Patent Publication Number: US-2019194891-A1

Title: Wheeled Shovel

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a wheeled apparatus or vehicle for moving and disposing materials. More specifically, the present invention relates to a wheeled shovel apparatus having a shovel or scoop member coupled with wheel members and configured to effectively take up, move, and throw or dispose intended materials such as snow, soil, or other matter. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Shovels have long been used to take up, transport and throw disposing materials such as soil and snow. Conventional shovels include a scoop or shovel for carrying the object materials, a shaft extending from the shovel, and a handle portion at the terminal end of the shaft to handle and transport such materials to a desired location. 
     Recently, various kinds of wheeled shovels have been proposed to carry out their intended tasks conveniently. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,921 to Samuelson proposed a wheeled snow shovel for moving snow, in which the apparatus includes a blade or shovel for carrying the snow, a shaft that extends from the blade, a wheel assembly for contacting a ground surface and which depends from a middle portion of the shaft, and a handle assembly for gripping by the user and which is provided on the rearmost end of the shaft. The wheel assembly comprises either an axle fork, an axle rotatably mounted to the axle fork, and a pair of wheels attached to the axle to which a pair of wheel are rotatably attached. The handle assembly comprises a lower transverse member for gripping by the hands of the user and extends laterally from both sides of the rearmost end of the shaft and an extender for elevating the point at which the user grips the handle assembly for users with limited bending posture. 
     These types of snow shovel devices suggested can be used effectively to push the snow like plowing. However, it would be quite burdensome to repeatedly lift and throw the wet and heavy snow scooped in the shovel portion, and thus, this can cause fatigue to the worker when its task involves a substantial amount wet and heavy snow or other disposing materials for removal. Moreover, as these conventional shovel apparatus includes the wheels that are separately located behind the blade (or shovel), it is difficult to control the maneuvering directions as intended, especially, when the operator is intended to drive the apparatus in round or curved way. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, in consideration to handle or overcome aforementioned and other shortcomings of the conventional shovel devices, the present invention is directed to a novel wheeled shovel apparatus, which can be handled and used to carry out its shoveling and transporting operations more easily and conveniently, such shoveling operations including taking up, pushing, propelling, directing, and throwing and disposing the target object matter such as snow or other materials. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, the wheeled shovel apparatus includes: a shovel body including a left side panel portion, a right side panel portion, a bottom panel portion, and a rear panel portion, to define a shoveling area in the shovel body; a pair of opposing wheels rotatably coupled to the left and right side panel portions of the shovel body, one to each side of the left and right side panel portions, the pair of wheels separately provided and not being connected to each other by a connecting shaft; and a handle and scraper assembly including a shaft member extending in a longitudinal direction and a scrape plate member affixed to a distal end of the shaft member. The handle and scraper assembly is detachably attachable to and from the rear panel portion via coupling configurations provided at the rear panel portion of the shovel body and the scrape plate member. 
     The scrape plate member preferably includes a scraping tip portion having a thickness enlarged from the scrape plate member, and the scraping tip portion can have a triangular, trapezoidal, or rectangular shape. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the wheeled shovel apparatus includes: a shovel body including a left side panel portion, a right side panel portion, a bottom panel portion, and a rear panel portion, to define a shoveling area in the shovel body; a pair of opposing wheels rotatably coupled to the left and right side panel portions of the shovel body, one to each side of the left and right side panel portions, the pair of wheels separately provided and not being connected to each other by a connecting shaft; and a shaft member extending in a longitudinal direction from a rear panel portion of the shovel body. The pair of wheels are coupled to a front side of the left and right side panel portions of the shovel body, respectively, and a front lower tip area of the left and right side panel portions are located within a radial boundary (r 2 ) of the wheels, and thus, enabling the shovel body to be freely rotatable about a center axis of the wheels, both in a driving mode and a dumping mode of the shovel apparatus, and without having the front lower tip area of the left and right side panel portions touched and interfered against the ground surface upon rotation of the shovel body. 
