Handling: hand and hoist-line implements – Hand forks and shovels – Handles
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-20
2001-09-04
Cherry, Johnny D. (Department: 3652)
Handling: hand and hoist-line implements
Hand forks and shovels
Handles
C016S114100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283522
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a detachable and adjustable auxiliary handle for a long-handled, material moving tool such as a shovel which substantially reduces the amount of stooping the user typically does when using a shovel to relieve strain on one's back and also designed to swivel to relieve strain on one's wrist and forearm.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
To relocate an intended load of dirt, gravel, snow etc., by hand, the common shovel has proven to be the most practical way to relocate materials, but continual or repetitive use of the tool can be very strenuous on one's back, wrist, and forearm. While people still use the shovel in the ordinary fashion, efforts have been made to make the task less strenuous. Auxiliary handles have been employed in different forms to assist in the lifting of an intended load in which the auxiliary handle is attached to the long handle to reduce the distance of reach needed to pick up a load of material as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,669,650; 5,400,471; 5,331,720; 4,690,447; 4,155,582; 4,128,266; 3,751,094; 2,653,406; 2,520,606; 2,416,414; 1,524,168; 1,449,702; 933,647; 875,504; 758,482; and 304,067. While it appears that great time and effort was applied to the prior auxiliary handles in respect to the assisting in the lifting of the load, the same cannot be said in the relocation or dumping of the load. When dumping a load in a sideways fashion, over the side of a wheel barrow or the side of a utility trailer, the operator will find it difficult to unload the material if the auxiliary handle is unable to swivel and pivot, subjecting the operator to continually rotate the wrist and forearm to the underneath position. When the auxiliary handle is able to swivel and pivot, the forward hand that bares the load is prevented from going to the underneath position when dumping the load, reducing total rotation of the wrist and forearm, even when the shovel is turned upside down, all the while maintaining the lifting force needed. The prior art does not describe or suggest an auxiliary handle which can quickly and easily be attached and detached, be adjustable in length, swivel and pivot upon the handle of a long handled, material moving tool, without any adjustment or modification to the long handled implement. An example of modification or adjustment to a long handled implement to perform certain duties can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,094. Shown in FIG. 1, this auxiliary handle enables the operator to bend over less, but fails to offer any other features. In FIG. 3, this auxiliary handle shows a modified long handled implement that has certain disadvantages and complications. For instance, Reference Character
35
shows that a pin can be inserted through any of the holes
37
to adjust for vertical lift of bars
31
and
32
. The problem with this is the more vertical the bar
31
becomes, loss of gripping force will be inevitable as the hand will slide up the bar, especially when lifting heavy loads. To grab at the pivot point would be very uncomfortable, and to grab bar
32
the operator has lost his lifting force. Again in FIG. 3, this auxiliary handle is showing at Reference Characters
25
and
26
that the handle
24
is able to be rotated when the operator dumps the material in a sideways fashion. To accomplish this, pin
35
has to be removed and at some point during the loading and unloading of the material, sleeve
26
is going to travel backwards against the operator's hand, injuring the hand. To re-insert the pin
35
in one of the empty holes behind sleeve
26
to stop the backward movement, the pin will eventually wear a groove or notch in the sleeve or wear out the pin, subjecting the intended operation to fail. Also, continual use in this manner is going to wear on the long handled implement because of the rotation of sleeve
26
.
To solve the problems of the prior auxiliary handles, it had to be understood that picking up a load of material and pitching it forward was not the only operation consistent with shovelling, and that lifting a load of material up and over to the side, or as in some areas of construction, digging below ground level, is a common function.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The applicant provides an improved detachable and adjustable auxiliary handle for a long-handled material moving tool which is designed specifically to relieve strain on ones back, wrist and forearm while shovelling. This invention is comprised of an inner and outer section of light weight tubing in which the inner tubing slides inside the outer tubing to provide an adjustable tube to be set at different lengths by inserting a self locking push pin through the outer tubing into any one of the many height adjustment holes in the inner tubing. The inner tubing is equipped with a tube fitting that has a through hole, and is fixedly attached to the bottom of the tubing to be engaged by a pivot bolt that passes through the uprights of a “U”-shaped form. This “U”-shaped form also has a hole in the base of it to allow a bolt to pass through downward, and is secured in place with a lock washer and nut. This bolt threads into a coupling nut that is welded to the base of a standard muffler clamp, creating the swivel action. The threaded u-bolt of the muffler clamp then attaches to the base of the muffler clamp and is positioned at the lower end of the shovel handle and tightened. Additional swivel action is provided at the base of the hand grip, at the top of the auxiliary handle. A hole in the base of the hand grip allows a bolt to pass through downward, and is secured in place with a lock washer and nut. A t-nut is welded to the top of the outer tubing, creating the swivel. In between shovelling, the auxiliary handle is held against the long handle by a gripper clip that is fixedly attached to the long handle.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved detachable and adjustable auxiliary handle for a long-handled material moving tool.
It is another object of this invention to be able to operate this device from below ground level.
It is a further object of this invention to relieve strain on one's back while shovelling.
It is yet another object of this invention to relieve strain on one's wrist and forearm while shovelling.
It is still another object of this invention to be able to adjust this device to accommodate people of different statures.
It is further-more another object of this invention to provide unrestricted operation of this device.
It is finally another object of this invention to not have to modify the long-handled material-moving tool to accommodate the detachable and adjustable auxiliary handle.
REFERENCES:
patent: 911291 (1909-02-01), Byor
patent: 4050728 (1977-09-01), Davidson
patent: 4264096 (1981-04-01), Barnett
patent: 5447349 (1995-09-01), Coble
patent: 5496085 (1996-03-01), Middleton
Cherry Johnny D.
Renaud Mark L.
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