portion 1160 or 1120 may be any of a number of values depending on values of other parameters.
For example, instead of directly controlling the angle a (
Flipping the Spool
Clockwise Side of Spool with Stop
Spool 210, projections 224, flange 226, flange 228, projections 230, and stop 332 were discussed in
Stop 332 was discussed in conjunction with
Clockwise Side of Spool without Spool Cover
Spool 210, projections 224 and 230 were discussed in
Clockwise Side of Spool with Spool Cover
Spool 210 and projections 224 and 230 were discussed in
Top Housing
Opening 1702 is an opening at the center of the top of top housing 208 through which driveshaft 202 is inserted (
Openings 1708 receive and engage tabs 404 that extend from bottom housing 216 releasably securing top housing 208 to bottom housing 216. Tabs 404 (
Eyelets 204 and extension 220 were discussed in conjunction with
Eyelets 204 and extension 220 were discussed in conjunction with
As depicted in
That is, spool 210 is divided into two chambers or compartments by the provision of an intermediate flange 708 located between flanges 228 and 226. Intermediate flange 708 may be coplanar with noncircular collar 812 (
Further Discussion
The following discussion further elaborates on how the various components of vegetation trimmer 100 interact and function repeating some information already discussed above for clarity. In an embodiment, illustrated in
Accordingly, the sloped surfaces (e.g., cam surfaces) of projections 224 and 230 on flanges 226 and 228, respectively, are inclined in such a way that spool 210 is capable of practical rotation in one direction (e.g., counterclockwise) when flange 228 faces upwardly and rotates in the opposite direction (e.g., clockwise) when second flange 226 faces upwardly (
With this capability, spool 210 of trimmer head 108 may be used, regardless of whether the trimmer's driveshaft rotates clockwise or counterclockwise.
Referring to
Referring to
It should be noted that spool cover 302 (
Spool cover 302 has insert posts 1102 that are to be joined with receiver openings opening 1510 within the spool socket that has an open face, U shaped "non-linear" portion of a trimmer line guide channel exposed. Spool cover 302 may be a friction fit assembly and in an embodiment, once connected, spool cover 302 can not easily be removed. Additionally, when the trimmer head 108 is fully assembled spool cover 302 is held in place by either being biased by mechanical bias 212 (e.g., a spring) and/or by being biased by turning-knob 218 or 518 (turning-knob 218 or 518 is also biased by mechanical bias 212).
Eyelets 204, (
Assembly of trimmer head 108 is as follows. A user first inserts grip 406 (
When inserting spool 210, the user may either orient spool 210 so that flange 228 is upward or flange 226 is upward depending on whether vegetation trimmer 100 has a driveshaft arbor that turns clockwise or counterclockwise. In an embodiment, the direction of winding is dictated by the direction of rotation of driveshaft 202. If the driveshaft 202 rotates counterclockwise, then the direction for winding trimmer line 110 onto spool 210 is clockwise, and if the driveshaft 202 rotates clockwise, then the direction for winding trimmer line 110 onto spool 210 is counterclockwise. Legends 702 (
Mechanical bias 212 is then placed into the open upwardly facing one of sockets 712, and top housing 208 may be brought into closing engagement with bottom housing 216.
In an embodiment, each of the sockets 712 may provide for placement of a small removable (e.g. friction fit) semi-permanent insert, stop 332 (
Referring to
As seen in
Trimmer line 110 (
Trimmer head 108 is a bump indexing variety of trimmer head. That is, trimmer head 108 permits user-controlled discharge of trimmer line 110 utilizing the centrifugal force generated by the rapid rotation of trimmer head 108. More particularly, when the bottom of turning-knob 218 or 518 is tapped against a hard surface, the biasing force of mechanical bias 212 is momentarily overcome. Consequently, the substantially vertical stop faces of projections 224 and 230 are momentarily displaced from contact with the corresponding substantially vertical stop faces of depressions 508. During this brief instant, centrifugal force causes trimmer line 110 to be discharged through eyelets 204. Thereafter, mechanical bias 212 re-seats the spool into engaging contact between the stop faces of projections 224 or 230 and their counterparts in depressions 508. It is also possible to unload trimmer line 110 from trimmer head 108 in a fully manual mode. As such, when the user desires to extract trimmer line 110 from the head, he or she brings trimmer head 108 to a complete stop, pushes the bottom of knob 402 inwardly against the biasing force of 212, while turning turning-knob 218 or 518 and pulling on the trimmer line 110 to extract the desired length of line from spool 210. When sufficient trimmer line has been discharged, the user releases the knob and resumes trimming.
