Snow Removal Device

Abstract

A shovel device designed for pushing and pulling along a surface to remove accumulated snow. The preferred device includes a substantially vertical blade having a curved surface, a pivoting bracket assembly, and a handle. The bracket assembly includes either a C-shaped bracket attached to a rod or a pivoting collar, both of which secure the handle to the blade. The handle may be releasably attached to the blade through one of the two bracket assemblies to allow either pushing or pulling the blade through, e.g., a snow pile. Optional wheels, which may pivot about a vertical axis, may be mounted to the convex surface of the vertical blade, via a bracket or other suitable connector, to facilitate movement of the device along a surface.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/913,666, filed Jun. 13, 2013, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/772,588 filed Feb. 21, 2013, and claims the filing priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/601,851 titled “Snow Removal Device” and filed on Feb. 22, 2012.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to shovel devices. Particularly, the shovel device relates to a manual snow removing device for removing snow from a surface, such as a driveway, sidewalk, play area, and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Snow shoveling is a primary cause in countless physical injuries and fatalities every year in the U.S. Particularly, the heavy lifting required to clear even a small layer of snow causes many individuals to lift improperly, lose balance or just generally over-exert themselves, bringing about falls, upper and lower back injuries and, in some cases, heart attack. Combined with the cold that usually accompanies such snow conditions, and even the healthiest of individuals can find themselves headed for a local hospital.

Typical snow shovels are not self-limiting. Accordingly, people tend to attempt using the entire shovel area to scoop and lift snow. Even a small amount of water-laden snow at the end of a shovel can amount to great strain on a user. As mentioned, shoveling can be a dangerous undertaking for many individuals. Snow blowing is far safer, but the relatively high-cost of a dependable snow-blowing machine restricts use to those with the financial means.

These and other problems in the art are identified and resolved by the invention of the present application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is disclosed herein an improved shovel which avoid the disadvantages of prior devices and methods while affording additional structural and operating advantages.

A shovel device is described and claimed. Generally speaking, the shovel device comprises substantially vertical blade, a handle fixed to a surface of the blade, and a set of wheels.

In one embodiment, a shovel device is described. The shovel device comprises a curved blade having a top and bottom edge, a handle removably fixed to a concave surface of the curved blade, and at least one wheel affixed to a convex surface of the blade.

In another embodiment, a manual snow moving device is disclosed. The device comprises a blade having a top edge and a bottom edge and curved about a vertical axis, a first attachment collar on the concave surface of the curved blade, a second attachment collar to the convex surface of the blade, a handle releasably attached to a surface of the blade through one of either the first attachment collar or the second attachment collar, and at least one wheel assembly affixed to the convex surface of the blade.

These and other aspects of the invention may be understood more readily from the following description and the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the subject matter sought to be protected, there are illustrated in the accompanying drawings embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the subject matter sought to be protected, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present shovel device;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of another embodiment of the present shovel device;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the present shovel device with a pivoting handle;

FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a front view of still another embodiment of the present shovel device with a pivoting handle.

FIG. 11 is a front view of another embodiment of the present shovel device with an attachment collar for a removable handle; and,

FIG. 12 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to embodiments illustrated.

Referring to FIGS. 1-12, there are illustrated several embodiments of a shovel device, generally designated by the numerals 10 and 110. Generally speaking, the shovel device 10 has a substantially vertical blade 12, a handle 14, and a set of wheels 16. The blade 12 may be curved about a vertical axis (FIGS. 1-3), a horizontal axis (FIGS. 4-7) or both axes in a hemispherical shape (not shown). The blade 12 is not necessarily curved to create a lifting scoop, but rather to create a boundary for moving snow without the need for lifting. As a result, the curved blade 12 has a concave (front) surface and a convex (rear) surface. Preferably, the blade 12 is made from a coated metal to diminish adherence of snow. Plastic, fiberglass or other composite materials may also be used and may include ribs 21 (FIG. 5) to impart strength and rigidity to the blade.

With reference to the embodiment of FIG. 2, in order to be pulled, the handle 14, which is preferably made of plastic, wood or metal, is attached to the concave surface of the blade 12. A bracket 18 secured to the handle 14 and then attached to the blade 12 provides stability to the handle 14 and the blade 12. A bolt, or similar fastener, passing through the blade 12 and directly into the handle 14, coupled to an appropriate nut, may also be used to secure the handle 14. The attachment of the handle 14 could provide for folding of the handle 14 as well, for storage, transport or the like.

The wheels 16 are preferably provided in a single pair or multiple pairs, but the device 10 may use only a single wheel attached approximate a mid-line of the blade 12. The wheels 16 can be standard wheels, but are preferably about the size of typical push lawnmower wheels, for example. As the device 10 is predominately used on slick surfaces, significant tire tread will help grip such surfaces during use. A bracket 19 may be used to attach the wheel axle to the concave surface of the blade 12. A caster like swivel attachment (not shown) for wheels (or wheel pairs) may be used to connect to the bracket 19 to facilitate turning of the shovel device 10 during use.