     The shaft member can include a scrape plate member affixed to a distal end of the shaft member, and the scrape plate member can be configured to be detachably attached to and from the rear panel portion of the shovel body. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a wheeled shovel apparatus in a partially disassembled state, which is constructed according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including a shovel body with a pair of wheels respectively attached to left and right side panels of the shovel body, and a handle/scraper assembly having a slidable scraper plate affixed to a handle shaft, in which the scraper plate can be detachably coupled to a rear side of the shovel body. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a wheeled shovel apparatus according to a modified embodiment of the present invention, showing the apparatus in an assembled state, and which is similar to the apparatus of  FIG. 1 , however, with the shape of the handle portion modified there-from. 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of a wheeled shovel apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is similar to the apparatus of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , however, showing a modified handle shaft, and with the width of the shovel body enlarged therefrom to increase the intake volume of the shovel, and also with the wheels relocated toward the front side of the shovel body. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the handle/scraper assembly of  FIG. 1 , illustrating that the brush can be detachably coupled to the handle/scraper assembly. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the apparatus of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the assembling operation of the handle/scraper assembly to the shovel body of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing of the apparatus of  FIG. 1  or  FIG. 2 , showing the spatial relationships of the main components of the apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5A  is a schematic drawing of the apparatus of  FIG. 2A , showing the spatial relationships of the main components of the apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing according to the embodiment of  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 5A  of the present invention, showing the dumping operation for removing the materials from the shovel body of the apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to the drawings, a wheeled shovel apparatus of the present invention, as well as components for the apparatus, are described and illustrated herein according to the principles of the invention. Even though the present invention is particularly described primarily in connection with a wheeled shovel apparatus for shoveling snow and related methods thereof, it is not limited thereto and may be applied to a wheeled shovel apparatus usable for other purposes, such as, for shoveling or disposing soil, dirt, debris, gravels, and other materials, while utilizing the same and similar principles and concepts disclosed in this application, or that can otherwise be derived or recognizable, without undue experiments, upon reading the full disclosure of the application. 
     It is further noted that, unless particularly specified in the following disclosure, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particular configurations and shapes disclosed in this application, and the shovel apparatus of the present invention (including the embodiments of  FIGS. 1, 2, and 2A  to be described below) can be constructed to have substantially different shapes, components, and configurations known in the shoveling apparatus art, in order to perform or enhance its picking up, transporting and disposal of various materials in an efficient and effective manner. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the shovel apparatus according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention is depicted and described herein for illustrating the principles of the invention and main components of the apparatus. 
     The shovel apparatus  100  ( FIG. 1 ) or  100 ′ ( FIG. 2 ) includes a shovel body  110  of exemplary appearance configured to effectively pick up and carry snow and/or other intended materials for the shoveling operation, and a pair of wheels  130  and  132  rotatably affixed to the shovel body  110 , one each side of the shovel body. Here, the wheels are separately attached to the side panel members of the shovel body, respectively, and not connected to each other by a connecting shaft as in the conventional shovel apparatus. However, the present invention is not specifically limited to this structure, and the wheels may be connected by a connecting shaft as in the conventional shovel apparatus. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the shovel body  110  preferably includes left and right side panels  112  and  114 , top panel  116 , bottom panel  118 , and rear panel  120 , which together defines a width (W) and a height (H) of the shovel body. All of these panels  112 - 120  are formed preferably of steel, metallic or other structural materials of suitable strength for the shovel body. However, the shape and materials of the shovel body are not limited to the particular configurations as shown, and it can have various different shapes that are known in the shoveling apparatus. For example, instead of having all the panels connected in angled relation to one another as shown in the drawings, the shovel body can be shaped to have one continuously curved scoop, however, with a planar front bottom edge portion so as to effectively scrape the ground for the shoveling operation. For another example, the top panel  116  can be eliminated from the shovel body, and the remaining panels can be in a conventional shovel shape known in the art. However, it is preferable to have vertically extending side panel portions to which two opposing wheels are coupled. 
