Patent Application
20230083473
A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made of sheet steel or hard plastics and are very strong. Shovel handles are usually made of wood (especially specific varieties such as ash or maple) or glass-reinforced plastic (fiberglass). Hand shovel blades made of sheet steel usually have a folded seam or hem at the back to make a socket for the handle. This fold also commonly provides extra rigidity to the blade. The handles are usually riveted in place. A T-piece is commonly fitted to the end of the handle to aid grip and control where the shovel is designed for moving soil and heavy materials. These designs can all be easily mass-produced.
A spade is a tool primarily for digging, comprising a blade—typically stunted and less curved than that of a shovel—and a long handle. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the art of metalworking was developed, spades were made with sharper tips of metal. Before the introduction of metal spades manual labor was less efficient at moving earth, with picks being required to break up the soil in addition to a spade for moving the dirt. With a metal tip, a spade can both break and move the earth in most situations, increasing efficiency.
Spades are made in many shapes and sizes, for a variety of different functions and jobs, and there are many different designs used in spade manufacturing. The most common spade is a garden spade, which typically has a long handle, is wide, and is treaded (has rests for the feet to drive the spade into the ground). An Irish spade is similar to a common garden spade, with the same general design, although it has a much thinner head. A sharpshooter is a narrow spade. A turfing iron has a short, round head, and is used for cutting and paring off turf. A digging fork, or grape, not referred to as a spade, is forked much like a pitchfork, and is useful for loosening ground and gardening. Small spades are made as toys for children.
Shovels and spades are made of similar basic parts—the handle, step, and blade—but they have subtle variances which might not look like much at first. Handle-Spade: shorter, straight handle with a D or T grip at the top to make it easy to hold. Shovel: long, upward-angled handle, often no grip at the top since shovels are usually held by the handle at an angle, not by the very top. Shovels do frequently have some type of padding around the upper section of the handle to make holding it more comfortable. Step-Spade: small ledge on top of the blade on either side of the handle, so that you can rest your foot on it and press down into the soil with the strength of your leg. Shovel: smaller or no step ledge, as shovels are not intended for the type of work that requires as much extra force of a foot on the blade (such as edging) and a bulky step would get in the way when scooping and lifting material at an angle. Blade-Spade: flat blade with a square-shaped end. Shovel: curved, bowl-shaped blade, usually rounded or pointed at the end, but shovels with square-shaped blades are available as well.
Shovel blades may become dull due to normal wear and tear or exposure to the elements. A dull blade will not cut through soil as easily as a sharpened one, which may cause increased exertion by the shovel's user.
Shovel blades may be re-sharpened, but at some point they will reach the end of their life cycle. Typically, a shovel is thrown away when the blade can no longer be sharpened.
In accordance with one aspect of the present teaching, a digging tool is provided with a replaceable blade.
In accordance with another aspect of the present teachings, different types of blades can be interchanged.
In accordance with another aspect of the present teachings, square holes can be used, such that the fastener heads can be flush with the blade face. The replacement blade can be attached to the receiving plate by fasteners, clips, hooks, or any other means chosen using sound engineering judgment.
Still other benefits and advantages of the present subject matter will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed specification.
The present teachings are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
With continuing reference to
With continuing reference to
In one aspect of the present teachings, the handle 10, yoke 12, receiving plate 22, and blade 32 can all be made of metal, such as steel or aluminum, with the handle 10, yoke 12, and receiving plate 22 all being welded together. However, it is to be understood that the components can be made of other materials, such as wood or plastic, or any combination of materials, and can be connected via mechanical means, press fit, attached via adhesive, or any other attachment mechanism chosen using sound engineering judgment.
With continuing reference to
With continuing reference to
Non-limiting aspects have been described, hereinabove. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above methods and apparatuses may incorporate changes and modifications without departing from the general scope of the present subject matter. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations in so far as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
Having thus described the present teachings, it is now claimed:
This application claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 63/242,608, filed Sep. 10, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The present teaching is directed to hand tools. More specifically, the present teaching is directed to digging tools with replaceable blades.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63242608 | Sep 2021 | US |
