Patent ID: 6203081
Filing Date: 2001-03-20
Classification: A01B

Abstract:
In combination with a shovel having a pan connected to an end handle by a shank, an auxiliary lifting mechanism comprising a lever having a pair of ends, the lever being pivotably mounted to the shank intermediately of the pan and end handle, and one end of the lever carrying a pair of splayed legs, wherein the lever has a normal position in which the lever is normally in a nested position below the shank of the shovel, and wherein the splayed legs have respective end portions normally received beneath the pan on the shovel, such that once the load is placed upon the pan of the shovel, the operator may manually pivot the lever rearwardly and away from the shank of the shovel, such that the respective end portions of the splayed legs rest upon the ground, and such that the operator may then push downwardly on the end handle of the shovel, thereby lifting the load on the pan of the shovel substantially to the waist level of the operator, and thereby enabling the operator to easily toss the load on the shovel to one side without incurring adverse strains on his or her body andfurther including a spring for resiliently biasing the lever to its normal nested position, such that as soon as the operator tosses the load on the pan of the shovel and thereby lifts the splayed legs off the ground, the lever automatically returns to its normal nested position beneath the shank of the shovel.