Method of Assembly
In step 2003, attach turning-knob 218 or 518 to a side of the spool determined by the direction of rotation that the motor rotates the driveshaft.
In step 2004, a user inserts grip 406 (
In step 2006, mechanical bias 212 is then placed into the open upwardly facing socket 712, and in step 2008 top housing 208 may be brought into closing engagement with bottom housing 216 (
Method of Loading Trimmer Line
In step 2104, trimmer line 110 (
In step 2112, turning-knob 218 or 518 (
Method of Releasing Trimmer Line
Alternative Embodiments
In an alternative embodiment, spool 210 is attached directly to shaft 106, and the mechanical bias 212 pushes the housing away from shaft 106. In an alternative embodiment, top housing 208 has shorter side walls and instead, housing bottom 216 has taller side walls. Any place where there are two or more embodiments of the same component, such as turning-knob 218 and turning-knob 518, where one of the embodiments or a component of one of the embodiments is mentioned (e.g., turning-knob 218 or 518) any of the other embodiments or the corresponding components of those embodiments (if there is a corresponding component) may be substituted (e.g., turning-knob 518) to arrive at another embodiment. Although in the above embodiments, channel 1506 is parallel with flanges 226, 228, and 708, in other embodiments, channel may be angled with respect to flanges 226, 228, and 708. In this embodiment, each of eyelets 204 would be at a different level and channels 214 would be unnecessary.
Each embodiment disclosed herein may be used or otherwise combined with any of the other embodiments disclosed. Any element of any embodiment may be used in any embodiment.
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, modifications may be made without departing from the essential teachings of the invention.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Nov 9, 1916
|Jan 15, 1918
|Alexander Nesbitt
|Automatic reel and let-off for electric-lighting devices.
|Jul 18, 1945
|Oct 28, 1947
|George W Eypper
|Cord adjusting and storage reel
|May 7, 1976
|Dec 13, 1977
|Woodrow Wilson Luick
|Vegetation cutting apparatus
|Dec 2, 1976
|Aug 8, 1978
|Weed Eater, Inc.
|Rotary cutting assembly
|Mar 10, 1978
|Aug 7, 1979
|Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
|Device for preventing the drawing-out of a seat belt webbing at the lock of a retractor
|Jan 25, 1979
|Jun 23, 1981
|Berkley And Company, Inc.
|Rotary cutting assembly with filament feed
|Jul 13, 1979
|Jan 19, 1982
|Evenson Dale D
|Vegetation cutting apparatus
|May 10, 1982
|Oct 25, 1983
|Mcculloch Corporation
|Spoolless string trimmer head
|Jul 21, 1982
|Jan 1, 1985
|Allegretti & Co.
|Cutting head for string trimmer
|May 23, 1986
|Jun 16, 1987
|Shingu Shoko, Ltd.
|Apparatus for cutting grass
|Oct 9, 1985
|Oct 27, 1987
|Pittinger Sr Charles B
|Apparatus for cutting vegetation with incremental feeding of cutting filament
|Nov 21, 1988
|Jan 16, 1990
|Andreas Stihl
|Cutterhead for a vegetation cutter
|Apr 2, 1992
|Mar 16, 1993
|Starting Industry Company Limited
|Rotary cutter
|Dec 29, 1992
|Mar 15, 1994
|Diatop Corporation
|Cutting head for a cord type mower
|Mar 4, 1994
|Jun 18, 1996
|Diatop Corporation
|Cutting head for a cord type mower
|May 16, 1995
|Dec 31, 1996
|Delta Electronics, Inc.
|Flexibly adaptable and removable cable winding and collecting apparatus
|Aug 23, 1996
|Jun 2, 1998
|Iacona; Fernando R.
|Head for string trimmer
|Dec 6, 1996
|Jun 16, 1998
|Active S.R.L.
|Cutting head for nylon-cord type mowers
|Nov 24, 1997
|Mar 30, 1999
|Iacona; Fernando R.
|Head for string trimmer
|Jan 14, 1998
|Apr 27, 1999
|Iacona; Fernando R.
|Head for string trimmer
|Feb 14, 1997
|Nov 21, 2000
|Ryobi North America, Inc.
|Line feed mechanism for a line trimmer
|Aug 4, 1999
|Jul 24, 2001
|Andreas Stihl Ag & Co.
|Cutterhead for a portable handheld brushcutter
|Dec 20, 2000
|Feb 19, 2002
|Murray, Inc.
|String trimmer head
|Feb 14, 2000
|Jul 16, 2002
|Starting Industrial Co. Perfecture Ltd.
|Rotary cutter of mower
|Nov 21, 2001
|Feb 18, 2003
|Proulx Manufacturing, Inc.
