DE20109683U1 - Anti-snail device - Google Patents

Description

Snail repellent device

The invention relates to a snail repellent device with a set of profiles which can be positioned along a desired path on the ground and can be assembled at their ends to form a continuous barrier, wherein the barrier has a gutter running on at least one side of the wall and a roof section arranged at a distance above the gutter and covering the gutter.

Such a device is known from DE 30 23 309 A1. The profiles are used here to demarcate a specific area that is to be protected from snails, for example a garden or flowerbed, from the surrounding area. To prevent snails from crawling over this barrier, a repellent, for example a snail-harming material or poison such as slug pellets, or a snail-repelling agent is laid out in the gutter. If the snails try to crawl over the barrier, they inevitably have to cross the gutter and come into contact with the repellent. In this way, they are kept safely away from the area to be protected. Placing the repellent in a gutter also ensures that the repellent cannot penetrate the ground. The roof section arranged at a distance above the gutter prevents rainwater from penetrating. The repellent agents can thus be laid out without being significantly affected by the weather. In addition, the roof section makes it even more difficult to crawl over the barrier. In order to shield larger garden areas, this document suggests plugging the individual profile sections or profiles together at the head ends using suitable plug-in connecting elements, e.g. plug-in pins or similar, or gluing the profiles together.

A disadvantage is that such profiles or profile sections are usually only manufactured and sold in standard lengths. When building a border for a garden area, the user is therefore bound to the grid dimensions specified by the standard lengths. In order to achieve the best possible

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In order to ensure that the barrier fits well with the perimeter of the area to be protected, the manufacturer must offer profiles in a wide range of standard lengths. This requires extensive storage in the sales outlets, for example in hardware stores or garden centers.

Furthermore, an exact adjustment to the area boundaries is only possible in the rarest of cases, since the user must at least adhere to the grid dimension of the smallest available standard length. A more precise adjustment is therefore only possible if the user is able to cut the profiles he has purchased to his requirements. However, this involves additional effort for the user. On the other hand, such an adjustment of the profiles presupposes that the user is actually able to cut the profiles, for example by sawing them. If the profiles are made of plastic, this is still possible without any problems in most cases. With profiles made of sheet metal, on the other hand, most users have difficulty cutting them to length due to a lack of suitable tools. Cutting to length also has the disadvantage that the profiles are then cut exactly to fit the area to be protected and if the area changes, at least some new profiles have to be bought, which then have to be cut to length again for the area.

In addition, a joint between two adjacent profiles has the disadvantage that gaps can form between the individual profiles if, for example, the profiles are displaced in relation to one another due to earth movements, roots or similar. Such gaps between the profiles form a safety gap in the barrier.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative to this prior art.

This object is achieved by a snail repellent device according to claim 1. The dependent claims contain in particular

Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the snail repellent device according to the invention.

By using two types of profile, each designed to fit into or over each other in the end areas to form a positive fit, thus creating an overlapping connection, gaps can be prevented from forming between the individual profiles of the barrier at the connection points.

Preferably, the profiles of the respective types are designed in such a way that they can be telescoped together or into each other in the overlapping areas. This telescopic sliding together or into each other allows almost any length adjustment. This means that by adjusting the overlapping area between two adjacent profiles, the total length of the barrier made up of the profiles can be adjusted to within a millimeter over a wide range without the profiles having to be cut to length. The user is therefore not bound to a fixed grid dimension, which is specified by the standard lengths of the individual profiles. The dealers, on the other hand, only need to keep the individual profile types in one standard length or, if necessary, two or three different standard lengths for small, medium and large beds. The dealers can thus make better use of the existing storage capacity and, for example, store different colored profiles (e.g. green and brown profiles) instead of profiles of many different lengths, so that the user can match the color of the barrier to the surroundings as desired.

In a preferred embodiment, the roof section is angled downwards at its free end to form a drip edge. This drip edge prevents rainwater from running along the underside of the roof section into the gutter. It also provides an additional obstacle for snails that have overcome the gutter. Thirdly, such a drip edge provides additional support in the roof area for the telescopic guidance of two overlapping profiles of different types.

