Abstract:
A wheeled push blade device comprises a frame having at least one load bearing wheel, a push blade, means for adjusting the blade at an angle from the line of travel of the device, a moment mechanism located on a lower portion of the blade allowing the blade to pivot, and position correction device for bringing the blade back into the original position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    Not Applicable  
         STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH  
         [0002]    Not Applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Hand driven or animal driven plows for moving relatively loose material are known in the art. Some of these, as in U.S. Pat. No. 830,871, utilize three wheels. It is also known in the art to have means whereby the push blade is at an oblique angle to the line of travel of the snow plow.  
           [0004]    A plow having wheels which support the weight of the plow allows the user to utilize the majority of his energy in actually working against the loose material rather than having to expend effort on bending, shoveling and lifting. This can prove to create quite a strain on the user&#39;s back, neck, and shoulders.  
           [0005]    When shoveling or plowing away loose material the blade occasionally can drop into a crevice or run into a fixed piece jutting up from the surface and thereby bring the plow to a sudden stop. This can result in injuries, particularly of the hands. Such jolts also slow the progress being made in the shoveling.  
           [0006]    There yet remains a need for a wheeled push blade plow which provides a handle for pushing that minimizes strain on the back, neck, and shoulders while at the same time overcoming the sudden stops that can occur when a crevice or other obstruction is encountered.  
           [0007]    All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.  
           [0008]    Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.  
           [0009]    A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention pivot means are utilized for when the push blade encounters an obstruction or crevice.  
           [0011]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention a wheeled push blade device with a line of travel comprises a frame having at least one load bearing wheel, a push blade, a box such that the push blade is attached to the box, a moment mechanism engaging the push blade to the box and allowing the top of the push blade to pivot forward, and a position correction device which provides for continuously adjustable tension adjustment and further engages the blade to the box.  
           [0012]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the device comprises a swivel allowing the box to rotate and thereby position the push blade into different angles from the line of travel of the device.  
           [0013]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the device comprises an adjustment bar extending from the box at one portion of the bar and into positioning spaces at another portion of the bar such that occupation of the bar in different positioning spaces corresponds to different angles at which the push blade is positioned from the line of travel of the device.  
           [0014]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention there are two load bearing wheels.  
           [0015]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the moment mechanism is selected from the group consisting of hinges, ratchets, coils, chords, pulleys, or any combination thereof.  
           [0016]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the position correction device is selected from the group consisting of springs, pulleys, ratchets, elastic cables, or any combination thereof.  
           [0017]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the moment mechanism is a hinge.  
           [0018]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the position correction device is a spring.  
           [0019]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the tension of the spring may be adjusted.  
           [0020]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the tension of the spring can be adjusted through the use of a knob or dial that can be rotated or pulled.  
           [0021]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention a blade stop limits the action of the position correction device on the blade when in the original position. The blade stop may be made of any material that would dampen impact such as rubber or plastic.  
           [0022]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the device has engagement members extending from the blade such that the moment mechanism comprises a rod which passes through through holes in the box and openings in the engagement members of the blade such that the blade is rotatably attached to the box.  
           [0023]    In at least one embodiment of the present invention the device comprises a channel mechanism wherein a peg extends from the box into a curved channel in the frame.  
           [0024]    These and other embodiments which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages and objectives obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof and the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment to the invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0025]    Referring to the Drawings, wherein like numerals represent like parts throughout the several views:  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the back portion of the wheeled push blade plow.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the top portion of the wheeled push blade plow.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the top portion of the wheeled push blade plow with the box and blade at an oblique angle with the direction of the plow.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the back portion of the wheeled push blade plow with the box and blade at an oblique angle with the direction of the plow.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 5 is a perspective back view of the disassembled invention showing the top portion of the wheeled push blade plow.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 6 is a perspective back view of the box of the wheeled push blade plow showing the dial.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 7 is a perspective back view of the box of the wheeled push blade plow showing its interior.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the back view of the wheeled push blade plow with the box and blade at an oblique angle with the direction of the plow.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the back portion of the box of the wheeled push blade plow showing its interior.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 9 is a side view of the wheeled push blade plow with the blade in the original position.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 10 is a front view of the wheeled push blade plow with the blade in the original position. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0037]    While this invention may be embodied in many different forms, there are described in detail herein specific preferred embodiments of the invention. This description is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments illustrated.  
