Abstract:
A foldable snow removal sheet. The sheet includes a central portion. At least one handle is provided at one end of the sheet and along each side of the sheet. The handles are integrally formed with the sheet. The sheet may be disposed over an area in advance of snow accumulation. Following the accumulation of snow on the sheet, the snow may be removed by lifting the handles to roll or move the snow off the sheet. Multiple sheets may be employed for snow removal from areas greater than the area accomodated with a single snow removal sheet.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/310,317 titled Snow Removal Foldable Sheet, filed Aug. 6, 2001 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/334,778 titled Snow Removal Foldable Sheet, filed Dec. 3, 2001. 
     
    
     
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not Applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The present invention pertains to lightweight foldable sheet that may be used for snow removal and to a method for using such a sheet for the purpose of snow removal.  
           [0004]    It is often necessary to remove snow from walks, patios and driveways in cold climates. Typically snow shovels, snowblowers and snow plows are employed for this purpose. The use of snowplows is typically limited to large areas such as driveways since the plows are usually attached to large vehicles. Thus, snowplows are not normally used for clearing snow from patios and walkways. Additionally, most individuals do not own snowplows or the vehicles to which the plows are attached due to the cost and complexity of operating such equipment as well as the problem of storing the plow when it is not in use. When snow plows are employed for snow removal they are typically employed by contractors that are hired at considerable expense.  
           [0005]    Many homeowners utilize snowblowers for the purpose of snow removal. While snowblowers are an effective means for removing snow from driveways, patios and walks of small to moderate size, snowblowers are costly and many individuals are uncomfortable using such power equipment.  
           [0006]    Snow shovels or often employed for snow removal. These devices are generally of low-cost, however, substantial effort is required to clear even a small to moderate sized area using a snow shovel. The use of such devices is known to cause or aggravate back problems as a result of the heavy lifting that is required.  
           [0007]    It would therefore be desirable to have a simple and low-cost technique for removing snow from areas of small to moderate size.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    In accordance with the present invention a lightweight foldable snow removal sheet is disclosed. The snow removal sheet is preferably formed of a thin plastic material such as high-density polyethylene. The snow removal sheet includes a generally rectangular central portion having first and second opposing ends and opposing sides. At least one handle extends from the first end of the central portion. Additionally, at least one handle extends from each of the opposing sides of the central portion of the sheet at the distal and of the respective side from the first end. In one embodiment, two handles extend from the first end of the central portion and two handles extend from each side of the central portion.  
           [0009]    When a user is expecting a snowfall, one or more of the snow removal sheets are placed over the area to be cleared of snow. A typical sheet may be approximately four feet wide by eight feet long. Snow removal may be achieved over a larger area than can be achieved with a single sheet by using multiple sheets that are disposed side by side and/or end to end. Weights are typically placed on the corners of each sheet to prevent the sheet from being blown away. Once snow accumulates on the sheet, the weights are removed from the corners of the snow removal sheet and a user may lift the snow removal sheet by the handles on the first end to roll the snow off the second end of the sheet by pulling the first end of the sheet toward the second end of the sheet. Alternatively, a user may grab the handles on a side of the sheet and roll the snow diagonally off the sheet by lifting the handles and pulling the sheet toward the diagonally opposing corner of the sheet.  
           [0010]    In one embodiment of the presently disclosed foldable snow removal sheet the handles are integrally formed with the central sheet portion.  
           [0011]    Other aspects, features and advantages of the presently disclosed snow removal sheet will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the detailed description of the invention that follows. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING  
       [0012]    The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the drawing over which:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a foldable snow removal sheet in accordance with the present invention prior to formation of the end and side handles;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the foldable snow removal sheet of FIG. 1 following folding of the handle tabs and affixing the handle tabs to the central sheet portion;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a pictorial representation showing the use of the snow removal sheet or FIG. 1 for the removal of snow;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of one embodiment of a handle for use with a snow removal sheet;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a top plan view of another embodiment of a snow removal sheet; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a top plan view of yet another embodiment of a snow removal sheet. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0019]    U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/310,317 filed Aug. 6, 2001 and titled Snow Removal Foldable Sheet and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/334,778 titled Snow Removal Foldable Sheet, filed Dec. 3, 2001 are incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0020]    In accordance with the present invention a lightweight foldable snow removal sheet is disclosed. The snow removal sheet provides a low cost alternative to snow plowing services, snowblowers and snow shovels for performing snow removal from small to moderately sized areas.  
         [0021]    A snow removal sheet  10  in accordance with the present invention is depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 depicts a top plan view of the sheet  10  prior to the formation of handles and FIG. 2 depicts a top plan view of the sheet  10  after the formation of the handles. Referring to FIG. 1, the sheet  10  includes a generally rectangular central sheet portion  12  having first and second ends  14   a  and  14   b  respectively, and opposing sides  16   a  and  16   b . In one embodiment, the sheet  10  includes integrally formed handle tab extensions  18  that include first, second and third tab portions  18   a ,  18   b  and  18   c  respectively. The tab extensions  18  are formed into handles as subsequently discussed in greater detail. The first tab portion  18   a  is adjacent the central portion  12  of the sheet  10  and extends from the central portion  12 . The second tab portion  18   b  of the tab extension  18  has a shape that generally mirrors the shape of the first tab portion  18   a . The second tab portion  18   b  extends from the first tab portion  18   a . As shown, the third tab portion  18   c  extends from the second tab portion  18   b . The central sheet portion  12  the first, second and third tab portions are fabricated as a continuous unitary sheet.  
