FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This device relates to a handheld manual-powered scraping tool employing a pivotable and stowable head for removing material from a work surface.
BACKROUND OF THE INVENTION
There have been more than 200 patents granted over the years for devices of a wide variety of forms intended to be used for human powered removal of material from a surface through the use of scraping action. One of the most common commercial usages of these devices has focused on the removal of ice from automobile windshields. Although there have been several improvements over time related to their performance, ergonomics, and ease of use, the author believes there are additional attributes and novel features that would further improve upon the functionality and commercial viability of these devices.
There have been several devices intended primarily for automobile glass which feature a multi-blade pivoting scraping head. U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,093 by Friend (1939) is the earliest concept employing a multi-blade pivoting head. U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,698 Francis-Rouse (1995) might be considered a modernized version updated with a leveraging handle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,836 Williams (2000) is another form of the multi-blade pivoting head concept. Although all may be functional by design, they cannot be stowed conveniently within the automobile and are limited in their usefulness due to their implied size and in some cases to the inflexibility of the blades. If they are sized for scraping larger surfaces such as windshields, they would be too large to be practical for use on small surfaces such as rear-view mirrors, nor could they be stowed in a typical sized car door pocket. Most of the other devices with related patents provide a rigid scraping blade which is ineffective for conforming to non-flat surfaces such as automobile glass.
The device described herein employs the beneficial features of a multi-blade scraping head but also adds other novel features as described below to enhance its effectiveness and usefulness by addressing the aforementioned shortcomings and concerns.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The device is a handheld manual-powered scraping tool employing a pivotable multi blade head for removing material from a work surface. This scraper which employs two blade elements set at the appropriate relative angle to allow scraping in push and pull directions provides efficiency advantages over a scraper using a single blade. In the preferred embodiment, mounting the two blade head onto a handle that can pivot independently from the head provides ergonomic and functional advantages over a conventional fixed head scraper by maintaining the most efficient scraping angle of blades relative to the work surface independently of the operators preferred handle holding position. The pivoting head is configured with intentionally flexible blade elements to allow the blades to conform to the work surface, thereby allowing fewer operator strokes when the device is used to remove material from a curved surface such as ice from automobile glass. The device also provides a means to stow the pivotable head in a collapsed configuration to allow convenient storage of the device and to provide a means to protect the blades from damage when not in use. In the preferred embodiment, a central fixed third blade allows scraping of smaller surfaces such as automobile rearview mirrors when the device is configured for ice removal.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
FIG. 1A is an isometric view of the preferred embodiment with the scraping blades stowed back.
FIG. 1B is an isometric view of the preferred embodiment with the scraping blades stowed forward.
FIG. 1C is an isometric view of the preferred embodiment with the scraping blades deployed.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the scraping assembly.
FIG. 3A is an isometric view of the first alternate embodiment shown in the stowed configuration.
FIG. 3B is an isometric view of the first alternate embodiment shown in the working configuration
FIG. 4A is an isometric view of the second alternate embodiment shown in the stowed configuration.
FIG. 4B is an isometric view of the second alternate embodiment shown in the working configuration.
FIG. 4C is an isometric view of the second alternate embodiment shown with the removable handle separated from the scraping attachment assembly.
REFERENCE NUMERALS FOR THE FIGURES
1 Handle
2 Pivot shaft
3 Scraping element, front
4 Scraping element, rear
5 Enhanced scraping blade
6 Fixed scraping blade
7 Work surface
8 Concave cam feature—stow-deploy
9 Convex cam feature—stow-deploy
10 Convex cam feature—pivot lock
11 Concave cam feature—pivot lock
12 Telescoping handle
13 Brush head
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1C, the scraping device consists of a handle 1, a pivot shaft 2, and two planar scraping elements 3 and 4. Optionally, the scraping elements 3 and 4 may be augmented with item 5 blades affixed to their scraping edges to facilitate removal of material from the work surface 7. Also a fixed scraping blade item 6 may be affixed to either end of the handle 1 as an additional scraping element to be used independently from scraping elements 3 and 4. FIGS. 1A,B,C and 2 are views of the preferred embodiment FIG. 1A is a view of the device in the stowed back configuration for storage or for scraping with the fixed blade element 6. FIG. 1B is a view demonstrating the capability of stowing the scraping elements 3, 4 in a forward alternate configuration advantageous for certain scraping applications. FIG. 1C is a view of the device in the deployed configuration for scraping with the pivotable blade elements 3 and 4.
