Abstract:
There is provided a steel handle shovel comprising a coupling assembly between the head shovel and the handle, which provides a higher resistance in the structure of the shovel to the force and the weight the shovel undergoes under working conditions.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention refers to a steel handle shovel comprising a coupling assembly that reinforces the structure thereof through the arrangement and elements that integrate same. 
     BACKGROUNDS OF THE INVENTION 
     A shovel is basically a hand tool used in different tasks such as construction, gardening, cleaning, etc., which has two primary functions: manually digging or moving materials from one place to another. 
     In general, a shovel comprises two main elements: a shovel blade be made up of a sheet or plate on the bottom end of the shovel that usually it is rectangular and slightly concave element and made of metal; and the handle or stub on the top end of the shovel to manipulate said tool. The shape of the shovel blade, as well as certain characteristics of the handle, depend on the type of task to be performed with this tool. 
     The use of shovel with steel handles is known in the prior art. Specifically, coupling means that attach the handle with the shovel. However, these means lose their physical properties with the use until they break. Said coupling means commonly consist of screws or rims as in the shovel described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,700. 
     As mentioned before, a shovel comprises a handle and a shovel blade; wherein one of the ends of the shovel blade includes a coupling neck through which the handle of said shovel is inserted attached thereto by fastening means. In the practice, the area where these elements are coupled is a critical point of fracture, as said area undergoes a force pressure exerted by the user; as well as to the load weight that the shovel undergoes during its use. Thus, the neck of the shovel blade, the coupling means or the handle itself tends to fracture over time. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,878,334 B2 discloses a shovel including a handle and a shovel blade, wherein said elements are coupled through a plurality of mechanical fasteners, such as metal screws that are attached in a first end of the handle to the shovel blade and a second end of the handle includes a grip. However, said shovel becomes fractured as the end of the handle, as well as the coupling portion of the shovel blade comprise a series of bores for the coupling thereof using screws as fastening means between both elements, thus, the coupling is weaker. 
     In this sense, the steel handle shovel according to the present invention, differs substantially in its coupling assembly design from the elements that comprise same with respect the conventional ones already known in the prior art. 
     The steel handle shovel solves the mentioned problems as it is designed with a minimum of elements which allow to distribute the force exerted by the user or the weight in working conditions, in different areas of the handle and the shovel blade; and not just in one area, making the shovel with steel handle of the present invention more resistant unlike shovels already known in the prior art. 
     The present invention aims to provide a steel handle shovel having a coupling assembly that further serves as reinforcement means of the shovel with steel handle; wherein said coupling assembly provides the shovel with a higher resistance to the forces and the weight it undergoes under working conditions. 
     Therefore, the embodiment of the invention described herein comprises a combination of technical features and benefits that substantially improve the shovel with steel handle of the prior art. These and many other features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the invention, making reference to the enclosed drawings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the drawbacks related to the before cited shovel with steel handles of the prior art. The present invention provides a steel handle shovel with improvement in the coupling assembly of the elements thereof, which provides a higher resistance to each of the elements comprising the shovel to the force and the weight the shovel undergoes in working conditions. 
     The present invention comprises a shovel blade consisting of a sheet or plate on the bottom end that usually is a metal, rectangular, and concave element, which at its top end comprises a tubular neck forming a single body; and a long handle which is assembled to the tubular neck of the shovel blade through a coupling and reinforcement assembly which consists of a first connecting member, a second connecting member and a locking element; wherein said members as well as the long handle are hollow tubular elements. 
     The tubular neck of the shovel blade is gradually extended with a bending forming a hollow portion, which comprises an inner diameter that is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the long handle. Furthermore, the first connecting member is sized so that one end is inserted and fitted within the inner diameter of the second connecting member and its other end is inserted into the inner diameter of the tubular neck of the shovel blade; the second connecting member is sized to be inserted and fitted into the inner diameter of the long handle; further wherein the locking element is sized to fit over the outer surface of the top end of the tubular neck of the shovel blade. 
     The following description is directed to an exemplary embodiment. However, a person skilled in the art will understand that the examples herein presented have a broad application, and that the discussion of any embodiment is relevant solely to be exemplary of said embodiment, and is not intended to suggest that the scope of the specification, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment. 
