Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE OF TH~NVENTI~,iN
ICE CHIPPER
BACKt~ROUND OF THE INVENTION
The sport of ice fishing is popular in many countries, and particularly in
Canada. In ordertofacilitatethe enjoymentofthesport, a numberofdevices have
been
proposed to enable the participant to quickly and effectively dig a hole in
the ice.
U.S. Patent No. 2,720,023, issued to Koscher et al, on October 11,1955,
discloses an ice spud composed of a head member equipped with a number of
blades,
at least one of which is substantially at right angles to the other blades.
Canadian Patent
1,298,072 issued to Harrie et al. on March 31, 1992, discloses a tool for
making holes
through ice having seven (7) cutting edges in a particular configuration. Both
of these
devices are relatively complex in structure and, due to the different angles
of the blades,
difficult to sharpen and maintain.
U.S. Patent No. 4,862,591 issued to Barringer on September 5, 1989,
discloses a much simplerdevice, having a single V-shaped cutting edge on a
membergt
the end of a handle of appropriate length. The shape of the cutting edge,
however, does
not diminish the incidence of ice jamming within the device, and therefore,
the device
would require frequent clearing, thereby reducing its overall effectiveness
and capacity to
allow the user to quickly create the desired hole in the ice.
Otherdevices have been proposed to dig holes orbreak up ice. U.S. Patent
No. 2,359,089 issued to Doran on September 26, 1944, describes a device for
digging
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which may be attached to an air hammer or the like, and which is equipped with
points
which are tapered in both front and side elevation to prevent these points
from sticking in
the ground while digging. U.S. patent No. 281,644 issued to Rex on July 17,
1883,
describes a flat cutting device for cutting ice in a flat line without
splitting it into fragments.
U.S. patent No. 949,667 issued to Spalke on February 15,1910, describes an ice
pick in
the form of a beveled wedge with a penetrating point. Finally, U.S. patent
No.1,094,569
of issued to Hughes on April 28,1914 describes an ice pick mechanism which
serves to
translate the force exerted on one end of the device to the tines which
enterthe ice. The
main aspect of the invention is the handle portion.
SUMMARY~?F THE INV~NTI~N
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for an ice pick
which is simple in design and yet quickly and effectively creates the desired
hole in the ice
to allow for ice fishing or the like.
It is a further object of the invention to allow forthe creation of the hole
while
minimizing the amount of ice jamming within the device, which jamming requires
cleaning
and a loss of momentum in the hole-digging process.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a device
for chipping ice comprising: a body portion having upper and lower edges and a
plurality
of downwardly extending spikes defining a semi-rectangular cavity, each of
said spikes
possessing an inner and an outer lateral edge and terminating in a generally
Gv-shaped"
cutting edge. A preferred embodiment of this aspect provides a device for
chipping ice
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which comprises: a body portion having upper and lower edges, and being sloped
at
about 18° from said upper edge to said lower edge; a plurality of
downwardly extending
spikes defining a semi-rectangular cavity, each of said spikes possessing an
inner and
an outer lateral edge and terminating in a generally "v-shaped" cutting edge,
said outer
lateral edges of each of said spikes possessing a slope of about 30°
from said body
portion towards said cutting edges, said inner lateral edges forming an angle
of about 90°
at a point where said inner lateral edges meet said bottom edge of said body
portion, said
inner lateral edges being substantially straight, but possessing a slope of
about 14° from
a point proximate to said cutting edges and terminating at said cutting edges;
a handle
fixedly attached to said body portion; and a transverse bore at an end of the
handle
opposite the point of attachment to said body portion to facilitate attachment
of a rope
thereto.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a
device for chipping ice comprising: a body portion having a substantially
rectangular
configuration; and a cavity having a substantially semi-rectangular
configuration, said cavity
extending downwardly and terminating in a generally "v-shaped" cutting edge,
and said
cavity being positioned below the body portion. A preferred embodiment of this
aspect
provides a device for chipping ice comprising: a body portion having a
substantially
rectangularconfiguration; a cavity having a substantially semi-
rectangularconfiguration,
said cavity extending downwardly and terminating in a generally "v-shaped"
cutting edge,
and said cavity being positioned below the body portion; a handle fixedly
attached to said
body portion; and a transverse bore at an end of the handle opposite the point
of
attachment to the body position to facilitate attachment of a rope thereto.
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The present specification, including the description of the present invention
and the claims describe the present invention in terms of a generally vertical
orientation as
shown in the accompanying drawings, in which the device is oriented with the
points facing
downwardly and the rear surface being substantially vertical. Accordingly, all
directional
references made in this specification are in reference to the device being in
this orientation.
