Snow removal tool

• US 7,762,597 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2008
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Carl Marlin
• Original Assignee: Carl Marlin
• Inventors: Marlin, Carl
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin; Paul T
• Application Number:
  US12/131,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20090051180A1
• Time in Patent Office: 785 Days
• Field of Search: 294/54.4, 294/49, 294/54.5, 294/57, 372/83, 372/84, 372/85, 374/34, D8/10, 254/25, 254/131, 564/000.1, 564/000.5, 564/000.6, 564/001.6
• US Class Current: 294/54.5
• CPC Class Codes: E01H 5/02 Hand implements E01H5/04, E01H5/10, E01H5/12 take precedence shovels or spades in general A01B1/02; brooms, brushes A46B

Abstract

A manual snow removal tool used for the pushing and pulling of snow. The configuration of the tool allows the user to move snow by pushing the snow using a pushing blade or by pulling the snow using a pulling blade depending on the orientation of the snow removal tool. The snow removal tool may also incorporate fulcrum skids to allow the tool to remove snow more easily from rough surfaces. The fulcrum skids allow the user to raise and lower the scraping edge of the snow plow over the surface being scraped. The fulcrum skids move more easily across rough surfaces than the scraping edge of a regular plow or shovel. The snow removal tool may also have non-abrasive ends attached to the pushing and pulling blades so that it may be used on sensitive surfaces such as the painted finish on an automobile.

Claims

1. A snow removal tool comprising:

a blade support member;

a handle supportably attached to a surface of said blade support member;

a pulling blade attached to a first edge of said blade support member with a free edge extending generally toward said handle;

a pushing blade attached to a second edge of said blade support member with a free edge extending generally away from said handle wherein said first and second edges of said blade support member are opposing edges;

at least one planar pushing blade fulcrum skid supportably attached to said pushing blade, wherein said at least one planar pushing blade fulcrum skid extends in a generally perpendicular direction from said pushing blade; and

at least one planar pulling blade fulcrum skid supportably attached to said pulling blade, wherein said at least one planar pulling blade fulcrum skid extends in a generally perpendicular direction from said pulling blade, and wherein said at least one planar pushing and pulling blade fulcrum skids allow for selectively raising said free edges of said pushing and pulling blades above a surface when said snow removal tool is being used for pushing or pulling snow, respectively.

2. The snow removal tool of claim 1, wherein said at least one planar pushing blade fulcrum skid supportably attached to said pushing blade further comprises:

first and second fulcrum skids attached to lateral edges of said pushing blade.

3. The snow removal tool of claim 1, wherein said at least one planar pulling blade fulcrum skid supportably attached to said pulling blade further comprises:

first and second fulcrum skids attached to lateral edges of said pulling blade.

4. The snow removal tool of claim 1, wherein each of said at least one planar pushing and pulling blade fulcrum skid comprises:

a plate member having a first portion substantially aligned with a scraping edge of one of said pushing and pulling blades and a second portion extending from said scraping edge.

5. The snow removal tool of claim 4, wherein:

when said blade support member is in a first angular orientation, said first portion of said plate member and said scraping edge contact said surface and

when said blade support member is in a second angular orientation, said second portion of said plate member contacts said surface and said scraping edge is elevated above said surface.

6. The snow removal tool of claim 1 wherein:

said blade support member is substantially planar and defines a reference plane.

7. The snow removal tool of claim 6 wherein:

said handle has a free end and a base end supportably attached to said blade support member, wherein a vertical angle between reference axis extending between said free end and said base end and a said reference plane is in a range of negative 10 degrees to positive 10 degrees.

8. The snow removal tool of claim 7, wherein:

the range is between negative five degrees and positive five degrees.

9. The snow removal tool of claim 6 wherein:

said pulling blade is substantially planar defining a pulling blade plane, wherein an included angle between said pulling blade plane and said reference plane is between about 10 degrees and about 80 degrees.

10. The snow removal tool of claim 9, wherein:

said included angle is between about 30 degrees and about 60 degrees.

11. The snow removal tool of claim 6 wherein:

said pushing blade is substantially planar defining a pushing blade plane, wherein an included angle between said pulling blade plane and said reference plane is between about 10 degrees and about 80 degrees.

12. The snow removal tool of claim 11, wherein:

said included angle is between about 30 degrees and about 60 degrees.

13. The snow removal tool of claim 1 further comprising:

a handle receiver supportably attached to said blade support member for receiving said handle there through to supportably attach said handle to said blade support member.

14. A snow removal tool comprising:

a blade support member that generally resides in a first plane, said blade support member comprising opposing first and second edges and opposing front and back surfaces;

a handle supportably attached to said front surface of said blade support member;

a pulling blade attached to said first edge of said blade support member, said pulling blade generally residing in a second plane and including a free edge that extends generally from and away from said front surface;

a pushing blade attached to said second edge of said blade support member, said pushing blade generally residing in a third plane and including a free edge that extends generally from and away from said back surface;

a non-abrasive blade supportably attached to said pulling blade so that a free edge of said non-abrasive blade extends beyond said free edge of said pulling blade; and

a non-abrasive blade supportable attached to said pushing blade so that a free edge of said non-abrasive blade extends beyond said free edge of said pushing blade.

15. The snow removal tool of claim 14 wherein:

an included angle between said second plane and said first plane is between about 30 degrees and about 60 degrees.

16. The snow removal tool of claim 14 wherein:

an included angle between said third plane and said first plane is between about 30 degrees and about 60 degrees.

20. A method of constructing a snow removal tool of claim 14, wherein said second plane is parallel to said third plane.

17. A method of constructing a snow removal tool comprising:

providing a generally rectangular piece of sheet metal, said sheet metal residing in a first plane and comprising opposing first and second ends, opposing first and second ends, and opposing front and back faces;

bending a first angle in said sheet metal near said first side to create a first bent portion, said first bent portion residing in a second plane and extending from and away from said front face;

bending a second angle in said sheet metal near said second side to create a second bent portion, said second bent portion residing in a third plane and extending from and away from said back face; and

attaching a handle to said front face.

18. A method of constructing a snow removal tool of claim 17 further comprising:

attaching a first planar fulcrum skid to a first edge of said first bent portion in a direction transverse to said first side; and

attaching a second planar fulcrum skid to a second edge of said first bent portion opposite from said first planar fulcrum skid.

19. A method of constructing a snow removal tool of claim 18 further comprising:

attaching a third fulcrum skid to a first edge of said second bent portion in a direction transverse to said second side; and

,

attaching a fourth fulcrum skid to a second edge of said second bent portion opposite from said third fulcrum skid.