         [0038]    Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, and  3 , the adjusting bar  6  of the wheeled push blade plow  2  is shown. The bar can be from the same piece as the box  12  or can be removable. Here, the bar  6  is fixedly attached to the box  12  and has a bend  8 . On the distal end of the bar  6  or at the top of box  12  a stopper  18  is shown. This stopper  18  in this embodiment is rubber and limits the pivoting action that the position correcting device  10  (in this example, a spring) exert on the push blade  16 . The rubber stopper  18  also serves to dampen the return of the blade  16  to its original position, i.e. when the top of the blade  16  is in contact with the stopper  18 .  
         [0039]    In at least one embodiment the bar  6  can be positioned into positioning spaces  15  of the latch plate  20  as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4 or into positioning spaces between pegs  21  extending from crossbar  22  as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 5. In at least one embodiment the pegs  21  are of varying lengths. In at least one embodiment the pegs are progressively longer from inside pegs  21  to outside pegs  21 . In at least one embodiment the at least one wheel  17  is attached to the frame. The frame  19  is shown clearly in the disassembled embodiment of FIG. 5. The frame  19  has a front  19   a  and a back  19   b . In at least one embodiment the box  12  is swively attached to the frame  19  at the bottom of the box  12  at swivel hole  11  shown in FIG. 7. In at least one embodiment the box  12  is mounted on a swivel device of frame  19 . In at least one embodiment, the box  12  and the frame  19  are additionally engaged by a peg extending from the box  12  that is movably engaged to a curved channel in the frame  19 . The channel mechanism may provide added strength and smoothness when positioning the blade  16  at an oblique angle. In at least one embodiment the blade  16  is affixed to the box  12  such that the forward bottom edge  16   a  of the plow blade  16  is substantially parallel to the forward edge of the box  12 . In this manner the box  12  and the blade  16  can be adjusted to face an angle oblique to the line of travel of the push blade plow  2  upon movement of adjustment bar  6 . In some embodiments, the line of travel of the plow  2  is the line substantially perpendicular to the front end  19   a  or back end  19   b  of the frame  19  and substantially parallel to the surface upon which the plow is traversing.  
         [0040]    The tension exerted by position correction device  10  on the blade  16  in returning to the original position can be adjusted. In at least one embodiment, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 6, the box  12  has a dial  26  on its proximal portion for purposes of adjusting the tension. The dial  26  can be turned in one direction in order to increase the tension of the position correction device  10  (located inside the box  12 ) and turned in another direction to decrease the tension of the position correction device  10 . In at least one embodiment, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the position correction device  10  is a spring, the spring  10  is movably engaged to the plow blade  16  and to a threaded eye bolt  10   a . The bolt  10   a  has threads that match the dial  26 . As the dial  26  is turned in one direction the threaded portion is advanced further through dial  26 , and thus bolt  10   a  is moved in a direction away from the blade  16  thereby increasing tension on the spring  10  and concomitantly increasing the resistive force applied to the pivoting of the plow blade  16 . It should be noted that the dial  26  and position adjustment device  10  in this embodiment provide for continuously adjustable position correction device (i.e. the adjustments are not limited to a discrete number of adjustments).  
         [0041]    The blade  26  may be engaged to box  12  as shown in FIGS. 6-8. In at least one embodiment, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 8, the plow blade  16  has two engagement members  28  extending from the plow blade  16 . The engagement member  28  may be formed integrally with the plow or affixed afterwards. In the embodiment of FIG. 8 the engagement member is affixed to the plow through welding. In other embodiments cold mechanical affixing is used such as a nut and bolt. The engagement member  28  is designed to function in engaging the blade  16  to box  12 . In at least one embodiment, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 8 the blade  16  may be engaged to box  12  by passing a rod  30  through a through hole in each of two engagement members  28  and through two through holes of box  12 . The combination of the through holes of the box  12 , the two engagement members  28 , and the rod  30  are an example of a moment mechanism  24  in at least one embodiment of the invention.  
         [0042]    With the plow blade  16  engaged to position correction device  10  and pivotally attached to box  12 , the plow blade  16  is in the original position as long as the bottom of the blade  16  has not encountered a substantial obstruction. In the event a substantial obstruction is met while operating the plow  2  the blade  16  may pivot fully about the moment mechanism  24  as if the bottom of blade  16  had encountered a substantial obstruction. The blade  16  will pivot to varying degrees depending on the obstruction. In some instances the blade  16  may pivot such that the top portion  16   b  of the blade touches the ground or floor. FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the push blade plow in the original position.  
         [0043]    The above Examples and disclosure are intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. These examples and description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one of ordinary skill in this art. All these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the attached claims. Those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto.