Patent Publication Number: US-2007114806-A1

Title: Pick-up tool

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to the field of hand tools, particularly hand tools used for picking up and moving objects from one place to another. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pick-up device with an activator and arm rest at one end, and pinch arms and spikes at the other end for picking up litter, trash, and the like from different types of surfaces.  
      2. Discussion of Background  
      Whatever it is called, the problem of disposing of litter, trash, garbage, debris, or refuse, and the like is nearly universal. Humans generate litter, and do not always dispose of their litter promptly and in an esthetically or environmentally sound manner. Despite the strict anti-littering ordinances passed in many jurisdictions, many people continue to loss empty cans out of their car windows, throw cigarette butts, lunch bags, and disposable cups onto sidewalks, and leave old newspapers on park benches. Because others value trash-free streets, gardens, parks, and buildings, trash pick-up is an important part of property maintenance in both the public and private sectors.  
      A variety of scoops, grapples, grippers, reachers, spikes, and other tools have been developed in attempts to provide efficient and convenient tools for trash pick-up. (For purposes of this specification, the terms “trash,” “garbage,” “litter,” “debris,” and “refuse” are used interchangeably.) Many of these permit an operator to collect trash from the ground without having to bend down, and without having to directly touch the item being retrieved. For example, Hollis (U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,492) shows a trash pick-up device that includes a hollow shaft with jaws positioned at the lower end. The jaws are connected to a cable that extends through the shaft to a handle at the upper end. Operating an actuator in the handle moves the cable to open and close the jaws.  
      Scripter&#39;s waste collection device (U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,956) has an elongated handle with a flexible frame at the lower end. The frame carries a disposable, flexible bag into which the user can scoop trash such as animal waste.  
      Traber (U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,957) has a shaft with a pair of pick-up fingers at one end and a trigger-type handle at the other end. The handle includes a slidable arm and a lever for retaining the arm in contact with a stop for positioning the fingers in a first, fully-opened position, and a second position that allows free movement of the fingers from the open position to a second, fully-closed position. As the trigger is squeezed against the handle, the fingers are drawn together so as to hold an object.  
      Tucker (U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,839) provides a shoe butler having a shaft with a trigger-type handle and one end, and a shoe horn and a chuck at the other end. The handle can be operated to draw the chock into contact with the shoe horn to clasp the shoe therebetween.  
      Additional types of gripping tools include Okada (U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,963), a device used for clamping a container such as a cylindrical drum. The device includes a support frame that can be positioned about approximately one half the circumference of the container, a pair of horizontal support rods on the inner side of the frame near its opposite ends, and a pair of claw plates mounted on the support rods. The device clamps a container simply by pushing it against the container; the container is released by pulling it away from the device.  
      Ricc, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,158) shows a device for holding food articles that are impaled on sticks (corn dogs, popsicles, and so forth). The device has a body with two transverse grooves (the second groove positioned inside the first groove) and a spring clip positioned over the grooves to hold a stick in place. The grooves are shaped to hold sticks with rectangular cross-section circular cross-section.  
      Hamilton (U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,131) shows a nail extractor for removing nails from boards. His device is an elongated rod with a socket at one end, and a head with a groove shaped to grip nails at the other end. When the shank of a nail is lodged in the groove, an impact wrench is engaged with the socket and turned on for a brief period, causing a short turn which rolls the device to the side and lifts the nail from the board.  
      Typical grasping tools and pick-up tools are useful for picking up one type of object: scoops are useful for picking up and disposing of some types of litter, magnets are useful for picking up some metal objects, and spikes are useful for picking up waste paper. Thus, an operator frequently has to carry several different tools in order to do thoroughly clean up an area. In addition, many pick-up tools are cumbersome and difficult to operate, and tiling to use for more than short periods of time. There is a need for an ergonomically sound tool that can be used to pick up several different types of litter.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      According to its major aspects and broadly stated, the present invention is a manually-operated pick-up tool for picking up litter. The pick-up tool includes a first, stationary portion with an elongated, hollow outer shaft, a first handle portion attached at one end and a first bell carrying a spike retainer ring and a pair of pinch arms attached at the other end. A second, movable portion includes an inner shaft slidable within the outer shaft, a second handle portion attached at one end and a second bell attached at the other end. The stationary and movable portions are operably connected by a connector mechanism which includes a biasing spring, the first and second handle portions are interconnected and include a locking mechanism.  
