US20080185857A1

US20080185857A1 - Snow shovel with angularly adjustable blade

Info

Publication number: US20080185857A1
Application number: US12/025,851
Authority: US
Inventors: Wesley WESTGARDE; Gerald WESTGARDE
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-02-06
Filing date: 2008-02-05
Publication date: 2008-08-07
Also published as: CA2621194A1

Abstract

A snow shovel includes a blade and an elongated handle having a first end and a second end. A pivoting joint is provided having a handle connection portion connected to the second end of the handle and a blade connection portion connected to the blade. The blade connection portion of the pivoting joint has more than two female receptacles defining positions for adjusting the angular positioning of the blade connection relative to the handle connection. A male member is insertable into a selected one of the female receptacles to set the relative position of the blade connection portion to the handle connection portion. The orientation of the blade relative to the blade connection portion is altered to change the angular orientation of the pivoting joint by 90 degrees from pivoting side to side relative to the handle to pivoting up and down relative to the handle.

Description

FIELD

The present application relates to a snow shovel which has a blade that can be adjusted to various angles.

BACKGROUND

U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,341 (Leon et al) discloses shovel having a blade that can be adjusted downwardly or upwardly at a selected angle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,204 (Heiden) discloses a shovel having a blade that can be adjusted from side to side at a selected angle.

SUMMARY

There is provided a snow shovel which includes a blade and an elongated handle having a first end and a second end. A pivoting joint is provided having a handle connection portion connected to the second end of the handle and a blade connection portion connected to the blade. The blade connection portion of the pivoting joint has more than two female receptacles defining positions for adjusting the angular positioning of the blade connection relative to the handle connection. A male member is insertable into a selected one of the female receptacles to set the relative position of the blade connection portion to the handle connection portion. The orientation of the blade relative to the blade connection portion is altered to change the angular orientation of the pivoting joint by 90 degrees from pivoting side to side relative to the handle to pivoting up and down relative to the handle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a snow shovel.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the pivoting joint of the snow shovel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front exploded view of the male to female connection between the blade and the blade connection of the snow shovel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front view in section of the male to female connection between the blade connection portion and the handle connection portion of the snow shovel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the first end of the handle of the snow shovel of FIG. 1 with the linkage retracted.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of the first end of the handle of the snow shovel of FIG. 1 with the linkage extended.

FIG. 7 is a section view of the first end of the handle of the snow shovel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a section view along the plane denoted by line A of FIG. 2 with the linkage retracted and the male member engaged with the female receptacle of the blade connection.

FIG. 9 is a section view along the plane denoted by line A of FIG. 2 with the linkage extended and the male member disengaged with the female receptacle of the blade connection.

FIG. 10 is a front elevation view of the snow shovel of FIG. 1 with the blade connection portion oriented 90 degrees to the right of the blade.

FIG. 11 is a front elevation view of the snow shovel of FIG. 10 with the handle connection portion tilted backwards relative to the blade connection portion.

FIG. 12 is a front elevation view of the snow shovel of FIG. 12 with the first end of the handle twisted relative to the handle connection portion.

FIG. 13 is a side elevation view of the snow shovel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a side elevation view of the snow shovel of FIG. 13 with the blade connection portion oriented upwards relative to the blade connection portion.