The scraping elements 3 and 4 are related in shape and size, each having a planar form comprised of a straight edge ended for scraping against the work surface 7. The scraping elements 3 and 4 are mutually attached via a pivot shaft 2 at each respective end opposing its scraping edge such that the pivot shaft 2 provides a pivot axis parallel to the scraping edges for both scraping elements 3 and 4.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the scraper assembly exposing the details of the pivot axis region. The elements 3 and 4 contain mechanical interfering features at their pivot shaft end to limit the amount of angular displacement to approximately 90 degrees relative to each other. Also, element 3 contains concave cam features 8 at each end boss while element 4 contains mating convex cam features 9 located to provide clocking detents at the 0 degree stow and 90 degree deployed limits of elements 3 and 4. These design features allow the scraping elements 3 and 4 to lock into a deployed state relative to each other yet still pivot as a single unit about the shaft 2. Similarly, convex cams item 10 located on the boss features of item 4 interface with concave cam features 11 in handle 1 to provide clocking detents of the item 2, 3, 4 assembly relative to handle 1 for retaining the stowed element 3, 4 assembly in either of two stowed positions: stowed forward as shown in FIG. 1B or stowed back as shown in FIG. 1A.
OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With the scraping device in the stowed back configuration as shown in FIG. 1A the scraping elements 3 and 4 are positioned to minimize the overall volume for storage. This is also the configuration for use of the fixed blade 6 for specifically tough or small tasks. For certain applications where a larger fixed blade is preferred, the 3, 4 elements assembly may be stowed forward as shown in FIG. 1B. This configuration allows the scraper to be used in a conventional fashion.
To operate the scraping device in the pivoting configuration shown in FIG. 1C with both elements 3, 4 in contact with the work surface 7, both elements are rotated about shaft item 2 until they lock into the deployed position of approximately 90 degrees relative to each other. With the outboard edges of scraping elements 3 and 4 in contact with the work surface 7 as shown in FIG. 1C, the user is able to simultaneously apply downward force and forward or rearward motion into the tool handle 1 while pivoting the handle 1 about the shaft 2 to facilitate the reach and comfort of the user. Throughout these pivoting and scraping motions by the user the novel configuration of the scraping device ensures that the two scraping elements 3 and 4 both remain in contact with the work surface 7 and at the predetermined angle found to be effective for scraping regardless of the angle of the handle 1 relative to the work surface 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION OF ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. 3A and 3B show an alternate embodiment that is configured as two scraping elements 3 and 4 conjoined at a common pivot axis similar to the preferred embodiment. The function of the item 1 handle however is replaced by a hand grip feature that is integral with one of the scraping elements as shown in view 3A and 3B. The pivot shaft 2 is functionally replaced with two ball and socket joints that are formed integral with the scraping blades such that the pivoting and deployed-locking feature is retained without the need for the shaft element In this embodiment scraping action can be accomplished in either the stowed or deployed configurations.
FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C show a third embodiment which employs a handle 12 that is removable from the scraping elements 3 and 4 and shaft 2 such that the scraping elements and shaft form an assembly which may be used by hand, separate from the handle 12 as described in the first alternate embodiment FIG. 4A depicts a stowed version of the scraping device whereby the handle 12 is a telescoping tubular form. The handle may also include a brush 13 near the free end of the handle 12. FIG. 4B shows the deployed configuration of the 3, 4 elements relative to the handle 12. The cam features which provide the stow and deploy detents as described in the preferred embodiment are also employed functionally to this embodiment FIG. 4C shows the same embodiment with the capability of removing the 3, 4 element assembly from the handle 12 to provide more options for the operator.
A fourth embodiment could be configured by combining various features of the preferred and alternate embodiments. Any possible configured embodiment would contain at least two scraping elements joined by a common axis to allow the scraping elements to pivot relative to each other within confined angular limits to what has been previously described as the stowed and deployed positions.
The scraping elements of any of the device embodiments may vary in size and flexibility as required to perform most effectively for the intended work surface. The scraping elements may take a smaller and more flexible form when the intended use is for removing food from surfaces as compared with the device that is intended to be used for removing ice from auto glass or paint from a surface for example. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be set in the claims that follow and not limited to the configurations illustrated and explained previously.
Patent Application
20060200932