In a particularly preferred version, at least the profiles of one type are designed in multiple parts, for example in two parts. In a preferred embodiment of this version, the profiles of the first type are designed as one-piece base profiles with a wall, a gutter and a roof section. This first type can, for example, be manufactured in one piece, e.g. in one piece as an extruded plastic profile. However, it can also be several parts that are firmly connected to one another, for example riveted or welded. If the profile has a drip edge, this is also already formed on the roof section.

In this embodiment, the profiles of the other type are designed as connecting profiles for connecting two such base profiles in several parts. A first profile part of this connecting profile is designed in such a way that, when assembled, it bridges the roof sections and/or the walls of two base profiles to be connected. A second profile part of this connecting profile is designed in such a way that, when assembled, it bridges the gutter of two base profiles to be connected. This embodiment has the advantage that the profiles do not have to be pushed into one another to be connected and then mounted on the ground as an elongated barrier, for example plugged into the ground, which can be quite cumbersome with longer barriers. Instead, the base profiles are first simply positioned on the ground at a desired distance from one another. The connecting profiles are then inserted or placed on top from above. This assembly is also easy for a single person to carry out.

In a particularly simple and cost-effective connecting profile, the first profile part of the connecting profile has a substantially L-shaped cross-section, with one L-leg forming the wall or a wall section and the other L-leg forming the roof section. If necessary, the free end of the roof section can be bent to form a drip edge, forming a U-like profile part, for example a U-profile with U-legs of different lengths. The internal dimensions of the first profile part of the connecting profile, i.e. the internal dimensions of the

Wall or the wall section and the roof section - if necessary with the drip edge - adapted to the external dimensions of the wall and the roof section of the base profile.

Likewise, the second profile part of the connecting profile can have a substantially L-shaped or a U-shaped cross-section in order to form a gutter. With a U-shaped cross-section, the U-web forms the base of the gutter and the U-legs form the side walls. With an L-shaped cross-section, one L-leg forms the base of the gutter and the other L-leg forms a side wall of the gutter. The second side wall is not absolutely necessary since the gutter rests on one side against the wall of the first profile part of the connecting profile when assembled. The external dimensions of the second profile part forming the gutter are adapted to the internal dimensions of the gutter of the base profiles.

The base profiles are preferably straight, elongated profiles. The profiles of the other type, for example the previously described connecting profiles, can be designed as pure extension profiles for the straight connection of two base profiles. The profiles of the other type for connecting two elongated profiles, e.g. two base profiles at a corner, can also be designed as corner profiles that are angled or bent at least at one point transversely to a profile longitudinal direction.

In order to easily insert the profiles into the ground for positioning, they preferably have a narrow, relatively sharp, knife-shaped lower edge.

The profiles can be made from any material. Preferably, a weather-resistant material is used, such as plastic, or a rust-proof or suitably coated metal. A particularly simple production is possible from sheet metal.

When using the device to protect a specific area from snails, the entire area can be protected by means of a fully encircling

Barrier, with the gutter and the roof section being arranged on an outside of the wall in relation to the fenced-in area. It makes sense to remove any snails that are already present from the area to be protected. In order to achieve the greatest possible safety, the soil in the area to be protected can also be replaced to a certain depth (approx. 10 to 15 cm) in order to remove all snail eggs that have been laid. When fencing in the area using the snail repellent device according to the invention, it must be ensured that no plants protrude over the barrier that could serve as bridges for the snails to cross the barrier.

In a particularly preferred method, barriers consisting of individual profiles and/or multiple profiles are first positioned within the area to be protected in any arrangement to collect snails from the area. This can be done, for example, before sowing in early summer. After the snails in the area in question have been collected, the individual profiles of the barriers are then used to build the barrier that completely surrounds the area.

In particular, when positioning barriers within the area for collecting snails, the barriers are positioned on the ground in such a way that the gutter is at ground level, i.e. at a very short distance above the ground or directly on the ground or even slightly sunk into the ground, in order to collect even small snails.

If the user has a sufficient number of profiles, it is also a good idea to leave some barriers in place for a while within the protected area that has already been fenced in with other profiles in order to catch any snails that may still be within the area and, if necessary, only remove the remaining barriers within the area after a certain time has passed since the area was fenced in.

The snail repellent to be filled into the gutter can be any suitable material. In particular, ecological agents can be used, such as sawdust sprinkled with a scented oil, e.g. camomile, lavender, thyme or sage oil. The protective effect of the barrier is further increased if the barrier on the outside - for example the wall below the gutter, the gutter on the outside, the wall between the gutter and the roof and the underside of the roof - is coated with a slippery material, e.g. soft soap.