         [0022]    In one embodiment, the foldable snow removal sheet  10  is fabricated out of a plastic material, such as high-density polyethylene. For a typical snow removal sheet  10  fabricated of high-density polyethylene the sheet is between 0.002 inch and 0.00275 inch to achieve the desired strength for the sheet. It should be recognized that snow removal sheets having greater strengths may be provided using thicker sheet materials. Other suitable sheet materials including plastic sheets may be used. For example, vinyl, kevlar, treated waterproof nylon sheets and specially treated waterproof cloths may be employed for the presently disclosed foldable snow removal sheet  10 .  
         [0023]    To form the handles  20  (FIG. 2) the tab extensions  18  are each folded generally at the intersection of the first tab portion  18   a  and the second tab portion  18   b  as depicted by dashed line  19 . Dashed line  21  serves to identify the intersection between the central sheet portion  12  and the first handle portion  18   a  and dashed line  23  serves to identify the intersection between the second handle portion  18   b  and the third handle portion  18   c . After folding of the second tab portion  18   b  over the first tab portion  18   a , the third tab portion  18   c  overlays the central sheet portion  12  as apparent in FIG. 2. An impulse sealer is used to bond the third tab portion  18   c  to the central sheet portion  12  to form a looplike handle  20 . The impulse sealer heats the plastic to a temperature sufficient to momentarily melt the plastic material and to cause the third tab portion  18   c  and the underlying central sheet portion  12  to be permanently bonded one to the other along the length of the bond  24 . Alternatively, the third tab portion  18   c  may be bonded to the central portion  12  via the use of any suitable adhesive. The bond  24  may extend along a substantial portion of the width of the handle  20  so that the forces applied to the bond  24  are spread across the length of the bond  24 . A user may insert their hands inside the handles  20  to obtain a firm grip on the sheet.  
         [0024]    As depicted in FIG. 2, first and second handles  20  are provided on opposing sides of the first end  14   a  of the central portion  12 . Additionally, two handles  20  extend from the first side  16   a  of the central portion  12 . The handles extending from the first side of the sheet are located at the distal end of the first side  16   a  from the first end  14   a . Similarly, two handles  20  extend from the second side of the central portion  12  of the sheet  10  and these handles are also located at the distal end of the second side  16   b  from the first end  14   a  of the central portion  12 .  
         [0025]    As depicted in FIG. 3, as user may lift the sheet  10  using the handles  20  extending from the first end  14   a  of the sheet  10  and roll or move snow that has accumulated on the central portion  12  of the sheet  10  toward to second end  14   b  and off of the sheet  10 . Snow removal via this technique may be accomplished with comparatively little effort. Furthermore, a pair of handles  20  extending from a side of the sheet  10  may be lifted and pulled toward the diagonally opposing corner to clear the snow from the area covered by the sheet.  
         [0026]    Indicia  26 , such as warnings, may be written on the sheet to caution a user that the surface may be slippery.  
         [0027]    The snow removal sheets herein disclosed are constructed of a thin, light and flexible material that may be readily folded for purposes of storage and are preferably fabricated of a waterproof or water-resistant material.  
         [0028]    While the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes handles  20  integrally formed with the central sheet portion  20 , the handles may be fabricated separately and affixed to the central sheet portion. More specifically, as depicted in FIG.  4   a , a handle  26  may be folded at the location indicated by the dashed line  27 . After folding of the handle  26  as shown in FIG. 4 b , handles  26  may be affixed to a generally rectangular central sheet portion  28  via use of an impulse sealer to produce bonding areas  29  as shown in FIG. 4 c . Alternatively, the handles  26  may be affixed to the central sheet portion using any suitable adhesive known in the art.  
         [0029]    Another embodiment of a foldable snow removal sheet in accordance with the invention is depicted in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 5, the snow removal sheet  30  includes a central sheet portion  32 , first and second ends  34   a  and  34   b  respectively and first and second sides  36   a  and  36   b . A pair of handles  38  are provided at the first end  34   a  of the sheet that are integrally formed with the sheet as a continuous part of the sheet  30 . Openings  40  within the handles  38  allow a user to easily grip the handles  38 . Handles  42  are also provided on the first and second sides of the central sheet portion  32  at the end of the respective side that is distal from the first end  34   a.    
         [0030]    In another embodiment of a snow removal sheet depicted in FIG. 6, the sheet  40  has first and second ends  42   a  and  42   b  and first and second sides  44   a  and  44   b . Openings  46  are provided inboard of the first end  42   a  of the sheet  40  and inboard of the first and second sides  44   a  and  44   b  at the end of the respective side most distal from the first end  42   a . The openings  46  are sized to permit the hand of a user to be inserted through the respective opening  46 . The openings  46  within the sheet  40  provide handles that may be employed for gripping of the sheet  40  during the snow removal process described above.  
         [0031]    It should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations of and modifications to the above described foldable snow removal sheet may be made without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Accordingly, the invention should not be viewed as limited except by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.