      In use, the operator of the pick-up tool positions it appropriately near an object to be picked up, then pulls the second handle portion outwards to move the pinch arms from their normally-open position to a closed position grasping the object. He then locks the pinch arms in the closed position, moves the pick-up tool (with the object) to a desired location such as a trash container, unlocks the pinch arms to drop the object into the container. To pick up a piece of paper or some other object that cannot readily be gripped between the pinch arms, the operator uses a spike or nail assembly carried by the first and second bells.  
      An important feature of the present invention is its versatility. By providing at least two pick-up devices—clamps and spikes—the invention allows picking up of a wider variety of objects with a single tool. If desired, additional pick-up devices can be added to the pick-up assembly, such as magnets or components made of magnetized materials to be used in picking up metal objects.  
      Another important feature of the present invention is its ergonomic design. The pick-up tool is made of sturdy, light-weight materials (either light-weight metal or plastic), so it is easy to use for extended periods of time. An arm rest attached to the handle furthers operator comfort and safety, and also helps prevent repetitive stress injuries by keeping the operator&#39;s arm in a physiologically correct position.  
      Still another feature of the present invention is the pair of bells. The bells carry both the pinch arms and the spike assembly, either of which can be called into play for picking up litter.  
      Yet another feature of the present invention is the locking mechanism attached to the handles. The locking mechanism is activated by the operator when the pinch arms reach their closed position (for holding an object to be picked up), and is easy to unlock in order to release the object.  
      Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments presented below and accompanied by the drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In the drawings,  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a pick-up tool according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a top view of the pick-up tool of  FIG. 1 , showing, the pinch arms in an open position; and  
       FIG. 3  is a side, cross-sectional view of the pick-up tool of  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      In the following detailed description of the invention, reference numerals are used to identify structural elements, portions of elements, surfaces or areas in the drawings, as such elements, portions, surfaces or areas may be further described or explained by the entire written specification. For consistency, whenever the same numeral is used in different drawings, it indicates the same element, portion, surface or area as when first used. Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are intended to be read together with the specification, and are to be considered a portion of the entire written description of this invention as required by 35 U.S.C. §112. As used herein, the terms “horizontal,” “vertical,” “left,” right,” “up,” “down,” as well as adjectival and adverbial derivatives thereof, refer to the relative orientation of the illustrated structure as the particular drawing figure faces the reader.  
      Referring now to  FIGS. 1-3 , there is shown a pick-up tool  10  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Pick-tip tool  10  includes an elongated, hollow outer shaft  12  with an upper end  14  and a lower end  16 , a graspable handle assembly  20  operably connected to upper end  14 , and a pick-up assembly  22  operably connected to lower end  16 . An arm rest  24  is mounted to handle assembly  20 . An elongated inner shaft  30  is operably connected to handle assembly  20  and pick-up assembly  22  at upper and lower ends  32  and  34 , respectively. Together, these components form a first, stationary portion  40  and a second, movable portion  42  of pick-up tool  10 : as will be described further below, stationary portion  40  includes outer shaft  12 , movable portion  42  includes inner shaft  30 , and portions  40  and  42  each include components of handle assembly  20  and pick-up assembly  22 .  
      Stationary portion  40  has a first handle portion  50  attached to upper end  14  of outer shaft  12 . First handle portion  50  is approximately “D”-shaped as shown, and preferably includes suitably-shaped grooves, notches, or other mechanism (not shown) for securing arm rest  24  thereto. Arm rest  24  is formed with a flange  52  at its outer end. Arm rest  24  and flange  52  may be approximately straight, but are preferably somewhat curved to more comfortably accommodate the operator&#39;s forearm.  
      A first, outer bell  54  is attached to lower end  16  of outer shaft  12 . A circumferential nail or spike retainer ring  56  is secured to outer bell  54 , a plurality of nails or spikes  58   a ,  58   b , , , , are carried by ring  56 . In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a pair of movable pinch arms  60   a ,  60   b , each terminating in a clamp paw  62 , are operably connected to outer bell  54  via a connector mechanism  64 .  
      Movable portion  42  includes a second handle portion  70  attached to upper end  32  of inner shaft  30 . Second handle portion  70  is approximately “D”-shaped, and may have a grip  72  formed with grooves for receiving the operator&#39;s fingers. In use, second handle portion  70  acts as a trigger for operating pick-up tool  10 .  