The device according to the invention is very easy to install even for laymen and offers - provided it is ensured that there are no more snails within the fenced area - reliable protection against snails even over a longer period of time, without the need for daily inspections or daily emptying of traps or the like.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. They show:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a straight barrier composed of several profiles,

Figure 2 is a plan view of a perimeter barrier enclosing a rectangular area,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a base profile,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a first profile part of a straight extension profile,

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second profile part of a straight extension profile,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a first profile part of a corner profile,
Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the second profile of a corner profile,

Figure 8 is a perspective view of two base profiles according to Figure 3, which are assembled at an angle by means of a corner profile according to Figures 6 and 7,

Figure 9 is a plan view of a semi-finished product for producing the first profile part of a corner profile according to Figure 6,

Figure 10 is a plan view of a semi-finished product for producing the second profile part of a corner profile according to Figure 7.

The snail repellent device shown in the figures essentially has three different profile types.

The first profile type is a so-called base profile 10, as shown in Figure 3. This is a straight, elongated profile 10, which is essentially F-shaped in cross-section. It has a wall 2 which is vertical when assembled and a gutter 3 arranged on the front of the wall 2. At a distance above the gutter 3 there is a roof section 4 which projects beyond the gutter 3 from the wall 2. The roof section 4 is bent over at the front free edge to form a drip edge 5.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the base profile 10 is made of sheet metal. For this purpose, two profile parts 11, 12 with a U-shaped cross section were first produced, each of which has a long and a short U-leg. One U-profile part 11 is smaller than the other U-profile part 12. The larger U-profile part 12 forms the wall 2 and the roof section 4 with the drip edge 5, with the shorter U-leg 5 forming the drip edge, the U-web 4 forming the roof section and the longer U-leg forming the wall 2. The free lower edge 6 of the U-leg forming the rear wall 2 forms a relatively sharp insertion edge for inserting the base profile 10 into the floor. The smaller U-profile part 11 essentially forms the channel 3, whereby the U-web forms the base of the channel 3 and the shorter U-leg forms the front wall of the channel 3. The longer U-leg of the U-profile part 11 lies on the wall 2 of the

Base profile 10 is formed by the longer U-leg of the larger U-profile part 12, in such a way that the free upper edge of the long U-leg of the smaller U-profile part 11 lies directly in the corner edge between the U-web and the longer U-leg of the larger U-profile part 12. The two U-legs are firmly connected to one another via welding points 13, rivets or similar. Such a base profile 10 can be produced in an extremely simple and cost-effective manner.

For the straight connection of two such base profiles 10, the snail repellent device has a straight, elongated extension profile 20. In the present embodiment, such an extension profile 20 consists of two individual profile parts 21, 22 that are not connected to one another. These profile parts 21, 22 are shown in Figures 4 and 5.

The first profile part 21 of the extension profile 20 according to Figure 4 has essentially the same shape as the larger profile part 12 of the base profile 10 and in turn forms the wall 2 with the roof section 4 and the drip edge 5. However, it is designed in such a way that the inner dimension b' transverse to the longitudinal direction along the roof section 4 between the drip edge 5 and the wall 2 is adapted to the outer width b of the roof section 4 of the base profile 10. Preferably, the height c' of the wall 2 measured on the inside, i.e. under the roof section 4, from the roof section 4 to the lower edge 6 of the first profile part 21 also corresponds to the height c of the wall 2 of the base profile 10 measured on the outside. However, larger tolerances are possible with regard to this dimension.

The first profile part 21 of the extension profile 20 is therefore dimensioned or shaped in such a way that it can be easily placed on the base profile 10 from above. The drip edges 5 are preferably bent slightly inwards at the front so that the first profile part 21 of the extension profile 20 can be snapped onto the base profile 10 in the manner of a snap-in connection and is held in a telescopically displaceable manner along the base profile 10 in the area of the roof section 4.

The second profile part 22 of the straight extension profile 20 consists of a simple U-profile forming a channel 3. The total width d' from one outside of the channel 3 to the other outside is adapted to the inner width d of the channel 3 of the base profile 10, so that the U-profile part 22 of the extension profile 20 can be inserted precisely into the channel 3 of the base profile 10 and can also be pushed back and forth in a telescopic manner. The heights of the side walls of the channels are also adapted to one another.