     Certain terms are used throughout the following specification and claims to refer to particular features or components. As a person skilled in the art shall appreciate, different people may refer to the same feature or component using different names. This document is intended to distinguish between components or features that differ in name, but not in function. The figures in the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Some of the features and components in the present document, may be shown exaggerated in scale or in some schematic form, and some details of the conventional elements may not be shown for the sake of clarity and conciseness. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, reference will be made to the attached drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective side top view of the preferred embodiment of the steel handle shovel of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows an exploded perspective side top view of the preferred embodiment of the steel handle shovel of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows a cut-off perspective side view of the coupling and reinforcement assembly inside the long handle of the steel handle shovel of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows a cut-off perspective side view of the preferred embodiment of the steel handle shovel of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention refers to a steel handle shovel comprising, in its bottom end, a shovel blade consisting of relatively rectangular and concave shaped sheet or plate, which may be made in metal or plastic, wherein its top end comprises a tubular neck forming a single body. The top end of the shovel with steel handle comprises a long handle; wherein the bottom end of the long handle is assembled to the tubular neck of the shovel blade through a coupling and reinforcement assembly; and wherein its top end comprises a handle grip made in plastic but not limited to said material, which provides the user a better grip and comfort during its use. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  which illustrates a perspective side top view of the steel handle shovel  100  according to the present invention. The shovel  100  comprises a shovel blade  110  and a long handle  120 . The shovel blade  110  consists of a substantially rectangular shaped sheet or plate consisting of a single body; wherein its side ends  110   a  and  110   b  are curvedly extended from the center of the sheet or plate, forming a concave surface and a bottom end  110   c  is projected towards the front forming a concave oval surface. 
     A neck curvedly extends from the central part of the substantially rectangular shaped and concave sheet or plate towards the top end  100   d  of the shovel blade  110 , forming a hollow tubular neck  110   e ; wherein the top end  110   d  of the shovel blade  110  at the sides of the hollow tubular neck  110   e , comprises a pair of side walls  110   f  and  110   g  which are parallel therebetween; wherein said side parallel walls  110   f  and  110   g  are perpendicularly extended in reference to the surface of the sheet or plate of the shovel blade  110 , forming two barriers. The side walls  110   f  and  110   g  comprise at least one hole which function is to provide an anti-slip and thrust surface such that it facilitates the operations of digging and transfer of materials. 
     The long handle  120  consists of a tubular element wherein its top end comprises a handle grip  130  that is coupled in the outer surface of the long handle  120 , which is made of a non-metal material such as a soft and corrugated material to provide better grip and comfort, for example, plastic, but not limited thereto; wherein the handle grip  130  is inserted over the outer surface of the top end of the long handle  120 . 
     The bottom end of the long handle  120  is inserted into the top end of the hollow tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110  and is fixed through a coupling and reinforcement assembly (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). Thus, the inner diameter of the top end of the hollow tubular neck  110   e  is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the long handle  120 ; wherein a locking element  140  fits over the outer surface of the top end of the hollow tubular neck  110   e  to reinforce and lock the coupling between the long handle  120  and the shovel blade  110 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , which shows an exploded perspective side top view of the preferred embodiment of the shovel with steel handle of the present invention. The hollow tubular neck  110  of the shovel blade  110   e  is gradually curvedly extended, forming a hollow tubular portion wherein the bottom end of the long handle and the coupling and reinforcement assembly of the shovel with steel handle  100  of the present invention are coupled. 
     The coupling and reinforcement assembly according to the embodiment of the present invention, comprises a first connecting member  150  which, in one of its ends, comprises a fold or bending and in its opposite end it is lineal; wherein the shape of said bending is similar to the bending of the hollow tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 . Said first connecting member  150  is sized so that one part of its linear end is inserted inside a second connecting member  160  and; wherein the outer surface is covered with an epoxy resin film during the assembling process, which allows for said lineal end to be fitted to the inside of the second connecting member  160 , which further allows for the connection between both connecting members  150 ,  160 . Furthermore, the opposite end of the first connecting member  150  comprising a bending is inserted inside the hollow tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 . 