Except where otherwise stated or readily apparent, all references to angles
and slopes of
various surfaces, are in reference to the departure of said surface from the
vertical, when
the device is in this vertical orientation. It will of course be understood
that the device may
be used in any orientation and the present directional references are purely
for ease of
description and understanding.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION O~ T1HE DR_ WA INGS
These and other advantages of the invention will become apparent upon
reading the following detailed description and upon referring to the drawings
in which:-
FIGURE 1 is a side view of the pick according to an embodiment;
FIGURE 2 is a side view of the cutting spike of the pick;
FIGURE 3 is a front view of the shaft of the handle;
FIGURE 4 is a partial view of the handle; and
FIGURE 5 is a side view of the pick according to an embodiment.
While the invention will be described in conjunction with illustrated
embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the
invention to such
embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives,
modifications and
equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as
defined by
the appended claims.
DETAILED DESC~IP~ION OF THE PREFER~iED EMBODIMENTS
In the following description, similarfeatures in the drawings have been given
similar reference numerals.
Turning to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates an ice chipper 2 having a
cutting
member4 and a handle 6. Said cutting member is comprised of a body portion 10
which
has a top 12 and a bottom 14 edge, and first and second cutting spikes 16a and
16b. The
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body portion 10 is sloped at an angle of 15° to 20° from the
wider top edge 12 to the
narrower bottom edge 14, and preferably is sloped at an angle of 18 °.
Each of the first and
second spikes 16a, 16b, terminates in a cutting point 24. As is seen in the
drawings, this
point is in fact chisel-like, having a transverse cutting edge extending
substantially the full
width of the spike 16. The cutting spikes 16a, 16b, which are substantially
vertical, each
have an outer edge 20 and an inner edge 25. The outer edge 20 has first 21 and
second
22 portions, as best seen in Figure 2. The first portion 21 is flat and is
flush with the flat
front face of the body 10. The second portion 22 commences approximately at
the point
where the spikes 16a, 16b, pass the bottom edge 14 of the body portion 10. The
second
portion 22 preferably possesses a slope from the vertical of between
20° and 40° and
preferably of approximately 30 ° from the point 23 where it meets the
first portion 21, to the
cutting point 24. A semi-rectangular cavity 40 is defined between the two
cutting spikes
16a and 16b, and the bottom edge of the body portion 10. The inner edges 25 of
the
cutting spikes are substantially straight and form angles of substantially
90° at the points 26
where they meet with the bottom 14 of the body portion 10. The rear face of
the device
including body and spikes forms a continuous flat surface.
In a preferred embodiment, the ends 27 of the inner edges 25 of the cutting
spikes 16a, 16b, are sloped at an angle of about 14° towards the
cutting points 24.
In another preferred embodiment, illustrated in Figure 5, the body portion 10
of the cutting member has a substantially rectangular configuration. Indeed,
the top edge
12 and the bottom edge 14 of the body portion 10 are of substantially equal
dimension.
This allows for the side edges 13 of the body portion to be substantially
parallel. In this
embodiment, as can be contemplated in Figure 5, the cutting spikes
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16a and 16b (of Figure 1 ) have a different shape. The inner edges 25a of the
semi-
rectangular cavity 40 are each sloped at their end 27, at an angle of about
14° towards
the cutting points 24.
The handle 6 of the ice chipper 2 is fixedly attached to the cutting member
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4 at the top edge 12 of the body portion 10. The handle 6, as seen in Figures
3 and 4, is
comprised of a shank portion 30 and a grip portion 32. The handle 6 may be
further
equipped with a hole 34 in said shank portion 30 or said grip portion 32
through which a
rope (not shown) may be attached to ensure that the ice chipper does not fall
into the water
when in use.
In use, the ice chipper 2 is pushed into the ice at its cutting points 24 by
exerting a force on the handle 8. Force may also be exerted on the top 10 of
the body
portion, by the user. The ice chipper Z is then removed from the ice by
exerting an
opposite pulling force on the ice chipper 2. This operation may be repeated
any number
of times until the desired hole is formed in the ice. Due to the shape of the
semi-
rectangular cavity 40 between the spike portions, the incidence of ice jamming
is
minimized and therefore the ice chipping operation is quickly and efficiently
accomplished.
Thus, it is apparent that there has been provided in accordance with the
invention an ice chipper that fully satisfies the objects, aims and advantages
set forth
above. While the invention has been described in conjunction with illustrated
embodiments
thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations
will be apparent
to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description.
Accordingly, it is intended to
embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the
spirit and
broad scope of the invention.
