Patent Publication Number: US-2022210960-A1

Title: Debris Handling Shovel Attachment

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 63/134,272 filed Jan. 6, 2021. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of general construction and home cleaning tools. Specifically, the present invention relates to a shovel type tool for cleaning and collecting debris on the ground or floor. 
     When it comes to home and construction clean up there are circumstances where the debris is too awkward or voluminous to clean and collect effectively by hand or with currently available tools. Some examples are tree leaves or construction debris such as broken gypsum board or fiber glass batts that can easily be blown away with air movement. Currently the most common tool used is a scoop shovel or a large dustpan. Both tools used have a disadvantage which require the user to bend over and hold the debris with one hand and either the shovel handle or the dustpan handle with the other, causing extraneous effort on behalf of the user. There is a need in the industry for the development of an efficient tool for collecting awkward to handle debris. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a tool for collecting difficult to handle debris, which will simplify and expedite the collection and disposal of debris. Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment mechanism for attaching tools to different types of shovels, such as but not limited to, scoop, snow, and spade shovels. The present invention can convert shovels into a specialized tools for the collection and disposal of any awkward to handle debris including but not limited to construction and garden debris. 
     Another function of the attachment is that it can be used to collect and transfer debris straight to the disposal container without the need for a dust pan or similar type device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is front view of a first embodiment of the debris handling device. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the first embodiment of the debris handling device with trapping mechanism in the open position. 
         FIG. 3  is a partial side view of the first embodiment of the debris handling device with the trapping mechanism in the closed position. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the first embodiment of the debris handing device with the trapping mechanism in the open position. 
         FIG. 5  is a blown-up view of the first embodiment of the debris handing device showing the attachment of the trapping mechanism to the shovel. 
         FIG. 6  is a rear view of the first embodiment of the debris handling device. 
         FIG. 7  a perspective view of the debris handling device being used by a user to collect and hold debris. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a first embodiment  20  of the debris handling device comprises a shovel  21  and a debris attachment  22 . The shovel  21  comprises a shovel head  23  for collecting debris and a shovel handle  24  extending therefrom. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the figures, the debris handling tool  20  is implemented with a scoop shovel. 
     The debris attachment  22  comprises a pivoting trapping member (or arm)  25  to hold debris in shovel head  23 . The trapping member  25  can be an aluminum extruded thumb or a rake style hand, or any other suitable shape or configuration capable of clamping debris into the head of the shovel. In the embodiment shown in the Figures, the trapping member  25  comprises two elongated fingers  27  and a trapezoid shaped plate  28 . The plate  28  is attached to the fingers  27  via bolts. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the fingers  27  comprise a trapping portion  41  and an opposing attachment portion  42 . The trapping portions  41  extend over an open side  32  the shovel head  23 . The attachment portions  42  extend out from an underside  37  of the shovel handle  24 . 
     Persons of skill in the art understand the trapping member  25  could have more fingers and/or different shaped fingers. For example, the trapping member  25  could have five fingers configured like a human hand or be configured like a rake head. The trapping member  25  could be a polymer, metal, or composite. Suitable materials for the trapping member  25  include, but are not limited to polymers such as nylon and abs, metals such as steel and aluminum or composites such as fiber glass or carbon fiber. 
     The trapping member  25  is pivotably attached to the shovel handle  24  via a bolt  29  and nuts  31 . A cylindrical aperture (not shown) is drilled through the shovel handle  24  and/or the shovel head  23  at the desired location for the attachment. The bolt  29  separates the trapping portions  41  of the fingers  27  from the attachment portions  42  of the fingers  27 . 
     In the embodiment shown in the figures, the trapping member  25  is bolted to the shovel handle  24  near where the neck  30  of the shovel head  23  surrounds the shovel handle  24 . However, persons of skill in the art understand that the trapping member  25  could be pivotally bolted at other locations along the shovel handle  24 . The trapping member  25  is positioned so that it is located on the open side of the shovel head  32 . In other embodiments, the trapping member could be integrally constructed onto the shovel. 