To provide balance and stability to the device 10 in use, the handle 14 is preferably attached to the blade 12 approximate the center of gravity, while the wheels 16 are also preferably attached approximate the center of gravity. Attaching weighted structures to the blade 12 to lower the center of gravity and also increase the overall weight of the device 10 may also assist in overall stability. The preferred handle attachment configuration prevents the handle 14 from pulling the blade 12 downward at the top (i.e., tipping the blade 12), which would allow snow to pass under the blade. The wheels 16 counteract, to some extent, upward pull of the handle 14 on the blade 12 as well.

In use, the device 10 can be positioned at one end of a snow covered surface and pulled by the handle 14 toward an opposite side of the surface, thereby dragging the blade 12 across the surface to remove the snow. Reversing the motion deposits the accumulated snow. The motion can be repeated for the length of the surface to move all snow to one side, as desired, without ever having to lift the snow from the surface. The user can even stand to the side of the device 10 to move it along the surface and remove snow—similar to the motion of sweeping. This will prevent the snow from being packed down under the walking pressure of the user.

With reference to the embodiments of FIGS. 8-10, the shovel device 110 may have a pivoting handle 114 to allow both pushing and pulling of the shovel device through snow. A heavy-duty version, FIGS. 8 and 9, preferably includes a reinforced blade 112 using a support 118 with the handle 114 attached to a pivoting member at each end. A locking feature (not shown), such as a pin, clip, latch or similar mechanism, may be used to hold the handle 114 in one direction or the other, if desired. The pivoting bracket assembly of the handle 114 may also allow for locking the handle in numerous intermediate positions as well.

The shovel device 110 of FIG. 10 also includes a pivoting handle 114. A small cut-out section of the blade 112 allows the handle 114 to be pivoted to either side of the blade 112. Again, the use of a locking mechanism could allow the handle 114 to be locked in any number of positions during use.

To provide even greater flexibility of use, the handle 114 may telescope outward. This feature could accommodate different users—for example, a 5.5 ft user may use a shorter handle than a 6.5 ft user—as well as compact for storage, as needed.

With reference to the embodiments of FIGS. 11 and 12, the shovel device 110 may include attachment collars 120, 122. The first attachment collar 120 is securely positioned on the front surface of the blade 112, while the second attachment collar 122 is securely positioned on the back surface of the blade. The attachment collars may be separately attached to the surface of the blade, or formed as a molded unitary structure with the blade. Use of the collars 120, 122 permits the handle to be attached to either the front or the back of the blade 112, thereby permitting the user to switch the shovel device 110 between being pulled or pushed.

When the handle 114 is inserted into the preferred collar, a locking mechanism such as a pin, clip, latch or similar device, may be used to releasably hold the handle 114 into the collar. For example, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the collar 120 may include a pin 124, which locks into a hole (not shown) in the handle 114 when the handle is inserted into the collar.

The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. While particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the broader aspects of applicants' contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.

Claims

1. A manual snow moving device comprising:

a curved blade having a top edge, a bottom edge, a front concave surface and a rear convex surface;

a pivoting bracket assembly attached to the curved blade; and

a handle connected to the pivoting bracket assembly, wherein the handle is capable of movement, via the pivoting bracket assembly, between a first position and a second position.

2. The manual snow moving device of claim 1, wherein the first position extends the handle rearward, relative to the curved blade, and the second position extends the handle forward, relative to the curved blade.

3. The manual snow moving device of claim 1, further comprising a locking mechanism for retaining the handle in the first position and the second position.

4. The manual snow moving device of claim 1, wherein the pivoting bracket assembly comprises a rod secured horizontally to the convex second surface of the curved blade, the rod having two opposing ends which extend beyond the side edges of the blade, and a C-shaped bracket pivotably attached proximate each end of the rod in a manner which allows the bracket to pivot between the first position proximate the front concave surface of the blade and the second position proximate the rear convex surface of the blade.

5. The manual snow moving device of claim 1, wherein the blade further comprises a notch at the top edge and the handle is connected to the pivoting bracket assembly such that the handle passes through the notch when moved between the first position and the second position.

6. The manual snow moving device of claim 3, wherein the locking mechanism is configured to retain the handle in at least one position between the first position and the second position.

7. The manual snow moving device of claim 1, wherein the handle telescopes to extend and retract.

8. A method for operating a snow shovel to remove snow from a ground surface, the method comprising the steps of:

placing a shovel at a starting position on the ground surface, wherein the shovel comprises: a curved blade having a top edge, a bottom edge, a front concave surface and a rear convex surface; a pivoting bracket assembly attached to the curved blade; and a handle connected to the pivoting bracket assembly, wherein the handle is capable of movement, via the pivoting bracket assembly, between a first position and a second position;

with the bottom edge proximate the ground surface and the handle in the first position, pushing the shovel along a first path on the ground surface to thereby remove snow from the first path;

upon reaching an end of the first path on the ground surface, rotating the handle to the second position,

pulling the shovel along a second path on the ground surface to thereby remove snow; and

repeating the steps of pushing the shovel, moving the handle, and pulling the shovel along subsequent paths of the ground surface to remove snow.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of locking the handle into the first position before pushing the shovel

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of locking the handle into the second position before pulling the shovel.