SNOW SHOVEL WITH ANGULARLY ADJUSTABLE BLADE
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.
The present application relates to a snow shovel which has a blade that can be adjusted to various angles.
BACKGROUNDU.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.
SUMMARYThere 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.
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:
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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 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;
- 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.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 5, 2008
Publication Date: Aug 7, 2008
Inventors: Wesley WESTGARDE (Houston), Gerald WESTGARDE (Prince George)
Application Number: 12/025,851