     Two wheels  130  and  132  are affixed to the generally vertically extending left and right side panels  112  and  114 , respectively, via axle components  134  and  136  well known in the art. The axle components  134  and  136  should be configured to make the wheels freely rotatable with respect to the shovel body  110 , while also mechanically supporting the entire weight of the shovel body  110  together with the intended disposing materials to be carried therein. The axle components  134  and  136  can preferably include bearings and fastening elements, such as washers, pins, bolts and nuts, as well known in the art. 
     The shovel apparatus as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  further includes handle and scraper assembly  150 , which includes handle shaft  152  extending in a longitudinal rearward direction, handle portion  154  ( FIG. 1 ) or  154 ′ ( FIG. 2 ) disposed at a proximal end of the handle shaft  152  and configured to be readily grasped by the user during the shoveling operation as well as the scraping operation to be discussed below, and scraper plate  156  is securely affixed at a distal end of the handle shaft  152 . The scraper plate  156  is preferably in a planar plate shape and may include an enlarged tip portion with a thickness enlarged from the thickness of the plate portion. More specifically, the enlarged tip portion can be in the form of a triangular, arrow-like, trapezoidal, rectangular, or similarly shaped scraping tip portion ( 158 ) formed along the upper side edge of the plate  156 . When disassembled from the shovel body  110 , the handle and scraper assembly  150  can be used as a scraping tool for scraping off the snow and other disposing materials remaining in the ground or other areas such as vehicle tops. 
     The rear panel  120  of the shovel body  110  includes a coupling configuration  122 , which is preferably formed of a recessed seating area  124  at the rear panel  120 , a lower coupling flange  126 , and an upper coupling flange or strip  128  (as shown in  FIG. 5 ), configured for easy and secured coupling of the scraper plate  156  to the rear side of the shovel body  110  (as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 ). In order to securely fix the scraper plate  156  to the rear panel  120 , a coupling hole  159  is formed at a leftmost area of the scraper plate  156 , and a coupling element such as a spring-coupled locking plunger (not shown but well known in the art) is preferably provided at a corresponding location of the coupling configuration  122  of the rear panel  120 . However, it is noted that the coupling configurations can be in other shapes and configurations as long as the handle and scraper assembly (e.g.,  150 ) can securely and detachably be coupled to the rear side of the shovel body  110 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 , the shovel body  110  preferably includes a triangular, trapezoidal, rectangular or similarly shaped tip portion  117  formed along the front side edge of the upper panel  116  of the shovel body  110 , in which the triangular or trapezoidal tip portion  117  has the same or corresponding shape to the shape of the triangular or trapezoidal scraping tip portion  158 . Brush  170  is optionally provided to enahnce the functions of the apparatus, and the brush  170  preferably includes brush portion  172 , and coupling portion  174  with a triangular, trapezoidal, or rectangular groove  176  formed therein, and the brush  170  is detachably attached to the tip portion  117  with the aid of coupling portion  174  by slidably coupling to the tip portion  117  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     After detaching from the tip portion  117  of the upper panel  116 , the brush  170  can also be coupled to the scraper plate  156  with the coupling portion  174  slidably coupled to the tip portion  158  as shown in  FIG. 3 , thus, enabling the user to use the handle and scraper assembly  150  as a brushing tool for brushing off the snow or other materials remaining in the ground or other areas such as vehicle tops and windshields. In order to securely fix the brush  170  to the scraper plate  156 , a coupling element (e.g., a spring-coupled locking plunger or a similar element known in the art) is preferably provided at a corresponding location inside the groove of the coupling portion  174  of the brush, to which the coupling hole  159  formed at a leftmost area of the scraper plate  156  is to be detachably coupled, as noted above. In addition, the brush portion  172  of the brush  170  can be made of suitable brush or bristle with hard or medium stiffness, such as steel brush or plastic brush/bristle. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2A , the shovel apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is described herein. 
