Patent Publication Number: US-7712839-B1

Title: Tiles or bricks shoveling device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   (1) Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a shoveling device, and more particularly, to a tile shoveling device with a linearly reciprocated blade to shovel up tiles or bricks and the tile shoveling device is operated with less vibration. 
   (2) Description of the Prior Art 
   A conventional tile shoveling device is shown in  FIG. 1  and generally includes a body  10  with front and rear wheels  11  on two sides thereof and a shoveling blade  12  is connected to the front end of the body  10  so as to shovel the tiles or bricks up. The shoveling blade  12  is powered by a motor which drives an eccentric shaft  13  to move a reciprocating link  14  and a frame  15  is connected to the reciprocating link  14 . The shoveling blade  12  is connected to the frame  15  such that when the motor drives the eccentric shaft  13 , the reciprocating link  14  moves the frame  15  and the shoveling blade  12  to move in reciprocation manner to shovel the tiles or bricks up. 
   However, the movement of the reciprocating link  14  does not move linearly, it actually swings about the eccentric shaft  13  and moves back and forth. The movement makes the body hard to control, the user has to hold the handle tightly to reduce the shaking during use. In order to improve the operation of the shoveling device, two dampers  16  such as two rubber cylinders are connected with the frame  15  to absorb the shaking. 
   The dampers  16  can only reduce limited shaking of the body  10  and also reduce the efficiency of the motor, the force that the shoveling blade  12  applies to the tiles or bricks becomes less than expected. Besides, the dampers  16  are damaged quickly. 
   The present invention intends to provide a tiles or bricks shoveling device which has less shaking during use and the shoveling blade moves linearly to effectively shovel the tiles or bricks. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a tiles or bricks shoveling device which comprises a body having front wheels and rear wheels and a handle is connected to the rear end of the body. A motor is connected to the body and includes an eccentric shaft which drives a circular member. A reciprocation unit includes a block fixed to the body and at least one post movably extends through the block. A front board and a rear board are connected to the front and rear end of the at least one post respectively. A spring is connected to the at least one post so as to return the rear board when the at least one post is moved back and forth by the circular member. A shoveling blade is connected to the front end of the front board and moves linearly with the front board. 
   The primary object of the present invention is to provide a tiles or bricks shoveling device wherein the shoveling blade moves linearly without shaking or swing. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide a tiles or bricks shoveling device wherein the shoveling blade is operated without shaking or swing so as to keep the motor working in high efficiency. 
   Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tiles or bricks shoveling device wherein the tilt angle of the shoveling blade can be adjusted by operation of a pedal at the rear end of the body. 
   The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a conventional shoveling device; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view to show the shoveling device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view to show the shoveling device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing the shoveling device of the present invention from another angle; 
       FIG. 5  is a partial cross sectional view to show the reciprocation unit connected to the shoveling device of the present invention, wherein the shoveling blade moves forward; 
       FIG. 6  is a partial cross sectional view to show the reciprocation unit connected to the shoveling device of the present invention, wherein the shoveling blade moves backward; 
       FIG. 7  shows that the adjustment plates are adjusted by operation of the pedal; 
       FIG. 8  shows that the angle of the body and the shoveling blade are adjusted to a desired angle, and 
       FIG. 9  is a cross sectional view to show that the positioning pin is engaged with one of the holes in the inner tube. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 to 4 , the tiles or bricks shoveling device of the present invention comprises a body  20  having front wheels  23  and rear wheels  24  connected thereto and a motor  25  is connected to a top of the body  20 . An outer tube  21  extends from the rear end of the body  20  and an inner tube  22  is retractably inserted into the outer tube  21 . The inner tube  22  is connected with a handle  221 . A through hole  211  is defined through a wall of the outer tube  21  and the inner tube  22  has multiple holes  222 . A positioning pin  212  extends through the through hole  211  and is engaged with one of the holes  222  to position the inner tube  22  relative to the outer tube  21  as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
   The motor  25  includes an eccentric shaft  251  which protrudes from the underside of the body  20  and drives a circular member  252 . A reciprocation unit  30  is connected to the underside of the body  20  and includes a block  31  fixed to the body  20 . Two posts  32  movably extend through the block  31  and two springs  35  are mounted to the two posts  32 . A front board  33  is connected to the front ends of the posts  32  and a rear board  34  is connected to the rear ends of the posts  32 . The springs  35  are biased between the block  31  and the rear board  34  so as to return the rear board  34  when the rear board  34  is not pushed by the circular member  252 . A tubular blade frame  361  is connected to the front board  33  and a connection plate  36  is connected to the blade frame  361 . A shoveling blade  37  is connected to the connection plate  36 . 
   An operation pedal  261  is connected between the two rear wheels  24  and an adjustment unit is connected to the operation pedal  261 . The adjustment unit includes two adjustment plates  26  and each adjustment plate  26  includes multiple positioning slots  262 . A spring  263  is connected between one of the two adjustment plates  26  and the body  20 . Two engaging bolts  27  are located on two sides of the body  20  and each are engaged with one of the positioning slots  262  of the adjustment plate  26  corresponding thereto. The adjustment unit is pivotably connected to two respective axles  241  of the two rear wheels  24 . Two links  201  are pivotably connected between the body  20  and the two axles  241  of the two rear wheels  24 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , when the motor  25  is activated, the eccentric shaft  251  drives the circular member  252  to rotate which pushes the rear board  34  periodically. Because the front board  33  is connected with the rear board  34  via the posts  32  so that the front board  33  are moved back and forth, and the shoveling blade  37  are moved linearly and reciprocally with the movement of the front board  33 . The movement of the shoveling blade  37  can easily shovel the tiles or bricks up. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the angle of the shoveling blade  37  can be adjusted so as to meet different types of shoveling tasks. The user can step the pedal  261  downward to pivot the adjustment unit to pivot abut the rear wheel axles  241 , such that the engaging bolts  27  are disengaged from the positioning slots  262  of the adjustment plates  26 . The body  20  is then can be adjusted its angle relative to the floor until the engaging bolts  27  are engaged with the desired positioning slots  262  of the adjustment plates  26  again. The pedal  261  is then released and the engaging bolts  27  position the body  20 . The positioning slots  262  can be any known shapes and in this embodiment, the positioning slots  262  includes a straight groove with multiple side slots communicating with the straight groove so as to allow the engaging bolts  27  to be positioned at desired height. 
   It is noted that the eccentric shaft  251  and the circular member  252  are moved in a circular manner, the shoveling blade  37  moves linearly. The shoveling blade  37  does not shake or swing during operation so that the motor  25  is in operated high efficiency and no dampers are required. 
   While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.