FIG. 15 is a section view along the plane denoted by line B of FIG. 2 of the pivoting joint of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A snow shovel generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through 15.
Referring to FIG. 1, a snow shovel 10 is provided with an elongated handle 12, a blade 14, a pivoting joint 16. Referring to FIG. 8, pivoting member 16 has an associate male member 18 which locks pivoting joint 16 in a selected pivotal position, as will hereinafter be further described. Referring to FIG. 1, handle 12 has a first end 20 and a second end 22. Referring to FIG. 7, first end 20 contains a square shaped shaft 21. Referring to FIG. 2, pivoting joint 16 has a handle connection portion 24, a blade connection portion 26 and a rotational axis pin 27 Handle connection portion 24 pivots relative to blade connection portion 26 about rotational axis pin 27. Handle connection portion 24 is connected to second end 22 of handle 12, Referring to FIG. 3, blade connection portion 26 is connected to blade 14. Referring to FIG. 8, blade connection portion 26 has three female receptacles 28, identified by the reference numerals 28A, 28B, and 28C, respectively. Female receptacles 28 define positions for adjusting the angular positioning of blade connection portion 26 relative to handle connection portion 24. Male member 18 is insertable into a selected one of female receptacles 28 to set the relative position of blade connection portion 26 to handle connection portion 24. As detailed in FIG. 8, a spring 30 biases male member 18 into an engaged position. In the illustration, male member is shown as engaging female receptacle 28B. Referring to FIG. 9, a linkage 32 is provided to exert a force upon male member 18 to overcome the biasing force of spring 30. Referring to FIG. 5, linkage 32 extends up handle 12 and terminates at a “D” shaped activation handle 34. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a lower extremity of activation handle 34 is shown to illustrate how movement of activation handle 34 directly controls the positioning of male member 18 relative to female receptacles 28. Referring to FIG. 7, linkage 32 connects to activation handle 34 using a square shaped connector 33. Square shaped connector 33 is contained within square-shaped shaft 21, which prevents the rotation of activation handle 34 relative to first end 20. Referring to FIG. 8, when activation handle 34 is released, spring 30 causes movement of linkage 32 to bias male member 18 into engagement with female receptacle 28B. Referring to FIG. 4, male member 18 is wedge shaped and engages tapered sidewalls of female receptacle 28. Referring to FIG. 9, when activation handle 34 is pulled it causes movement of linkage 32, overcoming the biasing force of spring 30 and removing male member 18 from engagement with female receptacle 28B. Handle 12 can now be adjusted so as to insert male member 18 into engagement with a selected one of female receptacles 28A, 28B, or 28C. Activation handle 34 facilitates angular adjustment of handle connection portion 24 relative to blade connection portion 26. Referring to FIG. 8, drainage holes 35 are provided in pivoting joint 16, in order to prevent any snow, sleet, or freezing water that has entered pivoting joint 16 from restricting the travel of male member 18.
Referring to FIG. 3, blade 14 is connected to blade connection portion 26 of pivoting joint 16 through a male to female connection with a male member 36 and a female receptacle 38. Male member 36 consists of spring biased balls 40, while female receptacle 38 consists of ball receiving recesses 42. Ball receiving recesses 42, from left to right in FIG. 3, are generally indicated by the reference numerals 42A, 42B, and 42C, respectively. Alternatively (not shown), male member 36 may have ball receiving recesses 42 and female receptacle 38 may have spring biased balls 40. Three of ball receiving recesses 42 are arranged at 90 degree intervals relative to each other. This allows for a total side to side angular rotation of blade connection portion 26 relative to blade 14. Ball receiving recesses 42 and spring biased balls 40 are arranged in opposed pairs as shown. Together, balls 40 and recesses 42 serve as a means for altering the side to side orientation of blade 14 relative to blade connection portion 26. FIG. 10 shows spring biased balls 40 engaged with ball receiving recess 42A.
Referring to FIG. 15, a first pivotal stop 44 is provided to limit pivotal movement of pivoting joint 16 about pivot pin 27 in a first direction. A second pivotal stop 46 is provided to limit pivotal movement of pivoting joint 16 in a second direction. The purpose of pivotal stops 44 and 46 is to prevent over-rotation (about the axis defined by rotational axis pin 27). The allowed range of movement is indicated by arrows 48. A slider 50 is provided as part of handle connection portion 24 in order to contact pivotal stops 44 and 46 at the extremes of the allowed range of motion.
Referring to FIG. 5, a grip 52 is provided at first end 20 of handle 12. Grip 52 can be rotated to allow the relative orientation between first end 20 and handle 12 to be changed (as can be seen by a comparison of FIG. 11 and FIG. 12). Referring to FIG. 5, grip 52 is held in a selected position by the use of a pin 54. Referring to FIG. 7, pin 54 is positioned in a selected pin receiving aperture 55. Pin 54 may be a quick-release pin. Referring to FIG. 5, pin 54 is placed through first end 20, preventing grip 52 from rotating about the axis of handle 12. In order to rotate grip 52, pin 54 is first removed, and grip 52 adjusted to the desired rotation about handle 12. Referring to FIG. 7, in order to properly use snow shovel 10 with this orientation, pin 54 is then re-inserted into one of the pin receiving apertures 55, rigidly securing grip 52 against further rotation. Referring to FIG. 5, this adjustability allows the user to adjust grip 52 to the most comfortable and efficient position on handle 12 to suit the current orientation of the blade.
Operation:
Referring to FIG. 1, snow shovel 10 is initially set up as illustrated. Referring to FIG. 8, in this straight orientation male member 18 is positioned in female receptacle 28B. Referring to FIG. 1, blade 14 is positioned perpendicular to handle 12, with balls 40 engaging ball receiving recesses 42A. In this configuration, grip 52 facing the same direction as blade 14. This is the most generic set-up available to the user of snow shovel 10, with adjustability options including rotating blade 14 side to side or up and down, relative to handle 12, as will hereinafter be further described.