|Fixed line head for flexible line rotary trimmers
|Aug 16, 2002
|Jun 24, 2003
|George E. Allis
|Vegetation trimmer apparatus
|Aug 29, 2003
|Feb 15, 2005
|Specialty Coated Products, Inc.
|Vegetation trimmer apparatus
|Dec 15, 2003
|Aug 16, 2005
|Proulx Manufacturing, Inc.
|Fixed line head for flexible line rotary trimmers
|Jun 5, 2003
|Sep 20, 2005
|Robert Phillips
|Fixed-line trimmer head
|Jan 10, 2003
|Oct 11, 2005
|Shindaiwa, Inc.
|Vegetation cutting device
|Dec 12, 2003
|Jan 10, 2006
|Rovert L. Phillips
|String trimmer head
|Apr 30, 2002
|Sep 26, 2006
|Moore Mark R
|Head for line trimming apparatus
|May 22, 2002
|Dec 19, 2002
|Arnetoli Motor Di Arnetoli Fabrizio
|Grass-cutting head with reloading of the line without removal of the spool
|Nov 20, 2002
|May 20, 2004
|Young-Kyu Park
|Apparatus for winding cord
|Dec 30, 2003
|Aug 5, 2004
|Grace Albert S.
|Weed and grass trimmer
|Mar 22, 2005
|Oct 20, 2005
|Kwik Products, Inc.
|Cutting head for string trimmer
|May 11, 2005
|Nov 17, 2005
|Alliss George E
|Vegetation trimmer apparatus
|Jul 29, 2005
|Feb 9, 2006
|Alliss George E
|Vegetation trimmer apparatus
|Oct 13, 2005
|Apr 19, 2007
|Bennett James A
|Mechanism for attaching trimmer line strips to a head of a trimming apparatus
|Dec 4, 2006
|Jun 14, 2007
|Kwik Products, Inc.
|Quick loading cutting head for a rotary trimmer
|Jul 24, 2007
|Mar 6, 2008
|Tecomec S.P.A.
|Motor strimmer head affording wire loading without deassembly of the head
|Jun 8, 2007
|Apr 10, 2008
|Alliss George E
|Line holding system for fixed line trimmer head
|Aug 16, 2002
|Feb 27, 2003
|Alliss George E
|Vegetation trimmer apparatus
|Aug 23, 2004
|Mar 17, 2005
|Specialty Coating Products, Inc.
|Vegetation trimmer apparatus
|May 11, 2005
|Nov 24, 2005
|Alliss George E
|Vegetation trimmer apparatus
|May 1, 2008
|Nov 13, 2008
|Torvian, Inc.
|Top unloading fixed line trimmer head
|Jun 8, 2008
|Dec 18, 2008
|Torvian, Inc.
|A line holding system for fixed line trimmer head
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Jun 18, 2013
|Techtronic Outdoor Products Technology Limited
|String head for a trimmer
|Nov 11, 2011
|Apr 8, 2014
|Tecomec S.R.L.
|Rotating head for hedge trimmers
|Mar 13, 2013
|Sep 29, 2015
|Starting Industrial Co., Ltd.
|Rotary cutter for brush cutter
|Sep 20, 2011
|Feb 9, 2016
|George E. Alliss
|Trimmer head with automatic trimmer line feed mechanism
|Jul 22, 2010
|Reynolds Marion W
|String head for a trimmer
|Sep 8, 2009
|Mar 10, 2011
|Tsan-Ching Wang
|Degradable string for string trimmer
|Sep 20, 2011
|Mar 22, 2012
|Alliss George E
|Trimmer Head with Automatic Trimmer Line Feed Mechanism
|Mar 13, 2013
|Oct 31, 2013
|Hiroki Kato
|Rotary cutter for brush cutter
|Nov 20, 2014
|May 28, 2015
|Alliss George E
|Straight through line feed vegetation trimmer apparatus
|U.S. Classification
|242/388.1, 30/276
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Nov 16, 2007
Owner name: TORVIAN, INC., DELAWARE
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ALLISS, GEORGE E.;REEL/FRAME:020177/0205
Effective date: 20071116
|Oct 14, 2008
Owner name: TORVIAN, INC., DELAWARE
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:HAMBLIN, STEVEN W.;REEL/FRAME:021704/0200
Effective date: 20071116
|Mar 19, 2015
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4


text:
STARmeterSEE RANK
Down 145,947 this week
Wanda Richert
Wanda Richert was born on April 18, 1958 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is an actress, known for The 35th Annual Tony Awards (1981), All-Star Comedy Birthday Party from West Point (1981) and Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (2016). See full bio »
Born:in Chicago, Illinois, USA