A connection of two base profiles 10 by means of such an extension profile 20 takes place as shown in Figure 1. For this purpose, two base profiles 10 are inserted into the ground flush with each other with a certain distance between the head ends. The distance between the head ends of the two base profiles 10 must be shorter than the length a' of the extension profile 20. Then the first profile part 21 of the extension profile 20 is clamped at the end over the end areas of the roof sections 4 of the two base profiles 10 and the profile part 21 is also inserted into the ground with the lower edge 6. The gutter 22 is then inserted at the end into the end areas of the two gutters 3 of the two base profiles 10. The overlapping areas 23, in which the roof sections 4 or walls 2 and the gutters 3 overlap, can be chosen to be of any length, so that the total length of the barrier 1 consisting of two base profiles 10 and an extension profile 20 can be varied within a wide range.

A connection of two base profiles 10 at a corner is shown in Figures 6 to 8. This is an outside corner.

The corner profile 30 required for this is made up of two parts, just like the extension profile 20. It consists of a first profile part 31 which is U-shaped in cross section and which encompasses the roof section 4. This profile part 31 is shown in Figure 6. This is also a profile part 31 made of a simple, rust-proof or coated sheet metal.

To produce such a profile part 31, a semi-finished product according to Figure 9 is first cut out or punched out, which has a substantially

rectangular base surface 34 with sections 35, 36 formed on the inner and outer edges of the angle legs. These sections 35, 36 are each bent to form an approximately U-shaped cross-section. The sections 36 along the outer edge form the drip edge 5 in the corner area, and the sections 35 form short wall sections on the inside of the corner. In principle, these sections 35 can also be formed longer. However, a short edge, as shown in Figure 6, is sufficient to clamp the profile part 31 over the roof sections 4 of two base profiles standing in a corner to each other, as shown in Figure 8. The wall sections 35 of the roof profile part 31 can also be extended, for example, by adding a simple angle profile (not shown) which extends from the upper corner to the floor, so that a full-surface overlap of the corner profile part 30 with the base profiles 10 in the wall area is ensured at this seam too and no gap can form at the corner between the adjacent base profiles 10.

Figure 7 shows a second profile part 32 of the corner profile 30, which is L-shaped in cross section and serves to bridge the gutter 3 over a corner. A corresponding semi-finished product for producing such a gutter corner profile part 32 is shown in Figure 10. This is a sheet metal section with a rectangular base area when viewed from above, which has further sections 38 on the outer edges of the angle legs, which are bent up to form the gutter 3. During assembly, this gutter corner profile part 32 is simply inserted into the gutters 3 of the adjacent base profiles 10, as shown in Figure 8.

It is clear that the external dimension d' of the gutter corner profile part 32 must be selected according to the internal dimension d of the gutters 3 and likewise the internal dimension b' of the roof section profile part 31 must be selected according to the external dimensions b of the roof sections 4 of the base profiles 10.

In order to securely connect the extension profiles 20 or the corner profiles 30 to the base profiles 10, double-sided adhesive tape can be used if required.

in the overlapping areas 32 and 33 to assist in fixation.

Figure 2 shows a rectangular area G to be protected from snails, which has been completely enclosed using the inventive profiles 10, 20, 30 according to Figures 3 to 7. To enclose the area, two base profiles 10 and a straight extension profile 20 connecting these two base profiles 10 were used on each long side. The short sides each consist of a single extension profile 10. The connection at corners is made using the corner profiles 30 according to Figures 6 and 7.

The overlapping areas 23, 33 are each marked by the dashed lines. It can be clearly seen here that the length of the long side of the surrounding barrier 1 can be varied as desired within a wide range by simply changing the overlapping area 23 between the base profiles 10 and the extension profiles 20.

The figures only show a straight extension profile, a straight base profile and a corner profile as an external corner. However, it is also possible within the scope of the invention to produce other profiles, for example profiles bent in a radius, both as base profiles and as extension profiles, in order to precisely define flowerbeds with rounded edges, for example. An exemplary embodiment of this (not shown) is an internal corner, which is constructed similarly to a base profile 10 and which can be connected to other base profiles 10 at the end areas, for example by means of extension profiles 20.