Up and Down

FIG. 13 is a side elevation view of the snow shovel 10 in the same orientation as in FIG. 1. This orientation is advantageously used by a person of average height in clearing snow. If the user is required to lift snow vertically, blade 14 can be altered to the position shown in FIG. 14. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, this movement is accomplished by moving activation handle 34 from the position shown in FIG. 5 to the position shown in FIG. 6. Activation handle 34 is made “D” shaped to enable it to be easily activated by someone working outdoors wearing winter mitts. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, movement of activation handle 34 acts through linkage 32 to move male member 18 from a positioned engaged with female receptacle 28B as shown in FIG. 8, to a position in which male member 18 is spaced from and disengaged from female receptacle 28B. Once in a desired orientation, activation handle 34 is released and the biasing force of spring 30 locks pivoting joint 16 into a new orientation by biasing male member 18 into engagement with a selected one of female receptacles 28A or 28C. Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, it will be apparent that the up and down adjustment enables a selected adjustment to be made to suit a height of a user or the intended function of the shovel (lifting snow or pushing snow).

Side to Side

FIGS. 10 and 11 show side pivotal movement to angle blade 14 relative to handle 12. Referring to FIG. 3, in order to change from up and down pivotal movement to side to side pivotal movement, male member 36 of blade connection portion 26 is withdrawn from and a female receptacle 38 in blade 14. This is accomplished by a user applying pressure to spring biased balls 40. Blade connection portion 26 is then rotated relative to blade 14. This enables spring biased balls 40 into engagement with ball receiving recesses 42B, instead of ball receiving recesses 42A. This changes pivoting joint from the orientation illustrated in FIG. 1, to the orientation shown in FIG. 10. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, activation handle 34 is then moved, as previously described in relation to the up and down movement. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, male member 18 is then withdrawn from female receptacle 28B, as previously described, and repositioned into either female receptacle 28A or 28C to assume the desired angular orientation. Referring to FIG. 11, the above described movement results in handle 12 being oriented as shown. Because of the difficulty in using snow shovel 10 in the orientation shown in FIG. 11, grip 52 must be rotated to complete the setup shown in FIG. 12. Referring to FIG. 7, this rotation is accomplished by removing pin 54 from selected pin receiving aperture 55, rotating grip 52, and re-inserting pin 54 into the other of pin receiving apertures 55. This gives the final orientation as shown in FIG. 12. This demonstrates how any setup can be arranged to the user's specifications for snow shovel 10. An arrangement as shown in FIG. 12 is useful when clearing snow away from building walls, or away from deck railings, also directing snow to one side or the other as when moving snow off a sidewalk and on to the street, or in the case of clearing a hockey rink. It should be understood that each setup has numerous other uses not mentioned here.
Variations:
In accordance with the above description, it is possible to construct a shovel that is only capable of up and down adjustment. It is also possible to construct a shovel that is only capable of side to side adjustment. However, it is preferred that the shovel have the ability to change the angular orientation of the pivoting joint by 90 degrees from pivoting side to side relative to the handle to pivoting up and down relative to the handle, with a relatively simple structure. This has been accomplished by allowing relative rotation of the blade and the blade connection portion of the pivoting joint. The structure illustrated has a male to female connections with a spring ball and recess engagement. There are other types of engagements that could accomplish the same result. Relative rotational positions can be set with locking pins. Relative rotational positions can be set by having an overlying clamping sleeve. It is also noted that alignment arrows can be incorporated to assist the operator in proper orientation allowing the balls and recesses to match in all of the angular positions. This to can be achieved with colour coding so that if for example, red arrows match on the blade connection portion of the pivoting joint and blade, then red arrows will need to align on the second end that connects with the grip of handle. Blue arrows could indicate the opposite orientation.
Advantages:
Some existing shovel patents show two hinges that perform similar angular adjustments. The shovel described above will perform side to side as well (tilting) up and down angular adjustments with the use of only one hinge which will make the shovel more cost effective for the consumer because the manufacturing cost will be lower. Some existing angular shovel patents have exposed holes and linkages that do not drain making them susceptible to freezing rain or sleet which can impair the operation of the tool. Our moving parts are internal and have holes which provide drainage.
In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the Claims.

