The present invention relates to a garden tool rack means and, more particularly to such a garden tool rack means, which is practical for use to hold a set of garden tools when working in a garden 2. Description of the Prior Art: For cultivation of soil and taking care of a garden, a variety of garden tools may be used. Regular garden tools include dibble, rack, digging fork, mattock draw hoe, shears, hedge trimmers, garden trowel, cultivator, etc. These garden tools have different shapes and sizes for different purposes. When gardening, garden tools may be scattered over the ground, and the scattered garden tools may injure people accidentally. Further, it is inconvenient to carry a set of garden tools to the jobsite. After gardening, the user must spend a lot of time to collect the scattered garden tools.

Prior art has not contemplated the inventive garden tool rack means which is suitable to hold a set of garden tools while working in a garden. The following references are of interest but are clearly distinguishable from the claimed invention.

UK Patent Application GB 2,202, 421 discloses a garden planter holder that has a series of holes into which the bulbs hole causing tool is placed and driven into the earth. The idea is to plant the bulbs in a predesigned pattern preferred for a formal garden.

United States Patent 5,704, 456 to Latta shows a yard and garden tool carrier and, in particular, a modular system of racks that can be attached to an existing wheeled device, such as a large volume trash container having wheels to make a yard or garden cart.

UK Patent Application GB 2140292 to Clarke teaches a garden tool rest comprising a shaft having at one end a spike for pushing into the ground and carrying a platform including outwardly extending fingers to accommodate handles of garden tools.

U. S. Patent 6,554, 012 to Patarra teaches a container apparatus for use in combination with an umbrella having an umbrella mast and umbrella canopy and a pointer having a penetrating pointer lower end and having an engaging pointer upper end removably secured to the mast.

U. S. Patent 6,213, 314 to Beemer shows a portable rack for garden tools, for supporting the upper ends or handles of elongated tools in a generally upright position during gardening, light landscaping, or related work. A laterally extending spade bit is provided just above the lower end of the column for embedding in the ground with the spade precluding rotation of the column.

U. S. Patent 5,749, 386 to Samuel teaches a golf umbrella comprising a plurality of interconnected tubular sections endwise with one another and a ground-engaging spade extending from the distal end of the lower portion.

U. S. Patent 5,535, 978 to Rodriguez shows an apparatus and method for anchoring the central support pole of a bench umbrella in a sand beach. The anchoring apparatus includes a tube having a lower edge forming an opening in its lower end and a clamping means at its other end.

U. S. Patent 5,393, 022 to Palumto teaches a portable, multi-compartment garden debris and leaf bag holder wherein a means for releasably securing a pair of guide flaps comprises removable spades.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a garden tool rack means, which is convenient for use to hold a set of garden tools on soil when working.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a garden tool rack means which enable the user to conveniently use garden tools and which prevent interference of loaded garden tools with one another.

To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the garden tool rack means comprises a rack body means, the rack body means comprising a plurality of plugholes vertically extended through top and bottom walls thereof and a plurality of bottom barrel means respectively downwardly extended from the bottom wall around each of the plugholes ; a plurality of tool holder means respectively axially fastened to the plugholes of the rack body means for holding garden tools ; a plurality of end cap means respectively fastened to the bottom barrel means of the rack body means; and a plurality of anchoring means respectively coupled to the end cap means and adapted for fastening the rack body means to the ground. The garden tool rack means further comprise a plurality of axial positioning structure means adapted to stop the tool holding means from axial movement relative to the plugholes of the rack body means after insertion of the tool holding means into the plugholes of the rack body means, and a plurality of rotary positioning structure means adapted to stop the tool holding means from rotary motion relative to the plugholes of the rack body means after insertion of the tool holding means into the plugholes of the rack body means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a garden tool rack means according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an oblique top elevation of the garden tool rack means according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded bottom view of the garden tool rack means according to the present invention.

F I G. 4 is similar to F I G. 3 but showing the anchoring 5 means respectively received in the anchoring means receiving structures.

FIG. 5A illustrates the pegs of the anchoring means stopped at the locating protrusions of the respective end cap means according to the present invention.

FIG. 5B is similar to FIG. 5A but showing the pegs of the anchoring means respectively engaged into the locating notches of the respective end cap means.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view in an enlarged scale of a part of the present invention, showing the anchoring means fastened to the respective end cap means.

FIG. 7A is a sectional view taken along line 7A-7A of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7B is similar to FIG. 7A but showing one horizontal spring leave engaged into the longitudinal groove in the inside protruding block.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a garden tool rack means in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a rack body means 10, a plurality of hollow cylindrical tool holding means 20, a plurality of plug cap means 30, and a plurality of anchoring means 40.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 again, the rack body means 10 is a hollow shell molded from plastics, comprising a vertical barrel means 12 vertically disposed at the center for holding a tool handle 92, a plurality of plug holes 11 spaced around the vertical barrel means 12, and a plurality of bottom barrels means 111 downwardly extended from the bottom wall corresponding to the plug holes 11.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3 again, the tool holding means 20 are respectively fastened to the plug holes 11 and adapted to hold a respective garden tool 90, each comprising a top holder body 21 for receiving the tool shaft 91 of a garden tool 90, a bottom mounting tube 25 for insertion into one plughole 11 of the rack body means 10, and a skirt-like shoulder means 29 provided between the top holder body means 21 and the bottom mounting tube 25 and adapted to support the top holding body means 21 above the top wall of the rack body means 10. The bottom mounting tube 25 is insertable through one plughole 11 into the corresponding bottom barrel means 111.

Referring to FIGS. 6,7A and 7B, and FIG. 1 again, each bottom barrel means 111 of the rack body means 10 comprises an inside protruding block 14 protruded from the inside wall, and a longitudinal groove 15 formed in the inside protruding block 14.

