Patent ID: 11859357
Assignee: nan
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC E  A | IPC A  E

Claim 0:
1. A method for manually clearing snow and the like comprising performing one or more steps of manual plowing and modified pusher plowing utilizing an implement comprising:
an elongated handle comprising an upper end and a lower end, the handle defining a handle length direction along its elongation axis;
a blade having:
a blade height direction oriented upwardly and downwardly between an upper edge and a lower edge of said blade,
a front face and a back face, said front face and said back face bounded upwardly and downwardly by the lower edge and by the upper edge, said front face being, in the absence of a load, arcuately curved in said blade height direction between said upper edge and said lower edge so that said front face is concave,
a blade width direction running substantially transverse to said blade height direction and substantially parallel to said front face of said blade;
a first side edge and a second side edge,
handle attachment means to secure said lower end of said handle to said blade proximate to said trailing edge of said blade and centrally in the blade width direction, whereby said handle thereby extends upwardly and away from said blade in a direction substantially parallel to said blade height direction,
a blade height defined as a maximum extent of said blade between said upper edge and said lower edge in said blade height direction,
a blade width defined as a maximum extent of said blade between said first side edge and second side edge in said blade width direction,
a blade depth of curvature defined as a maximum depth of the curvature of said front surface of said blade;

wherein said lower end of said elongated handle is attached to said blade with said handle attachment means;
wherein a handle length is defined as the length of the attached elongated handle measured from said upper edge of said blade to the furthest extent of said upper end of said handle portion;
wherein said handle length is in the range from about 1,397 to 1,900 mm;
wherein said blade height is in the range from about 254 to 318 mm;
wherein said blade width is in the range from about 101 to 242 mm;
wherein said blade depth of curvature is in the range from about 12 to 38 mm;
wherein said “manual plowing” comprises a user manually qrasping said handle with both hands in an overhand grip, manipulating said handle to orient said front face of said blade so said front face can be manually driven substantially face-on in a sweeping-like arc into said snow, and, while remaining in a semi-stationary upright stance, manipulating said handle with sufficient velocity to impart momentum and velocity to a charge of said snow causing it to be ejected ahead of, and upwardly from, said front face of said blade, thereby sending said charge ahead of said blade and in the general direction of said blade's motion toward and to a distant location; and
wherein said “modified pusher plowing” comprises the user grasping said handle proximate to said upper end with at least one hand (“driving hand”), inclining said handle so the blade is tilted-back shallowly to a ground surface with lower edge thereon, and, while remaining in a semi-stationary upright stance, manually employing a linear or arcing swinging and pushing motion of the driving hand combined with upper body motion to drive the blade along said ground surface outwardly and away relatively rapidly into said snow so that said snow is ejected forward and upward ahead of the blade and sent in a trajectory toward and to a distant location.