Patent Publication Number: US-7216907-B1

Title: Bracket for snow shovel

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is directed toward a snow shovel and more specifically a molded one-piece bracket for a snow shovel. 
   Snow shovels are well known in the art. Typically, a snow shovel has a handle attached to a shaft which is attached to a blade. The shaft generally is attached to the blade by a bracket that receives a portion of the shaft and is bolted or welded to the back of the blade. To provide additional support, a brace is attached to the shaft above the bracket and attached to the blade outwardly of the bracket. While the bracket and brace connect the shaft to the blade and provide support during operation, the combination increases the time for assembly and because of the number of parts increases the cost to manufacture. Thus, there is a need in the art for a shovel that addresses these problems. 
   An objective of the present invention is to provide a snow shovel that is easy to assemble. 
   Another objective of the present invention is to provide a snow shovel made of fewer parts that is more economical to manufacture. 
   These and other objectives will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the following written description. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A shovel having a handle connected to an elongated shaft that is connected to a blade. The shaft is connected to the blade by a bracket having a hollow cylinder, a support member, and a support plate. The hollow cylinder is formed to receive one end of the shaft. The support member is connected to the support plate and has a concave arcuate bottom surface formed to receive a curved portion of the blade. The support plate is fixedly connected to the blade. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a shovel; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the back side of a bracket; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the front side of a bracket; 
       FIG. 4  is an additional perspective view of the back side of a bracket; and 
       FIG. 5  is an additional perspective view of the front side of a bracket. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to the Figures, a shovel  10  has a handle  12  that is connected to an elongated shaft  14 . The handle  12  and shaft  14  can be made of a single piece without departing from the scope of the invention. At an end opposite the handle  12 , the shaft  14  is connected to a blade  16 . The shaft  14  is connected to the blade  16  by a bracket  18 . 
   The bracket  18 , is preferably made of molded plastic to form a single piece having a hollow cylinder  20 , a support member  22 , and a support plate  24 . The hollow cylinder  20  has a cylindrical side wall  26  with an open end  28  and a closed end  30 . The open end  28  of the hollow cylinder  20  is formed to receive an end of the shaft  14 . 
   The support member  22  has a pair of spaced members  32  that are connected to the support plate  24  and extend along the length of the cylinder  20 . The spaced members  32  have a vertical edge  34  that extends along the support plate  24  and an angled edge  36  that extends outwardly from the open end  28  toward the closed end  30 . The edges  34  and  36  terminate in a bottom  38  that has a concave arcuate surface  40  formed to fit the curvature of the blade  16 . 
   The support plate  24 , preferably has a triangular shape with a slot  42  wherein the hollow cylinder  20  is disposed. Adjacent a bottom edge  44  are a plurality of connecting apertures  46  that are positioned for alignment with connecting apertures  46  on the blade  16 . The support plate  24  is connected to the blade  16  by a plurality of screws or rivets that extend through the aligned apertures  46 . Extending outwardly from cylinder  20  are a plurality of support fins  50 . Preferably, the support fins  50  taper inwardly from an end connected to the cylinder toward an end connected to the support plate  24 . Disposed between the fins are a plurality of slots  52 . 
   To assemble the shovel  10 , the bracket  18  is placed on the blade  16  such that the curvature of the blade  16  is received within the arcuate surface  40  of the bottom  38  of the support member  22 , and such that apertures  46  of the blade  16  and support plate  24  are aligned. Rivets or screws are inserted through apertures  46  to secure the bracket  18  to the blade  16 . The handle  12  and shaft  14  are connected to the bracket  18  by inserting an end of the shaft  14  into the hollow cylinder  20 . The shaft  14  is secured to the bracket  18  either by frictional engagement, adding an adhesive material, or by a bolt and screw (not shown) that extend through cylinder  20  and shaft  14 . 
   Therefore, a shovel having a bracket made of a single piece has been shown that is easy to assemble and more economical to manufacture and at least all of the stated objectives have been met.