Hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades

A hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades for plowing snow comprising an elongated housing with a front end and a rear end; a pair of elongated and generally opposed blades each having an end pivotally coupled to the front end of the housing; a blade adjustment mechanism for allowing independent angular positioning and securement of each of the blades with respect to the front end of the housing for thereby enabling the blades to be placed in a plurality of plowing positions; and a rigid handle extended upwards from the housing for allowing a user a firm hold for plowing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a hand-operated snow plow with adjustable 
blades and more particularly pertains to plowing snow from an area with a 
hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The use of snow plow mechanisms is known in the prior art. More 
specifically, snow plow mechanisms heretofore devised and utilized for the 
purpose of plowing and removing snow are known to consist basically of 
familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding 
the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been 
developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. 
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,248,811 to Pravednekow discloses a 
combination snow plow and scoop. U.S. Pat. No. 3,431,661 to Carlson 
discloses a snow plow with laterally expansible fixed angle plow portions. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,042 to Duran discloses a hand operated wheeled V-blade 
snowplow. U.S. Patent No. 4,512,091 to Leininger et al. discloses a snow 
plow scoop. U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,367 to Kulat discloses an adjustable 
manual snow plow. U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,769 to Odorisio discloses a 
materials handling device. 
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and 
requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a hand-operated 
snow plow with adjustable blades that has blades that can be radially 
positioned in a variety of angular configurations for allowing a user to 
push snow or debris forwards, to the left, or to the right when plowing. 
In this respect, the hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades 
according to the present invention substantially departs from the 
conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so 
provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of plowing snow 
from an area. 
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for 
new and improved hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades which can 
be used for plowing snow from an area. In this regard, the present 
invention substantially fulfills this need. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In the view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of 
snow plow mechanisms now present in the prior art, the present invention 
provides an improved hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades. As 
such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be 
described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved 
hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades and method which has all 
the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages. 
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises, in 
combination, a rigid housing having a V-shaped front wall, a top wall and 
a bottom wall coupled to the front wall, and a pair of opposed side walls 
interconnecting the front wall, top wall, and bottom wall to define a 
hollow interior and a rear opening for allowing access to the interior, 
and a central axis defined therethrough from the midpoint of the apex of 
the front wall to the centroid of the rear opening. A pair of rigid 
rectangular blades are included with each having a front surface coated 
with a layer of a non-stick material for preventing snow from adhering 
thereto, a rear surface, and periphery interconnecting the front surface 
with the rear surface and with the periphery further having a pair of 
opposed vertical short edges and a pair of opposed horizontal long edges 
and with a short edge of each blade pivotally coupled to the apex of the 
front wall. A pair of elongated adjusting plates are included with each 
having a planar and generally circularly-shaped interior portion and an 
elongated tapered exterior portion extended outwards from the interior 
portion with each interior portion pivotally coupled to the apex of the 
front wall and further including a first, a second, and a third slot 
peripherally formed thereon and with each exterior portion coupled to a 
separate blade against the rear surface thereof. A spring-loaded locking 
lever is included and coupled to the top wall at a location securable 
within the slots of the adjusting plates for allowing fixed and 
independent angular positioning of the blades for thereby enabling them to 
be placed in a plurality of plowing positions. The locking lever is 
positionable within the first slot of one of the adjusting plates for 
placing the associated blade in a position such that an acute angle is 
formed between it and the central axis of the housing. The locking lever 
is further positionable within the second slot of one of the adjusting 
plates for placing the associated blade in a position such that a 
perpendicular angle is formed between it and the central axis of the 
housing. The locking lever is further positionable within a third slot of 
one of the adjusting plates for placing the associated blade in a position 
such that an obtuse angle is formed between it and the central axis of the 
housing. Lastly, a rigid handle is included and has a horizontal short leg 
coupled to the top wall of the housing near the rear opening thereof and a 
long leg extended upwards therefrom and away from the housing and 
terminated at a handgrip for allowing a user a firm hold for plowing. 
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features 
of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that 
follows may be better understood, and in order that the present 
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, 
additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter 
and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention 
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the 
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the 
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being 
practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood 
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose 
of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon 
which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the 
designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the 
several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, 
that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions 
insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present 
invention. 
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the 
scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar 
with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a 
cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of 
the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention 
of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to 
be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and 
improved hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades which has all the 
advantages of the prior art snow plow mechanisms and none of the 
disadvantages. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved 
hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades which may be easily and 
efficiently manufactured and marketed. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and 
improved hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades which is of 
durable and reliable construction. 
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and 
improved hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades which is capable 
of being manufactured at a low cost with regard to both materials and 
labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to 
the consuming public, thereby making such a hand-operated snow plow with 
adjustable blades economically available to the buying public. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and 
improved hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades which provides in 
the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages 
thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages 
normally associated therewith. 
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and 
improved hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades for plowing snow 
from an area. 