     The shovel apparatus  200  of this embodiment is generally similar to the shovel apparatus  100  and  100 ′ of the previously discussed embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , and it similarly includes a shovel body  210  of suitable appearance configured to effectively pick up and carry intended materials (e.g., snow) therein for the shoveling operation, and a pair of wheels  230  and  232  are rotatably affixed to the shovel body  210 , one each side of the shovel body, and handle and scraper assembly  250  is detachably attached to the rear side of the shovel body  210 . Unless disclosed below specifically, descriptions of common/equivalent components, structures, and functions similar or corresponding to the previously discussed embodiment are omitted below for simplicity purposes, and to be referred to the above disclosure. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2A , the wheeled shovel apparatus according to this embodiment is modified to include an enlarged shovel body  210  having an enlarged width (W′) which is greater than the width (W) of previous embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in order to increase the intake volume of the shovel when the apparatus is pushed to pick up the snow or other intended materials. Also, this embodiment includes a modified handle and scraper assembly  250 , in which the width of its scraper plate  256  (which is equivalent to the scraper plate  156  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) is enlarged to accommodate to the enlarged shovel body  210 , and also having two parallel handle shaft portions  252  and  252 ′ instead of a single handle shaft  152  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  in order to further enhance the directional controls and the shoveling and maneuvering operability by using two hands of the operator placed toward the sides of the horizontal handle portion  254  of the handle and scraper assembly  250 . 
     In addition, the wheels  230  and  232  have a radius r 2  (see  FIG. 5A ) that is preferably bigger than, or similar to, the radius r ( FIG. 5 ) of the wheels of the previous embodiment. Also, the locations of the two wheels  230  and  232  are also relocated toward the front side of the shovel body, comparing to that of previous embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , and this relocation can further provide additional advantages in the shoveling and maneuvering operations over the previous embodiment, which will be described herein below. 
     It is further noted that the relocation of the wheels is not intended to be limited only to this embodiment shown in  FIG. 2A . Namely, the former embodiment, which uses the shovel body of a smaller width (W) as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , can also be modified to have its wheel locations relocated toward the front side of the shovel body as is similar to  FIG. 2A . Likewise, the present embodiment, which uses the shovel body of a larger width (W′) as shown in  FIG. 2A , can also be modified to have its wheel locations relocated toward the middle or rear side of the shovel body as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . As such, the wheels can be located at a suitable location from the front side to the rear side of the shovel body  110  or  210 , depending on the particular designs of the apparatus. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 5A , the shoveling and maneuvering operations of the shovel apparatus according to the present invention are described herein. 
     First, with reference to  FIG. 5 , operations of the shovel apparatus of the first type of the present invention are described. 
     The shovel apparatus of this type is configured to have its wheels  130  and  132  located at the intermediate or rear side of the shovel body  110  or  210 . Here, each of the wheels has radius r, and the apparatus defines wheel clearance δ which is the clearance distance between the bottom panel  118  or  218  and the ground surface G. With this configuration, the lower front tip t 1  of the apparatus contacts the ground surface G when the operator raises the handle shaft  152  (or  252  and  252 ′) to a ground-contact angle θ. 