     The debris attachment  22  further comprises a trigger  26  used to open and close the trapping member  25 . The trigger comprises a rod  34 , a lever  35 , and a spring  36 . 
     The rod  34  is attached to the underside  37  of the shovel handle  24 . The rod  34  has a first end  38  and a second end  39 . 
     The first end  38  of the rod  34  is proximate the hand grip  40  of the shovel handle  24 . The first end  39  of the rod  34  is connected to the lever  35 . The lever  35  can be integral the rod  34 , or a separate piece attached to the rod  34  via suitable means. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the lever  35  is located on the underside  37  of the shovel handle  24  parallel with the handle  24 . The lever  35  is near the hand grip  40  of the shovel handle  24 , so that the lever  35  can be reached while a user has his or hands positioned for conventional use of the shovel  21 . 
     The second end  39  of the rod  34  is proximate to the shovel head  23 . The second end  39  of the rod  34  is connected to the trapping member  25  via the attachment portions  42  of the fingers  27 . A second bolt  43 , or other suitable means, connects the second end  39  of the rod  34  to the attachment portions  42  of the fingers  27 . 
     The spring  36  has a first end  44  and a second end  45 . The first end of the spring  44  is connected to the second end of the rod  34  and the second bolt  43 . The second end of the spring  44  is connected to the shovel  21 , via the neck of the  30  of the shovel head  23 . The trapping arm  25  has a return spring  36  which returns the trapping arm  25  to the open position when the user releases the lever  35 . The return spring  36  applies force to maintain the trapping arm  25  open. The spring  36  can also be made of but not limited to a polymer compound such as rubber or any other metal or plastic or organic composition. 
     Operation of the debris handling device is described with reference to  FIGS. 1-9 . The user grips the debris handling device  20  as he or she would grip a conventional shovel. The user opens the trapping member  25  by actuating the trigger  26 . The trigger  26  is actuated by pushing or pulling on the lever  35 . Pushing the lever  35  towards the shovel head  23  displaces the rod  34  towards the shovel head  23  end of the shovel  21 . The downward movement of the rod  34  pushes on the second bolt  43  away from the underside  37  of the shovel handle  24  causing the trapping member  25  to pivot away from the shovel head  23  and into the open position  46 . 
     When the user desires to close the trapping member  25 , the user pulls the lever  35  towards the hand grip  40  end of the shovel  21 . The movement of the rod  35  towards the hand grip  40  pulls second bolt  43  towards the underside  37  of the shovel handle  24  causing the trapping member  25  to pivot into the closed position  47 . 
     While the debris handling device  20  is in the open position  46 , the user can collect debris  33  within the open side  32  of the shovel head  24 . The user can then clamp debris in the shovel head  23  by pulling the lever  35  which clamps the trapping arm  25  onto to the debris, securing the debris  33 . 
     Other means of actuating the pivoting arm include, but are not limited to, electric actuators, hydraulic actuators, and mechanical linkages such as rods or cables. Other embodiments of the invention use other types of actuators, such as cable or electric solenoids. The range of the arm from open to close from 0 degrees form the shovel head up to but not limited to 180-degree sweep. 
     The uniqueness and novelty of the tool is that the user will handle a shovel as they normally would there will be nothing new to learn in regards to the mechanics of using a shovel. Hands will be placed where they normally would during normal use of a shovel such as in  FIG. 8 . The key being that the lever will actuate the arm therefore is no different than squeezing a lever. Other products have multiple handles and other ways of holding debris. Which require two hands to actuate the clamping mechanism which will lessen the ability of the user to carry more debris and be less agile with because of the mechanics of the tool. 
     The debris handing mechanism can be developed as a separate component that can be attached to different commercially available shovels. In such an embodiment, a bracket system is used to attach the debris handling mechanism to the shovel. More specifically, the trapping member can be bolted onto a bracket that is fastened to the shovel, instead of bolted directly to the shovel. The pivot point can be the bracket, instead of a bolt through the shovel.