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and 
improved hand-operated snow plow with adjustable blades comprising an 
elongated housing with a front end and a rear end; a pair of elongated and 
generally opposed blades each having an end pivotally coupled to the front 
end of the housing; blade adjustment means for allowing independent 
angular positioning and securement of each of the blades with respect to 
the front end of the housing for thereby enabling the blades to be placed 
in a plurality of plowing positions; and a rigid handle extended upwards 
from the housing for allowing a user a firm hold for plowing. 
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various 
features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with 
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this 
disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating 
advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should 
be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there 
is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

The same reference numerals refer to the same parts through the various 
Figures. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular, to FIG. 1 thereof, 
the preferred embodiment of the new and improved hand-operated snow plow 
with adjustable blades embodying the principles and concepts of the 
present invention and generally designated by the reference number 10 will 
be described. 
Specifically, the present invention essentially includes five major 
components. The major components are the housing, blades, adjusting 
plates, locking lever, and handle. The major components are interrelated 
to provide the intended function of plowing snow from an area. 
More specifically, it will be noted in the various Figures that the first 
major component is the housing 12. The housing is rigid in structure. It 
has a V-shaped front wall, a top wall 14, and a bottom wall 16 coupled to 
the top wall. The housing also includes a pair of opposed side walls 18 
interconnecting the front wall, top wall, and bottom wall to thereby 
define a hollow interior 22 and a rear opening 24 for allowing access to 
the interior. The housing also includes a central axis defined 
therethrough from the midpoint of the apex of the front wall to the 
centroid of the rear opening. 
The second major component is the blades 30. The present invention includes 
a pair of blades. The blades are rigid in structure. Each blade has a 
front surface 32 and a rear surface 34. The front surface is coated with a 
layer of non-stick material such as Teflon for preventing snow from 
adhering thereto when plowing. The blades each have a periphery 
interconnecting the front surface with the rear surface. The periphery 
includes a pair of opposed vertical short edges 36 and a pair of opposed 
horizontal long edges 38. A short edge of each blade is pivotally coupled 
to the apex of the front wall. The short edges of the blades that are 
coupled to the apex of the front wall are formed in the shape of a hinge. 
The third major component is the adjusting plates 40. The present invention 
includes a pair of adjusting plates. The adjusting plates are elongated 
and rigid in structure. Each adjusting plate has a planar and generally 
circularly-shaped interior portion 42 and an elongated tapered exterior 
portion 44 extended outwards from the interior portion. Each interior 
portion is pivotally coupled to the apex of the front wall. Each interior 
portion further includes a first slot 44, a second slot 46 and a third 
slot 48 peripherally formed thereon in a radial configuration. Each 
exterior portion is coupled to a separate blade against the rear surface 
thereof with rivets 54. The pivotal coupling of the adjustment plates and 
the blades to the apex of the housing is performed with a shoulder bolt 50 
secured with a complimentary self-locking nut 52. 
The fourth major component is the locking lever 60. The locking lever is 
rigid ion structure and is spring-loaded. The locking lever is coupled to 
the top wall at a location such that it may be urged into the slots of the 
adjusting plates 40 for allowing fixed and radial independent positioning 
of the blades. By allowing fixed and radial independent positioning of the 
blades, nine plowing positions may be realized. The plowing positions may 
be formed such that snow may be plowed in a forward direction, or plowed 
to either side of the blades. The locking lever is positionable within the 
first slot of one of the adjusting plates for placing the associated blade 
in a position such that an acute angle is formed between it and the 
central axis of the housing with the blade abutted against the front wall 
of the housing. Designating the apex of the front wall of the housing as 
the north position, the position associated with the acute angle is 
defined as the southwest position with respect to one blade and the 
southeast position with respect to the other blade. The locking lever is 
further positionable within the second slot of one of the adjusting plates 
for placing the associated blade in a position such that a perpendicular 
angle is formed between it and the central axis of the housing. The 
position associated with the perpendicular angle is defined as either the 
west position with respect to one blade or the east position with respect 
to the other blade. The locking lever is further positionable within a 
third slot of one of the adjusting plates for placing the associated blade 
in a position such that an obtuse angle is formed between it and the 
central axis of the housing. The position associated with the obtuse angle 
is defined as either the northwest position with respect to one blade or 
the northeast position with respect to the other blade. 
The fifth major component is the handle 70. The handle is rigid in 
structure. It has a horizontal short leg 72 coupled to the top wall with a 
clamp 74 and rivets 76. This coupling is performed on the housing near the 
rear opening. The handle also includes a long leg 78 extended upwards from 
the short leg and away from the housing. The long leg is terminated at a 
hand grip 80 for allowing a user a firm hold for plowing. 
The present invention is a unique type of snow plow or remover for 
directing snow to either the left, right or both sides of a path to be 
plowed, the shovel works by manual manipulation of the shovel blades to 
varying degrees thereby causing variable directing of snow placement. The 
blades of the present invention are coated with a non-stick material such 
as "TEFLON". 
As to the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same 
should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further 
discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. 
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the 
optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to 
include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and the 
manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and 
obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to 
those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are 
intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the 
principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modification and 
changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired 
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and 
described, and accordingly, all suitable modification and equivalents may 
be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.