Claims

1. A snow shovel, comprising:

an elongated handle having a first end and a second end;

a blade;

a pivoting joint having a handle connection portion connected to the second end of the handle and a blade connection portion connected to the blade, the blade connection portion of the pivoting joint having more than two female receptacles defining positions for adjusting the angular positioning of the blade connection relative to the handle connection;

a male member insertable into a selected one of the female receptacles to set the relative position of the blade connection portion to the handle connection portion;

the orientation of the blade relative to the blade connection portion is altered by 90 degrees to change the angular orientation of the pivoting joint from pivoting side to side relative to the handle to pivoting up and down relative to the handle.

2. The snow shovel of claim 1, wherein a first pivotal stop is provided to stop pivotal movement in a first direction when the male member is aligned with one of the female receptacles and a second pivotal stop is provided to stop pivotal movement in a second direction when the male member is aligned with another of the female receptacles.

3. The snow shovel of claim 1, wherein the male member is biased by a spring into an engaged positioned engaging one of the female receptacles and a linkage is provided to exert a force upon the male member to over come the biasing force of the spring to facilitate angular adjustment.

4. The snow shovel of claim 1, wherein the linkage extends up through the handle terminating at the first end of the handle.

5. The snow shovel of claim 1, wherein the blade connects to the blade connection portion of the pivoting joint through a male to female connection with a male member and a female receptacle, one of the male member or the female member having spring biased balls and the other of the male member or the female member having ball receiving recesses, the ball receiving recesses being arranged in opposed pairs and in an orientation offset by 90 degrees, to serve as means for altering the orientation of the blade relative to the blade connection portion to change the angular orientation of the pivoting joint by 90 degrees from pivoting side to side relative to the handle to pivoting up and down relative to the handle.

6. The snow shovel of claim 1, wherein drainage holes are provided in the pivoting joint.

7. The snow shovel of claim 1, wherein a grip at the first end of the handle rotates to accommodate changes in orientation of the blade.

8. A snow shovel, comprising:

an elongated handle having a first end and a second end;

a blade;

a spring biasing the male member into an engaged positioned engaging one of the female receptacles;

a linkage to exert a force upon the male member to over come the biasing force of the spring to facilitate angular adjustment, the linkage extending up through the handle and terminating in an activation handle at the first end of the handle; and

a first pivotal stop is provided to stop pivotal movement in a first direction when the male member is aligned with one of the female receptacles and a second pivotal stop is provided to stop pivotal movement in a second direction when the male member is aligned with another of the female receptacles.

9. The snow shovel of claim 8, wherein the pivoting joint enables the orientation of the blade to be pivoted up and down relative to the handle.

10. The snow shovel of claim 8, wherein the pivoting joint enables the orientation of the blade to be pivoted from side to side relative to the handle.

11. The snow shovel of claim 8, wherein the blade is connected to the blade connection portion of the pivoting joint through a male to female connection with a male member and a female receptacle, one of the male member or the female member having spring biased balls and the other of the male member or the female member having ball receiving recesses, the ball receiving recesses being arranged in opposed pairs and in an orientation offset by 90 degrees, to serve as means for altering the orientation of the blade relative to the blade connection portion to change the angular orientation of the pivoting joint by 90 degrees from pivoting side to side relative to the handle to pivoting up and down relative to the handle.

12. The snow shovel of claim 8, wherein drainage holes are provided in the pivoting joint.

13. The snow shovel of claim 8, wherein a grip at the first end of the handle rotates to accommodate changes in orientation of the blade.