Patent Publication Number: US-6663083-B1

Title: Crowbar with pivot arm

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based on Disclosure Document No. 516157 which was received in the Patent Office on Aug. 8, 2002. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to crowbars or pry bars, and, in particular, to a crowbar which can be used to more easily separate two pieces of wood without marring the wood. 
     Crowbars and pry bars have long been used to separate pieces of wood or other items which are connected (i.e., nailed) together. Often during construction, for example, of a house or other building, it is necessary to separate two cross-bars which have been connected together. When a traditional crowbar is used, the head or claw of the crowbar is forced between the two pieces of wood, and the top piece of wood is pried off the bottom piece of wood. While this works to separate the two pieces of wood, the act of forcing the claw between the two pieces of wood can mar or splinter one or both pieces of wood, making either or both pieces of wood unusable. As can be appreciated, this results is waste. 
     Crowbars have been designed to help tear up floors. For example, Waddell, Pat. No. 977,986 discloses a crowbar having arms extending out from opposite sides of the crowbar&#39;s claw which act as a fulcrum to provide for extra stabilization of the crowbar during use. The bottom of the arms are level with the bottom of the claw. Hence, the claw will be difficult to properly position to separate two cross-beams. Further, the position of the arms changes the direction of force which is applied to the claw (and hence to the boards being separated) making it difficult to pry apart cross-beams, unless the claw is forced between the two cross-beams. Such use of the crowbar, as noted above, can lead to marring and splintering of the beams being separated. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly stated, a crowbar of the present invention includes a shaft, a curved neck at one end of the shaft, a straight section extending from the end of the curved neck, and a pivot arm positioned substantially at the junction between the curved neck and the straight section. The pivot arm is positioned above the straight section and preferably forms an angle of about 90° with said straight section. Additionally, the pivot arm is relatively short, having a length of less than 4″. Preferably, the pivot arm has a length of about 2″ to about 4″. Additionally, although the crowbar could be supplied with a single pivot arm, it is preferably supplied with two pivot arms extending in opposite directions from each other. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a crowbar of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the crowbar; and 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the crowbar in use. 
     Corresponding reference numerals will be used throughout the several figures of the drawings. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description will clearly enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the invention, including what I presently believe is the best mode of carrying out the invention. Additionally, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     A crowbar  10  of the present invention is shown generally if FIG.  1 . The crowbar  10  includes a shaft  12  with a claws  14  and  16  at opposite ends of the shaft  12 . The claws  14  and  16  are both tapered with flat upper and lower surfaces to facilitate use of the claws in prying apart two members. The claw  16  extends from the shaft  12  at a slight angle with respect to the shaft. The claw  14 , however, is connected to the shaft  12  by means of a curved neck  18 . As can be seen in FIG. 1, the neck curves around, and then the claw  14  is formed at the end of a straight portion  20  which extends from the end of the curved neck  18 . Thus, straight portion  20  defines an acute angle with the shaft  12 . 
     To facilitate use of the crowbar is separating two cross-beams without splintering or substantially marring the cross-beams, the crowbar  10  is provided with pivot arms  22  which extend out from opposite sides of the crow-bar at the base of the straight portion  20  (i.e., at the junction of the straight portion  20  and the neck  18 ). Preferably, the pivot arms form an angle of about 90° with the straight portion  20 . The pivot arms are positioned on the top surface of the straight portion  20 . Hence, the arms  22  do not lie in the same plane as the straight portion  20 . The pivot arms  22  can be formed integrally with the crowbar  10 , or can be welded to the crowbar. The pivot arms are preferably fairly short, and preferably extend only about 2″ to 4″ from straight portion  20  in either direction. 
     The use of the crowbar  10  to separate two cross-beams B 1  and B 2  is shown in FIG.  3 . As can be seen, the pivot arm  22  is positioned on the lower cross-beam B 2  with the straight portion  20  and the claw  14  under the upper cross-beam B 1 , with the claw and straight portion  20  adjacent the lower crossbeam. The shaft  12  can the be pressed downwardly to pry the upper beam B 1  off the lower beam B 2 . When the shaft  12  is pressed downwardly, it will pivot about the arm  22  positioned at the junction of the beams B 1  and B 2 , as seen in FIG.  3 . As can be appreciated, if a conventional crowbar were used, the claw would have to be forced between the two beams. When the claw is forced between the two beams, only a small portion of the claw initially is urged between the two beams. Hence, during the initial effort to pry the two beams apart, a substantial amount of force is applied to a small area of the beam. The crowbar  10  on the other hand, allows for the entire straight section  20  to be placed beneath the upper beam B 1 . Thus, there is no need to force the claw  14  between the two beams. Further, because the entire straight section  20  is under the upper beam B 1 , the lifting force applied to the beam B 1  will be applied over a substantial width of the beam B 1 , rather than only over a short portion of the beam. Because the lifting force is applied over a much greater width of the of the beam when the crowbar  10  is used, the possibility of damage to either the upper or lower beams is substantially reduced. 
     The length of the arms  22  is also important to the operability of the crowbar  10 . Because the arms  22  are relatively short (i.e., 2″-4″), when the shaft is pressed down, the line of force will be substantially straight. Stated differently, because the arms  22  are relatively short, substantially no torquing will occur during use of the crowbar. 
     As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. For example, the crowbar  10  could be provided with only one arm  22 . The use of two arms  22  is preferred because the crowbar is then more versatile. Additionally, because the crowbar  10  does not require that the claw be forced between the two boards, the claw could be removed. These variations are illustrative only.