      A second, inner bell  80  is attached to lower end  34  of inner shaft  30 . Inner bell  80  is formed with a flange  82  having a plurality of throughholes  84   a ,  84   b , . . . . Throughholes  84   a ,  84   b  are aligned so that nails  58   a ,  58   b , . . . are slidable therein. A spring  90  is connected between inner bell  80  and outer bell  54  generally as shown, and generates tension between the bells. The biasing action of spring  90  maintains pinch arms  60   a ,  60   b  in an open position, and also maintains second handle portion  70  in the open position shown in  FIG. 1 .  
      [For a utility patent application, we would include more details about the structure of the inner and outer bells. For this provisional application, I recommend keeping the description fairly general.] 
      [Let&#39;s consider adding a diagram of the locking mechanism, and perhaps a diagram of the bells.] 
      In use, the operator of pick-up tool  10  locates an object to be picked up, and positions the tool so that pick-up assembly  22  is proximate the object. He or she then moves portions  40  and  42  with respect to each other by gripping first and second handle portions  40  and  70  with his or her fingers against grip  72 . The operator then pulls second handle portion  70  (with inner shaft  30  and inner bell  80 ) outwards relative to first handle portion  40  (and outer shaft  12  and outer bell  54 ). Inner bell  80  moves against the biasing action of spring  90 , and the cam action of connector mechanism  64  move pinch arms  60   a ,  60   b  towards their closed position, gripping the object therebetween. As movable portion  42  is translated relative to stationary portion  40 , a spring-loaded locking mechanism  100  ( FIG. 3 ) engages one of tracks  72 . Locking mechanism  100  retains pinch arms  60   a ,  60   b  in their closed position until released by the operator. The operator moves pick-up tool  10  (with the object firmly gripped by pinch arms  60   a ,  60   b ) to a desired location (such as a trash container), and releases locking mechanism  100  to release the object.  
      If the operator wishes to pick up a piece of paper of other hard-to-grip object, he pulls second handle portion  70  by about ½″-¾″ to expose nails  84   a ,  84   b , . . . . Rotating his wrist by about 90 degrees, he then stabs the object with nails  84   a ,  84   b , . . . . Operating locking mechanism  100  releases second handle portion  70 , which moves forward so that the object is pushed off nails  82   a ,  82   b , . . . by inner bell  80 .  
      Because pick-up tool  10  is made of sturdy, light-weight materials, it can be used for extended periods of time (up to a full working day). The pick-up tool is ergonomically sound: by resting his or her arm on arm rest  24 , the operator lessens strain on the arm and wrist and thereby reduces the risk of developing repetitive stress injuries. In addition, pick-up tool  10  has no “handedness”: it can be used by either left-handed or right-handed operators.  
      [is this correct?] 
      The components of pick-up tool  10  may be made of any suitable materials, preferably light-weight, durable materials suitable for either indoor or outdoor use. For example, any or all of shafts  12  and  14 , bells  54 , ring  56 , handle portions  50  and  60 , and arm rest  24  may be made of a lightweight metal such as aluminum, or more preferably of plastics such as PVC, TEFLON, or the like.  
      The components of pick-up tool  10  may be attached to each other, where needed, by any convenient techniques. For example, metal components may be attached by welding or brazing, or by nuts and bolts, screws, rivets, or the like. Plastic components may be attached to each other by LEXAN solvent or other adhesive, or by any suitable fasteners.  
      Clamp paws  62  may be made of metal, plastic, composite materials, or indeed any suitable material. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the paws are somewhat flexible in order to facilitate picking up smooth objects.  
      Each of handle portions  50  and  60 , an inner and outer bells  54  and  80 , is preferably made in two halves that are snapped together along a mutual centerline to form a single structure. Stiffening ribs may be formed in each half to help provide rigidity, and structural features such as mating grooves and channels may help secure the two halves of each component together.  
      The dimensions of pick-up tool  10  may vary widely. The lengths of outer shaft  12  and inner shaft  30  are such that the operator can use pick-up device comfortably while in a standing position, without needing to bend or stoop unduly. Handle assembly  20  is dimensioned for a typical adult-size hand.  
      [Do you wait to include a belt or shoulder strap, or fittings that would allow the operator to attach the tool to a belt?] 
      [Can either (or both) of the bells be made of a ferromagnetic material? This might help when picking up metal objects.] 
      With respect to the above description of the invention, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.  
      Therefore, the foregoing description is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. Thus, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and substitutions can be made to the preferred embodiment herein described without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.