     The second connecting member  160  has a smaller length than the length of the long handle  120 , wherein the connecting member  160  is sized to be inserted and fitted inside the long handle  120 ; wherein the outer diameter of the second connecting member  160  is substantially the same than the inner diameter of the long handle  120 ; wherein all or at least part of the outer surface of the second connecting member  160  is covered with epoxy resin film during the assembling process, which allows for the second connecting member  160  to be fitted to the inner diameter of the long handle  120 , further achieving the connection between said elements. 
     The handle grip  130  is a tubular element preferably made of a non-metal material, wherein its bottom end is hollow and comprising in its top end a wall in such a shape that when the handle grip  130  is fixed over the outer surface of the top end of the long handle  120 , said wall delimits the position in which the handle grip shall be positioned on the long handle  120 , thereby preventing the handle grip  130  from slipping over the entire longitudinal axis of the long handle  120 . 
     Still referring to  FIG. 2 , the locking element  140  comprises a smaller length and an inner diameter equal or substantially equal than the outer diameter of the hollow tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 ; wherein said locking element  140  reinforces the coupling between the long handle  120  and the shovel blade  110 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , it is shown a cut-off side perspective view of the coupling and reinforcement assembly inside the long handle  120  of the shovel with steel handle  100  of the present invention, before being inserted and fixed to the tubular neck of the shovel blade  110  (not shown); wherein the outer surface of the second connecting member  160  is covered with an epoxy resin film and is inserted inside the inner diameter of the long handle  120 ; wherein the epoxy resin film allows for the connection between the second connecting member  160  and the long handle  120 . 
     Furthermore, a portion of the lineal end  150   a  of the first connecting member  150  is covered with an epoxy resin film and is inserted inside the inner diameter of the second connecting member  160 ; wherein the epoxy resin film allows for the fitting and connection of the lineal end  150   a  of the first connecting member  150  within the second connecting member  160 ; wherein the remaining portion of the lineal end  150   a  and the bending end  150   b  of the first connecting member  150  remain out of the inner diameter of the second connecting member  160  and the long handle  120 . 
     As shown by  FIG. 3 , the bending end  150   b  of the first connecting member  150  comprises a pair of slots  150   c  and  150   d  which provide the first connecting member  150  with a slight flexibility to be inserted deeper inside the tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110  (not shown). 
     According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the long handle  120 , the first connecting member  150  and the second connecting member  160  consist of tubular steel elements. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , which shows a cut-off perspective side view of the preferred embodiment of the shovel with steel handle of the present invention. The bottom end of the long handle  120  is inserted inside the tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 . According to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the second connecting member  160  is inserted inside the inner diameter of the long handle  120  and a portion of the lineal end  150   a  of the first connecting member  150  is located inside the inner diameter of said second connecting member  160 . 
     Furthermore, inside the pocket of the tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 , there is provided the remaining portion of the lineal end  150   a  and the bending end  150   b  of the first connecting member  150 . The bending end  150   b  of the first connecting member  150  is fixed inside the bending of the neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 . Therefore, the slots  150   c  and  150   d  of the first connecting member  150  allow for a slight folding at the bending end  150   b  of the first connecting member  150  to be inserted deeper inside the inner diameter of the neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 , thus reinforcing part of the hollow tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 . 
     So, the force applied by a user, as well as the weight during use of the shovel with steel handle of the present invention, is distributed not only at the coupling point between the long handle  120  and the hollow tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 , but also at the first and second connecting members  150  and  160 . Particularly, the second connecting member  160  reinforces much of the length of the bottom end of the steel handle  120  an, in turn, the first connecting member  150  reinforces part of the tubular neck  110   e  of the shovel blade  110 . 
     According to the previously described coupling and reinforcement assembly of the shovel with steel handle of the present invention, each and all of the elements and members that comprise same are coupled through the insertion between said elements, so there no other kinds of tools are required for the assembly between the long handle  120  and the shovel blade  110 , which makes the assemble thereof more practical. 
     Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, a person skilled in the art may modify the same without departing from the scope or the teachings herein. The embodiments herein described are merely exemplary and not limitative, as in the present shovel with steel handle a different form of sheet or plate of the shovel blade may be used. In addition, it is also possible to provide, in the top end, any other handle grip having the same purpose. As a result, the scope of protection is not limited to the embodiment herein described, but it is only limited by the following claims, which scope will include all the equivalents of the subject matter of the claims.