Abstract:
An appendage or apparatus attached to the leading edge of a shovel for the purpose of small shock absorption from contact between paved roadways and the shovel. The invention aims to prevent the most basic fissures and cracks at contact with the roadway without complicated devices and can be retrofitted onto existing shovels.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/215,850, filed Sep. 9, 2015, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to shovels and, more particularly, to a shock absorption and transferring appendage for a shovel blade, and more particularly to snow shovel blades. 
         [0003]    Roadbed fissures and potholes can be caused by the rupturing or cracking of pavement due to excess energy between the vertical and horizontal movements of a shovel, such as a snow plow, on or towards the ground. Additionally, water infiltration into a small fissure already present in a road surface and subsequent expansion as the water reaches near freezing temperatures can cause the surface of a roadway to buckle or rupture. When the blade of a snowplow or shovel makes contact with the ground, the shearing stress impacts these ruptures and can scrape away large portions of the roadway. 
         [0004]    Other devices that are modifications to the shovel, or a snowplow include flaps, fan mechanisms, and shock absorbers in other areas of the shovel. These modifications do little for alleviating roadway damage and pothole formation due to the direct contact between the shovel and the road during roadway shoveling. Additionally the common method for treatment for fissures and potholes are post fact: happening after the incident occur. 
         [0005]    As can be seen, there is a need for an improved attachment to a shovel blade to prevent the most basic fissures and cracks at contact without complicated devices and may easily be retrofitted onto existing shovels. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In one aspect of the present invention, an impact absorbing appendage, comprises: an elongate housing having a cavity defined therein; a plurality of weights disposed within said cavity; and a plurality of links interconnecting said plurality of weights. The appendage may also include a channel defined in an outer surface of the elongate housing and extending along a longitudinal length of the housing. Alternatively, a flange may extend from an outer surface of the elongate housing and along a longitudinal length of the housing. The appendage may also comprise an appendage extension at a first end and a second end of the elongate housing, extending upwardly from the elongate housing. In some embodiments, the channel extends from the elongate housing along an inward face of the appendage extension. The impact absorbing appendage may further comprise an interlink media contained within the cavity. The interlink media may include one of: a viscous fluid, a granular, a crushed, or a pelletized solid material. 
         [0007]    In other aspects of the invention an impact absorbing apparatus for a shovel blade, comprises: an elongate housing having a cavity defined therein; a shock absorbing media contained within said cavity; an attachment flange extending along a longitudinal length of the appendage. In some embodiments, the attachment flange defines a channel extending along the longitudinal length of the appendage. The shock absorbing media may comprise a plurality of weights disposed in a spaced apart relation within said cavity along a longitudinal length of the elongate housing. A plurality of links may be provided to flexibly interconnect the plurality of weights. The impact absorbing apparatus may also include a left and a right extension connected with the channel extending along inward opposed faces of the left and the right extensions and adapted to receive a left and a right lateral edge of the shovel blade. In some embodiments, the shock absorbing media comprises a viscous fluid. In other embodiments, the shock absorbing media comprises one of a granular, a crushed, or a pelletized solid material. The elongate housing is formed of a resilient material. In certain aspects of the invention, a fastener secures the elongate housing to the shovel blade. 
         [0008]    Yet another aspect of the invention includes an impact absorbing shovel that comprises: a shovel blade having a leading edge; an appendage operatively coupled to the leading edge, the appendage comprising, an elongate resilient housing having a cavity defined therein; and a shock absorbing media contained within said cavity. In some embodiments, the shock absorbing media comprises a plurality of weights disposed in a floating, spaced apart relation within the cavity. In other embodiments, a link flexibly interconnects the plurality of weights. 
         [0009]    These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention, shown in use. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention, showing placement of appendage  10  onto plow edge  22 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a section view of the invention, taken along line  3 - 3  is  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a section view of the invention, illustrating the movement of weights  16  and links  18  when housing  12  encounters force. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the invention, shown in use. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a section view of the invention, taken along line  6 - 6  is  FIG. 5 , shown with the option of not using interlink media  20 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
         [0017]    Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a shock absorption and transferring appendage for a shovel blade. As stated above, roadbed fissures and potholes can be caused by the rupturing or cracking of pavement due to excess energy between the vertical and horizontal movements of a shovel on or towards the ground when there is water in, excess stress on, or a small fissure already present in the roadbed. 
         [0018]    The shock absorbing and energy transferring appendage of the present invention is a mechanical device designed to absorb the excess energy or shock between a pavement or roadway surface and the leading edge of a shovel in order to decrease the impact and shear forces against the roadway, leading to the creation of small fissures or larger potholes. 