     In operation, the operator can move the apparatus by pushing and manipulating the handle shaft  152  (or  252  and  252 ′) toward an intended direction. Here, the operator can freely choose the operating/driving position of the apparatus to meet its needs, namely, between a first driving position (that is, a non-touching position) in which the operator drives or propels the apparatus with the tip t 1  above the ground surface G (thus, with the handle shaft  152  or  250 / 252  lowered than the ground contact angle θ), and a second driving position (that is, a touching position) in which he operator drives the apparatus with the tip t 1  touching to the ground surface G (thus, with the handle shaft  152  or  252 / 252 ′ maintaining at the ground contact angle θ). The first driving position (that is, a non-touching position) can be selected when the operator tries to drive the apparatus idly without shoveling the materials (e.g., snow), or otherwise to preliminarily shovel the snow with the tip t 1  maintaining to have a desired clearance from the ground surface, which position is selectable when the accumulated height of the snow is too high to be cleared by one shoveling drive/attempt, thus, requiring multiple or repeated shoveling operations to the snow covered space. On the other hand, the second driving position (that is, a touching position) can be selected when the operator clears the snow by one shoveling attempt. 
     In addition, the operator can operate the apparatus to move to a dumping position, by upwardly tilting and electing the shovel body  110  or  210  with the handle  152  or  252 / 252 ′ whiling using the ground-contacting tip t 1  as a pivot/support center for the tilting movement, in order to dump down and discard the snow (or other materials) from the shovel body  110  or  210 . Alternatively, the operator can throw the snow (or other materials) out from the shovel body  110  or  210  by a throwing operation using the handle  152  or  252 / 252 ′, in the manner similar to the typical throwing operation using a conventional shovel known in the art. 
     Now, with reference to  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 6 , operations of the shovel apparatus according to the second type of the present invention are described. 
     The shovel apparatus of this type is configured to have its center axis of the wheels  230  and  232  (or  130  and  132 ) located at the front side of the shovel body  210  or  110 , preferably, within twenty (20) percentage range from the front edge of the side panels  212  and  214 . Here, each of the wheels has radius r 2  which is preferably larger than, or otherwise similar to, the radius (r) of the first type discussed above. With this configuration, the distal lower tip t 2  of the shovel body  210  or  110  is located within a radial boundary (“r 2 ”) and preferably in the close proximity of the round wheel surface as illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 6 . Accordingly, the distal/front lower tip t 2  does not contact the ground surface G when the operator raises or lowers the handle shaft  152  (or  250  and  252 ) to any angle. Thus, this enables the shovel body  210  (or  110 ) to be freely rotatable about the center axis of the wheels, both in a driving mode and a dumping mode of the shovel apparatus, without having the front lower tip area t 2  of the left and right side panel portions  212 / 214  touching and interfering against the ground surface upon rotation of the shovel body. 
     In operation, the operator can move the apparatus by pushing/pulling and manipulating the handle shaft  252  and  252 ′ (or  152 ) toward an intended direction. The operator can drive the apparatus to shovel and clear the snow (or other materials) by pushing the apparatus with the tip t 2  positioned in close proximity of the ground surface G as shown in  FIG. 6  (see the rightmost drawing thereof). 
     In addition, the operator can operate the apparatus to move to a dumping position, by progressively tilting and electing the shovel body  210  (or  110 ) with the handle  252 / 252 ′ (or  152 ) while propelling the apparatus with the aid of rotating wheels  230 / 232  (or  130 / 132 ), in order to dump and remove the snow (or other materials) from the shovel body as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , progressively from the right to the left side of the drawing. Alternatively, the dumping operation can also be done without propelling the apparatus since the shovel body  210  or  110  can freely be rotated about the center axis of the wheels  203  and  232  (or  130  and  132 ), for instance, even when the wheels become stuck and hard to rotate due to the presence of snow accumulated in the ground that are not yet cleared. As such, the dumping operations of this embodiment can be performed easily by simply raising the handle  252 / 252 ′ (or  152 ) and rotating the shovel body around the wheels, without causing fatigue to the operator even when its shoveling task involves a substantial amount wet and heavy snow or other heavy materials for removal. 
     Alternatively, the operator can also throw the snow (or other materials) out from the shovel body  210  or  110  by a throwing operation using the handle  252 / 252 ′ or  152 , n the manner similar to the typical throwing operation using a conventional shovel. 
     Although the currently preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims are intended to cover, therefore, such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.