ONE SHOT SHOVEL

PELLE POLYVALENTE

English Abstract

A shovel which has a blade and a handle, the blade having first and second side edges and first and second wings extending outwardly and upwardly from respective side edges, each of the wings having a front edge which merges with a respective shovel side edge at a point rearwardly of the shovel front edge. The wings provide an extra cutting edge useful for cutting roots and the like.

French Abstract

Une pelle qui comporte une lame et une poignée, la lame ayant un premier et un deuxième rebords latéraux et une première et une deuxième ailes se prolongeant vers l'extérieur et vers le haut à partir des rebords latéraux, chacune des ailes étant dotée d'un rebord avant qui rejoint un rebord latéral respectif à un point vers l'arrière du bord avant de la pelle. Les ailes offrent un rebord tranchant supplémentaire utile pour couper les racines et autres éléments semblables.

Claims

The embodiments of an invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is
claimed is defined as follows:

l. A shovel comprising a blade and a handle, said blade consisting essentially
of:
first and second shovel side edges;

a shovel rear edge;

a front surface and a rear surface, said front surface having a first portion
extending
upwardly adjacent said handle, a balance of said front surface extending
arcuately between
said first and second shovel side edges to provide an uninterrupted front
surface having a
concave configuration and devoid of any projections therefrom;

only first and second wings, said first and second wings extending outwardly
and
upwardly from respective shovel side edges;

each of said wings having a wing front edge and a wing rear edge, each of said
wing
front edges merging with a respective shovel side edge at a point
substantially midway
between said shovel front edge and said shovel rear edge, each of said wing
front edges
having a straight edge portion and an arcuate concave portion, said arcuate
concave portion
extending between said respective shovel side edge and a respective straight
edge portion;

a rounded shovel front edge, said shovel front edge being formed where said
first
and second shovel side edges extend from a respective wing in a continuously
arcuate
outline to form said rounded shovel front edge.

2. The shovel of Claim 1 wherein said wing front edge and said wing rear edge
merge
to form an arcuate wing top edge.

3. The shovel of Claim 1 wherein said wing rear edge extends outwardly from a
point
proximate said shovel rear edge.


4. The shovel of Claim 3 wherein each wing rear edge has an outwardly
extending
flange.

Description

CA 02449766 2003-11-18
ONE SHOT SHOVEL
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to digging and cutting tools and more
particularly,
relates to a shovel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Numerous digging and cutting tools are known in the prior art and are
commercially
available. Widely utilized are two types of shovels wherein a. first type is
one having a
relatively flat bottom surface and a second type wherein the upper surface has
a generally
concave configuration. Particularly with those shovels having a flat surface,
sides may be
provided to prevent the material being shovelled from falling off the shovel.
There also have been proposals in the art for shovels having a configuration
suited to
specialised purposes. Many of these modified implements have been known for a
number of
years and thus, reference may be had to U.S. Patent 2,49,665 'which shows a
vegetable and
plant cutter which is provided with a V-shaped recess having cutting edges to
sever the stem
of the plant and cause the latter to fall into a bowl.
A weed cutter attachment for a round headed shovel blade is known from U.S.
Patent
3, 868,775. A chopping spade is shown in U.S. Patent 3,993,:340 wherein the
patentee
teaches an arrangement wherein there is a collapsable chopping spade for
greater portability.
Also known in the art are other types of tools such as the hand held grass
edging tool
shown in U.S. Patent 5,964,299 wherein there is provided a flat blade having a
generally
inwardly disposed V-shaped bottom edge and a pair of opposite side edges also
having V-
shaped portions formed therein.
-2-


CA 02449766 2003-11-18
A shovel having an outwardly extending portion from the side edge is shown in
U.S.
Patent 432,472. The shovel or spade is designed to sever or cut roots with the
use of the
side portions which are designated by the patentees as knives.
A shovel which also has an upwardly extending side edge is shown in U.S.
Patent
887,009 wherein one of the side edges has an auxiliary blade integrally
connected with the
main blade and extending at right angles thereto. The device is intended for
the cutting of
sod and the removal or lifting thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a shovel having a blade
which is
useful for severing roots and for digging holes in a soil or similar medium.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shovel
which
has a blade and a handle, the blade having a shovel front edge, a shovel rear
edge, first and
second shovel side edges, a front surface and a rear surface, first and second
wings
extending outwardly and upwardly from respective shovel side edges, each of
said wings
having a wing front edge and a wing rear edge, each of said wing front edges
merging with a
respective shovel side edge at a point rearwardly of said shovel front edge.
The blade of the shovel of the present invention may either have a generally
concave
configuration as is well known in the art or alternatively, may be in the form
of a spade
which has a relatively flat surface. Similarly, the shovel may be formed of
any of the known
metallic materials suitable for the purpose.
The handle portion of the shovel again may be any design which is suitable.
The
handle may thus range from a straight rod-like member to one having a D-handle
formed at
the end thereof. Similarly, the connection of the handle to the shovel may be
done in any
-3-


CA 02449766 2003-11-18
conventional manner known to those knowledgeable in the an.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the
accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof, in which
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shovel according to an embodiment of the
present
invention, with the handle portion being shown in dotted lines;
Figure 2 is a top elevational view thereof;
Figure 3 is a side elevational view thereof;
Figure 4 is a front elevational view thereof;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines. 5-5 of Figure 2; and
Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of Figure 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters
thereto, there
is illustrated a shovel generally designated by reference numeral 40 and which
includes a
shaft 42 having a D handle 44 at the end thereof.
A blade portion 10 includes a howl 46 for receiving shaft 42 in a conventional
manner.
Blade 10 has a front surface 12 and a rear surface 14, with the central
portion having
a generally concave configuration as is well known in the art.
Blade 10 is defined by a first side edge 16 and a second side edge 18. There
is also a
rear edge 20 and a front edge 22. As may be seen. front edge 22 is formed as
first side edge
16 and second side edge 18 extends arcuately inwardly.
Extending upwardly from first side edge 16 is a first wing generally
designated by
-4-


CA 02449766 2003-11-18
reference numeral 24.
First wing 24 has a first wing front edge 26 which, as may be best seen in
Figure 3,
includes a straight portion and then a Lower portion merging with first side
edge 16 of blade
10. First wing 24 is also defined by a first wing rear edge 28 which extends
outwardly from
a point adjacent to the shovel rear edge 20. First wing front edge 26 and
first wing rear edge
28 are connected by an arcuate first wing top edge 30. A flange 32 extends
outwardly from
first wing rear edge 28.
A second wing 24' is substantially identical to first wing 24 and accordingly
will not
be described in detail herein. Similar reference numerals with a prime are
employed for
similar parts.
Also, as will be seen, there is provided a shovel rear edge Mange 34 which
extends
rearwardly of rear edge 20.
It will be understood that the above described embodiment is for purposes of
illustration only and that changes and modifications can be made thereto
without departing
from the spirit or scope of the invention.
_5_

Representative Drawing