         [0019]    While there are many methods of shock absorption and many shovels used in snow plows today, the shock absorbing and transferring appendage according to the present invention is the only invention that applies a shock absorption technology to the edge of a shovel in a solution that allows the retrofitting of existing shovel and snowplow blades. The shock absorbing and transferring appendage also directly absorbs minor shock at the point of contact between the shovel and the road rather than through connections between the shovel and the apparatus managing the shovel. 
         [0020]    As seen in reference to  FIG. 1 , the shock absorbing and transferring appendage  10  is operatively attached to the leading edge of a shovel blade  26 . The shovel blade may be attached to the bumper and/or frame member of a motor vehicle, or alternatively, the leading handcart shovel shown in  FIG. 5 , or any shovel blade. 
         [0021]    The shock absorbing and transferring appendage  10  is attached to the shovel blade  26 , via suitable fasteners, such as bolts, rivets, welds, or high strength adhesives. The appendage  10  may be attached to the shovel blade  26  via a flange extending from the appendage. The appendage  10  may also include an attachment slot  22 , or channel, which may be defined between two flanges, extending along a longitudinal length of the housing  12 . The appendage  10  may also include an extension on opposed ends of the appendage  10  in which the attachment slot  22  extends upwardly and may receive the lateral edges of the shovel blade  26 . 
         [0022]    The appendage  10  of the present invention includes a housing  12 , having a cavity  14  defined therein along a linear length of the housing  12 . The housing may be formed of any suitable resilient durable material, such as galvanized rubber, a metallic mesh, a blended material or other material. A plurality of weights  16  are retained in the cavity  14 . The plurality of weights  16  are contained within the cavity  14  in a loose fitting arrangement, such that they are free floating, that is they are able to move, or be deflected within the cavity when acted upon by a force. Preferably, the plurality of weights  16  are interconnected to one another via a plurality of links  18 . The weights  16  and links  18  facilitate the absorbing and distribution of kinetic energy encountered by the appendage  10 . 
         [0023]    The weights  16  and links  18  may be formed from a metal, a composite, or like material. The weight, diameter, and length of the weights  16  and interconnecting links  18  are selected based on the intended application for the appendage  10 . For example a large highway snow plow  26 , would be substantially larger and heavier than those for the small handcart push shovel  38 , shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0024]    The push shovel shown in  FIGS. 5  illustrates the similarities of the components of the appendage  10  which are adapted a smaller application. The appendage  28  includes a housing  30  having a cavity  32  defined therein. The weights  34  are smaller in diameter and length than those for the larger shovel appendage  10 . Similarly, the links  36  interconnect the weights  34 . 
         [0025]    In one embodiment of the invention, the weights  16  may comprise a hollow end portion which may captively retain a protrusion on the end of the link  18  retained therein. Optionally, the weights  16  may be hollow and may have openings slightly less in diameter than the interior. The links  18  may have anchors at each end that are slightly larger in diameter than the anchor. The difference in diameters will create a link between the flexible conduit  18  and the weight  16  creating a chain for which to absorb and disperse shocks encountered with the roadway. 
         [0026]    As may be best seen in reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the intra-cavity space  14  that is not occupied by the weights  16  and links  18  may be filled by an interlink media  20 . The interlink media may be formed of a viscous fluid, sand, crushed walnut shells, pelletized materials, and the like. The interlink media is not required to form the main apparatus but can be applied for additional shock absorption. 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , when a disturbance or pressure from the roadway surface strikes the tip of a shovel  26 , protected with the appendage  10  of the present invention, (indicated by the arrow), the kinetic energy or shock of the fluctuation of terrain hitting the shovel  26  will be dispersed via the housing  12  and distributed along the weights  16  via the links  18  of the shock absorbing link  18 . As will be appreciated, in certain preferred embodiments the displacement of the interlink media  20  may also absorb an amount of kinetic energy as well. 
         [0028]    As will be appreciated, the appendage  10  of the present invention may be employed by retrofitting old or existing shovels. A person would need to provide the size and usage type of the shovel. Using this information, such as the amount of wear and road types, we could then produce a custom appendage to be added to the shovel. The appendage  10  may also be utilized by adding it to a newly manufactured shovel  16 . The shovel manufacturer would indicate the intended usage of the shovel and an appendage would be produced for that. 
         [0029]    The appendage  10  could be added to any blade that goes over uneven terrain. Variants could be used for low to the ground cars or trailers. 
         [0030]    It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.