The bottom mounting tube 25 of each tool holding means 20 comprises a vertical retaining spring leaf means 26, and two horizontal retaining spring leaf means 27 symmetrically disposed at two sides of the vertical retaining spring leaf means 26. The vertical retaining spring leaf means 26 has the free bottom end terminating in a protruded retaining portion 261. Each horizontal retaining spring leaf means 27 has the free bottom end terminating in a protruded retaining portion 271. The spring leaf means 26,27 are disposed at an offset position such that a space is defined for receiving the inside protruding block 14 upon insertion of the bottom mounting tube 25 into one bottom barrel means 111 of the rack body means 10. When inserted the bottom mounting tube 25 into one bottom barrel means 111 of the rack body means 10, the protruded retaining portion 261 is forced into engagement with the bottom side of the inside protruding block means 14 to stop the respective tool holding means 20 from axial displacement.

The bias the tool holding means 20 forces the protruded retaining portion 27 of one horizontal retaining spring leaf means 27 into engagement with the longitudinal groove 15. Simultaneously, a part of the bottom mounting tube 25 around one retaining spring leaf means 27 is stopped against the inside protruding block 14, and as a consequence the tool holding means 20 is prevented from rotary motion in the same direction. After insertion of the tool holding means 20 into the plugholes 11 of the rack body means 10, the tool holding means 20 can be respectively biased through a limited angle, preventing interference by the loaded garden tools 90 with one another.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, and FIGS. 1 and 6 again, the end cap means 30 are substantially T-shaped hollow caps each comprising a cylindrical cap body means 31 fitting the inner diameter of the bottom mounting tube 25, a cap head means 32, a shoulder means 37 connected between the cap body means 31 and the cap head means 32 and fitting the inner diameter of the bottom barrel means 111, a center through hole 33 axially extended through the cap head means 32 and the shoulder means 37 and the cylindrical cap body means 31, two longitudinal grooves 34 symmetrically disposed in the center through hole 33 at two sides and axially extended to the two ends of the respective end cap means 30, and two locating notches 35 and two locating protrusions 36 alternatively disposed at the distal end of the cylindrical cap body means 31 and equiangularly spaced from one another. Each end cap means 30 has the respective shoulder means 37 press-fitted into one bottom barrel means 111, and the respective cylindrical cap body means 31 press-fitted into the bottom mounting tube 25 of the corresponding tool holding means 20, keeping the cap head means 32 stopped at the bottom end of the corresponding bottom barrel means 111 to hold the protruded retaining portion 261 of the vertical retaining spring leaf means 26 of the respective tool holding means 25 firmly in engagement with the bottom side of the respective inside protruding block 14, and therefore the respective tool holding means 20 is locked to the rack body means 10.

Referring to FIGS. 1,3, 5A, 5B and 6 again, each anchoring means 40 comprises a cylindrical base means 41, an anchoring tip means 42 axially, extended from one end of the cylindrical base means 21, and two peg means 43 radially protruded from the periphery of the cylindrical base means 21 at two sides. When inserting the cylindrical base means 41 into the center through hole 33 of one end cap means 30, the peg means 43 are respectively inserted into the longitudinal grooves 34.

After the cylindrical base means 41 has been completely inserted into the end cap means 30, the peg means 43 are respectively stopped against the locating protrusions 36 at one side outside the longitudinal grooves 34. The anchoring means 40 is biased in one direction through an angle to force the peg means 43 into the locating notches 35, and therefore the anchoring means 40 is locked to the respective end cap means 30. Alternatively, when biasing the anchoring means 40 in the reverse direction, the peg means 43 are moved out of the locating notches 35 to the longitudinal grooves 34, and thus the anchoring means 40 is unlocked and can be removed from the respective end cap means 30.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 again, there is provided a plurality of receiving means adapted to receive the anchoring means 40 on the bottom side of the rack body means 10 after removal of the anchoring means 40 from the end cap means 30. Each receiving means comprises a pair of lug means 16 downwardly extended from the bottom side of the rack body means 10, and a rib means 17 radially extended from the periphery of the vertical barrel means 12 at the bottom side of the rack body means. The lug means 16 each have a bottom notch 161. The rib means 17 has a bottom notch 171. After removing one anchoring means 40 from the respective end cap means 30, the anchoring means 40 is fastened to one receiving means in such a manner that the cylindrical base means 41 is set in between the lug means 16 with peg means 43 respectively engaged into the bottom notch means 161 of the lug means 16 and the anchoring tip means 42 is engaged into in the bottom notch means 171 of the rib means 17.

As indicated above, garden tools 90 can be respectively plugged into the tool holding means 20 at the rack body means 10. Plugging garden tools 90 into the tool holding means 20 or removing garden tools 90 from the tool holding means 20 does not cause axial displacement of the tool holding means 20 relative to the rack body means 10. After insertion of garden tools 90 into one tool holding means 20, the loaded garden tools 90 can be respectively biased with the respective tool holding means 90 relative to the rack body means 10 within a limited angle to prevent interference of loaded garden tools 90 with one another. When in use, the anchoring means 40 can be respectively plugged into the end cap means 30 for fastening the rack body means 10 to the ground, keeping the rack body means 10 firmly supported on ground. When not in use, the garden tool rack is removed from ground. Because the end cap means 30 are respectively locked to the bottom barrel means 111 of the rack body means 10, pulling the garden tool rack means away from ground does not cause the end cap means 30 to fall with the anchoring means 40 from the rack body means 10.

After removal of the garden tool rack means from the ground, the anchoring means 40 are unlocked and detached from the end cap means 30 and then respectively received in the respective receiving means at the bottom side of the rack body means 10.

A prototype of garden tool rack means has been constructed with the features of FIGS. 1-7. The garden tool rack means functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.