The various profiles can be assembled to form a precisely fitting fence for an area to be protected using the plug-in system, which is easy for even non-technical people, and the overlap ensures absolutely tight connections. The profile offers the possibility of an optimal design of snail repellents. Regardless of the weather conditions, it is ensured that no repellents get into the soil and thus into the horticultural products grown in the area to be protected.

Claims (16)

1. A snail repellent device with a set of profiles ( 10 , 20 , 30 ) which can be positioned along a desired path on the ground and can be assembled at their ends to form a continuous barrier ( 1 ), the barrier ( 1 ) having a wall ( 2 ), a gutter ( 3 ) running along at least one side of the wall ( 2 ) and a roof section ( 4 ) arranged at a distance above the gutter ( 3 ) and covering the gutter ( 3 ), characterized in that the device has at least profiles ( 10 ) of a first type and profiles ( 20 ) of a further type, the profiles ( 20 , 30 ) of the further type fitting into or over the profiles ( 10 ) of the first type at least in their end regions to form an overlapping connection with the profiles ( 10 ) of the first type. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the profiles ( 10 ) of the first type and the profiles ( 20 , 30 ) of the further type can be displaced telescopically towards one another or into one another in the overlapping regions ( 23 , 33 ). 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the roof section ( 4 ) is angled downwards at its free end to form a drip edge ( 5 ). 4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least the profiles ( 20 , 30 ) of one type are multi-part. 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the profiles ( 10 ) of the first type are designed as one-piece base profiles ( 10 ) with a wall ( 2 ), a gutter ( 3 ) and a roof section ( 4 ), and the profiles ( 20 , 30 ) of the further type are designed as connecting profiles ( 20 , 30 ) for connecting two base profiles ( 10 ) in multiple parts, wherein a first profile part ( 21 , 31 ) of the connecting profile ( 20 , 30 ) is designed such that, in the assembled state, it bridges the roof sections ( 4 ) and/or the walls ( 2 ) of two base profiles ( 10 ) to be connected, and a second profile part ( 22 , 32 ) of the connecting profile ( 20 , 30 ) is designed such that, in the assembled state, it bridges the gutter ( 3 ) of two base profiles ( 10 ) to be connected. 6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the first profile part ( 21 , 31 ) of the connecting profile ( 20 , 30 ) has a substantially L-shaped cross-section, wherein one L-leg forms the wall ( 2 ) or a wall section ( 35 ) and the other L-leg forms the roof section ( 4 ). 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the L-leg forming the roof section ( 4 ) is bent to form a drip edge ( 5 ) to form a U-like profile part ( 21 , 31 ). 8. Device according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the second profile part ( 32 ) has a substantially L-shaped cross-section, wherein one L-leg forms the base of a channel ( 3 ) and the other L-leg forms a side wall of the channel ( 3 ). 9. Device according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the second profile part ( 22 ) has a substantially U-shaped cross-section for forming a channel ( 3 ) with two side walls. 10. Device according to one of claims 5 to 9, characterized in that the internal dimensions (b', c') of the first profile part ( 21 , 31 ) of the connecting profile ( 20 , 30 ), which has the wall ( 2 ) or the wall section ( 35 ) and the roof section ( 4 ), are adapted to the external dimensions (b, c) of the wall ( 2 ) and the roof section ( 3 ) of the base profiles ( 10 ), and wherein the external dimensions (d') of the second profile part ( 22 , 32 ) forming the gutter ( 2 ) are adapted to the internal dimensions (d) of the gutter ( 2 ) of the base profiles ( 10 ). 11. Device according to one of claims 5 to 10, characterized in that the base profiles ( 10 ) are straight elongated profiles. 12. Device according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the profiles ( 20 ) of the further type are designed as extension profiles ( 20 ) in a straight, elongated manner. 13. Device according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the profiles ( 30 ) of the further type as corner profiles ( 30 ) are angled or bent transversely to a profile longitudinal direction (L) at least at one point. 14. Device according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that at least the profiles ( 10 , 20 ) of one type are designed such that they can be inserted into the ground. 15. Device according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the profiles ( 10 , 20 , 30 ) are made of sheet metal. 16. Device according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the profiles are made of plastic.